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FY 2014-2018
EPA Strategic Plan
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EPA's Mission
To Protect Human Health and the Environment
Strategic Goals
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality
Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution
Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws and
Assuring Compliance
Cross-Agency Strategies
Working Toward a Sustainable Future
Working to Make a Visible Difference in Communities
Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local, and International Partnerships
Embracing EPA as a High-Performing Organization
Core Values
Science, Transparency, Rule of Law
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Fiscal Year 2014-2018
EPA Strategic Plan
April 10,2014
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
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Table of Contents
Administrator's Message 1
Introduction 4
Strategic Goals 7
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality 7
Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters 15
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development 23
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution 31
Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws
and Assuring Compliance 38
Summary of Program Evaluation 42
Cross-Agency Strategies 43
Working Toward a Sustainable Future 44
Working to Make a Visible Difference in Communities 46
Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local, and International Partnerships 48
Embracing EPA as a High-Performing Organization 51
Strategic Measurement Framework 54
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality 59
Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters 63
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development 67
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution 71
Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws
and Assuring Compliance 73
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Administrator's
Message
/ am pleased to present the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, which charts our course for protecting
public health and the environment in every community in America
during the next four years. While we have made significant progress
during the past few years, we are facing increasingly complex envi-
ronmental and human-health concerns at a time of continuing fiscal
constraints. This poses both challenges and opportunities for us. As Administrator, I am committed to
engaging closely with states, tribes, local partners, federal agencies and business and industry leaders in the
most pragmatic, collaborative and flexible way possible to achieve environmental benefits for our children
and future generations.
I envision a new era of partnerships for the U.S. environmental-protection enterprise in which the EPA will
work collaboratively with a broad range of stakeholders to improve the health of our families and protect the
environment. Our priorities will include:
+ Addressing climate change and improving air quality;
+ Reinvigorating water-quality-improvement efforts, including support for green infrastructure;
•f Taking action on toxics and strengthening chemical safety;
•f Enhancing the livability and economic vitality of neighborhoods in and around brownfield sites;
•f Aligning and incentivizing partnerships that spur technological innovations, reducing costs
and pollution; and
•f Advancing research efforts to provide relevant, robust and transparent scientific data to support the
agency's policy and decision-making needs.
We must focus on the environmental and public-health issues that matter most to the American people and
strive to make a visible difference. During this year which marks the 20th anniversary of Executive Order 12898
on Environmental Justice, we must continue our focus on urban, rural and economically disadvantaged com-
munities to ensure that everyone—regardless of age, race, economic status or ethnicity—has access to clean
water, clean air and the opportunity to live, work and play in healthy communities.
Moving beyond the foundation of traditional regulatory approaches to environmental protection, we are
seeking to build sustainability into our day-to-day operations. Today's environmental problems require cross-
program interactions and new tools that promote innovation, incentives and partnerships. We know that
a healthy environment and a strong economy can go hand-in-hand. Sustainable, innovative approaches
grounded in science—the underpinning of the EPA's decision making—are instrumental to solving today's
environmental challenges. Now more than ever the EPA's leadership as a pre-eminent science and research
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Administrator's
Seven Themes
Making a visible difference in
communities across the country
Addressing climate change and
improving air quality
Taking action on toxics and
chemical safety
Protecting water: a precious,
limited resource
Launching a new era of state, tribal and
local partnerships
Embracing EPA as a high-performing
organization
Working toward a sustainable future
institution is essential. To that end, I will advance a rig-
orous research and development agenda that informs
and supports the EPA's policy and decision making
with timely and innovative technology and sustainable
solutions. We also are mobilizing citizen science efforts
to complement those of the EPA, which, combined
with greater access to environmental data, enhanced
community engagement, environmental education,
new tools and increased analysis, will better support
state and local decision making. We will heed Presi-
dent Obama's call for action on climate change, the
biggest challenge for our generation and those to
follow and requiring strong partnerships here at home
and around the world. We will work to mitigate this
threat by reducing carbon pollution and other green-
house-gas emissions and by focusing on efficiency
improvements in homes, buildings and appliances. We
will continue to deliver significant health benefits to
the American public through improved air quality and
reduced emissions of toxic pollutants in areas where
exposures remain challenging. We also will take action
to keep communities safe and healthy by reducing
risks associated with exposure to toxic chemicals in commerce, indoor and outdoor environments and prod-
ucts and food. Further, we will work to update old chemical-safety laws so our industry partners have a clear,
fair set of rules, and we can more effectively protect the public from harmful chemicals in products they use
every day.
Now is the time to reinvigorate our collaborative efforts to improve water quality, given the nation's signifi-
cant water-infrastructure needs. We will focus on common-sense, flexible approaches that rely on sustainable
solutions, such as green infrastructure, and that build resiliency to help us adapt to the effects of a changing
climate. Further, we will address stormwater runoff with a pragmatic balance of regulatory and nonregulatory
approaches. We will collaborate with our federal-agency partners to leverage our expertise and resources in
addressing water-quality issues, particularly in rural areas dealing with nonpoint-source pollution.
To help ensure these efforts succeed, we will convene broad-based dialogue and engagement at the national,
regional, and local levels to foster innovation and collaboration. Notably, we are implementing E-Enterprise,
a joint EPA-state initiative to improve environmental performance and enhance services to the regulated
community, environmental agencies and the public. E-Enterprise will increase transparency and efficiency,
develop new environmental-management approaches and employ advanced information and monitoring
technologies in a coordinated effort to manage and modernize environmental programs. This initiative will
significantly transform the way we work by allowing two-way business transactions, reducing reporting burden
and improving data quality.
For the EPA to engage fully in the U.S. environmental-protection enterprise we envision, we must fulfill our
mission while operating as a high-performing organization focused on efficiency. We are committed to this
effort and are already making progress to attract and retain the work force of the future, modernize our busi-
ness practices and more fully employ new tools and technologies. We are modernizing our business practices
to enhance the EPA's overall effectiveness, including making our data more accessible, efficient and transpar-
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ent. For example, we are accelerating our efforts under both E-Enterprise and Next Generation Compliance to
reflect advances in pollutant monitoring and information technology. These advances, combined with a focus
on designing rules and permits that are easier to implement, will result in reduced pollution and improved
environmental results.
It is my privilege as Administrator to help advance the themes encompassed by the goals, cross-agency
strategies and core values in this strategic plan. I look forward to working with all of you to create a healthier,
sustainable and prosperous future for every community for generations to come.
Gina McCarthy
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Introduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) mission is to
protect human health and the environment. The FY 2014-
2018 EPA Strategic Plan (the Plan) advances this mission,
supports implementation of the Administration's and the EPAs
priorities, and will be used routinely by the Agency's senior
leadership as a management tool to guide our path forward.
Administrator McCarthy identified seven themes (see "Admin-
istrator's Message") that will drive the Agency's efforts over the
next 4 years, and this Plan encompasses these themes as we work toward achieving our five strategic
goals, four cross-agency strategies, and overarching core values.
In implementing this FY 2074-2078 Plan, EPA
will focus on developing and using creative,
flexible, cost-effective, and sustainable actions
that deliver significant benefits on the ground
to protect and improve human health and the
environment. In support of the President's Climate
Action Plan (June 2013), we will implement strate-
gies to cut carbon pollution while promoting
innovation to drive economic growth, building
resilience to extreme weather events, and adapt-
ing to a changing climate. We will strengthen our
partnerships by building new tools and strategies
that enhance coordination and joint priority set-
ting with our state and tribal partners and other
federal agencies. We also will focus our grant and
incentive-based programs, and provide sound
credible scientific advice and technical assistance,
to help states, tribes, rural and urban communities,
and the private sector address environmental and
human health challenges that matter to them in
ways that make sense to them. Additionally, EPA
will continue to pursue advances in new tools and
technologies and increase the transparency of our
data to better serve our customers and deliver
significant environmental progress. We will also
continue to improve the way we do business as
a high-performing organization for the benefit of
both our workforce and the public we serve.
Our five strategic goals represent the program-
matic mission results we hope to achieve on
behalf of the American people. These strategic
goals embody the measurable environmental
EPA's Mission
To protect human health and the environment.
EPA's Strategic Goals
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and
Improving Air Quality
Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and
Advancing Sustainable Development
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and
Preventing Pollution
Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the
Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring
Compliance
EPA's Cross-Agency Strategies
Working Toward a Sustainable Future
Working to Make a Visible Difference in
Communities
Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local, and
International Partnerships
Embracing EPA as a High-Performing
Organization
EPA's Core Values
Science, Transparency, Rule of Law
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and human health outcomes the public can expect
over the next 4 years and describe how we intend
to achieve those results. Although we have made
significant progress over the last few years, our five
strategic goals highlight the increasingly complex
environmental and human health concerns we are
facing at a time of continuing fiscal constraints. With
this in mind we have focused on identifying targeted
opportunities and adjustments to ongoing work
under our strategic goals to increase efficiencies and
leverage and support efforts at all levels to achieve
our mission results.
Our four cross-agency strategies are designed to fun-
damentally change how we work both internally and
externally to achieve the outcomes articulated in the
FY 2074-2078 Plan. We are committed to achieving
the longer-term vision for these strategies by focusing
our efforts and making tangible, measurable prog-
ress to transform the way we deliver environmental
and human health protection. For example, we will
incorporate sustainability principles into regula-
tory enforcement, incentive-based, and partnership
programs. We will strive to enhance the livability
and economic vitality of all communities, especially
those most in need and facing environmental justice
concerns, including millions of minority, low-income,
tribal, and indigenous persons. And, we will work in
concert with the states, tribes, local governments,
and sister federal agencies that constitute our
country's environmental protection enterprise to
ensure the efficiency, efficacy, and coordination of
our mutual efforts. We will streamline our processes,
increase effectiveness, and reduce costs by moderniz-
ing business practices to make EPA a high-performing
organization.
We anticipate that these approaches will foster a
renewed commitment to accountability, transpar-
ency, and inclusion, expanding the conversation and
engaging with a broad range of stakeholders—fed-
eral, state, and local agencies, tribes, agricultural and
manufacturing sectors, small businesses, industry,
and other stakeholders, including those with whom
we have not traditionally worked. The continuing
transformational changes to improve how we work
together and take advantage of advances in technol-
ogy, expanded access to environmental data, and
enhanced outreach to communities and stakeholders
through environmental education will usher in a new
era of partnerships and broad-based participation in
managing human health and environmental risks.
We will continue to affirm the core values of science,
transparency, and the rule of law in addressing our
environmental challenges. Our work will be guided
by the best possible data and research and a com-
mitment to transparency and accountability. Science
Consultation Efforts
Consultation with our federal, state, local, and tribal government partners and our many stakeholders is an
integral part of the Agency's strategic planning process. The importance of consultation is also reflected in
the GPRA (Government Performance and Results Act) Modernization Act of 2010, which directs agencies
to consult with the Congress and requires that they solicit and consider the views and suggestions of those
entities potentially affected by or interested in a strategic plan. During the development of the FY 2014-
2018 EPA Strategic Plan, EPA:
Engaged with key partners and co-regulators throughout the effort to develop the Draft Plan.
Issued a Federal Register Notice and used www.requlations.gov to encourage and share feedback on
the Draft Plan.
Sent notification of the availability of the Draft Plan for review to over 800 organizations and individuals
to request input. These entities included leaders of the Agency's Congressional authorizing, appropria-
tions, and oversight committees; states and state associations; all federally recognized tribes; tribal
organizations; local government representatives; other federal agencies; environmental, public interest,
and public policy groups; and representatives of the regulated community.
Engaged the public on the Draft Plan through the use of social media through Twitter and Facebook
posts as well as blogs by senior managers.
Our outreach efforts resulted in unique comments from approximately 200 organizations and individuals.
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and research are the foundation of all our work at
the EPA and the scientific underpinning of decisions
and regulatory actions. We have incorporated science
and research efforts over the next 4 years throughout
the Plan in both our strategic goals and cross-agency
strategies. Our research will continue to be focused
on the most critical issues facing the Agency and
finding more sustainable solutions for addressing
human health and environmental problems.
With advances in both monitoring and information
technology we are developing new methods for
targeting the most serious violations and improv-
ing compliance. E-Enterprise is a joint EPA and state
initiative to modernize our business practices to
increase accessibility efficiency and responsiveness.
Additionally through Next Generation Compliance,
we are promoting the use of advanced monitor-
ing and electronic reporting, designing rules that
are easier to implement expanding transparency
and sharing of data, and using innovative enforce-
ment approaches to increase compliance and
reduce pollution.
While developing this revised Plan, we are also
identifying six new FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority
Goals (APGs), which are a major cornerstone of this
Administration's performance management agenda
and championed by Agency senior leadership to
advance our mission results. These six APGs are listed
in the introduction to the "Strategic Measurement
Framework" and discussed in relevant sections
throughout the Plan. Completion of our five FY
2012-2013 APGs informed the development of this
new set of two-year APGs. EPA also contributes to
Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals that are led by the
White House Policy Council.1 Additional information
on the APGs and CAP Goals is available on
http://www.performance.gov/.
To achieve the strategic goals, objectives, and
measures set out in this Plan, we will track progress
through annual performance measures which are
presented in EPAs Annual Performance Plans and
Budgets. We will report on our performance against
these annual measures in our Annual Performance
Reports and use this performance information as we
establish priorities, develop future budget submis-
sions, and manage programs.
Our measures for the FY 2014-2018 EPA Strategic Plan
draw upon some of the indicators contained in EPAs
Report on the Environment (ROE).2 The indicators
help us to monitor trends in the condition of the
nation's environment and environmental influences
on human health. They are intended to inform stra-
tegic planning, priority setting, and decision making
across EPA and provide information for the public on
the state of the environment.
To advance the cross-agency strategies in this Plan,
we have strengthened senior leadership engagement
in developing and implementing annual action plans,
designed to make measurable progress in transform-
ing the way we work to advance our mission results.
Agency senior leadership will work closely with
program and regional managers and staff in accom-
plishing the annual action plans and routinely assess
progress. And EPA will report its results in advancing
the strategies in the Annual Performance Report,
presented along with the budget.
As we work to implement the FY 2014-2018 EPA
Strategic Plan over the next 4 years, we recognize
that the Agency and numerous entities vital
to our success—federal, tribal, state, and local
governments, and other cooperating partners and
stakeholders—are all operating under resource
constraints that could impede our mutual progress.
We will collaborate in new ways to address the
environmental and human health challenges that lie
ahead of us, leverage resources to the greatest extent
possible, and continually seek new opportunities to
work more effectively and efficiently.
End Notes
1. Per the GPRA Modernization Act requirement to address Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals in the Agency Strategic Plan, the
Annual Performance Plan, and the Annual Performance Report, please refer to www.performance.gov for the Agency's contribu-
tions to those goals and progress, where applicable. EPA is currently a major contributor to the CAP Goals on Infrastructure
Permitting Modernization and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education.
2. See http://www.epa.gov/roe/indicators.htm.
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Goal 1: Addressing
Climate Change and
Improving Air Quality
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop adaptation strategies to address climate
change and protect and improve air quality.
Climate change poses risks to human
health, the environment, cultural
resources, the economy, and quality
of life.1 These changes are expected to
create further challenges to protecting human
health and welfare. Many effects of a chang-
ing climate are already evident and will persist
into the future regardless of future levels of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For example,
average U.S. temperatures are rising, snow and
rainfall patterns are shifting, and more extreme
climate events—like heavy rainstorms and
record high temperatures—are already affecting
society, human health, and the environment.
Potential climate change impacts may also
make it more difficult to achieve clean air
goals. To better protect human health and the
environment, EPA must recognize and consider
the challenge a changing climate poses to
the environment.
Notwithstanding this challenge, since passage
of the Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990,
nationwide air quality has improved signifi-
cantly.2 Levels of those pollutants linked to the
greatest health impacts continue to decline.
From 2003 to 2011, population-weighted ambi-
ent concentrations of fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) and ozone have decreased 26 percent
and 16 percent, respectively. Even with this
progress, in 2010 approximately 40 percent of
the U.S. population lived in counties with air
that did not meet health-based standards for at
Objectives
Address Climate Change. Minimize the threats
posed by climate change by reducing greenhouse
gas emissions and taking actions that help to
protect human health and help communities and
ecosystems become more sustainable and resilient
to the effects of climate change.
FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles
and trucks. Through September 30, 2015,
EPA, in coordination with the Department
of Transportation's fuel economy standards
program, will be implementing vehicle and truck
greenhouse gas (GHG) standards that are pro-
jected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
6 billion metric tons and reduce oil consumption
by about 12 billion barrels over the lifetime of the
affected vehicles and trucks.
Improve Air Quality. Achieve and maintain health-
and welfare-based air pollution standards and
reduce risk from toxic air pollutants and indoor
air contaminants.
Restore and Protect the Ozone Layer. Restore
and protect the earth's stratospheric ozone layer
and protect the public from the harmful effects of
ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Minimize Exposure to Radiation. Minimize releases
of radioactive material and be prepared to minimize
exposure through response and recovery actions
should unavoidable releases occur.
Strategic measures associated with this Goal are on
pages 59 through 62. More information on Agency
Priority Goals is available at http://qoals.performance.
qov/aqencv/epa.
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least one pollutant. Long-term exposure to elevated
levels of certain air pollutants has been associated
with increased risk of cancer, premature mortality,
and damage to the immune, neurological, reproduc-
tive, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems.3 Because
people spend much of their lives indoors, the quality
of indoor air is also a major health concern. Indoor
allergens and irritants play a significant role in making
asthma worse and triggering asthma attacks. The
most recent data (2011) from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) tell us that 26 million
Americans have asthma, and in 2010, CDC reports
that asthma was the primary diagnosis for nearly
2 million hospital emergency visits.4 In 2008, more
than half of children and one-third of adults who had
an asthma attack missed school or work because of
asthma and total costs for Americans from asthma
was $56 billion in 2007.5 Exposure to indoor radon
is responsible for an estimated 21,000 premature
lung cancer deaths each year.6 Twenty percent of the
population spends the day indoors in elementary
and secondary schools, where potential problems
with leaky roofs and with heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning systems can trigger a host of health
problems, including asthma and allergies.
Address Climate Change
EPAs strategies to address climate change reflect the
President's call to action in his Climate Action Plan
(June 2013), which, among other initiatives, tasks
EPA with setting carbon dioxide (CO2) standards
for power plants and applying the Agency's authori-
ties and other tools to address hydrofluorocarbons
(MFCs) and methane. These strategies support the
President's goal to reduce GHG emissions by 17 per-
cent below 2005 levels by 2020.7 EPA and its partners
are developing and implementing approaches to
reduce GHG emissions domestically and internation-
ally through cost-effective, voluntary programs while
pursuing additional regulatory actions as needed. Our
efforts address the following areas:
Mobile Sources
•f Implementing three sets of GHG standards for
vehicles and trucks, including: two sets of GHG
standards for light-duty cars and trucks (model
years 2012-2016 and 2017-2025); and the first set
of standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks
and buses (model years 2014-2018). These emis-
sion standards, finalized jointly with the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
fuel economy standards, will result in substantial
reductions in new vehicle GHG emissions from
model years 2012 through 2025. (Reducing
greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks is
an FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal.8)
•f Carrying out the next phase of the GHG
vehicle emission standards. Consistent with the
President's Climate Action Plan, the Agency plans
to propose in March 2015 a second phase of fuel
efficiency and greenhouse gas emission standards
for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles for model
years 2018 and beyond, and plans to finalize the
standards in March 2016. This second phase of
regulations will build upon the success of the
first phase and offer further opportunities to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease
transportation fuel consumption, and is expected
to benefit consumers and business by reducing
the cost of transporting goods while spurring
job growth and innovation in the clean energy
technology sector.
•f Assessing GHG control options for non-road
sources, including evaluating whether and when
to commence work on standards setting for GHG
emissions from a wide range of non-road equip-
ment, locomotives, marine vesse s and aircraft,
and transportation fuels.
Stationary Sources
•f Using authority under Section 111(b) of the Clean
Air Act, EPA issued a new proposal on September
20, 2013 for GHG performance standards for
new power plants and will subsequently finalize
that rule after consideration of public comment
as appropriate. Using authority under Sections
111(b)and111(d)oftheAct, EPA will issue
proposed GHG standards, regulations, or guide-
lines, as appropriate, for modified, reconstructed,
and existing power plants byjune 1, 2014, and
finalize these standards, regulations, or guidelines
byjune 1,2015.
•f Collecting and publishing high-quality GHG emis-
sions data from large direct emitters and suppliers
of GHGs through the greenhouse gas reporting
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program to inform the public and support sound
data-driven, policy decisions on climate change.
•f Implementing permitting requirements for
facilities that emit large amounts of GHGs to
encourage design and construction of more
sustainable, efficient, and advanced processes that
will contribute to a clean energy economy.
•f Applying the Significant New Alternatives Policy
(SNAP) program to promote the use of low global
warming potential MFCs and similar chemicals.
International and Other Efforts
•f Implementing proven voluntary programs that
maximize GHG reductions through the greater
use of technologies, products, and practices that
promote energy efficiency, and renewables pro-
grams and policies that benefit the environment
and human health.
•f Identifying and assessing substitute chemical and
ozone-depleting substances and processes for
their global warming potential.
•f Collaborating with countries and other interna-
tional partners to reduce methane emissions and
deliver clean energy to markets around the world
through the Global Methane Initiative.
•f Collaborating with international partners to
reduce short-lived climate pollutants, including
methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons,
through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
•f Educating the public about a changing climate
and actions people can take to reduce GHG
emissions.
•f Collaborating with state, local, and tribal gov-
ernments on regulatory and policy initiatives,
technical assistance, and voluntary programs relat-
ed to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Adaptation
Much of EPAs work is sensitive to weather and
climate. Consequently, the various actions EPA takes
to meet its obligations and achieve its goals, includ-
ing promulgating regulations and implementing
programs, take these variables into consideration. For
example, potential increases in ground-level ozone
due to a changing climate could make attainment
or maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) more challenging. Similarly,
attaining water quality standards will become more
difficult as water temperatures increase in response
to climate change.
EPA must adapt and plan for future changes in
climate to continue fulfilling its statutory, regulatory,
and programmatic requirements. The Agency will
implement its Climate Change Adaptation Plan, and
consider where it is appropriate to integrate and
mainstream considerations of a changing climate into
the full range of its programs to ensure they are effec-
tive under future climatic conditions. EPA will work
with state, tribal, and local partners to enhance their
capacity to adapt to a changing climate. Each of the
EPA national programs and ten regional offices will
implement new climate adaptation implementation
plans to carry out the work called for in the Agency's
Climate Change Adaptation Plan. EPA will also
continue to collaborate with the U.S. Global Change
Research Program and the Council on Climate
Change Preparedness and Resilience to support the
development and implementation of climate change
adaptation plans by all federal agencies.9
Adaptation initiatives undertaken by EPA national
programs and regional offices will carry out key
elements of the President's Climate Action Plan (June
2013) and aim to increase the resilience of communi-
ties and ecosystems to climate change by increasing
their ability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to,
and recover from the impacts of a changing climate.
EPA is encouraging and supporting smarter, more
resilient investments by integrating considerations of
climate change impacts and adaptive measures into
major grant, loan, contract, and technical assistance
programs, consistent with existing authorities. For
example, EPA is integrating climate adaptation
criteria into the Clean Water and Drinking Water
State Revolving Loan Funds and grants for brown-
fields cleanup. EPA is also partnering with states,
tribes, and urban and rural communities to integrate
climate change data, models, information, and other
decision-support tools into their planning processes
in ways that empower them to anticipate, prepare
for, and adapt to a changing climate. As an example,
EPA developed a stormwater calculator that will
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enable users to evaluate the effectiveness of alterna-
tive strategies for limiting stormwater runoff that can
overwhelm sewer systems and spill into rivers and
streams, and to identify strategies that ensure the
systems are effective under future climatic conditions.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
External influences on EPA's efforts to improve air
quality and address climate change issues include
the evolution of state and local transportation and
energy-related policies and the impacts of a chang-
ing climate, such as changes in rainfall amount and
intensity shifting weather and seasonal patterns,
and increases in flood plain e evations and sea levels.
Some of these external influences present signifi-
cant challenges to the EPA's work, whereas others,
such as the growth of alternative energy sources
and increased investments in energy efficiency, can
improve local air quality and reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
Improve Air Quality
Taking into account the most current health effects
research findings,10 EPA has completed new, more
health-protective national ambient air quality stan-
dards for particulate matter (December 2012), lead
(October 2008), sulfur dioxide (June 2010), nitrogen
dioxide (January 2010), and carbon monoxide
(August 2011), and is currently reviewing the stan-
dard for ozone. Over the next 4 years, we will work
with states and tribes to develop and implement
plans to achieve and maintain these standards. Our
efforts provide the tools and information necessary
for EPA, states, and tribes to implement air quality
standards and controls.
