This is historical material “frozen in time.” The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

Home
Agencies
Goals
Initiatives
Programs

API
About
FAQ

You are hereHome

Primary tabs

View(active tab)
Show Changes

Strategic Objective

Restore Land

Strategic Objective

Restore Land

Prepare for and respond to accidental or intentional releases of contaminants and clean up and restore polluted sites for reuse.

Lead Office: Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

Themes:

Natural Resources and Environment

EPA.gov

Facebook Twitter Linkdin Mail RSS

XML

CSV

Overview
Progress Update

Overview

Challenging and complex environmental problems persist at many contaminated properties. These include contaminated soil, sediment, and groundwater that can cause human health concerns. Together with our federal, state, and tribal partners, EPA’s 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. EPA’s Superfund, RCRA corrective action, leaking underground storage tank (LUST), and brownfields cleanup programs all contribute to the Priority Goal to make sites ready for anticipated use.[1] Although each program 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 2013, 441,333 sites were made RAU, corresponding to over 2.3 million acres.[2]

There are multiple benefits associated with cleaning 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 development. A 2011 study suggests that Superfund cleanups reduce the incidence of congenital anomalies in infants of mothers living within 2,000 meters of a site by roughly 20-25 percent.[3] 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 to 24.5 percent increase in value.[4]

Over the past 3 years, EPA has implemented the Integrated Cleanup Initiative (ICI) in an effort to improve the efficiency and effectiveness 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 management 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. EPA’s Superfund program will consider applying the time- and cost-saving approaches examined in these pilots wherever appropriate.[5]

EPA's Superfund program is undertaking a comprehensive review of all aspects of the program. The goal of this review is to determine the best way to maintain the program's effectiveness in protecting human health and the environment by more efficiently managing 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 investigation phase of RCRA corrective action cleanup as a means to accelerate the process for a typical facility by several years.[6] 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 EPA’s 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 remaining 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 [L]UST 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 implementing strategies to address technical challenges, leverage best practices, and support management, oversight, and enforcement activities. In addition, EPA has implemented improvements in the LUST prevention program by increasing inspection frequency and other prevention efforts, and there has been a corresponding 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.[7]

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 hazardous 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 materials used during site cleanups while at the same time ensuring that protective remedies are implemented.[8]

Throughout this work, EPA is enhancing its engagement with local communities and stakeholders so that they may meaningfully participate in decisions on land cleanup, emergency response, and management of hazardous substances and waste. Enhancing community engagement helps to ensure transparent 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, biological 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 emergencies, 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 materials, and other catastrophes are vital responsibilities. Consistent with the government-wide National Response Framework and the National Disaster Recovery Framework, EPA prepares for the possibility of multiple, simultaneous, nationally significant incidents across several regions and provides guidance 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 decision making to maintain its commitment to provide permanent solutions.

Complications can arise when new scientific information (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 communication, site investigation, remedy selection, and resource allocation within the program.

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.

Endnotes:

FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: 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. 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.
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.
Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone, and Enrico Moretti. 2011. "Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health." American Economic Review, 101(3): 435-41.
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.
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_learned.pdf.
Lean principles focus on identifying and enhancing valuable process steps while reducing wasteful steps. See also http://www.epa.gov/lean/government/index.htm.
For more information, please see The National LUST Cleanup Backlog: A Study of Opportunities at http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/cat/backlog.html.
More information about Superfund and green remediation at EPA is available at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/greenremediation.

Read Less...

Progress Update

Contaminated land can threaten human health and the environment, and potentially hamper economic growth and the vitality of local communities. Academic research has demonstrated that investment in Superfund cleanups reduces the incidence of congenital abnormalities by roughly 20–25 percent for those living within 2,000 meters (1.2 miles) of a site.[1] The long-term vision of this objective is to prepare and respond to emergencies and to clean up contaminated land so it can be safely reused or continue to be used, creating more resilient, healthy, and vibrant communities. EPA’s land cleanup programs track over 541,000 sites and almost 23 million acres, many of which are located in economically distressed communities that suffer from disproportionate and adverse environmental exposures. Approximately 125 million people live within 3 miles of a Superfund or a RCRA Corrective Action site. Analyzing census data, EPA found that the population within three miles of these sites is more likely to be minority, low income, and linguistically isolated, and less likely to have a high school education than the U.S. population as a whole.[2] EPA and its partners have made over 453,000 contaminated sites Ready for Anticipated Use (RAU). Making sites RAU is one of the Agency’s FY 2014–2015 priority goal. Once a property is remediated and redeveloped, the reuse or continued use, may result in new income to the community in the form of taxes, jobs to local residents or provides recreational or other services to make the community a better place to live. A study found that property values within three miles of sites where Superfund cleanups were completed increased approximately 20 percent.[3]

Overall in FY 2014, EPA achieved 14 of the 20 measures in this objective, with significant challenges for the Superfund program measures. The various reasons for missing the targets are described below. EPA expects continued challenges for the Superfund Remedial Program in the next few years and will continue to implement the Superfund Program Review, leverage special accounts, and pursue other strategies to drive performance.

