PDA245/S-95-001
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                                        CONTENTS
                                                     PAGE

  Overview of the 1997 Budget	   3

  Operating Programs:

     Environmental Programs and Management
         - Air	   11
         - Water Quality	   15
         - Drinking Water	   19
         - Hazardous Waste	   21
         - Pesticides	   25
         - Radiation	   27
         - Multimedia	   29
         - Toxic Substances	   33
         - Management & Support	   37

     State, Tribal and Local Grants (STAG)	   41

     Buildings and Facilities	   45

I     Science and Technology	   47

     Inspector General	   51

     Oil Spills	   53


  Trust Funds:

     Superfund	   57

     LUST	   61


  Water Infrastructure Financing (STAG)	   65


  Appendix: Budget Table	   68

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NOTE: References to workyears refer to total workyears rather than only
         "permanent" workyears. Additionally, some numbers may not add
         due to independent rounding.


        Cover Photos:  Steve Delaney

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                                    OVERVIEW
     OVERVIEW OF THE 1997 BUDGET
       In the 1996 State of the Union Address,
 President Clinton's fifth challenge for our Nation
 was to leave our environment safe and clean for
 the  next generation.  For the past 25 years,
 Americans of both parties have united to protect
 our health by protecting the  air we breath, the
 water we drink, and the land  on which we live -
 and together, we have made tremendous progress.
 However, there is still much to be done so our
 children may enjoy cleaner air, safer water, land
 less polluted with toxic chemicals.

       The 1997 Budget advances EPA's efforts
 to protect the health of our land, our water, our
 air, and our communities by targe ting the highest
 risk   environmental  problems  and  by
 strengthening copartnerships with states, tribes,
 communities, businesses, and the public. Sound
 science increasingly informs our decisions, and a
 vigorous enforcement program  ensures
 compliance and  provides a foundation for
 regulatory and voluntary activities. EPA's budget
 reflects the President's firm belief that within an
 era of limited federal resources, we must protect
 the health of our environmental and our economy.
 We are going about the business of environmental
 protection in new ways that are cleaner for the
 environment, cheaper for  businesses  and
 taxpayers, and smarter for America's future.

       As the President and American people
 continue to voice their support for a clean and safe
 environment, EPA is prepared to meet the
 challenge  as demonstrated by the  President's
 request for $7.0 billion and 17,951 workyears.
 Through  an  emphasis on strengthening
 partnerships, addressing high risk, and working
 smarter and cheaper, EPA will endeavor to provide
 our Nation  with  a  healthy  environment for
 generations to come.
               HIGHLIGHTS

Addressing Hieh Risk
       The 1997 Budget strengthens the safety
of the Nation's drinking water. It invests in the
most  serious  health   risks,   including
 disinfectant-by-products/microbials (DBP), one
 of the Agency's highest regulatory  priorities.
 Research in this area will provide the scientific
 data necessary  to provide a sound basis for
 promulgation of necessary regulation.  It will
 involve development of exposure models and
 effects profiles for microbes and selected DBFs,
 characterization of virus movement and survival
 in groundwater, and guidance to small water
 systems on applying specific technologies for
 meeting drinking water standards. Investments
 are  included  in the Source  Water Protection
 Program to target the highest risk groundwater
 and surface water sources of drinking water
 contamination.

       Increased resources are provided to
 support the development and implementation of
 local and regional ozone attainment strategies.
 Efforts are  needed  to  provide state  and
 nonattainment areas assistance with  urban
 airshed modeling support and with long-range
 transport issues. This effort is complemented by
 the regulatory reinvention efforts designed to
 address NOx issues, particularly in the Northeast
 and Midwest.  Additionally, a multi-year effort in
 particulate matter research will be expanded to
 address a number of uncertainties, includingthose
 associated with mortality estimates, evaluation
 of biologic mechanisms of toxicity, and evaluation
 of innovative control strategies.
Working With our Partners
       In 1997, EPA will expand its efforts to
give strong state and tribal programs more leeway
to manage their programs, while concentrating
EPA technical assistance on developing the
programs that are still evolving. EPA and state
leaders  have  established  a  National
Environmental Performance Partnership System
which will allow states to operate their programs
with less review by the Federal government, in
return for increased emphasis on measuring and
reporting environmental results.  Performance
Partnership grants, requested in 1996 and again
in 1997, will permit states and tribes to combine
'categorical' grants into one or more consolidated
grants, to be used for addressing the unique
priorities of each state and tribe.

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                                   OVERVIEW
       The  1997 Budget for EPA includes a
significant  investment for Indian  General
Assistance Program grants. These re sources help
tribes identify the scope of their environmental
management  needs,  establish  program
development priorities and continue  building
environmental programs. These grants are one of
the Agency's most significant means of building
tribal capacity to make and implement their own
environmental management decisions.

       The  1997 Budget provides increased
flexibility for our state and tribal partners through
a proposal that would allow states and tribes
flexibility to merge their Clean Water and
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund allotments
into a single capitalization grant. State Revolving
Funds provide a source of low-cost funding for
cities and towns to use in building the treatment
systems necessary to keep their rivers, lakes and
beaches clean and to ensure that their water is
safe to drink. Funding requested for treatment
plants along the U.S./Mexican border will help
address very serious threats to human health and
the environment in that area.

       As part of the Environmental Technology
Initiative (ETI), the Agency will continue to focus
on eliminating barriers in the regulatory and
permitting processes which inhibit the private
sector from  developing new  technologies and
fostering cleaner and cheaper  solutions  to
environmental problems.  Enlisting a greater
number of American companies in meeting the
global demand for environmental  technologies
and service ~ a market currently estimated at
more than $400 billion a year - will help solve
pressing environmental problems  and fuel
economic growth.  Fiscal Year 1997 will be a
pivotal year for assessing the Nation's progress in
achieving the goal of the President's Climate
Change Action Plan (CCAP) to reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases  to 1990 levels by the year
2000. In 1997,  EPA programs will continue to
contribute significantly to the reductions being
achieved, particularly through the use of voluntary
partnerships  with  private  and  public
organizations to increase energy efficiencies and
thus prevent pollution.

       In the Superfund program, the Agency is
forging partnerships with communities through
an expanded Brownfields initiative to redevelop
urban contaminated and industrial properties,
providing communities with increased tax bases,
additional  jobs,  and  improved  urban
environments.  The 1997 budget also empowers
our state partners to begin aggressively taking
over the program and continues the Agency's
emphasis on completing cleanups at the Nation's
worst hazardous waste sites.
Working Better

       The 1997 Budget will include support for
25 high-priority reinvention activities, such as
Project XL, the Common Sense Initiative and the
Sustainable Development Challenge Grant
Program. Under Project XL, companies, states
and localities have an opportunity to redesign
current  EPA rules if they can formulate an
alternative system that will be both cheaper and
cleaner for the environment. Project XL will forge
challenging partnerships between the Agency,
businesses and communities who are interested
in contributing innovative strategies for smarter
and better environmental management.

      The Common Sense Initiative (CSI) is a
central aspect of EPA's efforts to improve the way
it undertakes  its environmental  mission.
Investments included in the 1997 Budget will
help us to find 'cleaner,  cheaper,  smarter"
strategiesfortacklingtheenvironmental problems
that continue to face the Nation. CSI is founded
on  the  premise  that  EPA  should be
uncompromising regarding the accomplishment
of its health and environmental objectives, but
flexible in providing regulated entities many cost-
effective means of meeting their environmental
regulatory obligations.  CSI invites a broad
spectrum of stakeholders,  including industry,
environmentalists,   state  governments,
communities and labor unions to look at the full
range of environmental regulations affecting six
specific industries to improve and simplify the
permit system, identify more flexible  ways of
achieving compliance, and design integrated
systems for reporting environmental data.

      The Sustainable Development Challenge
Grant Program will award funds to projects that
leverage public  and private  community
investment  to  develop  comprehensive
environmental management plans that improve

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                                    OVERVIEW
 environmental quality and enhance economic
 prosperity. Through broad and open community
 involvement and investment, this program will
 challenge communities to meet their present needs
 without compromising the needs of future
 generations.

       The 1997 Budget will invest in Small
 Business Compliance Assistance Centers which
 will offer a place for 'one-stop' shopping for small
 businesses and other regulated entities  in a
 targeted sector, such as printing. The Centers
 contain  plain-english guides to compliance
 requirements and technical assistance resources,
 assistance and training on treatmenttechnologies,
 and methodologies for self-audits and compliance
 surveys.

       Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
 (RCRA)  reinvention activities will focus on
 speeding up  and  simplifying the cleanup,
 permitting and state authorization processes. In
 particular, the Hazardous Waste Identification
 Media and Process Rules (HWIR) and revisions to
 the RCRA Subpart S rule will yield  significant
 savings for industry as well as states and the
 Agency. The HWIR rule will focus on methods to
 release  low-risk  hazardous  wastes  and
 contaminated media such as soil from regulation,
 and the Subpart S rule will encourage innovative
 approaches to safe waste management and clarify
 cleanup guidelines. This effort is a partnership
 with industry and state and local governments to
 free industry from a process-driven  system,
 focusing instead  on environmental  results.
 Further, the Agency is now considering ways to
 improve work on safe waste management in the
 petroleum refining industry as part of the Agency
 Common Sense Initiative. The Agency will work
 with petroleum sector stakeholders to identify
 and improve overly complex or overlapping
 environmental regulations and standards. This
 critical to the Agency's effort to make all programs
 more  efficient and to meet our environmental
 goals for waste minimization, safe management
 of wastes, and cleanup of contaminate sites.

       The 1997 Budget includes investments
for  Community-Based Health  and  Ecological
Research which will allow research to be conducted
 and applied  for improved methods to both
 ecological and human  health issues, and be
 communicated to communities through training
 and information systems. The ecology component
 of this initiative will increase the Agency's
 capability to predict exposures or effects within a
 local watershed  or ecoregion and provide local
 decision makers with  more  effective and
 appropriate management alternatives. The health
 component will focus on  population exposures
 that are currently not well enough understood for
 adequate risk assessment.
 Working Smarter

       The 1997 Budget commits additional
 resources to strengthen the Agency's ability to
 characterize and quantify benefits of EPA
 programs through the establishment of an
 Economics  Studies  Center.  The Center will
 operate as an information clearinghouse and
 technical assistance service center to improve
 applied research  used in the development of
 regulatory options and economic analyses.

       In 1997, the budget includes resources
 needed to meet  the Agency's commitment to
 streamline programs and achieve management
 efficiencies. One component of this effort is a set
 of reforms  to  administrative activities.   The
 reforms  include  consolidation of activities,
 increased use of automation, management process
 improvements, and outsourcing.  Consolidation
 efforts will merge like functions across the Agency
 into one or a few locations to achieve economies of
 scale and reduce duplication of effort. Process
 improvement initiatives will focus on  process
 streamlining/simplification that will save effort
 and improve quality. As a result, reductions in
 oversight and  less burdensome  accountability
 reporting would be realized.

       The Agency's budget includes funds for
 the construction of a consolidated laboratory and
 office complex in Research Triangle Park (RTF),
 NC. The 1997 Request provides the balance of
funds for construction of the RTF project.  This
and other  investments  in improving and
renovating EPAlaboratories and office space will
 dramatically influence the Agency's  ability to
address the complex environmental issues of the
 1990s and beyond.

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                                   OVERVIEW
       The 1997  Budget contains important
investments to  implement the  Agency's
Information Resources Management (IRM)
Strategic Plan. These investments include amajor
project reduce reportingburdensforthe regulated
community, and work process re-engineering to
make them more efficient and ultimately require
fewer Agency resources.
Summary

       As a result of over  a  generation of
bipartisan effort, the American public now has
cleaner water, air,  and land.  Although much
progress has been made, there is still much work
to be done.  It is  our challenge to meet the
demands of protecting public health and the
environment in a low-cost, innovative manner.
The  1997 Budget  positions  us to meet this
challenge by addressing risk, working with our
partners, working better, and working smarter.

       All of us at EPA, our private and public
sector partners, and Members  of Congress alike
recognize the challenges that we face in an era of
reduced federal resources. We are attempting to
find the most efficient way to invest our resources,
while at the same time, protecting the Nation's
health — the health of our families, the health of
our communities, and the health of our economy.
The  Agency's 1997 Budget invests resources
sufficient to enable  us to protect the American
public and "to ... leave our environment safe and
clean for the next generation" (President Clinton,
State of the Union Address, January 1996).

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 l   I Operating Programs
 E2 Trust Funds
In 1997, The Agency's Budget T>tals $7.0 Billion


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1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Notes: 1996 resources reflect the Presidential Policy Level
      $0.5 billion State, Local, and Tribal grants previously captured in the Operating Programs
      are accounted for in Water Infrastructure beginning in 1996


      The Agency's W>rkyear Ceiling Decreases Slightly in 1997

  I   I Operating Programs
  7^\ Trust Funds


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11,799
' 17,010 A<,^OU
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12,814
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1994
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1995
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   THE
OPERATING
PROGRAMS
     9

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       Over the last 25 years, great progress has
been achieved in  cleaning the Nations's air.
Despite this progress, air pollution remains a
widespread problem, contributing to human
illnesses such  as cancer, respiratory and
reproductive problems, and mental impairment.
Air  pollution  also reduces visibility, corrodes
buildings, and damages natural resources and
ecosystems through toxic accumulation and
acidification of soils and lakes.  By the end of
1995, 60 metropolitan areas, with  a combined
population of 120 million residents, were not in
attainment with air quality standards for one or
more of the six "criteria" pollutants for which
EPAhas established standards. The most difficult
problem is ozone, caused by emissions from motor
vehicles, industrial plants, and other mobile and
stationary  sources.  Carbon monoxide,  chiefly
from cars and trucks, is the second-most common
problem. Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead,
and particulate matter (PM-10) also continue to
cause environmental and publichealth challenges,
although most areas of the nation now meet the
standards set for these pollutants. In addition to
these six familiar pollutants, over  one million
tons of hundreds of other air toxic pollutants are
released annually. These pollutants individually
and interactively threaten the environmental and
economic health of the country.

       The primary law authorizing EPA  to
control air pollution is the Clean Air Act (CAA),
which was updated in 1990 to give EPA expanded
authority to control smog, air toxics, acid rain,
and other health threats. The CAA of 1990 also
gave EPA authority to implement provisions of
the Montreal Protocol and to develop regulations
for the phaseout of chemicals that  destroy the
earth's ozone layer. EPA is also involved in the
activities of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, and EPA programs contribute
significantly  to  greenhouse gas emission
reductions   accomplished   under   the
Administration's Climate Change  Action Plan
(CCAP).  EPA also addresses issues associated
with indoor air environments authorized by the
Indoor Radon Abatement Act and the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act.

       The 1997 President's Budget provides a
total of $304.4 million and 1,670 workyears
under the EPM account to support EPA's air
 programs. For 1997, EPAhas established a series
 of air program objectives.  These include:  1)
 continue partnerships with  states to attain
 National Ambient  Air Quality  Standards
 (NAAQS); 2) develop and implement an urban air
 toxics strategy; 3) expand the use of market-
 based approaches; 4) reduce energy consumption
 and prevent pollution through voluntary, public-
 private  partnerships; 5) reduce stratospheric
 ozone  depletion;  6)  address  indoor  air
 environments;  and 7) implement a national
 compliance and enforcement program.
               HIGHLIGHTS

Increasing The Number of Areas
Meeting Air Quality Standards

       The 1997 President's  Budget requests
$64.0 million and 555 workyears under the EPM
appropriation to support EPA partnership efforts
with states and other stakeholders to  resolve
complex issues affecting attainment of air quality
standards,  including those involving the long-
range transport of ozone-forming compounds.