EPA will work with states and tribes to decrease the
emissions that contribute to interstate transport of
air pollution. These efforts will help many areas of
the country attain the standards and achieve signifi-
cant improvements in human health. Working with
states and tribes, EPA will continue implementing
cost-effective multi-state regional programs designed
to control the significant contributions of power
plant and other stationary source emissions of sulfur
dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) to air quality
problems (i.e., nonattainment and interference with
maintenance of ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS) in down-
wind areas. Operating programs in 2014 will include
the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) or a replacement
program for control of transported ozone and PM2.5
pollution,11 in addition to the national acid rain SO2
and NOx emission reduction programs.
As we implement national air quality standards, we
will seek ways to increase efficiency and maximize
results. These efforts include: working with states
to improve the state implementation plan approval
process, including the use of full-cycle analysis
(i.e., identifying specific actions along a time line
needed to facilitate the timely issuance of imple-
mentation rules and guidelines); modernizing our
training program for state, local, and tribal agencies
through an e-learning system; and implementation of
e ectronic emission reporting as part of the Agency's
E-Enterprise initiative.
Additionally, EPA will work to ensure that our efforts
to improve air quality consider low-income and
minority communities that are disproportionately
impacted by pollution. The Agency will continue to
implement the goals of the Environmental Justice (EJ)
2014 strategy that focus on protecting health in com-
munities overburdened by pollution, empowering
communities to take action to improve their health
and environment, and establishing partnerships with
local, state, tribal, and federal organizations to achieve
healthy and sustainable communities.
EPA has finalized a number of air pollution control
standards over the last decade that have substantially
reduced, and will continue to reduce, PM, NOx,
volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), air toxics, and
GHG emissions. These standards will cut emissions
from new vehicles and engines by over 90 percent,
with an estimated $290 billion in net health benefits
by 2030. In addition, EPA partnership programs such
as the SmartWay Transport program, are achieving
important reductions in emissions from the existing
fleet of diesel engines that are not subject to the
new standards.12
Looking forward, EPA will collect and evaluate mobile
source emission data to help guide future program
priorities. Other factors to consider include the
health and environmental effects of emissions and
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future advancements in technology that could pro-
vide opportunities for further emission reductions.
The Agency also recognizes the importance of fuels
work and the critical need to understand the chal-
lenges and opportunities this work presents. EPA
will continue to coordinate with the Department of
Energy (DOE), Department of Agriculture (USDA),
and other interagency partners on these issues as
appropriate. The Agency plans to focus on streamlin-
ing the implementation processes of the renewable
fuel standard (RFS) program, including the annual
standard-setting process and new fuel pathway
approvals. EPA will also strengthen its oversight of
industry compliance with RFS standards and core
fuels and fuels additive registration mandates through
a voluntary third-party quality assurance program to
verify that renew-
able identification
numbers (RINs) have
been validly gener-
ated. In addition,
proposed modifica-
tions to the exporter
provisions of the RFS
program will help
to ensure that an
appropriate number
and type of RINs are
retired whenever
renewable fuel
is exported.
Air toxics and other air pollutants can be widespread
and/or community specific. They are emitted by large
industry small businesses, motor vehicles, and many
other common activities. Although certain chemicals
are ubiquitous throughout the country, in some areas
of concentrated industrial and/or mobile source
activity, concentrations may be significantly greater.
To support effective air toxics reduction policies,
EPA uses data from our national toxics monitoring
network and from national and local assessments to
provide key information to better characterize risks
and assess priorities. EPA also leverages pollution
prevention and green expertise to reduce air toxics
emissions and associated risk.
EPA recognizes that air toxics pose unique challenges
both nationally and at the community level, and we
focus on relatively high-risk sources, pollutants, and
exposure situations. EPA will continue to set and
enforce control technology-based air toxics emissions
standards and, where needed, amend those standards
to address residual risk and technology advance-
ments. These regulations are aimed at reducing toxic
air pollution from stationary sources and targeted
priority source categories, reducing pollution in com-
munities, utilizing a more cost-effective "sector-based"
approach, and providing tools to help communities
and other stakeholders participate in rulemaking.
Priority categories include petroleum refining, iron
and steel manufacturing, chemical manufacturing,
and Portland cement. EPA takes advantage of the
natural overlap of certain air toxics and criteria pol-
lutant rules and coordinates the development and
implementation of Maximum Achievable Control
Technology (MACT)
standards and New
Source Performance
Standards (NSPSs)
where appropriate.
By coordinating
MACT standard
development for
specific source cat-
egories with other
rulemaking efforts,
EPA can substantially
reduce the resources
needed to develop
standards; provide
more certainty and lower cost for industry; simplify
implementation for state, local, and tribal agencies;
and enhance cost-effective regulatory approaches.
To address unacceptable risks that may remain after
implementing national strategies, EPA works with
states, tribes, and local agencies and organizations
to understand the risks at the local level, target the
problem areas, and tailor reduction strategies and
approaches to the unique situations in those areas.
To improve indoor air quality, EPA deploys programs
that educate the public about indoor air quality
concerns, including radon, and promotes public
action to reduce potential risks in homes, schools,
and workplaces. Included among the people most
exposed to indoor air pollutants are those most
susceptible to the effects—the young, the elderly,
-------
and the chronically ill. In addition, EPA collaborates
with state and tribal organizations, environmental
and public health officials, housing, energy, and build-
ing organizations, school personnel who manage
school environments, and health care providers who
treat children prone to or suffering disproportionately
from asthma. The focus of these efforts is to create,
expand, and leverage systems already in place to sup-
port community efforts to address indoor air quality
health risks.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
External factors that will affect air quality program
implementation include the outcome of the appeal
of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) deci-
sion and continuing legal challenges to stationary
source rules.13 Also, impacts from a changing climate
may worsen existing indoor environmental problems
and introduce new ones as temperatures change and
the frequency and/or severity of adverse outdoor
events increase. These impacts include increased
mold from water damage and more time spent
indoors where air may be of poorer quality.
Restore and Protect the
Ozone Layer
EPA will implement programs that reduce and con-
trol ozone-depleting substances (ODS), enforce rules
on their production, import, and emission, and facili-
tate the transition to alternative products that reduce
GHG emissions and save energy. EPAs contributions
to the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of
the Montreal Protocol will help to continue support
for cost-effective projects designed to build capacity
and eliminate ODS production and consumption in
over 60 developing countries. EPA will also continue
partnership programs that educate the public about
the importance of protection from harmful ultravio-
let radiation.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
Protection of the ozone layer is a global problem
that cannot be solved by domestic action alone—all
nations must also phase out the use of ODS. Much
remains to be done in the U.S. and in the global
community at large before the ozone layer will be
considered safe for current and future generations.
Critical emerging issues include the need to
ensure that:
•f Ozone depleting substances are replaced by alter-
natives that reduce overall risk to human health
and the environment;
•f Use of the agricultural fumigant methyl bromide
is phased out in a manner that provides contin-
ued control of pests that threaten food supplies
and other economically important products
traded internationally by the U.S.;14 and
•f Remaining ODS phaseout, including the 2013 and
2015 developing-country ODS reduction require-
ments, is appropriately supported in a manner
that is both cost effective and climate friendly.15
Minimize Exposure to Radiation
Recognizing the potential hazards of radiation,
Congress charged EPA with the primary responsibil-
ity for protecting people and the environment from
harmful and avoidable exposures. In fulfilling this
responsibility, the Agency will review and update its
radiation protection regulations and guidance and
operate RadNet, the Agency's national environmental
radiation monitoring system. EPA will also maintain
personnel expertise, capabilities, and equipment
readiness of the radiological emergency response pro-
gram, including the Agency's Radiological Emergency
Response Team. In addition, EPA will provide regula-
tory oversight of DOE's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
(WIPP), inspect WIPP waste generator facilities, and
evaluate DOE's compliance with EPAs radioactive
waste disposal standards and applicable environmen-
tal laws and regulations.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
There are several emerging issues and external factors
that will have an impact on how we carry out our
radiation program, including new designs and tech-
nologies for nuclear power plant facilities as well as
new uranium extraction and processing technologies.
Applied Research
Protecting human health and the environment from
the impacts of a changing climate and air quality in
a sustainable way are central 21st century challenges.
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These challenges are complicated by the interplay
between air quality the changing climate, and
emerging energy options. EPA's air, climate, and energy
research will provide cutting-edge scientific informa-
tion and tools to support air quality and climate
change efforts. In particular EPA will:
•f Conduct integrated science assessments of
criteria air pollutants and provide new data and
approaches for improving these assessments;
•f Develop credible models and tools to inform
sustainable policies, decisions, and responses to
a changing climate by EPA national and regional
offices, state, tribal, and local governments,
and others;
•f Conduct research to change the paradigm for
air pollution monitoring, with a focus on lower
cost measurements;
•f Develop and evaluate models and decision
support tools to integrate multimedia processes
and systems;
•f Develop approaches to assess multi-pollutant
exposures and the resulting human and ecological
effects of air pollutant mixtures; and
•f Conduct research to inform policies protecting
human and ecosystem health in an evolving
energy landscape, including impacts of unconven-
tional oil and gas and low-carbon energy sources.
End Notes
1. Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M. Melillo, and Thomas C Peterson (eds.). 2009. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States (New
York, New York: Cambridge University Press). Available at http://downloads.globalchange.gov/usimpacts/pdfs/climate-impacts-
report.pdf.
2. U.S. EPA, 2012. Our Nation's Air—Status and Trends through 2070. EPA-454/R-12-001. Available at http://www.epa.gov/
airtrends/2011/.
3. U.S. EPA, 2007. The Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act. EPA-456/K-07-001. Available at http://www.epa.gov/air/peg/peg.pdf.
4. Twenty-six million Americans have asthma (actual data point is 25,943,000): National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data, 2011,
available at http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2011/data.htm. Year 2010 data for nearly 2 million emergency department visits with
primary diagnosis of asthma (actual data point is 1,754,000): National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Emergency
Department Summary Tables, available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ahcd/nhamcs emergency/2010 ed web tables.pdf.
5. Costs: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011, May). Asthma in the U.S. Vital Signs. Retrieved from http://cdc.gov/
vitalsigns/asthma.
6. U.S. EPA, 2003. EPA's Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes. EPA 402-R-03-003. Available at http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/
assessment/402-r-03-003.pdf.
7. See http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop 15/copenhagen accord/application/pdf/unitedstatescphaccord app.1.pdf.
8. FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Reduce green house gas emissions from vehicles and trucks: Thro ugh September 30, 2015, EPA
in coordination with Department of Transportation's fuel economy standards program will be implementing vehicle and truck
greenhouse gas (GHG) standards that are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 billion metric tons and reduce oil
consumption by about 12 billion barrels over the lifetime of the affected vehicles and trucks.
9. The U.S. Global Change Research Program coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global
environment and the implications of these changes for society, as mandated in the Global Change Research Act
of 1990 (PL 101-606) (http://www.globalchange.gov/about/global-change-research-act.html). In 2009, the White
House Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration initiated the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force. When the President
signed Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, in October
2009, he called on the Task Force to develop federal recommendations for adapting to climate change impacts both
domestically and internationally. Executive Order 13514 is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the press office/
President-Obama-signs-an-Executive-Order-Focused-on-Federal-Leadership-in-Environmental-Energv-and-Economic-Performance.
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10. U.S. EPA, 2006. Air Quality Criteria for Lead (2006) Final Report. EPA/600/R-05/144aF-bF. Available a: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/
recordisplay.cfm?deid=158823.
U.S. EPA, 2008. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Sulfur Oxides—Health Criteria (Final Report). EPA/600/R-08/047F. Available at
http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm7deicUl 98843.
U.S. EPA, 2008. Integrated Science Assessment/or Oxides of Nitrogen—Health Criteria (Final Report). EPA/600/R-08/071. Available at
http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm7deicUl94645.
11. In 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit remanded CAIR to EPA, but allowed the rule to remain in effect pending
replacement by a valid rule. In August 2012, the same court vacated EPA's replacement rule (CSAPR). The Agency successfully
petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the D.C Circuit's decision, and the Supreme Court is expected to issue
its opinion on the merits by June 2014. Depending on the outcome of that appeal, CAIR's ultimate replacement could be either
CSAPR or the product of a new EPA rulemaking effort.
12. Recent air pollution control standards include the Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Emissions Standards and Gasoline Sulfur Control
Requirements (February 2001); the 2007 Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards and Highway Diesel Fuel Sulfur Control
Highway Rule (January 2001); the Tier 4 Emission Standards (June 2004); and Locomotive Engines and Marine Compression-
Ignition Engines rule (June 2008).
13. In an August 21, 2012 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the CSAPR and ordered EPA to continue
implementing CAIR pending development of a valid replacement. The Agency successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to
hear an appeal of the D.C. Circuit's decision, and the Supreme Court is expected to issue its opinion on the merits by June 2014.
Please see http://www.epa.gov/crossstaterule/ for updates on CSAPR.
14. Use of the agricultural fumigant methyl bromide was phased out in 2005. However, two exemptions allow the production and
use of methyl bromide to control pests related to food production and international trade. The Critical Use Exemption is used in
limited cases where a showing has been made, and agreed to by the Parties subsequent to review by technical review bodies of
the Montreal Protocol, that no technically and economically feasible alternative exists.
15. All countries that are Parties to the Montreal Protocol have agreed to phase out their production and consumption of ozone
depleting substances (ODS). The Multilateral Fund was set up by agreement among the Parties, and the Fund's purpose is to assist
developing countries to comply with these obligations. Contributions are made to the Multilateral Fund by developed countries,
also referred to as donor countries under the Treaty.
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Goal 2: Protecting
America's Waters
Protect and restore waters to ensure that drinking water is safe and sustainably managed,
and that aquatic ecosystems sustain fish, plants, wildlife, and other biota, as well as
economic, recreational, and subsistence activities.
The nation's water resources
are the lifeblood of our
communities, supporting
our economy and way of
life. Across most of the country we
enjoy and depend upon reliable
sources of clean and safe water. J ust a
few decades ago, many of our drink-
ing water systems provided very
limited treatment to water coming
through the tap. Drinking water
was often the cause of illnesses
linked to microbiological and other
contaminants. Many of our surface
waters would not have met today's
water quality standards. Some of
the nation's rivers were open sewers,
posing health risks, and many water
bodies were so polluted that safe
swimming, fishing, and recreation
were not possible.
We have made significant progress
since enactment of the landmark
Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and
Marine Protection, Research, and
Sanctuaries Act approximately
40 years ago. Today, although the
enhanced quality of our surface
waters and the greater safety of our
drinking water are testaments to
Objectives
Protect Human Health. Achieve and maintain standards
and guidelines protective of human health in drinking
water supplies, fish, shellfish, and recreational waters, and
protect and sustainably manage drinking water resources.
FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Improve public
health protection for persons served by small drink-
ing water systems, which account for more than
97 percent of public water systems in the U.S., by
strengthening the technical, managerial, and financial
capacity of those systems. By September 30, 2015,
EPA will engage with an additional ten states (for a
total of 30 states) and three tribes to improve small
drinking water system capability to provide safe drink-
ing water, an invaluable resource.
• Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic
Ecosystems. Protect, restore, and sustain the quality of
rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands on a watershed basis,
and sustainably manage and protect coastal and ocean
resources and ecosystems.
FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Improve, restore,
and maintain water quality by enhancing nonpoint
source program leveraging, accountability, and
on-the-ground effectiveness to address the nation's
largest sources of pollution. By September 30, 2015,
100 percent of the states will have updated nonpoint
source management programs that comport with the
new Section 319 grant guidelines that will result in
better targeting of resources through prioritization and
increased coordination with USDA.
Strategic measures associated with this Goal are on pages
63 through 66. More information on Agency Priority Goals is
available at http://qoals.performance.gov/aqencv/epa.
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decades of environmental protection and invest-
ment, serious challenges remain. Many small drinking
water systems are particularly challenged by the need
to improve and maintain infrastructure and develop
the capacity to comply with new and existing stan-
dards. Tens of thousands of homes, primarily in tribal
and disadvantaged communities and the territories,
still lack access to basic sanitation and drinking water.
The rate at which new waters are listed for water
quality impairments exceeds the pace at which
restored waters are removed from the list.
For many years, nonpoint source pollution, princi-
pally nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments, has been
recognized as the largest remaining impediment to
improving water quality. Recent national surveys
have found that our waters are stressed by nutrient
pollution, excess sedimentation, and degradation
of shoreline vegetation, which affect upwards of
50 percent of our lakes and streams.1 Pollution
discharged from industrial, municipal, agricultural,
and stormwater sources continue to be causes of
water quality problems, as does the degradation of
watersheds and their natural plant communities
and hydrologic structure, which help protect water
quality. A changing climate will compound these
problems, highlighting the need to work with our
partners to evaluate options for protecting infrastruc-
ture, conserving water, reducing energy use, adopting
green infrastructure and locally driven watershed-
based practices, and improving the resilience of
infrastructural and natural systems, including utilities,
watersheds, and estuaries.2
Over the next 4 years, EPA will reinvigorate efforts to
improve water quality, working with states, territories,
and tribes to better safeguard human health and
make America's water systems sustainable and secure.
We will:
•f Assess the status of and changes in water quality
through the National Aquatic Resource Surveys;
•f Strengthen the protection of our
aquatic ecosystem;
•f Improve watershed-based approaches to
reduce pollution;
•f Implement innovative technologies;
•f Carry out comprehensive approaches to help
maintain healthy watersheds;
•f Foster increased protection of drinking water
sources through improved coordination between
CWA and SDWA programs at the national,
regional, state, and watershed scales;
•f Focus efforts in key geographic areas;3 and
•f Take measures to incorporate climate change con-
siderations into clean water and drinking water
program planning and implementation.
EPA is establishing two Agency Priority Goals for FY
2014-2015 that are continuations from FY 2012-
2013: (1) to improve public health protection for
persons served by small drinking water systems by
strengthening the technical, managerial, and finan-
cial capacity of those systems;4 and (2) to improve,
restore, or maintain water quality by enhancing
nonpoint source program accountability, incentives,
and effectiveness.5
In the first Priority Goal, EPA will continue to part-
ner with the states and pilot with several tribes
to enhance their capacity development, operator
certification, and treatment optimization programs.
These efforts are intended to build upon or reinvigo-
rate efforts already underway across the country.
The Agency is continuing to partner with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Rural Utilities
Service to promote drinking water and wastewater
system sustainability, foster water sector workforce
opportunities in rural America, and coordinate infra-
structure funding as appropriate. EPA will continue
to provide states and tribes with funding to assist
utilities with financing drinking water infrastructure
needs. In the second Priority Goal, EPA is imple-
menting a strengthened nonpoint source (CWA
Section 319) grant program6 to continue yielding
on-the-ground water quality results in watersheds
nationwide. A significant component of this effort is
working with state partners to update their nonpoint
source programs, which guide overall priorities and
investments for Section 319 funds. Updated non-
point source programs, combined with collaboration
efforts with USDA, state departments of agriculture,
and other partners, will result in better protection of
water quality from nonpoint sources of pollution.
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Working with our partners, the Agency's effort to
protect our waters has two objectives—protecting
human health and protecting and restoring water-
sheds and aquatic ecosystems.
Protect Human Health
Sustaining the quality and supply of our water
resources is essential to safeguarding human health.
More than 300 million people living in the United
States rely on the safety of tap water provided by
public water systems that are subject to national
drinking water standards. Over the next 4 years, EPA
will help protect human health and make America's
water systems sustainable and secure by:
•f Providing financial assistance for public water
system infrastructure to protect and maintain
drinking water quality;
•f Strengthening compli-
ance with drinking
water standards;
•f Continuing to
protect sources of
drinking water from
contamination and
ensuring reliable
supplies of drinking
water as water
temperatures increase
(including addressing
the harmful effects of
algal blooms);
•f Developing new and revising existing drinking
water standards to address known and emerging
contaminants that endanger human health; and
+ Supporting states, tribes, and territories in their
oversight of public water systems in implementing
these standards, and supporting water systems
directly through provision of guidance, training,
and information.
While promoting sustainable management of
drinking water infrastructure, we will provide
needed oversight and technical assistance to states,
tribes, and territories, so that their water systems
comply with or exceed existing standards and
are able to comply with new standards. We will
also promote the construction of infrastructure
that brings safe drinking water into the homes of
small, rural, and disadvantaged communities and
increase efforts to guard the nation's critical drinking
water infrastructure.
In addition, EPA is actively working Agency-wide and
with external partners and stakeholders to imple-
ment a multi-faceted drinking water strategy. With
this approach, EPA seeks to: address chemicals and
contaminants by group, as opposed to working on
a chemical-by-chemical basis; foster the develop-
ment of new drinking water treatment technologies;
use the authority of multiple statutes in addressing
drinking water contamination; and encourage collab-
oration with states and tribes to share more complete
data from monitoring
at public water systems.
To this end, the Agency
is replacing the federal
and state components
of EPA's Safe Drinking
Water Information
System (SDWIS) with
a new system. SDWIS
Prime is designed to
assist regulatory agencies
with their implementa-
tion of the public water
system supervision
(PWSS) program, as well
as improve the efficiency of sharing drinking water
data among states, tribes, and the Agency. This will
allow for better targeting of federal and state funding
and technical assistance resources, and improve data
quality while increasing public access to drinking
water data.
Science-based water quality criteria are essential to
protect our public water systems, groundwater and
surface water bodies, and recreational waters. These
criteria are the foundation for state and tribal tools
to safeguard human health such as public advisories
for beaches, fish consumption, and drinking water.
Over the next 4 years, we will expand that science
to improve our understanding of emerging potential
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waterborne threats to human health, develop
new criteria, and validate testing methods that
provide quicker results and enable faster action on
beach safety.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
EPA's underground injection control (UIC) pro-
gram provides a framework to ensure protection
of underground sources of drinking water from
endangerment related to the construction operation
permitting, and closure of injection wells that place
fluids underground for storage, disposal, enhanced
recovery of oil and gas, or minerals recovery. Natural
gas plays a key role in our clean energy future.
Hydraulic fracturing is a key way to recover natural
gas from sources. EPA will ensure proper oversight of
hydraulic fracturing operations in cases where diesel
fuel is used by implementing permitting guidance
under SDWAs Class II UIC program for hydraulic
fracturing. EPA is working with state and tribal organi-
zations, along with other federal agencies, to develop
and implement voluntary strategies for encouraging
the use of alternatives to diesel in hydraulic fracturing
and improving compliance with other Class II regula-
tions, including possible risks from induced seismic
events and the risk from radionuclides in disposal
wells. EPA is also continuing to work with state, tribal,
and industry representatives to make UIC Class II
regulations and information more transparent and to
implement best practices and promote coordination
between UIC and oil and gas agencies.
Protect and Restore Watersheds
and Aquatic Ecosystems
People and the ecological integrity of aquatic systems
rely on healthy watersheds. EPA employs a suite of
programs to protect and improve water quality in
the nation's watersheds—rivers, lakes, wetlands, and
streams—as well as in our estuarine, coastal, and
ocean waters. In partnership with states, territories,
local governments, and tribes, EPA's core water
programs help:
•f Protect, restore, maintain, and improve water
quality by financing wastewater treatment
infrastructure;
•f Conduct monitoring and assessment;
•f Establish pollution reduction targets;
•f Update water quality standards;
•f Issue and enforce discharge permits; and
•f Implement programs to prevent or reduce non-
point source pollution.
While promoting sustainable management of munici-
pal wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, we will
work with federal, state, and local partners to bring
appropriate and effective solutions to small, rural, and
disadvantaged communities. EPA will continue to
promote robust planning that includes an assessment
of green, sustainable alternatives, and will continue
to work with municipalities on implementing the
integrated planning process for wastewater and
stormwater management on a case-by-case basis.7
We will also work more aggressively to reduce and
control pollutants that are discharged from industrial,
municipal, agricultural, and stormwater sources, and
vessels, as well as to implement programs to prevent
and reduce pollution that washes off the land during
rain events. By promoting green infrastructure and
sustainable landscape management, EPA will help
restore natural hydrologic systems and the health of
aquatic ecosystems to reduce pollution from storm-
water events.8 The Agency is exploring innovative
approaches to meeting the 21st century water quality
challenges with streamlined permitting and oversight
processes supported by modernized data manage-
ment and technologies.
To provide information on the ecological and recre-
ational condition of the nation's waters and the key
stressors impacting those waters, EPA will continue
to work with states and tribes to implement the
National Aquatic Resource Surveys, including the
National Rivers and Streams Assessment, the National
Coastal Condition Assessment, the National Wetland
Condition Assessment, and the National Lakes
Assessment.9 These probability-based surveys provide
nationally consistent and scientifically defensible
assessments of our nation's waters. These data will
support EPA and our partners in identifying priority
actions to protect and restore water quality and in
assessing whether collective efforts are improving
water quality over time as water conditions are
altered in response to climate change.
