Agencies use the goals in agency strategic plans and annual performance plans to inform annual budget decisions, longer-term investment planning, and human resource planning. The agency’s strategic goals and objectives are listed below.
Strategic Goal: Taking Action on Climate Change and Improving Air Quality
Objective: Address Climate Change
Description:
Reduce the threats posed by climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking actions that help communities and ecosystems become more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Priority Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Goal Statement: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Through September 30, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency in coordination with the Department of Transportation’s fuel economy standards program will be implementing vehicle and truck greenhouse gas standards that are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 billion metric tons and reduce oil consumption by about 98 billion gallons over the lifetime of the affected vehicles and trucks.
Description:
This Priority Goal advances the Strategic Plan objective to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the strategic measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from light duty vehicles. Additionally, the Priority Goal provides co-benefits by helping the Environmental Protection Agency attain strategic measures related to criteria pollutants. Implementation of the Priority Goal will reduce greenhouse gas emissions through better fuel economy and increased fuel savings. Greenhouse gases are known to trap some of the earth’s heat that would otherwise escape into space and are the primary cause of climate change which can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that impact the environment and public health and increase ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses, among other health-related threats. The strategy for accomplishing this Priority Goal focuses on implementing the light-duty vehicle standards for model years 2012-2016 that were adopted in April 2010, and the heavy-duty vehicle standards for model years 2014-2018 that were adopted in August 2011. Not included in this priority goal are the light-duty standards for model years 2017-2025 that were adopted in August 2012. When combined, these 3 standards are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 billion metric tons and reduce oil consumption by 12 billion barrels over the lifetime of the affected vehicles and trucks. Generally speaking, “light-duty” refers to passenger cars, pick-up trucks, sport-utility vehicles, and minivans, and “heavy-duty” refers to 18-wheel tractor-trailers, school and transit buses, vocational vehicles such as concrete delivery, refuse collection, and utility service trucks, and the largest pickup trucks and vans.
Objective: Improve Air Quality
Description:
Achieve and maintain health-based air pollution standards and reduce risk from toxic air pollutants and indoor air contaminants.
Objective: Restore the Ozone Layer
Description:
Restore the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer and protect the public from the harmful effects of UV radiation.
Objective: Reduce Unnecessary Exposure to Radiation
Description:
Minimize unnecessary releases of radiation and be prepared to minimize impacts should unwanted releases occur.
Priority Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Goal Statement: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Through September 30, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency in coordination with the Department of Transportation’s fuel economy standards program will be implementing vehicle and truck greenhouse gas standards that are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 billion metric tons and reduce oil consumption by about 98 billion gallons over the lifetime of the affected vehicles and trucks.
Description:
This Priority Goal advances the Strategic Plan objective to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the strategic measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from light duty vehicles. Additionally, the Priority Goal provides co-benefits by helping the Environmental Protection Agency attain strategic measures related to criteria pollutants. Implementation of the Priority Goal will reduce greenhouse gas emissions through better fuel economy and increased fuel savings. Greenhouse gases are known to trap some of the earth’s heat that would otherwise escape into space and are the primary cause of climate change which can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that impact the environment and public health and increase ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses, among other health-related threats. The strategy for accomplishing this Priority Goal focuses on implementing the light-duty vehicle standards for model years 2012-2016 that were adopted in April 2010, and the heavy-duty vehicle standards for model years 2014-2018 that were adopted in August 2011. Not included in this priority goal are the light-duty standards for model years 2017-2025 that were adopted in August 2012. When combined, these 3 standards are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 billion metric tons and reduce oil consumption by 12 billion barrels over the lifetime of the affected vehicles and trucks. Generally speaking, “light-duty” refers to passenger cars, pick-up trucks, sport-utility vehicles, and minivans, and “heavy-duty” refers to 18-wheel tractor-trailers, school and transit buses, vocational vehicles such as concrete delivery, refuse collection, and utility service trucks, and the largest pickup trucks and vans.