       EPA will complete its review of the current
ozone and particulate matter (PM-10) standards
and propose new standards if necessary to protect
public health in 1997. EPA will also issue seven
national  guidelines and  standards for major
stationary sources that contribute to ozone, sulfur
dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.  EPA will assist
state and local agencies improve air monitoring
networks,  continue multi-state  efforts to
coordinate the  enhanced ozone monitoring
network as well as provide analytic  support for
multi-state organizations such as  the Ozone
Transport Commission and the Ozone Transport
Assessment Group. In 1997, EPA will work with
states to assess whether areas have come into
compliance with  air standards and complete
actions to redesignate them to "attainment" status
as quickly  as possible.   Measurements of air
quality for the past three years show that 65 of the
98 areas identified as nonattainment for ozone in
1991 now meet health standards, and 33 of the 42
carbon monoxide nonattainment areas also now
meet health standards.
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Implementing National Air Toxics
Strategies and, Standards

       In addition to the pollutants for which air
quality standards have been established, there
are hundreds of other hazardous air pollutants,
generally called air toxics. Over one million tons
of these air toxics are released annually to the
atmosphere from industrialfacilities, automobiles,
and other sources. The 1997 President's Budget
requests $44.6 million and 219 workyears under
the EPM appropriation for EPA's Air Toxics
Program.

       The CAA requires EPA by the year 2000
to issue technology based standards to control
189 toxic air pollutants emitted by major sources
and small "area" sources.  In  1997 EPA will
devote a total of $19.3 million and 83 workyears
to development of Maximum Achievable Control
Technology (MACT) standards to control these
emissions.   To complete these standards  as
efficiently as possible, EPA will form partnerships
among industry, states, and the public to leverage
their resources and expertise.   Through 1996,
EPA will have proposed 49 and promulgated 25
MACT standards. In 1997, EPA will propose 5
additional MACT standards and promulgate 19
of those proposed in 1996.

       In 1997, EPA will also issue its urban air
toxics strategy to reduce the health risk posed by
urban toxic pollutants. Under the Clean Air Act
EPA must develop a strategy to control 90 percent
of the emission of the 30 or more air toxics from
area sources that pose the greatest health risk in
urban areas. EPA intends to develop a  strategy
that includes area sources, as well as mobile and
other  sources which significantly contribute to
the overall urban toxics problem.

       In 1997, EPA will also allocate $1.5 million
and seven workyears to evaluate the deposition of
hazardous air pollutants into the Great Waters of
the U.S. EPA expects to issue its second Report
to Congress updating the state of the science
provided in the first report issued in 1994 which
raised significant concerns about the effects of
toxics on the Great Waters ecosystems.
Implementing Clean Vehicles
and Fuels Program

       The  1997 President's Budget requests
$14.4 million and 149 workyears under the EPM
appropriation to support EPA's implementation
of a Clean Vehicles and Clean Fuels program.

       The Clean Vehicles and Fuels program is
designed to help areas achieve attainment with
air quality standards and to reduce emissions of
air toxics from mobile sources like automobiles.
Air pollution from mobile sources accountfor over
half of the nationwide emissions of ozone-forming
compounds and carbon monoxide.  Because of
this, reducing mobile source emissions holds the
greatest potential for cleaning our nation's air.

       In 1997 EPA will work in partnership
with states to carry out vehicle inspection and
maintenance (I/M) programs; oxygenated and
reformulated fuels programs;  clean fuel fleet
programs; and  other  transportation control
measures.  EPA will also work in cooperative
ventures with regional  Federal Highway
Administration offices and state  and local
transportation agencies to ensure that proposed
highway and  transportation projects are in
conformance with air quality plans.
Establishing and Maintaining Market-
Based Emissions Trading Systems

       The  1997 President's Budget requests
$12.4 million and 80 workyears under the EPM
appropriation for market-based emissions trading
programs.

       In 1997 reductions  in  sulfur dioxide
emissions will continue to be achieved through
the Acid Rain program's innovative market-based
emissions allowance  trading program  which
provides  affected sources flexibility in meeting
required reductions.   Implementation  of this
allowance trading system minimizes compliance
costs, maximizes economic efficiency, and allows
for growth. EPA's acid rain program is seen as a
model for regulatory  reform efforts here and
abroad.
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                                            AIR
       In  partnership with interested states,
 EPA will help to establish a market-based, cap-
 and-trade program to reduce emissions of nitrogen
 oxides (NOx), a major  contributor to ozone
 pollution.  The expanded use  of market-based
 approaches pioneered in the acid rain program
 exemplifies work process  reinvention and will
 provide a highly cost-effective  way of reducing
 risks to populations in some of the most polluted
 regions of the country.

       To facilitate market-based approaches
 nationally, EPA will finalize in late 1996 its open
 market trading rule (OMTR), a model rule for
 emissions trading of smog-creating pollutants.
 This rule  will be the first strictly voluntary
 compliance option for emissions trading of ozone
 precursors that does not require source-specific
 revisions to  State Implementation Plans or
 operating permits.  In 1997 EPA regional air
 offices will assist states that wish to adopt
 emissions trading programs under the OMTR.
Maintaining Voluntary Partnership
Programs to Prevent Pollution

       The 1997 President's Budget requests
$82.0 million and 120 workyears under the EPM
appropriation for the Climate Change Action Plan.

       In 1997 EPA will maintain its key role in
the Administration's broad strategy to reduce
annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990
levels by the year 2000. The means for achieving
this strategy are the programs of the  Climate
Change Action Plan. The heart of the Climate
Change Action Plan will remain its reliance on
voluntary partnerships  between  EPA and
organizations or individuals  that join (e.g.,
businesses, cities, states, farmers) to save energy
and/or increase productivity while reducing GHG
emissions.  In 1997 EPA will continue to seek
partners to work with the Agency to  prevent
pollution,  including conventional and toxic air
pollutants and greenhouse gases, by increasing
the productivity of energy systems.  Although
EPA will provide strong assistance to partners to
help them decide how to accomplish their goals,
EPA will not dictate solutions or subsidize
investments.
Reducing Stratospheric Ozone Pollution

       The 1997 President's Budget  requests
$24.2 million  and 27  workyears  for  EPA's
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Program. In 1997
EPA will continue to pursue its goal of stopping
the decline in ozone levels in the stratosphere and
allowing for restoration to levels found before the
Antarctic "ozone hole" was observed.

       In 1997 EPA will focus on four  areas:
phaseout of three ozone depleting chemicals
(CFCs, halons, and methyl chloroform); place
limitations on two other ozone depleters (methyl
bromide  and  HCFCs); intensify  recycling
programs in the U.S. and abroad; and achieve
earlier voluntary phaseout of CFCs and HCFCs
from developing countries.

       Included in  the  request for  the
Stratospheric Ozone program is $19.0 million to
support the Montreal Protocol Facilitation Fund.
This fund supports developing countries' efforts
to phaseout the use of ozone depleting substances.
To date, the fund has financed over 400 activities
in 56 developing  countries.   When  fully
implemented, these activities will result  in the
annual prevention of over 30,000 tons  of ozone
depleting substances.
Addressing Indoor Air Environments

       The  1997 President's Budget requests
$20.7 million and 112 workyears under the EPM
appropriation for EPA's Indoor Environments
Program.

       In 1997,  the Indoor Air Environments
program will continue to implement activities
authorized  primarily by the Indoor Radon
Abatement Act and the Superfund Amendments
and  Reauthorization Act.  Activities include
overseeing  the  national radon  proficiency
programs, workingto reduce elevated radon levels
in schools,  and promoting model building
standards. The program will also address sources
of other indoor air pollutants to better understand
the adverse health effects of poor indoor air quality.
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       In 1997 EPA will continue to acquire and
analyze building performance data as part of the
Building Assessment and Evaluation project. In
addition, the Agency  will continue to  operate
hotlines and clearinghouses to provide information
to the general public and environmental health
organizations that  are interested in reducing
indoor air and radon-related health risks. In 1997
Regional air offices  will increase their focus on
improving indoor  environmental quality in
schools.  Other  audiences targeted for public
awareness campaigns, literature dissemination,
training courses, and related outreach efforts will
include  homebuilders and buyers, real estate
professionals, and other public health officials.
Implementing Strong Compliance
and Enforcement Efforts

       The  1997 President's Budget requests
$22.7 million and 308 workyears under the EPM
appropriation  for  the stationary  source
enforcement program. This program will support
a national  air compliance  and enforcement
program primarily through operations in each of
EPA's ten regional offices.
       In  1997, air enforcement  program
priorities include: implementation of the Title V
operating permit program, the hazardous air
pollutant programs underTitle III, and innovative
enforcement program initiatives involving field
citation, citizen awards, and open market trading
under the Clean Air Act.

       EPA will continue to support compliance
assistance activities to educate state  and local
permitting authorities on new requirements;
educate and provide technical assistance to aid
industries in achieving compliance; and target
enforcement actions  to  deter non-compliance.
Regions will also continue to implement strategies
for addressing multi-state and  multi-program
violators and for corporate-wide patterns of non-
compliance.
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                                 WATER   QUALITY
       Since the passage of the Clean Water Act
 in 1972, the United States has had tremendous
 success in reducing pollution entering our surface
 waters from factories and municipal sewage
 plants. However, in spite of the great strides that
 have been made, over six billion pounds of toxic
 industrial  pollution is still being discharged
 annually into our rivers, lakes and streams. Only
 71% of assessed rivers can support recreational
 activity without risk of adverse health effects.
 While this is a dramatic improvement over
 conditions thirty years ago, it is well short of our
 long-term goal. Moreover, in 1994 state authorities
 issued over 1,500 advisories warning consumers
 to either not eat or limit their consumption offish
 and shellfish taken from polluted water.

       The  Water  Quality  program has
 broadened its emphasis over the years to consider
 all sources of water quality pollution by looking at
 entire watersheds.  This broader "place-based"
 approach considers critical ecosystems affected,
 stakeholders involved, strong science and data
 available, and pollution prevention strategies in
 developing effective solutions. In this way, source
 and nonpoint source  problems —  such as wet
 weather runoff from farms, streets, lawns and
 construction sites - will be addressed. This is
 critical since nonpoint pollution has become the
 Nation's most significant remaining water quality
 problem.

       The Water Quality program is mandated
 by the Water Quality Act of 1987 which amended
 the Clean Water Act.  This 1987 Act enhanced
 water  quality management and improved the
 Agency's partnerships with the states. This Act
 also authorized the development of new standards
 and guidelines to prevent and control water quality
 pollution and authorized new approaches to deal
 with nonpoint sources of pollution. Other statutory
 mandates for this program are in the Great Lakes
 Critical  Programs Act; Water Resources
 Development Act; the Marine Protection, Research
 and Sanctuaries Act; the Shore Protection Act;
 and the  Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization
 Amendments.

       The 1997 President's Budget provides
 $274.2 million and 1,856 workyears for the
Water Quality Program. This request emphasizes
 common  sense, place-based approaches to
 improving water quality.  Built on the solid
 foundation  of  basic  water  programs and
 incorporating  a risk-based  approach  to
 decision-making, the 1997 program focuses on
 improvingwetweatherflow controls, encouraging
 comprehensive   place-based   wetlands
 management, and overall streamlining  of our
 program delivery to our customers.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       EPA's Water Quality Program faces three
main challenges;  improving the quality of our
surface water, protectinggroundwater resources,
and reducing wetlands loss.  First, the Agency
seeks to prevent or control pollution sources and
adverse physical alteration, to restore degraded
areas, and to gain a better understanding of the
condition of our surface water resources. Second,
the Agency must protect  ground  water from
pollution and help the public better understand
the ways in which to prevent the ground water
from becoming polluted. Finally, EPA is seeking
to continue the trend towards reduced wetlands
loss, ultimately realizing a net gain in wetland
acreage through efforts to create new wetlands
and to protect, improve and better understand
wetlands conditions.
Reinventing Environmental Regulation

       In 1997, EPA will support projects to
reinvent environmental regulation, including
Project XL pilots and the Agency's Common Sense
Initiative. The Agency will continue to reinvent
the ocean dumping  program by focusing on
long-term disposal site planning and management
in advance of individual permit applications. EPA
will encourage effluent trading in watersheds
and promote the creation of wetland mitigation
banks.   EPA will continue  working with
stakeholders to reinvent the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program
(i.e., reduce permittee monitoring requirements,
streamline application data requirements, and
expand the use of general permits). The Agency
will identify reportingburdens that can be reduced
or eliminated. As part of the larger Agency-wide
Environmental Technology Initiative, the Water
Quality  Program will develop technology
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                                 WATER   QUALITY
verification protocols to test the viability and
performance of new water pollution prevention
and control technologies and methods.
Supporting Local Efforts
to Protect Watersheds

       EPA will continue orienting water quality
programs to protect "places."  Drawing on the
experience and successes of the Great Lakes,
Chesapeake  Bay, and Gulf of Mexico Program
Offices and the National Estuary Programs (NEP),
EPA will help states, local communities, and
tribes  use scientific tools to address  their
environmental problems.  The Agency will
facilitate cross-program support for implementing
estuarine management  plans and use the
experience of the NEP to encourage other coastal
watershed  protection efforts.   EPA will
disseminate  new and revised user-friendly
computer models  and databases including
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

       The Agency will also  assist states in
continuing to integrate NPDES programs into
this watershed approach.  We will do this by
allowing resources dedicated to  developing
permits to vary depending upon the environmental
impacts of each source. New approaches such as
tailored oversight practices, new performance
measures, flexible use of funding, and simplified
procedures will reduce cost and burdens to the
EPA and the states. The Agency will coordinate
with other environmental programs to address
complex  multimedia  problems (such as air
deposition of pollutants in U.S.  waters). Finally,
the Agency is looking at the future direction of its
water quality criteria  and standards program.
EPA is focusing on specific waterbodies and
working with states,  communities, tribes, and
other groups to help them tailor solutions to local
environmental conditions and problems.
Improving the Flow of Information to Our
Partners

       In 1997, EPA will better communicate
water program actions and policies to assure that
stakeholders understand and participate in
Agency decision-making. We will help states use
environmental indicators to measure  progress
against watershed goals. TheAgency will annually
communicate the results of program activities to
the general public and stakeholders and will
extensively use new electronic technologies to
communicate with other Federal, state, tribal,
and local water programs and to  distribute
information to interested parties.  EPA will
continue working with states and other agencies
to link national water quality databases through
the Interagency Task  Force on Water  Quality
Monitoring.
Preventing Polluted Runoff

       EPA will work with the urban wet weather
advisory group to address both technical and
policy issues for controlling urban runoff, storm
water runoff,  sanitary sewer  overflows, and
combined sewer overflows. The Agency will also
streamline monitoring  and  storm water
permitting requirements to reduce existing and
potential burdens. Working with stakeholders,
EPA will issue national guidance to help upgrade
existing state Nonpoint Source (NPS) programs,
encourage greater focus on priority watersheds
and environmental results, and streamline the
grants application process.  Finally, the Agency
will use pollution prevention, incentive-based
volunteer efforts and outreach to  address
traditionally unregulated nonpoint sources.
Enhancing Wetlands Protection

       In 1997, the Agency will  continue to
enhance wetlands protection, making wetlands
regulation more cost-effective and flexible. EPA
will encourage states and tribes to  develop and
implement Wetlands Conservation Plans and
promote state and tribal assumption of regulatory
authority and other mechanisms that rely on
local decision-making. EPA will increase the use
of wetlands mitigation banking and support
landowners interested in voluntary wetlands
stewardship. Through stakeholder partnerships,
the  Agency   will  pursue voluntary  and
incentive-based  measures throughout the
Mississippi River watershed to address excessive
nutrient  runoff that contributes  to  hypoxia
problems in coastal Louisiana and Texas.
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                               WATER   QUALITY
Ensuring Environmental Accountability
Through Better Compliance

        In  1997,  EPA will  promote  a
comprehensive approach for compliance and
enforcement  to  ensure  environmental
accountability in  protection of the nation's
waterways.   The Water Quality Enforcement
Program will ensure compliance with permits
issued under NPDES and for the discharge of
dredged or fill material into navigable waterways.
The program will concentrate activities in targeted
high risk sectors, ecosystems, and populations.
We will quickly identify violators and take swift
action to ensure compliance.
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                                DRINKING  WATER
       Violations of national  drinking water
health standards have  increased  since the
implementation of major new regulations under
the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments.
In 1994, 23 million people were provided water
that violated drinking water health standards at
least once during the year.  An additional 23
million people were placed at increased  risk
because they were served by systems that had
inadequate or no filtration treatment.

       The Drinking Water program  was
established to ensure that public water supplies
are free  of contaminants that  may  pose
unacceptable human health risks and to protect
our groundwater resources. The 1993 Milwaukee
drinking water crisis and further outbreaks in
Washington,  B.C. and New York City reduced
confidence in our drinking water quality.