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Over the next 4 years, EPA will continue efforts to
restore water bodies that do not meet water quality
standards, preserve and protect high-quality aquatic
resources, and protect, restore, and improve wetland
acreage and quality. The Agency will improve the way
existing tools are used, explore how innovative tools
can be applied, and enhance efforts and cross-media
collaboration to protect and prevent water qual-
ity impairment in healthy watersheds. The Agency
will use the National Aquatic Resource Survey to
track the effectiveness of these combined efforts at
protecting and improving water quality over time.
Results from the National Aquatic Resource Survey
reinforce EPAs commitment to address nitrogen and
phosphorus pollution as among the most serious
and pervasive water quality problems. Programs for
controlling nonpoint sources of pollution are key to
reducing the number of impaired waters nationwide.
The programs provide a multi-faceted approach to
the problem, combining innovative development
strategies to help leverage traditional tools. In addi-
tion to working with state, tribal, and local partners,
EPA is collaborating with USDA to implement
its National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) and
collaborating on other geographically based initia-
tives. Coordination of EPAs nonpoint source (CWA
Section 319) grant funds and USDA Farm Bill funds
is intended to protect water quality more effectively
from runoff from agricultural lands and demon-
strate improved effectiveness. USDA launched the
NWQI in FY 2012, which targets 5 percent of USDAs
Environmental Quality Incentives Program resources
for water quality improvements in 165 specific water-
sheds across the nation. EPA is collaborating closely
with USDA as it implements this program, and is
now requiring states to assess water quality results in
NWQI watersheds through Section 319 grant funds
or other funding sources.
Development and implementation of total maxi-
mum daily loads (TMDLs) for CWA Section 303(d)
listed impaired waterbodies is a critical tool for meet-
ing water quality restoration goals. The CWA 303(d)
listing and TMDL program has engaged with states
to implement a new 10-year vision for the program
to more effectively achieve the water quality goals of
each state. The approach involves fostering effec-
tive integration across multiple programs, statutes,
and agencies—CWA point and nonpoint source
programs, other statutory programs within EPAs
jurisdiction (e.g., the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act [CERCLA],
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act [RCRA],
SDWA, and Clean Air Act [CAA]), and the water
quality efforts of other federal agencies (e.g., the
Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Commerce).
As part of this effort, EPA will continue to encourage
states to identify priority waters for assessment, for
development of TMDLs and other restoration plans
for impaired segments, and for pursuit of protection
approaches for unimpaired waters. EPA will work
with states and other partners to develop and imple-
ment activities and watershed plans to restore and
protect these waters.
In partnership with states, tribes, and local communi-
ties, EPA is implementing a clean water strategy that
explores ways to improve the condition of the urban
waterways that may have been overlooked or under-
represented in local environmental problem solving.
The Agency will continue to play an active role as a
member of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership to
promote more efficient and effective use of federal
resources and build new partnerships with states,
tribes, local entities, and the private sector.
EPA will also lead efforts to restore and protect
aquatic ecosystems and wetlands, particularly in key
geographic areas, to address complex and cross-
boundary challenges. Key geographic areas in the
national water program include the Chesapeake Bay,
the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S.-Mexico
Border region, the Pacific Islands, Long Island Sound,
the South Florida Ecosystem, the Puget Sound Basin,
the Columbia River Basin, and the San Francisco Bay
Delta Estuary. EPA will continue to work with and
involve states, tribes, and interested stakeholders to
set and achieve goals in these geographic areas.
EPA is heading up a multi-agency effort to restore
and protect the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative.10 In other parts of the nation,
we will focus on nutrient pollution, which threatens
the long-term health of important ecosystems such
as the Chesapeake Bay. EPA will continue to work
with states, tribes, and stakeholders in the Mississippi
River Basin on nutrient pollution that is affecting
the health of the Gulf of Mexico. Further, given
the environmental catastrophe resulting from the
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Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill, EPA will continue to
take necessary actions to support efforts of federal
and state trustees in the natural resource damage
assessment to restore the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
EPA shares in the role of being a Natural Resource
Trustee with responsibility to conduct the natural
resource damage assessment for the spill. In addition,
EPA is also a member of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem
Restoration Council, established under the RESTORE
Act,11 to restore the ecosystem and economy of the
Gulf Coast region. Monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico
under the National Aquatic Resource Survey will be
important to fully document the long-term impacts
of the spill and track the recovery of wetland and
near-shore estuarine resources. This long-term effort
by EPA and the states is an important complement
to the project-specific and special-focus monitoring
efforts underway as part of the Natural Resource
Damage Assessment and
BP Research funds.
To respond and adapt taf^nruV
to the current and
potential impacts of
a changing climate
on aquatic resources,
including the current
and potential impacts
associated with warming
temperatures, changes
in rainfall amount and
intensity, and sea level rise,
EPA has developed a "National Water Program 2012
Strategy: Response to Climate Change." This strategy
sets out long-term goals and specific actions con-
tributing to national efforts to prepare for, and build
resilience to, impacts of a changing climate on water
resources. EPA is working with state, tribal, and local
governments, as well as other partners, to implement
actions addressing climate change challenges to the
protection of water infrastructure, coastal and ocean
waters, watersheds, and water quality.12 For example,
EPA has developed the Climate Resilience Evaluation
and Assessment Tool (CREAT) to help water utilities
assess vulnerability to a changing climate and take
response actions. EPA is also defining actions that
states can take starting in 2015 to adapt core clean
water and drinking water programs (e.g., state revolv-
ing loan funds, water quality standards, and drinking
water sanitary surveys) to a changing climate.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
Water Quality. Water quality programs face chal-
lenges such as increases in nutrient loadings and
stormwater runoff, aging infrastructure, and popula-
tion growth (which can increase water consumption
and place additional stress on aging water infra-
structures). The Agency is carefully examining the
potential impacts of and solutions to these issues,
including effects on water quality and quantity
that could result in the long term from a changing
climate. The Agency will continue implementing the
National Aquatic Resource Surveys to support col-
lection of nationally consistent data to support these
efforts. The Agency will also continue to implement
the WaterSense program as a means to help com-
munities address challenges posed by water scarcity
through demand management.13
Population Density. In
2010, 52 percent of the
U.S. population lived
in coastal watershed
counties which comprise
less than 20 percent of
the total land area of the
U.S., excluding Alaska.
The population density
of coastal watershed
counties is over five times
greater than the corre-
sponding inland counties.
If current population trends continue, the already
crowded U.S. coast will see population grow from 123
million people to nearly 134 million people by 2020,
placing more of the population at increased risk from
a changing climate and exposing these fragile coastal
ecosystems to greater pressures. Population growth in
coastal watershed counties is impacting water quality
and other coastal resources within National Estuary
Program (NEP) study areas. NEPs work to address
the impacts of growth by focusing their long-term
management and annual work plans on priorities
such as stormwater management, reduction of excess
nutrient loadings, and promotion of low-impact
development and green infrastructure. Also, EPAs
climate-ready estuaries program provides the capac-
ity for NEPs and coastal stakeholders to develop
vulnerability assessments.14
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Technology Market Opportunities. EPA is working
both internally and with external partners and stake-
holders to discuss plans for advancing innovative
technologies that will be important to the continued
protection and restoration of waters. Some key mar-
ket opportunities for innovative technology to help
address current and emerging water resource issues
were identified in EPA's "Blueprint for Integrating
Technology Innovation into the National Water
Program."15 They include:
•f Energy reduction and recovery at drinking
water and wastewater facilities;
•f Nutrient recovery from wastewater;
•f Improving and "greening" the
nation's infrastructure;
•f Water reuse;
•f Improved and less expensive monitoring;
•f Improving reliability of small drinking
water systems;
•f Technology evaluation and performance;
•f Reducing water impacts from domestic
energy production;
•f Resiliency of water infrastructure; and
•f Improving water quality of oceans, estuaries,
and watersheds.
Applied Research
EPAs research will help ensure that natural and
engineered water systems have the capacity and
resiliency to meet current and future water needs for
the range of water use and ecological requirements.
These efforts will help position the Agency to meet
the future needs in water resources management by:
•f Gathering, synthesizing, and mapping the
necessary environmental, economic, and
social information of watersheds, from local
to national scales, to determine the condition,
future prospects, and restoration potential of the
nation's watersheds;
•f Conducting and integrating EPA nitrogen and co-
pollutant research efforts across multiple media
and various temporal and spatial scales, includ-
ing support for developing numeric nutrient
criteria, decision-support tools, and cost-effective
approaches to nutrient reduction;
•f Promoting the economic recovery of water,
energy, and nutrient resources through innovative
municipal water services and whole-of-system
assessment tools;
•f Developing innovative tools, technologies, and
strategies for managing water resources (including
stormwater) today and over the long term as the
climate and other conditions change; and
•f Evaluating individual and groups of contami-
nants for the protection of human health and
the environment.
End Notes
1. U.S. EPA, 2006. Wadeable Streams Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation's Streams. EPA 841-B-06-002. Available at http://
www.epa.gov/owow/streamsurvey. See also EPA, 2010. National Lakes Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation's Lakes. EPA
841-R-09-001. Available at http://www.epa.gov/lakessurvey/pdf/nla chapter0.pdf.
2. Resilience is the ability of a system to absorb change and disturbance and retain its fundamental function and/or structure.
3. For more information on these programs and their performance measures, see the annual National Water Program Guidance,
available at http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan/index.html.
4. FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Improve public health protection for persons served by small drinking water systems, which
account for more than 97 percent of public water systems in the U.S., by strengthening the technical, managerial, and financial
capacity of those systems. By September 30, 2015, EPA will engage with an additional ten states (fora total of 30 states) and three
tribes to improve small drinking water system capability to provide safe drinking water, an invaluable resource.
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5. FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Improve, restore, and maintain water quality by enhancing nonpoint source program leverag-
ing, accountability, and on-the-ground effectiveness to address the nation's largest sources of pollution. By September 30, 2015,
100 percent of the states will have updated nonpoint source management programs that comport with the new Section 319
grant guidelines that will result in better targeting of resources through prioritization and increased coordination with USDA.
6. For information visit http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/cwact.cfm.
7. For information on the Integrated Planning process, see http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans.cfm.
8. For information on managing wet weather with green infrastructure, see http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm7program id=298.
9. For information on National Aquatic Resource Surveys, see http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/monitoring/
aquaticsurvey index.cfm.
10. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is focused on toxic substances and areas of concern, invasive species, nearshore health and
nonpoint source pollution, habitats and species, and integrated solutions to cross-cutting issues. Information is available at
http://greatlakesrestoration.us/.
11. Please see http://www.restorethegulf.gov/council/about-gulf-coast-ecosystem-restoration-council.
12. EPA National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change, information available at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/
climatechange/2012-National-Water-Program-Strategy.cfm. United States Global Change Research Program, information available
at http://www.globalchange.gov/resources/reports.
13. For information on WaterSense, see http://www.epa.gov/watersense/.
14. For information on climate-ready estuaries, see http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/cre/index.cfm.
15. "Blueprint for Integrating Technology Innovation into the National Water Program," information is available at
http://water.epa.gov/blueprint.cfm.
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Goal 3: Cleaning Up
Communities and
Advancing Sustainable
Development
••
C/ean i/p communities, advance sustainable development, and protect disproportionately
impacted low-income and minority communities. Prevent releases of harmful substances
and clean up and restore contaminated areas.
Uncontrolled releases
of waste and hazard-
ous substances can
contaminate our
drinking water and land and
threaten healthy ecosystems.
Local land use and infrastructure
investments can also generate
unanticipated environmental
consequences, such as increased
stormwater runoff loss of open
space, and increased greenhouse
gas emissions. EPA leads efforts
to preserve, restore, and protect
our land, air, and water so that
these precious resources are
available for both current and
future generations. We will
continue our work to prevent
and reduce exposure to con-
taminants, accelerate the pace
of cleanups, and reduce the envi-
ronmental impacts associated
with land use across the country.
EPA works collaboratively
with international, state, and
tribal partners to achieve these
aims. In addition, we will work
with communities to address
risks posed by intentional and
accidental releases of hazardous
substances into the environment
Objectives
Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities. Support
sustainable, resilient, and livable communities by working
with local, state, tribal, and federal partners to promote smart
growth, emergency preparedness and recovery planning,
redevelopment and reuse of contaminated and formerly
contaminated sites, and the equitable distribution of environ-
mental benefits.
Preserve Land. Conserve resources and prevent land
contamination by reducing waste generation and toxicity, pro-
moting proper management of waste and petroleum products,
and increasing sustainable materials management.
Restore Land. Prepare for and respond to accidental or
intentional releases of contaminants and clean up and restore
polluted sites for reuse.
Strengthen Human Health and Environmental Protection
in Indian Country. Directly implement federal environmental
programs in Indian country and support federal program
delegation to tribes. Provide tribes with technical assistance
and support capacity development for the establishment and
implementation of sustainable environmental programs in
Indian country.
/Across multiple objectives:
FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Clean up contami-
nated sites to enhance the livability and economic vitality
of communities. By September 30, 2015, an additional
18,970 sites will be made ready for anticipated use pro-
tecting Americans and the environment one community at
a time.
Strategic measures associated with this Goal are on pages 67
through 70. More information on Agency Priority Goals is avail-
able at http://qoals.performance.gov/aqencv/epa.
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and ensure that communities have an opportunity
to participate in environmental decisions that affect
them. Our efforts are guided by scientific data,
research, and tools that alert us to emerging issues
and inform decisions on managing materials and
addressing contaminated properties.
Promote Sustainable and Livable
Communities
EPA supports the goals of urban, suburban, and
rural communities to grow in ways that improve the
environment, human health, and quality of life for
their residents.1 With the support of partners working
hand in hand across all levels of government, com-
munities can grow in ways that also strengthen the
economy, help them adapt to a changing climate,
improve their resiliency to disasters, use public
resources more efficiently, revitalize neighborhoods,
and improve access to jobs and amenities. By making
sustainable infrastructure investments, communi-
ties can successfully build innovative and functional
systems on neighborhood streets and sidewalks
to deal with the runoff from stormwater and still
provide easy access for pedestrians, bicyclists, on-
street parking, and other beneficial uses. By adopting
local planning and zoning codes that account for
the environmental impacts of development, the
private sector can more easily construct market-ready
green buildings serving a range of housing needs.
Communities also can benefit from tools, technol-
ogy, and research that better engage citizens and
inform local decision making to support smart and
sustainable growth.
EPA recognizes environmental justice, children's
health, and sustainable development are all at the
intersection of people and place. These goals are
not mutually exclusive. Throughout all our work to
achieve more livable communities, EPA is commit-
ted to ensuring we focus on children's health and
environmental justice.2 Recognizing that minority or
low-income communities may face disproportion-
ate environmental risks, we work to protect these
communities from adverse health and environmental
effects and to ensure they are given the opportu-
nity to participate meaningfully in environmental
decisions and efforts to plan for future growth and
development that directly affect residents.3 EPA's
ability to optimize the benefits of sustainability
requires making environmental justice a normal part
of how EPA does business rather than an ad hoc
activity.
Sustainable and livable communities balance their
economic and natural assets so that the diverse
needs of residents can be met with limited environ-
mental impacts. EPA's community-based programs
help to accomplish these goals by working with
communities, other federal agencies, state, tribal,
and regional governments, private and nonprofit
sectors, and national experts to encourage equitable
development strategies that have better outcomes
for air quality, water quality, and land preservation
and revitalization. In particular, EPA's smart growth
program delivers technical assistance to communities
through contract- and grant-based programs to help
them base their growth and development decisions
on strategies that are smart, sustainable, and support-
ive of improved environmental, public health, and
economic outcomes.
For example, EPA has been working with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) since 2009 to align federal resources and
improve the environmental outcomes from devel-
opment. Through technical assistance, grants, and
training, these three agencies have worked together
to assist hundreds of communities to plan for and
invest in growth that improves access to afford-
able housing, increases transportation options, and
expands choices for all citizens.4 All three agencies
use a common set of "livability principles" to better
coordinate their efforts and investments in a manner
that will better protect the environment, promote
equitable development, and help address the chal-
lenges of a changing climate.
EPA's brownfields program emphasizes environmen-
tal and human health protection in a manner that
stimulates economic development and job creation
by awarding competitive grants to assess and clean
up brownfield properties that are contaminated,
or perceived to be contaminated, with hazardous
substances and/or petroleum contamination and
by providing job training opportunities, particularly
in underserved communities.5 A 2012 EPA program
evaluation concluded that cleaning up brownfield
-------
properties leads to residential property value
increases of 5.1 to 12.8 percent.6 In addition, a 2011
study of five pilot projects revealed that cleaning up
contaminated properties for neighborhood com-
mercial use may contribute to a 32 to 57 percent
reduction in vehicle miles traveled compared to
alternative development scenarios.7 This reduction
results from increased accessibility of neighborhood-
based services and goods, requiring less frequent trips
by residents outside the immediate area.
The brownfields program also provides funding for
state and tribal environmental response programs as
well as outreach and technical assistance to commu-
nities. Area-wide planning approaches for brownfields
work help to identify important local factors in a
coordinated manner: viable end uses of individual
or groups of brownfield properties; beneficial air
and water infrastructure investments in these areas;
and added environmental improvements in the
surrounding area to revitalize the community. Taken
together these efforts will enhance the livability and
economic vitality of neighborhoods in and around
brownfield properties.
In addition to the brownfields activities, EPA pro-
motes livable communities though its efforts to
prevent chemical accidents. EPAs risk management
program requires facilities with one or more cov-
ered chemicals in a process to analyze the potential
for accidental releases and possible consequences,
develop an accident prevention program, and
coordinate with the community to ensure that all
are prepared for responding to a release. The facility
must include this information in a Risk Management
Plan (RMP) and submit this RMP electronically
to EPA, which makes the information available to
federal, state, and local officials (e.g., fire fighters) who
work on chemical accident preparedness, prevention,
and response. There are approximately 13,000 active
RMPs currently on file.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
There are several external factors and emerging issues
that may affect the overall success of the Agency's
brownfields, chemical risk management, and smart
growth programs. These include:
•f The continued challenges posed by foreclosures
and vacant, blighted, and neglected properties.
Increased attention may be required for the siting
of new domestic manufacturing in formerly aban-
doned or blighted areas and the potential impacts
on local communities.
•f The impacts of increased extremes of weather on
a community's redevelopment and revitalization
plans, including whether these projects are resil-
ient enough to withstand the threat of flooding or
loss of power from natural or man-made disasters.
•f The lack of capacity in many tribal, local, regional,
and state governments to adequately identify the
environmental outcomes associated with land use
and infrastructure decisions, particularly given the
demands on already tight budgets.
•f The importance of engaging in efforts that
involve stakeholders beyond federal agencies.
These efforts include supporting local respond-
ers, advancing additional chemical plant safety
measures, and standardizing the best practices of
industry leaders.
•f The need to explore how EPAs legal authorities
and policies can be used to further improve coor-
dination among federal agencies and stakeholders
in our efforts to identify and address the potential
hazards in chemical plant safety.
Preserve Land
To prevent future environmental contamination
and to protect the health of the estimated 20 mil-
lion people living within a mile of hazardous waste
management facilities,8 EPA and its state partners
continue their efforts to issue, update, or maintain
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
permits for approximately 20,000 hazardous waste
units (such as incinerators and landfills) at these
facilities. EPA also will issue polychlorinated biphenyl
(PCB) cleanup, storage, and disposal approvals each
year since this work cannot be delegated to the states
or tribes. With the October 2012 promulgation of the
Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment
Act, improving and modernizing hazardous waste
transportation and tracking has become an impor-
tant Agency focus. EPA will be working with state
agencies, other partners and stakeholders, and the
public to implement the requirements of the new
law. These include the use of electronic tracking
-------
(e-Manifest), which will provide superior data
availability, transparency, and cost savings when
compared with the use of paper manifests, and
the establishment of an advisory board to provide
recommendations to the Agency on the implemen-
tation of this new e-Manifest approach.
As part of its sustainable materials manage-
ment program, EPA is currently promoting three
national strategies—the Federal Green Challenge,
the Electronics Challenge, and the Food Recovery
Challenge. These strategies are focused on using less
environmentally intensive and toxic materials and
employing downstream solutions, like reuse and
recycling, to conserve our resources for future genera-
tions.9 EPA is working with other federal agencies,
state and tribal governments, and non-governmental
organizations to promote sustainability goals through
these and other initiatives. For example, EPA and
USDA are partnering through the U.S. Food Waste
Challenge to address sustainable food management
from farm to final disposition.10 Through this partner-
ship, EPA is working to reduce food waste, which is
the largest component (21 percent) of municipal
solid waste discarded.11 In keeping with the RCRA
mandate to conserve resources and energy, and rec-
ognizing that an estimated 42 percent of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to materials
management activities, EPA continues to create inno-
vative strategies that emphasize sustainable materials
management. These efforts—to identify and reduce
or minimize the impact of waste and capture
resultant GHG benefits through more sustainable
materials management throughout all life-cycle
stages (from extraction of raw materials through end
of life)—are critical, along with other activities, for
offsetting the use of virgin materials.12'13
To reduce the risk posed by underground storage
tanks (USTs) located at more than 200,000 facilities
throughout the country, EPA and states are work-
ing to ensure that every UST system is inspected at
least once every 3 years and all facility operators are
trained. As fuel types change, UST systems must be
equipped to safely store the new fuels. For example,
EPA is working to ensure biofuels are stored in com-
patible UST systems.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
EPA must be prepared to address significant waste
management issues anticipated for the future.
•f The potential impacts of a changing climate,
including extreme weather events, such as torna-
does and hurricanes.
•f Continued changes in technology and the
emergence of new waste streams that result from
new methods of domestic energy development,
among other contributing sources.
•f General trend away from landfills and toward the
recycling of materials using new technologies that
will require further evaluation.
Restore Land
Challenging and complex environmental problems
persist at many contaminated properties. These
include contaminated soil, sediment, and ground-
water that can cause human health concerns.
Together with our federal, state, and tribal partners,
EPAs Superfund program, RCRA corrective actions,
leaking underground storage tank and brownfields
cleanup programs, and the Toxic Substances Control
Act (TSCA) cleanups of PCBs reduce risks to human
health and the environment through site cleanup and
the return of restored land to productive use. EPA
is establishing an Agency Priority Goal for FY 2014-
2015, which is a continuation of the Priority Goal for
FY 2012-2013, to measure and report sites ready for
anticipated use (RAU). RAU is an indicator that the
local, state, or federal agency has determined that the
necessary cleanup goals, engineering controls, and
institutional controls have been implemented at the
site to make it available for a community's current
or reasonably anticipated future use or reuse. EPAs
Superfund, RCRA corrective action, leaking under-
ground storage tank (LUST), and brownfields cleanup
programs all contribute to the Priority Goal to make
sites ready for anticipated use.14 Although each pro-
gram establishes its own targets, the collective nature
and combined overall target of the RAU Priority Goal
offers an opportunity for EPA cleanup programs to
work together to identify lessons learned, efficiencies,
and opportunities to advance site cleanup. From the
inception of the respective programs to the end of FY
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2013, 441,333 sites were made RAIL corresponding to
over 2.3 million acres.15
There are multiple benefits associated with clean-
ing up contaminated sites: reducing mortality and
morbidity risk; preventing and reducing human
exposure to contaminants; making land available
for commercial, residential, industrial, or recreational
reuse; and promoting community economic devel-
opment. A 2011 study suggests that Superfund
cleanups reduce the incidence of congenital anoma-
lies in infants of mothers living within 2,000 meters
of a site by roughly 20-25 percent.16 In another case,
EPA contracted with researchers at Duke University
and the University of Pittsburgh to conduct a study
to determine the effects of Superfund site status on
housing values. The study found that when sites are
cleaned up and deleted from the National Priorities
List (NPL), properties
within 3 miles of the
sites experience an 18.6-
24.5 percent increase
in value.17
Over the past 3 years,
EPA has implemented
the Integrated Cleanup
Initiative (ICI) in an
effort to improve the
efficiency and effective-
ness of its land cleanup
programs. More than
150 different actions were conducted under ICI from
FY 2010 through FY 2012 by the various land cleanup
programs involved in the effort. These actions to
improve efficiency and effectiveness are now part of
current business procedures and cleanup processes.
For example, EPA initiated a series of project manage-
ment pilots to explore options for accelerating the
pace of Superfund site cleanups from the remedial
investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) phase of cleanup
through site completion. Three of these pilots
improved the remedial design/remedial action (RD/
RA) process and were completed in FY 2012. EPAs
Superfund program will consider applying the time-
and cost-saving approaches examined in these pilots
wherever appropriate.18
EPAs Superfund program is undertaking a compre-
hensive review of all aspects of the program. The goal
of this review is to determine the best way to main-
tain the program's effectiveness in protecting human
health and the environment by more efficiently man-
aging its site cleanup process and program resources.
