AEPA 190B12005 United States Environmental Protection Agency Cross-Cutting Fundamental Strategy FY 2011 Action Plan Annual Progress Report Strategy 4: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships Deliver on our commitment to a clean and healthy environment through consultation and shared accountability with states, tribes, and the global community for addressing the highest priority problems. Executive Summary In FY 2011, EPA began the successful implementation of delivering on our commitment to a clean and healthy environment through consultation and shared accountability with states, tribes, and the global community for addressing the highest priority problems. As we worked together, our relationships continued to be based on integrity, trust, and shared accountability to make the most effective use of our respective bodies of knowledge, our existing authorities, our resources, and our talents. Accomplishment Highlights: With States • Improved implementation and consistent delivery of national environmental programs through closer consultation and transparency. For example, all areas of the Southeast are now in attainment for the 1997 ozone and fine particulate (PM2.5) standards. This great accomplishment was achieved through federal, state, and local partnering to reduce emissions of ozone precursors and PM2.5 and its precursors. EPA's Regional Office kept momentum going on this effort by engaging the state and local air quality agencies at least monthly. This regular communication allowed for more timely redesignation of areas to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden where possible. It also allowed for more efficient EPA action to make clean data determinations, thereby reducing the need for additional submissions of resource-intensive technical documents by state/local agencies. • Worked together to seek more efficient use of resources through work-sharing, joint planning using data analysis and targeting to address priorities, and other approaches. Specifically, EPA established an Agency- wide taskforce to determine parameters for worksharing, identify program elements where worksharing could be applied, and areas where statutes or regulations prohibit worksharing. EPA included best practices and examples of worksharing in the FY 2012 National Program Manager (NPM) Guidance. • Increased by 59 percent state utilization of the Exchange Network to share environmental data to facilitate the exchange of data with states to improve program effectiveness and efficiency. EPA also established a new reporting system for underground injection control program data. • Strengthened state-EPA shared accountability by focusing oversight on the most significant and pressing state program performance challenges, using data and analysis to speed program improvements. EPA, in consultation with a working group of state Clean Water Act representatives, has developed a suite of new approaches to revamp the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting, compliance, and enforcement program. These approaches are aimed at improving water quality by using 21st century information technology and best practices to more effectively and efficiently achieve greater pollution reductions at the universe of approximately one million NPDES water pollution sources. (See http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/cwa/cwaenfplan.html.) FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships ------- With Tribes • On May 4, 2011, Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the release of the "EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes" (PDF) (10 pp, 213K). The Policy was developed in response to the "Presidential Memorandum on Tribal Consultation" issued November 5, 2009, directing federal agencies to develop a plan to implement fully Executive Order (E.O.) 13175. EPA was the first agency to release a final Tribal Consultation Policy. • The Policy establishes clear EPA standards for the consultation process, including defining the "what, when, and how" of consultation. It also designates specific EPA personnel responsible for serving as consultation points of contact in order to promote consistency in, and coordination of, the consultation process. Additionally, the Policy establishes a management oversight and reporting structure that will ensure accountability and transparency. The Policy sets a broad standard for when EPA should consider consulting with federally-recognized tribal governments based upon Executive Order 13175 and the principles expressed in the 1984 "EPA Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations" (1984 Policy). • By working together, EPA and tribes enhanced the content of EPA databases that gather and analyze trend data on environmental conditions in Indian country, increasing by 17 percent the number of tribes using the Exchange Network to report data to EPA. Simultaneously, improvements were made to increase accuracy and usability. EPA will continue to concentrate on this effort in FY 2012. • EPA continued efforts to identify gaps in the implementation of EPA programs in Indian country or related to Alaska Native Villages. In FY 2011, EPA initiated an internal workgroup with the major media offices to discuss developing a phased pilot approach. EPA will continue this important effort into FY 2012. Additionally, in collaboration with tribal partners, EPA developed a new General Assistance Program (GAP) Guidebook that will define how tribes plan, design, implement, and track projects funded through GAP grants. With Other Countries • Expanded our partnership efforts in multilateral forums and in key bilateral relationships. One major highlight was in August 2011 when EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Brazil's Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeira formally launched the U.S.