Laws, the enforcement of which the EPA is wholly or partially responsible:
Air
Water
Land
Endangered species
Hazardous waste
Other
Programs of the EPA
EPA Safer Choice
The
EPA Safer Choice label, previously known as the Design for the Environment (DfE) label, helps consumers and commercial buyers identify and select products with safer chemical ingredients, without sacrificing quality or performance. When a product has the Safer Choice label, it means that every intentionally-added ingredient in the product has been evaluated by EPA scientists. Only the safest possible functional ingredients are allowed in products with the Safer Choice label.
Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative
Through the
Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI),
[41] EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) recognizes environmental leaders who voluntarily commit to the use of safer
surfactants. Safer surfactants are the ones that break down quickly to non-polluting compounds and help protect aquatic life in both fresh and salt water.
Nonylphenol ethoxylates, commonly referred to as NPEs, are an example of a surfactant class that does not meet the definition of a safer surfactant.
The Design for the Environment, which was renamed to
EPA Safer Choice in 2015, has identified safer alternative surfactants through partnerships with industry and environmental advocates. These safer alternatives are comparable in cost and are readily available. CleanGredients
[42] is a source of safer surfactants.
Energy Star
In 1992 the EPA launched the
Energy Star program, a voluntary program that fosters energy efficiency. As of 2006, more than 40,000 Energy Star products were available including major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and more. In addition, the label can also be found on new homes and commercial and industrial buildings. In 2006, about 12 percent of new housing in the
United States was labeled Energy Star.
[43]
The EPA estimates it saved about $14 billion in energy costs in 2006 alone. The Energy Star program has helped spread the use of
LED traffic lights, efficient
fluorescent lighting,
power management systems for office equipment, and low
standby energy use.
[44]
Smart Growth
EPA's Smart Growth Program, which began in 1998, is to help communities improve their development practices and get the type of development they want. Together with local, state, and national experts, EPA encourages development strategies that protect human health and the environment, create economic opportunities, and provide attractive and affordable neighborhoods for people of all income levels.
[45]
Pesticides
EPA administers the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (which is much older than the agency) and registers all
pesticides legally sold in the United States.
Fuel economy
Manufacturers selling
automobiles in the United States are required to provide EPA
fuel economy test results for their vehicles and the manufacturers are not allowed to provide results from alternate sources.[
citation needed] The fuel economy is calculated using the emissions data collected during two of the vehicle's
Clean Air Act certification tests by measuring the total volume of carbon captured from the exhaust during the tests.[
citation needed]
The testing system was originally developed in 1972 and used
driving cycles designed to simulate driving during rush-hour in
Los Angeles during that era. Until 1984 the EPA reported the exact fuel economy figures calculated from the test.[
citation needed] In 1984, the EPA began adjusting city (aka
Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule or
UDDS) results downward by 10% and highway (aka HighWay Fuel Economy Test or HWFET) results by 22% to compensate for changes in driving conditions since 1972, and to better correlate the EPA test results with real-world driving. In 1996, the EPA proposed updating the Federal Testing Procedures
[46] to add a new higher-speed test (US06) and an air-conditioner-on test (SC03) to further improve the correlation of fuel economy and emission estimates with real-world reports. In December 2006 the updated testing methodology was finalized to be implemented in model year 2008 vehicles and set the precedent of a 12-year review cycle for the test procedures.
[47]
In February 2005, EPA launched a program called "Your MPG" that allows drivers to add real-world fuel economy statistics into a database on the EPA's fuel economy website and compare them with others and with the original EPA test results.
[48]
The EPA conducts fuel economy tests on very few vehicles. "Just 18 of the EPA's 17,000 employees work in the automobile-testing department in Ann Arbor, Michigan, examining 200 to 250 vehicles a year, or roughly 15 percent of new models. As to that other 85 percent, the EPA takes automakers at their word—without any testing-accepting submitted results as accurate."
[49] Two-thirds of the vehicles the EPA tests themselves are randomly selected and the remaining third is tested for specific reasons.
Although originally created as a reference point for fossil-fueled vehicles,
driving cycles have been used for estimating how many miles an electric vehicle will get on a single charge.
[50]
Air quality
The Air Quality Modeling Group (AQMG) is in the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) and leads in the full range of
air quality models,
air pollution forecast,
atmospheric dispersion modeling and other mathematical simulation techniques used in assessing the impacts of
air pollution sources and control strategies. It serves other EPA headquarters staff, EPA regional Offices, and State and local environmental agencies, coordinates with the EPA's Office of Research and Development on the development of new models and techniques, and wider issues of atmospheric research and conducts modeling analyses to support policy and regulatory decisions of the EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS). It is located in
Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina. Controlling air pollution helps diminish the risk of
pollution-related diseases.
The EPA began regulating
greenhouse gases (GHGs) from mobile and stationary sources of air pollution under the
Clean Air Act (CAA) for the first time on January 2, 2011. Standards for mobile sources have been established pursuant to Section 202 of the CAA, and GHGs from stationary sources are controlled under the authority of Part C of Title I of the Act per
Regulation of Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act. The
BenMAP open-source tool, created by the agency, estimates the health benefits from improvements in air quality.
Oil spill prevention program
EPA’s oil spill prevention program includes the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) and the Facility Response Plan (FRP) rules. The SPCC Rule applies to all facilities that store, handle, process, gather, transfer, refine, distribute, use or consume oil or oil products. Oil products includes petroleum and non-petroleum oils as well as: animal fats, oils and greases; fish and marine mammal oils; and vegetable oils. It mandates a written plan for facilities that store more than 1,320 gallons of fuel above ground or more than 42,000 gallons below-ground, and which might discharge to navigable waters (as defined in the
Clean Water Act) or adjoining shorelines.
Secondary spill containment is mandated at oil storage facilities and oil release containment is required at oil development sites.
[51]
Toxics Release Inventory
The
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a resource for learning about toxic chemical releases and pollution prevention activities reported by industrial and federal facilities. TRI data support informed decision-making by communities, government agencies, companies, and others.
[52]
WaterSense
WaterSense is an EPA program launched in June 2006 to encourage
water efficiency in the
United States through the use of a special
label on
consumer products.
[53] Products include high-efficiency toilets (HETs), bathroom sink faucets (and accessories), and irrigation equipment. WaterSense is a
voluntary program, with EPA developing specifications for water-efficient products through a public process and product testing by independent laboratories.
[54]
Drinking water
EPA ensures safe
drinking water for the public, by setting standards for more than 160,000
public water systems nationwide. EPA oversees states, local governments and water suppliers to enforce the standards under the
Safe Drinking Water Act. The program includes regulation of
injection wells in order to protect underground sources of drinking water. Select readings of amounts of certain contaminants in drinking water, precipitation, and surface water, in addition to milk and air, are reported on EPA's Rad Net web site
[55] in a section entitled Envirofacts.
[56] Despite mandatory reporting certain readings exceeding EPA MCL levels may be deleted or not included.
[57][58] In 2013, an EPA draft revision relaxed regulations for radiation exposure through drinking water, stating that current standards are impractical to enforce. The EPA recommended that intervention was not necessary until drinking water was contaminated with radioactive iodine 131 at a concentration of 81,000 picocuries per liter (the limit for short term exposure set by the International Atomic Energy Agency), which was 27,000 times the prior EPA limit of 3 picocuries per liter for long term exposure.
[59]
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
The
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program addresses
water pollution by regulating
point sources which discharge to US waters. Created in 1972 by the Clean Water Act, the NPDES permit program authorizes state governments to perform its many permitting, administrative, and enforcement aspects.
[60] As of 2017, EPA has approved 46 states to administer all or portions of the permit program.
[61] EPA regional offices manage the program in the remaining areas of the country.
[60] The Water Quality Act of 1987 extended NPDES permit coverage to
industrial stormwater dischargers and municipal separate storm sewer systems.
[62]
Radiation protection
EPA has the following seven project groups to protect the public from radiation.
[63]
- Radioactive Waste Management[64]
- Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs[65] Protective Action Guides And Planning Guidance for Radiological Incidents: EPA developed a manual as guideline for local and state governments to protect the public from a nuclear accident,[66] the 2017 version being a 15-year update.
- EPA’s Role in Emergency Response – Special Teams[67]
- Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (TENORM) Program[68]
- Radiation Standards for Air and Drinking Water Programs[69]
- Federal Guidance for Radiation Protection[70]
Tools for Schools
EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program helps schools to maintain a healthy environment and reduce exposures to indoor environmental contaminants. It helps school personnel identify, solve, and prevent indoor air quality problems in the school environment. Through the use of a multi-step management plan and checklists for the entire building, schools can lower their students' and staff's risk of exposure to asthma triggers.
[71]
Environmental Education
The
National Environmental Education Act of 1990 requires EPA to provide national leadership to increase environmental literacy. EPA established the Office of Environmental Education to implement this program.
[72]
Environmental Impact Statement Reviews
EPA is responsible for reviewing
Environmental Impact Statements of other federal agencies' projects, under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Clean School Bus USA
Clean School Bus USA is a national partnership to reduce children's exposure to diesel exhaust by eliminating unnecessary school bus idling, installing effective emission control systems on newer buses and replacing the oldest buses in the fleet with newer ones. Its goal is to reduce both children's exposure to diesel exhaust and the amount of air pollution created by diesel school buses.
[73]
Environmental justice
The EPA has been criticized for its lack of progress towards
environmental justice. Administrator
Christine Todd Whitman was criticized for her changes to President Bill Clinton's
Executive Order 12898 during 2001, removing the requirements for government agencies to take the poor and minority populations into special consideration when making changes to environmental legislation, and therefore defeating the spirit of the Executive Order.
[74] In a March 2004 report, the
inspector general of the agency concluded that the EPA "has not developed a clear vision or a comprehensive strategic plan, and has not established values, goals, expectations, and performance measurements" for environmental justice in its daily operations. Another report in September 2006 found the agency still had failed to review the success of its programs, policies and activities towards environmental justice.
[75] Studies have also found that poor and minority populations were underserved by the EPA's
Superfund program, and that this situation was worsening.
[74]
And many others
