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United States’ Environmental Protection Services Delivery System (posted January 2005)
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Fiscal Year 2004 budget includes funding for an independent third party (the Academy) to conduct a study of the United States’ environmental protection services. The study will examine how federal, state, and local governments can improve the ways they work together to protect public health and the environment. The Academy will analyze respective roles and responsibilities, and identify overlaps and/or gaps in protection, as well as barriers to more efficient and effective collaboration and cooperation in delivering environmental protection services. EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations will assist in designing the study, which they hope will help advance the numerous and complex federalism issues facing EPA, states and local governments.
For more information.
The Environmental Information Consortium
(EIC) members represent a cross-section of the diverse users
and providers of environmental data, including representatives
from industry, the environmental community, information community,
and the states. They have come together to work towards the
development and implementation of a more accurate and integrated
facility identification system that will provide benefits
and reduce the burdens to all users of environmental data.
Environmental Protection Agency:
Environmental Justice III
During the third phase of study of
environmental justice in the permitting process, the Academy
panel will document, examine, and analyze a variety of local
land use, planning, zoning and permitting laws, practices,
and procedures to determine their impacts on issues related
to environmental justice. The Academy will work with the International
City/County Management Association (ICMA) to research and
document whether local land use and zoning laws, policies
and practices play a part in creating or alleviating environmental
justice problems. Recommendations will include appropriate
tools and procedures that local governments and members of
the public can use to address environmental injustice problems,
identify and engage high-risk communities, measure progress,
and establish standards of accountability in land use, planning,
and zoning decisions.
More Information
Environmental Protection Agency:
New Source Review
Congress has directed the Academy to
conduct an independent evaluation of EPA's New Source Review
(NSR) and Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) programs
under the Clean Air Act. The Academy's study will examine
(1) Evolution of EPA's NSR and PSD regulations, guidance,
and interpretation of those regulations, and implementation
of the two programs, (2) Roles of the states and EPA in implementing
the NSR and PSD programs, (3) Evolution of EPA's policies
and strategies on enforcement of the programs, and (4) Impacts
of the current administration of NSR and PSD. The Academy
is expected to provide recommendations to Congress and EPA
about how to manage better or reform the NSR and PSD programs.
Academy Fellow Donald Kettl is the Chair of the expert panel
directing the study.
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State Water Quality
Federal and state agencies have invested substantial funds
to support programs designed to address the requirements of
the Clean Water Act. Despite these investments and progress
toward improving water quality, many states do not have sufficient
resources to fund all of the required CWA programs. In December
1998, the states and EPA began a study to document more accurately
state expenditures for managing water quality programs, to
determine what resources states need to manage their water
quality programs, and to estimate the states' resource needs
that are not being met. In April 2002, a State Water Quality
Resource Task Force published an interim report, "State
Water Quality Management Resource Analysis" which estimates
the gap between needs and expenditures, based on the results
the states' Needs Model and a state Expenditure Survey.
EPA has asked the Academy to conduct
an evaluation of the methodologies used by the Task Force
to estimate the difference between (1) the resources currently
available for management of state water quality programs and
(2) the resources needed to manage and implement these programs
in a manner that enables states to achieve the environmental
and public health goals of the CWA. The Academy Panel will
evaluate the approach and methodology followed to develop
the states' Resource Needs Model, the adequacy and accuracy
of the methods used to execute the model, and the validity
of the model's conclusions in light of how the model was developed
and executed. The Academy Panel will also evaluate the approach
and methodology used to develop and execute the State Expenditure
Survey. The Panel will make recommendations for improving
the overall implementation and execution of future assessments
state resource needs and expenditures, the accuracy of the
values in the interim report, and the validity of its conclusions.
The Panel will also make recommendations about possible alternative
methodologies that could improve the reliability of estimates
of state needs and calculations of actual state expenditures.
More information
Environmental Protection Agency:
Environmental Justice II
The second phase of work for the Environmental
Justice panel focused on environmental justice programs at
the state level. The panel studied four state models for addressing
environmental justice concerns. The research documented and
analyzed some of the best state practices for effectively
incorporating environmental justice concerns into procedures
and decisions of permitting authorities. This second study
identified such best practices that are helpful models for
the affected public, other state environmental agencies, local
and tribal governments, regulated industries, environmental
justice groups, and academics. The report, Models
for Change: Efforts by Four States to Address Environmental
Justice] was completed and submitted to EPA in June
2002. Academy Fellow Dr. Philip Rutledge chaired the expert
panel that directed the study.
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Environmental Protection Agency:
Environmental Justice I
The goal of the first phase of work for the Environmental
Justice panel was to further the ability of environmental
justice groups, academics, regulated industries, and state,
tribal, and local governments to understand how to effectively
bring environmental justice considerations to the attention
of environmental permitting authorities. Although EPA has
been trying for a decade to ensure that its permitting programs
achieve fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people,
the study found that the agency still has not effectively
incorporated environmental justice issues into its permits.
The report, "Environmental Justice in EPA Permitting:
Reducing Pollution in High-Risk Communities Is Integral to
the Agency's Mission" [link to report] was completed
and submitted to EPA in December 2001. Academy Fellow Dr.
Philip Rutledge chaired the expert panel that directed the
study.
More Information
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