-Brazil Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability (JIUS). During President Obama's state visit to Brazil in March 2011, he and President Rousseff agreed to initiate the JIUS as a vehicle for identifying opportunities for new and innovative green urban infrastructure investment in the U.S. and Brazil, and for serving as a global model for building greener economies and smarter cities. The JIUS will demonstrate the economic, environmental, and social benefits of increased investment in a greener urban environment by focusing on projects in Rio de Janeiro as the city organizes three mega-events over the next five years—the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20), the 2014 World Cup, and the 2016 Olympics. • Enhanced existing and nurtured new international partnerships to promote a new era of global environmental stewardship based on common interests, shared values, and mutual respect. For example, EPA is developing a successor U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Program strategic design that will address the most severe environmental and human health issues in the border region. This successor framework, entitled "U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program Border 2020," was published in a Federal Register Notice on September 19, 2011 for a 60-day public review and comment period. In addition, EPA is partnering in providing a series of public comment meetings along the border from September through November 2011, including a Consultation meeting with the U.S. Border tribes in accordance with the "EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes." Challenges: • Partnerships continue to be an increasingly positive activity in addressing human health and environmental concerns even though implementation challenges remain. For example, as EPA implements the new Tribal Consultation Policy, we continue to address and understand the complexity of the definition of consultation while determining guidelines on what constitutes appropriate "consultation." FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships 2 ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 4: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete With States 1. Continue Agency consultations with state (and local) elected officials on EPA rulemakings and policies (Supports Principles 1 and 4). Conduct rule-specific consultations with the ten major state and local government associations for regulatory actions that have Federalism implications (i.e., impose substantial compliance costs on government entities or preempt state or local law), as defined in "EPA's Action Development Process: Guidance on Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)." EPA conducted three Federalism consultations in FY2011: • Utility MACT (coal and oil-fired boilers), October 2010 • Storm water discharges from developed sites (two sessions), December 2010 • Greenhouse gas emissions from electric utility steam generating units, April 2011 • Complete a review of EPA's process for Federalism consultations and make a determination if adjustments are needed. EPA reviewed and clarified internal policy procedures related to Federalism consultations in \tsAction Development Process guidance. EPA trained rulewriters on Federalism consultation guidance and practices. FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 4: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete • Promote transparency through the use of the Agency's Rulemaking Gateway and explore additional tools such as social media and internal policies to support early engagement and implementation of new regulations. EPA decommissioned the Rulemaking Gateway website in August 2011 to eliminate features that had been considered redundant with the federal-wide Regulations.gov website. At the same time, EPA created the Regulatory Development and Retrospective Review Tracker (Reg DaRRT) http://www.epa.gov/regdarrt/. which provides timely information to the public about priority regulations under development and retrospective reviews of existing regulations, in keeping with E.O. 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review." Reg DaRRT enables our partners to identify rules that may be of particular interest (e.g., states, tribes, children's health). EPA is working to more effectively utilize contemporary networking media to reach the Agency's key constituencies (e.g., states, EJ communities) and enhance rulemaking communication. For example, EPA has used Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds and discussion forums to disseminate rulemaking information to various audiences. The information gained from those experiences and EPA's Social Media Policy (issued in June, 2011) will inform decisions related to which social media venues may be most useful to disseminate information that can inform and engage constituents early in the rule development process. 2. Use the National Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS) as a platform to improve EPA's working relationship with the states (Supports Principles 1, 2, and 3). Establish an Agency-wide taskforce to determine parameters for worksharing, identify program elements where worksharing can be applied, and areas where statutes or regulations prohibit worksharing. Include best practices and examples of worksharing in FY 2012 NPM Guidances. The task torce was established and worked with NPMs to review the statutes and regulations for worksharing prohibitions. Two prohibitions and several areas of caution were identified. Initial findings were presented to the EPA senior management which provided stratetic direction for FY 2012. In addition, the task force provided the NPMs with draft text FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 4: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete and examples of worksharing to include in their FY 2012 NPM guidance. Two NPMs referenced worksharing, two NPMs discussed opportunities for flexibilty in working with states, and one NPM included examples of worksharing. EPA will collaborate with states to develop worksharing best practices in FY 2012. Complete a review of current NEPPS implementation practices and identify potential new approaches that may improve overall effectiveness, public credibility, and program accountability. Five of the six components of the review are complete, including the reviews of: (1) internal 2010 Program Implementation Survey results; (2) external evaluations (Inspector General, General Accounting Office, National Academy of Public Administration, etc.); (3) State-EPA Planning Pilots (2005- 2009); (4) input received from the Regions and states during development of the NEPPS NPM Guidance and the ongoing work of the Environmental Council of the States' EPA Partnership and Performance Workgroup; and, (5) EPA's internal review of NEPPS conducted in 2009. The final component of the review, interviews of EPA's Deputy Regional Administrators, is in progress and planned for completion by the end of the fiscal year. A draft report will be completed in the first quarter of FY 2012. 3. Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state-federal interactions and facilitate the exchange of data with states (Supports Principles 1, 2, and 3). • Define a specific path forward in collaboration with states for implementing the ECOS-EPA Business Process Improvement Memorandum of Understanding, signed in March 2010. EPA has updated the Lean in Government Starter Kit and has completed the new Lean Scoping Guide (see http://www.epa.gov/lean/government/starter kit/ch3.htm). In addition, based on interviews with States, EPA is : (1) working on tools to assist EPA and states in identifying Lean training options and process improvement methods; and, (2) developing options to leverage past events and identify future events. FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 4: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships FY 2011 Action Plan Activity • Implement the Exchange Network Action Plan in collaboration with states to enhance efficiency and improve the quality, timeliness, and accessibility of environmental information. • Increase state utilization of the Exchange Network to 60 percent for priority data flows by providing technical and financial support to state partners as they transition to the National Environmental Information Exchange Network. • Additional activity 4. Strengthen state-EPA shared accountability (Supports Principles 2, 5, and 6). • Implement integrated and strategic annual planning in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting and enforcement program, initiated in FY 2010 through regional-state integrated planning meetings, by developing joint commitments that ensure that the most significant sources of pollution and the most serious violations identified in the planning will be addressed through state and EPA actions. Develop with states a set of performance criteria for NPDES permitting and enforcement programs and implement a national strategy to address long-standing performance issues in state enforcement programs. Status/Explanation •S = Activity complete v' Using the Exchange Network Action Plan, target dates have been established for full implementation of nine of the ten priority data flows. EPA is facilitating the transition of states from the legacy Central Data Exchange (CDX) web reporting application to the new Exchange Network Services Center for air quality and water quality data. Increased by 59 percent the state utilization of the Exchange Network to share environmental data and established a new reporting system for underground injection control program data. v' Developed a State Performance Dashboard to provide a snapshot of state performance through a national map, which allows users to drill down for more specific information in the form of graphs, links to facility data, and state audit reports. The dashboard provides enhanced transparency and will serve as a tool to enhance program performance (see www.epa-echo.gov/echo). With Tribes 1. In collaboration with tribal partners, identify the gaps in the implementation of EPA programs in Indian country or related to Alaska Native Villages and define a path forward for eliminating key regulatory, policy, and programmatic voids (Supports Principles 1 and 2). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships > ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 4: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete Work with tribal partners to identify the gaps in the implementation of EPA programs in Indian country or related to Alaska Native Villages. EPA worked with tribal partners to develop a phased pilot approach to identify these gaps. While not completing this action, EPA made progress (see Executive Summary) and will continue this important effort in FY 2012. • Finalize the plan to implement actions recommended by the Tribal Environmental Measures workgroup (by July 2011). 2. Consistent with the Tribal Consultation Policy, work with tribes to identify mutual environmental priorities (Supports Principle 2 and 3). • Develop guidance to the Agency on implementing EO 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, supporting the Administration's November 2009 Memorandum on Tribal Consultation. All EPA employees complete the "Working Effectively with Tribal Governments" training. Tribal program staff have taken the existing training module and, in FY 2012, EPA will develop a shorter, more streamlined version of the training for other EPA employees. 3. Enhance the content, accuracy, and usability of EPA databases that gather and analyze trend data on environmental conditions in Indian country (Supports Principle 1). • As part of the Tribal Data Management Strategy, increase tribal participation in the Exchange Network (as measured by the number of tribal data exchanges) by 20 percent. EPA made significant progress (see Executive Summary) but fell slightly short of target; will continue this important effort into FY 2012. With Other Countries 1. Develop a successor U.S. - Mexico Border Environment Program strategic design that will address the most severe environmental and human health issues in the border region (Supports Principles 1 and 2). Create an inclusive Border Drafting Committee, including representatives from Agency regional and program offices, Mexican Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), U.S. Department of State, and federally recognized tribes. Complete first draft of successor framework (by July 2011) and conduct public review sessions along the Border. FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 4: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete 2. Strengthen the working relationship between the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and EPA (Supports Principles 1 and 2). Lead an Agency-wide review of existing EPA-UNEP partnership work and identify and agree on near-term work consistent with key areas, as appropriate, through a series of meetings across the Agency and with program experts and UNEP staff (by November 2010). • Develop a Memorandum of Understanding that articulates a common vision of future EPA-UNEP work indicating near term partnership priorities and implementation activities (by February 2011). 3. Advance work on environmentally sustainable practices in the lead up to the Rio 2012 Conference, which marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit (Supports Principles 1 and 2). • Develop a concrete proposal for an initiative to promote sustainable consumption and production and sustainable urban planning (by May 2011). • Hold at least two meetings with the nongovernmental community to further partnership on emerging issues related to Rio 2012 (by June 2011). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships ------- |