Priority Goal: Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
Goal Statement: Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting. By the end of 2013, develop a plan to convert existing paper reports into electronic reporting, establish electronic reporting in at least four key programs, and adopt a policy for including electronic reporting in new rules.
Description:
This Priority Goal advances the Agency’s efforts to more efficiently protect the nation’s air, water, and land under several goals in the FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan by replacing ineffective and inefficient paper-based reporting with e-Reporting. Currently over 1000 reports are submitted to EPA or delegated state agencies including: emissions and discharge data, toxic substance production and composition; chemical incidents, exposure, and health effect data; and hazardous waste production, storage, and transfer data. Given the opportunities for e-Reporting in several environmental media (e.g., air, water, land), this effort could significantly improve compliance, enforcement, and monitoring at the Agency. Electronic reporting provides higher quality data in a more timely manner, enabling EPA and the states to better prioritize permitting, monitoring, and enforcement actions. It will also advance transparency, allowing the public, non-governmental organizations, community groups, rate payers, and others better access to data. With facility data more readily available to government and the public, an additional incentive is created for facilities to comply with environmental requirements. To reduce both reporting burden and pollution over the long-term, and to improve both compliance and the information available to the public about pollution that affects them, the Agency needs a comprehensive initiative to convert to 21st-century electronic reporting technology.
Strategic Goal: Protecting America’s Waters.
Objective: Protect Human Health.
Description:
Reduce human exposure to contaminants in drinking water, fish and shellfish, and recreational waters, including protecting source waters.
Priority Goal:Improve public health protection for persons served by small drinking water systems by strengthening the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of those systems.
Goal Statement: Improve public health protection for persons served by small drinking water systems by strengthening the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of those systems.
By September 30, 2013, EPA will engage with twenty states to improve small drinking water system capability through two EPA programs, the Optimization Program and/or the Capacity Development Program.
Description:
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. Several decades ago, however, many of our drinking water systems provided water to the tap with very limited treatment, and which was often the cause of illnesses linked to microbiological and other contaminants. We have made significant progress since enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act almost 40 years ago and today, the greater safety of our drinking water is a testament to decades of public health protection and investment, though challenges remain.
More than 97% of the nation’s 160,000 public water systems serve fewer than 10,000 persons. While most small systems consistently provide safe, reliable drinking water to their customers, many small systems face a number of challenges in their ability to achieve and maintain system sustainability. These challenges include aging infrastructure, increased regulatory requirements, workforce shortages/high-turnover, increasing costs and declining rate bases. EPA launched its approach to assisting small systems as a multi-year initiative to improve the protection of human health and make America’s small water systems sustainable through financing public water system infrastructure; strengthening compliance with drinking water standards; and supporting states, tribes, territories and local water systems in implementing these standards.
Over 140 million people receive their water from just 422 large utilities; approximately 14 million people receive their water from 128,000 very small systems – these systems range from small subdivisions to campgrounds, schools and churches with their own sources of water. It is this group of small systems where EPA finds the greatest number of violations of health-based standards as well as monitoring and reporting violations. These systems often lack the resources or technical know-how to reliably provide safe water, and they need assistance from federal, state and local government agencies to ensure public health protection.
Objective: Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems
Description:
Protect the quality of rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands on a watershed basis, and protect urban, coastal, and ocean waters.
Priority Goal: Improve, restore, or maintain water quality by enhancing nonpoint source program accountability, incentives, and effectiveness.
Goal Statement: Improve, restore, or maintain water quality by enhancing nonpoint source program accountability, incentives, and effectiveness.
By September 30, 2013, 50% of the states will revise their nonpoint source program according to new Section 319 grant guidelines that EPA will release in November 2012.