In the same spirit, in early 2013, EPA worked with
state partners and stakeholders to pilot an ambitious
effort to apply "Lean" principles to the facility inves-
tigation phase of RCRA corrective action cleanup as
a means to accelerate the process for a typical facility
by several years.19 By applying Lean techniques, EPA
expects to achieve performance improvements and
to continue setting and achieving ambitious goals for
environmental progress. The Agency will continue
to solicit new ideas and practices to improve EPAs
cleanup programs.
Another challenge to protecting our land resources
from contamination is pollution from leaking
underground storage
tanks (USTs). While
considerable progress has
been made to clean up
leaks from USTs, a backlog
of over 80,000 sites
remains and the number
of cleanups per year is
decreasing. To understand
the makeup of remain-
ing UST releases and the
decline in the number
of cleanups per year, EPA
conducted a two-phase,
data-driven analysis of UST cleanups as of 2006 and
2009. The study compiled and analyzed available data
from 14 state [LjUST programs and identified key
findings and potential opportunities to help reduce
the number of remaining UST cleanups. To address
new and existing LUST sites, EPA, in partnership with
state and tribal programs, is developing and imple-
menting strategies to address technical challenges,
leverage best practices, and support management,
oversight, and enforcement activities. In addition, EPA
has implemented improvements in the LUST preven-
tion program by increasing inspection frequency and
other prevention efforts, and there has been a cor-
responding decrease in new confirmed releases. The
efforts of the prevention program and the continued
reduction in new confirmed releases, along with the
earlier detection of releases, will remain critical factors
in backlog reduction.20
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In addition to cleanup and revitalization, EPA's
hazardous waste programs also are working to
reduce the energy use and environmental footprint
during the investigation and remediation of hazard-
ous waste sites. As part of this effort, EPA's Superfund
program evaluated its green remediation strategy to
assess its experiences in implementing the strategy
to determine a baseline against which to measure
future progress, and to develop the best metrics for
measuring the program's success. The evaluation's
findings are being used to prepare the next phase of
the strategy to reduce the energy water and materi-
als used during site cleanups while at the same time
ensuring that protective remedies are implemented.21
Throughout this work, EPA is enhancing its engage-
ment with local communities and stakeholders so
that they may meaningfully participate in decisions
on land cleanup, emergency response, and manage-
ment of hazardous substances and waste. Enhancing
community engagement helps to ensure transpar-
ent and accessible decision-making processes, to
deliver information that communities can use to
participate effectively, to improve EPA responsiveness
to community perspectives, and to ensure timely
cleanup decisions.
National preparedness is an essential component
in EPA's work that entails responding to large-scale
emergencies that may involve chemicals, oil, biologi-
cal agents, radiation, weapons of mass destruction,
or natural catastrophes. In recent years, the U.S.
has faced considerable challenges in responding to
nationally significant incidents and large-scale emer-
gencies, including Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant emergency in Japan, and Hurricane Sandy.
Maintaining our preparedness level and ensuring that
emergency responders are able to address chemical
spills, unplanned releases of other hazardous materi-
als, and other catastrophes are vital responsibi ities.
Consistent with the government-wide National
Response Framework and the National Disaster
Recovery Framework, EPA prepares for the possibil-
ity of multiple, simultaneous, nationally significant
incidents across several regions and provides guid-
ance and technical assistance to state, tribal, and local
planning and response organizations. EPA recognizes
the important role of state and local emergency
responders and works with them to strengthen their
preparedness and provide technical assistance when
significant man-made or natural incidents strain their
staffing and budget resources.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
Hazardous waste programs are intended to provide
permanent solutions to contamination at sites or
facilities to the extent practicable. As appropriate,
EPA must incorporate emerging science into deci-
sion making to maintain its commitment to provide
permanent solutions.
•f Complications can arise when new scientific infor-
mation (e.g., new toxicity information or a new
analytical method) calls into question previous
determinations about the need for or the scope
and methods of cleanup at a site. Such scientific
and technological developments may complicate
relations with affected communities, risk commu-
nication, site investigation, remedy se ection, and
resource allocation within the program.
•f Changes in precipitation, sea level rise, and storm
surge, for example, may impact remedies and alter
their effectiveness. Some evidence of this was
apparent during the Hurricane Sandy event along
the coasts and waterways of New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. EPA might
appropriately consider the effects on planned,
current, and completed cleanups that will occur
from the impacts of a changing climate.
Strengthen Human Health and
Environmental Protection in
Indian Country
Under federal environmental statutes, EPA is
responsible for protecting human health and the
environment in Indian country. EPA's commitment to
tribal environmental and human health protection
has been steadfast for nearly 30 years, as formally
established in the Agency's 1984 Indian Policy.22
EPA works with over 560 federally recognized tribes
located across the United States to improve environ-
mental and human health outcomes. Approximately
56 million acres are held in trust by the United States
for various Indian tribes and individuals. Over 10
million acres of individually owned lands are still
held in trust for allotees and their heirs.23 Difficult
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environmental and health challenges remain in
many of these areas, including lack of access to safe
drinking water, sanitation adequate waste facili-
ties, and other environmental safeguards taken for
granted elsewhere.
In collaboration with our tribal government partners,
EPA will engage in a two-part strategy for strengthen-
ing human health and environmental protection in
Indian country. First, EPA will ensure that its envi-
ronmental protection programs are implemented in
Indian country either by EPA or through implementa-
tion of environmental programs by tribes themselves.
Second, EPA will provide resources through grant
funds and technical assistance for federally rec-
ognized tribes to create and maintain effective
environmental program capacity.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
Tribal environmental and human health needs are
significant. For example, the lack of access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation for tribes con-
tinues to threaten the public health of American
Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.
Approximately 12 percent of AI/AN homes do not
have safe water and/or basic sanitation facilities.24
This is high compared to the non-native homes in
the U.S. that lack such infrastructure. EPA, along with
over four federal departments and agencies, provides
a range of federal water infrastructure programs to
tribes, consistent with our legal authorities and the
federal trust responsibility.
There is a broad spectrum among tribes with respect
to population, culture, income, geography, economic
development, environmental program management
expertise, and priorities. EPA also recognizes that
many tribes may not have the capacity to implement
programs in a manner similar to a state, where pro-
grammatically available. Further, the decision to be
treated in a manner similar to a state (TAS) is volun-
tary, and may not be a priority to a tribe. Currently,
over 200 tribes are not eligible for jurisdictional
reasons to receive a TAS designation to implement
federally authorized environmental protection
programs, yet they are partnering with EPA to build
programmatic capacity in other ways. EPA contin-
ues to play a critical role in ensuring environmental
protection in Indian country.
Applied Research
In the area of cleaning up communities, research
will allow EPA to identify and apply approaches that
better inform and guide environmentally sustainable
behavior, protect and promote human health and
ecosystems, and provide the products and services
needed for mitigation, management, remediation
and long-term stewardship of contaminated sites.
Research will provide Agency, state, tribal, and local
decision makers with the knowledge needed to make
smart, systems-based decisions that will inform a bal-
anced approach to their cleanup and development
needs, resulting in:
•f More options for eliminating waste, safer options
for disposal of unavoidable waste, and access to
more options for beneficial re-use and recovery of
materials and energy from waste.
•f Reduced risk from contaminated sites, less costly
remediation, faster return of property to eco-
nomic use, and more comprehensive protection
of valuable ground water resources.
•f Enhanced ability to adequately consider children's
unique susceptibilities and vulnerabilities.
End Notes
1. For more information about the impact of the built environment on the natural environment and public health, see "Our Built
and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions Between Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality
(Second Edition, 2013)" at http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/built.htm.
2. For more information about EPA's focus on Environmental Justice, see http://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/index.html.
3. For more information about the connections between smart growth and environmental justice, see "Creating Equitable, Healthy,
and Sustainable Communities: Strategies for Advancing Smart Growth, Environmental Justice, and Equitable Development" (EPA
231-K-10-005, 2013) at http://epa.gov/smartgrowth/equitable development report.htm.
4. For more information about the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities, seewww.sustainablecommunities.gov.
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5. For more information about EPA's brownfields program, see http://www.epa.gov/brownfields.
6. Kevin Haninger, Lala Ma, and Christopher Timmins. 2012. "Estimating the Impacts of Brownfields Remediation on Housing
Property Values." Duke Environmental Economics Working Paper Series. Working Paper EE12-08. The program evaluation is available
at http://sites.nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/environmentaleconomics/files/2013/01/WP-EE-12-08.pdf.
7. U.S. EPA, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Air and Water Impacts of Brownfields Redevelopment: A Study of Five
Communities, April 2011, EPA-560-F-10-232.
8. Estimate drawn from OSWER Near Site Population Database, an internal EPA database that merges facility size and location
information from RCRAInfo with population data, at the block and block group levels, from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 Census.
The demographics were captured around the total number of facilities that have approved controls in place that result in the
protection of this population (20 million people).
9. For more information on the Federal Green Challenge, see http://www.epa.gov/federalgreenchallenge.
For more information on the Electronics Challenge, see http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/smm/electronics/.
For more information on the Food Recovery Challenge, see http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/smm/foodrecovery/.
10. For more information on the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, see http://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/index.htm.
11. For more information, see EPA report, "Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and
Figures for 2011," at http://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/MSWcharacterization 508 053113 fs.pdf.
12. U.S. EPA, Opportunities to Reduce or Avoid Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices,
September 2009.
13. For more information on sustainable materials management, see Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead. EPA 530R-
09-009. Available at http://www.epa.gov/smm/pdf/vision2.pdf.
14. FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Clean up contaminated sites to enhance the Iivability and economic vitality of communities.
By September 30, 2015, an additional 18,970 sites will be made ready for anticipated use, protecting Americans and the environ-
ment one community at a time. For the LUST program, data as to whether institutional controls are in place are unavailable. EPA is
exploring with states whether the data can be made available.
15. Although separate performance targets are not developed for the number of acres RAU, the acres RAU are reported at the end of
each fiscal year.
16. Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone, and Enrico Moretti. 2011."Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health." American Economic Review,
101(3): 435-41.
17. S. Gamper-Rabindran and C. Timmins. 2013. "Does cleanup of hazardous waste sites raise housing values? Evidence of spatially
localized benefits," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
18. A recent directive from EPA's Superfund program shares the lessons learned from these RD/RA pilot studies. This directive can be
found at http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/ici/broader applications rd ra pilot project lessons learnedpdf.
19. Lean principles focus on identifying and enhancing valuable process steps while reducing wasteful steps. See also http://www.epa.
gov/lean/government/index.htm.
20. For more information, please see The National LUST Cleanup Backlog: A Study of Opportunities at http://www.epa.gov/swerust1 /
cat/backlog.html.
21. More information about Superfund and green remediation at EPA is available at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/
greenremediation.
22. The "EPA Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations" can be found at http://www.epa.gov/
tp/pdf/indian-pol icy-84.pdf
23. For more information, please see http://www.bia.gov/FAQs/index.htm.
24. Indian Health Service, Sanitation Facilities Construction Program 2011 Annual Report.
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Goal 4: Ensuring the
Safety of Chemicals
and Preventing
Pollution
Reduce the risk and increase the safety of chemicals and
prevent pollution at the source.
The Agency's chemical safety and pollution
prevention programs are at the forefront
of EPA's efforts to advance a sustainable
future. Chemicals are often released into
the environment as a result of their manufacture,
processing, use, and disposal. The Agency uses a
variety of approaches and tools to assess, prevent,
and reduce chemical releases and exposures
(e.g., conducting risk assessments, assessing chemi-
cal alternatives, and taking other risk management
actions). The Agency engages and empowers a
variety of stakeholders and partners to drive inno-
vation and address related social and economic
issues, especially in communities with vulnerable
populations or environmental justice concerns.
Vulnerable populations, including low-income and
minority and indigenous populations, may be dis-
proportionately impacted by, and thus particularly
at risk from, exposure to chemicals. In addition,
research shows that children receive greater relative
exposures to chemicals because they inhale or
ingest more air, food, and water on a body-weight
basis than adults do.1 The Agency empowers
stakeholders by working to ensure access to chemi-
cal data and other information, analytical tools,
and other forms of expertise. The Agency com-
municates frequently with other federal agencies
to share information and coordinate proposed
and ongoing activities and will continue to expand
these efforts for more effective governance.
Objectives
Ensure Chemical Safety. Reduce the risk
and increase the safety of chemicals that
enter our products, our environment, and
our bodies.
FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal:
Assess and reduce risks posed by
chemicals and promote the use of
safer chemicals in commerce. By
September 30, 2015, EPA will have
completed more than 250 assessments
of pesticides and other commercially
available chemicals to evaluate risks
they may pose to human health and
the environment, including the poten-
tial for some of these chemicals to
disrupt endocrine systems. These
assessments are essential in deter-
mining whether products containing
these chemicals can be used safely
for commercial, agricultural, and/or
industrial uses.
Promote Pollution Prevention. Conserve
and protect natural resources by promot-
ing pollution prevention and the adoption
of other sustainability practices by
companies, communities, governmental
organizations, and individuals.
Strategic measures associated with this Goal
are on pages 71 through 72. More information
on Agency Priority Goals is available at http://
goals, performance.qov/aqencv/epa.
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Chemicals are involved in the production of every-
thing from our homes and cars to the cell phones we
carry and the food we eat. Thousands of chemicals
have become ubiquitous in our everyday lives and
everyday products, and are present in our environ-
ment and our bodies. The Agency continues to
believe that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
should be modernized to strengthen the tools
available in TSCA and give EPA the mechanisms and
authorities to expeditiously target and promptly
assess and regulate new and existing chemicals.2
There remain large, troubling gaps in the available
data and state of knowledge on many widely used
chemicals in commerce, and EPAs authority to
require development and submission of information
and testing data is limited by legal hurdles and proce-
dural requirements. Accordingly the Administration
in September 2009 issued a statement on Essential
Principles for Reform of Chemicals Management
Legislation to help inform efforts by the Congress to
reauthorize and strengthen TSCA.
Another statute that helps EPA in its work to address
chemical risks is the 1990 Pollution Prevention
Act (PPA).3 Under this law which established as a
national policy the prevention of pollution before
it is generated EPA fosters the development of
pollution prevention (P2) solutions and promotes
increased use of those solutions. P2 solutions include
safer, greener materials and products, and improved
practices, such as conservation techniques and
reuse and remanufacturing of hazardous secondary
materials in lieu of their discard. These strategies have
proven highly effective in advancing sustainability,
resulting in major reductions in hazardous materials,
greenhouse gases, and water use. These strategies
have simultaneously increased the availability and
use of safer chemicals and products, and helped
businesses increase job growth and competitive-
ness. EPA will continue these successful strategies
by: providing technical assistance and training to
states, tribes, businesses, and others on P2 solutions;
developing resources and tools, such as calculators
and guidelines, to facilitate development and use of
P2 solutions; and further enhancing the ability of the
public and the business sector to make environmen-
tally friendly purchasing decisions.
Ensure Chemical Safety
Chemical safety remains one of EPAs highest pri-
orities. EPA employs a variety of strategies under
several statutes to ensure the safety of chemicals,
adequately protect against unreasonable public
health or environmental risks, and foster sustainabil-
ity. These include:
•f Acting under TSCA to ensure that new indus-
trial and commercial chemicals do not pose
unreasonable risk before they are introduced
into commerce;
•f Assessing existing chemicals already in use before
TSCA took effect (62,000 chemicals were already
in use in commerce before 1978) and acting to
reduce identified risks and to identify and pro-
mote safer alternatives;
•f Empowering the public and decision makers by
making chemical safety information more widely
available and usable;
•f Acting under the Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide,
and Fungicide Act (FIFRA) and the Endangered
Species Act to ensure that pesticides are used
safely and effectively; and
•f Developing and applying protocols to assess
chemicals' potential to interact with the
endocrine system.
EPA uses predictive techniques to assess the safety of
new chemicals in the face of information limitations
imposed by TSCA. More daunting has been the chal-
lenge of assessing and acting where needed on the
more than 60,000 existing chemicals "grandfathered"
under the statute.4 On that front, the Agency has
made considerable progress in recent years, working
in cooperation with stakeholders by using all avail-
able information to put these chemicals through
a prioritization methodology. This effort led to the
identification of a set of more than 80 chemicals
(TSCA work plan chemicals) for further assessment.
EPA believes that these are the chemicals most in
need of risk assessment and that adequate data
exist for that purpose. The first five risk assessments
for TSCA work plan chemicals were made available
by EPA for public and peer review less than a year
after they were publicly identified for assessment.
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Assessments of 23 additional chemicals—includ-
ing 20 flame retardants—were announced in
2013. Looking forward EPA plans to assess all of
the remaining work plan chemicals to initiate risk
management actions as appropriate, and identify
additional work plan chemicals for subsequent prior-
ity assessment. EPA is establishing an FY 2014-2015
Agency Priority Goal for this effort.5
Recognizing the crucial role that the public state,
tribal, and local partners, institutions, and industry
play in ensuring chemical safety, EPA has expanded
web access to the Agency's chemical information
and assessment tools, with a focus on identifying
safer chemicals. At the same time, two newly
developed electronic tools will greatly improve
data quality and public accessibility. These are the
Chemical Information System (CIS), which will speed
the Agency's transition to electronic reporting and
processing for required chemical safety information,
and the interactive ChemView Portal, which will
enable both internal and external users to access
TSCA chemical data stored in EPA systems quickly
and easily. Planned enhancements to CIS will extend
electronic reporting to nearly all required TSCA
submissions and integrate the system with scientific
tools, dashboards, and models used in making
chemical management decisions. In addition, EPA is
working to expand the ChemView Portal to further
broaden public access to TSCA chemical information,
and has plans to enable faster, automated posting
of non-confidential TSCA data to EPA's public
websites. These electronic tools are components of
the Agency's Next Generation Compliance initiative,
aimed at designing more effective regulations that are
easier to implement for improving compliance and
environmental outcomes throughout the life cycle
of hazardous materials; shifting toward e ectronic
reporting by regulated entities to ensure more
accurate, complete, and timely information; and
expanding transparency.
EPA will make major strides in guarding against
exposure to chemicals that continue to pose poten-
tial risks to human health and the environment
even after their hazards have been identified and
certain uses have been phased out. For example,
to continue to reduce childhood blood lead levels,
EPA is working in partnership with states and tribes
to certify hundreds of thousands of renovators and
contractors on lead hazard management. More
than 461,000 individuals have been certified by EPA
alone, and nearly 130,000 firms have been certified by
EPA and the states through April 2013. Certification
coupled with public outreach is intended to expand
public awareness of lead-based paint risks as well as
the requirements for the use of lead-safe practices
in renovation, remodeling, and painting activities in
millions of older homes.6'7
On a broader scale, EPA is looking comprehensively
across statutes to determine the best tools to apply
to specific problems. For example, the Agency is
exploring how to use FIFRA and TSCA to ensure
that drinking water is protected from pesticides
and industrial chemicals, and that chemicals found
in drinking water are being screened for endocrine
disrupting properties using the authorities of the Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (including issuance of
test orders), the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (FFDCA), and FIFRA.
In addition, EPA is continuing its work to increase the
safety of chemicals and prevent pollution on an inter-
national scale. This is being accomplished primarily
through cooperative engagement with international
bodies such as the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
on scientific and technical issues. The key focus areas
include harmonization of chemical test guidelines,
regulatory coordination, negotiation, and implemen-
tation of global/regional standards, and instruments
and assistance on pollution prevention activities.
EPA is working collaboratively with stakeholders
both domestically and internationally to develop
approaches to better assess nanomaterials,8 including
work with the OECD on internationally harmonized
test guidelines.
Over the next 4 years, EPA will manage a compre-
hensive pesticide risk reduction program through
science-based registration and reevaluation
processes, a worker safety program, certification
and training activities, and support for integrated
pest management.
•f EPA's current pesticide review processes focus
on ensuring that pesticide registrations comply
with the Endangered Species Act and achieve
-------
broader Agency objectives for water quality
protection. The review processes will continue to
place emphasis on the protection of potentially
sensitive populations, such as children, by reduc-
ing exposures from pesticides used in and around
homes, schools, and other public areas.
•f EPA's new data requirement rule for antimicrobial
pesticides will ensure that pesticide risk manage-
ment decisions are based on the best available
science and will contribute to a more efficient and
transparent registration process through increased
certainty about the data requirements. EPA's
review processes ensure that pesticides can be
used safely and are available for use to maintain a
safe and affordable food supply, to address public
health outbreaks, and to minimize property dam-
age that can occur from insects and pests.9
•f EPA has reviewed its agricultural worker pro-
tection regulation and its pesticide applicator
certification regulation and will publish for
public comment proposed changes to both. The
proposed rulemakings are designed to ensure
improved pesticide worker safety standards and
pesticide applicator competency standards in the
coming years.
•f EPA is implementing a comprehensive testing pro-
gram to screen for chemicals' potential to interact
with the endocrine system.10 In response to a
recently concluded program evaluation, EPA has
developed a comprehensive management plan
for the endocrine disrupter screening program,
providing a clear workplan, projected milestones,
and vision for developing a more efficient and
effective screening and testing program through
the application of computational toxicology
methods. Use of these methods may have the
added benefit of helping to reduce the need for
animal testing when conducting chemical screen-
ing and risk assessment.
To ensure the continued effectiveness of the vari-
ous chemical programs, EPA will conduct several
evaluations over the next 4 years. In FY 2014, EPA
will initiate a review of critical factors that have an
impact on the effectiveness of the Agency's risk
assessment efforts for TSCA work plan chemicals. In
FY 2015, the Agency will evaluate the effectiveness
of recently implemented efficiencies to the registra-
tion review process to identify further enhancements
and efficiencies to the process. EPA will also conduct
biennial reviews in 2015 and 2017 to determine
whether the level of fees charged to the submitters of
New Chemical Pre-Manufacture Notices and to the
applicants for certification to perform lead renova-
tion, repair, and painting work and lead abatement
work are appropriate.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
As we look to the future, it is important to continue
working together with Congress and stakeholders
to modernize and strengthen the tools available
under TSCA to prevent harmful chemicals from
entering the marketplace and to increase confidence
that those chemicals that remain are safe and do
not endanger the environment or human health,
especially for consumers, workers, and sensitive
subpopulations like children. Potential legislative
action to reauthorize TSCA is both a key external
factor and a key emerging issue. Consistent with
the Administration's essential principles, EPA's
authority under TSCA should be modernized and
strengthened to increase confidence that chemicals
used in commerce are safe and do not endanger
public health and welfare. EPA is committed to
working with the Congress, members of the public,
the environmental community, and industry to
reauthorize TSCA.
On April 30, 2013, the National Academy of Sciences'
National Research Council (NRC) released its rec-
ommendations for assessing risks from pesticides
to listed species under the Endangered Species Act
and FIFRA. The Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service are
working collaboratively and expeditiously to review
the report and identify improvements in the current
scientific procedures used in evaluating the potential
impacts of pesticides to endangered and threatened
species. On November 13, 2013, the federal agencies
released a white paper detailing an interim approach
for implementing the panel's recommendations.11
We currently anticipate that implementation of the
recommendations could take 18-36 months, which
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could have an impact on our progress in develop-
ing preliminary risk assessments and completing
decisions for pesticides as part of the registration
review program.
Finally a number of chemical safety programs are
affected by changing levels of economic activity. For
example, EPA's work in certifying firms to perform
lead renovation, repair and painting work depends
partly on fluctuations in the level of demand for such
services, which are related in turn to economic condi-
tions in the housing market.
Promote Pollution Prevention
The PPA established national policy for the use of
P2 as the first choice in addressing pollution at the
source. Time and experience have added to our
understanding and appreciation of the value of pre-
venting pollution before it occurs. P2 is central to all
of EPA's sustainability strategies, and EPA will continue
to incorporate P2 principles into its policies, regula-
tions, and actions.12
EPA strives to prevent pollution by fostering the
development of P2 solutions and promoting
increased use of those solutions. The results of these
strategies include significant reductions in the use
of hazardous materials, energy, and water and in the
generation of greenhouse gases, as well as significant
increases in the availability and use of safer chemi-
cals and safer chemical products. EPA's successful
implementation of these strategies also enables
businesses, governments, and other institutions to
reduce their costs. These strategies are key elements
of EPA's approach to achieving a sustainable future.
Specific activities conducted to implement these
strategies include:
•f Fostering the development of P2 innovations:
Promoting green chemistry and
green engineering, and developing
educational curricula;
Establishing technical criteria for chemical
alternatives assessments;
Participating in the development of volun-
tary consensus standards and other safer
chemical products criteria, including partici-
pating in international cooperative efforts;
Establishing greener purchasing and man-
agement practices (i.e., environmentally
preferable purchasing); and
Incorporating P2 solutions in regulatory
options or requirements.
