The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers a wide range of programs and initiatives to protect human health and the environment. These programs often fall under broad categories such as air quality, water protection, land and waste management, and emergency response. Many are implemented through partnerships with state, tribal, and local governments, as well as with businesses and other organizations.
Here is a list of some of the key program areas and initiatives of the EPA:
Air Programs
| • | Clean Air Act (CAA) programs: These include regulations for air quality standards, vehicle and engine emissions, and permits for stationary sources of air pollution. |
| • | Air Quality Monitoring: Programs for monitoring and analyzing air quality, including specific programs for pollutants like ozone, lead, and particulate matter. |
| • | Voluntary Partnership Programs: Initiatives like ENERGY STAR and the Green Power Partnership, which promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. |
| • | Climate Change Initiatives: Programs focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program and voluntary programs like the AgSTAR Program, which promotes the use of biogas recovery systems. |
Water Programs
| • | Clean Water Act (CWA) programs: These regulate the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters, including the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. |
| • | Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) programs: The EPA sets standards for drinking water quality and provides financial resources and technical assistance to public water systems. |
| • | Geographic Programs: Long-standing, place-based programs focused on protecting specific ecosystems, such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and the Columbia River Basin. |
| • | Water Infrastructure: Programs that provide grants and loans for improving water and wastewater infrastructure, including the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. |
Land and Waste Management
| • | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) programs: These programs regulate the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. |
| • | Superfund: A program for cleaning up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. |
| • | Brownfields Program: Provides funding and technical assistance for the cleanup and reuse of contaminated properties. |
| • | Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program: Regulates underground storage tanks to prevent leaks and spills of petroleum and hazardous chemicals. |
Emergency Response and Cleanup
| • | Emergency Response Program: The EPA coordinates with federal, state, and local agencies to respond to environmental emergencies, such as chemical spills and oil spills. |
| • | Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA): Programs that require businesses to report on the storage, use, and release of hazardous chemicals. |
Environmental Justice
| • | Environmental Justice Grant Programs: The EPA offers several grant programs to provide funding and technical assistance to communities disproportionately affected by environmental pollution. Examples include the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program and the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program. |
| • | EJSCREEN: An online mapping and screening tool that provides environmental and demographic data to help identify areas with environmental justice concerns. |
Other Programs and Initiatives
| • | Pesticide Programs: The EPA regulates pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to ensure they do not pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment. |
| • | Chemical Safety Programs: The EPA assesses and manages risks from chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). |
| • | Grants and Funding: The EPA provides a wide variety of grants to states, tribes, local governments, non-profits, and educational institutions to support environmental protection efforts. |
