Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Strategic Goal: EPA will develop and apply the best available science for addressing current
and future environmental hazards as well as new approaches toward improving environmental
protection.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Sound Science, Improved
Understanding of Env. Risk and
Greater Innovation to Address Env.
Problems

$338,261.4

$337,540.9

$327,837.9

($9,703.0)

Conduct Research for Ecosystem
Assessment and Restoration.

$134,525.5

$120,594.7

$119,114.6

($1,480.1)

Improve Scientific Basis to Manage
Environmental Hazards and Exposures.

$52,407.6

$53,021.7

$56,355.0

$3,333.3

Enhance Capabilities to Respond to
Future Environmental Developments.

$48,626.6

$64,249.5

$50,965.8

($13,283.7)

Improve Environmental Systems
Management.

$59,130.3

$57,757.0

$52,274.1

($5,482.9)

Quantify Environmental Results of
Partnership Approaches.

$9,539.9

$8,672.7

$9,058.4

$385.7

Incorporate Innovative Approaches.

$24,887.3

$23,324.5

$29,787.9

$6,463.4

Demonstrate Regional Capability to
Assist Environmental Decision Making.

$6,417.2

$6,677.9

$6,591.8

($86.1)

Conduct Peer Review to Improve
Agency Decisions.

$2,727.0

$3,242.9

$3,690.3

$447.4

Total Workyears

1,006.4

991.6

996.3

4.7

Background and Context

EPA has a responsibility to ensure that efforts to reduce environmental risks are based on the
best available scientific information. Sound science allows us to identify the most important sources
of risk to human health and the environment as well as the best means to detect, abate, and avoid
environmental problems, and thereby guides our priorities, policies, and deployment of resources. It
is critical that research and scientific assessment be integrated with EPA's policy and regulatory
activities. In order to address complex issues in the future, the Agency will design and test
fundamentally new tools and management approaches that have potential for achieving

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environmental results. Under Goal 8, EPA conducts core research to improve our understanding of
the fundamental principles underlying risk assessment and risk management.

Today's environmental innovations extend beyond scientific and technological advances;
they also include new policies and management tools that respond to changing conditions and needs.
Examples include market-based incentives that provide an economic benefit for environmental
improvement, regulatory flexibility that gives companies more discretion in how specific goals are
met, and disclosure of information about environmental performance. As a result of these and other
innovations, the nation's environmental protection system is evolving. The focus is on creating a
system that is more efficient and effective and more inclusive of all elements of society.

Means and Strategy

EPA is continuing to ensure that it is a source of sound scientific and technical information,
and that it is on the leading edge of environmental protection innovations that will allow
achievement of our strategic objectives. The Agency consults a number of expert sources, both
internally and externally, and uses several deliberative steps in planning its research programs. As a
starting point, the Agency draws input from the EPA Strategic Plan, available research plans, EPA
program offices and Regions, Federal research partners, and outside peer advisory bodies such as the
Science Advisory Board (SAB). This input is used internally by cross-office teams that prioritize
research areas using risk and other factors such as National Science and Technology Council
(NSTC) research and development priorities, client office priorities, court orders, and legislative
mandates. EPA's research program increases our understanding of environmental processes and our
capability to assess environmental risks to both human health and ecosystems.

In the area of ecosystem protection research, EPA will strive to establish baseline conditions
from which changes, and ultimately trends, in the ecological condition of the Nation's aquatic
ecosystems can be confidently documented, and from which the results of environmental
management policies can be evaluated at regional scales. Currently, there is a patchwork of
monitoring underway in the aquatic systems of the U.S. Due to differences in objectives, methods,
monitoring designs, and needs, these data cannot be combined to estimate, with known confidence,
the magnitude or extent of improvement or degradation regionally or nationally in this economically
critical resource. Therefore, the ability to demonstrate success or failure of increasingly flexible
watershed management policies, regionally and nationally, is also not possible. EPA's ecosystem
protection research program is providing the methods and designs to address these weaknesses. In
FY 2003, EPA will produce a report on the condition of the nation's estuaries. This report will
provide the first integrated, comprehensive, and statistically valid national report card on the health
of a specific aquatic resource. This work is an important step toward providing the scientific
understanding to measure, model, maintain, and restore the integrity and sustainability of
ecosystems.

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In order to improve the scientific basis for identifying, characterizing, assessing, and
managing environmental exposures that can pose the greatest health risks to the American public,
EPA is committed to developing and verifying innovative methods and models for assessing the
susceptibilities of sub-populations, such as children, to environmental agents such as pesticides.
Many of the current human health risk assessment methods, models, and databases are based on
environmental risks for adults. This research is aimed at enhancing current risk assessment and
management strategies and guidance to better consider risk determination needs for children. This
information will be useful in determining whether children are more susceptible to environmental
risks than adults and how to assess risks to children.

EPA's leadership role in protecting both human and ecosystem health requires that the
Agency continue to be vigilant in identifying and addressing emerging issues. EPA will continue to
enhance its capabilities to anticipate, understand, and respond to future environmental developments.
EPA will address these uncertainties by conducting research in areas that combine human health
and ecological considerations. Continued research in the areas of endocrine disrupting chemicals
and mercury is leading toward the development of improved methodologies for integrated human
health and environmental risk assessment and sound approaches for risk management. EPA will
conduct research to enhance its capacity to evaluate the economic costs and benefits and other social
impacts of environmental policies. These efforts, undertaken in concert with other agencies, will
result in improved methods to assess economic costs and benefits, such as improved economic
assessments of land use policies and improved assessments for the valuation of children's health, as
well as other social impacts of environmental decision-making.

The Agency also seeks to characterize, prevent, and clean up contaminants associated with
high priority human health and environmental problems through the development and verification of
improved environmental tools and technologies. EPA will incorporate a holistic approach to
pollution prevention by assessing the interaction of multiple stressors threatening both human and
environmental health, and by developing cost-effective responses to those stressors. Research will
also explore the principles governing sustainable systems and the integration of social, economic,
and environmental objectives in environmental assessment and management. Emphasis will be
placed on developing and assessing preventive approaches for industries and communities having
difficulty meeting pollution standards. The Agency is accumulating data on performance and costs
of environmental pollution prevention and control technologies that will serve as a basis for EPA, as
well as other organizations, to evaluate and compare effectiveness and costs of a variety of
technologies developed within and outside the Agency.

In FY 2003, EPA will improve its regulatory and policy development process. The Agency
will strengthen the policy analysis of key regulatory and non-regulatory actions, improve the
economic analysis underlying Agency actions, and improve the regulatory and policy action
information management system.

The Agency also seeks to develop and verify improved tools, methodologies, and
technologies for modeling, measuring, characterizing, preventing, controlling, and cleaning up
contaminants associated with high priority human health and environmental problems. In order to
do this, EPA will develop, evaluate, and deliver technologies and approaches that eliminate,

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minimize, or control high risk pollutants from multiple sectors. Emphasis will be placed on
preventive approaches for industries and communities having difficulty meeting
control/emi ssion/effluent standards.

EPA's strategy for solving environmental problems and improving our system of
environmental protection includes developing, implementing and institutionalizing new policy tools,
collaborative community-based and sector-based strategies, and the capacity to experiment, test, and
disseminate innovative ideas that result in better environmental outcomes. In each area, EPA is
looking to advance the application of the innovative tool or approach by promoting broader testing
and incorporation into our system of environmental protection and to support collaborative
partnerships for environmental management based upon prudent analysis and decision
methodologies. For example, EPA's Sector Program Plan 2001-2005 sets forth a vision and specific
actions to enhance the effectiveness of innovative sector activities (at the Federal and state levels)
and to fully integrate sector approaches into the Agency's overall mission and core programs.
Similarly, EPA is strengthening its capacity to evaluate innovative approaches and make
institutional changes that adopt successful innovations.

EPA's community-based approach works to provide integrated assessment tools and
information and direct assistance for environmental protection in partnership with local, state, and
Tribal governments. The work focuses on building the capacity of communities to work effectively
at identifying and solving environmental issues in ways that support healthy local economies and
improved quality of life.

Sector strategies complement current EPA activities by allowing the Agency to approach
issues more holistically; tailor efforts to the particular characteristics of each sector; identify related
groups of stakeholders with interest in a set of issues; link EPA's efforts with those of other
agencies; and craft new approaches to environmental protection. EPA is building on successful
experiences from its current sector-based programs such as the Sustainable Industries Partnership
Programs, Design for the Environment, and sector-based compliance assistance programs to expand
the ways in which the Agency is working in partnership with industry sectors to meet high
environmental standards using flexible, innovative approaches. While these programs are innovative
in and of themselves, they also foster the development of innovations at the industry sector level,
testing new regulatory ideas, technologies, tools, and incentives in non-adversarial settings. In a
somewhat related effort, EPA is exploring the potential for broader use of a sector-based regulatory
model for small businesses developed by the state of Massachusetts.

Strategic Objectives and FY 2003 Annual Performance Goals

Conduct Research for Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration

• Provide the public with a reliable and statistically valid baseline for the condition of the

Nation's estuaries against which to measure the success of ecosystem protection and risk

management practices.

Improve Scientific Basis to Manage Environmental Hazards and Exposures

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Enhance Capabilities to Respond to Future Environmental Developments
Improve Environmental Systems Management

• Develop 10 testing protocols and complete 40 technology verifications for a cumulative
Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program total of 230 to aid industry,
states, and consumers in choosing effective technologies to protect the public and
environment from high risk pollutants.

Quantify Environmental Results of Partnership Approaches

Incorporate Innovative Approaches

Demonstrate Regional Capability to Assist Environmental Decision Making
Conduct Peer Review to Improve Agency Decisions

Highlights

Research for Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration

In order to balance the growth of human activity with the need to protect the environment, it
is important to understand the current condition of ecosystems, what stressors are changing that
condition, what the effects are of those changes, and what can be done to prevent, mitigate, or adapt
to those changes. In FY 2003 EPA is proposing an initiative to refine and extend the Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment Program's (EMAP) approach to the large rivers of the Mississippi River
Basin (the Central Basin). The large rivers of the Central Basin are the inland receiving waters for
the maj ority of the Nation's heartland, and are the link between small upland streams and the Gulf of
Mexico. Through cooperative programs with the Regions, states, Tribes, and other Federal agencies
in the Central Basin, EPA proposes to fill remaining scientific gaps (indicators, sampling design, and
sampling methodology) currently limiting our ability to measure the condition of large rivers. EPA
will use this information, along with that provided by other agencies, to develop future baseline
assessments of Central Basin rivers. The approaches and technology developed within this effort
will be transferred to the many responsible parties within the Basin to enable coordinated,
scientifically defensible, long-term monitoring of the condition of these rivers that can help inform
environmental management decisions affecting these rivers as well as the Gulf of Mexico. These
approaches and technologies will also have widespread applicability to all of the Nation's large
rivers. Also in FY 2003, the National Coastal Assessment (NCA) program will produce a report on
the condition of the nation's estuaries. This report will provide the EPA and Congress with the first
integrated, comprehensive, and statistically valid national report card on the health of a specific
aquatic resource.

Research for Human Health Risk Assessment

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To reduce uncertainties in risk assessment, in FY 2003 human health research will develop
measurements, methods, and models to evaluate exposures and effects of environmental
contaminants, particularly in children. The Agency will continue to support a children's health
research program specifically targeted at addressing major areas of uncertainty and susceptibility. In
an effort to address children's exposure in daycare centers and school environments, EPA is
proposing new research to develop information on exposure, determinants of exposure for children
in school and daycare environments, and approaches to reduce potentially harmful exposures, and to
link these with health outcomes that can be measured using school health attendance and
performance records. Other children's research focuses on asthma and data gaps (e.g., the
Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study).

EPA will also conduct research on the influence of genetic factors on responsiveness to
environmental chemicals. The main scientific question for this research is whether genetic
differences are sufficient to influence risk assessment. Along with the current program designed to
address aggregate and cumulative risks, in FY 2003 the Agency is proposing increased efforts to
more comprehensively address these areas. This research is intended to complement and build on
EPA's draft Human Health Research Strategy. New research will address temporal variation in
exposures and its influence on health effects, methods for predicting the relative toxicity of mixture
components, the development of biological markers that can quantify exposure, effects and
susceptibility, and the use of the biological data and information on biological mechanisms and
mode of action to assess cumulative risk.

Research to Enhance Environmental Decision Making

In recent years, EPA has begun to move beyond environmental regulation to anticipate and
prevent potential problems before they evolve into major concerns. In FY 2003, research will focus
on improving our understanding of the impacts of potential exposure to environmental pollutants,
particularly endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and mercury, on human health and the
environment, and on developing approaches to reduce human health and ecological risks. This
research will result in accessible and seamless methodologies for combined human health and
ecological risk assessments. Additional research results will include an improved framework for
decision-making, increased ability to anticipate and perhaps prevent potentially serious
environmental risks, improved methods for assessing socio-economic factors, and enhanced
communication with the public and other stakeholders. EPA will also direct special grant
solicitations to support research at Minority Institutions. This program specifically assists minority
institutions in establishing and supporting environmental research activities that would build
capacity to assess and solve environmental problems. The cumulative result of EPA research is to
provide sound approaches for risk management to decision makers, providing them with the
integrated view of risk needed to make intelligent choices.

Improve Environmental Systems Management

In FY 2003, the Agency will continue its systems-based approach to pollution prevention,
which will lead to a more thorough assessment of human health and environmental risks and a more

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comprehensive management of those risks. EPA will develop tools and methodologies to prevent
pollution at its source and will evaluate environmental technologies through the Environmental
Technology Verification (ETV) Program. Research will also develop methodologies to better
convey the social, economic, and environmental costs and benefits of reducing environmental risks.
Additionally, through the National Environmental Technology Competition (NETC), EPA will
recognize and reward innovative technologies that produce more effective and lower cost solutions
to environmental problems. In FY 2003, EPA plans to develop competitive solicitations for
technologies in various areas of environmental concern, including arsenic treatment technologies for
small community drinking water systems. Research efforts will also focus on the reduction of
persistent bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This work will
enhance EPA's ability to mitigate harm caused by environmental pollutants and will provide the
public and private sectors with cost-effective environmental technologies.