•f Promoting increased use of P2 innovations:
Providing and promoting technical assis-
tance, such as establishing Economy,
Energy, and Environment (E3) Partnerships
(in conjunction with the Departments of
Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, and Labor,
and the Small Business Administration)
or providing technical assistance on
manufacturing, green sports, or other
business sectors;
Demonstrating the benefits of P2 solutions;
Labeling safer products by working with
key stakeholders through the Design for the
Environment (DfE) program;
Leveraging the power of federal
purchasing; and
Coordinating with other P2 offices across
the Agency with shared audiences or
sustainability approaches, including ENERGY
STAR, WaterSense, the sustainable materials
management program, and other comple-
mentary programs between Goal 3 and
Goal 4.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
The Agency's multimedia P2 efforts are affected by
changes in economic conditions. Much of EPA's P2
-------
work is voluntary, so success depends in part on
participation levels by industry government agencies,
and members of the public.
Applied Research
EPA chemicals research will provide the scientific
foundation required to support safe, sustainable use
of chemicals to promote human and environmental
health, as well as to protect vulnerable species and
populations. This work includes enhancing the
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program to
ensure the highest quality human health assessments
are produced in a timely fashion. Innovative research
will provide the tools to:
•f Assess safety of high-priority chemicals and
advance our understanding of the cumulative
risks that may result from multiple chemical and
non-chemical stressors.
•f Enhance chemical screening and testing
approaches for priority setting and context-rele-
vant chemical assessment and management.
•f Inform Agency actions and help local decision
makers manage and mitigate exposures to con-
taminants of greatest concern.
•f Promote innovations in green chemistry and
green engineering to help encourage use of safer
chemicals in commerce.
•f Evaluate human health and ecological risks associ-
ated with new chemical substitutes designed to
promote safer alternatives.
•f Provide the systems understanding needed to
adequately protect the health of children and
other vulnerable groups.
EPA homeland security research helps the Agency
carry out its mission to prepare for and respond to
man-made disasters (e.g., terrorism, industrial acci-
dents) and natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, floods),
leading to more resilient communities. Specifically,
EPA conducts research on:
•f Improving the resiliency of the nation's water
infrastructure to disasters.
•f Cleanup of indoor and outdoor contamination
following a disaster.
•f Analytical methods for EPAs Environmental
Response Laboratory Network that tests samples
from disaster sites.
End Notes:
1. The following links are :o selected government sources that provide useful information on environmental health risks to children:
A Framework for Assessing Health Risk of Environmental Exposures to Children (2006), available at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/risk/
recordisplay.cfm?deid=158363.
Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook (2008), available at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/risk/recordisplay.cfm?deid=199243.
Guidance on Selecting Age Croups for Monitoring and Assessing Childhood Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (2005),
available at http://www.epa.gov/raf/publications/guidance-on-selecting-age-groups.htm.
Cuide to Considering Children's Health When Developing EPA Actions: Implementing Executive Order 73045 and EPAs Policy on
Evaluating Health Risks to Children (2006), available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/ADPguide.htm/SFile/
EPA ADP Guide 508.pdf.
Policy on Evaluating Risk to Children (1995), available at http://www.epa.gov/spc/2poleval.htm.
Summary Report of the Technical Workshop on Issues Associated with Considering Developmental Changes in Behavior and
Anatomy when Assessing Exposure to Children (2001), available at http://www.epa.gov/raf/publications/sum-report-tech-wrkshp-
development-changes-behavior.htm.
Supplemental Cuidancefor Assessing Susceptibility from Early-Eife Exposure to Carcinogens (2005), available at http://www.epa.gov/
raf/publications/cancer guidelines/sup-guidance-earlv-life-exp-carcinogens.htm.
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2. Essential Principles for Reform of Chemicals Management Legislation. Available at http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/
pubs/principles.html.
3. The text of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) can be found at http://www.epa.gov/p2/pubs/p2policy/act1990.htm.
4. EPA chemical safety program information is available at http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/, http://www.epa.gov/oppt/
newchems/, and http://www.epa.gov/oppt/nano/.
5. FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: Assess and reduce risks posed by chemicals and promote the use of safer chemicals in
commerce. By September 30, 2015, EPA will have completed more than 250 assessments of pesticides and other commercially
available chemicals to evaluate risks they may pose to human health and the environment, including the potential for some of
these chemicals to disrupt endocrine systems. These assessments are essential in determining whether products containing these
chemicals can be used safely for commercial, agricultural, and/or industrial uses.
6. Information about childhood lead poisoning is available at www.epa.gov/lead.
7. EPA Lead-Safe Certification Program, information available at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/toolkits.htm.
8. Nanomaterials are chemical substances or materials manufactured and used at a very small scale—down to 10,000 times smaller
than a human hair. See also, www.nano.gov.
9. EPA pesticides program information is available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides.
10. Information about the EPA endocrine disrupter screening program is available at http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/oscpendo/
index.htm.
11. The white paper is available at http://www.epa.gov/espp/2013/interagency.pdf
12. EPA pollution prevention program information is available at http://www.epa.gov/p2/.
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Goal 5: Protecting
Human Health and
the Environment by
Enforcing Laws and
Assuring Compliance
Protect human health and the environment through vigorous and targeted civil
and criminal enforcement Use Next Generation Compliance strategies and tools to
improve compliance with environmental laws.
Vigorous enforcement supports EPA's ambitious mis-
sion to protect human health and the environment.
Achieving our goals for water that is safe to drink,
lakes and streams that are fishable and swimmable, air
that is clean to breathe, and communities and neigh-
borhoods that are free from chemical contamination
requires both new strategies and compliance with
the rules we already have. To help achieve these goals,
EPA authorizes state, tribal, and territorial agencies to
directly implement environmental laws. Federal, state,
and tribal agencies work cooperatively together as
co-regulators to achieve compliance, with delegated
or authorized states conducting the vast majority of
enforcement activities across the country. By address-
ing noncompliance swiftly and effectively, state, tribal,
and EPA civil and criminal enforcement cases directly
reduce pollution and risk, and deter others from
violating the law.
EPA will continue to focus federal enforcement
resources on the most important environmental
problems where noncompliance is a significant
contributing factor, and where federal enforcement
attention can have a significant impact. This strategy
means EPA's top enforcement priority will be pursu-
ing large, complex cases that require significant
investment and a long-term commitment. We
anticipate this strategy will result in a higher level of
public health protection because of the significant
impacts associated with the large cases, and the
precedent they set for performance of large facilities
across the country.
Objective
• Enforce Environmental Laws to Achieve
Compliance. Pursue vigorous civil and
criminal enforcement that targets the most
serious water, air, and chemical hazards
in communities to achieve compliance.
Assure strong, consistent, and effective
enforcement of federal environmental
laws nationwide. Use Next Generation
Compliance strategies and tools to
improve compliance and reduce pollution.
Strategic measures associated with this Goal
are on pages 73 through 75.
Our commitment to the largest most complex cases
that have the biggest impact necessarily means that
we will be doing fewer cases overall. This approach
best protects public health not only by addressing
the most serious pollution problems, but also by
directing EPA's resources to important cases that
may not be addressed by states because the envi-
ronmental and human health risks or the patterns
of noncompliance are broad in scope and scale such
that EPA is best suited to take action. This strategy
will also help maintain the enforcement program's
effectiveness given limited resources. The 5-year
targets for the enforcement program's strategic mea-
sures reflect the anticipated effects of this approach.
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As an important supplement to a strong enforce-
ment program, EPA is investing in "Next Generation
Compliance" using advanced technologies and
embracing new strategies for rule design and case
targeting. Robust enforcement is critically important
for addressing violations and promoting deterrence.
But enforcement alone will not be enough to achieve
compliance results that protect public health or
to assure that businesses that comply with the law
do not have to compete with companies that do
not play by the rules. Next Generation Compliance
takes advantage of new information and monitor-
ing technologies as well as innovative strategies to
make rules and permits more effective, enabling
EPA states, and tribes to get better compliance
results and tackle today's compliance challenges.
Next Generation Compliance will help EPA and the
states move toward achieving more reliable compli-
ance with standards designed to protect the public
and the environment. It is the right direction for
the Agency regardless of resources because it will
increase effectiveness, and it becomes more urgent
in a time of challenging budgets, when we need to
reduce pollution, improve compliance, and target
our enforcement cases where they will make the
most difference.
Enforce Environmental Laws to
Achieve Compliance
Effective targeting of compliance monitoring and
vigorous civil and criminal enforcement play a central
role in achieving the goals EPA has set for protection
of health and the environment. Targets for most of
the enforcement measures will remain steady over
the life of this Strategic Plan. For some other mea-
sures, the strategic direction outlined in this Plan
will affect the targets, as described in the "Strategic
Measurement Framework" section of this Plan. What
remains constant is EPAs focus on the cases that have
the highest impact on protecting public health and
the environment.
•f Addressing Climate Change and Improving
Air Quality: EPA will continue to take effective
actions to reduce air pollution from the largest
sources, including coal-fired power plants and
the cement, acid, glass, and other sectors, to
improve air quality. Enforcement to cut toxic air
pollution in communities improves the health of
communities, particularly communities that are
disproportionately affected by pollution. EPA will
work to assure compliance by the energy extrac-
tion sector, where violations can lead to air and
water impacts that pose a potential risk to human
health. EPA will also work to ensure compliance
with climate change standards, including the
greenhouse gas reporting rules.
•f Protecting America's Waters: EPA has been
working with states and cities to make progress
on the most important water pollution problems.
The Agency will continue to focus on getting
raw sewage out of water and reducing pollution
from stormwater runoff, using common sense
and affordable approaches to tackle the most
important problems first and incorporating
green infrastructure for cost-effective reduction
of pollution while enhancing communities. EPA
is committed to working with communities to
incorporate green infrastructure, such as green
roofs, rain gardens, and permeable pavement,
into permitting and enforcement actions to
reduce stormwater pollution and sewer overflows
where applicable. EPA, together with the states,
continues to implement the Clean Water Act
Action Plan1 by ensuring the implementation of
fundamental changes to the national pollutant
discharge elimination system (NPDES) program,
such as coordinated permitting, compliance, and
enforcement programs to protect and improve
water quality. The enforcement program con-
tinues to address pollution from animal waste,
take enforcement action to reduce pollution in
large aquatic ecosystems like the Chesapeake Bay,
and assist in revitalizing urban communities by
protecting urban waters.
Enforcement also supports the goals of assuring
safe drinking water for all communities, including
in Indian country, and improving the quality of
drinking water data reported by states to ensure
compliance.2 Sustained and focused enforcement
attention resulted in a 75 percent reduction in
the number of public drinking water systems with
serious unresolved violations between January
2010 and October 2013 through the combined
efforts of federal and state agencies.
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•f Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing
Sustainable Development: EPA protects
communities by requiring responsible parties to
conduct cleanups, saving federal dollars for sites
where there are no other alternatives. Aggressively
pursuing these parties to clean up sites ultimately
reduces direct human exposures to hazard-
ous pollutants and contaminants, provides for
long-term human health protection and makes
contaminated properties available for reuse.
•f Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and
Preventing Pollution: Reforming chemical
management and reducing exposure to pesticides
and other toxics will help protect human health.
Enforcement reduces direct human exposures to
toxic chemicals and pesticides and supports long-
term human health protection.
Criminal enforcement underlines our commitment
to pursuing the most serious pollution violations.
EPAs criminal enforcement program will focus on
cases across all media that involve serious harm
or injury; hazardous or toxic re eases; ongoing,
repetitive, or multiple releases; serious documented
exposure to pollutants; and violators with significant
repeat or chronic noncompliance or prior criminal
conviction. EPAs criminal enforcement program will
continue to work collaboratively with its state and
local law enforcement counterparts, as well as the
U.S. Department of Justice. Many successful and
important EPA criminal investigations result from
enhanced coordination among all levels of govern-
ment. An example is the prosecutions surrounding
the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which led to the
death of 11 people and was the largest marine oil spill
in United States history. EPAs criminal enforcement
program worked with multiple federal and state
agencies and the U.S. Department of Justice, resulting
in the single largest criminal resolution in the history
of the United States as of 2013.
EPA shares accountability for environmental and
human health protection with states and tribes. We
work together to target the most important pollu-
tion violations and to ensure that companies that do
the right thing and are responsible neighbors are not
put at a competitive disadvantage. The Agency also
has a responsibility to oversee EPA-authorized state
and tribal implementation of federal laws to ensure
that the same level of protection for the environment
and the public applies across the country.
Enforcement can help to promote environmental
justice by tackling noncompliance problems that
disproportionately impact low-income, minority,
and tribal communities. Ensuring compliance with
environmental laws is particularly important in com-
munities that are exposed to greater environmental
health risks. EPA fosters community involvement by
making information about compliance and govern-
ment action available to the public. In addition to
ensuring compliance and promoting environmental
justice, EPA enforcement actions also result in com-
panies investing in actions and equipment to control
pollution, mitigating harm from past violations, and
undertaking additional projects that benefit the envi-
ronment and public health (known as supplemental
environmental projects, or SEPs). EPA will continue to
use all of these tools to protect communities.
In addition to vigorous enforcement of environ-
mental laws, EPA is investing in Next Generation
Compliance to take advantage of advances in pollu-
tion monitoring and information technology in order
to reduce pollution and improve results. By building
compliance drivers into regulations and permits, and
using them across our compliance programs, these
tools will enable EPA, states, and tribes to focus on
the most serious environmental problems and to
better protect communities.
Through the increased use of new information and
monitoring technologies and other compliance
strategies, Next Generation Compliance will allow
us to identify pollution issues and will assist both
government and industry to find and fix pollution
and violation problems. Next Generation Compliance
supports EPAs new E-Enterprise initiative by promot-
ing electronic reporting, advanced monitoring, and
transparency. Electronic reporting allows for more
accurate and timely information on pollution sources,
as well as public access to pollution and compliance
information. A new collaborative state-EPA effort,
the E-Enterprise Leadership Council, is working to
establish a joint approach on information technol-
ogy and program management infrastructure issues.
Confirming the accuracy and completeness of exist-
ing and future data that are collected and protecting
confidential business information remain priorities
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for EPA, states, and tribes. In collaboration with
states and in consultation with our tribal partners,
E-reporting and advanced monitoring technologies
will ultimately lead to better, more timely data for
decision making and public transparency.
Next Generation Compliance also includes tools to
help EPA design regulations and permits that will
result in higher compliance and improved environ-
mental outcomes. Regulations and permits are more
likely to be implemented and compliance is likely to
be higher when rules and permits are clear and easily
understood, are provided in a user-friendly format,
and contain built-in approaches that drive better
compliance, such as improved monitoring, self- and
third-party certifications, public disclosure/trans-
parency, and easily monitored product designs or
physical structures in facilities. EPA is also building on
recent, measurable successes in innovative compli-
ance efforts, such as the drinking water enforcement
approach launched in 2010 that required public
water systems with serious violations to return to
compliance within 6 months or face an enforcement
action by states or EPA. Use of this approach resulted
in a decrease of approximately 75 percent in the
number of public water systems classified as serious
violators between January 2010 and October 2013.
EPA is enhancing its ability to find and document vio-
lations through new targeting tools and data analysis
to better identify, publicize, and respond to the most
serious violations.
The Agency is also exploring innovative enforcement
approaches such as providing electronic responses
to electronically reported violations, and expanding
the use of Next Generation Compliance tools in
enforcement settlements. Through these and other
Next Generation Compliance efforts, EPA will design
the compliance programs of the future and work to
maintain strong enforcement and improve compli-
ance. EPA, states, tribes, and other partner agencies
are beginning to invest in this transformation
together-and anticipate realizing both efficiencies
and cost savings while protecting human health
and the environment. If implemented as proposed,
the proposed NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule, as
one example, will save money for states, tribes, and
territories as well as EPA and NPDES permittees,
while resulting in a more complete, accurate, and
nationally consistent set of data about the NPDES
program. The proposed rule would provide states
with regulatory relief from reporting associated with
the Quarterly Noncompliance Report (QNCR), the
Annual Noncompliance Report (ANCR), the Semi-
Annual Statistical Summary Report, and the biosolids
information required to be submitted to EPA annu-
ally by states.
External Factors and Emerging Issues
Advanced monitoring technology and information
technology are rapidly evolving fields. Until recently,
for example, air pollution measurement was primarily
left to trained scientists and technicians employing
sophisticated instruments and methodologies to
evaluate data quality. New breakthroughs in sen-
sor technology, as well as advances in smart phone,
GPS, and other information technology, have made
inexpensive, portable monitoring and measure-
ment of air pollution possible today, not only for
government regulators, but for the public as well. In
promulgating rules, developing policies, and targeting
compliance monitoring and enforcement, EPA has
always welcomed and considered relevant data from
all sources. EPA will need to work closely with states,
tribes, and the public to help interpret and provide
context for data derived from such new technologies,
and to ensure that EPA uses data of high quality.
End Notes
1. Information on the Clean Water Act Action Plan can be accessed at http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/
clean-water-act-cwa-action-plan.
2. An FY 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report highlighted the seriousness of under-reporting Safe Drinking Water
Act (SDWA)data. EPA followed up and will continue to take action to improve the quality of data reported by states.
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Summary of Program Evaluation
The Administration is encouraging depart-
ments and agencies across the federal
government to use a broad range of analyti-
cal and measurement tools ("an evidence
infrastructure") to learn what works and what does
not to improve performance results.1 Among the
most important analytical tools is program evalua-
tion, producing rigorous evidence about program
effectiveness as well as identifying lessons that may
be helpful in shaping agency strategic planning in the
future. EPA has used program evaluation and applied
research to inform its approach to meeting the strate-
gic objectives in the FY 2074-2078 EPA Strategic Plan.
Program evaluation results may affirm existing strate-
gies or identify opportunities for improvement, or
may lead to changes in policy resource decisions, or
program implementation. For example, EPA under-
took an evaluation of how effectively the Agency is
managing the human health and environmental risks
of nanomaterials—substances smaller than one-tenth
of a micrometer—because of their unique proper-
ties. Nanomaterials increasingly are being used in a
wide range of scientific, environmental, industrial,
and medical applications. The evaluation has led
to a more concerted effort to promote research
on nanomaterials and make more effective use of
our regulatory authorities—the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Toxics
Substances Control Act—to address these chemicals.
Results from an Agency evaluation of the Superfund
green remediation strategy are being used to deter-
mine whether the program's 40 specific action items
are adequately encouraging environmentally benefi-
cial clean up and resource conservation at Superfund
sites. An assessment of the ENERGY STAR product
labeling program has given us a better understanding
of which products are delivering the greatest pro-
gram savings and which product categories still have
untapped potential for greater gains. Other findings
have helped the program revise or augment market-
ing and communication strategies to get the most
impact from public recognition of the ENERGY STAR
label and consumer buying patterns and habits.
We also look to the results of planned upcoming
program evaluation projects to inform our program
strategies in the future. Three of these planned
evaluations include:
1. A midpoint assessment of the progress toward
meeting and maintaining reduced nutrient and
sediment pollution loads in the Chesapeake Bay
as part of the 2025 goals of the Chesapeake Bay
Program Partnership;
2. An examination of third-party inspection and
cleanup programs in the underground stor-
age tank program to identify key components
of successful programs that can be shared
with state partners and used as models for
state adoption; and
3. Research under the National Air Toxics
Assessment (NATA), which will continue the
work done in 2005 to identify and prioritize air
toxics, types of emission sources, and geographic
locations that pose the greatest potential risk
to the population and to serve as a basis for
determining further steps toward reduction of
emissions, as necessary.
EPA has included in the goal chapters some illus-
trative examples of how the results of program
evaluations and applied research have informed
Agency strategies in this Strategic Plan. Additional
information about recently completed program eval-
uations and research that informed the EPA Strategic
Plan and a preliminary list of future program evalua-
tions is available at the EPA Strategic Plan website.2
End Notes
1. Fiscal Year 2014 Budge:, Analytical Perspectives, Performance and Management Section, Chapter 7 "Delivering High Performance
Government" and Chapters, "Program Evaluation and Data Analysis." This document can be found at http://www.wh itehouse.
gov/omb/budget/Analytical Perspectives.
2. The EPA Strategic Plan website is http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.
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Cross-Agency Strategies
Introduction
Since EPA's inception over 40 years ago, we have
focused not only on our mission to achieve
environmental and human health results, but also
on how we work to accomplish those results.
Achievement of each of these goals and objectives
is shared across EPA. Through this Plan, EPA is plac-
ing an increased focus on how we work to achieve
those results.
We have developed a set of cross-agency strate-
gies that stem from the Agency's priorities and
are designed to fundamentally change how we
work, both internally and externally to achieve
the mission outcomes articulated under our five
strategic goals and core values of science, transpar-
ency and the rule of law. This Plan describes the
vision and operating principles for each of the
cross-agency strategies:
•f Working toward a sustainable future;
•f Working to make a visible difference
in communities;
•f Launching a new era of state, tribal, local, and
international partnerships; and
•f Embracing EPA as a high-performing
organization.
For each of these strategies, the Agency will develop
annual action plans with commitments that align
with existing planning, budget, and accountability
processes, and that support EPA's research and
development agenda as appropriate. In implement-
ing these strategies through annual action plans,
we are committing to a focused effort to under-
take tangible, measurable actions to transform
the way we deliver environmental and human
health protection.
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Working Toward a
Sustainable Future
Advance sustainable environmental outcomes and optimize economic and social outcomes
through Agency decisions and actions, which include expanding the conversation on
environmentalism and engaging a broad range of stakeholders.
EPA will consider and apply sustainability principles
to its work on a regular basis, collaborating closely
with stakeholders. Our traditional approaches to
risk reduction and pollution control cannot always
fully achieve our long-term and broad environmen-
tal quality goals. The interplay between different
environmental statutes and programs also requires
renewed attention to improve "synergy" and long-
term solutions. To this end EPA will also embrace
a commitment to focused innovation to support
solutions that will advance sustainable outcomes.
This cross-agency strategy advances the national goal
of achieving "conditions under which humans and
nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill
the social, economic and other requirements of
present and future generations/' as established in the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
This goal expresses a foundational concept in the
President's Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership
in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance.
To integrate sustainability into the Agency's day-to-
day operations, all headquarters and regional offices
will routinely consider the following principles in their
decisions and actions, as appropriate:
1. Conserve, protect, restore, and improve the
supply and quality of natural resources and
environmental media (energy, water, materials,
ecosystems, land, and air) over the long term;
2. Align and integrate programs, tools, incentives,
and indicators to achieve as many positive
outcomes as possible in environmental, economic,
and social systems; and
3. Consider the full life cycles of multiple natural
resources, processes, and pollutants in order to
prevent pollution, reduce waste, and create a
sustainable future.
We will work within and across programs, use
all available tools, and implement innovative
approaches. We will build on our wide range of
existing sustainability-related activities, includ-
ing community-based sustainability activities. We
will use incentive-based efforts to complement
our foundation of regulations. We will encourage
technology-based innovation through challenges and
partnerships. We will review new and key existing
regulations to examine sustainable enhancements.
We will integrate efforts with a new commitment
to innovation and greater and more strategic ("high
level") use of sustainability-related data and infor-
mation. This strategy specifically focuses on several
actions to enhance EPA's sustainability work:
+ Identify selected cross-program priority
areas that maximize EPA's ability to advance
sustainability objectives and take appropri-
ate actions to:
Incorporate sustainability principles into
regulatory, enforcement, incentive-based,
and partnership programs;
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Use available incentives, education, informa-
tion, and disclosure to enhance the ability of
markets to reward sustainability;
Coordinate grants, contracts, and technical
assistance to promote sustainable outcomes;
Advance sustainability science, indicators,
and tools;
Promote new ways to encourage tech-
nology-focused innovation that supports
Agency priorities for sustainability. Use EPAs
Technology Innovation Roadmap to guide
EPA in stimulating and supporting technol-
ogy innovation around key environmental
challenges; and
Use systems-based approaches that
account for linkages between different
environmental systems.
•f Engage and empower EPA staff. Build on
staff knowledge of and experience with sustain-
ability and innovation through multiple forms of
in-reach, education, and guidance for incorporat-
ing sustainability principles into Agency work in
a multi-disciplinary way. Develop clear Agency
leadership expectations for training at all levels
to help equip employees with necessary data
and tools to identify appropriate opportuni-
ties, network internally and externally, establish
governance and accountability structures, provide
everyday encouragement and recognition, and
lead by example in our own operations. These
efforts will improve the ability of all staff to be
effective environmental stewards and to help
secure a healthy, just, and flourishing quality of life
for current and future generations.