       The 1986 Amendments to the  Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA) impose nationwide
safeguards for drinking  water and establish
Federal  enforcement responsibility when
necessary.  EPA's goal is to ensure that every
public water  system will  provide water that is
consistently safe to drink.  To meet this goal, two
challenges must be met. First, EPA, in partnership
with the states, must ensure that people already
receivinghigh-quality drinking water continue to
do so.  Second, EPA and the states must continue
to reduce the percentage of  the population
receiving  drinking  water from public water
systems that are in violation of EPA standards
and state health requirements.

       The  1997 President's Budget provides
$69.8 million and  576 workyears for the
Drinking Water program.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       For  the past year,  EPA has been
conducting an  extensive reassessment of its
Drinking Water program in response to the need
to focus on the highest risk reduction activities,
implement stakeholder requested improvements,
and be better prepared to deal with serious public
health concerns caused by contaminated drinking
water. The Agency held a series of public meetings,
attended by over 500  stakeholders, to discuss
EPA's approach to this reinvention/redirection
 effort. The four primary objectives of this effort
 are: (1) risk-based priorities for settinghigh quality
 standards; (2) standards based on sound science
 and data; (3) strong, flexible partnerships with
 states and local governments in implementation;
 and (4) community-based source water protection.
Focusing on the Highest-Risks

       EPA will continue to  implement  the
Administration's regulatory reinvention initiative
that targets  safety standards, research, and
resources on contaminants that pose the greatest
threats to human health. EPA will concentrate a
major portion of its resources on developing safety
standards for microbial contaminants, especially
cryptosporidium, and the risks created from the
treatment of microbial contaminants. These risks
are being addressed in the Microbial-Disinfection -
By-Products (M-DBP)  cluster rule, one of the
most comprehensive and complex set of rules
under development in the Agency.

       In addition to the contaminants addressed
in the  M-DBP cluster  rule,  EPA will initiate
development of safety standards for other critical,
high-risk threats to drinking water safety that
are currently not being adequately addressed
(e.g., total triazines).
Strengthening Data and Science

       EPA  continues  to emphasize the
importance of quality data in setting drinking
water standards and assessing progress of public
water systems.  The new Safe Drinking Water
Information System (SDWIS) will be completed
in 1997 and the installation of SDWIS is expected
in approximately 15  states.  EPA will provide
training to state and Regional staff, to provide
complete, accurate, and timely data.

       The Information Collection Rule (ICR), a
component of SDWIS, will be issued in the spring
of 1996. The investment in the ICR, one of the
rules under the M-DBP cluster, funds the Federal
government's role in the collection and analysis of
occurrence and treatment data by local public
utilitiesfor disinfectants, disinfection by-products,
and microorganisms.
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                               DRINKING   WATER
Engaging in Flexible Partnerships
with the States

       EPA believes that  strong,  flexible
partnerships with state and local governments
are an effective way to reduce health risks. In an
effort to  make  drinking water monitoring
requirements more flexible and efficient, EPA is
working  on the  simplification of monitoring
requirements for chemical  contaminants in
drinking  water.   The chemical monitoring rule
will  provide flexibility  to  state  and local
governments  in  setting sampling frequencies
based on the vulnerability  of the drinking water
system.

       EPA has helped create the Safe Drinking
Water Partnership, a voluntary partnership
through which public water utilities pledge to
reduce microbial contaminants beyond regulatory
requirements through a series of good engineering
practices.  It is expected that by the end of 1997
over 500  water utilities across the nation will
have joined with  EPA and major water
associations in this Partnership.
Supporting Partnerships with Small Systems

       EPA will continue to support the states in
ensuring that small drinking water system s have
the capability to attain and maintain compliance
over the long term. EPA is working with states
and small systems to provide additional flexibility
for small systems wherever possible, including
monitoring waivers, best available technology for
smaller systems, and prevention approaches to
streamline and tailor implementation.

       EPA will  also continue its partnership
with rural water organizations to assist some
175,000 community public water systems. These
rural water organizations will provide technical
assistance to small communities, especially those
systems identified as needing assistance to stay
in compliance with SDWA.
Continuing Community-Based Source Water
Protection

       EPA will  continue to emphasize the
implementation of "community-based" programs
to protect the source waters — both surface and
ground—that supply the drinking water for some
60,000 community public water systems.  The
Source Water Protection (SWP) program  is a
common-sense approach to preventing pollution
of lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater that
serve as drinkingwater sources. EPA will provide
technical assistance to communities implementing
Wellhead Protection and SWP program activities
and will implement a multi-partner effort in 20
states to assist communities in establishing
citizen-led SWP programs.

       EPA will continue to protect groundwater
through regulation and management of Class I,
II, III underground injection wells. The final UIC
rule  on Class V shallow injection wells will be
promulgated in 1997.  This rule will restrict the
use of Class V injection wells for an estimated
120,000 industrial waste disposal concerns.
Providing Strong Enforcement

       EPA is committed to a strong enforcement
presence to ensure that drinking water supplies
meet SDWA requirements. EPA will enforce the
Public Water System Supervision  (PWSS)
programs, with priority given to the Surface Water
Treatment Rule (SWTR), total coliform, and Lead
and Copper regulations, and the Underground
Injection Control  (UIC) programs.  EPA  has
launched a pilot compliance assurance project
called "Partners in Healthy Drinking Water".
The purpose of this project is to assist small public
water  systems  in  complying with  the
microbiological monitoring requirements for
drinking water. EPA will continue to team public
water systems that have excellent compliance
records with systems that are regularly or
intermittently not in compliance.
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                              HAZARDOUS  WASTE
       Hazardous and municipal solid wastes
are an unavoidable part of modern life. Hazardous
wastes  are produced by over  180,000  large
business and industries, such as chemical and
manufacturingplants, and small businesses, such
as dry cleaners and printingplants. Approximately
209 million tons, 4 pounds per person per day, of
municipal solid wastes are produced annually.
Improperly managed wastes can lead to fires,
explosions, and contamination of the air, soil,
surface water and underground drinking water
supplies, and can cause harm to the health of
workers and communities. The Hazardous Waste
program was established to meet the overall goal
of proper prevention, management and disposal
ofhazardous and municipal solid wastes generated
nationwide.

       The Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA) of 1976, as revised by the Hazardous
and Solid Waste Amendments (HWSA) of 1984,
provides the legislative mandate to ensure safe
management and disposal of solid and hazardous
wastes, minimize the generation of new wastes,
and prevent and detect leakage from underground
storage tanks (UST). Under the RCRA program,
EPA has worked with our partners to establish
regulations, national policies and provide guidance
for  regulated entities, including those who
generate, treat, store, or dispose of waste. The
Emergency   Planning   and  Community
Right-to-Know Act, Title III of the  Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act of  1986,
set up a framework to address risks posed by
hazardous chemicals in communities.

       The 1997  President's Budget provides
$195.7 million and 1,327 workyearsto  meet
the environmental goals of the Hazardous Waste
program. The major direction for the hazardous
waste program will be to focus private and public
resources on  efforts that address the greatest
environmental risk including corrective action
stabilizations and permits. For RCRA regulatory
reinvention activities, the Agency will work to
implement waste management standards based
on levels of risk rather than a one-size-fits-all
approach. EPA will also help tribal governments
establish integrated waste management
programs, including the safe managementof solid
waste, hazardous waste and underground storage
tanks. Resources will also fund a comprehensive
state and Federal review of current information
 systems in order to streamline industry reporting,
 develop more effective measures of environmental
 results and complement the Agency's One Stop
 Reporting initiative.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       In 1997, the Agency will increase the
Hazardous Waste program's flexibility  and
effectiveness by strengthening our regulatory
reinvention activities,  streamlining permit
writing, helping state and tribal governments
meet their environmental mandates, encouraging
safe waste management approaches that reflect
relative risk, and providing a national outreach
and education network.
Promoting Regulatory Flexibility
and Innovation and Strengthening
State and Tribal Partnerships

       A  total of $137.3  million  and  828
workyears  are provided  to  support  the
implementation of the RCRA program.   The
Agency's strategy is to ensure adequate and safe
treatment ofhazardous waste through the proper
management of storage, treatment and disposal.
Minimizing the volume and toxicity of wastes is
one of the most effective means of protecting
public health and the environment from exposure
to hazardous waste. The priority in 1997 will be
to increase regulatory flexibility by using the
common sense approach to revising, implementing
and enforcing regulations and standards.  The
Agency will focus resources on addressing
immediate risks and taking actions to control the
further spread of contamination, helpingto ensure
maximum protection of human health and the
environment.

       In addition, the Agency will continue
ongoing initiatives to speed up and simplify the
cleanup, permitting and state  authorization
processes.  In particular, the Hazardous Waste
Identification Media and Process Rules (HWIR)
and revisions  to the remediation waste rule
(Subpart S)  will yield significant savings for
industry as well as states and the Agency. The
HWIR  rule will focus on methods to  release
low-risk hazardous wastes from regulation, and
the Subpart S rule will encourage innovative
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                              HAZARDOUS  WASTE
 approaches to safe waste management and clarify
 cleanup guidelines. In combination with increased
 attention to the use of state and other cleanup
 authorities,  these measures  will continue the
 momentum toward environmental results rather
 than a process-driven program.

       As part of our effort to promote flexibility
 and innovation in environmental regulations, the
 Agency will continue to work closely with states,
 tribal governments and local groups to strengthen
 waste management methods. For example, the
 Agency is now considering ways to improve work
 on  safe waste management  in  the petroleum
 industry as part of the Common Sense Initiative.
 The Agency will work with petroleum sector
 stakeholders to  identify and improve overly
 complex or overlapping environmental regulations
 and standards. This initiative is critical to the
 Agency's effort to make all programs more efficient
 as well as to meet our environmental goals for
 waste minimization, safe management of wastes,
 and cleanup of contaminated sites.

       Improving solid waste management is a
 high priority for many tribal governments, and
 the Agency will offer more direct assistance and
 guidance to  tribes.  The Agency's partnership
 with specific tribal governments will center on
 identifying viable and affordable technologies that
 would be  appropriate  for small,  remote
 communities.  Other resources and technical
 support will be provided to bring together
 interested tribal governments, Native Alaskan
Villages, other state/local governments and
non-governmental organizations, to analyze the
potential benefits of developing and implementing
partnerships  to   improve  tribal  waste
management. EPA will coordinate closely with
 our state  partners, tribal governments and
industry to establish safe, effective and efficient
 environmental goals in managing  solid waste.
The Agency  will  link safe waste management
 strategies  with assistance to communities to
prevent, assess, safely clean up and sustainably
reuse industrial sites.
Improving Local-level Prevention Planning

       For the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Title III program, the
1997 President's Budget provides $14.9 million
 and 69 workyears to help states  and local
 governments address risks posed by hazardous
 chemicals present in communities. The Agency's
 key priority in 1997 is to ensure states receive the
 support they need to build accidental release
 prevention programs. EPA will provide technical
 assistance and training to assist states develop
 legislative  programs,  establish  funding
 mechanisms, develop  accident  prevention
 techniques,  and register and review facility
 management plans.  In addition,  the Agency,
 along with the Occupational Safety and Health
 Administration (OSHA), will jointly investigate
 and determine the causes and effects of significant
 chemical releases into the environment and make
 recommendations to prevent further  accidents,
 thereby protecting public health, safety, and the
 environment.
Eliminating Health Risks
Posed bv Underground Storage Tanks

       A total of $7.3 million and 59 workyears
are provided for the Underground Storage Tank
(UST) program. The UST program addresses one
of EPA's largest regulated communities, covering
more than one million active USTs at over 400,000
facilities across the United States.  The Agency
will work with states to implement and enforce
the 1998 tank deadline to upgrade, replace, or
close tanks.  EPA will also  continue efforts to
build and support strong state, local, and tribal
programs, ensuring that another generation of
leaking tanks is not created. Moreover, the Agency
will pursue a long-term strategy to develop
techniques that involve the private sector more
directly in promoting good tank management by
owners and operators, and will continue to focus
on strengthening partnerships with states, local
and tribal governments.
Focusing Enforcement Activities
on Higher Risks

       The 1997 budget for Hazardous Waste
enforcement is $33.6 million and 364 workyears.
In support of the Agency's goal to prevent waste
and harmful chemical releases, EPA will work to
ensure combustion facilities are in compliance
withpermitregulations. The Agency will continue
to work with  states to enhance inspection and
                                             22

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                            HAZARDOUS   WASTE
enforcement activities at these  facilities and
develop voluntary compliance programs.  The
Agency will continue compliance monitoring and
enforcement actions against those handlers and
non-notifiers presenting the greatest threat to
human health and the environment.  Resources
will be provided to tribal governments to assist in
building their capability to enforce solid waste
regulations.
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                                   PESTICIDES
       Pesticides are used in a remarkably
 diverse array of products, from insect repellents
 to crop weed killers to household disinfectants to
 swimming pool  chemicals.   They are often
 intentionally applied in the environment, rather
 than occurring as a by-product of industry or
 other human activity. They are found and used in
 nearly every home and business in the United
 States. However, acute and chronichumanhealth
 and environmental risks can be associated with
 the use of many of these chemicals. At the same
 time, the use of pesticides in the United States
 contributes to  increased and diversified
 agricultural production and improves public
 health through the control of  disease-carrying
 pests. EPA is responsible for balancing the risks
 to the nation's health and environment posed by
 pesticides with the  benefits from the use of
 pesticides.

       The Pesticides Program derives its
 statutory authority from the Federal Insecticide,
 Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the
 Federal Food, Drug and  Cosmetic  Act.  The
 Agency's decision whether or not to register new
 pesticides and reregister existing  pesticides
 reflects the balance between risks to publichealth
 and the environment and economic benefits.
 Registration  and reregistration  decisions
 prescribe permissible uses,  conditions  for
 application and  other measures which  are
 designed to ensure that the pesticide, when used
 as directed, will not pose an unacceptable risk to
 public health and the environment.

       The  1997 President's Budget provides
 $82.1 million and  862  workyears for  the
 Pesticides Program. The major goal of the program
 is to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply.
 This goal is accomplished by setting standards for
 the safe use of pesticides through registration
 and reregistration, and establishing tolerances
for pesticide residues in food. At the same time,
 pesticides benefit the public's health by controlling
 potential disease-causingorganismsfoundinfood,
 water, and other settings. This program reduces
risks from pesticides in food, the workplace, and
 other exposure pathways and prevents pollution
by encouraging the use of new, safer pesticides
and biologicals.
                HIGHLIGHTS

        In 1997, the Administration will improve
 the safety of America's food supply by registering
 new pesticides, reregistering existing pesticides,
 and setting tolerance levels for pesticide residues
 in food and food crops. Efforts will be undertaken
 to allow public access to a larger quantity of the
 Agency's pesticide data and to allow easier access
 by individuals who live in  economically
 disadvantaged areas. While new initiatives will
 help  protect the health and environment  of
 farmers, farm workers, tribes, and communities,
 a  strong enforcement program will ensure
 enforcement  and compliance  with the nation's
 pesticide laws.
Focusing on Registration!
ReregistrationlTolerance Setting

       The 1997 President's Budget provides
$37.4 million and 360 workyears for pesticide
registration,  reregistration, and tolerance
activities.  In registering new pesticides, EPA
requires appropriate scientific  tests to help
determine whether apesticide could cause adverse
effects to  humans,  wildlife, fish,  or plants.
Scientific data on the fate of pesticides  in the
environment also allows the Agency to  assess
threats to surface and ground water and other
environmental issues. In 1997, theAgency expects
to issue  approximately 40  new pesticide
registrations.