Regulatory and Policy Development

EPA will improve its regulatory and policy development process by strengthening the policy
analysis of key regulatory and non-regulatory actions, improving the economic analysis underlying
Agency actions, and improving the regulatory and policy action information management system.

Increased Community-Based Approaches

Regional Geographic Initiatives (RGI) are an approach EPA Regional offices use to partner
with states, local governments, private organizations, and others to solve environmental problems
that are of particular local concern to the Regions and states.

Science Advisory Board Peer Review and Consultations

The Agency will continue to support the activities, principally peer reviews, of the SAB,
which provides independent technical advice to Congress and the Administrator on scientific,
engineering, and economic issues that serve as the underpinnings for Agency positions, from
research direction to regulations. The SAB helps the Agency to "do the right science" and to use the
results of that science appropriately and effectively in making regulatory decisions. In so doing, the
SAB promotes sound science within the Agency and a wider recognition of the quality of that
science outside the Agency. In this regard, the SAB is active in consulting with the Agency on how
to incorporate science appropriately and effectively into the new approaches the Agency is using to
make environmental decisions.

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External Factors

Sound science is predicated on the desire of the Agency to make human health and
environmental decisions based on high-quality scientific data and information. It challenges the
Agency to perform and apply the best available science and technical analysis when addressing
health and environmental problems that adversely impact the United States. Such a challenge moves
the Agency to a more integrated, efficient, and effective approach of reducing risks. As long as
sound science is a central tenet for actions taken by the Agency, then external factors will have a
minimal impact on the goal.

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Conduct Research for Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration.

Provide the scientific understanding to measure, model, maintain, and/or restore, at multiple
spatial scales, the present and future integrity of highly valued ecosystems.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001

FY 2002

FY 2003

FY 2003 Req.



Actuals

Enacted

Request

v. FY 2002 Ena.

Conduct Research for Ecosystem
Assessment and Restoration.

$134,525.5

$120,594.7

$119,114.6

($1,480.1)

Environmental Program & Management

$10,237.9

$6,340.9

$5,960.1

($380.8)

Hazardous Substance Superfund

$0.0

$24.2

$21.6

($2.6)

Science & Technology

$124,287.6

$114,229.6

$113,132.9

($1,096.7)

Total Workyears

349.0

352.6

350.9

-1.7

Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001

FY 2002

FY 2003

FY 2003 Req.



Enacted

Enacted

Request

v. FY 2002 Ena.

Administrative Services

$250.3

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0

Coastal Environmental Monitoring

$7,467.5

$7,325.3

$7,671.2

$345.9

Congressionally Mandated Projects

$7,773.3

$7,770.9

$0.0

($7,770.9)

Ecosystems Condition, Protection and
Restoration Research

$65,261.3

$66,707.9

$67,202.1

$494.2

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program, EMAP

$29,470.7

$32,360.0

$38,259.6

$5,899.6

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$6,537.9

$5,320.2

$4,963.5

($356.7)

Homeland Security

$0.0

$65.5

$0.0

($65.5)

Management Services and Stewardship

$1,397.6

$1,044.9

$1,018.2

($26.7)

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FY 2003 Request

Natural ecosystems provide valuable services and resources to the public, such as air and
water purification, flood control, food, and raw materials for industrial processes, as well as less
tangible benefits such as recreation. Many human activities alter or damage ecosystems and their
ability to provide these goods and services. In order to balance the growth of human activity and the
need to protect the environment, it is important to understand the condition of ecosystems, the
stressors changing that condition, the consequences of those changes, and the consequences of
preventing, mitigating, or adapting to those changes. EPA's ecological research program has four
primary areas of emphasis: 1) ecological monitoring; 2) ecological process and modeling; 3)
ecological risk assessment; and 4) ecological risk management and restoration. In FY 2003,
improvements in ecological assessment methods targeted at the application/evaluation of Ecological
Risk Assessment Guidelines in specific scenarios (e.g., default assessment endpoints, watershed risk
assessment, invasive species, dioxin) will increase the decision maker's understanding and use of
this scientific information.

Ecological Monitoring Research

EPA's ecological monitoring research efforts consist in large part of the various components
of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). EMAP focuses on the
monitoring science required to develop EPA's capability to measure trends in freshwater and marine
ecosystem health. EMAP includes the National Coastal Assessment (Coastal 2000), Western
EMAP, work in landscape ecology, and programs to develop and refine environmental indicators. In
FY 2003 the National Coastal Assessment (NCA) program will produce a report on the condition of
the nation's estuaries. This report will provide the EPA and Congress with the first integrated,
comprehensive, and statistically valid national report card on the health of a specific aquatic
resource. Also in FY 2003, the NCA will enter the second year of coastal monitoring for Alaska.
This reflects a one-year delay in initiating these efforts due in large part to the inherent logistical
problems of working in Alaska and to changes in the program leadership. The Western EMAP
(a.k.a. Western Pilot) study will also continue as a primary activity of EPA's monitoring research.
This study has four areas of focus: 1) the landscape atlas for western states; 2) intensive study of
three watersheds (Columbia River basin, Missouri River basin, and San Francisco Bay region); 3)
Pacific coast monitoring; and 4) a western-wide stream survey. In FY 2003 the Western Pilot will
continue with the study of streams in the western U.S., and will begin focused studies in selected
estuarine and near-shore sites. These two programs will provide water resources managers with
tools necessary to measure status and trends in the condition of the nation's streams and estuaries
and to measure the impacts of management decisions.

EPA is also proposing to refine and extend the EMAP approach to large rivers in the
Mississippi River Basin (the Central Basin). These rivers are the inland receiving waters for the
majority of the nation's heartland, and are the link between small upland streams and the Gulf of
Mexico. Central Basin rivers are challenged by long-term loadings of nutrients, sediments and toxic
chemicals as well as extensive habitat alterations. The resulting inputs to the Gulf of Mexico are a
significant contributor to causes of hypoxia, loss of wildlife habitat, and water quality concerns. At

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the same time, these rivers represent a monitoring problem for the states and Tribes located in the
center of the country because they are too large and complex for conventional environmental
monitoring and assessment. Consequently, large rivers represent a scientific gap in our
understanding of the flowing waters of the U.S. Through cooperative programs with the Regions,
states, Tribes and other Federal agencies, EPA proposes to initiate a program within the Central
Basin to fill remaining scientific gaps currently limiting our ability to measure the condition of large
rivers. In FY 2003, EPA will expand already planned research on indicators, monitoring designs,
and sampling techniques for the upper Missouri River to include the lower Missouri River and upper
Mississippi River. The approaches and technology developed will be transferred to the many
responsible decision-making parties within the Basin to enable coordinated, scientifically defensible,
long-term monitoring of the condition of these rivers. Data from such monitoring can help inform
environmental management decisions regarding these rivers, and provide support to managers in
establishing total maximum daily loads and meeting water quality standards. There are important
scientific linkages between the Central Basin effort and proposed watershed mitigation and
management efforts. The health of these large rivers is linked to the conditions of small streams, and
ultimately their watersheds. Once we are able to determine the condition of our large rivers,
understanding the processes occurring in the watersheds will be important for diagnosing the causes
of impaired conditions in these river systems. These approaches and technologies step off from
successful efforts in the Mid-Atlantic, western U.S., and coastal regions, and will also have
widespread applicability to all of the nation's large rivers.

Landscape ecology research focuses on improving estimates of the effects of land-based
stressors on aquatic, estuarine, wetland, terrestrial, and landscape conditions. It also extends the
EMAP probability sample design to estimate conditions of ecological resources across the West
through the application of spatially-distributed models. Landscape characterization research
includes: (1) planning and generating land characteristic databases for determining current
conditions and change (land cover and other spatial databases); (2) continuing remote sensing
research and developing high resolution imagery applications to document changes in land cover
over time; and (3) quantifying relationships between landscape metrics and specific parameters.
This research will significantly improve EPA ecological monitoring and assessments, as well as risk
management decisions, and will reduce uncertainty in other high priority research programs.

Environmental indicators research will focus on: (1) the development of the next generation
of biological indicators to characterize ecosystem condition and diagnose exposure to specific
stressors; (2) their application to the monitoring of aquatic ecosystems; and (3) their interpretation
in ecological risk assessments. These indicators include new condition indicators (e.g., genetic
diversity of aquatic species) and new multi-metric methods (e.g., prototype indicators for deep
rivers) to assess aquatic ecosystem population and community integrity.

Population genetics data are unique to ecological integrity studies, providing the only
inherent measure of population fitness and sustainability which can be associated with historic or
anthropogenic stresses. The research also includes the use of DNA microarray technology to
develop highly specific and sensitive diagnostic indicators of exposure to chemical stressors for
which no current measures of bioavailability exist (e.g., pesticides). This technology can be used to

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develop methods capable of simultaneous measurement of the bioavailability of several chemical
stressors to aquatic species exposed to mixtures.

Ecological Process and Modeling Research

Process and modeling research addresses biological, chemical, and physical processes
affecting the condition of ecosystems and their responses to stressors. Drawing from information
gathered by monitoring efforts, process and modeling research develops a basic understanding of the
processes that govern ecosystem function, and the technology to model those processes. This
modeling ability allows for predictions of future landscapes, stressor patterns, ambient conditions,
and receptor responses. Predicting the impact of changes in conditions allows resource managers to
address problems in ways that will more effectively achieve their environmental protection goals.

Since measurements are not feasible in every watershed because of cost and other practical
constraints, landscape indicators offer an efficient means to detect change, measure watershed level
stressors, and quantify relationships between landscape metrics and specific parameters. A new
generation of wall-to-wall spatial data (e.g., Multi-Resolution Landscape Characterization (MRLC)
land cover data and the North American Landscape Characterization (NALC) historical landscape
data), and advances in geographic information systems (GIS) make it possible to evaluate the
compositional and spatial pattern of landscape characteristics. Using this information, EPA will
conduct a national assessment of landscape change between the early 1970's and early 2000's,
evaluate the consequences of these changes on aquatic resources, and develop national assessments
of riparian habitat conditions.

EPA will also conduct research to address the effects of excess nitrogen from atmospheric or
other sources on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including the development of models that predict
the loading-response relationships for nitrogen in aquatic habitats and improved knowledge of the
biogeochemical processes controlling nutrient processes in watersheds. Such models can be used for
stressor source apportionment and for the assessment of management and mitigation strategies. In
addition, deposition of nitrogen, along with other atmospheric stresses such as sulfur, will be
monitored throughout the northeastern U.S. to determine the effects of acid deposition on streams,
rivers, and lakes.

Other ecological process and modeling research will include the development of approaches
for evaluating relative risks from chemical and nonchemical stressors on fish and wildlife
populations across large areas or regions. Research in this area will improve the ability to perform
retrospective (diagnostic) and prospective (forecast) assessments of risks to biota as determined by
the spatial distribution of habitat quality and stressors (e.g., toxic chemicals, nutrients, disease,
invasive species) in the landscape. Four major research activities include: 1) developing approaches
to characterize landscapes (and water bodies) in terms of habitat quality and stressor distributions
using remotely-sensed information and monitoring data; 2) developing mechanistically-based
approaches for extrapolating biological response across species, chemicals, time, space, and
response endpoints; 3) developing stressor-response relationships and modeling approaches for
predicting population-level health as functions of habitat quality and stressor distributions; and 4)

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characterizing spatial and temporal variability to distinguish between natural ranges of variability
and anthropogenic impacts. This information can then be used to describe habitat requirements for
wildlife and to manage watersheds to achieve and maintain desired ecological conditions, using
biological indicators and metrics to determine the condition of aquatic ecosystems.

Due to the complexity of ecological systems, making scientifically sound predictions usually
requires the use of numerical models, ranging in complexity from empirically based estimates to
process-based simulations. Because aquatic ecosystems integrate atmospheric, landscape,
groundwater, and upstream influences, models and support tools are being developed to manage,
integrate, and evaluate the transport and fate of nutrients and other stressors in the environment over
multiple scales. The resulting modeling framework will integrate multiple models and data sets to
improve the environmental management community's ability to evaluate the impact of air quality
and waste and watershed management practices on ecological and human health conditions, by
embracing the watershed/airshed approach to environmental management, and building upon the
latest technologies for environmental monitoring and geographic representation. It will address
uncertainties in distributions of single-stressors and interactions among multiple stressors, and
develop methods for incorporating uncertainty in decision-making. Given that the challenges of
today's environmental problems far exceed what any one group or agency can expect to resolve, an
open framework (non-proprietary) technology approach will facilitate combination of individual
components developed by EPA and partners into multi-disciplinary, multi-scale modeling and
assessment tools.

Ecological Assessment Research

EPA's ecological risk assessment research addresses the risk posed to ecosystems by
stressors, alone and in combination, now and in the future. Ecological assessments can link stressors
with consequences and evaluate the potential for damage to particular ecosystems, and can be used
to compare the relative risks associated with different stressors, regional areas, and ecosystems.
This valuable tool enables environmental risk managers at local, state, and Federal levels to identify
priority ecosystems that are high risk.

The completion of the first phase of EMAP in the Mid-Atlantic region provided baseline
information on the current status of most resources in the region. Continuing research in FY 2003
will build on EMAP and other data to project future environmental conditions in the region so that
risk management activities can be targeted proactively. The Regional Vulnerability Assessment
(ReVA) project, begun in FY 2000, will continue to combine modeled projections of changes in
stresses (e.g., pollution deposition, land use change) with information on sensitive ecosystems in
order to identify: 1) the greatest environmental risks likely to arise in the next 5-25 years and 2)
where those risks are likely to occur. ReVA will also integrate socio-economics into the analyses to
identify factors driving changes in environmental conditions and to better communicate trade-offs
associated with alternative policy decisions. Given that we can not protect every ecosystem,
everywhere, at all times, examining resources and their vulnerability on this larger scale will greatly
assist in identifying ecologically important features of the region meriting special consideration by
local, regional, or national managers.