Expand the conversation on environ-
mentalism by engaging and empowering
stakeholders, including groups with which
EPA has not traditionally worked, using
multiple forms of outreach, collabora-
tion, and information. Beginning with the
cross-program priority areas identified, we will
communicate and partner with key stakeholders,
including federal, state, and local agencies, tribes,
the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, small
businesses, industry, non-governmental organi-
zations, the research community, international
organizations, communities with environmental
justice concerns, citizens, and other partners, both
urban and rural, including those who have been
underrepresented, to achieve more innovative
and sustainable outcomes. In keeping with our
objective to strengthen partnerships, EPA will
emphasize transparency and clarity in its com-
munications, including environmental education
outreach. Through collaboration and research, we
will improve our ability to drive innovation and
expand the conversation on environmentalism to
address related social and economic issues, espe-
cially in communities with vulnerable populations
or environmental justice concerns.
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Working to Make a
Visible Difference in
Communities
Align community-based activities to provide seamless assistance to communities, both urban
and rural, while maximizing efficiency and results. Expand support of community efforts to
build healthy, sustainable, green neighborhoods and reduce and prevent harmful exposures
and health risks to children and underserved, overburdened communities.
EPA must work collaboratively across all
programs and hand in hand with other
federal agencies, states, tribes, and local com-
munities to improve the health of all families
and protect the environment. EPA must expand the
work we do to enhance the resiliency, health, and
economic vitality of communities and neighbor-
hoods through increased analysis, better science, and
enhanced community engagement while continuing
to advance environmental justice (EJ) and ensure the
protection of basic fundamental rights.
Public health and environmental protection impacts
affect us most significantly where we live—at the
community level. Both urban and rural communities
reap the benefits of a healthier environment in the
form of safe drinking water, less polluted air, greater
access to green space, and more environmentally
sustainable choices for daily living. EPAs national
regulatory efforts, such as eliminating lead from gaso-
line, have historically contributed to these outcomes.
But equally important are EPAs many community-
based efforts which, among other things, work for
environmental justice, protect children's health, and
reduce exposures and consider cumulative risks for
vulnerable populations. These efforts and commit-
ments will be carried out in partnership with Agency
sustainability goals and will lead to better results for
all communities.
While EPA efforts have a direct, positive impact on
the health and environmental quality of communi-
ties, EPA will place additional focus on changing
the way we work so that communities can easily
identify and achieve their full potential. EPA believes
environmental progress can be better supported,
demonstrated, and measured in communities, espe-
cially those with environmental justice concerns, so
that all equally receive the benefits of human health
and environmental protection standards. Millions of
minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous indi-
viduals are at risk of having poor health outcomes
because they live in underserved, overburdened com-
munities. EPA can make a greater and more visible
difference by embracing strategies that incorporate
an Agency-wide focus on communities. An Agency-
wide community perspective helps to leverage
diverse resources effectively and supports efforts for
identifying sustainable solutions. Specifically, EPA will
rely on a variety of approaches, including improved
meaningful outreach to communities, better internal
alignment and coordination of resources across
community-based programs, increased incorpora-
tion of EPA community-focused approaches and
analyses within regulatory and enforcement actions,
and expanded technical assistance and research to
improve public health and the environmental perfor-
mance of communities. Partnering with federal, state,
and local governments, as well as other entities, is key
to cultivating healthy and sustainable neighborhood
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solutions that reflect effective land use, green devel-
opment, and social and economic growth.
To achieve this goal, EPA will proactively work to:
•f Improve internal coordination, alignment,
and accountability for EPA community-
based activities, programs, and tools in
order to advance environmental results
for communities. Incorporate community-
based strategies as a fundamental, organizing
principle in EPA core programs and policies by
consistently sharing experience and expertise,
adopting promising tools, replicating relevant
models (e.g., Promising Practices to Improve
Community Performance and Sustainability, Plan
EJ 2014, Urban Waters Initiative), and improving
measurement and tracking of community-based
efforts. These models engage multiple partners
in the community (local and federal government
partners, nonprofit groups, local businesses, and
residents) to identify issues and solutions across
environmental media, and deliver funding and
technical assistance to address the environ-
mental risks, train the community, and share
best practices. We will leverage EPA resources,
increase awareness and understanding of com-
munity needs and risks and related solutions,
invest in innovative research and science-based
approaches, develop and use appropriate indica-
tors, coordinate data, and track accomplishments.
An ongoing priority area will be to continue to
advance the work on environmental justice and
children's environmental health in rulemaking,
permitting, enforcement and compliance, grants,
and policy-making decisions (e.g., use potential
supplemental environmental projects to address
community needs and increase technical assis-
tance efficiencies).
•f Increase public access to EPA community-
based resources, helping communities
recognize their full engagement potential
and problem-solving capacity. Empower
community dialogue, engagement, understanding,
and action through effective information sharing,
including outreach and environmental education
that informs the public about policy choices and
environmental stewardship to benefit current
and future generations. The sharing of critical,
up-to-date information (such as skills and services,
best practices and success stories, useful contacts,
relevant grants and technical assistance, data, and
multimedia strategies) supports effective commu-
nity involvement. Improved information sharing
builds public capacity to engage in citizen science
(e.g., contribute to environmental research,
complement EPA science in support of state or
local problem solving, and enhance environmen-
tal protection), and encourages environmental
education and environmental justice activities.
The Agency will also create mechanisms at the
regional and program levels to better commu-
nicate the community-based benefits of EPAs
work in terms of improved public health and the
environment at the local level.
•f Build on existing partnerships to create
lasting, inclusive, collaborative community
networks that include government and
other public and private entities. Work with
federal agencies through existing partnerships
(e.g., the Department of Housing and Urban
Development-Department ofTransportation-
EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities
and the Environmental Justice Interagency
Workgroup), as well as with states, tribes, com-
munities, and other stakeholders to leverage
resources, funding opportunities, and technical
expertise and assistance to support healthy,
sustainable, and green neighborhood solutions.
Partner with research organizations and academic
institutions to focus and advance basic research
and create models and measures to expand the
conversation on environmental and human health
concerns to address priority-focused, locally based
problems, specifically including environmental
justice and children's environmental health issues.
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Launching a New Era
of State, Tribal, Local,
and International
Partnerships
Strengthen partnerships with states, tribes, local governments, and the global community
that are central to the success of the national environmental protection program
through consultation, collaboration, and shared accountability. Modernize the EPA-state
relationship, including revitalizing the National Environmental Performance Partnership
System and jointly pursuing E-Enterprise, a transformative approach to make environmental
information and data more accessible, efficient, and evidence-based through advances in
monitoring, reporting, and information technology.
The practice of good government, as well as
the rea ity of limited resources, means that
EPA works in concert with our partners to
improve coordination, promote innovation,
and maximize efficiencies to ensure our continued
success. As we work together, our relationships must
continue to be based on integrity, trust, and shared
accountability to make the most effective use of our
respective bodies of knowledge, our existing authori-
ties, our resources, and our talents.
Successful partnerships will be based on four working
principles: consultation, collaboration, cooperation,
and accountability. By consulting, we will engage our
partners in a timely fashion as we consider approaches
to our environmental work so that each partner can
make an early and meaningful contribution toward
the final result. By collaborating, we will not only share
information, but we will actively work together with
our partners to develop innovative approaches that
use and leverage all available resources to achieve our
environmental and human health goals. As our work
progresses, we will cooperate, viewing each other with
respect as allies who must work successfully together
if our goals are to be achieved. Through shared
accountability, we will ensure that environmental
benefits are consistently delivered nationwide. In
carrying out these responsibilities, EPA will ensure that
state, tribal, and federal implementation of federal
laws achieves a consistent level of protection for the
environment and human health.
With States
Under our federal environmental laws, EPA and the
states share responsibility for protecting human
health and the environment. With this relationship
as a key component of the nation's environmental
protection system, EPA will:
•f Improve implementation of national environ-
mental programs through closer consultation
and collaboration to seek the most efficient use
of resources, streamline business processes and
administrative requirements, develop and pro-
mote innovative solutions, and further our shared
governance framework by revitalizing the National
Environmental Performance Partnership System
(NEPPS).1 We will strengthen joint EPA-state
priority setting by better aligning NEPPS with EPAs
national program manager guidances,2 focusing
on flexible, innovative approaches to achieve
results, and seek ways to leverage all available
mutually beneficial opportunities to share work
and expertise.
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•f Work collaboratively with state partners to
develop innovative strategies and modernize our
environmental programs through the E-Enterprise
initiative,3 a 21st century approach that will
support the nation's environmental protection
responsibilities through enhanced information
sharing, increased transparency and reduced regu-
latory burden, supported by advanced monitoring
tools and information technologies.
•f Consult with state governments early in the rule-
making process to ensure that the development
and implementation of rules is consistent with
"EPA's Action Development Process: Guidance on
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)," which recog-
nizes the division of governmental responsibilities
between the federal government and the states.
•f Strengthen state-EPA shared accountability
by focusing oversight on the most significant
and pressing state program performance chal-
lenges, using data and analysis to accelerate
program improvements.
•f Ensure a level playing field across states to
improve compliance and address the most
serious violations.
•f Collaborate with state research organizations to
share information on EPA's scientific and techni-
cal capabi ities and solicit input to make our
tools, models, and research useful and practical
for the states in carrying out their environmental
responsibilities.
With Tribes
The relationship between the United States govern-
ment and federally recognized tribes is unique—we
work with tribes on a government-to-government
basis on Agency decisions that may affect tribal
interests. Our responsibility to consult with tribal
governments is distinct from the general consulta-
tions we have with states and nations outside the
U.S. border. As such, our consultations with tribes are
governed by the EPA Policy for the Administration
of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations
(November 8, 1984), Executive Order 13175
on Consultation and Coordination with Indian
Tribal Governments, and the Agency's Policy on
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes
(May 4, 2011). In strengthening this relationship with
tribes, EPA will:
•f Focus on increasing tribal capacity to establish
and implement environmental programs while
ensuring that our national programs are as
effective in Indian country as they are throughout
the rest of the nation.4
•f Enhance our effort to work with tribes on a
government-to-government basis, based upon
the Constitution, treaties, laws, executive orders,
and a long history of Supreme Court rulings.
•f Strengthen our cross-cultural sensitivity with
tribes, recognizing that tribes have cultural,
jurisdictional, and legal features that must be
considered when coordinating and implementing
environmental programs in Indian country.
With Local Partners
EPA has a unique relationship with local governments
given that local governments can be both co-
implementers and regulated entities under national
and state environmental laws. Recognizing that local
governments vary considerably,5 are dealing with
significant resource constraints as they work to build
capacity (particularly in smaller communities), and
often provide innovative leadership in environmental
stewardship, EPA will:
•f Maintain consistent and meaningful communica-
tions with local officials and optimize outreach
efforts to improve environmental program
implementation at the local level and receive
recommendations on environmental issues that
are important to local governments.
•f Consult with local governments, as with states,
early in the development of rules and policies
that impact them, consistent with "EPA's Action
Development Process: Guidance on Executive
Order 13132 (Federalism)."
•f Promote and facilitate best practices among local
officials to address pressing local environmental
matters with flexible, innovative approaches that
advance shared priorities.
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With International Partners
To achieve our domestic environmental and human
health goals, international partnerships, including
those with the business community and entrepre-
neurs, are essential. Pollution is often carried by winds
and water across national boundaries, posing risks to
human health and ecosystems many hundreds and
thousands of miles away. Many concerns, like climate
change, are global and, to address these and other
environmental challenges in the international arena,
EPA will:
•f Enhance sustainability principles through
expanded partnership efforts in multilateral
forums and in key bilateral relationships.
•f Strengthen existing and build new international
partnerships to encourage increased interna-
tional commitment to sustainability goals and
to promote a new era of global environmental
stewardship based on common interests, shared
values, and mutual respect.
End Notes
1. NEPPS is an environmental performance system established in 1995 and designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
state environmental programs and EPA-state partnerships. It is a system of principles and tools to drive performance, efficiency
and flexibility in the EPA-state relationship. It enables EPA and states to leverage their collective resources most efficiently and
effectively by taking full advantage of the unique capacities and capabilities of each partner to achieve the maximum environ-
mental and human health protection. The primary tools for establishing priorities and deploying resources are Performance
Partnership Agreements (PPAs) and Performance Partnership Grants (PPGs). PPGs allow states and tribes to combine categorical
grants for greater spending flexibility on state and tribal priorities. PPAs are strategic negotiated plans that articulate joint goals and
priorities, key activities, and roles and responsibilities.
2. EPA's national program manager (NPM) guidances translate the Agency's budget decisions into operational program priorities,
strategies, and performance measures. Issued by the five major environmental programs (air, water, waste, chemical safety and pol-
lution prevention, and enforcement and compliance assurance), the NPM guidances inform the development of EPA work plans
and grant agreements with states and tribes, including Performance Partnership Agreements, Performance Partnership Grants,
and/or programmatic grants.
3. EPA has developed an FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal for E-Enterprise: Improve environmental outcomes and enhance
service to the regulated community and the public. By September 30, 2015, reduce reporting burdens to EPA by one million hours
through streamlined regulations, provide real-time environmental data to at least two communities, and establish a new portal to
service the regulated community and public. More information on Agency Priority Goals is available at http://goals.performance.
gov/agency/epa.
4. EPA recently issued new guidance for the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program, "Guidance on the Award and
Management of General Assistance Agreements for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia," May 15, 2013. The General Assistance
Program (GAP) Guidance is designed to enhance the EPA-tribal partnership by establishing a framework for joint strategic
planning, identification of mutual responsibilities, and targeting resources to build tribal environmental program capacities.
Additionally, it augments existing GAP Guidance with a guidebook of program development indicators, providing "pathways"
for capacity building and ways to measure development of programs over time.
5. Local governments may include counties, cities, water districts, air districts, ports, municipal waste management associations,
economic development councils, metropolitan councils of government, and other entities.
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Embracing EPA as
a High-Perform ing
Organization
Maintain and attract EPA's diverse and engaged workforce of the future with a more
collaborative work environment. Modernize our business practices, including through
E-Enterprise, and take advantage of new tools and technologies. Improve the way we work as
a high-performing Agency by ensuring we add value in every transaction with our workforce,
our co-regulators, our partners, industry, and the people we serve.
As today's environmental problems continue
to increase in complexity EPA's ability to
respond creatively flexibly and effectively
will demand cross-Agency approaches
to problem-solving and the use of new tools and
technologies. EPA will support these efforts by estab-
lishing a high-performing organization characterized
by business practices that are modern, efficient,
and cost effective, as well as a work environment
that supports staff growth and development, and is
collaborative and results driven. Becoming a high-per-
forming organization will require changes to both our
internal and external processes, and EPA will actively
solicit advice and engagement from both within EPA
and with our partners as we advance new tools and
streamline approaches.
EPA's compelling mission to protect human health
and the environment attracts workers eager to make
a difference. EPA cultivates a highly skilled and diverse
workforce, with employees energized by opportuni-
ties to learn and work collaboratively, and equipped
to do their best work for the American people. In
building a high-performing organization, the Agency
is working to provide employees with a modern,
inclusive, and flexible work environment, enabled by
advanced information technologies and tools that
enhance communication, transparency, and coopera-
tive problem solving across the Agency and with
our partners.
EPA is now moving forward with two major initiatives
that are part of our efforts to create the next genera-
tion of environmental protection in our nation.
•f E-Enterprise is a U.S. EPA-state initiative to
improve environmental performance and enhance
services to the regulated community, environ-
mental agencies, and the public. As described in
the E-Enterprise for the Environment Conceptual
Blueprint, "E-Enterprise will increase transpar-
ency and efficiency, develop new environmental
management approaches, and employ advanced
information and monitoring technologies in a
coordinated effort to manage and modernize
environmental programs."1 For example, this
initiative will move us from using paper to elec-
tronic transactions, increase the use of advanced
monitoring technologies to obtain better, more
complete information on environmental condi-
tions and pollution sources, and deliver data that
is transparent, readily available, and understand-
able to EPA, the states, and the general public.
Through E-Enterprise, the entire environmental
protection enterprise (federal, state, local, and
tribal partners) will be able to regularly conduct
two-way business electronically in an integrated
way, reducing costs while enhancing environmen-
tal protection.
•f EPA is moving forward to adopt Next Generation
Compliance principles and tools to increase com-
pliance and reduce pollution. Next Generation
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Compliance uses advances in research, pollut-
ant monitoring, and information technology-
expanded transparency; electronic reporting;
and innovative enforcement to reduce pollu-
tion and improve results. These tools, combined
with a focus on designing rules and permits that
are easier to implement, enable EPA, states, and
tribes to focus on the most serious environmental
problems and to better protect communities.
The Agency will focus on streamlining internal busi-
ness processes and decision making at all levels. To
stay current, programs must be constantly reevalu-
ated to ensure they are well focused and cutting
edge. Promulgated regulations should maximize
environmental benefit while minimizing costs. EPA
is committed to process improvement through the
application of Lean methodologies and other busi-
ness practice improvement techniques, as well as the
engagement of the expertise and insights of Agency
employees to identify opportunities to increase
efficiency and effectiveness.2
By combining the strengths of a supportive work
environment with a streamlined and collaborative
business culture, EPA will establish itself as a high-
performing organization known for advancing the
talents, drive, and interests of employees, as well as
the collaborative work in support of our common
mission and the public we serve. EPA will:
•f Maintain and attract the workforce of the future
to ensure that EPAs employees represent diverse
backgrounds and perspectives, are equipped with
the most current technical skills, tools, and knowl-
edge, and are positioned to effectively accomplish
the Agency's mission and meet evolving environ-
mental and sustainability challenges.
•f Cultivate a work environment that offers a high-
quality work life for all employees by engaging
them in shaping Agency decisions and improving
processes, and providing flexible work practices,
fair and inclusive employee-friendly policies,
and opportunities for continuous learning. EPA
will modernize the workplace and develop and
promote collaboration tools to improve com-
munication, cross-program integration, access to
information, and transparency.
•f Advance the E-Enterprise initiative to improve
environmental outcomes, enhance service to the
regulated community and public, and reduce
burden and improve collaborative management
among EPA, states, tribes, and others. E-Enterprise
will increase collaboration with the states as we
modernize regulations to make e-reporting the
"new normal" and use advanced monitoring to
provide more complete and useful environmental
data. Key parts of E-Enterprise will be shared infor-
mation technology services and tools that states
and EPA programs use and, in collaboration with
the states, the development of a regulatory portal
that will help regulated entities electronically
report to the states and EPA. The development of
E-Enterprise is one of EPAs Priority Goals.3
•f In addition to compliance monitoring and
enforcement actions, implement Next Generation
Compliance by promoting the use of advanced
monitoring and electronic reporting, designing
rules that are easier to implement, expanding
transparency, and using innovative enforce-
ment approaches to increase compliance and
reduce pollution.
•f Streamline the Agency's internal business practic-
es, core program processes, and decision making
in areas such as acquisition and grants manage-
ment, rulemaking, and permitting to ensure they
are cutting edge, enhance collaboration, and
improve efficiency and cost effectiveness while
maximizing environmental benefits.
•f Practice outstanding financial resource steward-
ship to ensure that all Agency programs use
resources efficiently, operate with fiscal respon-
sibility and management integrity, are effectively
and consistently delivered nationwide, and dem-
onstrate results.
•f Achieve or exceed federal sustainability targets.
These efforts, enhanced by sustainable workplace
choices that can be routinely practiced by Agency
employees, will continue to reduce EPAs environ-
mental footprint by increasing energy efficiency,
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, advancing
water conservation, and reducing waste, and
will provide lessons learned to share with other
federal agencies.
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End Notes
1. E-En:erprise for the Environment Conceptual Blueprint, Executive Summary, page i, as ratified by the state-EPA
E-Enterprise Leadership Council on January 21, 2014. For more information, see http://www.ecos.org/section/committees/
information management.
2. For more information on Lean process improvement approaches, see http://www.epa.gov/lean/government/index.htm.
3. See the FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal for E-Enterprise under the cross-agency strategy entitled "Launching a New Era of
State, Tribal, Local, and International Partnerships." More information on Agency Priority Goals is at http://goals.performance.gov/
agencv/epa.
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Strategic
Measurement
Framework
Introduction
The Strategic Plan provides the foundation
for EPA's performance management sys-
tem—planning, budgeting, performance
measurement, and accountability. The Plan
contains EPA's strategic measurement framework of
long-term goals, objectives, and strategic measures,
which describe the measurable human health and
environmental results the Agency is working to
achieve over the next 4 years.
To achieve the long-term goals, objectives, and
strategic measures set out in this Plan, EPA designs
annual performance measures which are presented
in EPA's Annual Performance Plans and Budgets. The
Agency reports on our performance against these
annual measures in Annual Performance Reports, and
uses this performance information to help establish
priorities and develop future budget submissions. The
Agency also uses this performance data to evaluate
our progress and develop future Strategic Plans.
EPA's strategic planning and decision making ben-
efits from other sources of information including
program evaluations and environmental indicators.
A number of the strategic measures in this Strategic
Plan are closely related to indicators in EPA's Report
on the Environment (ROE). The ROE identifies a set
of peer-reviewed human health and environmental
indicators that tracks trends in environmental condi-
tions and environmental influences on human health.
This information also helps us better articulate and
improve the strategic measurement framework in
EPA's Strategic Plan. EPA's updated ROE will provide
web-based access to explore, display, and analyze
the underlying data for more than 80 indicators
for air, water, land, human exposure and health,
and ecological conditions along with severa new
sustainability indicators.
The Agency continues to look for new data and
information sources to better characterize the
environmental conditions targeted by our programs
to improve our understanding of the integrated and
complex re ationships involved in protecting human
health and the environment.
Planned Changes in the Strategic
Measurement Framework
Using the FY 2077-2075 EPA Strategic Plan as a foun-
dation, we have continued our focus on creating the
smallest, most meaningful set of strategic measures
that the Agency leadership can use as a management
tool. We have also updated the strategic measures
to reflect targets and baselines appropriate for the
FY 2014-2018 time horizon.
We will continue over the next several years to make
further revisions in key areas. Our anticipated future
efforts are described below.
Tribal Capacity Building
The Agency will begin to revise how it measures and
reports on the progress tribes have made in develop-
ing and implementing environmental protection
programs in Indian country. This effort will build
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on the new Indian General Assistance Program
(GAP) guidance1 designed to improve tribal capacity
development milestones beyond the current indica-
tor, which shows the percent of tribes implementing
federal regulatory programs.
For example, although some tribes may not seek
primacy authorization approval, or delegation of
federal programs, they nonetheless remain important
partners in ensuring environmental protection. In
other cases, a tribal government works with EPA to
assist with the implementation of federal environ-
mental programs in Indian country. The Agency will
establish effective measures that capture the capacity
development progress of tribes seeking to establish
and implement programs in these two areas while
also continuing to measure and report on tribes that
EPA treats in a manner similar to a state.2
New measures to reflect the progress EPA is mak-
ing in building tribal capacity will be derived from a
multi-year effort. As a first step, the Agency recently
completed the development of a suite of envi-
ronmental protection program capacity-building
indicators and published them in the new GAP guid-
ance. Tribes will use these indicators as they develop
specific program capacities under the GAP. These
indicators reflect examples of the range of program
capacities that tribes develop, up to the program
implementation phase. EPA will collect baseline data
in FY 2014 to help inform the development of appro-
priate measures and targets in FY 2015 for reporting
in FY 2016-2018.
Water Quality
Most impaired waters take years to recover fully, and
incremental improvements are currently not well
represented. In 2002, states identified approximately
39,500 specific waterbodies as impaired (i.e., not
attaining state water quality standards) on the Clean
Water Act Section 303(d) impaired waters lists. The
EPA measures that track progress towards restoring
impaired waters have continued to use the 2002
baseline. While states have taken significant steps
to improve impaired waters using the fixed 2002
baseline year, EPA recognizes that there are concerns
with continuing to measure progress against the
2002 baseline (e.g., it does not account for water
quality improvements when measured against waters
identified as impaired and listed after establishment
of the 2002 baseline).
EPA is committed to working with state partners on
this new approach for measuring local improvements
in water quality and in the development of new
measures. In the short term, EPA will allow states to
report separately additional accomplishments not
on the 2002 baseline. EPA commits to replacing the
existing measures for attaining water quality stan-
dards and for improving water quality conditions in
impaired waterbodies in the next Strategic Plan. EPA
is considering a new approach to track water quality
progress using the National Hydrography Dataset
Plus (NHDPlus) to calculate watershed area for prior-
ity areas using the NHDPlus "catchments" to describe
previously impaired waters that are now attaining
their water quality standards. This approach also
allows for the inclusion of watershed areas targeted
for protection (i.e., high-quality waters). It provides
a consistent method for measuring progress at the
local scale, while allowing for tighter integration
with data and assessments at the state and national
scale. Through this effort, EPA is also working with its
partners to develop new replacement strategic mea-
sures for water quality standards attainment and for
improved water quality conditions in impaired water-
bodies. To complete the picture on water quality, EPA
will continue to encourage the use of state-wide indi-
cators for water quality for areas beyond the focus
of state priority areas. State survey results contribute
information to help set future priorities and to com-
municate with the public on state-wide water quality
status and trends as a supplement to reporting on
waters within priority areas.