       The Reregistration Program encompasses
over 400 active ingredients and 22,000 pesticide
products. Many of these pesticides have not been
tested  and evaluated using current scientific
technology  and knowledge.    The  1988
Amendments to FIFRArequire EPA to thoroughly
review and evaluate all pesticide products that
contain active ingredients initially registered
before November  1,  1984. This comprehensive
reevaluation of pesticides under current scientific
standards is critical to protecting human health
and  the  environment.  In  1997, the Agency
anticipates that  40 pesticide Reregistration
Eligibility Decisions will be issued.
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                                   PESTICIDES
       The authority for pesticide maintenance
fees that support the reregistration of existing
pesticides will expire on September 30,1997. The
Administration will propose legislation to extend
and increase maintenance fees. This will ensure
that manufacturers of pesticide products continue
to bear a fair share of costs to complete the
Reregistration Program which ensures that up-
to-date scientific methods have been used to
determine that proper use of their products will
not pose an unreasonable risk of adverse effects to
human health  or  the  environment.   The
Administration also supports the reinstatement
of pesticide registration fees that were suspended
by Congress in 1988.

       In 1997, the Agency will continue to work
and consult with the  U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration,
and the states in monitoring pesticide use and
pesticide residues in food and animal feed.
Increased emphasis will be placed on improving
the government's food safety program to protect
children.  This emphasis responds  to concerns
raised in   1993  National Academy of Science
report about pesticides in children's diets.
Enhancing Public Access to Pesticide Data

       The 1997 President's Budget provides
$0.8 million to improve public access to pesticide
databases.  Efforts will be increased to provide
public access  to an enormous volume of health
and safety studies that  EPA has collected.
Economically disadvantaged areas will receive
access to Agency information that answers
questions asked by citizens about pesticides.
Strengthening Support for
Communities. Farm Workers, and Tribes

       The  1997 President's  Budget provides
$0.9 million and 2 workyears for a Design for the
Environment for Farmers project.  This project
will complete a catalogue of existing tools for
community-based environmental protection and
conduct a survey of potential users of such tools.
An assessment of the needs of organizations
actually   conducting   community-based
environmental protection will be made available.
Technical guidance and analytical tools will help
communities evaluate their  environmental
problems.

       The Worker Protection Standards affect
three to four million pesticide handlers, as well as
over one million agricultural establishments. In
1997, the Agency will work with the  states in
developing and distributing information for farm
workers, training,  and  follow-up  to local
governments, growers, grower organizations, and
agricultural workers. EPA's Regions will provide
technical assistance to states, coordinate with
affected agencies, and distribute materials.

       EPA will increase activities supporting
tribal governments as part of the Agency's goal of
healthy terrestrial ecosystems.  The initiatives
include a course on pesticides for indian colleges;
a manual on indians' use of plants for food; and a
work-study program at Sinte Gleske University.

       In 1997, projects in both the  Toxic
Substances and Pesticides medias will support
community-based  ecosystems  activities.
Technical assistance will be provided to the states,
public, industry and others. Partnerships will be
developed in the communities and tribes to keep
EPA focused on issues of concern  to  these
communities.
Focusing on Pesticide Enforcement

       The  1997  President's  Budget provides
$4.1 million and 60 workyears for the Pesticide
Enforcement Program. This program will focus
on problems relating to urban pesticide misuse,
ineffective hospital disinfectants, food safety, and
worker safety  protection.  This program will
develop and issue enforcement cases of FIFRA
violations that pose high risks for which the
states do not have delegated authority.
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                                    RADIATION
       Radioactive materials are used or stored
 at thousands of federal facilities, over 100 nuclear
 reactors, and many thousands of other locations.
 EPA guidance and standards for the cleanup and
 management of radioactive materials will ensure
 thatthefederalgovemmentdoesnotspendbillions
 of dollars in unnecessary cleanup costs. Another
 key component of EPA's  radiation program is
 oversight of the Department of Energy's (DOE)
 operation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a
 potential radioactive waste disposal site.

       The EPA program to address radiation
 issues is derived from a number of statutes. These
 include the Clean Air Act of 1990, the Waste
 Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Land Withdrawal
 Act, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Atomic
 Energy Act, the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
 Control Act, the Indoor Radon Abatement Act,
 and  the   Superfund   Amendments   and
 Reauthorization Act of 1986.

       The 1997 President's Budget requests a
 total of $20.4 million and 114 workyearsunder
 the EPM appropriation to implement four major
 program objectives established for the Agency's
 radiation programs. These  objectives include:
 reducing adverse effects from radiation exposure
 through a program of standards and guidelines;
 assessing and quantifying existing and emerging
 radiation problems and their potential impacts
 on health and the environment; responding to
 radiation issues of serious public concern; and
 responding to  emergencies,  if needed,  and
 developing  and testing Federal, state and local
 plans for emergency response.
               HIGHLIGHTS

Overseeinff DOE Waste Disposal at
the Waste Isolation Pilot Project

       The 1997 President's Budget requests
$6.4 million and 27 workyears for a  variety of
tasks associated with the WIPP, a disposal site in
New Mexico  for high-level waste  from the
production of nuclear weapons. Under the WIPP
Land Withdrawal Act of 1992, EPA is responsible
for establishing disposal standards, developing
regulations to establish compliance criteria, and
certifying Department of Energy's compliance.
DOE, which operates WIPP,  plans to submit its
 application for this certification in October 1996.
 EPA must approve or disapprove this application
 within one year after receipt. If EPA certifies that
 the WIPP is in compliance with the radioactive
 waste disposal standards, the DOE will be required
 to submit a recertification application every five
 years to EPAfor review in determining continued
 compliance.
Implementing Existing Standards
and New Requirements

       The 1997 President's Budget requests
$10.1 million and 63 workyears under the EPM
appropriation to establish  standards  for
radioactive waste management and develop
Federal guidance. EPA will continue to promote
the transfer of implementation responsibilities
for the radionuclide National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) to the
states. Videotape training will be supplemented
with  direct assistance  to deal with unique
problems raised by the states and local authorities.
EPA will work closely with DOE as it continues to
decontaminate and decommission buildings and
facilities.

       Radioactive materials are used at over
20,000 sites including DOE facilities and over 100
nuclear power plants. Billions of dollars could be
potentially wasted by inadequate cleanup efforts.
In 1997 EPA will continue development of cleanup
criteria for sites contaminated with radionuclides
that will provide clear and consistent groundrules
for cleanup.
Supporting Emergency Preparedness

       The  1997  President's Budget requests
$1.5 million and 17 workyears for its emergency
preparedness efforts. In 1997 EPA will continue
its  classroom and field training programs to
maintain and improve the capabilities of the EPA
Radiological  Emergency Response Team.  EPA
will also continue to work with other Federal
agencies and the  international community on
formal agreements dealingwith communications,
coordination of response  efforts, and mutual
assistance for responding to emergencies.
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                                  MULTIMEDIA
       Effective  response  to environmental
problems today  requires  a comprehensive
cross-media approach. Environmental problems
are complex by nature and require a broad base of
knowledge to understand  them and design
effective solutions. Multimedia program activities
promote an integrated approach to environmental
protection and provide  cross-media  support to
Agencymedia programs. The Multimedia program
is developing and utilizing  multimedia,
sector-based, strategically targeted techniques to
meet the  requirements  of environmental
protection.

       The Enforcement  program  will  be
representative of the Agency's efforts to both
maintain an effective enforcement presence, and
encourage voluntary  compliance through
compliance assistance  and incentives. The
Enforcement program provides civil and criminal
investigations, technicalforensicsupportandlegal
support for enforcement actions. The program
will  also foster compliance  through voluntary
partnerships,  compliance incentives and
compliance assistance efforts for small businesses.

       The Multimedia media will also provide
lead efforts for regulatory reinvention projects
such as Project XL  and the  Common  Sense
Initiative (CSI). The Environmental Technology
Initiative (ETI)  will continue to focus on
eliminating barriers in the regulatory and
permitting process of new technologies through
collaboration with public and private sector
partners. The Multimedia media will also support
specific U.S.  Mexico Border activities, legal
services and InformationResourcesManagement.

       In 1997, EPA requests a total of $331.8
million and 1,749 workyears for Multimedia
programs in the Environmental Program and
Management account.
              HIGHLIGHTS

Improving Environmental Protection
in Tribal Lands

       In 1997, the Agency  will continue to
expand and improve its program delivery to tribal
governments and to develop government-
to-government relations with tribes in fulfillment
 of its trust responsibilities. The American Indian
 program will coordinate and implement EPA's
 tribal environmental policies.  The Agency will
 continue development of a national environmental
 strategy; develop and operate a clearinghouse for
 tribal  environmental information; coordinate
 interagency cooperation for the improvement of
 environmental conditions on Indian lands; and
 support the Agency's tribal operations committee.
Maintaining Strong Enforcement
and Expanding Compliance Assistance

       The 1997 request  for  multimedia
Enforcement program activities is $ 126.1 million
and 1,079 workyears. The program will continue
to place a priority on ensuring compliance with
environmental statutes enactedby Congress. The
program will preserve the strong enforcement
program which was essential to the environmental
and public health improvements of the past 25
years and which must remain in place if EPA is to
fulfill its mandate to bring safe air, water and food
to all Americans. This  request will fully fund
EPA's front line workforce of environmental
inspectors and  investigators.  Keeping the
environmental cop on the beat will mean that the
vast majority of businesses which seek to comply
with the law will be rewarded with a level playing
field, that bad actors will not gain from violating
the law, and that every American will have equal
access to a clean environment in which to live and
work.

        At the same time, this budget supports
the Agency's compliance assistance efforts. EPA
will redirect additional resources from  single
media, single industry compliance problems to
multimedia  compliance  assistance.   The
Enforcement program will pursue the strategy of
providing compliance assistance to the regulated
community by developing andimplementingways
to  encourage voluntary compliance with
environmental regulations.

       One  example of developing  assistance
tools for the regulated community are the Small
Business Compliance Assistance Centers. These
Centers   provide one-stop shopping for all
regulations for a  given industry sector such as
printing or metal  finishing. The Centers contain
plain-english guides to compliance requirements
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                                 MULTIMEDIA
and technical assistance resources,  assistance
and training on treatment technologies, and
methodologies for self-audits and compliance
surveys.

       The  Enforcement program will also
expand the Environmental Leadership Project
(ELP) . The project encourages corporations in
partnership with EPA to develop individualized
innovative auditing and compliance  programs.
One of the many successes of ELP to date involves
the Gillette Corporation's implementation of a
self-audit program at three of their facilities. The
proactive program will allow Gillette to identify,
correct and prevent environmental issues before
a regulatory  entity need be involved, saving
Gillette, the government and the public time,
money, and the quality of the environment.
Providing Opportunities for
 Decision-making at the Community Level

       EPA requests $38.7 million  and 29
workyears for unique multimedia programs that
provide communities with decision-making
opportunities regarding local environmental
programs. In 1997, the Agency will launch the
Sustainable Development  Challenge Grant
Program with $10.0 million and 5 workyears.
These grants will leverage public and private
community investment to improve environmental
quality whileenhancingeconomicprosperity. This
program will challenge communities to meet their
present needs without compromising the needs of
future  generations through broad and open
community involvement and investment.

       The 1997  budget also includes  $15.8
million for the Regional  Multimedia  Program
which is designed to fund  projects based on
comparative risk surveys and/or to meet local
needs in a particular community or region of the
country that are not addressed under traditional
single media programs. Likewise, the Agency's
environmental education  program  fosters
educational partnerships among government,
business, academic institutions and community
groups to promote a better understanding of the
interrelationships  among environmental,
economic, and social issues.  Each  of these
investments demonstrates the Administration's
commitment to help local governments and public
citizens resolve environmental problems in their
communities.
Protecting U.S. Interests and
Upholdintf International Agreements

       The Agency will continue to protect the
public health and natural resources ofU.S. citizens
by upholding the  La Paz Agreement  and the
environmental side agreement  of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  In
1997, EPA requests $2.7 million and 13 workyears
to operate two border offices and to implement
the Border XXI Program. The Border XXI Program
will address  the  complex,  multimedia
environmental problems facing communities
along the U.S.-Mexican border.  This program
also funds community grants, emphasizes public
participation,  and  promotes  sustainable
development. These efforts will be supported by
the operation of two border offices in the cities of
San Diego, California and El Paso, Texas. Both
offices play important roles in coordinating EPA
activities with the International Boundary and
Water Commission, the Pan American Health
Organization, the Border  Environmental
Cooperation Commission, and the North American
Development Bank. These activities complement
media-specific  activities conducted along the
U.S.-Mexico Border.
Promoting Multimedia Policy Development.
Economics and Prof ram Implementation

       1997 will be a pivotal year for assessing
the Nation's progress and commitment to reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. The Agency requests
$30.9 million and 33 workyears to carry out six
components of  the U.S. Climate Change Action
Plan (CCAP). These six components, managed by
the  Multimedia Policy  Development and
Economics Program, contribute to the  U.S.
commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
to 1990 levels by the year 2000. These resources
will complement the CCAP efforts under the Air
media. As part of the Environmental Technology
Initiative (ETI),  the Multimedia Policy
Development and  Economics Program will
continue to focus on eliminating barriers in the
regulatory and permitting processes which inhibit
the  private  sector from  developing  new
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                                  MULTIMEDIA
technologies and fostering cleaner and cheaper
solutions to environmental problems. The Agency
requests $13.3 million and 25 workyears for this
effort which complements ETI activities performed
in other Agency programs.

       Project XL has been introduced  as a
centerpiece  of the Agency's commitment  to
reinvent environmental regulation. In 1997, the
Multimedia Policy Development and Economics
Program will lead the Agency's implementation
and evaluation of Project XL with an investment
of $1.2 million and  15 workyears. This  pilot
program will provide a limited number of regulated
companies,  states, communities  and federal
facilities with the opportunity to replace existing
environmental rules with alternative strategies
of their own  design that achieve  superior
environmental performance. Another regulatory
reinvention effort beingundertaken by the Agency
is the Common Sense Initiative (CSI) which will
work to overcome the problems that many sectors
encounter in their efforts to manage industrial
pollution.  In 1997, the Agency requests  $1.8
million and  12 workyears for the Multimedia
Policy  Development  and  Economics  Program
which will focus on implementation of the metal
finishingpilot and laying the foundation for future
CSI industries and projects. The CSI effort is also
underway in the media program offices.

       In addition, the Agency will expand the
ability to characterize and quantify benefits  of
EPA programs through the establishment of an
Economics Studies Center.  The Center  will
operate as an information clearinghouse  and
technical assistance service center to improve
applied research  used in the development  of
regulatory options and economic analyses.  The
1997 budget includes $1.0 million  and 19
workyearsforthe Center. Finally, the Multimedia
Regulatory andCommunityBasedEnvironmental
Protection Program will provide support for the
Agency's  Community Based Environmental
Protection (CBEP) Program and  the National
Service Program (NSP). The 1997budgetrequests
for $1.8 million and 27 workyears for the CBEP to
pilot innovative programs with state and local
governments and  to  develop and  disseminate
ecological, economic and social science tools needed
by environmental practitioners. With $2.0 million
and 2 workyears in 1997, the NSP will work with
Americorps, VISTA, RSVP and other volunteers
at the local level to correct environmental problems
such as stream restoration, lead abatement, radon
detection and solid waste management.
Continuing Legal Support Services

       The 1997 budget for the General Counsel
includes $26.5  million and  280  workyears to
provide legal advice  and assistance to both
Headquarters and Regional managers. In 1997,
the General Counsel will focus new resources on
employment  law and ethics in light  of  the
Administration's streamlining and reinvention
efforts,  especially  as they relate to the
labor-management partnerships established
under Executive Order 12871. In addition,  the
General Counsel proposes to redirect and invest
workyears to accelerate the issuance of Clean Air
Act rules and standards. Finally, the General
Counsel will redirect existing workyears in
support of the Agency's increased attention to
Indian  law  issues, environmental justice,
community-based environmental protection and
endangered species.
Coordinating Our Information
Resources Management

       The Agency requests  a  total of $29.8
million and seven workyears for the Executive
Steering Committee for Information Resources
Management (ESC). In 1997 the ESC will focus
on three key area:  Reinventing Environmental
Regulations, Community-Based Environmental
Protection, and Work Process Reinvention.  The
Reinventing Environmental Regulations effort
will substantially reduce reporting burdens for
the regulated community, integrate reporting
requirements,  and  make  environmental
information more acceptable to the public.  The
Community-Based Environmental Protection
effort will provide easy access to environmental
information for state and local governments to
allow them to act  on local issues and protect
ecosystems.   The  Work Process Reinvention
initiative will automate reporting by industry
and states through the use of Electronic Data
Interchange.
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                                     MULTIMEDIA
Promoting Pollution Prevention

       The Agency requests a total of $23.4
million and 65 workyears for the multimedia
Pollution Prevention program.  The  program's
multimedia mission includes the development of
multimedia pollution prevention strategies and
their use through national, Regional, and state
environmental  programs. This  program
coordinates the Agency's activities to implement
the requirements of the Pollution Prevention Act
of 1990 and  contains  activities in  the toxic
substances media as well.