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Ecosystem Restoration Research

EPA's risk management and restoration research focuses on the options available to manage
the risks to, and restoration of, degraded ecosystems. The growth rate of the man-made environment
necessitates the development of cost-effective prevention, control, and remediation approaches for
sources of stressors and adaptation approaches for ecosystems. These technologies will diagnose
ecosystem restoration needs, evaluate progress toward restoration, and establish ecologically
relevant goals and decision support systems for state and community planners. EPA is developing
integrated restoration technologies which focus on: 1) rehabilitation, to the extent possible, of the
structure of watershed ecosystems (e.g., restoring riparian zones); 2) reduction of the perceived
stressors (e.g., cleaning up contaminated sediments); and 3) enhancing the natural resilience of the
system. EPA will also develop tools to assess the progress, effectiveness, and cost of candidate
restoration technologies, including the development of methods for evaluating negative or
unexpected impacts of the restoration technology. This research will be incorporated into restoration
protocols to allow more uniform approaches to determining effectiveness and cost.

FY 2003 Change from FY 2002 Enacted

S&T

•	(+$4,875,000) This initiative refines and extends the EMAP approach to large rivers in the
Mississippi River Basin (the Central Basin). Through cooperative programs with the
Regions, states, Tribes and other Federal agencies in the Central Basin, EPA proposes to fill
remaining scientific gaps (indicators, sampling design, and sampling methodology) currently
limiting our ability to measure the condition of large rivers. EPA will use this information,
along with that provided by other agencies, to develop future baseline assessments of Central
Basin rivers. In FY 2003, EPA will expand already planned research on indicators,
monitoring designs, and sampling techniques for the upper Missouri river to include the
lower Missouri and upper Mississippi rivers. The approaches and technologies developed
will be transferred to the many responsible parties within the Central Basin to enable
coordinated, scientifically defensible, long-term monitoring. Data from such monitoring can
help inform environmental management decisions regarding these rivers, and provide
support to managers in the establishment of total maximum daily loads and meeting of water
quality standards. These approaches and technologies build on successful efforts in the Mid-
Atlantic, western U. S., and coastal regions, and will also have widespread applicability to all
of the Nation's large rivers.

•	(+$282,200, +1.5 FTE) This increase in resources will be used to coordinate EPA scientific
participation in regulatory development with program offices on major rules.

•	(-$500,000) This is a modest reduction to work on core diagnostic and predictive tools for
watershed assessment and restoration that will result in a minor slowing in this work.

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Resources are being shifted to high priority research on the evaluation of public health
outcomes in Goal 8, Objective 2.

• (-$7,770,900) The FY 2003 Request is $7,770,900 below the FY 2002 Enacted budget level
due to Congressional earmarks received during the FY 2002 appropriations process that are
not included in the FY 2003 President's Request.

GOAL: SOUND SCIENCE, IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF ENV. RISK AND GREATER

INNOVATION TO ADDRESS ENV. PROBLEMS

OBJECTIVE: CONDUCT RESEARCH FOR ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT AND RESTORATION.

Annual Performance Goals and Measures

Research

Estuarine Ecosystem Conditions

In 2003

In 2001

Provide the public with a reliable and statistically valid baseline for the condition of the Nation's estuaries against which to measure
the success of ecosystem protection and risk management practices.

Baseline conditions in the ecological condition of the Nation's estuaries have been established from which changes and ultimately
trends can be evaluated at regional scales.

Performance Measures:

Report describing the condition of the Nation's Estuaries.

Report on the condition of Nation's estuaries based on a
statistically valid sampling design so that data is comparable
across the Nation.

FY 2001
Actual

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

report
report

Baseline: The coastal monitoring strategy responds to the needs of EPA and the coastal states and tribes for information on the health of the

coastal environment that will inform decisions to protect these vital coastal resources. For the past decade, ORDs Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) has been working with federal, state, and academic scientists to develop the most
cost-effective methods for measuring the physical, chemical, biological, and ecological conditions of coastal waters, bays,
estuaries, beaches, and coastal wetlands. The data from this decade of EMAP research and field surveys in select areas of the
country were combined with select data from EPA (ORD and OW), NOAA, Department of Interior, and Department of
Agriculture to form an assessment of estuarine condition in 2001. Because of the need to determine current environmental
health baselines and quantitatively measure improvement for GPRA, EPA developed an initiative that would implement the
proven science developed by EMAP for the ecosystems found throughout the US coastal waters. Starting in 2000, survey
information has been collected on the condition of estuarine resources, and the kinds of problems associated with them, in each
conterminous coastal state and in Puerto Rico. In 2003, these data will be compiled for the first comprehensive National Coastal
Assessment of estuarine condition in the contiguous U.S. This report also will compare the condition of estuaries in the period
1990-1997 to the period 2000-2001. For the first time, this will provide the public with a reliable picture of the current and
changing condition of the Nations estuaries and coastal waters with known confidence, and using consistent measurements.

Integrated Ecosystem Modeling

In 2002 Produce a report on trends in acid deposition and the acidity of lakes and streams to assess progress toward reducing the impacts of
acid rain.

Performance Measures:	FY 2001	FY 2002	FY 2003

Actual	Enacted	Request

Trends in acidity in lakes and streams in the NE and Mid	1	report

Atlantic Regions of the U.S.

Baseline: In response to the Clean Air Act amendments, actions were taken to reduce the causes of acid deposition and aid in the recovery of

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lakes and streams affected by this deposition. Our understanding of the expected rate and degree of recovery has been primarily
based on results of similar actions in northern Europe. Research is being conducted to evaluate the status of acidic lakes and
streams in the northeastern United States, a region sensitive to and impacted by acid deposition, to evaluate the degree to which
the actions taken have been effective. This research focuses on measuring the end result of controls in place and will provide
insights into whether additional controls are needed.

Verification and Validation of Performance Measures

Performance Measure (PM): Report on the Condition of the Nation's estuaries.
Performance Database: Program output, no internal tracking system
Data Source: N/A

QA/QC Procedures: N/A
Data Quality Reviews: N/A
Data Limitations: N/A

New/Improved Data or Systems: N/A
Coordination with Other Agencies

Research in ecosystems protection is coordinated government-wide through the Committee
on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). It is the unique mission of EPA to look beyond
specific resource management responsibilities such as those assigned to other agencies like the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service, and the Department of the Interior's
(DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and Bureau of Land Management, and to protect the whole
environment, accounting for both public and private sources of adverse ecological effects. EPA has
been an active participant in the CENR, and all work in this objective is fully consistent and
complementary with other Committee member activities.

EPA researchers work within the CENR on EMAP and other ecosystems protection research.

The Mid-Atlantic Landscape Atlas was developed in cooperation with NOAA, USFW, the
University of Tennessee, and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National
Laboratory. Development of the Multimedia Integrated Modeling System is coordinated with the
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), USDA, and DOE. EPA cooperates with the CENR's
Subcommittee on Ecological Systems, in the restoration of habitats and species, impacts of
landscape change, invasive species and inventory and monitoring programs.

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EPA is working through interagency agreements with the USACE on the development of
tools for the management of stressors in reservoir and lake watersheds and the establishment of an
approach for the development of decision support systems to manage these types of ecosystems.
Through interagency agreements with the U.S. DOI's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), EPA has
worked to investigate and develop tools for assessing the impact of hydrogeology on riparian
restoration efforts. This work also focuses on development of tools for the dispersal modeling of
invasive species, the evaluation of the effectiveness of restoration efforts to reconnect groundwater
and surface water hydrology, and the establishment of zones of denitrification within impaired
streams. The collaborative work with the USGS continues to play a vital role in investigating the
impact and fate of atmospheric loadings of nitrogen and nitrogen applications as part of restoration
technologies on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. All of these efforts have significant implications
for risk management in watersheds, total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation, and
management of non-point source pollutants.

Additional interagency grants programs in Ecology include: the Ecology and Oceanography
of Harmful Algal Blooms (EcoHAB) program with NOAA, NSF, DOD, and NASA; nutrient science
for watershed management with USD A; and the Estuarine and Great Lakes (EAGLES) program
with NASA.

Statutory Authorities

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)

Toxic Substances Control Act

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

The Clean Air Act Amendment
The Safe Drinking Water Act

Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) (42 U.S.C. 13101-13109)

Clean Water Act (CWA) Title I (33 U.S.C 1251-1271)

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Improve Scientific Basis to Manage Environmental Hazards and Exposures.

Improve the scientific basis to identify, characterize, assess, and manage environmental
hazards and exposures that pose the greatest health risks to the American public by developing
models and methodologies to integrate information about exposures and effects from multiple
pathways. This effort includes focusing on risks faced by susceptible populations, such as people
differentiated by life stage (e.g., children and the elderly) and ethnic/cultural background.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Improve Scientific Basis to Manage
Environmental Hazards and Exposures.

$52,407.6

$53,021.7

$56,355.0

$3,333.3

Environmental Program & Management

$3,896.6

$3,118.4

$2,937.3

($181.1)

Science & Technology

$48,511.0

$49,903.3

$53,417.7

$3,514.4

Total Workyears

163.4

175.8

176.0

0.2











Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Enacted

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Administrative Services

$70.1

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0

Congressionally Mandated Projects

$0.0

$731.3

$0.0

($731.3)

Endocrine Disruptor Research

$366.9

$369.3

$372.2

$2.9

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$3,370.9

$2,656.7

$2,505.1

($151.6)

Flomeland Security

$0.0

$360.1

$0.0

($360.1)

Fluman Flealth Research

$49,825.7

$47,225.6

$51,824.5

$4,598.9

Legal Services

$41.9

$51.0

$54.8

$3.8

Management Services and Stewardship

$459.0

$410.7

$377.4

($33.3)

Research to Support FQPA

$1,214.5

$1,217.0

$1,221.0

$4.0

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FY 2003 Request

EPA's human health research program is based on the assumption that maj or uncertainties in
risk assessment can be reduced by understanding the fundamental determinants of exposure and dose
and the basic biological changes that result from one or more exposures to one or more chemicals.
Historically, EPA focused its human health risk management decisions and regulations on single
environmental pathways and individual contaminants. Often, environmental legislation mandated
this approach. In recent years, however, advances in the state of environmental science have
illustrated that new risk assessment methods are needed to investigate complex environmental and
human health issues that were not contemplated by early environmental statutes.

EPA's draft Human Health Research Strategy outlines the approaches the Agency will use
over the next 5-10 years to provide the science and scientific leadership needed to characterize and
enable the prevention and reduction of environmental risks to public health. Under the draft
strategy, EPA will conduct research needed to address complex environmental issues, such as
harmonization of cancer and non-cancer risk assessments, susceptible subpopulations, aggregate and
cumulative risk, susceptibility resulting from age, developmental stage, gender, preexisting disease,
etc., and the evaluation of health-driven regulatory decisions.

In FY 2003, human health research will be undertaken in four key areas: 1) development of
multimedia/multipathway exposure methods, data, and models; 2) development of mechanistically-
based data, tools, and approaches; 3) development and verification of innovative methods and
models for assessing risks to susceptible subpopulations; and 4) development of tools to enable
evaluation of public health outcomes.

Multimedia/multipathway exposure methods and models

EPA is committed to filling critical data gaps that reduce the risk assessor's reliance on
default assumptions and improves the risk assessment process. One key way to accomplish this goal
is by developing models to assess, predict, and diagnose the population's distribution of
multimedia/multipathway exposures to major classes of environmental agents. Research activities in
this area will address substantial uncertainties that exist in human health risk assessment and thereby
improve the scientific basis for assessing and managing risks. Activities include: 1) human exposure
measurement and modeling research, including source emission modeling; 2) research on aggregate
and cumulative exposures, including mixtures; 3) an exposure study to examine the key factors
influencing young children's exposures; 4) continued research supporting the National Human
Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS); and 5) research in support of the US/Mexico Border
Program, the National Children's Study, and other relevant exposure programs.

Through the exposure research program, EPA will develop methods, measurement data, and
measurement-derived models that estimate source emission, aggregate and cumulative exposures
and source-exposure-dose relationships for contaminant mixtures to which the general population,
children, and other susceptible populations are exposed daily. Research will continue to focus on
developing, evaluating, and enhancing multimedia, multi-pathway exposure modeling modules

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incorporating human activity patterns and measured or modeled distributions of exposure
concentrations. These modules are key devices for linking environmental concentrations with
human actions to estimate real-world exposures. Another focus will be on human exposure-to-dose
modeling, including developing state-of-the-art exposure-dose mathematical models, to describe the
uptake of pollutants into the body and the distribution of pollutants throughout the body. These
human exposure-to-dose models provide the essential linkage between regional environmental or
micro-environmental models and the corresponding dose-response models designed by toxicologists.

In addition, the Agency will continue to develop measurements, methods, models, and
activity pattern data essential for eliminating critical gaps in our knowledge about children's
aggregate and cumulative exposures to environmental contaminants. This research will provide
information and data needed to characterize children's age-related and developmental stage factors
of exposure. These children's exposure data will also be used to verify and update the aggregate and
cumulative exposure source-to-dose models. The ultimate result of this research is to produce
distributions of high quality children's, other susceptibles', and the general population's exposure
and exposure factor data that will reduce the risk assessor's reliance on default assumptions.

Along with the current program designed to address aggregate and cumulative risks, in FY
2003 the Agency is proposing increased efforts to more comprehensively address these areas. This
research is intended to complement and build on EPA's draft Human Health Research Strategy.
These efforts will provide a focal point for Agency-wide strategic research planning and methods
development and will address a broader array of issues than can be addressed within EPA's current
human health research program. New research will address: 1) the timing of exposures and its
influence on health effects; 2) methods for predicting the relative toxicity of mixture components; 3)
the development of biological markers that can quantify exposure, effects and susceptibility; and 4)
the use of the biological data and information on biological mechanisms and mode of action to
assess cumulative risk.

EPA also conducts methods, measurement, and modeling research through the NHEXAS
program, which integrates measurements and modeling to investigate critical information gaps about
population-scale distributions of exposures to contaminant mixtures. In FY 2003, the Agency will
continue to implement the NHEXAS strategic data analysis plan. The NHEXAS data provide
fundamental input to the Agency and the scientific community for the development of aggregate
exposure models, and assessments, and the evaluation of risk management/mitigation strategies.
Building on basic analyses initiated in FY 2001, research will include more detailed/complex
analyses, such as characterization of variance components, evaluation of spatial variability of
exposures, construction of empirical exposure distribution models, and development of aggregate
exposure assessments.

A major children's exposure field study will begin in FY 2003, which focuses on young
children's aggregate exposure to pesticides in homes, day care centers and schools (this research is
being leveraged with similar research programs within Goal 3, Safe Food). This field study will
develop essential information for improving models that represent dermal uptake and exposure,
dietary exposure and gastrointestinal (GI) uptake, and aggregate exposure. The validated children's

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exposure protocol will be used by researchers within EPA, the scientific community, and by the
pesticide and chemical industry to conduct future children's exposure studies and develop high
quality data on exposure and exposure factors mandated by the Food Quality Protection Act
(FQPA). The study will be completed in FY 2004 with delivery of major products (e.g., a validated
protocol, a technical publication outlining the distributions of exposures by age and distribution of
key exposure factors, an updated Exposure Factors Handbook, etc.) in FY 2005.

In the risk assessment area, research on mixtures, cumulative and aggregate exposures and
cumulative and aggregate risks will continue to provide methodologies, prototypical assessments,
and guidance for risk assessors. This information will be used to address key research issues in the
areas of multiple sources, multiple chemicals and stressors, multiple routes and pathways, and
multiple time frames and durations of exposure. Research highlights include: 1) identifying the most
effective multiple source models for EPA risk assessments and demonstrating their use in risk
assessments; 2) developing methods for predicting interactions in mixtures and applying them to risk
assessments; 3) developing and validating methods for identifying and characterizing exposure
levels associated with multiple pathways; and 4) developing guidance for which average exposure
times are most appropriate for various health effects.

Mechanistically-based Data, Tools, and Approaches

There is a lack of understanding about the underlying biological, chemical, and physical
processes that determine target tissue exposures and effects, which limits the Agency's ability to
assess potential health risks of environmental exposures - qualitatively and quantitatively.
Insufficient knowledge of these processes introduces uncertainties into the risk assessment process
that may allow for wide interpretation of what is often limited data. Research in this area addresses
both qualitative (hazard identification) and quantitative (dose-response analysis) concerns associated
with current risk assessments.

In order to reduce uncertainties in the risk assessment process, health effects research will
continue to focus on harmonization of risk assessment approaches and chemical mixtures. Work to
harmonize risk assessment approaches will yield a consistent set of principles and guidelines for
drawing inferences from scientific information, including the need for consistent application of all
pertinent information on toxicity, dosimetry, and mode of action in all risk assessments. Research
on chemicals in mixtures will focus on determining the risks associated with exposure to chemicals
at the low end of the dose-response curve. It is particularly important to develop principles for how
chemicals interact at low doses and to determine the conditions under which they may respond in a
non-additive manner. The primary approach is to study chemicals having similar modes of action.
Also, principles derived from mixtures research will address issues associated with the assessment of
cumulative risk and aggregate exposure, as mandated by the FQPA.

Research will continue also to develop and improve risk assessment methodologies, conduct
prototype risk assessments, and develop risk assessment guidelines and databases. More
specifically, results of research on biological mechanisms will be used to improve understanding of
and resolve uncertainties in dose-response assessments.

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Susceptible Subpopulations

EPA is committed to developing and verifying innovative methods and models for assessing
the susceptibilities of populations to environmental agents and enhancing current risk assessment
and risk management strategies and guidance.

In FY 2003, EPA's Children's Health Research Program, established in 1997 in response to
the heightened awareness and concern about the unique susceptibilities of infants and children, will
continue to play a critical role in shaping how the Agency addresses children's health issues.
Children may be more susceptible than adults to adverse effects because of differences in how
chemicals are absorbed, metabolized, and stored in the body, resulting in higher doses over a longer
period of time and greater harm to key organs and organ systems. In addition to inherent differences
in susceptibility, children are often more vulnerable to toxic exposures because of their different
diets, proportionally higher food intake, and child-specific behaviors, such as playing on floors, that
result in greater contact with environmental contaminants.

Much of the effort under the Children's Health Research Program in FY 2003 is based on the
EPA Strategy for Research on Environmental Risks to Children (in addition to the draft Asthma
Research Strategy), which provides direction for research in age-related exposures, physiology, and
biological responses that may result in increased risks, and research in risk reduction methods. This
research provides the scientific underpinnings that will result in better EPA risk assessments for
children and ultimately reduced risks from potential environmental health threats.

The Agency will also continue to address environmental-related childhood disease via the
Children's Environmental Research Centers. The aim of these grants is to better understand the
causes of environmentally induced disease among children and to eventually decrease the prevalence
of childhood disease. Efforts will focus on childhood asthma and other respiratory diseases, growth
and development, and children's exposure and susceptibility to pesticides. The Centers are also
investigating community-based risk reduction methods to lower children's exposures to
environmental agents and improve their health outcomes.

Health effects research in the area of susceptible subpopulations will develop the scientific
basis for understanding the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic differences between
subpopulations that could account for different sensitivity and susceptibility following exposure to
environmental chemicals. Results from this research will be used to develop better risk assessment
methods for evaluating selected subpopulations that focus on the influence of life-stage, genetic
predisposition, and health status on responsiveness to chemical exposure.

The Agency is participating in the National Children's Study (NCS) through a Federal
Interagency Committee with the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other agencies, as mandated
in the Children's Health Act of 2000. The NCS will enroll parents and children at or before birth
and follow them for a number of years, documenting developmental disorders and collecting data on

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environmental exposures and other factors that could be responsible for adverse outcomes. In 2003,
EPA will continue to work on design and implementation of the NCS and to develop and pilot
methods for measuring exposure to environmental agents and adverse health outcomes.

Because of the rising rate of asthma in the United States, especially among children, and the
scientific uncertainty as to why asthma rates are increasing, the Agency developed an Asthma
Research Strategy. Consistent with the priorities laid out in the Strategy, EPA will focus its efforts
on interactions between aldehyde exposure and allergic asthma, including extrapolation between rats
and humans, and asthma and exposure of children to fungi. EPA is also developing methods and
protocols for asthma research, as part of the National Children's Study (NCS), to enable evaluation
of the role of environmental factors in the induction and exacerbation of asthma (and to assess the
effectiveness of interventions).

The Agency will continue to support risk management research designed to assist schools in
their efforts to eliminate or minimize emissions and releases of contaminants from products and
materials they use that contribute to asthma and other respiratory irritations. This research will
develop models and test procedures, and create market incentives for the manufacture and use of
products, including water-based cleaners, that result in improved indoor air quality. Research results
will provide the scientific basis to upgrade indoor air quality guidance to schools.

EPA will also conduct research on the influence of genetic factors on responsiveness to
environmental chemicals. An important scientific question in this area is whether genetic
differences are sufficient to influence risk assessment. In addition, the Agency will study whether
the presence of pre-existing diseases may alter the response to environmental toxins. Data derived
from these studies will be used to assess the possible increased risk of chemical exposure for
individuals with pre-existing diseases, such as asthma and other respiratory diseases.

Research to Enable Evaluation of Public Health Outcomes

As part of its regulatory development process, the Agency often estimates the public health
benefits, such as reduced incidences of disease and extended life years, of various possible Agency
decisions. Estimating the public health benefits of Agency decisions, or in a more general sense
evaluating public health outcomes from risk management actions, is most often prospective in
nature. Generally, the Agency has not prepared retrospective evaluations to assess whether the
intended benefits in protecting public health were realized once an Agency decision had been in
effect for a period of time.

In FY 2003, EPA will begin the first in a series of solicitations requesting research to
develop approaches for using human health and exposure data to evaluate the effectiveness of
environmental decision-making on public health. Research will be conducted using case studies to
evaluate approaches for using health-related information to evaluate the public health outcomes of
regulatory decisions. The studies will test statistical and computational approaches and methods for
evaluating cost-benefit relationships.

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FY 2003 Change from the FY 2002 Enacted

Research

S&T

(+$3,412,500) This increase supports the Agency's research initiative on aggregate and
cumulative risks. Research results will provide a focal point for Agency-wide strategic
research planning and methods development; provide tools that can be applied to address key
concerns that have arisen in settings where population-based human health risk assessment is
the focus; and complement and build on EPA's human health research. This initiative has
been specifically tailored to reduce uncertainty in this area and allow the Agency to address
a broader array of issues than is currently possible. New research will address temporal
variation in exposures and its influence on health effects, methods for predicting the relative
toxicity of mixture components, the development of biological markers that can quantify
exposure, effects and susceptibility, and the use of the biological data and information on
biological mechanisms and mode of action to assess cumulative risk.

(+$2,450,000) Resources will be redirected within this objective to enhance the Agency's
efforts in the area of computational toxicology. EPA seeks to strengthen further and
integrate its capabilities in the areas of (but not limited to) molecular profiling and
bioinformatics. The Agency's goal is to advance its ability to assess and predict the human
health and ecological risks from environmental exposures.

(-$2,000,000) Resources will be redirected within this objective from efforts in human health
in the areas of human health risk assessment and assessing exposure and risks from chemical
mixtures. There are no programmatic impacts.

(+$500,000) Resources will be used to enhance EPA's efforts in evaluating the effectiveness
of environmental decision-making on public health. Research will be conducted using case
studies to evaluate approaches for using health related information to evaluate the public
health outcomes of regulatory decisions. The studies will test statistical and computational
approaches and methods for evaluating cost-benefit relationships.

(+$360,900, +1.9 FTE) Resources will be redirected within the Objective to develop
methods, data, and measurement-derived models that estimate aggregate exposure and
source-exposure-dose relationships for contaminant mixtures. Planned research related to
Homeland Security will conclude in FY 2002.

(-$360,900, -1.9 FTE) Planned research related to Homeland Security in the area of model
development incorporating human activity patterns and measured or modeled distributions of
exposure concentrations will conclude in FY 2002. Resources will be redirected to
aggregate and cumulative exposures and exposures to mixtures.

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(+$281,200, +1.5 FTE) This increase in resources will be used to coordinate EPA scientific
participation in regulatory development with program offices on major rules.

(-$786,000) This FY 2003 reduction eliminates funding for FY 2002 Congressionally-
directed research.

(-$731,300) The FY 2003 Request is $731,300 below the 2002 Enacted budget due to the
Congressional Earmarks received during the appropriations process which are not included
in the FY 2003 President's Request.

Annual Performance Goals and Measures

Research

Human Health Risk Assessment Research

In 2003 Develop, summarize, integrate, and demonstrate an initial set of tools (methods, measurements, models) so EPA can assess aggregate
exposures and risks from environmental contaminants in multiple media and determine how to best minimize/eliminate human
and environmental harm from these contaminants.

In 2002 Produce a framework with supporting models and analyses to better link human exposure measurements and health effects outcomes
and address complex, high priority risk issues including aggregate/cumulative risk and high to low dose extrapolation.

In 2001 EPA developed a draft research strategy on human health risk assessment. Although publication has been delayed until FY 2002, the
fundamentals of this strategy are being implemented into an analysis of data from the National Human Exposure Assessment
Survey (NHEXAS).

Performance Measures:

Publish peer reviewed research strategy on human health risk
assessment.

NHEXAS: Begin implementation of Strategic Data Analysis
Plan.

Develop a prototype source-to-exposure-to-dose modeling
framework that enables the complex computation for human
exposure modeling.

Advance the human exposure and dose model by improving
the modules for dermal and dietary exposure.

External review draft report on framework for conducting
risk assessments for children as a sensitive subpopulation.

Report on the Contribution of Genetic Polymorphisms of
Metabolic Pathways to Susceptibility and Population
Variance.

Report on health effects associated with exposures to indoor
and outdoor pollutants using NHANES health effects data
and EPA monitoring data.

Provide access to human exposure data via the world wide
web to states, Regions, Program Offices, exposure modelers,
and other stakeholders for use in aggregate and cumulative
risk assessments.

Test and evaluate a framework for modeling aggregate
exposures from source through human exposure to human
dose.

FY 2001
Actual

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

resrch strategy
strategic plan
model assessmen

modules

framework

report

report

data base

1	model

Publish data and results from the National Human Exposure

1	report

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Performance Measures:	FY 2001	FY 2002	FY 2003

Actual	Enacted	Request

Analysis Survey (NHEXAS) that will help characterize
exposures to key pollutants and summarize human activities
that impact exposure.

Analyze NHEXAS data for use in updating the Exposure	1	analysis

Factors Handbook.

Baseline: Currently, risk assessments often focuses on a small component of the total exposure and risk that people face. Aggregate exposure
and risk expands that consideration to include all the pathways and routes by which people come into contact with pollutants: it
is a first step in understanding the cumulative total of peoples exposures and risks. A variety of tools (measuremnt and analysis
methods, measurement studies and data, and human exposure/risk models) are currently under development to allow estimation
of aggregate exposures and risks. In FY03, research will provide: improved information on sources of exposure; analysis of
actual aggregate exposures of people in the U.S. as observed in probabilistic exposure measurement studies; development and
demonstration of models for describing the many ways pollutants move from sources to exposures to human dose; and the
gathering together and publication of information and techniques needed to assess aggregate exposures and risk for use by the
scientific community, risk assessors, and the public. Providing tools to assess aggregate exposure and risk is an initial step in
understanding cumulative exposures and risks, and helping us move to more outcome-oriented measures of Agency actions to
protect human health.

Coordination with Other Federal Agencies

Research

Several Federal agencies sponsor research on variability and susceptibility in risks from
exposure to environmental contaminants. EPA has collaborated with the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in establishing Centers for Children's Environmental
Health and Disease Prevention to define the environmental influences on asthma and other
respiratory diseases, childhood learning, and growth and development.

EPA is participating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through its
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES)-4. NHANES-4 is a national population-based survey and includes data (i.e.,
children's exposure to pesticides and other environmental contaminants) on potentially sensitive
subpopulations such as children and the elderly.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is the lead agency
for conducting the National Children's Study (NCS) of environmental influences on children's
health and development. EPA serves as one of the lead agencies within a consortium of Federal
agencies that are planning, developing and implementing the NCS.

