Resetting the Course of EPA

Resetting the Course of EPA Report

It is time to look forward and reset the course of EPA to address the most significant and pervasive threats to human health and the natural environment. EPN compiled this report with specific and actionable high-level recommendations to help EPA recommit to its mission of protecting public health and the environment.

Letter from Former EPA Administrators: Bipartisan Support to Reset the Course of EPA

Six former EPA administrators, who served both Democratic and Republican administrations, wrote a letter of support for EPN’s “Resetting the Course of EPA” project, noting that they are hopeful that America will again muster the resolve and the action needed to protect public health, the environment, and our economy.

Resetting the Course of EPA: Detailed Recommendations Papers

In addition to the high-level recommendations contained in the “Resetting the Course of EPA” report, EPN created detailed papers focused on immediate, early, and long-term actionable recommendations for the most pressing public health and environmental challenges facing the 21st century.

Strengthening EPA’s Credibility

EPA must reaffirm the core values and practices that have served the agency over 50 years and rebuild confidence in EPA.

Restoring Science as the Backbone of EPA Decision-making

EPA must restore science as the backbone of decision-making. Scientific research helps EPA, states, tribes, and other partners address the most pressing environmental and public health challenges.

Strengthening Economic Analysis at EPA

EPA should launch a substantial new effort to improve methods of economic analysis, including both benefit and cost estimation.

Incorporating Environmental Justice in Every Aspect of EPA’s Work

The advancement of environmental justice is one of the most challenging, consequential, and high-profile imperatives facing EPA. To meet this challenge, EPA must incorporate environmental justice into every aspect of its work, provide adequate staffing and other resources to do so, and ensure that historically underserved communities receive a fair share of environmental protection.

Building a Resilient, Collaborative, and Innovative EPA for the 21st Century

EPA needs to transform the agency into a more resilient, innovative, and collaborative institution, better able to sustain effective action and adapt to shifting conditions.

Reimagining and Reframing the Boundaries of EPA’s State, Tribal, & Local Relationships

EPA needs to clarify and reinvest in cooperative federalism by reimagining and reframing the boundaries of EPA’s relationships with state, tribal, and local governments.

Increasing Funding to Protect Public Health and the Environment

Additional EPA and state resources are needed to adequately protect public health and the environment. As the budgets of EPA and states have shrunk, their responsibilities have grown. Today’s EPA must protect a growing population from an expanding set of health and environmental risks.

Investing in EPA’s Workforce

EPA must rebuild the capabilities, productivity, morale, and inclusivity of the EPA workforce to successfully address the complex challenges of the 21st century.

Strengthening Environmental Enforcement and Compliance

EPA must support vigorous, effective, timely, and fair enforcement of environmental laws, which are essential to public health and the protection of the environment.

Reducing Air Emissions from Mobile Sources

EPA must reassert its historic leadership in air pollution control and lead a transportation transformation to protect public health and promote infrastructure investment, jobs creation, and economic growth.

Reducing Air Emissions from Stationary Sources

EPA should prioritize actions that make real reductions in pollution—providing the greatest health benefit for the greatest number of people and reducing health impacts in communities that are already disproportionately impacted.

Safeguarding Drinking Water

EPA needs to ensure that everyone has access to safe, affordable drinking water.

Protecting the Nation’s Waters Under the Clean Water Act

EPA must strengthen programs to reduce pollution from uncontrolled nonpoint sources—scaling up best practices and solutions targeted at the watershed level, with particular attention to where environmental justice communities are disproportionately impacted.

Reducing Toxic Risks

EPA should focus on changing the agency’s current toxic substances approach, which runs contrary to the best available science and has been intensely criticized for disregarding conditions of use and pathways of exposure.

Strengthening Pesticide Regulation

EPA must restore its historically transparent, science-based regulatory approaches and formulate a strategy to meet a major pending statutory deadline—the reevaluation by 2022 of all pesticides approved before 2007.

Cleaning Up Superfund Sites

EPA must support a strong Superfund program, which is central to any effort to address the cumulative toxic effects faced unjustly by too much of the population.

Cooperating with Other Countries

When addressing priority environmental challenges, EPA must collaborate with other countries and international partners to achieve significant health and economic benefits in the United States.

Against All Odds, Biden’s EPA is Saving Lives and Tackling Climate Change at a Record Pace

May 13, 2024 / by

Rob Wolcott and Jeremy Symons /

Environmental Protection News

Robert Wolcott, former EPA Senior Counsel to ORD and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy and Regional Economist, and Jeremy Symons, Senior Advisor to EPN, co-authored an op-ed about the environmental accomplishments achieved by Biden’s EPA despite the many hurdles the previous administration left behind.

Enforcement, Environmental Justice, EPA Core Values/Collaboration and Innovation, EPA's Strategic Plan, Regional EPA Offices, and Regulatory Reform, Resetting the Course of EPA

EPA Retains Trump NSR Project Accounting Rule, but Plans Policy Review

October 15, 2021 / by

Stuart Parker /

Inside EPA

EPN and our recommendations to “Reset the Course of EPA” were cited in this article discussing EPA Administrator Regan’s decision to deny a petition to reconsider a Trump-era new source review accounting policy while also announcing the agency’s intention to revise or withdraw the rule in the future.

Air, Resetting the Course of EPA

The Mess That Biden’s EPA Nominee Michael Regan Will Inherit, Explained

February 8, 2021 / by

Umair Irfan /

Vox

Chris Zarba, EPN member and former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board, was quoted and EPN was cited in this article concerning the massive work that nominee Regan will have to do to reverse damage from the past four years and move forward with Biden’s environmental policies.

Environmental Justice, Regulatory Rollbacks, Resetting the Course of EPA, Workforce

The EPA at 50: It’s Time to Correct Inequities and Think Big

December 3, 2020 / by

Michelle Roos /

Bloomberg

Michelle Roos, EPN Executive Director, wrote an op-ed published in Bloomberg discussing “Resetting the Course of EPA” in the context of EPA’s 50th anniversary.

Op-Eds, Resetting the Course of EPA

Rebuilding Capacity to Protect the Environment

December 2, 2020 / by

State of American Democracy /

State of American Democracy

Michelle Roos, EPN Executive Director, and Jeremy Symons, principal at Symons Public Affairs and Project Manager of EPN’s Reset project, participated in this conversation and discussed EPN’s “Resetting the Course of EPA” and the potential to rebuild EPA’s capacity to protect public health and the environment.

EPA Core Values/Collaboration and Innovation, Resetting the Course of EPA

Trump’s Environment Agency Seems to be at war with the Environment, say Ex-Officials

October 30, 2020 / by

Emily Holden /

The Guardian

Stan Meiburg, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article concerning the current administration’s environmental agenda.

Air, Resetting the Course of EPA, Science, Water

Resetting the Course of EPA

Resetting the Course of EPA: Detailed Recommendations

EPN IN THE NEWS RELATED TO RESETTING THE COURSE OF EPA