       In  1997,  the multimedia  pollution
prevention program will target it efforts to areas
where prevention offers the greatest opportunity
to reduce threats to the environment and public
health.  Because EPA believes that pollution
prevention can benefit both the environment and
the economy, the Agency's policy is designed to
maximize private sector initiatives by challenging
industry to achieve ambitious prevention goals
such as through the Design for Environment
program or the Green Chemistry program. This
approach encourages more businesses to identify
andprofitfrom opportunitiesforprevention, which
in turn yield significant public dividends in the
form of increased environmental protection.
Ensuring Environmental Justice

       The Agency requests a total of 3.4 million
and 11 workyears for the Agency Environmental
Justice program. The Agency program, distinct
from the environmental justice initiatives in each
office, will continue to coordinate the Regional
and Headquarters organization's environmental
justice programs. The program will support the
National EnvironmentalJustice Advisory Council
which  advises  the  Administrator   on
environmental  problems in low income and
minority communities. The program will also
fund grants to community groups and universities
to address environmental justice issues.
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                              Toxic   SUBSTANCES
       Human beings and the environment are
exposed each year to a large number of chemical
substances and mixtures.   Among the many
chemical substances and mixtures which are
constantly being developed and produced, there
are  some  whose manufacture, processing,
distribution in commerce, use, or disposal may
present an unreasonable risk of injury to public
health or the environment.  The United States
chemical industry manufactures or imports more
than 50,000 commercial chemicals.  Each year
approximately2,200 new chemicals are developed
and added to this list of existing chemicals. EPA
is responsible for protecting the public and the
environment from unreasonable risks associated
with the manufacture, use,  and  disposal of all
commercial toxic chemicals.

       EPA's Toxic Substances Program relies
on legislative authority  under the  Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA), Asbestos School
Hazard Abatement Act, Asbestos  Hazard
Emergency   Response  Act,   Emergency
Preparedness and Community Right-to-Know Act
(EPCRA),  Pollution Prevention  Act, and the
Residential Lead-based Paint Hazard Reduction
Act.   These laws  focus on  the  prevention  or
elimination of unreasonable risks to publichealth
and the environment from  exposures to toxic
chemicals.  The program reduces unnecessary
exposure, promotes  pollution  prevention, and
encourages safer chemicals and use patterns.

       The 1997 President's Budget provides
$81.8 million and 590 workyearsfor the Toxic
Substances programs. Increased emphasis will
be placed on providing more effective, accurate
and efficient information to the public to assist
them  in evaluating environmental risks and
understanding the opportunities for pollution
prevention. Industrial facilities are among the
greatest sources of toxic  chemicals released into
the environment.   EPA is  shifting program
emphasis  from command and control to
partnership, voluntary  participation, market
incentives and empowerment at  the state and
local levels.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       In 1997, the Toxic Substances programs
will respond to specific environmental concerns
about lead, PCBs, and other existing chemicals,
as well as concerns about new chemical products.
EPA will prevent health and environmental risks
from new chemicals and reduce risks from old
chemicals.  EPA  will provide the public with
information, through the Toxic Release Inventory,
about chemicals emitted by companies.  The
Design for the Environment and Common Sense
Initiatives will prevent and reduce pollution in
specific industrial sectors,  while a  strong
enforcement program  will ensure enforcement
and compliance with EPCRA and the toxic
substances laws.
Addressing Chemicals of National Concern

       The  1997 President's Budget  provides
$17.8 million and 96 workyears for  the lead
abatement   program.    Lead  exposure
disproportionately affects children of minorities
and the poor in urban areas. EPA's Environmental
Justice Program will assist minority  and low
income communities in addressing local lead
problems. Working with states, EPA will assist
in the development of lead-based paint abatement
training  programs, standards  for abatement
activities, and  a  model  state program for
compliance  with training and accreditation
requirements. EPA coordinates this effort with
the  Department of  Housing  and  Urban
Development and other  Federal agencies. Since
an important part of EPA's lead program is
communicating the risks of lead to the general
population, health professionals, lead-based paint
abatement  workers,  and state and local
governments, EPA will disseminate information
through its lead hotline  and lead clearinghouse.

      Although PCBs are no longer produced in
large quantities,  exposure hazards persist from
the more than 1.6 billion pounds of PCBs still in
use in the United States. EPA issues permits to
facilities for  the  storage and disposal of PCB
wastes,  and is proposing a change  in PCB
permitting.  EPA will devolve PCB permitting
responsibilities to the states; this will streamline
Federal functions and further empower states to
manage local environmental matters.
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                              Toxic   SUBSTANCES
Building Community Self Reliance
(Right-to-Know)

       The  1997 President's  Budget provides
$25.7  million  and  112 workyears for the
Community Right-to-Know Program.  This
Program recognizes the  right of citizens to be
aware of chemicals released into  their local
environment. EPA will emphasize the importance
of making information about significant chemical
releases publicly available and allow informed
public  participation in discussions of potential
risks from such emissions. This information is
published annually in  the  Toxics Release
Inventory (TRI) public data release.  In 1997,
technological changes will be implemented to
assist industry in submitting TRI data.  Under
the terms of Presidential Executive Order 12969,
EPA will consider  expanding the number and
types of facilities that are required to submit TRI
data.
Assessing and Managing Chemicals

       The 1997  President's Budget provides
$29 million and 254 workyears for the Chemical
Assessment and Management programs. These
programs include chemical testing, the review of
new chemicals and biotechnology products, and
the management of risks posed by existing
chemicals. These programs form the core of the
Agency's TSCA regulatory program. In 1997, the
chemical testing program will  concentrate on
chemicals of concern identified by the TSCA
Interagency Testing Committee, chemicals for
which  other EPA program offices and other
Federal agencies have identified data needs, and
U.S. high production/importation volume
chemicals for which testing needs exist. The new
chemicals/biotechnology review program  will
review, for human health and environmental
concerns,  over 2,200 new  chemical and
biotechnology products submitted to the Agency.
The Existing Chemicals program will identify
risks, assess alternatives, and identify pollution
prevention opportunities for chemicals that are
currently sold and used in the United States.
Promoting Common Sense Activities

       EPA's Common Sense Initiative  will
achieve greater environmental protection at less
cost by addressing pollution on an industry-by-
industry basis.  As part of the larger Agency
program, the Toxic Substances Program will work
with the printed wiring board industry in the
electronics sector to evaluate  and  implement
alternative materials, processes, and technologies
that reduce environmental risks and production
costs. The Green Chemistry Program will promote
the development of products and processes that
reduce or eliminate toxic substances associated
with the design, manufacture, and use of
chemicals.  In essence, the Green  Chemistry
Program will recognize and promote fundamental
breakthroughs in chemistry that accomplish
pollution prevention cost effectively.
Expanding Pollution Prevention

       Pollution prevention is EPA's first choice
in environmental protection.  Building upon the
success of the 33/50 Program, EPA will develop a
newvoluntary industrial toxicsreduction program
that will encourage further  reductions in the
production, emission and use  of toxic chemicals.
The Agency will support the Pollution Prevention
Information Clearinghouse and other information
sources for the public. EPA will also help Federal
agencies identify and procure environmentally
preferable products, and assist businesses in
adopting environmental accounting to help them
identify how  pollution prevention pays off
financially.
Enforcing Toxic Substances and
EPCRALaws

       The 1997 President's Budget provides
$6.1 million and 87 workyears for  the Toxic
Substances Enforcement program. This program
will conduct inspections addressing TSCA, with
particular emphasis on worker protection and
pre-manufacturing notification. In those states
without cooperative enforcement agreements, the
program will conduct  risk-based compliance
inspections for TSCA, including inspections for
the high-risk PCB  and asbestos  in public/
commercial buildings programs.  The program
will conduct compliance monitoring and
enforcement activities  in any states without
cooperative enforcement agreements.
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                            Toxic  SUBSTANCES
       The 1997 President's Budget provides
$1.4 million and 21 workyears for the EPCRA
Enforcement program. This program will conduct
approximately 700 compliance inspections of, and
increase compliance assistance  outreach to,
chemical  facilities that use, manufacture  or
process potentially harmful chemicals that are
required to be reported under EPCRA.  The
program will target inspections and enforcement
actions at companies with data quality and data
reporting violations. The program will conduct
compliance inspections to detect companies that
have failed to report toxic chemical emissions.
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                        MANAGEMENT   &   SUPPORT
       As our understanding of complex
environmental problems improves,  there is a
growing demand for sophisticated technology,
analytical expertise, comprehensive  matrix
management and efficient support services. The
Management and Support program ensures that
executive direction, policy oversight, and a broad
spectrum of administrative support services are
provided to all Agency programs and facilities
across the nation. These activities are carried out
through the efforts of the Office of Policy, Planning
and Evaluation; the Office of International
Activities; the  Office of Administration and
Resources Management; and the Office of the
Administrator.

       Primary activities include planning and
budgeting,  program evaluation,  financial
management, health and safety,  economic
analysis, audit follow-up, intergovernmental and
international relations, information and human
resources management, and security. Key statutes
being addressed in 1997 include the Government
Performance and Results Act, the Chief Financial
Officers Act, the Federal Managers' Financial
Integrity Act, and Executive Orders on Customer
Service and Labor-Management Partnerships.

       The 1997 budget provides $534.3 million
and 2,651  workyearsfor the Management and
Support program.
               HIGHLIGHTS

Providing Leadership and Direction
for the Agency

       The 1997 budget provides $49.5 million
and 508  workyears  for  the  Office of the
Administrator (OA) which  provides essential
executive  policy direction,  intergovernmental
relations, public communication and outreach,
and executive administrative functions on behalf
of  the  Administrator,  the ten  Regional
Administrators and other senior managers.

       OA continues to strengthen current ways
of work as it carries out essential legislative,
judicial andmanagementfunctions. In particular,
OA will increase support for the Administrative
Law Judges to provide timely review andjudgment
on cases brought before the Agency. This means
that those guilty of environmental violations will
 be identified sooner—  resulting in penalty
 assessments— and those not guilty will be
 exonerated sooner- resulting in fewer adverse
 consequences associated with violation charges.
Promoting the Use of Comparative Risk.
Quality Data and Environmental Goals

       The Office of Policy, Planning  and
Evaluation (OPPE) requests $17.2 million and
162 workyears in 1997 to provide policy direction
and guidance on Agency-wide initiatives such as
the Common Sense Initiative,  Project XL and
Community-Based Environmental Protection. In
addition, resources will be used to strengthen and
expand strategic  planning and  evaluation,
comparative risk and data management systems.

       OPPE will  continue to help state, local
and tribal governments with comparative  risk
projects and offer assistance to five additional
states with $1.9 million and 18 workyears in
1997.  As a result, EPA will have increased the
comparative risk capabilities in approximately
56% of the states in the U.S. This will help states
and EPA articulate  environmental priorities and
set environmental  goals through the National
Environmental Performance Partnership
Program.  In  support of the Administration's
commitment to  reinvent  environmental
regulation, OPPE will dedicate $0.6 million and
10  workyears  to create  the  Center  for
Environmental Information and Statistics. This
Center will be responsible for  development of
'Environmental Indicator Bulletins'  and
establishing an 'Official Statistics'  information
database linked to highly sophisticated software
for  public access on  the  Internet. OPPE  will
continue to lead the Agency in the development
and implementation of national measurable
environmental goals in support of the Government
Performance and Results Act.
Protecting U.S. Citizens and Natural
Resources Requires International
Cooperation

       The 1997 budget provides $19.4 million
and 66 workyears for the Office of International
Activities (OIA) to protect U.S. interests in the
global  environment. As the Agency's lead for
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                        MANAGEMENT   &  SUPPORT
international negotiations and intergovernmental
technical assistance, OIA  supports numerous
environmental programs in various countries.
During 1997, OIA will continue to promote U.S.
environmental technology and expertise overseas
in an effort to meet the  global demand for
environmental technology and services- amarket
estimated at more than $400 billion a year. The
1997 budget also includes  $3.0 million for the
North American Commission on Environmental
Cooperation to ensure Canada, Mexico and the
U.  S.  develop  and implement  adequate
environmental  protection and enforcement
policies. Other priorities for OIA in 1997 include
new national environmental commitments to
Egypt and to  South Africa; reducing  the
international risks from PCBs, DDT, chlordane,
mercury and heavy metals; phasing out leaded
gasoline in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Russia
and China; and promoting pollution prevention
in the Americas, the Pacific Basin and India.
Streamlining and Re-engineering
Is A Top Afencv Priority

       The 1997 budget provides $143.4 million
and 1,659 workyears for the Headquarters and
Regional management components of the Office
of Administration and Resources Management
(OARM).

       OARM  manages  the  systems  and
processes that provide the  people, money, and
information needed by the Agency and, in many
cases, its Federal, State, tribal and local partners.
In 1997, OARM will continue to realign resources
in the  management functions to improve the
effectiveness of their processes and meet the
needs of their customers.  For example, in the
human resources area OARM will move staff and
resources from  performing the transactional
services of staffing and classification to helping
managers in developing self-managed work teams,
labor-management partnerships and workforce
development.

       In  1997,  the Agency  will focus on
automation and process improvement. This effort
will include broad-scale automation efforts aimed
at reengineering our human resources function
including the development of an  automated
personnel process, streamlining the process for
applying and managing grants to provide better
information  and reduce processing times, and
implementing electronic improvements in time
and  attendance, travel, and  payroll  functions
that will provide EPA financial services in a more
efficient, businesslike manner.

       The Agency will develop and put in place
an integrated approach to Agencywide strategic
planning, budgeting, financial management, and
program evaluation that will guide the Agency's
program and investment decisions and meets the
mandates of the Chief Financial Officers (CFO)
Act, the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity
Act (FMFIA), and the Government Performance
and Results Act (GPRA).
Improving Partnerships

       Under  EPA's new  system for federal
oversight of state environmental programs, EPA
plans to  give states and tribes  the option of
combining funds received under several  EPA
categorical grant programs (e.g. air, water) into
one or more performance partnership grants.
States and tribes will have the flexibility to use
those funds to address their most serious human
health and environmental  problems using
community-based, geographic, pollution
prevention, or cross-media strategies designed to
meet specific local needs.

       In 1997, our investments will allow us to
develop a framework under which performance
partnership grants (PPGs)  would be awarded.
Specifically,  the investments  will enable the
Agency to develop guidance that will define the
practical, logistical, administrative, and reporting
requirements  that would govern this  new
approach to grant making.
Ensuring Health and Safety

       The 1997 budget contains a request of
$271.4 million and 14 workyears for support
services to the Agency's Operating Programs.
The 1997 request includes significant investments
to maintain essential Agency  infrastructure
support. These resources will address mandatory
rate increases for rent paid to the General Services
Administration and direct leases associated with
                                            38

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                        MANAGEMENT   &  SUPPORT
87 buildings at 45 different locations in 30 states.
It also provides for anticipated rate increases in
utilities costs and in support contracts including
security, mail delivery and facilities maintenance.

       The Agency will strive to provide all
employees with a quality work environment that
is safe, healthy and secure. The Agency is also
committed  to  designing workplaces  that
incorporate the latest energy conservation
technologies and improved access for the
handicapped. Our 1997 Request includes funds
for additional building security and guard services
to ensure the safety of the  public and  EPA
employees as outlined in the President's Executive
Order regarding upgrading security at federal
facilities.
Implementing A Working Capital Fund
Will Begin in 1997

       An example of the Agency's new way of
doing business is  the Working Capital Fund.
EPA's Working Capital  Fund (WCF) will be  a
revolving fund to finance operations where the
costs for goods or services provided are charged to
the users.   Until now  EPA's administrative
serviceshave been centrally funded and managed.
A WCF moves away from centralized control by
giving customers a strong voice in determining
the amount  and type of services they receive.
EPA's  WCF concept will ensure increased
efficiency of resource utilization through reliance
on marketforce mechanisms and will also increase
accountability through audited statements.
       The  Agency proposes to provide two
services in 1997 under the WCF;  computer and
telecommunication services at the National Data
Processing Division (NDPD), Research Triangle
Park, NC, and postage services. These services
are provided to all EPA offices. The Agency's 1997
budgetrequestincludes resources andjustification
for these two activities in each National Program
Manager's submission.  The operating expense
target for NDPD operations is $96,300,000; for
Postage it is $5,200,000.  There are also 79
workyears associated with these activities.
Strengthening Executive Direction through
Matrix Management ofKev Initiatives

       The Agency is requesting $29.5 and 240
workyears for this activity and includes executive
direction,  policy  development,  program
development and oversight, planning, budgeting,
financial management,  human  resource
management, and  information resources
managementfor each of the Agency's major offices.
These include the Offices of Air and Radiation;
Water; Enforcement and Compliance Assurance;
International Activities; General Counsel; Solid
Waste and Emergency Response; Administration
and  Resources  Management; Prevention,
Pesticides and Toxic Substances; and Policy,
Planning and Evaluation. These core services are
essential for  the  overall   management,
coordination, and direction of these offices.
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                   STATE,  LOCAL,  &  TRIBAL GRANTS
       In 1997, EPA will continue to increase its
efforts to give strong state and tribal programs
more leeway to manage their programs, while
concentrating EPA technical assistance  on
developing the programs that are still evolving.
Two interrelated features of our 1997 program
will give prominence to this strategy. First, EPA
and state leaders have established a National
Environmental Performance Partnership System
(NEPPS) which recognizes  the states' growing
capacity to operate their programs, in return for
increased emphasis on measuring and reporting
environmental   improvements.    Second,
Performance Partnership  grants (for which
authority has been requested) will permit states
and tribes to combine "categorical"  grants (e.g.,
air, water) into one or more consolidated grants,
to be used for addressing the unique priorities of
each state and tribe.

       EPA will continue to support our state
and Indian tribal  partners environmental
programs through grants and cooperative
agreements.  In  1997, the  President's Budget
provides $674.2  million  for 17  categorical
environmental grants for the states and tribal
governments. These grants are  part of EPA's
Operating Program. The major emphasis will be
to maintain Federal financial assistance to the
states and increase financial  assistance to the
Indian tribes who are beginning to address and
manage their own environmental problems.
              HIGHLIGHTS

       The State and Tribal Assistance Grants
appropriation provides financial assistance to
help the states develop the technical, managerial
and enforcement capacity to operate the
environmental programs that monitor drinking
water  systems, implement water  quality
standards, combat air pollution, promote the use
of safer pesticides, manage hazardous waste, and
assure  compliance with Federal environmental
laws. Funding also is directed toward multimedia
programs that are designed to prevent or reduce
pollution from all sources.
Bolstering State and Tribal Programs

       Through State and Tribal Program
Assistance,  EPA will continue to  pursue  its
strategy of building state  and local  capacity to
implement and enforce the nation's environmental
laws. By fostering a decentralized  nationwide
approach to environmental  protection, we are
ensuring  that our environmental  goals will
ultimately be achieved through the actions,
programs, and commitments of local governments,
organizations, and citizens. EPA's role will be to
help those who need our assistance, and strive to
make sure that our financial assistance brings
the  nation  the  best possible  return on  its
investment in a cleaner, safer environment.

       In the Air Program, state grants will
focus on addressing ozone or smog  abatement
standards which include supporting state vehicle
inspection and maintenance programs. Control
programs for reducingpublic exposure to toxic air
pollutants will be expanded such as in the "MACT
Partnerships" Program with the states. Separate
grants to Indian tribes will help them plan and
implement air programs. Grants will also assist
development and implementation of state radon
abatement programs.

       In the Water Program, state grants will
help  states  ensure  national  water quality
standards are being met.  For example, grants
will  help states  work with municipalities  to
implement storm water management programs.
State high priority watersheds  and nonpoint
source management needs  will also be targeted.
In 1997, an emphasis will be to provide additional
resources to  tribal governments, especially for
monitoring  and  assessing  surface  and
groundwater conditions.

       Increased support  for Drinking Water
programs will be provided as states monitor
contaminants, handle permit waivers, and enforce
the Lead  and Copper  Rule and  Surface Water
Treatment Rule.  Support to states  to protect
groundwater from contamination through
underground injection will  continue.
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                  STATE,  LOCAL,  & TRIBAL  GRANTS
       Support to states' Pesticides and Toxic
Substances programs will emphasize meeting
Worker Protection Safety standards, protecting
surface and ground water from pesticide
contamination, conducting Certification and
Training of pesticide applicators, and managing
state lead risk reduction and abatement programs.

       In the Hazardous Waste Program, support
to the states and tribes will continue so they can
issue and review hazardous waste permits, revise
closure plans, and review corrective action plans
athazardous waste facilities. More emphasis will
be on inspection of Federal hazardous waste
facilities, especially those not in compliance with
permit  conditions and corrective action orders.
Support will continue to  the states and Indian
tribes to oversee compliance with the  1998
deadline for owners to upgrade, replace, or close
underground storage tanks.
       The Agency will also continue to support
programs that address all sources of pollution.
For  example,  funding will  help  states
implementing pollution prevention program
strategies through demonstration projects. States
will continue to conduct compliance monitoring
inspections on pesticides and toxic substances
requirements.  In 1997, emphasis will be on
developing partnerships with the states to
establish  comprehensive toxic substances
enforcementauthoritiesatthe state level. Finally,
increased support in 1997 will help Indian tribes
develop capabilities to operate and manage their
tribal environmental programs

       The Agency requests a total of $28 million
for Indian  General Assistance Program (GAP)
grants.  GAP resources help tribes identify the
scope of their environmental management needs,
establish program development priorities and
begin building environmental programs. GAP
grants  are one of the Agency's most significant
means  for building tribal capacity to make and
implement their own environmental management
decisions.
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             STATE, LOCAL, & TRIBAL GRANTS
                          (DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)
                                                 1997
                                             PRESIDENTS
                                               BUDGET
AIR
   STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE
   TRIBAL ASSISTANCE
   INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS/RADON GRANTS
 $153,189.9
   5,882.2
   8,158.0
WATER QUALITY
   SECTION 106
   NONPOINT SOURCE
   WETLANDS PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
   WATER QUALITY COOPERATIVE AGRMTS
  80,700.0
  100,000.0
  15,000.0
  20,000.0
DRINKING WATER
   PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM SUPERVISION GRANTS
   UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL
  90,000.0
  10,500.0
HAZARDOUS WASTE
   H.W. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
   UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS
  98,298.2
  10,544.7
PESTICIDES
  PESTICIDES PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
  12,814.6
MULTIMEDIA
  POLLUTION PREVENTION
  PESTICIDES ENFORCEMENT
  TOXIC SUBSTANCES ENFORCEMENT
  TRIBAL GENERAL ASSISTANCE
   5,999.5
  16,133.6
   6,486.2
  28,000.0
TOXIC SUBSTANCES
  LEAD GRANTS
  TOTAL
  12,500.0


$674,206.9
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                         BUILDINGS AND  FACILITIES
         This  account funds  the design,
construction, repair, andimprovementofbuildings
occupied by EPA.  The Agency has ten Regional
offices with associated Regional laboratories,
several  large research  and  development
laboratories, program laboratories, a number of
field stations with laboratory facilities  and a
Headquarters operation in nine locations in the
Washington, DC area.

       This program provides a safe and healthy
work environment for EPA employees by providing
for renovation and repair or replacement of our
facilities. Through our facilities master plan, we
continue to implement  intermediate  and
long-range plans that assess alternative housing
options for EPA operations and also continue a
repair program that protects the Agency's
investment in EPA real property holdings. We
are modifying current facilities to more adequately
and efficiently address the Agency's changing
programs as well as implementing cost-effective
energy and water conservation  measures at
EPA-occupied,  federally-owned  buildings.  We
will  continue to  emphasize environmental
compliance and health  and safety efforts in EPA
facilities  by removing asbestos and PCBs,
upgrading fire and life safety systems,  and
upgrading  heating, ventilation  and  air
conditioning systems to meet the most current
ventilation and CFC  removal standards.

       Ongoing new construction will be
managed through  the  design and construction
phases.   Major construction in the Research
Triangle Park (RTF) facility includes the main
research  and  administrative building,  the
computer building, and the high bay research
building.

      The  New  Headquarters   requires
Buildings and Facilities resources to ensure that
the facilities are functionally responsive, reflective
of EPA's mission, and built in accordance with the
quality standards  of a national headquarters.
Indoor air quality, adequate power and lighting,
and flexibility  of configuration  are among the
project priority issues.
       The Agency requests a total of $209.2
million for 1997 in the Buildings and Facilities
Appropriation account.
               HIGHLIGHTS

Investing in EPA's Building Infrastructure

       The  Agency  makes a  substantial
investment in  improving and renovating EPA
laboratories and office space. The investment in
B&F will  dramatically influence  the Agency's
ability to  address the complex environmental
issues of the 1990's and beyond.

       The Agency is requesting $182 million for
the construction of a consolidated laboratory and
office complex at Research Triangle Park (RTP),
NC. This will provide the balance of funding to
complete construction of the RTP project.  The
Agency is also requesting $12.8 million in 1997
for the build-out of EPA's new  Headquarters
facility. This provides funding for requirements
such as lighting efficiency and indoor air quality
in the Federal Triangle, Customs and Interstate
Commerce Commission (ICC) buildings.

       Finally, the Agency requests $14.4 million
to continue the repair and improvement program
at existing Agency laboratories and offices to
ensure the health and safety of employees and
funds  energy conservation initiatives in
EPA-owned buildings.
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                         SCIENCE  AND TECHNOLOGY
       The Science and Technology  (S&T)
 account,  created in 1996, funds the operating
 programs of the  Office  of Research  and
 Development (ORD) and the  Program Office
 laboratories.   These organizations provide
 significant scientific and technical expertise in
 meeting  the  Agency's  broad  array of
 environmental goals.  The Agency's  science
 program seeks to improve our understanding of
 risks to human health and ecosystems, and develop
 innovative cost-effective solutions to pollution
 prevention and risk reduction. As the Nation
 seeks to focus its limited resources on the most
 critical environmental problems, the role of science
 in identifying, understanding  and addressing
 these problems will become  more and more
 important.  Specifically, the Agency's research
 objectives are:

  1)  Perform research and development to
      identify, understand, and solve current
      and future environmental problems;

  2)  Interpret and integrate  scientific
      information and develop regulations and
      standards to help organizations at all
      levels make  better decisions about
      improving the environment; and

  3)  Provide national leadership in addressing
      emerging environmental issues and in
      advancing the science and technology of
      risk assessment and risk management.

       The knowledge and tools that result from
these  efforts are used by EPA, state and local
authorities ,to assure  credible environmental
decision-making.

       The President's 1997 Budget provides
$621.3 million and 2,462 workyears for the
Science and Technology appropriation account.
Of this amount, $42.5 million and 129 workyears
are requested to be derived from the Hazardous
Substance Superfund appropriation.

      The S&T account also includes resources
for cross-program research with resources that
pertain to two  or  more distinct media;  and
infrastructure needs such as operating expenses
and the working capital fund.
               HIGHLIGHTS
 Strengthening Air Research and Regulatory
 Programs

       The Agency is requesting a total of $ 152.2
 million and  670 workyears in 1997 for Air
 Research.  The outcomes of Air Research are
 necessary for setting air criteria and standards as
 well as public policy decisions required for EPA to
 implement the Clean Air Act. The components of
 this program include:  Air Toxics Research,
 Criteria Air Pollution Research, Global Change
 Research, Mobile Source Emissions and Fuel
 Economy Research, and Indoor Air Research. In
 addition, program office laboratories  directly
 support the Agency's regulatory programs.

       Air Toxics Research develops control
 actions for major sources of toxics and conducts
 research to address urban toxics and air toxics
 deposition to Great Waters.  In 1997, resources
 will be used to better assess the risks of hazardous
 air pollutants, to develop new risk assessment
 methods for community-based risk assessment of
 urban toxics  and provide communities  with
 control/prevention options.

       The Criteria Air Pollution research
 program supports EPA in its mandatory review of
 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
 ambient exposures to certain widespread air
 pollutants.  The research emphasizes two major
 criteria air pollutants: particulate matter (PM)
 and tropospheric ozone. In 1997, the Criteria Air
 Pollution research program will conduct risk
 assessment and risk management research on
 PM and tropospheric ozone.

       Indoor air pollution in residences, offices,
 schools, and other large buildings is one of the
most  serious  potential environmental risks to
human health. The Science Advisory Board has
ranked indoor air pollution as one of the highest
health risks meriting EPA's attention.  In 1997,
the Indoor Air Research program will concentrate
on identifying, characterizing and comparing the
health risks and enabling risk assessors and
managers to make informed decisions.
                                            47

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                        SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
       The Global Change Research program
supports the Agency by providing research into
the magnitude, timing, and regional patterns of
climate change. In 1997, Global Change research
will focus on improving  our understanding of
global climate change.  As part of the Regional
Vulnerabilities  and  Impact Assessment
(REVEAL) program, research is aimed at reducing
uncertainties associated with  understanding
ecosystem vulnerabilities to climate change. Other
research efforts include the areas of Stratospheric
Ozone Depletion and the President's  Climate
Change Action Plan.

      Three program laboratories support the
Air program. The labs carry out a broad range of
policy, regulatory, and  compliance functions
needed to implement the  Clean Air Act and fuel
economy statutes.  In addition, they provide
technical  understanding related to  Agency
responsibilities  under the  Indoor Radon
Abatement Act, the Waste Isolation Pilot Project
Land Withdrawal Act, the Energy Policy Act, the
Atomic Energy Act, and the Clean Air Act.
Reducing Uncertainties Through
Waste/Site/Risk Characterization Research

       EPAis requesting a total of $12.3 million
and 55  workyears for  Waste/Site/Risk
Characterization Research in 1997. The Agency's
research objective seeks to reduce uncertainties
in the  risk analyses used  in  environmental
management decisions.  Improved assessments
of the potential threats to human health posed by
each waste site is a goal prescribed by the
Superfund Amen dmentsandReauthorization Act.
In the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
program,  research will be targeted at reducing
uncertainties in exposure estimates andproviding
technical  assistance.

       In 1997, the primary functions of Waste/
Site/Risk Characterization Research  are:
hazardous  substances  ecological research,
exposure assessment, risk assessment, and
technical assistance  for exposure  estimates.
Emphasis willbe placed onfurther understanding
the  impact  of unremediated  and uncontained
waste sites on ecosystems.
Improving Science Through Waste
Management and Site Remediation Research

       EPAis requesting a total of $25.1 million
and 86 workyears for Waste Management and
Site  Remediation Research in 1997.  Waste
Management and Site  Remediation Research
attempts to improve our understanding of the
science  controlling the dynamics  of soil and
groundwater contaminants.  Risk management
techniques, therefore, are utilized to focus on the
remediation of both surface  and  subsurface
contaminated soils, sludges, sediments, buildings,
debris, and groundwater.

       The focus of Waste Management and Site
Remediation Research will be groundwater,
bioremediation, and the Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation  program. These  areas
concentrate efforts on: fundamental research to
understand the processes that influence soil and
groundwater  contaminants, initiating the
development and testing of new remediation
methods, and  process evaluation  research to
evaluate the cost-effectiveness of full  scale
remediation technologies.
Addressing Vulnerabilities Through
Drinking Water Research and
Regulatory Analysis

       EPAis requesting a total of $26.0 million
and 177 workyears for Drinking Water Research
in 1997. The occurrence of waterborne disease
outbreaks has demonstrated that drinking water
supplies are still vulnerable to  contamination.
Drinking water research evaluates the effects of
the pathogenic bacteria, parasites and viruses
that can cause serious illness or even death. In
addition, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
mandates that the  EPA identify and regulate
contaminants which may threaten human health.
The Drinking Water Program Laboratory is a
vehicle for providing technical support for the
implementation of  drinking water  regulations
and the testing and assessment of drinking water
samples.
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                         SCIENCE  AND TECHNOLOGY
       In 1997, Drinking Water Research will
focus on waterborne pathogens, disinfection
by-products (DBFs) and arsenic, with the overall
goal of addressing uncertainties associated with
these risks. Exposure research, for example, will
be an important vehicle for developing efficient
methods related to  DBFs and to evaluate  the
effectiveness   of  alternative  treatment
technologies.
Focusing On Ecosystem Protection Research

       EPAis requesting a total of $107.4 million
and 375 workyears for Ecosystem Protection
Research in 1997. Ecosystem Protection research
enables EPAto develop techniquesfor quantitative
risk assessments which, utilizing decision-making
based on sound science, consider the impact of
multiple stressors on an ecosystem. In addition,
risk reduction strategies are developed that take
maximum advantage of pollution prevention and
the self-purifying potential of natural systems.

       Ecosystems Protection Research will focus
on exposure and effects measurements, long term
monitoring, and regional surveys, development
of tools and methods to enable assessment and
managementof the greatest threats, andintensive
research in selected ecoregions of national interest
and concern such as the Pacific Northwest and
Chesapeake Bay. The impact of chemical stressors
(e.g., nutrients,  toxic metals) and non-chemical
stressors (e.g.,  climate change, regional
vulnerability) on  threatened ecosystems are
primary areas for  investigation.  EPA's
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program, for example, will be used as a vehicle for
understanding ecosystem  integrity and
sustainability.
Reducing Exposure Through Human
Health Protection Research

       The Agency is requesting a total of $40.2
million and 200  workyears for Human Health
Protection Research in 1997. People are exposed
to a variety of potentially harmful agents in the
air they  breathe, the  liquids they drink, the
products  they use, the foods they eat, and even
the surfaces they touch.  The Human Health
 Protection research program's goal is to identify,
 reduce, and prevent exposures and risks from
 environmental contaminants that contribute to
 increased  rates of disease,  disability  and
 premature death.

        In 1997, the particular focus in Human
 Health Protection Research will be to address the
 uncertainties associated with human exposures
 to chemicals and the potential effects of a pollutant
 on  human health.  Research  in health  risk
 assessments will build on these efforts and provide
 the bases necessary to make risk assessment
 determinations.  Additionally, the Pesticides in
 Children research  program will continue  to
 address the critical need for health research on
 infants and children.
Supporting Special Environmental Hazards
Research and Regulatory Testing

       EPA is requesting a total of $14.6 million
and 90 workyears for Special Environmental
Hazards research in 1997. This program primarily
supports research on endocrine disrupters and
research  on  lead.   Research  on endocrine
disrupters investigates the health risks to humans
and animals posed by exposure to chemicals in
the ambient environment that mimic the actions
of hormones.   Lead research  investigates the
removal of lead from soils contaminated with
lead-based paint by a chemical leaching process.
The results   of these  efforts support the
implementation of the  Federal  Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act,  and the Toxic
Substances Control Act. In addition, the Office of
Pesticides Program Laboratory performs testing
and other activities to achieve the Agency's Safe
Food environmental goal.
Supporting New Technology and
Pollution Prevention Research

       The Agency is requesting a total of $48.6
million and 86 workyears for the New Technology
and Pollution Prevention Research programs.
These funds reflect research  support for the
Administration's Environmental  Technology
Initiative (ETI); the Common  Sense Initiative
dedicated to finding 'cleaner, cheaper, smarter'
                                             49

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                        SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
strategies to address environmental problems;
and the Benefit Cost Initiative which initiates
engineering and scientific research into tools to
document the costs associated with new
technologies and pollution prevention.

       In 1997, EPA's goal is to take the lead
among  Federal research organizations  in
developing risk management strategies to move
from controlling and cleaningpollution to reducing
it at the source. The ETI program is designed to
facilitate the development and use of innovative,
cost effective environmental technologies through
collaboration with the private sector, universities,
non-profits, other Federal agencies, and states.
ETI  research will  focus  on environmental
technology verification, partnerships for the 21st
Century,  community-based   sustainable
technologies, and will complement ETI activities
performed through other Agency programs.
Developing Credible Evidence
for Enforcement Actions

       EPA is requesting a total of $9.5 million
and 83 workyears for the National Enforcement
Investigations Center (NEIC) in 1997. NEIC
provides multimedia technical expertise to EPA,
the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of
Investigations, and the states for civil and criminal
enforcement.  NEIC uses science and technology
to develop defen sible evidence that meets all legal
requirements. NEIC provides a broad  range of
technical expertise, including document control
and chain-of-custody, fact and expert testimony,
support of criminal and civil investigations, and
comprehensive on-site facility inspections.
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                 OFFICE OF THE  INSPECTOR  GENERAL
       The Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
is responsible  for  conducting audits  and
investigations of EPA's programs, administrative,
andfinancialactivitiesto ensure thatthe Agency's
programs are delivered in an effective, efficient,
and economical manner and in compliance with
applicable laws and regulations. OIG audits and
investigations  assist  the Agency in  identifying
areas  of  potential  risk  and  necessary
improvements that can significantly contribute
to EPA fulfilling its complex mission.

       The total 1997 budget for the OIG is $42.8
million and 408 workyears  A portion  of this
funding ($4.5 million) is assigned to the Office of
Administration and Resources Management to
provide appropriate support services.

       Operations of the OIG are funded through
three appropriations:   Inspector General;
Hazardous Substance Superfund; and Leaking
Underground Storage Tanks.  The Inspector
General account  is appropriated from General
Revenue  funds and covers the activities  of the
Agency's operating and  construction grants
programs. The Superfund and LUST portions are
appropriated from the Hazardous Substance and
LUST trust funds, and are for OIG activities
related specifically to those programs. The OIG
will also continue to provide consultative services
to assist EPA managers improve operations.
               HIGHLIGHTS

Inspector General

       In 1997, the general revenue fund request
for the Inspector General is $30.7 million and 297
workyears, of  which $27.8  million is for the
program and $2.9 million is for support costs. The
OIG will continue to concentrate its workyears on
areas that provide  the greatest performance
results to the Agency.

       In 1997, the OIG will continue its audits
and investigations in procurement and contracts
management to include grants, cooperative and
interagency agreements, and sub-contractors and
 small  contractors.   The  OIG's audits and
 investigations of procurement and contract/grant
 management will help ensure that EPA's contract
 dollars are use'd most effectively and efficiently.
 The OIG will also provide financial audit work
 supporting the Chief Financial  Officers (CFO)
 Act of 1990 to ensure that the accounting systems
 and financial reports are accurate and reliable.
 The OIG will continue to provide a balanced and
 sustained  audit  presence  in  conducting
 performance audits in all major programs,
 strengthening internal controls, improving
 operational  efficiency and  effectiveness, and
 ensuring the integrity of Agency procurement to
 achieve the maximum environmental benefit with
 available resources.

       The OIG will continue its audits of EPA's
 construction grants to help the Agency close out
 this program in 1997. In addition, the OIG will
 focus its resources on improving the integrity of
 scientific data, research, and analysis crucial to
 EPA The OIG will emphasize investigations of
 procurement fraud and continue aggressively
 pursuing fraud in Agency funded research. The
 Office  will also continue its  efforts in fraud
 prevention by publicizing its activities, helping
 EPA employees identify areas sensitive to fraud,
 and developing new fraud  detection  tools and
 methods.
Superfund

       In 1997,  the  Hazardous Substance
Superfund request for the OIG is $11.5 million
and 106 workyears, of which $10.0 million is for
the program and $1.5 million is for support costs.
The OIG will continue to focus its resources on
financial and  performance  audits  and
investigations of the Superfund program,
particularly  in the area  of procurement and
acquisition management.   The OIG will also
comply with the audit requirements of the CFO
Act and the  Superfund  Amendment and
Reauthorization Act to ensure that Superfund
programs are operated as efficiently as possible
and that the risk of financial loss is minimized.
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               OFFICE  OF  THE INSPECTOR  GENERAL
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks

      In 1997, the LUST request for the OIGis
$577 thousand and 6 workyears, of which $504
thousand is for the program and $73 thousand is
for support costs. These resources will support
continued performance audits, contract and grant
audits (covering financial and  performance
aspects), and financial audits with  specific
emphasis on the Agency's process for awarding
LUST cooperative  agreements  and  grants.
Pursuant to the CFO Act, the DIG will also focus
its resources on  financial and internal control
areas and audit  the LUST trust fund financial
statements.
                                        52

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                                    OIL     SPILLS
        On average, over 50 oil spills are reported
 to the Federal government every day. Also, an
 average of 100 spills larger than 10,000 gallons
 occur in the United States annually, with a dozen
 or more over 100,000 gallons. Oil spills can cause
 major fire and  explosion hazards,  shut down
 drinking water supplies, force citizens to evacuate
 their homes, and expose American families to
 toxic emissions. In addition, oil spills can devastate
 local economies by  shutting down  commercial
 water supplies, fishing businesses, and cultural
 and recreational resources. These spills can have
 disastrous impacts on the  environment with
 residual effects for years, by killing marine life,
 birds, and wildlife, by reducing oxygen content to
 aquatic environments, and by killing vegetation
 for months or longer.

        Catastrophic accidents began to change
 attitudes on the part of the government, industry,
 and the public. It became clear that environmental
 damage caused by major accidents could be long-
 term and, in some cases, irreversible. It became
 equally clear that future actions were needed to
 prevent such accidents. Under Section 311 of the
 Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil Pollution
 Act of 1990 (OPA),  EPA is  responsible for
 responding to oil spills that effect or threaten the
 waterways of the United States. The Agency also
 regulates  oil  spills at certain onshore facilities
 that range from hospitals to large tank farms.
 The United  States  Coast Guard  (USCG)  is
 responsible for responding to actions in the coastal
 zone and the  Great Lakes. The USCG manages
 the Oil Spills Liability Trust Fund which  is
 financed through a five cents per barrel tax on
 domestic crude and imported oil.

       The President's Budget provides $15.3
 million and 104  workyears to meet the
 environmental goals of the Oil Spills program.
 Reduced resources in 1997 reflect our nearing
 completion of the initial review phase of the
facility response plans (FRPs) and the completion
 of spill prevention, control and countermeasure
 (SPCC) regulation revisions, which  focuses on
facilities posing the greatest environmental risk.
TheOPArequiresthatcertainhigherriskfacilities
 develop FRPs to ensure they have the capability
to address a worst case discharge. From 1990 to
 1995, EPA cleaned up 216 oil  spills with
 reimbursement from the Oil Spill Liability Trust
 Fund Emergency  Fund and monitored 915
 responsible party lead cleanups.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       In  1997, the Agency plans to fully
implement the recommendations in  the Liner
Study Report to Congress to develop a partnership
program to address problems associated with
leaking above ground oil facilities.   EPA will
continue to work with state and local officials on
revising area contingency plans. The Agency has
published area contingency plans for all thirteen
inland areas, and  these  plans need further
refinement to ensure adequate response to specific
geographic areas of the United States in the event
of a spill. This up-front work is critical to enable
more effective responses to major oil spills.
Responding Quickly to Spills

       In 1997, the President's Budget provides
$6.4 million and 41  workyears for response
activities.  One  of the Agency's top priorities
continues to be responding quickly to significant
oil spills.  The Agency will direct all response
actions in incidents involving onshore facilities
where the spill, or threat of a spill represents a
substantial threat to the public health or welfare
of the United States.  OPA requires that parties
who spill oil into waters  of the United States
report such spills to the National Response Center,
and over 20,000 spills are reported annually. The
Agency will continue to provide technical and
response support to the United States Coast Guard
on oil spills outside of EPA's jurisdiction through
the Agency's emergency response team.   This
team consists of scientists and engineers that are
available to provide technical expertise 24 hours
a day to On-scene Coordinators, Remedial Project
Managers, state and local responders, and foreign
countries during the time of an environmental
crisis.
                                              53

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                                      OIL SPILLS
Preventing Spills and Preparing
for Response

       The President's Budget provides a total of
$5.5 and 46 workyears for prevention and
preparedness  activities.  The 1997 request
supports approximately 500 targeted reviews of
oil storage facilities.  EPA  is responsible for
reviewing FRPs for facilities with potential for a
release  that creates substantial harm  to  the
environment. An FRP review entails evaluating
each plan for completeness  and  accuracy,
inspecting the facility's response equipment,
verifying information in the response plan, and
validating the facility's capability to respond to a
worst case discharge.

       Prevention and response planning  are
also supported through the Agency's SPCC
inspection efforts. EPA plans to perform SPCC
inspections at 500 regulated facilities in 1997 to
ensure the plans and equipment at these above
ground oil storage facilities are in compliance.
This budget includes $ 1.7 million and 8 workyears
for regulatory activities.  In  1997, the Agency
expects to complete the SPCC regulation revisions
which  target  facilities posing the greatest
environmental risk. Specifically, the Agency will
look at the criteria used to include and exclude
facilities from the requirements of regulations,
the different types of facilities regulated, and the
effectiveness of some of the technical provisions of
regulations to determine how to most effectively
and efficiently implement the prevention program.
Taking Action Against Non-Complying
Facilities

       In 1997, a total of $1.8 million and 16
workyears are provided for Oil Spills enforcement.
The Agency's primary focus will be on petroleum
storage facilities that fail to comply with oil
pollution  spill  prevention  control  and
countermeasur e regulations and facility response
plan requirements.
Encouraging Innovative Research

       The President's Budget provides  $1.0
million and 1 workyear for Oil Spills research.
The objective of the program is to use research to
determine the  risk management options
appropriate for  remediating spilled oil  and
encouraging innovative technologies such as
bioremediation.
                                             54

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TRUST FUNDS
      55

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                                   SUPERFUND
        Improper disposal of hazardous wastes
 has resulted in water that is unfit to drink, air
 that is dangerous to breath and soil that is unsafe
 to live,  work or play on.  Contamination from
 these hazardous waste  sites often migrates to
 groundwater and nearby lakes and streams,
 further  damaging valuable public and private
 resources and putting public health and sensitive
 ecosystems at risk. In response to public concerns
 about health and environmental risks posed by
 these abandoned and uncontrolled hazardous
 waste sites, Congress established the Superfund
 program in 1980.  The  Superfund program is
 financed primarily through taxes on petroleum
 and certain chemicals as well as a corporate
 environmental income tax.

       Today, one in four Americans lives within
 four miles of a Superfund National Priority list
 (NPL) site — the Nation's worst sites.  Since the
 problem of contaminated sites in the United States
 is so large and varied, no one solution can be
 applied everywhere, and decisions about cleanup
 must be made with community, public health,
 and environmental  concerns  in  mind.   EPA
 considers protection  of public health and the
 environment to be the paramount concern, then
 accounts for, among other things, future land use
 plans and cost of cleanup in determining the
 appropriate remedy.

       The Superfund program also responds to
 emergency releases, such as therecent Wisconsin
 trail derailment where several cars containing
 propane and liquid petroleum gas and a nearby
 building holding ammonia caught fire.  The
 burning cars and building exposed nearby
 residents to toxic emissions and a threat of
 explosion, requiring an evacuation of the town
 and sending over 200 residents to  seek medical
 attention.  In incidents such as these, Agency
 on-scene coordinators are on the site immediately
 to work with and provide technical assistance to
 the responsible parties and state and local officials.

       In cases of  long-term cleanup  and
 emergency  situations, the Agency works with
those responsible for the contamination to ensure
that they conduct or fund appropriate cleanup
 action.  If no responsible party can be found or
they cannot perform or pay for the cleanup work,
EPA cleans up the site. When the Trust Fund is
used to finance a cleanup, responsible parties are
 pursued to reimburse the fund if they can be
 identifiedand are financially viable. This "polluter
 pays" approach ensures that limited trust fund
 dollars are used for emergencies and abandoned
 sites.

       EPA has made significant progress in
 addressing the risks posed by contaminated sites.
 To date, EPA has identified over 40,000 potential
 hazardous waste sites across the nation.  Over
 35,000 of these  sites have been assessed to
 determine the need for further cleanup action,
 and EPA recently removed more than 24,400
 sites from the list requiring no further action. Of
 the remaining sites, over 1,300 have been placed
 on the NPL.