The Agency continues to work on interagency task forces with a number of Federal agencies,
- including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), NIEHS, and Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) - in developing health risk assessment guidelines (e.g., Carcinogen
Risk Assessment Guidelines, Developmental Toxicity Guidelines, Exposure Assessment Guidelines)
and has maintained interagency agreements with several Federal agencies (e.g., NIEHS) to support
the Children Environmental Research Centers.

Statutory Authority

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Research

Clean Air Act (CAA)

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Clean Water Act (CWA)

Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA)

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)

Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act (SARA)

Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Enhance Capabilities to Respond to Future Environmental Developments.

Enhance EPA's capabilities to anticipate, understand, and respond to future environmental
developments; conduct research in areas that combine human health and ecological considerations;
and enhance the Agency's capacity to evaluate the economic costs and benefits and other social
impacts of environmental policies.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Enhance Capabilities to Respond to Future
Environmental Developments.

$48,626.6

$64,249.5

$50,965.8

($13,283.7)

Environmental Program & Management

$6,801.4

$10,147.8

$10,008.5

($139.3)

Science & Technology

$41,825.2

$54,101.7

$40,957.3

($13,144.4)

Total Workyears

159.6

152.6

152.6

0.0











Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Enacted

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Administrative Services

$133.9

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0

Congressionally Mandated Projects

$4,377.8

$3,753.8

$0.0

($3,753.8)

Endocrine Disruptor Research

$12,482.5

$10,353.1

$11,806.5

$1,453.4

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$371.4

$2,267.8

$2,177.2

($90.6)

Flomeland Security

$0.0

$1,587.6

$0.0

($1,587.6)

Management Services and Stewardship

$426.6

$327.7

$299.1

($28.6)

Regulatory Development

$6,857.6

$7,552.3

$7,532.2

($20.1)

Research to Support Emerging Issues

$23,365.6

$28,658.5

$29,150.8

$492.3

STAR Fellowships Program

$9,704.3

$9,748.7

$0.0

($9,748.7)

FY 2003 Request

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Research conducted under this objective endeavors to develop common methodologies for
combined human health and ecological risk assessments and reliable approaches for risk
management, and to conduct research in social science, environmental decision making, economic
calculation, and estimation of environmental costs, risks and benefits. This research provides
decision-makers at all levels with the integrated view of risk and risk reduction benefits and costs
needed to make sound decisions.

Endocrine Disruptors

Evidence has been accumulating that indicates humans and animals, both domestic and wild,
have suffered adverse health consequences resulting from exposure to endocrine disrupting
chemicals (EDCs). Reports of declines in the quality and quantity of human sperm production over
the last four decades, and increases in certain cancers that may have an endocrine-related basis
(breast, prostate, testicular), have led to speculation about environmental causes. Recognizing the
potential scope of the problem, the possibility of serious health effects on populations, and the
persistence of some EDCs in the environment, EPA published a "Research Plan for Endocrine
Disruptors" (www.epa.gov/ORD/WebPubs/finaO in 1998. Endocrine disruptors research will
continue to focus on the priorities established in the 1998 plan by developing tools to identify
hazards, characterize the extent of human and wildlife exposures to known and suspected EDCs, and
manage risks from exposure to EDCs. This research focuses on: 1) developing a better
understanding of EDCs; 2) determining the extent of the problem in human and wildlife populations;
and 3) supporting EPA's screening and testing program mandated under the Food Quality Protection
Act of 1996 and the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996. In FY 2003, EPA will continue
to: develop state-of-the-art methods and conduct studies in laboratory species, ecological systems,
and human populations with suspected contamination or exposure; develop physiologically-based
pharmacokinetic (PBPK) and biologically-based dose-response (BBDR) models; identify major
sources of EDCs entering the environment; and develop tools for risk assessment and risk
management.

As in the past, EDC-related work will be organized along an integrated pathway of effects,
exposure, risk assessment, and risk management research. Effects research is needed to determine
the nature and extent of adverse effects in humans and wildlife caused by exposure to EDCs. Efforts
in this area will focus on: 1) developing and standardizing protocols for the Agency's screening and
testing program to identify endocrine disrupting chemicals; 2) determining the unique relationship
between developmental exposures (e.g., prenatal and early postnatal) and the onset and severity of
adverse health outcomes later in life (adulthood); and 3) determining the degree to which the effects
of EDCs can be extrapolated across species.

Exposure research is needed to characterize the key factors contributing to how, when, and
where EDC exposures occur and their magnitude. Efforts will focus on: 1) developing analytical
and measurement tools for characterizing and quantifying EDC exposures; and 2) planning and
conducting exposure studies to better define the spatial and temporal variability of real-world EDC
exposures.

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Assessment work will result in the development of an analytical framework and guidelines
for evaluating health and ecological impacts of reported endocrine disruptors. To achieve this, risk
assessment research will: 1) identify key risk assessment issues for evaluating endocrine disruptors;
2) identify methods to adequately evaluate data on the effects of EDCs on human health and the
environment; 3) develop a framework that supports proper assessment of EDCs; and 4) develop and
document guidance, incorporating this framework, for assessing EDCs.

Risk management research will identify current EDC releases that can be mitigated or
eliminated by existing risk management tools and will develop new tools to manage current and
future EDC risks. Initial efforts will focus on the following sources of exposure: 1) combustion, 2)
confined animal feeding operations, 3) drinking water treatment, 4) contaminated sediments, and 5)
waste water treatment.

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are used throughout the world in
quantities on a par with agricultural chemicals, and represent a growing area of concern to the
scientific community. PPCPs comprise very large, broad, and diverse classes of often highly
bioactive and potentially endocrine disrupting chemicals. In contrast to agricultural chemicals, most
of these products are disposed of, or discharged, into the environment on a continual basis via
domestic/industrial sewage systems and wet-weather runoff. The occurrence, fate, and effects (both
ecological and human) of PPCPs in the environment are poorly defined. Research will focus on: 1)
framing initial risk assessments that will help chart the focus of future work; 2) developing
requisite analytical methods for target PPCPs; 3) initiating small-scale proof-of-concept and early
warning environmental monitoring; 4) promoting scientific dialogue at national and international
levels; 5) and communicating knowledge to the public.

Mercury

Mercury is released from a variety of sources, exhibits complicated biogeochemistry, and
proceeds via several different pathways to humans and wildlife. After release, mercury undergoes
complicated transformations and speciation changes that can result in highly toxic methylmercury,
an organic form of mercury. Methylmercury bioaccumulates in fish and animal tissue, and human
exposure to methylmercury has been associated with serious neurological and developmental effects.
Because it is persistent and because of the risks of neurological and reproductive problems for
humans and wildlife, it is a pollutant of considerable human health and environmental concern.

Since the developing nervous system is more vulnerable to mercury toxicity, children
exposed to methylmercury through their mother's consumption of fish, and individuals who eat large
amounts of fish from local waters, can be particularly at risk of adverse effects. The presence of
mercury in freshwater fish higher in the food chain is the most frequent basis for fish advisories.
Almost 79 percent of all advisories in the United States are at least partly due to mercury
contamination in fish and shellfish. As of December 2000, mercury was the chemical contaminant
responsible, at least in part, for the issuance of2,242 fish consumption advisories by 41 states, in one

VIII-30


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or more water bodies; 13 states have issued statewide mercury advisories.

Several research issues will continue to be emphasized in FY 2003, including: 1)
measurement methods, continuous emissions monitoring, and control technologies for combustion
sources of mercury; 2) source characterization and cataloguing from non-combustion sources; 3)
atmospheric, aquatic, and terrestrial transport, transformation, and fate of mercury; 4)
ecological/environmental effects assessment of mercury; 5) mercury risk communication strategies
(especially to sensitive subpopulations); 6) disposal of excess mercury stocks and improved
management of mercury wastes; 7) studies of options for controlling mercury releases from
contaminated media (e.g., sediments and landfills); and 8) studies of performance, cost, and residue
of mercury control technologies, including methods for reducing emissions from coal fire utility
boilers. Research in FY 2003 will provide data on measurement methods and control technology
performance, cost, and residues that can be used to make informed choices on reducing the risks
associated with mercury and methylmercury. EPA will place increased emphasis on research related
to atmospheric chemistry, transport modeling and ecological assessment. FY 2003 research will also
focus on the atmospheric transport, transformation, and fate from source to deposition point. Studies
will focus on the Arctic depletion event and the mechanisms that transform elemental mercury to the
reactive gaseous form in the upper atmosphere. Additional research will support the development of
a watershed biogeochemical model for aquatic exposures in response to atmospheric deposition and
within-watershed sources. This model will be used to evaluate the impacts of internal cycling versus
long-range transport and the responses of fish concentrations to mitigation measures, and will have
potential applications for development of mercury total maximum daily loads (TMDLs).

Socio-Economic Research

Effective accomplishment of EPA's mission depends on understanding not only the physical
and biological effects of environmental changes, but also the behavioral causes and consequences of
those changes. The focus of socio-economic research at EPA is to develop a better basis for making
decisions using sound assessments of human behavior that affect environmental outcomes. Priority
socio-economic research identified by EPA economists and outside experts includes: ecosystem and
human health benefits valuation; decision-making processes that incorporate non-market benefits;
value of information; corporate environmental behavior and the effectiveness of government
interventions; and effective group or community decision-making.

Research conducted in FY 2003 will enhance environmental decision-making by improving
the understanding of how people value the environment, and will focus on difficult valuation issues
of critical concern to environmental decision makers as they evaluate the justification for
environmental policy initiatives. This is particularly important to regulatory programs that must
conduct cost-benefit analyses. Ecosystem valuation is one of the top research priorities for Agency
rule development due to extensive gaps in the information we have about biodiversity, habitat,
wildlife, and different ecosystem states. Research on market mechanisms and incentives will
support investigations that explore the conditions under which financial and other performance
incentives will achieve environmental objectives (e.g., pollution reduction, habitat preservation) at a
lower cost or more effectively than traditional regulatory approaches. This research will also help

VIII-31


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Federal and state agencies understand how regulated entities respond to the incentives for
environmental compliance offered through enforcement, compliance assistance, and information and
voluntary mechanisms.

Exploratory Grants and Minority Programs

A blue ribbon panel of the Science Advisory Board recommended in 1994 that EPA enhance
its environmental education programs for training the next generation of scientists and engineers.

In FY 2003, the Exploratory Grants research program will publish an annual general
solicitation to promote research in areas where significant gaps in scientific knowledge and
understanding exist. This program provides opportunities for individual investigators from the
academic research community to conceive, define, and propose research projects. Topics from a
broad variety of areas, such as environmental chemistry and physics, health and ecological effects of
pollution, and nanotechnology can be addressed under the Exploratory Grants program. The
proposals are competitively reviewed by panels of non-EPA researchers, with only the most
scientifically sound proposals ultimately receiving support. The major program outputs are
scientific articles published in peer-reviewed literature; these publications are intended to enhance
scientific knowledge and understanding, and to be used as the basis for more targeted, applied
environmental research programs.

EPA will also direct special grant solicitations to support research at Minority Institutions.
This program specifically assists minority institutions in establishing and supporting environmental
research activities that would build capacity to assess and solve environmental problems. A broad
range of research in risk assessment and risk management will be supported at these institutions.

Improve Economic Information and Methods

In addition to the developments in risk assessment, EPA will continue to improve the
economic information and methods available for use in the Agency' s regulatory and policy analyses.
In 2003, the Agency will invest in new economic research and analyses to improve measures of the
benefits and costs of EPA programs. EPA will conduct economic analyses of emerging issues and
provide economic analyses to fill key gaps in the Agency's ability to quantify the benefits of
environmental regulations. Economic valuation studies will be undertaken to quantify human
health and ecological benefits from air, water and waste management programs. EPA will continue
to convene economic research and policy workshops, bringing economists together to explore
important topics, such as economic valuation of reduced risks to children, use of market-based
approaches to environmental management, the economics of emerging environmental policies (e.g.,
bioenergy and genetically modified organisms), and the measurement of values from reduced
mortality risks. EPA will continue to analyze the environmental impacts from changes in economic
markets associated with new international trade policies and proposals. EPA will continue to engage
the Science Advisory Board on new research and analytical methods being considered by EPA to
assess and manage environmental risks. Also, EPA and the National Science Foundation will
continue to support a series of new economic research solicitations directed at such priorities as

VIII-32


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valuation of health benefits, market-based mechanisms and economic incentives, and corporate
environmental performance and the effectiveness of government intervention.

FY 2003 Change from FY 2002 Enacted

S&T

•	(+$1,152,700) This represents a realignment of Minority Programs from the Superfund
appropriation (in Objective 5.1) into the Science and Technology appropriation (in Objective
8.3). This will enhance the program by allowing for a broader scope of work to be done.
The program specifically assists minority institutions in establishing and supporting
environmental research activities that will build capacity to assess and solve environmental
problems. A broad range of research issues will be supported at these institutions.

•	(+$440,000, + 4 FTE) This represents an increase in workyears to the EDCs program. These
resources will focus on computational toxicology, specifically techniques of molecular
profiling as the foundation for determining genes responsible for specific mechanisms
EDCs' toxicity.

•	(-$9,700,000, -1 FTE) Funding for EPA's STAR Fellowship Program was eliminated in FY
2003 as part of a larger effort to increase environmental science education programs at the
National Science Foundation. We will finish the commitment to fellowships awarded in
previous years. However, fellowships that support minority academic institutions will
continue.

•	(-$3,753,800) The FY 2003 Request is $3,753,800 below the 2002 Enacted budget due to
the Congressional earmarks received during the appropriations process which are not
included in the 2003 President's Request.

•	(-$1,440,700, -2 FTE) This reduction reflects funding provided in the FY 2002 Emergency
Supplemental Appropriation used to perform research to enhance understanding of
biological agents and the ability to mitigate and prevent harm caused by these agents.

Annual Performance Goals and Measures

Research

Mercury Research

In 2003 Support development of regulations on mercury emissions from coal-fired utility boilers by producing data on measurement methods
and control technology performance, cost, and residues so that EPA can effectively reduce human health and environmental risk
from mercury.

In 2002 Provide methods for quantifying mercury emissions from manmade sources to improve domestic and international estimates of
mercury levels, and assess the cost and performance of control/prevention options for key sources, such as utility boilers.

