About the Partnership
Since its inception over 50 years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been entrusted with mitigating pollution and climate change, enforcing environmental laws, conducting timely chemical risk assessments, and incentivizing business innovations. The agency is charged with enforcing more than 30 laws and executive orders designed to safeguard human health and the environment. But, EPA has been chronically underfunded and understaffed for the past decade, with FY 2021 spending nearly half, in real terms, of what it was in the 1980s, jeopardizing the agency’s ability to enforce existing regulations.
The Partnership for the Future of EPA advocates for increased funding for EPA and seeks to educate policymakers about EPA’s responsibilities, economic impact, organizational and infrastructure needs, and solutions to the agency’s challenges. An under-resourced EPA leaves consumers unprotected and delays the introduction of innovative new products. Adequate funding and robust congressional oversight will empower EPA to execute its mission of protecting human health and the environment.
Office of Inspector General Reports
- EPA FY 2023 Top Management Challenges, Nov. 28, 2022
- EPA OIG Semiannual Report to Congress: Apr. 1 – Sept. 30, 2022, Nov. 16, 2022
- FY 2023 U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Management Challenges, Oct. 21, 2022
- EPA OIG Semiannual Report to Congress: Oct. 1, 2021–March 31, 2022, May 25, 2022
Additional Information
List of Environmental Laws & Executive Orders
EPA is partially or wholly responsible for administering over 30 laws and executive orders, including:
Laws
- Atomic Energy Act (AEA)
- Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act
- Chemical Safety Information, Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act
- Clean Air Act (CAA)
- Clean Water Act (CWA) (original title: Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972)
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
- Endangered Species Act (ESA)
- Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA)
- Energy Policy Act
- Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
- Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments
- Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)
- Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act)
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
- Noise Control Act
- Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA)
- Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA)
- Ocean Dumping Act – See Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
- Oil Pollution Act (OPA)
- Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA)
- Pollution Prevention Act (PPA)
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
- Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
- Shore Protection Act (SPA)
- Superfund – See Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
- Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
- Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Executive Orders
- EO 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
- EO 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks
- EO 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
- EO 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
- EO 13990: Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis
EPA's Budget
Congress funds EPA through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bills.
Congress funds EPA through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bills. Congress appropriated EPA $10.135 billion for FY 2023, an increase of $576 million over FY 2022, but nearly $1.75 billion less than the FY 2023 President’s Budget request. Approximately half of EPA’s budget is earmarked for grants made to state environmental programs and nonprofits.
FY 2023
- FY 2023 EPA Budget Justification
- Final Appropriation: P.L. 117-328
FY 2022
- FY 2022 EPA Budget Justification
- FY 2022 Agency Financial Report
- Final Appropriation: P.L. 117-103
FY 2021
- FY 2021 EPA Budget Justification
- FY 2021 Agency Financial Report
- Final Appropriation: P.L. 116-260
Additional Budget Information
Discretionary Spending Accounts
Discretionary spending is appropriated between 10 accounts:
- State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) – funds grants for water infrastructure and quality monitoring, and pollution control.
- Environmental Programs and Management (EPM) – funds additional grants.
- Hazardous Substance Superfund (SF) – funds the cleanup of hazardous waste sites.
- Science and Technology (S&T) – funds research grants.
- Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program (LUST) – provides funding to states and tribes to prevent releases from underground storage tanks.
- Buildings and Facilities (B&F) – supports safety of employees and security of EPA facilities.
- Office of Inspector General (IG) – IG is funded with a separate appropriation within the Agency’s budget.
- Inland Oil Spill Program (OIL) – prevents, prepares for, responds to and monitors inland oil spills.
- Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund
- Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program (WIFIA) – finances water infrastructure projects.
Historical Staff Levels
EPA’s full time equivalent (FTE) employees numbered 14,581 in FY 2022, with staffing levels for the previous five years the lowest since the 1980s and well below the 30-year average of 16,531 FTEs.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), or IIJA, provided EPA with over $60 billion comprising 19 appropriations to be dispersed fiscal years 2022 through 2026. Of this funding,
- $54 billion, or 83%, is allocated to Water Infrastructure programs
- $5.4 billion, or 9%, is allocated to cleanup, revitalization, and recycling efforts, including Superfund
- $5 billion, or 8%, is allocated to Cleaner School Buses
- $100 million, or less than 1%, is allocated to pollution prevention efforts
- EPA’s OIG will receive $270 million over the same five fiscal years
Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-169) appropriated $41.5 billion to support 24 new and existing EPA-administered programs.
- $27 billion to Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a new program to fund competitive grants through FY 2024
- $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
- $3 billion in Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants
- $3 billion in Grants to Reduce Air Pollution at Ports
- $1.55 billion for the Methane Emissions Reduction Program
- $1 billion for Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles
How is EPA Structured?
EPA is managed by 12 divisions and 10 regions.
- Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) – responsible for administering the Clean Air Act & Atomic Energy Act.
- Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) – implements FIFRA, FFDA, TSCA, and Pollution Prevention Act.
- Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) – formulates and manages EPA’s annual budget.
- Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) – goes after pollution problems that impact American communities through vigorous civil and criminal enforcement.
- Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) – supports the agency’s mission by providing leadership on EPA’s environmental justice and external civil rights priorities.
- Office of General Counsel (OGC) – serves as EPA’s chief legal advisor.
- Office of Inspector General (OIG) – is an independent office within EPA that conducts audits, evaluations and investigations.
- Office of International and Tribal Affairs (OITA) – leads EPA’s international and tribal engagements.
- Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) – provides policy, guidance and direction for the Agency’s emergency response and waste programs.
- Office of Mission Support (OMS) – leads the agency’s core mission support functions to improve efficiency, coordination, and customer experience for internal customers, stakeholders, and the public.
- Office of Research and Development (ORD) – the scientific research arm of EPA.
- Office of Water (OW) – responsible for implementing the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.
Get Engaged
For information on joining the Partnership for the Future of EPA, please contact
Mike Gruber, Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy, HCPA at
mgruber@thehcpa.org