[1] Currie, Janet, Michael Greenstone, and Enrico Moretti 2012. “Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health.” American Economic Review, 101 (3):435–441.

[2] U.S EPA, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Estimate. 2014. Data collected include: (1) site information as of the end of FY 2011 from CERCLIS and RCRAInfo; and (2) census data from 2007–2011 American Community Survey.

[3] Gamper-Rabidron, Shanti, and Christopher Timmins. 2012. “Does the Cleanup of Hazardous Sites Raise Housing Values? Evidence of Spatially Localized Benefits.” Duke Environmental Economics, Working Paper EE1203.

Expand All

Strategic Goals

Strategic Goal:

Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development

Statement:

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.

Strategic Objectives

Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities

Statement:

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.

Description:

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, communities 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, communities 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, technology, 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 committed to ensuring we focus on children’s health and environmental justice.[2] Recognizing that minority or low-income communities may face disproportionate environmental risks, we work to protect these communities from adverse health and environmental effects and to ensure they are given the opportunity 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 environmental 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 supportive 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 development. 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 affordable 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 challenges of a changing climate.

EPA’s brownfields program emphasizes environmental 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 commercial 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 communities. 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 promotes livable communities though its efforts to prevent chemical accidents. EPA's risk management program requires facilities with one or more covered 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:

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 abandoned or blighted areas and the potential impacts on local communities.

The impacts of increased extremes of weather on a community’s redevelopment and revitalization plans, including whether these projects are resilient enough to withstand the threat of flooding or loss of power from natural or man-made disasters.

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.

The importance of engaging in efforts that involve stakeholders beyond federal agencies. These efforts include supporting local responders, advancing additional chemical plant safety measures, and standardizing the best practices of industry leaders.

The need to explore how EPA’s legal authorities and policies can be used to further improve coordination among federal agencies and stakeholders in our efforts to identify and address the potential hazards in chemical plant safety.

End Notes:

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.
For more information about EPA’s focus on Environmental Justice, please see http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/index.html.
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.
For more information about the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities, see http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov.
For more information about EPA’s brownfields program, see http://www.epa.gov/brownfields.
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.
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.

Learn More

Preserve Land

Statement:

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.

Description:

To prevent future environmental contamination and to protect the health of the estimated 20 million people living within a mile of hazardous waste management facilities[1], 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 important 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 implementation of this new e-Manifest approach.

As part of its sustainable materials management 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 generations.[2] 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.[3] Through this partnership, EPA is working to reduce food waste, which is the largest component (21 percent) of municipal solid waste discarded.[4] In keeping with the RCRA mandate to conserve resources and energy, and recognizing that an estimated 42 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to materials management activities, EPA continues to create innovative 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.[5,6]

To reduce the risk posed by underground storage tanks (USTs) located at more than 200,000 facilities throughout the country, EPA and states are working 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 compatible UST systems.

External Factors and Emerging Issues

EPA must be prepared to address significant waste management issues anticipated for the future.

The potential impacts of a changing climate, including extreme weather events, such as tornadoes and hurricanes.

Continued changes in technology and the emergence of new waste streams that result from new methods of domestic energy development, among other contributing sources.

General trend away from landfills and toward the recycling of materials using new technologies that will require further evaluation.

Endnotes:

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).
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/.
For more information on the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, see http://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/index.htm.
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.
USEPA, Opportunities to Reduce or Avoid Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices, September 2009.
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.

Learn More

Restore Land

Statement:

Prepare for and respond to accidental or intentional releases of contaminants and clean up and restore polluted sites for reuse.

Description:

External Factors and Emerging Issues

Complications can arise when new scientific information (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 communication, site investigation, remedy selection, and resource allocation within the program.

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.

Endnotes:

FY 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal: 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. 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.
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.
Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone, and Enrico Moretti. 2011. "Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health." American Economic Review, 101(3): 435-41.
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.
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_learned.pdf.
Lean principles focus on identifying and enhancing valuable process steps while reducing wasteful steps. See also http://www.epa.gov/lean/government/index.htm.
For more information, please see The National LUST Cleanup Backlog: A Study of Opportunities at http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/cat/backlog.html.
More information about Superfund and green remediation at EPA is available at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/greenremediation.

Learn More

Strengthen Human Health and Environmental Protection in Indian Country

Statement:

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.

Description:

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.[1] EPA works with over 560 federally-recognized tribes located across the United States to improve environmental and human health outcomes. Approximately 56 million acres are held in trust by the United States for various Indian tribes and individuals. Over 10 millon acres of individually owned lands are still held in trust for allotees and their heirs.[2] Difficult environmental and health challenges remain in many of these areas, including lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, adequate waste facilities, and other environmental safeguards taken for granted elsewhere.

In collaboration with our tribal government partners, EPA will engage in a two-part strategy for strengthening human health and environmental protection in Indian country. First, EPA will ensure that its environmental protection programs are implemented in Indian country either by EPA or through implementation of environmental programs by tribes themselves. Second, EPA will provide resources through grant funds and technical assistance for federally-recognized 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 continues 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.[3] 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 programmatically available. Further, the decision to be treated in a manner similar to a state (TAS) is voluntary, 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 continues to play a critical role in ensuring environmental protection in Indian country.