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
The FY 2074-2078 Strategic Plan provides an oppor-
tunity to reassess the usefulness of our current
performance measures and to consider new ones.
Historically, the enforcement program's measures
in the Strategic Plan have focused on counting our
level of activity (e.g., numbers of inspections) and
also case-specific results for enforcement cases
(e.g., pounds of pollutants reduced) to communicate
the environmental benefits of our enforcement
actions. These measures provide information about
how the Agency is actively and consistently perform-
ing the activities necessary to find polluters, take
-------
appropriate action, and monitor defendants' compli-
ance with settled enforcement cases, targeting these
activities toward the most serious human health
and environmental problems across a variety of
regulatory programs.
These metrics are useful, and we will continue
reporting on them, but they tell only part of the
story. An effective program should target the biggest
problems first. Under this approach, the environmen-
tal outcomes for many conventional performance
measures should continually decrease over time. For
example, as EPA addresses the worst pollution first in
identified sectors, the pounds of pollution reduced in
that sector as a result of enforcement actions should
decrease over time. Our historic enforcement mea-
sures also treat all pollution the same, even though
different pollutants pose different risks—reducing a
pound of toxic pollution can provide similar health
benefits to reducing a much larger amount of con-
ventional pollutants. We recognize that preventing
problems is both cheaper and more effective than
taking action after they happen; however, our tradi-
tional metrics do not adequately account for work to
prevent pollution. By focusing only on enforcement
actions, the measures can have the inadvertent effect
of discouraging innovative approaches that could
improve compliance, and undervalue strong work by
states to improve compliance.
These challenges in our performance measures have
led us to think about new ways to measure the
effectiveness of our work that will supplement the
traditional measures. Fortunately, advances in both
pollution monitoring and information technologies
may help to provide answers. These advances are at
the heart of Next Generation Compliance.
Next Generation Compliance is focused on the
following five areas:
1. Designing regulations and permits that are easier
to implement, with a goal of improved compli-
ance and environmental outcomes.
2. Using and promoting advanced emissions and
pollutant detection technology so that regulated
entities, the government, and the public can more
easily see quantified pollutant discharges, environ-
mental conditions, and noncompliance.
3. Shifting toward electronic reporting by regulated
entities so that we have more accurate, complete,
and timely information on pollution sources,
pollution, and compliance, saving time and
money while improving effectiveness and public
transparency.
4. Expanding transparency by making the informa-
tion we have today more accessible, and making
new information obtained from advanced emis-
sions monitoring and electronic reporting more
readily available to the public.
5. Developing and using innovative enforcement
approaches (e.g., data analytics and targeting) to
achieve more widespread compliance.
Progress toward Next Generation Compliance should
eventually make additional measures of effectiveness
possible. For example, electronic reporting will allow
us to more reliably measure compliance across the
universe of a regulated sector—something that can-
not be done for most sectors today. Such a measure
would credit innovative work to avoid violations,
include state, tribal, and federal work toward this
shared objective, and allow us to promote prevention
as well as pollution reductions. By using advanced
monitoring technologies to more reliably measure
actual pollution (rather than relying on estimates),
we will be able to compare actual pollution amounts
to amounts that are permitted, allowing us to know
what kinds of violations matter the most. Next
Generation Compliance approaches will also support
our ability and that of the states and tribes to adopt
more evidence-based approaches as measurement of
effectiveness becomes easier, faster, and cheaper.
While the new Next Generation Compliance
strategies should allow us to add more informative
measures in the future, we are not there yet. We are
working with states and tribes to increase electronic
reporting, but it will take years to fully implement
this transition. Electronic reporting is not a panacea; it
promises greater speed and transparency, but it also
highlights the need to have a way to check on the
accuracy of reports we receive. Advanced monitor-
ing is being used increasingly in government and by
industry, but is far from widespread. Rather than wait,
and continue to rely exclusively on measures that
tell an incomplete and sometimes misleading story,
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Table 1: Strategic Enforcement and Compliance Measures
Enforcement Presence Measures
Existing Measures
Through 2018
Compliance, Deterrence, Next Generation Compliance Measures—
and Outcome Measures
Existing Measures
Through 2018
Under Discussion
Would Supplement Existing Measures
EPA is continuing discussions with states, tribes, and
other interested parties about ways to incorporate
Next Generation Compliance approaches into our
measures. Below are a few examples of the types of
measures under discussion.
Inspections and evaluations
Initiated and concluded civil
judicial and administrative
enforcement cases
Compliance status of open, non-
Superfund consent decrees
Address cost recovery statute of
limitations cases with total past
costs above $500,000
Reaching settlement with poten-
tially responsible parties (PRPs)
Criminal cases with charges filed
• Criminal cases with
defendants convicted
Air, water, hazard-
ous waste, toxic, and
pesticide pollutants
reduced as a result of
enforcement actions
Contaminated media
reduced through
enforcement actions
Criminal cases with
most significant impacts
Criminal cases with
individual defendants
Number of enforcement settlements that
resulted from or that incorporate advanced
monitoring technologies
Regulated sources using advanced monitoring to
measure their own emissions
Percent of facilities electronically reporting Clean
Water Act NPDES data to authorized states and
tribes and EPA
Public use of compliance transparency tools
(ECHO, pollutant loading tool, etc.)
Sectors for which measureable compliance rate
strategies adopted
we plan to experiment with interim measures as a
supplement to the more traditional metrics. These
interim measures do not reflect where we want to
end up, but they help to shine a light on the path
ahead and draw attention to our investment in these
new approaches. We expect that these ideas will
lead in the future to both better results and stronger
metrics to measure our success and the success of
our state and tribal partners. EPA is cognizant of the
need to avoid additional burden for states and tribes
as a result of developing new measures. Through this
Strategic Plan we are hoping to begin a dialogue with
states, tribes, and the public on these new directions.
Table 1 sets out a few examples of potential new
measures that illustrate the kind of metrics that may
be discussed as part of the national dialogue we
expect to have on this issue. The measures in italics
are not currently part of our suite of measures. We
are keenly aware of the need to avoid increasing
reporting burden, so after the dialogue with states
and tribes concludes, we expect to se ect only a
limited number of new interim measures. Of course,
for any new interim measures, we will need to define
what they mean and how they will be counted.
We are also reassessing the usefulness of current
measures (i.e., measures in the first two columns
of Table 1).
EPA's FY 2014-2015 Priority Goals
(Agency Priority Goals)
As part of this Plan revision, we are identifying new
FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goals (APGs), our
third round of APGs. In addition to our long-term
strategic measures, these Agency Priority Goals,
which have 18- to 24-month operational targets,
advance our strategic goals and serve as key indica-
tors of our near-term work. EPA will report progress
on the FY 2014-2015 APGs in the Annual Plan
and Budget and results will be available quarterly
via www.performance.gov.3
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Table 2: EPA's FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goals
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Through September 30, 2015, EPA, in coordination with
Department of Transportation's fuel economy standards program, will be implementing vehicle and truck green-
house gas (GHG) standards that are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 billion metric tons and
reduce oil consumption by about 12 billion barrels over the lifetime of the affected vehicles and trucks.
Clean up contaminated sites to enhance the livability and economic vitality of communities
By September 30, 2015, an additional 18,970 sites will be made ready for anticipated use protecting Americans and
the environment one community at a time.
Assess and reduce risks posed by chemicals and promote the use of safer chemicals in commerce
By September 30, 2015, EPA will have completed more than 250 assessments of pesticides and other commercially
available chemicals to evaluate risks they may pose to human health and the environment, including the potential
for some of these chemicals to disrupt endocrine systems. These assessments are essential in determining whether
products containing these chemicals can be used safely for commercial, agricultural, and/or industrial uses.
Improve environmental outcomes and enhance service to the regulated community and the public
By September 30, 2015, reduce reporting burdens to EPA by one million hours through streamlined regulations, pro-
vide real-time environmental data to at least two communities, and establish a new portal to service the regulated
community and public.
Improve, restore, and maintain water quality by enhancing nonpoint source program leveraging, account-
ability, and on-the-ground effectiveness to address the nation's largest sources of pollution
By September 30, 2015,100 percent of the states will have updated nonpoint source management programs that
comport with the new Section 319 grant guidelines that will result in better targeting of resources through prioritiza-
tion and increased coordination with USDA.
Improve public health protection for persons served by small drinking water systems, which account for
more than 97 percent of public water systems in the U.S., by strengthening the technical, managerial, and
financial capacity of those systems
By September 30, 2015, EPA will engage with an additional ten states (fora total of 30 states) and three tribes to
improve small drinking water system capability to provide safe drinking water, an invaluable resource.
End Notes
1. Final guidance on EPA's Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) with indicators was published May 15, 2013 and
is available a: www.epa.gov/tribal.
2. For more information on treatment in a manner similar to a state (TAS), please see http://www.epa.gov/tp/laws/tas.htm.
3. EPA is currently a major contributor to the Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals on Infrastructure Permitting Modernization and
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. Per the GPRA Modernization Act requirement to address
CAP Goals in the Agency Strategic Plan, the Annual Performance Plan, and the Annual Performance Report, please refer to
www.performance.gov for the Agency's contributions to these goals and progress, where applicable.
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Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving
Air Quality. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
develop adaptation strategies to address climate
change and protect and improve air quality.
Objective 1.1: Address Climate Change. Minimize the threats posed by climate
change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking actions that help to protect
human health and help communities and ecosystems become more sustainable and
resilient to the effects of climate change.
Strategic Measures
Address Climate Change
•f By 2018, implementation of the EPA and National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
national program to reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions and improve fuel economy from
light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles will achieve
a cumulative reduction of 460 MMTCO2Eq.
(Baseline 2011: 0 MMTCO2Eq.)
•f By 2018, additional programs from across EPA will
promote practices to help Americans save energy
and conserve resources, leading to expected
greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 1,178.5
MMTCO Eq. from a baseline without adoption of
efficient practices.
Building Programs
215.50 MMTCO Eq.
Industrial Programs1
651.40 MMTCO Eq.
SmartWay
Transportation Partnership
100.00 MMTCO Eq.
Pollution Prevention Programs
71.00 MMTCO Eq.
Sustainable Materials
Management Programs2
117.40 MMTCO Eq.
WaterSense Program
23.00 MMTCO Eq.
Executive Order 135143
GHG Reduction Program
0.21 MMTCO Eq.
This reduction compares to 621.08 MMTCO2Eq.
reduced in 2011. Baseline FY 2011:
Building Programs
189.00 MMTCO Eq.
Industrial Programs1
357.90 MMTCO Eq.
SmartWay
Transportation Partnership
27.90 MMTCO Eq.
Pollution Prevention Programs
17.00 MMTCO Eq.
Sustainable Materials
Management Programs2
22.10 MMTCO Eq.
WaterSense Program
7 MMTCO Eq.
Executive Order 135143
GHG Reduction Program
0.18 MMTCO Eq.
By 2018, an additional 240 state, tribal, and com-
munity partners will integrate climate change
data, models, information, and other decision-
support tools developed by EPA for climate
change adaptation into their planning processes.
(Baseline: O.)4'5
By 2018, 240 state, tribal, and community part-
ners will incorporate climate change adaptation
into the implementation of their environmental
programs supported by major EPA financial
mechanisms (grants, loans, contracts, and techni-
cal assistance agreements). (Baseline: 5.)5
By 2018, 6 existing or new EPA-developed train-
ing programs will incorporate climate change
adaptation planning for EPA staff, state, tribal, and
community partners (includes programmatic and
cross-programmatic trainings). (Baseline: O.)5
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Objective 1.2: Improve Air Quality. Achieve and maintain health- and welfare-
based air pollution standards and reduce risk from toxic air pollutants and indoor
air contaminants.
Strategic Measures
Reduce Criteria Pollutants and Regional Haze
•f By 2018, the population-weighted average
concentrations of ozone (smog) in all monitored
counties will decrease to 0.072 ppm compared to
the average of 0.076 ppm in 2011, a reduction of
5 percent.
•f By 2018, the population-weighted average
concentrations of inhalable fine particles in all
monitored counties will decrease to 9.5 ug/m3
compared to the average of 10.4 ug/m3 in 2011, a
reduction of 9 percent.
•f Through 2018, maintain emissions of sulfur
dioxide (SO2) from electric power generation
sources to 5.0 million tons per year compared to
the 2009 level of 5.7 million tons emitted. (In 2011,
these sources emitted 4.5 million tons.) (Rationale
for baseline year: 2009 is the year immediately
preceding the first year of SO2 compliance under
the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and full
implementation of Acid Rain's permanent cap on
utility SO2 emissions.)
•f By 2018, visibility in scenic parks and wilderness
areas will improve by 15 percent in the east
and 5 percent in the west, on the 20 percent
worst visibility days, as compared to visibil-
ity on the 20 percent worst days during the
2000-2004 baseline.
•f By 2018, with EPA support including training,
policy, and administrative and technical assis-
tance, tribes will receive 15 additional approvals
to implement the Clean Air Act in Indian country
(as demonstrated by successful completion of
an eligibi ity determination under the Tribal
Authority Rule). The cumulative total will be 62
approved eligibility determinations, from the 2012
baseline of 47.
Reduce Air Toxics
•f Through 2018, maintain air toxics (toxicity-
weighted for cancer) emissions reductions to
4.2 million tons from the 1993 toxicity-weighted
baseline of 7.2 million tons.6
Reduce the Adverse Ecological Effects of
Acid Deposition
•f Through 2018, maintain improvements to
approximately 10 percent of the chronically acidic
lakes and stream reaches in the east identified in
the 2001 baseline survey of stream and lake mea-
surements conducted in the 1990s and maintain
associated ecosystem health gains in acid-sensitive
regions of the northern and eastern United States.
Reduce Exposure to Indoor Air Pollutants
•f By 2018, the number of future premature lung
cancer deaths prevented annually through
lowered radon exposure will increase to 1,056
from the 2008 baseline of 756 future prema-
ture lung cancer deaths prevented. The 2011
benchmark is 905 future premature lung cancer
deaths prevented.
•f By 2018, the number of people taking all essential
actions to reduce exposure to indoor environ-
mental asthma triggers in homes and schools will
increase to 9 million from the 2003 baseline of 3.0
million. EPA will place special emphasis on reduc-
ing racial and ethnic asthma disparities among
children. The 2012 benchmark is 6.5 million
people taking all essential actions to reduce expo-
sure to indoor environmental asthma triggers.
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Objective 1.3: Restore and Protect the Ozone Layer. Restore and protect the
earth's stratospheric ozone layer and protect the public from the harmful effects of
ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Strategic Measures
Reduce Consumption of
Ozone-Depleting Substances
•f By 2015, U.S. consumption of hydrochlorofluo-
rocarbons (HCFCs), chemicals that deplete the
Earth's protective ozone layer, will be less than
1,520 tons per year of ozone depletion potential
from the 2009 baseline of 9,900 tons per year.
By this time, as a result of worldwide reduc-
tion in ozone-depleting substances, the level
of "equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine"
(EESC) in the atmosphere will have peaked at
3.185 parts per billion (ppb) of air by volume
and begun its gradual decline to less than
1.800 ppb (1980 level).
Note: This strategic measure will not be adjusted at
this time because the baseline dates and mile-
stones are set through the international treaty, the
Montreal Protocol.
Objective 1.4: Minimize Exposure to Radiation. Minimize releases of radioactive
material and be prepared to minimize exposure through response and recovery actions
should unavoidable releases occur.
Strategic Measures
Prepare for Radiological Emergencies
•f Through 2018, EPA will maintain a 93 percent
level of readiness of radiation emergency response
program personnel and assets that meet func-
tional requirements necessary to support federal
radiological emergency response and recovery
operations. (The 2012 readiness baseline is 91.5
percent. The level of readiness measure is based
on the Agency's Core National Approach to
Response (Core NAR) assessment process.7)
End Notes
1. Industrial Programs include ENERGY STAR for Industry, Natural Gas STAR, Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP),
Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), Green Power Partnership, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership, Voluntary
Aluminum Industry Partnership (VAIP), HFC-23 Emission Reduction Partnerships, Mobile Air Conditioning Climate Protection
Partnership (MAC), Environmental Stewardship Initiative, Significant New Alternatives Policy Program (SNAP), Responsible
Appliance Disposal Program (RAD), GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership, and Landfill Rule.
2. For this Plan, Sustainable Materials Management Programs include 10 percent National Recycling Tonnage and 100 percent
Electronics Challenge Participant, Federal Green Challenge Participant, and Food Recovery Challenge Participant results.
3. The Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance Executive Order was signed on October 5, 2009. The
Executive Order sets sustainability goals for federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy,
and economic performance.
4. EPA maintains strong partnerships with other federal agencies by working closely with them to develop decision-support tools for
climate adaptation. EPA often uses data, models, and tools from other agencies as it develops new decision-support tools focused
specifically on integrating adaptation planning into its programs and policies. For example, EPA's Water Erosion Prediction Project
Climate Assessment Tool (WEPPCAT) provides users with a capability to assess the potential impacts of climate change on
sediment loading to streams using the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Model. Similarly,
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5.
EPA shares decision tools :ha: i: develops, such as the Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (GREAT), with other
federal agencies. EPA actively pursues these collaborative efforts through the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Agency
Adaptation Working Group, through the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Adaptation Science Work Group, and through
project-based collaborations.
This measure reflects outcomes from the cumulative efforts across all of the Agency's media programs (air, water, waste, and toxics
and pesticides programs) and regional offices.
6. The 2018 target is an estimate based on the 2008 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) released in 2011.
7. The level of readiness measure is based on the Agency's Core NAR assessment process. Core NAR is an Agency-wide process that
provides a comprehensive numerical assessment of each aspect of the Agency's emergency response programs, including the
Radiological Emergency Response Team and supporting radiation emergency response program.
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Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters. Protect and
restore waters to ensure that drinking water is safe and
sustainably managed, and that aquatic ecosystems
sustain fish, plants, wildlife, and other biota, as well as
economic, recreational, and subsistence activities.
Objective 2.1: Protect Human Health. Achieve and maintain standards and
guidelines protective of human health in drinking water supplies, fish, shellfish, and
recreational waters, and protect and sustainably manage drinking water resources.
Strategic Measures
Water Safe to Drink
•f By 2018, 92 percent of community water sys-
tems will provide drinking water that meets all
applicable health-based drinking water standards
through approaches including effective treatment
and source water protection. (2005 baseline: 89
percent. FY 2013 universe: 51535 community
water systems. Status as of FY 2013: 91.4 percent.)
•f By 2018, 88 percent of the population in Indian
country served by community water systems will
receive drinking water that meets all applicable
health-based drinking water standards. (2005
baseline: 86 percent. FY 2013 universe: 1,013,222
people in Indian county served by community
water systems. Status as of FY 2013: 77 percent.)
•f By 2018 in coordination with other federal
agencies, provide access to safe drinking water
for 148,100 American Indian and Alaska Native
homes. (Status as of FY 2013:108,881 homes.
Universe: 360,000 homes.)
Fish and Shellfish Safe to Eat
•f By 2018, reduce the percentage of women
of childbearing age having mercury levels in
blood above the level of concern to 2.1 percent.
(2012 baseline (2009-2010 data): 2.3 percent of
women of childbearing age have mercury blood
levels above levels of concern identified by the
National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (N HAN ES).)
Water Safe for Swimming
•f By 2018, maintain the percentage of days of the
beach season that coastal and Great Lakes beach-
es monitored by state beach safety programs are
open and safe for swimming at 95 percent. (2012
baseline (2011 data): Beaches open 95 percent
of the 694,191 days of the beach season (beach
season days are equal to 3,650 monitored beaches
multiplied by variable number of days of beach
season at each beach). Status as of FY 2013:
96 percent.)
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Objective 2.2: Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems.
Protect, restore, and sustain the quality of rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands on a
watershed basis, and sustainably manage and protect coastal and ocean resources
and ecosystems.
Strategic Measures
Improve Water Quality on a Watershed Basis
•f By 2018, attain water quality standards for all
pollutants and impairments in more than 4,430
water bodies identified in 2002 as not attaining
standards (cumulative). (2002 universe: 39,798
water bodies identified by states and tribes as not
meeting water quality standards. Water bodies
where mercury is among multiple pollutants
causing impairment may be counted toward this
target when all pollutants but mercury attain
standards, but must be identified as still needing
restoration for mercury. 1,703 impaired water
bodies are impaired by multiple pollutants includ-
ing mercury, and 6,501 are impaired by mercury
alone. Status as of FY 2013: 3,679 water bodies
attained standards.)
•f By 2018, improve water quality conditions in
575 impaired watersheds nationwide using the
watershed approach (cumulative). (2002 baseline:
Zero watersheds improved of an estimated 4,800
impaired watersheds of focus having one or more
water bodies impaired. The watershed boundar-
ies for this measure are those established at the
"12-digit" scale by the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS). Watersheds at this scale average 22 square
miles in size. "Improved" means that one or more
of the impairment causes identified in 2002 are
removed for at least 40 percent of the impaired
water bodies or impaired miles/acres, or there
is significant watershed-wide improvement, as
demonstrated by valid scientific information, in
one or more water quality parameters associated
with the impairments. Status as of FY 2013: 376
improved watersheds.)
•f Through 2018, ensure that the condition of the
nation's rivers and streams, lakes, wetlands, and
coastal water does not degrade (i.e., there is no
statistically significant increase in the percent
rated "poor" and no statistically significant
decrease rated "good") (2006 baseline for streams:
28 percent in good condition; 25 percent in fair
condition; 42 percent in poor condition. 2010
baseline for lakes: 56 percent in good condition;
21 percent in fair condition; 22 percent in poor
condition. 2014 baseline for wetlands will be avail-
able December 2014. 2014 baseline for coastal will
be available December 2014.)
•f By 2018, improve water quality in Indian country
at 50 or more baseline monitoring stations in
tribal waters (cumulative) (i.e., show improve-
ment in one or more of seven key parameters:
dissolved oxygen, pH, water temperature, total
nitrogen, total phosphorus, pathogen indicators,
and turbidity) and identify monitoring stations
on tribal lands that are showing no degradation
in water quality (meaning the waters are meeting
uses). (2006 baseline: 185 monitoring stations on
tribal waters located where water quality has been
depressed and activities are underway or planned
to improve water quality, out of an estimated
2,037 stations operated by tribes.)
•f By 2018, in coordination with other federal
agencies, provide access to basic sanitation for
91,900 American Indian and Alaska Native homes.
(Status as of FY 2013 baseline: 69,783 homes.
Universe: 360,000 homes.)
Improve Coastal and Ocean Waters
•f By 2018, improve regional coastal aquatic ecosys-
tem health, as measured on the "good/fair/poor"
scale of the National Coastal Condition Report.
(FY2012 baseline: National rating of "fair" or 3.0
where the rating is based on a 4-point system
ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 in which 1 is "poor" and
5 is "good" using the National Coastal Condition
Report indicators for water and sediment, coastal
habitat, benthic index, and fish contamination.)
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•f By 2018, 95 percent of active dredged material
ocean dumping sites, as determined by 3-year
average, will have achieved environmentally
acceptable conditions (as reflected in each site's
management plan and measured through onsite
monitoring programs). (2013 baseline: 96 percent.
FY 2012 universe is 67.) (Due to variability in the
universe of sites, results vary from year to year
(e.g., between 85 percent and 99 percent). While
this much variability is not expected every year,
the results are expected to have some change
each year.)
•f By 2018, working with partners, protect or restore
an additional (i.e., measuring from 2012 forward)
600,000 acres of habitat within the study areas
for the 28 estuaries that are part of the National
Estuary Program. (2013 baseline: 1,295,327 acres
of habitat protected or restored, cumulative
from 2002-2013. In FY2013, 127,594 acres were
protected or restored.)
Increase Wetlands
•f By 2018, working with partners, achieve a net
increase of wetlands nationwide, with additional
focus on coastal wetlands, and biological and
functional measures and assessment of wetland
condition. (2012 baseline: 110.1 million acres of
wetlands in the conterminous United States, and
62,300 wetland acres were lost over 2004-2009.)
("No net loss" of wetlands is based on require-
ments for mitigation in CWA Section 404 permits
and not the actual mitigation attained.)
Great Lakes
•f By 2018, implement all management actions
necessary for later delisting at 12 Areas of Concern
in the Great Lakes (cumulative).
(2013 baseline: 3.)1
•f By 2018, implement and evaluate actions neces-
sary to protect, restore, or enhance 20 percent of
U.S. Great Lakes coastal wetlands greater than 10
acres. (2013 baseline: O.)2
Chesapeake Bay
+ By 2018, achieve 45 percent attainment of water
quality standards for dissolved oxygen, water
clarity/underwater grasses, and chlorophyll a
in Chesapeake Bay and tidal tributaries. (2011
Baseline: 40 percent.)3
Gulf of Mexico
•f By 2018, support best management practices and
projects to reduce releases of nutrients through-
out the Mississippi River Basin to aid in the
reduction of the size of the hypoxic zone in the
Gulf of Mexico to less than 5,000 km2, as mea-
sured by the 5-year running average of the size of
the zone. (Baseline: 2005-2009 running average
size is 15,670 km2.)4
Long Island Sound
+ By 2018, reduce the maximum area of hypoxia in
Long Island Sound by 15 percent from the pre-
TMDL average of 208 square miles as measured
by the 5-year running average size of the zone.
(Baseline: Pre-total maximum daily load (TMDL)
average conditions based on 1987-1999 data
is 208 square miles. Post-TMDL includes years
2000-2017. Universe: The total surface area of
Long Island Sound is approximately 1,268 square
miles; the potential for the maximum area of
hypoxia would be 1,268 square miles.)
Puget Sound Basin
•f By 2018, improve water quality and enable the
lifting of harvest restrictions in 6,000 acres of
shellfish bed growing areas impacted by degraded
or declining water quality in the Puget Sound.
(2013 baseline: 3,203 acres of shellfish beds with
harvest restrictions in 2006 had their restrictions
lifted. Universe: 30,000 acres of commercial shell-
fish beds with harvest restrictions in 2006.)
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U.S.-Mexico Border Environmental Health lacked drinking water and 690,723 homes lacked
adequate wastewater sanitation based on a 2003
+ By 2018, provide access to safe drinking water and assessment of homes in the U.S.-Mexico Border
adequate wastewater sanitation to 75 percent and ^ 201g target. 73;gg6 homes provjded wjth
90 percent, respectively, of the homes in the U.S.- access to safe dnnkjng water and 6n651 homes
Mexico Border area that lacked access to either wjth adequate wastewater sanitation.)
service in 2003. (2003 Universe: 98,515 homes
End Notes
1. "Great Lakes management actions necessary for later delisting" are the identified local, state, and federal actions that are believed
to be necessary to remove the beneficial use impairments of the Area of Concern. Once taken, these actions are expected to
allow environmental conditions to improve over time which will lead to eventual delisting of the Area of Concern.
2. Only about 600 coastal wetlands greater than 10 acres in size remain on the roughly 5,500 miles of Great Lakes shoreline in the
U.S. Coastal wetlands are immensely important ecologically and economically. The proposed actions will demonstrate quantita-
tive and qualitative results from strategic efforts to protect, restore, and enhance the coastal wetlands assessed under the Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative.
3. Achievement of the 2018 target will be evaluated using monitoring data from 2015, 2016, and 2017 to assess attainment of appli-
cable water quality standards in each of the Bay's 291 designated-use segments. The 2011 baseline reflects monitoring data from
2008, 2009, and 2010.
4. The size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico is influenced by multiple factors, including releases of nutrients. The reduction
of nutrient releases from the Mississippi River Basin is influenced by actions, practices, and resources from the collaboration of
federal, state, tribal, and local stakeholders.
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rXT:FV J^ Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing
Sustainable Development. Clean up communities,
advance sustainable development, and protect
disproportionately impacted low-income and minority
communities. Prevent releases of harmful substances
and clean up and restore contaminated areas.
Objective 3.1: Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities. Support
sustainable, resilient, and livable communities by working with local, state, tribal, and
federal partners to promote smart growth, emergency preparedness and recovery
planning, redevelopment and reuse of contaminated and formerly contaminated sites,
and the equitable distribution of environmental benefits.
Strategic Measures
Promote Sustainable Communities
•f By 2018, reduce the air, water, land and human
health impacts of new growth and development
through the use of smart growth and sustainable
development strategies in 600 (cumulative) com-
munities, which includes tribal governments, local
municipalities, regional entities, and state govern-
ments, through activities resulting from EPA and
federal partner actions. (Baseline: In FY 2013, an
estimated 102 communities were assisted.)1
Assess and Clean Up Brownfields
•f By 2018, conduct environmental assessments
at 26,350 (cumulative) brownfield properties.
(Baseline: As of the end of FY 2012, EPA assessed
19,154 properties.)
-f By 2018, make an additional 16,800 acres of
brownfield properties ready for reuse from the
2012 baseline. (Baseline: As of the end of FY 2012,
EPA made 25,408 acres ready for reuse.)
Reduce Chemical Risks at Facilities and
in Communities
•f By 2018, conduct 2,300 inspections at risk man-
agement plan (RMP) facilities. (Baseline: between
FY 2000 and FY 2012, more than 7,400 RMP
inspections were completed.)2
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Objective 3.2: Preserve Land. Conserve resources and prevent land contamination
by reducing waste generation and toxicity, promoting proper management of waste
and petroleum products, and increasing sustainable materials management.
Strategic Measures
Waste Generation and Recycling
+ By 2018, increase by 500,000 tons the amount
of virgin materials that were offset by the reuse
or recycling of waste products through the use
of sustainable materials management. (Baseline:
In FY 2013, an estimated 8,500,000 tons of waste
products will be reused or recycled through
sustainable materials management practices.)3
•f By 2018, increase by 50 the number of tribes
covered by an integrated waste management
plan compared to FY 2013. (Baseline: As of
March 2013,160 of 574 federally recognized
tribes were covered by an integrated waste
management plan.)4
Minimize Releases of Hazardous Waste and
Petroleum Products
•f By 2018, prevent releases at 500 additional hazard-
ous waste management facilities by issuing initial
approved controls or updated controls resulting in
the protection of an estimated 20 million people
living within a mile of all facilities with controls.5
(Baseline: At the end of FY 2013, 1,220 facilities
require these controls out of the universe of 6,600
facilities, with over 20,000 process units.)
•f By 2018, prevent exposures at polychlorinated
biphenyl (PCB) sites by issuing 750 approvals for
PCB cleanup, storage, and disposal activities.
•f Each year through 2018, increase the percentage
of underground storage tank (UST) facilities that
are in significant operational compliance (SOC)
with both release detection and release pre-
vention requirements by 0.5 percent over the
previous year's target. (Baseline: This means an
increase of facilities in SOC from an estimated 70
percent in 2014 to 72 percent in 2018.)
•f Each year through 2018, reduce the number of
confirmed releases at UST facilities to 5 percent
fewer than the prior year's target. (Baseline:
Between FY 2008 and FY 2012, confirmed UST
releases averaged 6,500.)
Objective 3.3: Restore Land. Prepare for and respond to accidental or intentional
releases of contaminants and clean up and restore polluted sites for reuse.
Strategic Measures
Emergency Preparedness and Response
•f By 2018, achieve and maintain at least 85 percent
of the maximum score on the Core National
Approach to Response (NAR) evaluation criteria.
(Baseline: In FY 2012, the average Core NAR Score
was 76 percent for EPA headquarters, regions,
and special teams prepared for responding
to emergencies.)6
•f By 2018, complete an additional 1,395 Superfund
removals. (Baseline: In FY 2013, there were 295
Superfund removal actions completed.)
•f By 2018, bring into compliance 60 percent of facil-
ity response plan (FRP) inspected facilities found
to be non-compliant. (Baseline: In FY 2010, 268
FRP facilities were inspected and 121 were found
to be non-compliant, an initial compliance rate of
55 percent.)
•f By 2018, bring into compliance 60 percent of spill
prevention, control, and countermeasure (SPCC)
inspected facilities found to be non-compliant.
(Baseline: In FY 2010, 781 SPCC facilities were
inspected and 456 were found to be non-compli-
ant, an initial compliance rate of 42 percent.)
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Clean Up Contaminated Land
•f By 2018, complete 95,500 assessments at poten-
tial hazardous waste sites to determine if they
warrant Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
remedial response or other cleanup activities.
(Baseline: As of 2012, the cumulative total number
of assessments completed was 91,300.)
•f By 2018, increase to 92 percent the number of
Superfund sites and Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities where human
exposures to toxins from contaminated sites are
under control. (Baseline: As of October 2013,
an estimated 83 percent of Superfund sites and
85 percent of RCRA facilities had human expo-
sures under control out of a combined universe
of5,451.)7
•f By 2018, increase to 86 percent the number of
RCRA facilities with migration of contaminated
groundwater under control. (Baseline: At the
end of FY 2013, the migration of contaminated
groundwater was controlled at 76 percent of all
3,779 facilities needing corrective action.)
•f By 2018, increase to 73 percent the number of
RCRA facilities with final remedies constructed.
(Baseline: At the end of FY 2013, all cleanup rem-
edies were constructed at an estimated 51 percent
of all 3,779 facilities needing corrective action.)
By 2018, increase to 25 percent the number of
RCRA facilities with corrective action performance
standards attained. (Baseline: At the end of FY
2013, performance standards were attained at an
estimated 20 percent of all 3,779 RCRA facilities
requiring corrective action.)8
Each year through 2018, reduce the backlog of
LUST cleanups (confirmed releases that have yet
to be cleaned up) that do not meet risk-based
standards for human exposure and groundwater
migration by 1 percent. This means a decrease
from 16 percent in 2012 to 10 percent in 2018. (At
the end of FY 2012, there were 82,903 releases not
yet cleaned up.)
Each year through 2018, reduce the backlog of
LUST cleanups (confirmed releases that have
yet to be cleaned up) in Indian country that do
not meet applicable risk-based standards for
human exposure and groundwater migration by 1
percent. This means a decrease from 23 percent in
2012 to 17 percent in 2018.
By 2018, ensure that 946 Superfund sites are
"sitewide ready for anticipated use." (Baseline:
As of October 2012, 606 Superfund sites had
achieved "sitewide ready for anticipated use" out
of a universe of 1,742 sites.)9
Objective 3.4: Strengthen Human Health and Environmental Protection
in Indian Country. Directly implement federal environmental programs in Indian
country and support federal program delegation to tribes. Provide tribes with
technical assistance and support capacity development for the establishment and
implementation of sustainable environmental programs in Indian country.
Strategic Measures
Improve Human Health and the Environment in Indian Country
By 2015, increase the percent of tribes implement-
ing federal regulatory environmental programs in
Indian country to 25 percent. (FY 2009 baseline:
22 percent of 572 tribes.)
By 2015, increase the percent of tribes conducting
EPA-approved environmental monitoring and
assessment activities in Indian country to 58 per-
cent. (FY 2012 baseline: 54 percent of 572 tribes.)
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End Notes
1. Included in the cumulative number are communities receiving assistance from: (1) direct EPA technical assistance programs; (2)
EPA-funded grants and cooperative agreements to non-governmental organizations; and (3) in a limited number of communities
(i.e., 6 of the total 34 communities in the FY 2010 baseline), technical assistance done in collaboration with other EPA programs
(such as EPA's brownfields program) and other federal agencies (such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S.
Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development).
2. The number of inspections may change based on higher priorities coming from the Executive Order on Chemical Plant Safety
and Security.
3. EPA's description of activities supporting our virgin materials offset measure can be found in the Goal 3 narrative.
4. EPA is discontinuing the tribal open dump closure and clean up measure in this Strategic Plan to focus on EPA's main tribal solid
waste priority, which is the promotion of sustainable tribal waste management programs through the development and imple-
mentation of Integrated Waste Management Plans (IWMPs).
5. Estimate drawn from OSWER Near Site Population Database, an internal EPA database that merges facility size and location
information from RCRAInfo with population data, at the block and block group levels, from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 Census.
The demographics were captured around the total number of facilities that have approved controls in place that result in the
protection of this population (20 million people).
6. Consistent with the government-wide National Response Framework (NRF), EPA will work to fully implement the priorities under
its internal NAR so that the Agency is prepared to respond to multiple nationally significant incidents. Core NAR builds upon
the core emergency response concept while integrating the priority elements of EPA's NAR Preparedness Plan, and the Homeland
Security Priority Workplan, to reflect an Agency-wide assessment of progress.
7. Superfund sites include sites placed on or deleted from the Final National Priorities List (NPL) and sites addressed under the
Superfund Alternative Approach process. EPA is currently revising its dioxin risk assessment which may affect the targets and
baselines for the human exposures under control and "sitewide ready for anticipated use" measures.
8. Attaining performance standards is the final cleanup step for a corrective action facility (e.g., soil cleanup standards met, ground-
water cleanup levels achieved). Other measures for controlling human exposures and groundwater migration and for completing
remedy construction identify critical interim steps in the cleanup process.
9. Superfund sites include sites placed on or deleted from the Final National Priorities List (NPL) and sites addressed under the
Superfund Alternative Approach process.
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Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and
Preventing Pollution. Reduce the risk and increase the
safety of chemicals and prevent pollution at the source.
Objective 4.1: Ensure Chemical Safety. Reduce the risk and increase the safety of
chemicals that enter our products, our environment, and our bodies.
Strategic Measures
Protect Human Health from Chemical Risks
•f By 2018, reduce by 30 percent the number of
moderate to severe exposure incidents associated
with organophosphates and carbamate insec-
ticides in the general population. (Baseline for
moderate to severe exposure incidents reported
during 2011 is 274, as reported in the American
Association of Poison Control Centers' National
Poisoning Data System (NPDS) for organophos-
phates and carbamate pesticides.)
•f Through 2018, work to ensure that the percent-
age of children with blood lead levels above 5 ug/
dl does not rise above the 1.0 percent target for
FY 2014 and work to make further reductions
in blood lead levels. (Baseline is 2.6 percent of
children ages 1-5 had elevated blood lead levels
(5 ug/dl or greater) in the 2007-2010 sampling
period according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Health
and Nutritional Evaluation Survey (NHANES).)
•f By 2018, reduce the percent difference in the
geometric mean blood lead level in low-income
children 1-5 years old as compared to the
geometric mean for non-low income children 1-5
years old to 10.0 percent. (Baseline is 28.4 percent
difference in the geometric mean blood lead level
in low-income children ages 1-5 years old as com-
pared to the geometric mean for non-low income
children 1-5 years old in 2007-2010 sampling
period according to CDC's NHANES.)
•f By 2018, reduce the concentration of perfluoro-
octanoic acid (PFOA) in blood serum in the
general population by 20 percent. (PFOA baseline
is based on 2009-2010 geometric mean data in
serum (3.07 ug/L) from the CDC's NHANES.)
•f By 2018, complete endocrine disrupter screen-
ing program (EDSP) decisions for 100 percent
of chemicals for which complete EDSP data are
expected to be available by the end of 2017.
(Baseline is 15 decisions have been completed
through 2012 for any of the chemicals for which
complete EDSP information is anticipated to be
available by the end of 2017. EDSP decisions for
a chemical can range from determining poten-
tial to interact with the estrogen, androgen, or
thyroid hormone systems to otherwise determin-
ing whether further endocrine related-testing
is necessary.)
•f By 2018, reduce rodenticide exposure incidents
by 75 percent in children ages 1-6. (The baseline
total number of confirmed and likely rodenticide
exposures to children ages 1-6 in 2011 is 10,259
according to data by the Poison Control Centers'
National Poison Data System.)
•f By 2018, EPA will have assessed all currently identi-
fied TSCA work plan chemicals. (Baseline is zero
assessments finalized for the 83 initially identified
TSCA work plan chemicals through 2012.)
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Protect Ecosystems from Chemical Risks
By 2018, no watersheds will exceed aquatic life
benchmarks for targeted pesticides. (Data for 2012
provides the most recent percent of agricultural
watersheds sampled by the USGS National Water
Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program that
exceeds the national pesticide program aquatic
life benchmarks for azinphos-methyl (7 percent)
and chlorpyrifos (7 percent). Urban watersheds
sampled by the NAWQA program that exceeds
the national pesticide program aquatic life
benchmarks for diazinon (0 percent), chlorpyrifos
(0 percent), and carbaryl (9 percent).)
Objective 4.2: Promote Pollution Prevention. Conserve and protect natural
resources by promoting pollution prevention and the adoption of other sustainability
practices by companies, communities, governmental organizations, and individuals.
Strategic Measures
Prevent Pollution and
Promote Environmental Stewardship
•f By 2018, reduce 600 million pounds of hazardous
materials cumulatively through pollution preven-
tion. (Baseline is 578 million pounds reduced from
FY 2008 through FY 2012, after removing 626
million pounds in reported results that should
not be expected to continue in future years due
to atypical results, and increased quality assurance
standards for the results that come from states
and other grant recipients.)
•f By 2018, reduce 7 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2Eq.) cumula-
tively through pollution prevention. (Baseline is
7 MMTCO2Eq. reduced from FY 2008 through FY
2012, after removing 3.5 MMTCO Eq in reported
results that should not be expected to continue in
future years due to atypical results, and increased
quality assurance standards for the results that
come from states and other grant recipients. The
data from this measure are also calculated into the
Agency's overall greenhouse gas measure under
GoaM.)
•f By 2018, reduce 6.9 billion gallons of water use
cumulatively through pollution prevention.
(Baseline is 6.9 billion gallons reduced from FY
2008 through FY 2012, after removing 24 bil-
lion gallons in reported results that should not
be expected to continue in future years due to
atypical results, and increased quality assurance
standards for the results that come from states
and other grant recipients.)
•f By 2018, save $13 billion in business, institutional,
and government costs cumulatively through
pollution prevention improvements. (Baseline is
$133 billion saved from FY 2008 through FY 2012,
after removing $231 million in reported results
that should not be expected to continue in future
years due to atypical results, and increased quality
assurance standards for the results that come
from states and other grant recipients.)
•f By 2018, increase the number of safer chemicals
and safer chemical products cumulatively by
1,900. (Baseline is 600 safer chemicals and 2,500
safer chemical products recognized in 2013 by the
Design for the Environment program.)
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Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the
Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring
Compliance. Protect human health and the environment
through vigorous and targeted civil and criminal
enforcement. Use Next Generation Compliance strategies
and tools to improve compliance with environmental laws.
Objective 5.1: Enforce Environmental Laws to Achieve Compliance. Pursue
vigorous civil and criminal enforcement that targets the most serious water, air, and
chemical hazards in communities to achieve compliance. Assure strong, consistent, and
effective enforcement of federal environmental laws nationwide. Use Next Generation
Compliance strategies and tools to improve compliance and reduce pollution.
Strategic Measures
Note: The enforcement measures in this Plan reflect
level-of-effort measures that focus on large, complex
cases that require a strong investment in enforcement
work but yield significant health and environmental
improvements.
Targets for most of the enforcement measures will
remain steady over the life of this Strategic Plan. We
intend to retain the targets, for example, of the percent-
age of criminal cases where individuals are charged
and our continued monitoring of compliance with
existing consent decrees. For some other measures, the
strategic direction outlined in this Plan will affect the
targets, as briefly described here.
Our commitment to the largest, most complex cases
that have the biggest impact necessarily means that
we will be doingfewer cases overall. When budgets
have declined, this effect has become more apparent.
This strategy will also help maintain the enforcement
program's effectiveness. The 5-year targets for the
enforcement program's strategic measures reflect the
anticipated effects of this approach, for the sectors
with the largest cases, we tackle the biggest sources
first. In the sectors with large amounts of pollution
that affects health, such as coal-fired power plants
and the largest dischargers of raw sewage, the total
pounds of pollution reduced as a result of enforcement
cases will decline over time as we work our way down
the list. In addition, as we are increasingly targeting
large sources of toxic pollution, we expect that the
total pounds reduced will be less overall than enforce-
ment cases that reduce larger volume, but less toxic,
conventional pollutants.
EPA will also focus its inspection efforts on the largest
facilities and violations in order to maintain our com-
mitment to ensuring compliance at the largest facilities,
and the air, water, and waste problems that make
the most difference. Our improved ability to target
inspections as a result of Next Generation Compliance
should allow us to be more effective with our inspec-
tion resources, and to monitor facilities via advanced
monitoring, so we can continue to protect the public
and maintain a level play ing field for business.
Maintain Enforcement Presence1'2
+ By 2018, conduct 79,000 federal inspec-
tions and evaluations (5-year cumulative).
(FY 2005-2009 baseline: 21,000 annually. Status for
FY 2013:18,000.)
•f By 2018, initiate 14,000 civil judicial and admin-
istrative enforcement cases (5-year cumulative).
(FY 2005-2009 baseline: 3,900 annually. Status for
FY 2013: 2,400.)
•f By 2018, conclude 13,600 civil judicial and admin-
istrative enforcement cases (5-year cumulative).
(FY 2005-2009 baseline: 3,800 annually. Status for
FY 2013: 2,500.)
•f By 2018, maintain review of the overall compli-
ance status of 100 percent of the open consent
decrees. (Baseline 2009:100 percent. Status for
FY 2013: 91 percent.)
•f Each year through 2018, support cleanups and
save federal dollars for sites where there are no
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alternatives by: (1) reaching a settlement or
taking an enforcement action before the start of
a remedial action at 99 percent of Superfund sites
having viable responsible parties other than the
federal government; and (2) addressing all cost
recovery statute of limitation cases with total past
costs greater than or equal to $500,000. ((1) FY
2007-2009 annual average baseline: 99 percent
of sites reaching a settlement or EPA taking an
enforcement action. (Status for FY 2013: 100
percent.); (2) FY 2009 baseline: 100 percent cost
recovery statute of limitation cases addressed.
(Status for FY 2013: 100 percent.))
Support Addressing Climate Change and
Improving Air Quality
•f By 2018, reduce, treat, or eliminate 1,590 million
estimated pounds of air pollutants as a result of
concluded enforcement actions (5-year cumula-
tive). (FY 2005-2008 baseline: 480 million pounds,
annual average over the period. Status for FY 2013:
610 million pounds.)
Support Protecting America's Waters
•f By 2018, reduce, treat, or eliminate 1,280 mil-
lion estimated pounds of water pollutants as a
result of concluded enforcement actions (5-year
cumulative). (FY 2005-2008 baseline: 320 million
pounds, annual average over the period. Status for
FY 2013: 660 million pounds.)
Support Cleaning Up Communities and
Advancing Sustainable Development
•f By 2018, treat, minimize, or properly dispose of
14,600 million estimated pounds of hazardous
waste as a result of concluded enforcement
actions (5-year cumulative). (FY 2008 base-
line: 6,500 million pounds. Status for FY 2013:
150 million pounds.)3
•f By 2018, obtain commitments to clean up 1,025
million cubic yards of contaminated soil and
groundwater media4 as a result of concluded
CERCLA and RCRA corrective action enforce-
ment actions (5-year cumulative). (FY 2007-2009
baseline: 300 million cubic yards of contaminated
soil and groundwater media, annual average
over the period. Status for FY 2013: 750 million
cubic yards.)
Support Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and
Preventing Pollution
•f By 2018, reduce, treat, or eliminate 14 million esti-
mated pounds of toxic and pesticide pollutants as
a result of concluded enforcement actions (5-year
cumulative). (FY 2005-2008 baseline: 3.8 million
pounds, annual average over the period. Status for
FY 2013: 4.6 million pounds.)
Enhance Strategic Deterrence through
Criminal Enforcement
•f By 2018, increase the percentage of criminal cases
having the most significant health, environmen-
tal, and deterrence impacts to 45 percent. (FY
2010 baseline: 36 percent. Status for FY 2013:
44 percent.)5
•f By 2018, maintain 75 percent of criminal cases
with an individual defendant. (FY 2006-2008
baseline: 75 percent. Status for FY 2013:
80 percent.)
•f By 2018, increase the percentage of criminal cases
with charges filed to 45 percent. (FY 2006-2010
baseline: 36 percent. Status for FY 2013:
38 percent.)
•f By 2018, maintain an 85 percent conviction rate
for criminal defendants. (FY 2006-2010 baseline:
85 percent. Status for FY 2013: 94 percent.)
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End Notes
1. The 5-year targets presented in this final document have been updated from what was presented in the draft Strategic Plan, which
was based on conservative budget estimates; the revised projections incorporate updated budget information. More recent data
on results for the enforcement program also helped inform our projections.
2. All numbers used throughout the measures section are rounded.
3. Some years have higher goals based on the anticipated conclusion of cases under EPA's Mineral Processing National Enforcement
Initiative. Cases outside this initiative addressing other industry sectors will still yield significant results, but the volumes of hazard-
ous waste in those cases will typically be smaller.
4. Contaminated groundwater media, as defined for the Superfund and RCRA corrective action programs, is the volume of physical
aquifer (both soil and water) that will be addressed by the response action.
5. EPA collects data on a variety of case attributes to describe the range, complexity, and quality of our criminal enforce-
ment national docket. This measure reflects the percentage of cases having the most significant health, environmental, and
deterrence impacts.
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Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability (2721 A)
United States Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan
EPA-190-R-14-006
April 2014
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