In 2001 EPA developed a new peer-reviewed and consensus IRIS entry for methylmercury, including a reference dose (RfD). The results of
bench and pilot testing aimed at managing mercury risks from coal-fired utility boilers was delayed until FY 2002.

Performance Measures:	FY 2001	FY 2002	FY 2003

VIII-33


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Publish results of bench and pilot testing aimed at identifying
improved sorbents for mercury mitigation from coal-fired
utility boilers.

Make recommendations, as appropriate, for revision of EPA's
RfD for methylmercury based on analysis of the National
Academy of Sciences report on mercury.

Report on the parameters that impact both the species of
mercury in coal-fired utility boiler flue gas and the
performance of promising mercury control technologies.

Report on the performance/cost of reducing mercury
emissions taking into account coal properties,combustion
conditions, flue gas cleaning technologies and other air
pollution control systems.

Baseline: EPAs Mercury Study Report to Congress identified emissions from coal-fired utilities as one of the most significant contributors of
mercury to the air. On December 14, 2000, EPA determined that mercury emissions from coal-fired utilities needed to be
regulated. Regulations are to be promulgated in three years and finalized a year after that. The most cost-effective technological
approaches for controlling mercury emissions from utilities are not well understood. Control technologies must be evaluated
prior to regulation with a goal of minimizing mercury emissions at the lowest possible cost.

Coordination with Other Agencies

Research

The broad nature of the EDCs issue necessitates a coordinated effort on both the national and
international levels. EPA has shown extensive leadership at both levels - chairing the Committee on
Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) interagency working group and chairing a Steering
Group on Endocrine Disruptors under the auspices of the World Health Organization's International
Program on Chemical Safety (IPC/WHO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). Due to the complex nature of the uncertainties posed by endocrine
disrupting chemicals, the overlapping concerns of Federal agencies, and the resource constraints on
the Federal budget, close coordination and cooperation among Federal agencies are essential to the
resolution of critical research questions. While the CENR provides the umbrella for this
coordination, individual agencies are responsible for the development of their own independent
research plans. Under EPA's leadership, an inventory of Federal research on endocrine disruption
has been developed and is used to evaluate Federal efforts, identify research gaps and establish
priorities, and clarify governmental roles and responsibilities (www.epa.gov/endocrine).

Working with other nations, EPA has expanded the U.S. Federal inventory to include
projects from Canada, Japan, and Europe and has turned it into a Global Endocrine Disruptors
Research Inventory with close to 800 projects. The joint IPC/WHO - OECD Steering Group on
Endocrine Disruptors is developing a "Global State-of-the-Science Review," scheduled for
completion in calendar year 2002. Both the inventory and the international assessment result from
recommendations made at the 1997 G-8 Environmental Ministers' Meeting. In FY 2003, EPA will
continue to collaborate with European countries under the U.S.-EU Science and Technology
Agreement and with Japanese scientists under the U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement.

Actual	Enacted	Request

0	publication

30-Sep-2001	recommendations

report

1	report

VIII-34


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EPA is in a unique position to focus Federal pollution prevention efforts in the critical area of
mercury research. Progress has been made in organizing the concepts and ideals of pollution
prevention in the private sector, but much work remains. The Agency, through partnerships with
private sector companies, non-profits, other Federal agencies, universities, and states, including
California EPA, has worked to identify and control human exposure to methylmercury. EPA has
also been working with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey to address risk
management issues associated with mercury emissions from utilities as well as issues on the
ecological effects of mercury and environmental processes effecting the fate and behavior of
mercury.

EPA will continue to support jointly sponsored economic workshops with other regulatory
agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture, to address the
economic valuation of human health effects. These workshops on economics and environmental
policy will continue to draw upon EPA-sponsored economic research, facilitating information
exchanges among academic and Federal regulatory agency representatives. EPA is also
coordinating its research strategy with other federal agencies interested in environmental economics
and social science research including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Science
Foundation (NSF).

Statutory Authorities

Research

Clean Air Act (CAA) and amendments

Environmental Research, Development and Demonstration Act (ERDDA)

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and amendments

TSCA sections 4,5 and 6 (15 U.S.C 2603, 2604, and 2605)

CWA sections 304 and 308 (33 U.S.C 1312, 1314, 1318, 1329-1330, 1443)

SDWA section 1412 (42 U.S.C. 210, 300g-l)

RCRA/HSWA: (33 U.S.C. 40(IV)(2761), 42 U.S.C. 82(VIII)(6981-6983)

CAA: 42 U.S.C. 85(I)(A)(7403, 7412, 7429, 7545, 7612)

CERCLA: 42 U.S.C. 103(III)(9651)

PPA (42 U.S.C. 13101-13109)

Federal Technology Transfer Act

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Improve Environmental Systems Management.

Provide tools and technologies to improve environmental systems management while
continuing to prevent and control pollution and reduce human health and ecological risks originating
from multiple economic sectors.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Improve Environmental Systems
Management.

$59,130.3

$57,757.0

$52,274.1

($5,482.9)

Environmental Program & Management

$6,310.6

$5,648.9

$2,706.1

($2,942.8)

Hazardous Substance Superfund

$0.0

$0.0

$2,468.0

$2,468.0

Science & Technology

$52,819.7

$52,108.1

$47,100.0

($5,008.1)

Total Workyears

164.5

148.2

146.6

-1.6

Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Enacted

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Administrative Services

$92.3

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0

Congressionally Mandated Projects

$8,705.0

$13,512.1

$0.0

($13,512.1)

Environmental Technology Verification
(ETV)

$6,294.0

$3,607.7

$3,617.6

$9.9

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$3,204.5

$2,290.0

$2,084.0

($206.0)

Homeland Security

$0.0

$40.4

$1,875.0

$1,834.6

Legal Services

$237.1

$251.9

$270.7

$18.8

Management Services and Stewardship

$872.7

$382.0

$351.4

($30.6)

Research to Support Pollution Prevention

$39,156.5

$37,672.9

$44,075.4

$6,402.5

VIII-36


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FY 2003 Request

In FY 2003, the Agency will continue to move from one-dimensional solutions involving a
single medium/single pollutant to an integrated, systems-based approach stressing pollution
prevention. This approach more closely fits with the Agency' s complex challenge of responding to
the multiple, interactive stressors that threaten both human and environmental health, enables a more
thorough assessment of human health and environmental risks, and supports a more complete set of
management responses to those risks. EPA will accomplish its holistic approach to pollution
prevention through research on pollution prevention tools and technologies, green chemistry,
environmental systems management, and environmental technology verification, and through the
National Environmental Technology Competition.

This objective focuses on the development of tools and methodologies to assist decision-
makers in choosing the most preferred pollution prevention options. Research in FY 2003 will: (1)
provide methods and models for management and prevention of source-specific emissions that
threaten public health and ecological systems; (2) provide methods and tools to compare risks
associated with different treatment technologies and management options; (3) develop more flexible
and useful life cycle assessment methods; (4) incorporate life cycle and cost engineering concepts
into industrial process simulators; (5) improve the ability to measure and objectively evaluate the
environmental and human health impacts of risk management options; and (6) advance impact
assessment theories, methodologies, and tools, including the capability to address such non-chemical
impacts as resource depletion, habitat alteration, and decreased biodiversity. This research will also
accelerate the adoption and incorporation of pollution prevention by developing, testing, and
demonstrating technologies and approaches applicable across economic sectors. In a broader
context, pollution prevention tools and technologies research will continue expanding beyond its
traditional focus on industrial sectors to other sectors (e.g., energy, agriculture) and ecosystems.

EPA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, which is funded through a
2.5% set-aside of the Agency's extramural research and development budget, makes awards to
small, high-tech firms to help develop and move new environmental tools and technologies from
"proof of concept" to commercialization. The SBIR program targets research to prevent pollution,
reduce water and air pollution, manage solid and hazardous wastes, and improve environmental
monitoring - in each case addressing priorities in the Agency' s Strategic Plan. Recognizing that the
expense of carrying out research and development programs is often beyond the means of small
businesses, SBIR participants receive both financial and technical assistance in developing and
commercializing technologies according to the anticipated market. The technologies developed
under SBIR help the regulated community meet environmental requirements in a more cost-effective
manner (e.g., small water systems meet the new drinking water standard for arsenic); enable industry
to reduce the use of toxic and hazardous materials in production processes and in recovering and
recycling materials for reuse; and provide new approaches to designing more environmentally
friendly products.

Green chemistry and clean technologies, fundamental approaches to preventing pollution at
the source, involve the design of chemicals and alternative chemical syntheses that do not use toxic

VIII-37


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feedstock, reagents, or solvents, and do not produce toxic by-products or co-products. Green
chemistry research will provide generic guidance to industry, particularly small and medium-sized
companies, for selecting cleaner reaction pathways for conducting syntheses of a wide variety of
organic products. Green chemistry research will also contribute to the development of safer
commercial substances and environmentally friendly chemical syntheses. Research on clean
technologies will be focused on designing, developing and verifying alternative materials, products,
and processes that minimize use, emission, and discharge of toxic chemicals in mining, metal
finishing, building/construction, and chemical sectors. This type of research is also conducted in
partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) through EPA's Technology for a
Sustainable Environment (TSE) program, which supports the development of cutting-edge pollution
prevention technology through chemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering, industrial ecology,
and environmentally benign manufacturing tools. Research performed under the banner of industrial
ecology will generate engineering or economic approaches to prevent or reduce waste from discrete
and continuous industrial manufacturing activities. Efforts will explore equipment and technology
modifications, reformulation of products, substitution of alternative materials, and in-process
changes in order to reduce harmful emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), global
warming compounds, and persistent bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs).

A critical enabler of green chemistry and clean technologies is the development of technical
tools that facilitate the development of technologies. The development of life cycle assessment
(LCA) tools, specifically the simplified tools that can be afforded by small businesses, is a critical
need to be addressed in product and process design. Other tools in this category are computer-based
methods for assessing environmental impacts of products and processes, for designing cleaner
processes, designing non-toxic solvents and solvent mixtures, and constructing a web-based LCA
data portal. Research in green chemistry and clean technologies will be conducted in partnership
with program and regional offices and industry.

The Agency will additionally support prevention, minimization, and, when possible,
elimination of PBTs by improving methods for their identification and testing. Research will focus
on the following areas: (1) dioxins/furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); (2) persistent
organic pollutants; (3) mercury B from source characterization to retirement of mercury stocks; and
(4) the development of a national routine PBT monitoring strategy. By concentrating on these areas,
EPA will advance the understanding of exposure, assessment, and management of PBTs while
simultaneously working toward PBT prevention.

Another facet of this objective, environmental systems management research, endeavors to
integrate environmental management with economic development and social equity, while
simultaneously expanding environmental stewardship by industries, governments, and citizens.
FY 2003 research in this area will explore the principles governing sustainable systems; the
integration of social, economic, and environmental objectives in environmental assessment and
management for communities, watersheds, and eco-regions; and the development of principles for
the sustainable use of biotechnological systems. All these research efforts have been fashioned to
include partners in EPA regions and several environmental institutes so that valuable inputs from
potential users can be incorporated in the initial phases of this research.

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Another component of research under this objective, the Environmental Technology
Verification (ETV) program, addresses the difficulty of garnering financial support for and public
acceptance of environmental technologies. ETV is a voluntary, market-grounded verification
program for commercial-ready technologies, with over 1,000 stakeholders who represent all points
of view within environmental areas. The goal of ETV is to verify the performance characteristics of
private-sector-developed technologies so that purchasers, users, and permit writers have the
information they need to make environmentally-beneficial decisions. The program is designed so
that, as the value of ETV verification becomes more broadly appreciated, technology developers will
be required to cover an increasing share of the verification costs.

By the end of FY 2003, the ETV program will have delivered more than 150 test plans and
protocols, making them available to the entire research and testing community, and will have
verified over 200 technologies, making data on their performance available for public use.
Technology verifications during FY 2003 will focus on advanced monitoring; air pollution control;
greenhouse gas abatement; drinking water systems; and water protection. EPA will continue to
enhance program outreach efforts through the ETV website, national conferences and workshops,
and state permit writer training.

EPA will also facilitate the adoption of innovative environmental technologies by the public
and private sectors through the final component of this objective, the National Environmental
Technology Competition (NETC). This new effort for FY 2003 addresses both the need for
innovative technologies to solve environmental problems and the reluctance of potential buyers to
assume the economic risks of using an unproven technology. Through NETC, EPA and its
stakeholders will identify and prioritize environmental problems that can benefit from targeted, cost-
effective technological solutions. EPA will develop competitive solicitations for technologies in a
specified problem area (e.g., arsenic removal) and an external peer review panel will select the most
promising technologies. In an effort to enhance the marketability and use of these innovative
technologies, EPA will offer the winning technologies honorary awards, recognition, and other
support to assist in commercialization.

In FY 2003, an area for technology solicitations will be arsenic removal from drinking water.
This work will be an important source of EPA's commitment for research and development of more
cost-effective treatment technologies to help small community water systems meet the new arsenic
drinking water standard. Other potential areas for technology solicitations include: models to
support effluent trading plans for total maximum daily loads (TMDLs); water and wastewater
infrastructure repair and replacement; reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; and continuous
monitoring of mercury in flue gases. Both EPA and states will encourage the use of NETC
technologies by disseminating information and by using the technologies as performance
benchmarks in regulations or enforcement agreements, or as a basis for cap-and-trade approaches.
NETC will lead to better understanding between EPA and the industrial sector of areas of
environmental concern, to the alignment of future environmental requirements with technology
performance capabilities, to an increase in the quantity and quality of cost-effective options for the
mitigation and prevention of environmental problems, and ultimately to a cleaner, safer environment

VIII-39


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through a new level of environmental stewardship by industry and government.

Annual Performance Goals and Measures

Research

Pollution Prevention Tools and Methodologies

In 2002 Improve P2 tools for the industrial sector and other sectors by providing updated/new methods and approaches to help users simulate
product, process or system redesign and evaluate resulting pollution levels, impacts and costs.

In 2001 EPA integrated a waste reduction algorithm with costing software and a chemical process simulation package, and completed a

decision support tool for life cycle analysis of municipal solid waste to enhance a preventive approach to risk management and
the use of pollution prevention options.

