properties is addressed in a manner that protects human health and the environment. For more information on the Superfund Federal Facilities Response program, please refer to http://www.epa.gov/fedfac.

EPA uses a variety of tools to accomplish cleanups, including permits, enforcement actions, consent agreements, and Federal facility agreements. Cleanup programs at all levels of government work together to ensure that appropriate cleanup tools are used; that resources, activities, and results are coordinated with partners and stakeholders and communicated to the public effectively; and that cleanups are protective and contribute to community revitalization. The Agency's two major cleanup programs, Superfund and RCRA Corrective Action, now rely on similar human health and groundwater protection environmental indicators. EPA is working to coordinate across all of its cleanup programs, while maintaining the flexibility needed to accommodate differences in program authorities and approaches.

EPA fulfills its cleanup and waste management responsibilities on Tribal lands by acknowledging Tribal sovereignty, which means recognizing Tribal governments as the most appropriate authorities for setting standards, making policy decisions, and managing programs consistent with Agency standards and regulations. EPA works with its Federal, state, Tribal, and local government partners to identify facilities and sites on or adjacent to Indian country requiring attention and to monitor changes in priorities.

Even though the Superfund program met its FY 2005 targets for a majority of its existing performance measures, challenges remain for the coming years. The program has a number of projects ready for construction, while it also needs to fund several large, complex remedial projects at an optimal pace. In addition, as the program has matured, it has become necessary for the Agency to devote more resources toward post construction activities, including long-term remedial actions and five-year reviews. Therefore, the Agency proposes to redirect resources from earlier phase activities toward construction in FY 2007.

To meet its objective to control the risks to human health and the environment at contaminated properties or sites through cleanup, stabilization, or other action, and to make land available for reuse, EPA intends to achieve the following results in FY 2007:

Make 350 final site-assessment decisions under Superfund;

Increase the total number of Superfund sites where all identified unacceptable human
exposures are controlled to at or below health-based levels for current land and/or
groundwater use conditions by 10;

Increase the total number of Superfund sites where the migration of contaminated
groundwater is under control through engineered or natural processes by 10;
Select final remedies at 25 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List (NPL);

Complete construction of remedies at 40 Superfund sites on the NPL;

Increase the percentage of high priority RCRA facilities with human exposure to controlled toxins from an estimated 82% in FY 2006 to 89%;

Increase the percentage of high priority RCRA facilities with toxic releases to groundwater contamination to 75% from an estimated 68% in FY 2006; and

Complete 13,000 leaking underground storage tanks cleanups.

Enforcement authorities play a unique role under the Superfund program: they are used to leverage private-party resources to conduct a majority of the cleanup actions and to reimburse the Federal government for cleanups financed by the Trust Fund. The Superfund program's "enforcement first" policy ensures that sites that have viable potentially responsible parties (PRPs) are cleaned up by those parties, allowing EPA to focus appropriated resources on sites where viable PRPs either do not exist or lack funds or capabilities needed to conduct the cleanup. In tandem with this approach, various reforms have been implemented to increase fairness, reduce transaction costs, and promote economic development. For more information regarding EPA's enforcement and program its various components, please refer to

www.epa.gov/compliance/cleanup/superfund/.

The Agency also has been encouraging the establishment and use of Special Accounts within the Superfund Trust Fund. These accounts segregate site-specific funds obtained from responsible parties that complete settlement agreements with EPA. These funds may create an incentive for other PRPs at that specific site to perform work they otherwise might not be willing to perform. Alternatively, these funds may be used by the Agency to fund cleanup activities if there are not known or viable PRPs. As a result, the Agency can get more sites cleaned up while preserving the appropriated Trust Fund dollars for sites without viable PRPs.

In FY 2007, the Agency will continue to implement its "enforcement first" strategy. It will negotiate remedial design/remedial action cleanup agreements and removal agreements at contaminated properties. Where negotiations fail, the Agency will either take unilateral enforcement actions to require PRP cleanup or use appropriated dollars to remediate sites. When appropriated dollars are used to clean up sites, the program will recover this money from the PRPS whenever possible. The Agency will also continue its efforts to establish and maximize the use of Special Accounts to facilitate clean up.

