Full Report

The nation’s environmental progress since the formation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nearly 50 years ago is remarkable by many measures, and the agency can point to a strong record of accomplishments.¹ Environmental and public health gains are increasingly difficult to achieve, however, and EPA’s current “business model,” in isolation, may be insufficient for tackling important present and emerging challenges and preserving historical gains. Past environmental improvements have been achieved largely through regulatory actions to set standards, issue permits, and hold dischargers responsible for compliance, as mandated by existing laws. New challenges, including climate change, are different from earlier challenges, and call for augmenting traditional programs with new approaches that engage states/tribes, industry, non-governmental organizations, communities and other stakeholders more actively than at present.

This conclusion emerges from a unique partnership formed in 2018 between American University’s Center for Environmental Policy (CEP) and the EPA Alumni Association (EPA AA) to identify our greatest environmental challenges and to suggest “future directions” for EPA. The partnership recognized that pressures on the environment will continue as worldwide population and economic growth drive greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and related impacts, intensive agricultural production, competition for water, reliance on chemicals, unsustainable land use and ecosystem destruction, urban concentration, and resource extraction. Informed by the partnership with EPA AA, CEP identified 6 key “future directions” to help EPA prepare for the challenges ahead:

1. Pursue State-of-Art Science Capability. EPA’s ability to lead in a future landscape involving many entities pursuing the goals of sustainability and environmental protection (in many different ways) starts with its own credibility and demands a solid foundation in state-of-the-art science.
2. Renew the U.S. “Environmental Protection Enterprise.” The integrated system of state/tribal and EPA programs -- the foundation for 50 years of environmental progress -- must be renewed with fresh energy and shared governance, and be broadened to include a role for nongovernmental organizations, industry, local government, and others who can bring resources, expertise, and ideas.
3. Strengthen International Cooperation. EPA and its partners (old and new) should embrace international cooperation as part of the future environmental protection enterprise because climate change and other complex challenges call for a worldwide response, and the benefits of exchanging technical expertise accrue globally.
4. Harness Markets and Consumer Choice in Concert with Regulations. EPA should accelerate the use of market approaches that are already proven, such as regional cap-and-trade systems, and give the public/consumers information on the sustainability of products and processes. In many cases market approaches can achieve more than regulations alone.
5. Advance a Forward-Looking Regulatory System. Regulations will remain critical for meeting future challenges, but should be designed to embrace technological innovation and the best new models for achieving outcomes and rewarding sustainability.
6. Engage the Public to Raise Awareness About the Environment. Public confidence in EPA and support for its mission are critical. EPA and partners need to redouble efforts to engage the public -- both to listen and to educate -- about critical public health and environmental threats and clearly communicate necessary actions.