Performance Measures:

Integrate the process change/waste reduction algorithm
(WAR) with costing software (Icarus) and a chemical process
simulation package (Aspen).

Complete a decision support tool for life cycle analysis of
municipal solid waste management options.

Publish a peer-reviewed protocol for conducting Risk
Management Evaluations.

Complete grant on development of tool for predicting
biodegradability of compounds.

Enhance the Waste Reduction Algorithm environmental
impact assessment tool used to design or retrofit chemical
processes with: (1) a better assessment methodology and (2)
new features (costing).

Prepare a pest resistance management framework to prolong
the effectiveness of genetically-modified corn pesticide
characteristics for the Office of Pesticide Programs during
product registration.

Provide a PC-based tool for use by EPA and the metal
finishing sector in evaluating exposure and inhalation health
risks to workers and residents living near metal finishing
facilities.

FY 2001
Actual

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

package

tool & report
protocol
grant report
method

protocol

risk tool

Baseline: Although pollution prevention is the preferred approach to protecting human health and the environment, implementation of
preventive approaches is hampered by a lack of available information on comparative risks, effectiveness, and costs of
alternatives. Current tools for evaluating proposed changes in products, processes, or system designs are focused on only a few
sectors; limited in availability, ease of use, and application; and restricted in their capability to determine pollution levels, health
and environmental impacts, and costs of the proposed changes. This research will produce a set of improved tools for the
chemical, coatings, metal finishing and other sectors that will be widely available, easy to use, and applicable for evaluating
alternative approaches and predicting results, at relatively low cost, prior to the investment of capital in these alternatives.

New Technologies

In 2003 Develop 10 testing protocols and complete 40 technology verifications for a cumulative Environmental Technology Verification

(ETV) program total of 230 to aid industry, states, and consumers in choosing effective technologies to protect the public and
environment from high risk pollutants.

In 2002 Formalize generic testing protocols for technology performance verification, and provide additional performance verifications of
pollution prevention, control and monitoring technologies in all environmental media.

In 2001 EPA developed, evaluated, and delivered technologies and aproaches that eliminate, minimize, or control high risk pollutants from
multiple sectors. Delivery of the evaluative report on the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) pilot program is
delayed until FY 2002.

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Performance Measures:	FY 2001	FY 2002	FY 2003

Actual	Enacted	Request

Deliver a Report to Congress on the status and effectiveness	0	report

of the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV)

Program during its first five years.

Complete performance evaluations of various metal finishing	1	report

processes aimed at zero-discharge metal pretreatment as
replacements for more hazardous processes.

Complete a capstone report summarizing current knowledge	1	report

about volatile organic compounds and hazardous air
pollutants emissions from paints used indoors.

Develop new process for drycleaning microelectronic wafers	0	grant report

to decrease water usage and toxic chemicals.

Complete 20 stakeholder approved and peer-reviewed test	20	protocols

protocols in all environmental technology categories under
ETV, and provide them to testing organizations world-wide.

Verify and provide information to States, technology	40 verifications

purchasers, and the public on 40 air, water, pollution
prevention and monitoring technologies for an ETV
programmatic total of 230 verifications.

Complete an additional 10 stakeholder approved and peer-	10 protocols

reviewed test protocols in all environmental technology
categories under ETV, and provide them to testing
organizations world-wide.

Baseline: Actual environmental risk reduction is directly related to performance and effectiveness of environmental technologies purchased and
used. Private sector technology developers produce almost all of the new technologies purchased in the U.S. and around the
world. Purchasers and permitters of environmental technologies need an independent, objective, high quality source of
performance information in order to make more informed decisions; and vendors with innovative, improved, faster, and cheaper
environmental technologies need a reliable source of independent evaluation to be able to penetrate the environmental
technology market. In FY 02, the first year of operating, after the pilot period ended in FY 01, the Environmental Technology
Verification (ETV) Program will have delivered in FY 02 more than 20 additional protocols, making them available to the entire
research and testing community, and will have verified approximately 30 additional technologies for a programmatic total of
180, making data on their performance available for public use as well.

Verification and Validation of Performance Measures

FY 2003 Congressional Performance Measure (PM): Verify and provide information to states,
technology purchasers, and the public on 40 air, water, pollution prevention, and monitoring
technologies for an ETV programmatic total of 230 verifications.

Performance Database: Program output, no internal tracking system

Data Source: N/A

QA/QC Procedures: N/A

Data Quality Reviews: Technology verifications

Data Limitations: N/A

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New/Improved Data or Systems: N/A

FY 2003 Congressional Performance Measure (PM): Complete an additional 10 stakeholder
approved and peer-reviewed test protocols in all environmental technology categories under
ETV, and provide them to testing organizations world-wide.

Performance Database: Program outputs, no internal tracking system

Data Source: N/A

QA/QC Procedures: N/A

Data Quality Reviews: Test protocols
Data Limitations: N/A

New/Improved Data or Systems: N/A

FY 2003 Change from FY 2002

S&T

(+$9,750,000) This increase represents a new effort for FY 2003, the National
Environmental Technology Competition (NETC), which will foster the adoption of cost-
effective technologies for environmental priority areas by the public and private sectors
through a competitive award process. NETC will lead to better understanding between EPA
and the industrial sector of areas of environmental concern, to the alignment of future
environmental requirements with technology performance capabilities, and to an increase in
the quantity and quality of cost-effective options for the mitigation and prevention of
environmental problems. Through coordination with states, Program and Regional Offices,
and other stakeholders, EPA will prioritize areas of environmental concern that can benefit
from the application of innovative technologies. One of the areas planned for competitive
solicitations will be treatment technologies for arsenic in small community drinking water
systems. Another potential area for competitive solicitations is models to support effluent
trading plans for total maximum daily loads (TMDLs).

(-$9,610,700) The FY 2003 Request does not include $9,610,700 contained in the
FY 2002 Enacted budget level due to Congressional earmarks from the appropriations
process not carried forward in the FY 2003 President's Request.

(-$3,000,000) This FY 2003 reduction eliminated funding for FY 2002 Congressionally-
directed work under the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC).

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•	(-$2,030,100) This reduction relates to the change in resources set aside for the Small
Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program from its FY2002 levels, and is primarily due
to the fact that FY2002 Congressional earmarks are not included in the FY2003 Presidents
Request.

EPM

•	(-$2,535,100) The FY 2003 Request is $2,535,100 below the FY 2002 Enacted budget level
due to Congressional earmarks received during the FY 2002 appropriations process that are
not included in the FY 2003 Presidents Request.

•	(-$189,900) This reduction relates to the change in resources set aside for the Small Business
Innovative Research (SBIR) Program from its FY 2002 levels, and is primarily due to the
fact that FY 2002 Congressional earmarks are not included in the FY 2003 Presidents
Request.

Superfund

•	(+$1,875,000) This increase relates to resources set aside for the Small Business Innovative
Research (SBIR) Program and allocated in FY 2003 for Homeland Security building
decontamination technology development by small businesses.

Coordination with Other Agencies

Research

Pollution prevention, cost benefit analyses, and environmental technology verification are all
research areas that lend themselves to and benefit from engagement with other Federal
organizations.

In partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), EPA's Technology for a
Sustainable Environment (TSE) program supports the development of cutting-edge pollution
prevention technology through chemistry, chemical engineering, industrial ecology, and
manufacturing. The EPA/NSF partnership in TSE is entering its seventh year of supporting research
to prevent pollution at its source.

Under the Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxics (PBT) program, EPA has been working with
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a national routine
PBT monitoring strategy. Through the integration of existing monitoring programs, this new
strategy will ultimately meet the mutual monitoring objectives of EPA and other Federal agencies.

EPA has contributed projects to the Department of Defense's (DOD's) Strategic
Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), with particular emphasis on the

VIII-43


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pollution prevention pillar and the use of life cycle thinking in addressing the production and
manufacture of weapons and military hardware. Preliminary contacts have been made with the
Department of Agriculture (USD A) regarding life cycle analysis and a preventive approach for the
development and advancement of biologically and genetically altered products. Additionally, EPA
andDOD'sU.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue addressing the costs and benefits associated
with the implementation of new engineering projects and technologies in order to understand and
respond to the economic impacts of environmental innovation.

With respect to the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program, EPA has co-
funded efforts to verify the performance of site characterization and monitoring devices with the
Department of Energy's (DOE) Sandia and Oak Ridge National Laboratories. EPA signed a
Memorandum of Agreement with DOD to verify jointly environmental technologies that are of
mutual interest to EPA and DOD's Environmental Security Technology Certification Program
(ESTCP). In June 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and EPA signed a Memorandum of
Agreement to verify jointly the performance of innovative environmental technologies to control
ballast water discharges that may contain invasive species and that have had significant and adverse
economical and ecological impacts.

Statutory Authorities

Research

Clean Air Act

Safe Drinking Water Act

Clean Water Act

Toxic Substances Control Act

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

Pollution Prevention Act of 1990

Small Business Innovation Development Act

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Quantify Environmental Results of Partnership Approaches.

Increase partnership-based projects with counties, cities, states, tribes, resource conservation
districts, and/or bioregions, bringing together needed external and internal stakeholders, and quantify
the tangible and sustainable environmental results of integrated, holistic, partnership approaches.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Quantify Environmental Results of
Partnership Approaches.

$9,539.9

$8,672.7

$9,058.4

$385.7

Environmental Program & Management

$9,539.9

$8,672.7

$9,058.4

$385.7

Total Workyears

16.1

16.7

18.0

1.3

Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Enacted

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Congressionally Mandated Projects

$698.5

$700.0

$0.0

($700.0)

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$0.0

$215.6

$241.9

$26.3

Legal Services

$42.9

$47.3

$53.3

$6.0

Management Services and Stewardship

$164.1

$100.6

$112.1

$11.5

Regional Geographic Program

$8,192.3

$7,609.2

$8,651.1

$1,041.9

Regional Management

$506.4

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0











VIII-45


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FY 2003 Request

The Regional Geographic Initiatives (RGI) program is a holistic approach to long-term,
cross-programmatic environmental enhancement that has proved successful in repeated applications.

Since 1994, the RGI program has funded hundreds of projects, including projects in all 50
states, in Tribal lands, and in U.S. territories and possessions. The RGI program is a critical
resource for place-based, state-of-the-art multi-media projects and has succeeded in fostering a wide
array of partnerships, including those with states, businesses and local communities. The RGI
program is different from other, more traditional EPA programs in that it addresses environmental
risk holistically (multi-media) and actively fosters partnering. RGI is, therefore, EPA's role model
for transitioning from a single-media to a multi-media focus, based on consensus building, science,
and risk.

One of the hallmarks of the RGI program has always been the ability to use RGI funds to
"leverage" funds from a wide variety of outside sources. Practically all of the grants made under
this program include the commitment of substantial funds from EPA's partners, often greatly in
excess of the funding level provided by EPA. The RGI Program enables EPA Regional offices to
work with states, local governments and the private sector, in specific places on problems identified
as high priority by the Regions, based on both national and regional criteria, and to bring additional
resources to bear from EPA partners in a highly focused effort.

The funding for this effort was established in 1993 to enable the Regions to apply state-of-
the-art, multi-media approaches to projects designed to bridge the gap between media-based,
program-driven funding priorities, and the cross-jurisdictional, multi-media priorities identified by
Regional comparative risk exercises. It funds projects that are important to the regions and the
states, but which are not funded elsewhere in EPA's budget, such as an ozone flex project in six
southern states that allows areas in near non-attainment to develop voluntary air quality plans
tailored to local needs.

FY 2003 Change from FY 2002 Enacted

EPM

•(+$1,000,000) The FY 2003 Request is $1,000,000 above the FY 2002 Enacted level to enable the
Regions to address their priority funding needs for multi-media, community-based environmental
protection activities. This will fund 12-20 new projects, allowing states, local governments, and
private partners to identify community-specific solutions to their unique environmental issues.

Verification and Validation of PMs

None

VIII-46


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Coordination with Other Agencies

None

Statutory Authorities

Multi-media

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Incorporate Innovative Approaches.

Incorporate innovative approaches to environmental management into EPA programs, so that
EPA and external partners achieve greater and more cost-effective public health and environmental
protection.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Incorporate Innovative Approaches.

$24,887.3

$23,324.5

$29,787.9

$6,463.4

Environmental Program & Management

$24,488.2

$23,324.5

$29,787.9

$6,463.4

Science & Technology

$399.1

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0

Total Workyears

127.1

120.2

126.7

6.5

Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Enacted

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Administrative Services

$64.6

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0

Common Sense Initiative

$1,781.1

$1,838.7

$0.0

($1,838.7)

Congressionally Mandated Projects

$4,729.4

$1,000.0

$0.0

($1,000.0)

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$0.0

$1,784.4

$1,821.7

$37.3

Legal Services

$328.8

$380.3

$409.3

$29.0

Management Services and Stewardship

$34.0

$186.1

$168.7

($17.4)

Performance Track

$1,995.6

$1,834.6

$1,834.6

$0.0

Project XL

$2,948.9

$0.0

$0.0

$0.0

Regulatory Development

$10,430.3

$13,251.3

$22,429.6

$9,178.3

Small Business Ombudsman

$3,000.9

$3,049.1

$3,124.0

$74.9

FY 2003 Request

A critical priority for EPA in FY 2003 will be to improve the Agency's regulatory and policy
development process. The Agency will strengthen the policy analysis of key regulatory and non-
regulatory actions, improve the economic analysis underlying Agency actions, and improve the

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regulatory and policy action information management system. The multimedia analysis will include
policy option analysis, regulatory analysis, and analysis of innovative policy approaches. Work will
also be directed at strengthening accountability to stakeholders by improving the quality and
availability of regulatory data to stakeholders.

In order to reform the regulatory system to achieve better results at less cost, without
sacrificing public health or environmental protection, EPA will pursue a program focused on sectors,
facility-based pilots, small business, performance incentives, and communities. In the course of this
work, the Agency will continue to work closely with states, tribes, and local governments, and will
pay particular attention to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. EPA's revised strategy
for innovation, the product of deliberation among all the Regional and media offices, will be
reflected in a report to be issued in mid 2002.