       Cleanup activities were completed at over
 340  sites on the NPL as of the end of 1995. The
 Agency plans to complete cleanups at 65 sites
 annually to meet its goal of 650 NPL site
 completions by the year 2000, thereby reducing or
 eliminating public health risks posed  by these
 sites.  At  NPL sites, EPA will conduct  early
 cleanup  actions,  designed  to prevent further
 contamination, while long  term cleanups are
 evaluated and designed.

       ThePresident'sBudgetprovides$l,394.2
 million  and 3,728  workyears to meet the
 environmental goals  of this program.  Of this
 amount,  $42.5 million and  129 workyears are
 transferred to the Science and Technology account
 for research and development efforts, and $11.4
 million and 106 workyears are transferred to the
 Inspector General account for  audit activities.
 The  remaining $1,340.3 million and  3,493
 workyears are provided to meet the response,
 enforcement and management and support needs
 of the Superfund program.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       The President's Budget includes several
high priorities for 1997. The Agency will expand
the  Brownfields  program  to  redevelop
contaminated urban and industrial properties,
thereby providing communities with increased
tax bases, jobs and improved urban environments.
The  Agency will also  support state and  tribal
hazardous  waste response programs and
strengthen their roles, along with community
                                             57

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                                   SUPERFUND
groups, in cleaning up Superfund sites.  The
Agency will continue  to strengthen Superfund
enforcement fairness by implementing various
Superfund reforms such as expedited settlements
to facilitate early settlements with small parties,
settlements with parties with limited ability to
pay, and a more effective and widespread use of
alternative dispute resolution.
Strengthening Cleanup
through Partnerships With Communities

       The  1997 President's Budget provides
$903.3 million and  1,695 workyears for the
Response program implemented by EPA.

       Economic redevelopment at contaminated
sites, particularly through the Brownfields and
base closure fast-track initiatives, will remain a
high priority for the Response program. In 1997,
the Agency will help communities,  states and
tribal governments assess and safely clean up
contaminated  Brownfield sites  for reuse.   By
providing grants, outreach, technical assistance
and information sharing, the Agency will help
create the incentives and seed money to assess
these properties and conduct cleanups. Additional
funds will be  available to establish  voluntary
cleanup programs  nationwide to address
Brownfield sites. The President's Budget  also
includes 148 workyears,  funded by  the
Department of Defense, for environmental
assistance to expedite base closures as part of the
Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAG). These
'fast-track' sites have  been  targeted for
redevelopment in communities severely impacted
by closing bases.

       Early and effective citizen involvement
improves Agency decision making,  increases
community acceptance and enhances fairness
whilereducingconflictSjgrievancesandlitigation.
The Agency will work to ensure that states, tribal
governments and communities have an active
and meaningful role in the cleanup process.  The
Agency will continue to award technical assistance
grants and support Community Action Groups to
help  communities participate more fully.
       The  Agency is committed to bringing
innovative management strategies, technology
and experience to the response program. The
Administration's  efforts to strengthen  the
program, particularly the remedial site cleanup
process, will continue in 1997.  These efforts
include promoting smarter, more efficient cleanup
choices and protecting public health by reducing
remedy costs; decreasing potential litigation by
achieving common groundinstead of conflict; and
ensuring that states,  tribes and communities
have an active role in cleanup  decisions.  For
example, to  ensure that sites with the highest
risks are addressed first, EPA has established a
priority panel to make risk-based funding
decisions regardingthe pace and timing of cleanup
efforts nationwide. These improvements are being
applied not only to new site cleanups but also to
existing remedies where review and modification
is appropriate.
Making Polluters Pav While
Emphasizing Fairness

       The  1997 President's Budget provides
$171.2 million and  1,224 workyears for the
Enforcement program implemented by EPA. The
priority for the Superfund enforcement program
is to continue to maximize the number of cleanups
financed by those responsible for the pollution.
The Agency  will place emphasis on monitoring
existing settlements for compliance and in
reaching fair  settlements with small volume
contributors at Superfund sites. The Agency will
also continue to pursue violators and responsible
parties to recover expenditures at Superfund sites.
In 1997, EPA will determine final actions on 92
cost recovery statute of limitation cases.

       EPAhas piloted andis now implementing
various Superfund initiatives to increase fairness
and reduce transaction costs.  The Agency will
work with up to 1,800 small parties to enhance
enforcement fairness and improve efficiency in
achieving settlements with responsible parties.
By doing this, the Agency anticipates significant
decreases  in third party litigation costs.   In
addition, alternative dispute resolution and third
party allocators will be used to come to settlement
with responsible parties more quickly, thereby
minimizing  transaction costs and  promoting
fairness.
                                              58

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                                  SUPERFUND
Integrating Other Federal Agc/tcv Partners

       The  Agency integrates the expertise of
other Federal agencies to support site and spill
response actions as well as activities that are not
incident-specific. The 1997 President's Budget
provides $146.9 million to our Federal Agency
Partners.

       The  Department of Health and Human
Services,  which receives  73%  of Superfund
resources  allocated to other Federal agencies,
contributes to the program through the work of
the Agency  for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) and the National Institute for
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). ATSDR
conducts health and risk assessments, maintains
toxicology data bases for chemicals found at sites,
and provides health consultations for emergency
responses.  NIEHS continues a grant research
program to solve environmental andhumanhealth
problems related to toxic waste and also maintain s
a worker safety training program for workers
engaged in  hazardous  waste containment or
response activities. The 1997 request reflects a
reduction in the number of toxicological profiles
required, and targeting research funds toward
direct site applications.
       The Department of Justice (DOJ) will
continue to litigate and settle cleanup agreements
and cost recovery cases. DOJ will also defend the
Agency against citizen suits, pre-enforcement
review cases, reimbursement claims,  and
challenges to EPA administrative civil penalty
decisions. The remaining Federal agencies that
receive funding under the Agency's Superfund
appropriation include the U.S. Coast Guard, the
National   Oceanic   and   Atmospheric
Administration, the Department of Interior, the
Federal Emergency Management  Agency, and
the   Occupational  Safety  and   Health
Administration.
Providing Support Services

       The 1997 President's Budget provides
$118.9 million and 574 workyearsformanagement
and support services essential to the operation
and integrity of the trust fund.   Most of these
resources  fund Superfund's portion  of the
mandatory support costs associated with  rent,
utilities, security, and telecommunication costs.
The remaining amount funds a wide range of
administrative, analytical, financial, and  legal
services for the Superfund program.
                                             59

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60

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                                         LUST
       States have recently reported that leaking
underground storage tanks  (LUSTs)  are the
leading cause  of groundwater pollution, and
petroleum is the most prevalent  contaminant.
Over one million leaking underground storage
tanks are  regulated by EPA, and there are
approximately 300,000 confirmed releases to date.
Of the confirmed releases, over 130,000 cleanups
have been  completed.  As the 1998  deadline
approaches for owners and operators to upgrade,
replace or close tanks, we estimate an additional
100,000 releases may be discovered.

       The LUST Trust Fund, financed by a
one-tenth of one cent per gallon tax on motor
fuels, was established to provide resources for all
activities related to and in support of the oversight
and cleanup  of petroleum releases  from
underground storage tanks.  The goal of the
LUST program is to ensure rapid and effective
response to releases from underground storage
tanks containing petroleum and to  restore
contaminated sites to their beneficial use. About
90% of Federal resources are provided directly to
states or tribal governments.  Many states use
this money to  provide  technical oversight of
responsible party cleanups. Currently, 49 states
(Florida administers its own LUST program) have
cooperative agreements with EPA.  The Agency
will work in partnership with the states and local
and tribal governments to develop their capacity
to effectively implement the LUST program. EPA
will also work with the private sector to develop
incentives for timely and cost effective cleanups.

       The 1997 President's Budget provides a
total of $67.1 million and 94 workyears for the
Leaking Underground Storage Tank  (LUST)
Appropriation.  Of this total, $0.6 million and 6
workyears are transferred to the Inspector General
Account to support auditactivities. The remaining
$66.5 and 88 workyears are provided to meet the
research, response, enforcement and management
needs of the program.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       The 1997 LUST Program will continue to
operate as part of the Agency's pilot program for
performance measures under the Government
 Performance and Results Act of 1993.  A high
 priority of the LUST program will be to assist
 states and tribal governments in implementing
 risk-based corrective actions.  This risk-based
 approach to  corrective actions will move sites
 forward  to cleanup  completion while focusing
 resources on  those sites posing the highest risk.
 The Agency will also evaluate technologies for
 remediation of sites and provide technical support
 on proper selection and implementation of new
 and innovative cleanup technologies.
Strengthening Cleanup Partnerships

       The 1997 President's Budget provides a
total of $63.2 million  and 66  workyears to
implement the LUST response program. Of this
amount, approximately 90% is provided directly
to states and tribes to support the implementation
of strong corrective action programs. The Agency
will continue to work with our partners to build
their capacity in addressing the growing number
of underground tanks requiring response action.

       Nearly 98% of tanks on Indian lands are
located in 27 states. Through grants to Federally
recognized Indian  tribes,  the Agency will
strengthen compliance assistance. In addition,
continued outreach will be provided to tribal
governments  through  Regional  technical
assistance. Specific projects include developing
and implementing a risk-based corrective action
process and providing corrective action training.

       The Agency will also pursue a strategy to
actively involve the private sector in Federal and
state programs. EPA will develop private sector
incentives for good tank management and timely,
cost effective cleanups. The Agency will undertake
pilots in the banking, insurance and real estate
industries to establish third-party service provider
programs to review and approve correction action
plans. This effort to privatize the program will
support partnerships with state, local and tribal
governments to develop licensed site professional
programs.
                                              61

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                                        LUST
Encouraging Voluntary
Compliance Through Enforcement

       The  1997 President's Budget provides
$0.5 million  and 6 workyears  for  LUST
enforcement. The Agency will continue to target
responsible parties to finance or conduct corrective
actions. Agency staff will provide assistance to
state personnel to enhance voluntary compliance
with corrective actions andfinancial responsibility
requirements.
Responding to Releases with
Innovative Technologies

       The Agency requests a total of $0.7 million
and 2 workyears for  LUST research and
development.  EPA's LUST corrective action
research program will focus on evaluating
technologies for remediation of sites where leaks
have contaminated the soil. Technical support is
provided to states and Agency staff for proper
selection and implementation of technologies.
Providing Fundamental Support Services

       The  1997 President's Budget provides
$2.2 million and 14 workyears  for essential
administrative support services. These services
include legal support for administration of the
fund, financial services including contract and
grants management and payroll processing,
health and safety audits and other support services
including space rental, employee services and
utilities costs.
                                             62

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     WATER
INFRASTRUCTURE
   FINANCING
       63

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64

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                 WATER  INFRASTRUCTURE  FINANCING
       The State and Tribal Assistance Grants
Appropriation provides financial assistance to
states, municipalities and tribal governments to
fund a variety of  water and wastewater
infrastructure projects. These funds are essential
to fulfill the Federal government's commitment
to help our state, tribal, and local partners obtain
adequate  funding to construct  the  facilities
required to comply with federal  environmental
mandates. States and localities rely on a variety
of  sources  of  revenue  to finance their
environmental programs and to pay for  the
facilities needed to keep the water clean and safe
from harmful contaminants.

       With  approximately  $137 billion  in
documented needs for wastewater infrastructure
alone, the  nation's cities  are faced  with an
enormous price tagfor keeping our rivers, streams,
and beaches free from untreated sewage. Vast
quantities of  pollution contaminate residential
areas and wildlife habitats along our border with
Mexico.  In Alaska Native Villages, more than
20,000 people lack even  the most rudimentary
20th century  sanitation technology. Moreover,
new requirements imposed by the Safe Drinking
Water Act to prevent the outbreak of serious
disease require filtration equipment and other
preventive measures to be installed at drinking
water treatment plants across the country.

       Through our State Revolving Fund (SRF)
programs, EPA works in partnership  with the
states to provide low-cost financial assistance to
municipalities for infrastructure construction.
SRF funds are also provided as grants to tribal
governments to help  them address their
wastewater needs. Our Special Needs programs
provide focused grant assistance to areas facing
extraordinarily high needs in relation to household
income.

       Our U.S./Mexican  Border program
provides funds to support the planning, design
and  construction of high priority wastewater
treatment projects along the U.S/Mexican Border
and in the U.S. Colonias (principally in the state
of Texas). The goal of this program is to reduce
the incidence  of water borne diseases along the
Mexican border and in the U.S. Colonias.
       The President's Budget provides a total of
$2.2 billion in 1997 for the Water Infrastructure
Programs. This assistance is a vital component of
our efforts  to  accomplish  the  nation's
environmental goals.
               HIGHLIGHTS

       EPA is proposing that states and tribes
receive the flexibility to merge their Clean Water
and Drinking Water State  Revolving Fund
allotments into a single capitalization grant. The
states and tribes could then distribute the financial
assistance according to their highest priorities.
Capitalizing State Revolving Funds

       The President's Budget provides a total of
$1.9 billion for State Revolving Funds (SRFs)
within the Water Infrastructure Media.   This
program provides Federal financial assistance to
states, localities, and Indian tribes to protect the
nation's water resources by providing funds for
the construction of wastewater treatment facilities
and financing the facilities needed to keep harmful
contaminants from our drinking water.

       The SRFs are two of the Agency's premier
tools for building the financial capacity of our
partners. Through these programs, state revolving
funds provide financial assistance for wastewater,
drinking water, and other infrastructure projects,
including  non-traditional activities related  to
nonpoint sources, estuaries, stormwater,
combined  sewer  overflows, and sanitary sewer
overflows. These environmental infrastructure
projects contribute to ecosystem improvements
through reduced loadings of conventional and
toxic pollutants in surface waters. Through the
DW SRF, states will provide loans (Indian Tribes
will receive grants) to finance improvements to
community water systems and to restructure
small systems so that they can achieve compliance
with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
                                             65

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                WATER INFRASTRUCTURE  FINANCING
Continuing Mexico Border Efforts

      The President's Budget provides a total of
$150 million for Water Infrastructure projects
along the U.S./Mexico Border. The communities
along both sides of the Border are facing unusual
human health and environmental threats because
of the lack of adequate waste water and drinking
water infrastructure. Because many of the rivers
in this area flow north, or in the case of the Rio
Grande, form the international border, untreated
domestic and industrial wastes contaminate both
sides of the Border. The program provides support
for wastewater treatment projects reviewed and
approved by   the  Border Environmental
Cooperation Commission. Funding is also being
provided to bring wastewater treatment to the
U.S.  Colonias settlements along the border in
Texas. These funds have to be matched by an
equal amount of state funds.
                                          66

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  APPENDIX:
BUDGET TABLE

      67

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              ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                    SUMMARY OF 1997 PRESIDENT'S
                     BUDGET AGENCY RESOURCES

                             (DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)
  PROGRAM
DOLLARS
WORKYEARS
Environmental Programs and Management
 -Air
 - Water Quality
 - Drinking Water
 - Hazardous Waste
 - Pesticides
 - Radiation
 - Multimedia
 - Toxic Substances
    Support
    Management
 - Subtotal Management & Support

State Grants (STAG)

Buildings and Facilities

Science and Technology

Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

Oil Spills

  SUBTOTAL OPERATING PROGRAMS
Hazardous Substance Response
   Trust Fund (Superfund)
OIG Superfund
Superfund Research

   SUBTOTAL SUPERFUND
Leaking Underground Storage
  Tank Trust Fund (LUST)
OIG LUST

   SUBTOTAL LUST
Water Infrastructure Financing (STAG)
GRAND TOTAL
$304,405.3
274,160.3
69,786.0
195,705.9
82,052.9
20,416.4
331,771.9
81,780.0
[271,351.8]
[262,898.7]
534,250.5
674,206.9
209,220.0
578,748.0
30,743.7
15,305.0
$3,402,552.8
$1,340,286.7
11,450.5
$1,394,245.2
$66,541.9
577.1
$67,119.0
$2,178,000.0
$7,041,917.0
68
1,669.7
1,855.9
576.0
1,327.1
862.3
114.5
1,749.0
589.7
[0.0]
[2,650.9]
2,650.9
0.0
0.0
2,332.8
296.6
104.4
14,128.9
3,492.9
106.0
129.2
3,728.1
88.3
L8
94.1
0.0
17,951.1


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