Description:
Nonpoint source pollution-principally nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments-has been recognized as one of the largest remaining impediment to improving water quality. Recent national surveys have found that the Nation’s waters are stressed by nutrient pollution, excess sedimentation, and degradation of shoreline vegetation, which affect upwards of 50% of our lakes and streams. Section 319 of the Clean Water Act is one of EPA’s core water programs to help protect, restore, and improve water quality by providing grants to prevent or reduce nonpoint source pollution. 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 estuarine, coastal, and ocean waters. EPA’s implementation strategy for accomplishing this Priority Goal will focus primarily on developing new Section 319 grant guidelines by November 2012. By the end of 2013, EPA will provide assistance to states to revise their nonpoint source programs in order to accelerate water quality improvements and restoration with a focus on increased accountability and enhanced targeting of the funds, to ensure timely implementation of nonpoint source controls. Furthermore, EPA will collaborate with U.S. Department of Agricultural Natural Resources Conservation Service in at least 150 critical watersheds for coordination of conservation and monitoring investments.
Priority Goal: Improve public health protection for persons served by small drinking water systems by strengthening the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of those systems.
Goal Statement: Improve public health protection for persons served by small drinking water systems by strengthening the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of those systems.
By September 30, 2013, EPA will engage with twenty states to improve small drinking water system capability through two EPA programs, the Optimization Program and/or the Capacity Development Program.
Description:
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. Several decades ago, however, many of our drinking water systems provided water to the tap with very limited treatment, and which was often the cause of illnesses linked to microbiological and other contaminants. We have made significant progress since enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act almost 40 years ago and today, the greater safety of our drinking water is a testament to decades of public health protection and investment, though challenges remain.
More than 97% of the nation’s 160,000 public water systems serve fewer than 10,000 persons. While most small systems consistently provide safe, reliable drinking water to their customers, many small systems face a number of challenges in their ability to achieve and maintain system sustainability. These challenges include aging infrastructure, increased regulatory requirements, workforce shortages/high-turnover, increasing costs and declining rate bases. EPA launched its approach to assisting small systems as a multi-year initiative to improve the protection of human health and make America’s small water systems sustainable through financing public water system infrastructure; strengthening compliance with drinking water standards; and supporting states, tribes, territories and local water systems in implementing these standards.
Over 140 million people receive their water from just 422 large utilities; approximately 14 million people receive their water from 128,000 very small systems – these systems range from small subdivisions to campgrounds, schools and churches with their own sources of water. It is this group of small systems where EPA finds the greatest number of violations of health-based standards as well as monitoring and reporting violations. These systems often lack the resources or technical know-how to reliably provide safe water, and they need assistance from federal, state and local government agencies to ensure public health protection.
Priority Goal: Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
Goal Statement:Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting. By the end of 2013, develop a plan to convert existing paper reports into electronic reporting, establish electronic reporting in at least four key programs, and adopt a policy for including electronic reporting in new rules.
Description:
This Priority Goal advances the Agency’s efforts to more efficiently protect the nation’s air, water, and land under several goals in the FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan by replacing ineffective and inefficient paper-based reporting with e-Reporting. Currently over 1000 reports are submitted to EPA or delegated state agencies including: emissions and discharge data, toxic substance production and composition; chemical incidents, exposure, and health effect data; and hazardous waste production, storage, and transfer data. Given the opportunities for e-Reporting in several environmental media (e.g., air, water, land), this effort could significantly improve compliance, enforcement, and monitoring at the Agency. Electronic reporting provides higher quality data in a more timely manner, enabling EPA and the states to better prioritize permitting, monitoring, and enforcement actions. It will also advance transparency, allowing the public, non-governmental organizations, community groups, rate payers, and others better access to data. With facility data more readily available to government and the public, an additional incentive is created for facilities to comply with environmental requirements. To reduce both reporting burden and pollution over the long-term, and to improve both compliance and the information available to the public about pollution that affects them, the Agency needs a comprehensive initiative to convert to 21st-century electronic reporting technology.
Priority Goal: Improve, restore, or maintain water quality by enhancing nonpoint source program accountability, incentives, and effectiveness.
Goal Statement:Improve, restore, or maintain water quality by enhancing nonpoint source program accountability, incentives, and effectiveness.