EPA's community-based approach works to provide integrated assessment tools and
information for environmental protection in partnership with local, state, and Tribal governments.
EPA Regions also provide direct assistance to communities to assist them in implementing local
environmental management efforts and in building capacity for local problem solving. In FY 2003,
EPA will continue to support over 150 demonstration projects assisting local community
environmental planning and management. These projects strengthen local and intergovernmental
partnerships to address risks to human health and ecosystems that provide goods and services to our
communities. Specifically, EPA will provide assistance to communities to help them identify the
integrated set of local environmental issues and develop strategies to address interconnected issues
with appropriate regulatory and non-regulatory tools. EPA will also provide tools and information
to build better stakeholder involvement and to assist communities in conducting assessments of
environmental issues. EPA will assist local communities with identifying measures of performance
to enlighten local decisions and assess the value of various models of community-based efforts.
EPA will also conduct evaluations of existing projects to assess and fine-tune its own approaches
and to derive direction for future demonstrations.

The Agency will more effectively integrate and manage EPA's resources and efforts that are
currently available for promoting environmental quality at the community level. The Agency will
work to ensure that those communities pursuing development strategies that incorporate
environmental quality considerations receive appropriate credit under the Agency's core program
areas - air quality, water quality, waste management. Under this goal, the Agency will focus on
improving environmental quality by: (1) removing barriers and creating incentives for
environmentally beneficial development; (2) developing tools and technical assistance (e.g., the
Smart Growth Index); (3) leveraging EPA's resources to provide and disseminate information (e.g.,
through web sites and publications); (4) forming multi-disciplinary, multi-lateral partnerships among
public and private sector stakeholders; and (5) identifying and conducting research related to
environmental quality impacts associated with development patterns and practices.

In response to a large and growing number of requests from states and local governments to
help them address environmental issues associated with growth and development, the Agency has
increased its activities under smart growth. EPA will help states and local governments achieve

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their environmental goals using smart growth approaches. EPA will integrate smart growth
approaches to environmental quality and voluntary smart growth programs within key program
offices and Regional offices. EPA will also develop regulatory incentives that will encourage
redevelopment within metropolitan areas and help preserve watersheds, open space, and habitats.
These incentives will also encourage more environmentally-friendly development in rural areas.

EPA is also exploring the potential for more integrated, holistic regulatory approaches at a
facility level, building on experience with permitting and pollution prevention innovations already
piloted at both Federal and state levels. EPA sees facility-wide approaches as holding the possibility
of obtaining better environmental results while eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens. These
approaches should also help stimulate pollution prevention, and help facilities obtain the maximum
benefit from their use of environmental management systems.

Sector strategies complement current EPA activities by allowing the Agency to approach
issues more holistically, with integrated strategies for each industry sector. Sector-based approaches
also enable EPA to tailor efforts to the particular characteristics of each sector; identify related
groups of stakeholders with interest in a set of issues; link EPA's efforts with those of other
agencies; and craft new approaches to environmental protection. In FY 2003, EPA will continue to
implement recommendations in its Sector Program Plan 2001-2005 (endorsed by the National
Advisory Council on Environmental Policy and Technology in November 2000). The Agency's
sector programs will expand their innovative sector-based approaches to improved environmental
protection, continuing work with current sectors (e.g., the Metal Finishing Strategic Goals Program),
starting new work with interested industries, and developing recommended tools and services
through a new Center for Industry Sector Innovation to enhance the performance of sector programs
at the Federal, state, and local levels.

In FY 2003, the Agency will extend its sector-based programs by building consideration of
sector-specific applications into the development of regulations and policy/guidance documents. It
will build on previous sector successes, concentrating on sectors with high concentrations of small
businesses and complementing goals in EPA's new Innovations Strategy. EPA will continue to
work with sectors to remove barriers to improved environmental performance with reduced
regulatory burden. Sector-based approaches are also inherent in other innovations that the Agency is
exploring or scaling up, such as the Massachusetts Environmental Results Program and the PrintStep
Program.

In FY 2003, the Agency will build on its recent successes and continue to work with the
small business community to develop new tools, and explore incentive approaches that are tailored,
information rich, and are key to a company's bottom line and improved performance. The Agency
will support the integration of small business assistance and policy innovation efforts with the
program offices, and explore more creative ways to deal with compliance assistance and
enforcement. We will work with program offices to streamline and coordinate Agency efforts to
provide more reliable environmental information to existing state assistance providers and to small
businesses.

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In the process of developing sectoral approaches, EPA will continue to add to the set of tools
it uses to effectively and efficiently deliver environmental quality, promote pollution prevention, and
increase risk reduction. While EPA continues to rely on standard setting, permitting and
enforcement, these traditional tools are now often augmented by compliance assurance, voluntary
programs, stakeholder involvement and many new sector-based processes and programs designed to
ensure quicker or more effective results. In support of these strategies, EPA will continue to
implement projects that offer flexibility or other benefits to test innovative approaches to
environmental protection.

The Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation (OPEI) will serve as a primary gateway for
stakeholders/customers to interact with EPA on innovation and will define the vision, strategy,
ground rules, and principles for innovation by engaging stakeholders. The Office will ensure new
approaches are identified, designed, and piloted by program-specific approaches in other EPA
offices and manage Agency-wide approaches. OPEI will integrate and coordinate new approaches
across the Agency into a coherent strategy for change, tracking innovation progress and evaluating
innovation success, and ensuring successful new approaches are incorporated into the way EPA
does business.

EPA has developed a broad-based, Agency-wide strategy for achieving cleaner, cheaper,
smarter results from environmental programs. By rethinking problems and the solutions typically
used to solve them, the Agency' s innovation strategy engages Agency managers and staff, as well as
external stakeholders, in finding better ways of doing business without imposing unnecessary costs
and regulatory burdens. Through innovation and streamlining the current regulatory system (e.g.,
consolidate and simplify regulations and reporting requirements, and streamline permitting), and
through designing and testing integrative and holistic approaches (e.g., sector- and industry-based
approaches, and community-based environmental protection partnership programs), EPA is
implementing strategies that lead to better protection at less cost, and is moving beyond the single-
media focus of the past to better address today's multi-media environmental challenges.

In FY 2003, EPA will implement the Agency's Innovations Strategy. The Strategy,
developed through a joint effort by EPA and the states to implement lessons learned from innovation
experiences to date, strategically focuses the Agency's innovation activities on priority
environmental problems. Work in FY 2003 will include further integrating innovation efforts with
those of the states; developing new tools and approaches; adapting the culture and management
systems to foster innovation; and focusing on measuring and evaluating results. The Agency will
continue to build its capacity to conduct program evaluation and foster its use as a management tool
for continuous program improvement. This activity responds to recommendations from the National
Academy of Public Administration and will ensure that EPA is able to keep pace with the rapidly
expanding program evaluation activities at the state level and the emergence of Environmental
Program Evaluation as a nationally-recognized sub-discipline.

In FY 2003, EPA will work to provide incentives and rewards to good environmental
performers in the business community. The Agency will continue the Performance Track Program
so that those businesses that perform well are treated differently from those that do not. EPA will

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continue to pursue reforms in the permitting system and to develop policy on the role of
environmental management systems in environmental regulation. Using lessons learned from recent
initiatives, EPA will undertake proj ects suggested by internal or external stakeholders that test ways
to modify EPA's core programs to foster flexibility (in regulations, policy, and guidance) as
incentives and to gain superior environmental performance. Taken together with related work across
the Agency, this approach is designed to promote a systematic process of experimentation,
evaluation, and program change in response to the lessons learned from innovation.

FY 2003 Change from FY 2002 Enacted

EPM

(-$1,844,700/-13.3 FTE) The Common Sense Initiative will be eliminated and the lessons learned
from this program have influenced new generations of environmental innovation policy.

•(+$9,599,200/23.3 FTE) The FY2003 Request is $9,599,200 and 23.3 FTEs above the FY 2002
Request level to fund regulatory development activities. These resources will support the
management of an expanded regulatory development process, strengthen economic analyses, expand
Performance Track, and increase regulatory innovation efforts in sectors, evaluation, and industrial
ecology activities. Increased payroll costs are also reflected in this request.

Coordination with Other Agencies

None

Statutory Authorities

National Environmental Policy Act
The Economy Act of 1932

Toxic Substances Control Act sections 4, 5, and 6 (15 U.S.C. 2603, 2604, and 2605)

Pollution Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 13101-13109)

Clean Water Act

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Demonstrate Regional Capability to Assist Environmental Decision Making.

Demonstrate regional capability to assist environmental decision making by assessing
environmental conditions and trends, health and ecological risks, and the environmental
effectiveness of management action in priority geographic areas.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Demonstrate Regional Capability to Assist
Environmental Decision Making.

$6,417.2

$6,677.9

$6,591.8

($86.1)

Environmental Program & Management

$3,656.9

$3,622.6

$3,647.1

$24.5

Hazardous Substance Superfund

$2,760.3

$3,055.3

$2,944.7

($110.6)

Total Workyears

3.9

3.0

3.0

0.0

Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Enacted

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$0.0

$156.1

$43.6

($112.5)

Management Services and Stewardship

$0.0

$2.2

$1.7

($0.5)

Regional Science and Technology

$3,850.3

$3,574.9

$3,601.8

$26.9

Superfund Remedial Actions

$2,993.4

$2,944.7

$2,944.7

$0.0

FY 2003 Request

The Regional Science and Technology (RS&T) program will continue to provide field
sampling, analytical, and data management support, including quality assurance to base program
needs operating within the Regions before and after implementation of statutory mandates.

Within the existing Regional laboratory system, specialized expertise has been developed to
respond to specific Regional needs. These capabilities, collectively called the Centers of Applied
Science, have broad application and frequently constitute the best knowledge of the subject in the

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country. Through these Centers of Applied Science, the Regional laboratories are committed to
advancing state-of-the-art applied science and sharing that information to state, local, and other
Federal agencies through training and other appropriate forums. Centers have been established in
the areas of ambient air monitoring, analytical pollution prevention, environmental biology,
environmental microbiology, and environmental chemistry.

Data and information management systems will be in place, including data quality indicators,
that will enable EPA and partner agencies to locate, assess and share environmental data for their
program needs. The RS&T program will continue to build capacity and support partner agencies by
providing technical and analytical support in the assessment of environmental problems, and by
converting environmental data into useful decision-making information.

FY 2003 Change from FY 2002 Request

• none

Verification and Validation of PMs

None

Coordination with Other Agencies

None

Statutory Authorities

Multi-media

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Environmental Protection Agency

FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification

Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Env. Risk and Greater Innovation to Address

Env. Problems

Objective: Conduct Peer Review to Improve Agency Decisions.

Conduct peer reviews and provide other guidance to improve the production and use of the
science underlying Agency decisions.

Resource Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Actuals

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Conduct Peer Review to Improve Agency
Decisions.

$2,727.0

$3,242.9

$3,690.3

$447.4

Environmental Program & Management

$2,727.0

$3,242.9

$3,690.3

$447.4

Total Workyears

22.8

22.5

22.5

0.0

Key Program

(Dollars in Thousands)



FY 2001
Enacted

FY 2002
Enacted

FY 2003
Request

FY 2003 Req.
v. FY 2002 Ena.

Facilities Infrastructure and Operations

$0.0

$340.2

$326.5

($13.7)

Management Services and Stewardship

$0.0

$14.9

$11.3

($3.6)

Science Advisory Board

$2,775.1

$2,887.8

$3,352.5

$464.7

FY 2003 Request

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) plans to maintain the level and quality of its peer review
activities to support the Agency by selecting issues for review that best meet the criteria for SAB
review; i.e, those that impact on overall environmental protection, address novel problems or
principles, influence long-term technological development, deal with problems that transcend
Agency boundaries, strengthen the Agency's basic capabilities, and/or serve Congressional and other
leadership interests.

In addition, the SAB will expand its efforts to incorporate the technical aspects of economics
and other social sciences into environmental decision making and to find the best ways to integrate
science considerations into the Agency's new ways of doing business (e.g., place-based and sector-

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based).

For many years the SAB's goal has been to make a positive difference in the production and
use of science at EPA. Established by Congress in 1978, the SAB utilizes non-government technical
experts who serve as its 100 members and more than 300 consultants. They come from a broad
range of disciplines — physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering, ecology, economics,
medicine, and other fields. Operating under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the SAB
empanels technically strong and diverse groups to ensure a balanced range of technical views from
academia, communities, states, independent research institutions, and industry.

To truly make a positive difference in the production and use of science at EPA, the Board
must do more than review Agency products from traditional line offices. It must help the Agency
make strategic use of science. Science alone is insufficient for making environmental decisions, but
it is impossible to protect human health and the environment without science.

Economic and other social science issues are particularly important now that EPA is
experimenting with new information-based, voluntary approaches to environmental protection —
such as working with stakeholders in communities and sectors to achieve environmental goals that
voluntarily go beyond the national standards. Therefore, the SAB will find effective ways for
science to contribute to the Agency's new ways of doing business.

In FY 2001, the SAB made changes to address concerns raised by the Government
Accounting Office concerning procedures to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest among
members of the SAB and that review panels are balanced. A process has been drafted and it is
anticipated that the new procedures will be fully operational during FY 2002.

FY 2003 Change from FY 2002 Enacted

EPM

• none

Verification and Validation of PMs

None

Coordination with Other Agencies

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) interacts with comparable advisory bodies within and
outside the Agency; in some cases, seeking and maintaining liaison and integrated membership with
some of these bodies. For example, the chairs of the ORD Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC),
the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP), and the Children's Health Protection Advisory
Committee participate in the quarterly meetings of the SAB Executive Committee (EC) meetings.

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There are also membership contacts and exchanges with technical advisory bodies in the Department
of Defense, Department of Energy, and the National Research Council of the National Academy of
Sciences. In addition, the Board has sought interactions with advisory groups at different levels
(e.g., the advisory committee to the Mayor of Columbus, Ohio; the environmental advisory board to
the Governor of the State of Michigan; the Health Council of the Netherlands; and the Academy of
Sciences of Australia). The success of the SAB is measured, in part, by the extent to which the
Board is used as a model for advisory boards at various levels of government — from the local level
to the international level.

Statutory Authorities

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)

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