Endnotes:

The “EPA Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations” can be found at http://www.epa.gov/tp/pdf/indian-policy-84.pdf.
For more information, please see http://www.bia.gov/FAQs/index.htm.
Indian Health Service, Sanitation Facilities Construction Program 2011 Annual Report.

Learn More

Agency Priority Goals

FY 14-15: Clean up contaminated sites to enhance the livability and economic vitality of communities.

Statement:

Clean up contaminated sites to enhance the livability and economic vitality of communities. By 2015, an additional 18,970 sites will be made ready for anticipated use protecting Americans and the environment one community at a time.

Description:

Problem or opportunity being addressed

EPA’s Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action (CA), leaking underground storage tank (LUST), and Brownfields cleanup programs reduce risks to human health and the environment by assessing and cleaning up contaminated sites to enhance the livability and economic vitality of neighborhoods. Challenging and complex environmental problems, such as the presence or perceived presence of hazardous substances in soil, sediment, and groundwater, persist at many contaminated properties, and can threaten the health of American families.

There are multiple benefits associated with cleaning up contaminated sites and making them ready for reuse: 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 development. When sites are ready for anticipated reuse, communities are able to reclaim them for ecological, recreational, commercial, residential and other productive purposes.

Since EPA began collecting the number of sites ready for anticipated use (RAU) in FY2008, the cumulative number of sites RAU has increased. As of the end of FY2013, 441,333 sites were made ready for anticipated use, or approximately 83% of all sites.

Program	FY14 Target	FY15 Target
Superfund	55	55
RCRA CA	80	80
LUST	9,000	8,600
Brownfields	550	550
Total	9,685	9,285

Although each program 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.

Efficiencies and cost savings

In an effort to improve the accountability, transparency, and effectiveness of EPA’s cleanup programs, EPA initiated the Integrated Cleanup Initiative, a multi-year effort 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. By using relevant tools available in each of the cleanup programs, including enforcement, EPA will better leverage the resources available to address needs at individual sites. EPA will focus on enforcement activities that are critical to ensuring that responsible parties are compelled to clean up contaminated sites, thereby preserving federal monies for clean up at sites where viable responsible parties do not exist.

Relationship to agency strategic goals and objectives

The Priority Goal directly supports EPA’s FY2014-2018 Strategic Plan, specifically Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development. Over the next several years, two of EPA’s priorities under this goal are to prevent and reduce exposure to contaminants and accelerate the pace of cleanups across the country. RAU is an indicator that the local, state, or federal agency has determined that cleanup goals and engineering and institutional controls have been implemented for the media that affects current and reasonably anticipated future use so that the sites are available for communities to use or reuse. Making contaminated sites ready for anticipated reuse also supports several of the Administrator’s Themes for EPA, including Making a Visible Difference in Communities across the Country; Launching a New Era of State, Tribal and Local Partnerships; and Working Toward a Sustainable Future. These connections are further described in the overview of our goal, as well as our description of goal partners.

Learn More

FY 14-15: Improve environmental outcomes and enhance service to the regulated community and the public.

Statement:

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.

Description:

Environmental regulators face ever growing needs to share information within and across agencies, reduce staff burden of data entry, reduce regulatory reporting burdens, and improve environmental and human health protection. There is also an increasing expectation from the public and regulated community for the use of on-line systems and the desire for data transparency and personalized access. Both federal and state agencies recognize that easier access to and use of environmental data will facilitate better environmental protection and decision-making while also increasing overall data transparency.

Consistent with the 2012 White House Digital Government Strategy and Executive Order 13563, EPA seeks to transform the way business is conducted. E-Enterprise for the Environment is a joint initiative of states and EPA to improve environmental outcomes and enhance service to the regulated community and the public by maximizing the use of advanced monitoring and information technologies, optimizing operations, and increasing transparency. E-Enterprise will enable new environmental management approaches by modernizing EPA programs and regulations while streamlining and improving existing business processes. E-Enterprise will use the transformational capabilities of information and advanced monitoring technologies to identify and implement programmatic and service improvements.

These improvements will include “smart” tools and services that guide the regulated community in understanding and fulfilling their federal, state and, local regulatory reporting obligations, offer basic validations and error checking of entered information, and support electronic signature submissions. E-Enterprise projects that take advantage of tools and practices such as advanced monitoring technology and streamlined data collection will also expand the ability of the government, regulated entities, and the public to see and measure pollutant discharges, emissions and environmental conditions. A fundamental premise of E-Enterprise is that providing a more complete and integrated (cross media - air, water, and land) view of environmental data can support greener behavior of the public and regulated entities. For example, broad availability of high-speed internet allows real-time reporting of emissions and provides unprecedented opportunities for transparency and public involvement in matters affecting local environmental conditions. These technological advances will allow better tracking of environmental progress. Innovative technology can also help regulators improve compliance with environmental laws.

Learn More

Download
Featured Report

Agency Plans and Reports

Agency Strategic Plan

Accessibility
Privacy Policy