By continuing to pursue cost recovery settlements, the program promotes the principle that polluters should perform or pay for cleanups, preserving appropriated Superfund Trust Fund resources for site remediation where there is no known or viable PRP. The Agency's expenditures are recouped through administrative actions, CERCLA section 107 case referrals, and through settlements reached with the use of alternative dispute resolution.

EPA's financial management offices provide a full array of support services to the Superfund program including managing oversight billing for Superfund site cleanups and financial cost recovery. The Department of Justice supports EPA's Superfund Enforcement program through negotiations and judicial actions to compel PRP cleanup and litigation to recover Trust Fund monies spent.

Encouraging Land Revitalization

Land is one of America's most valuable resources. However, where contamination presents a real or perceived threat to human health and the environment, options and even interest in future use of that property may be limited. To address these common scenarios, EPA's cleanup programs have set a national goal of returning formerly contaminated sites to long-term, sustainable, and productive use. This goal creates greater impetus for selecting and implementing

remedies that, in addition to providing clear environmental benefits, support reasonably anticipated future land use options and provide greater economic and social benefits.

To help achieve its land revitalization goals, EPA works with external partners to: (1) promote land revitalization by ensuring that current use or reuse options are considered explicitly in the evaluation of cleanup options; (2) commit the necessary resources to address current use or reuse as a top priority in cleanup decisions; (3) develop new comprehensive policies and programs to address unintended cross-jurisdiction and cross-program barriers to the protective reuse of contaminated properties; (4) promote protective, long-term current use or reuse of properties; (5) promote sustainable reuse to prevent further contamination and indirect environmental problems that may result from some reuse (sustainable reuses include open spaces, energy efficient buildings, low impact design, smart growth community developments, and wildlife habitats); (6) develop and promote a land revitalization research agenda that improves our understanding of and our ability to use protectively or reuse contaminated or potentially contaminated properties; (7) build partnerships to leverage knowledge, expertise, and resources in the revitalization of properties (including government-to-government partnerships at the local, state, Tribal, and Federal levels as well as partnerships with non-government, private, and community organizations); (8) expand community capabilities through improved public involvement tools and information systems on contamination, cleanup, reuse, and long-term stewardship; (9) expand and promote educational and training programs that encourage and provide needed tools to achieve land revitalization; and (10) promote various approaches to measure and report the status and impacts of the collective efforts to revitalize.

For more information concerning EPA's land revitalization efforts, please refer to http://www.epa.gov/swerrims/landrevitalization/.

Reducing and Recycling Waste

Preventing pollution before it is generated and poses harm is often less costly than cleanup and remediation. Source reduction and recycling programs can increase resource and energy efficiencies and thereby reduce pressures on the environment. RCRA directs EPA to minimize the amount of waste generated and to improve recovery and conservation of materials through recycling. To this end, EPA builds on partnerships with other Federal agencies; state, Tribal, and local governments; business and industry; and non-governmental organizations. These voluntary partnerships provide information sharing, recognition, and assistance to improve practices in both public and private sectors.

EPA launched the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) as a major national effort to find flexible, yet more protective ways to conserve our valuable natural resources through waste reduction, energy recovery, and recycling. Through the RCC, EPA challenges every American to prevent pollution, promote recycling and reuse, and conserve energy and materials. The RCC programs foster source reduction and recycling in business, industry, and government; encourage local adoption of economic incentives that further source reduction and recycling; reduce hazardous wastes containing priority chemicals; promote waste-based industries that concurrently create jobs; foster cost-effective recycling programs in communities and Tribes; enhance markets for recycled materials by increasing procurement of recycled-content products; encourage innovative practices that result in more cost-effective source reduction and recycling;

implement the President's Climate Change Action Plan; and provide information to assess and track progress in reaching national goals.

Reducing waste generation has clear benefits in combating the ever-growing stream of municipal solid waste (MSW). MSW includes waste generated from residences, commercial establishments, institutions, and industrial non-process operations. Annual generation of MSW 12 In FY 2007, EPA's grew steadily from 88 million to 236 million tons between 1960 and 2003. municipal solid waste program will implement a set of coordinated strategies, including source reduction (also called waste prevention), recycling (including composting), combustion with energy recovery, and landfilling. Preference will be given to strategies that maximize the diversion of waste from disposal, with source reduction (including reuse) as the highest priority.

To meet its objective for reducing materials use through product and process redesign, and increasing materials and energy recovery from wastes otherwise requiring disposal, EPA intends to achieve the following results in FY 2007:

Maintain the national average MSW generation rate at no more than 4.5 pounds per person per day; and

Divert 85.2 million tons of MSW from landfills and combustion.

Recognizing that some hazardous wastes cannot be completely eliminated or recycled, the RCRA program works to reduce exposure to hazardous wastes by maintaining a cradle-to-grave approach to waste management. The program's primary focus is to prevent hazardous releases from RCRA facilities and reduce emissions from hazardous waste combustion through a combination of regulations, permits and voluntary standards. State program authorization provides the states with primary RCRA implementation and enforcement authority; reduces overlapping and dual implementation by the states and EPA; provides the regulated community with one set of regulations; reduces overall Federal enforcement presence in the states; and can provide the opportunity for some of the newer, less-stringent RCRA regulations to be implemented by the states. To date, 48 States, Guam, and the District of Columbia are authorized to issue permits. Important goals of the RCRA program include strong state partnerships, the authorization of states for all portions of the RCRA hazardous waste program, including regulations addressing waste management issues contained in permits, and resultsoriented state oversight.

12

US Environmental Protection Agency. Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2003 Facts and Figures, Executive Summary, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, October 2003. Available online at www.cpa.gov/epaoswer/nonbw/muncpl/msw99.htm. Last updated April 5, 2005.

EPA works with states, Tribes and Intertribal Consortia to prevent, detect, and correct leaks into the environment from Federally-regulated USTS containing petroleum and hazardous substances. Achieving significant improvements in release prevention and detection requires a sustained emphasis by both EPA and its partners. Because states are the primary enforcers of the UST program requirements, EPA has adopted a decentralized approach to UST program implementation by building and supporting strong state and local programs. Concerns about the use of fuel oxygenates, like MTBE, in gasoline further underscores EPA's and the states' emphasis on promoting compliance with all UST requirements. EPA provides technical information, forums for information exchanges and training opportunities to states, Tribes and Intertribal Consortia to encourage program development and/or implementation of the UST program. In FY 2007, EPA will make grants to states and Tribes under Section 2007(f)(2) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) for underground storage tank detection, prevention and correction programs and grants or cooperative agreements for new activities authorized by the Underground Storage Tank Compliance Act of 2005 (USTCA), which was enacted as Title XV, Subtitle B of the EPAct, that are not otherwise provided for in Section 2007 of the SWDA. Due to authority limits, EPA will not use STAG funds for leaking underground storage tank cleanup activities that are authorized by Section 205 of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, even if those activities are also authorized by the USTCA.

To meet its objective for reducing releases to the environment by managing hazardous wastes and petroleum products properly, EPA intends to achieve the following results in FY 2007:

Prevent releases from RCRA hazardous waste management facilities by increasing the number of facilities with permits or other approved controls by 2.4 percent over the FY 2006 level. At the end of FY 2005, 90 percent of the facilities had permits or other approved controls; 13

Increase the percentage of UST facilities in significant operational compliance with both release detection and release prevention (spill, overfill, and corrosion protection) requirements to 67 percent of the estimated universe of approximately 256,000 facilities; and

Reduce the number of confirmed releases at UST facilities to 10,000 or fewer. (Between FY 1999 and FY 2005, confirmed releases averaged 10,844. The annual number of confirmed releases in FY 2005 was 7,421).

Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Homeland Security

EPA will continue to improve its emergency preparedness and response capability, including homeland security capabilities. EPA plays a major role in reducing the risks that accidental and intentional releases of harmful substances and oil pose to human health and the environment. Under the multi-agency National Response Plan (NRP), EPA evaluates and responds to thousands of releases annually. EPA's primary role in the NRP is to serve as the Federal OnScene Coordinator (OSC) for spills and releases in the inland zone. As a result of NRP efforts, many major oil spills and releases of hazardous substances have been contained, minimizing the adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

13

This goal currently tracks approximately 2,460 hazardous waste management facilities subject to permitting requirements. This baseline was updated for FY 2006.