By September 30, 2013, 50% of the states will revise their nonpoint source program according to new Section 319 grant guidelines that EPA will release in November 2012.
Description:
Nonpoint source pollution-principally nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments-has been recognized as one of the largest remaining impediment to improving water quality. Recent national surveys have found that the Nation’s waters are stressed by nutrient pollution, excess sedimentation, and degradation of shoreline vegetation, which affect upwards of 50% of our lakes and streams. Section 319 of the Clean Water Act is one of EPA’s core water programs to help protect, restore, and improve water quality by providing grants to prevent or reduce nonpoint source pollution. 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 estuarine, coastal, and ocean waters. EPA’s implementation strategy for accomplishing this Priority Goal will focus primarily on developing new Section 319 grant guidelines by November 2012. By the end of 2013, EPA will provide assistance to states to revise their nonpoint source programs in order to accelerate water quality improvements and restoration with a focus on increased accountability and enhanced targeting of the funds, to ensure timely implementation of nonpoint source controls. Furthermore, EPA will collaborate with U.S. Department of Agricultural Natural Resources Conservation Service in at least 150 critical watersheds for coordination of conservation and monitoring investments.
Strategic Goal: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development.
Objective:Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities.
Description:
Support sustainable, resilient, and livable communities by working with local, state, tribal, and federal partners to promote smart growth, emergency preparedness and recovery planning, brownfield redevelopment, and the equitable distribution of environmental benefits.
Objective:Preserve Land
Description:
Conserve resources and prevent land contamination by reducing waste generation, increasing recycling, and ensuring proper management of waste and petroleum products.
Objective:Restore Land
Description:
Prepare for and respond to accidental or intentional releases of contaminants and clean up and restore polluted sites.
Objective:Strengthen Human Health and Environmental Protection in Indian Country
Description:
Support federally-recognized tribes to build environmental management capacity, assess environmental conditions and measure results, and implement environmental programs in Indian country.
Priority Goal: Clean up contaminated sites and make them ready for use.
Goal Statement:Clean up contaminated sites and make them ready for use. By September 30, 2013, an additional 22,100 sites will be ready for anticipated use.
Description:
Challenging and complex environmental problems, such as the presence or perceived presence of hazardous substances in soil, sediment, and ground-water that can cause human health concerns, persist at many contaminated properties. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action, leaking underground storage tank, and brownfields cleanup programs reduce risks to human health and the environment by assessing and cleaning up these sites to maintain or put them back into productive use. During the cleanup process, EPA considers the future use or reuse of the site to help ensure that the land will remain protective for continued use or reuse over the long term. As a result, communities are able to reclaim properties for ecological, recreational, commercial, residential and other productive purposes. EPA’s implementation strategy for this priority goal focuses on improving the accountability, transparency, and effectiveness of EPA’s cleanup programs. To measure and report our progress, EPA’s land cleanup programs have set long-term strategic goals toward making sites ready for anticipated use. To further our efforts, EPA has implemented the Integrated Clean-up Initiative to better use the most appropriate assessment and cleanup authorities to address a greater number of sites, accelerate cleanups where possible, and put those sites back into productive use while protecting human health and the environment. As of September 30, 2011, 417,270 sites have been made ready for reuse by EPA’s land cleanup programs. This baseline includes results from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.
Priority Goal: Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
Goal Statement: Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
By the end of 2013, develop a plan to convert existing paper reports into electronic reporting, establish electronic reporting in at least four key programs, and adopt a policy for including electronic reporting in new rules.
Description:
This Priority Goal advances the Agency’s efforts to more efficiently protect the nation’s air, water, and land under several goals in the FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan by replacing ineffective and inefficient paper-based reporting with e-Reporting. Currently over 1000 reports are submitted to EPA or delegated state agencies including: emissions and discharge data, toxic substance production and composition; chemical incidents, exposure, and health effect data; and hazardous waste production, storage, and transfer data. Given the opportunities for e-Reporting in several environmental media (e.g., air, water, land), this effort could significantly improve compliance, enforcement, and monitoring at the Agency. Electronic reporting provides higher quality data in a more timely manner, enabling EPA and the states to better prioritize permitting, monitoring, and enforcement actions. It will also advance transparency, allowing the public, non-governmental organizations, community groups, rate payers, and others better access to data. With facility data more readily available to government and the public, an additional incentive is created for facilities to comply with environmental requirements. To reduce both reporting burden and pollution over the long-term, and to improve both compliance and the information available to the public about pollution that affects them, the Agency needs a comprehensive initiative to convert to 21st-century electronic reporting technology.
Strategic Goal: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution.
Objective:Ensure Chemical Safety.
Description:
Reduce the risk of chemicals that enter our products, our environment, and our bodies.
Objective:Promote Pollution Prevention.
Description:
Conserve and protect natural resources by promoting pollution prevention and the adoption of other stewardship practices by companies, communities, governmental organizations, and individuals.
Priority Goal:Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
Goal Statement:Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
By the end of 2013, develop a plan to convert existing paper reports into electronic reporting, establish electronic reporting in at least four key programs, and adopt a policy for including electronic reporting in new rules.
Description:
This Priority Goal advances the Agency’s efforts to more efficiently protect the nation’s air, water, and land under several goals in the FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan by replacing ineffective and inefficient paper-based reporting with e-Reporting. Currently over 1000 reports are submitted to EPA or delegated state agencies including: emissions and discharge data, toxic substance production and composition; chemical incidents, exposure, and health effect data; and hazardous waste production, storage, and transfer data. Given the opportunities for e-Reporting in several environmental media (e.g., air, water, land), this effort could significantly improve compliance, enforcement, and monitoring at the Agency. Electronic reporting provides higher quality data in a more timely manner, enabling EPA and the states to better prioritize permitting, monitoring, and enforcement actions. It will also advance transparency, allowing the public, non-governmental organizations, community groups, rate payers, and others better access to data. With facility data more readily available to government and the public, an additional incentive is created for facilities to comply with environmental requirements. To reduce both reporting burden and pollution over the long-term, and to improve both compliance and the information available to the public about pollution that affects them, the Agency needs a comprehensive initiative to convert to 21st-century electronic reporting technology.
Strategic Goal:Enforcing Environmental Laws
Objective:Enforcing Environmental Laws
Description:
Pursue vigorous civil and criminal enforcement that targets the most serious water, air, and chemical hazards in communities. Assure strong, consistent, and effective enforcement of federal environmental laws nationwide.
Priority Goal: Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
Goal Statement: Increase transparency and reduce burden through E-reporting.
By the end of 2013, develop a plan to convert existing paper reports into electronic reporting, establish electronic reporting in at least four key programs, and adopt a policy for including electronic reporting in new rules.
Description:
This Priority Goal advances the Agency’s efforts to more efficiently protect the nation’s air, water, and land under several goals in the FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan by replacing ineffective and inefficient paper-based reporting with e-Reporting. Currently over 1000 reports are submitted to EPA or delegated state agencies including: emissions and discharge data, toxic substance production and composition; chemical incidents, exposure, and health effect data; and hazardous waste production, storage, and transfer data. Given the opportunities for e-Reporting in several environmental media (e.g., air, water, land), this effort could significantly improve compliance, enforcement, and monitoring at the Agency. Electronic reporting provides higher quality data in a more timely manner, enabling EPA and the states to better prioritize permitting, monitoring, and enforcement actions. It will also advance transparency, allowing the public, non-governmental organizations, community groups, rate payers, and others better access to data. With facility data more readily available to government and the public, an additional incentive is created for facilities to comply with environmental requirements. To reduce both reporting burden and pollution over the long-term, and to improve both compliance and the information available to the public about pollution that affects them, the Agency needs a comprehensive initiative to convert to 21st-century electronic reporting technology.
