The Administrator’s Priorities for the Future of EPA

1. The Administrator’s Prioritiesfor the Future of EPA Warren Lux, M.D. Director, Program in Human Research Ethics U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Moral Heat: Ethical Dimensions of Environmental Regulation and Economics in the 21st Century Fordham University, April 20, 2010

2. Opening Memo to EPA Employees • January 23, 2009 • Cited and embraced President Obama’s articulation of three core values that he expects EPA to uphold: • Scientific integrity • Rule of law • Transparency

3. Opening Memo to EPA Employees • Put forward five initial priorities: • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions • Improving air quality • Managing chemical risks • Cleaning up hazardous waste sites • Protecting America’s water

4. The Vision One Year Later • January 12, 2010 • Reflected on the first year and articulated an expanded vision of the future • Reiterated the commitment to the core values of scientific integrity, rule of law, and transparency • Put forward seven priorities to guide EPA’s actions in the years ahead

5. The Administrator’s Seven Priorities • Taking Action on Climate Change • Improving Air Quality • Assuring the Safety of Chemicals • Cleaning Up Our Communities • Protecting America’s Waters • Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice • Building Strong State and Tribal Partnerships

6. Taking Action on Climate Change • Support the President and Congress in enacting clean energy and climate legislation • Use the Clean Air Act to provide a framework for continued improvements in that sector • Build on the success of the ENERGY STAR program to expand cost-saving energy conservation and efficiency programs • Continue to develop common-sense solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from large stationary sources like power plants

7. Improving Air Quality • Propose stronger ambient air quality standards for ozone • Develop a comprehensive strategy for a cleaner and more efficient power sector, with strong but achievable emission reduction goals for SO2, NOx, mercury and other air toxics • Strengthen our ambient air quality standards for pollutants such as PM, SO2, NO2 • Achieve additional reductions in air toxics from a range of industrial facilities • Improve monitoring, permitting and enforcement

8. Assuring the Safety of Chemicals • Support the modernization of the Toxic Substances Control Act • Shift EPA’s focus to high-concern chemicals • Fill data gaps on widely produced chemicals in commerce • Develop and release chemical management plans for an increasing range of chemicals • Use the streamlined Integrated Risk Information System to support rigorous, peer-reviewed health assessments on dioxins, arsenic, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and other substances of concern

9. Cleaning Up Our Communities • Accelerate our Superfund Program and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders affected by cleanups • Control significant local environmental challenges like the asbestos public health emergency in Libby, MN and the coal ash spill in Kingston, TN • Use all available tools, including enforcement and compliance, to make safer, healthier communities • Maximize the potential of our Brownfields Program, particularly to spur environmental clean-up and job creation in disadvantaged communities

10. Protecting America’s Waters • Continue comprehensive watershed protection programs for the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes • Initiate measures to address post-construction runoff, water quality impairment from surface mining, and stronger drinking water protection • As Recovery Act funding expands the construction of water infrastructure, work with states to develop nutrient limits and launch an Urban Waters initiative • Revamp enforcement strategies to achieve greater compliance across the board

11. Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice • Build strong working relationships with tribes, communities of color, economically distressed cities and towns, young people and others historically underrepresented in EPA decision-making • Include environmental justice principles in all of our decisions • Challenge all EPA employees to bring innovation, bold thinking, vision and creativity to our programs • Protect vulnerable subpopulations, especially children

12. Building Strong State and Tribal Partnerships • Support state and tribal nations as they carry out their responsibilities for the day-to-day mission of environmental protection in the face of declining tax revenues and fiscal challenges • Through strengthened oversight, help ensure that environmental programs are consistently delivered nationwide • Where appropriate, use our own expertise and capacity to bolster state and tribal efforts

13. Conclusion “These priorities will guide our work in 2010 and the years ahead. They are built around the challenges and opportunities inherent in our mission to protect human health and the environment for all Americans. We will carry out our mission by respecting our core values of science, transparency and the rule of law. I have unlimited confidence in the talent and spirit of our workforce, and I will look to your energy, ideas and passion in the days ahead. I know we will meet these challenges head on, as one EPA.” - Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator