Environmental Protection Agency
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| The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leads the nation's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts. EPA works to develop and enforce regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress. EPA is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs, and delegates to states and tribes the responsibility for issuing permits and for monitoring and enforcing compliance. Where national standards are not met, EPA can issue sanctions and take other steps to assist the states and tribes in reaching the desired levels of environmental quality. In recent years, between 40 and 50 percent of EPA's enacted budgets have provided direct support through grants to State environmental programs. EPA grants to States, non-profits and educational institutions support high-quality research that will improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its goals. At laboratories located throughout the nation, the Agency works to assess environmental conditions and to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems; integrate the work of scientific partners such as nations, private sector organizations, academia and other agencies; and provide leadership in addressing emerging environmental issues and in advancing the science and technology of risk assessment and risk management. The Agency works through its headquarters and regional offices with over 10,000 industries, businesses, non-profit organizations, and state and local governments, on over 40 voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. Partners set voluntary pollution-management goals; examples include conserving water and energy, minimizing greenhouse gases, slashing toxic emissions, re-using solid waste, controlling indoor air pollution, and getting a handle on pesticide risks. In return, EPA provides incentives like vital public recognition and access to emerging information. In support of these agency commitments, particularly in promoting voluntary partnerships, EPA has been the leader and major driver of the Green Highways Partnership. EPA has provided uncountable staff hours and over 1 million dollars in financial and technical support towards the development and promotion of the partnership,. EPA has awarded a number of grants in support of this partnership including one to Global Environment and Technology Foundation and the Low Impact Development Center for technical analysis and data transfer, one to Maryland State Highway Administration for pilot projects and data gathering, and initiated the Anacostia targeted watershed grant which focused on collaboration between watershed groups and transportation agencies for the innovative restoration of the Anacostia Watershed |