FY 2013 R&D REPORT January 6 2014 - Environmental Protection Agency

1. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
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FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2012
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An Exclusive service for Affiliates of the National Council For Science and the Environment
6. EnvironmentalProtectionAgency($550million)
he research mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to conduct leading-edge
research and foster the sound use of science and technology to fulfill EPA’s mission to protect
human health and safeguard the natural environment. To that end, EPA administers over a
dozen major environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Solid Waste Disposal
Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Superfund, Toxic Substances Control Act, and the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
Approximately three quarters of EPA’s R&D is implemented intramurally, or through federally
funded research and development centers. The remaining quarter of EPA’s R&D is conducted by
extramural partners.
Nearly 70% of EPA’s R&D is classified as ‘applied’ research, 15% as ‘development’ and 15
percentas‘basic’research.
Source:OMB R&Ddata,Budgetofthe United StatesGovernment,agencybudgetjustification,agencybudgetdocuments,andhistoricaldata. *ARRAadds$5.7billionin
EnvironmentalR&DinFY2009. Yearlyvaluesareadjustedforinflationusing OMB’sGDPdeflators.Nominalvaluesareunadjusted

2. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
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Environmental R&D at the Environmental Protection Agency
(budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 Change FY 12-13
Actual Actual Estimate Percent
EPA R&D by Account:
Science and Technology
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581 529 527 -0.3%
Air, Climate, and Energy 120 104 93 -10.5%
Chemical Safety and Sustainability 85 93 123 32.3%
Homeland Security 61 39 39 1.1%
Safe & Sustainable Water Resources 117 114 106 -6.8%
Sustainable & Healthy Communities 192 174 160 -7.7%
Congressional Projects (All Goals) 6 5 5 -3.9%
Superfund 27 23 22 -4.3%
Oil Spill Response 1 1 1 -43.6%
____ ____ ____
TOTAL 609 553 550 -0.5%
1 Excludes transfers from Superfund (see Superfund line).
Note: S&T program goals were realigned in FY 2012. FY 2010 figures shown for both program alignments for comparison.
Source: AAAS estimates of R&D from OMB R&D data, Budget of the U.S. Government, and agency budget documents.
Figures are rounded to the nearest million. Changes calculated from unrounded figures. FY 2013 are estimates adjusted for
the full-year continuing resolution and sequestration
OfficeofResearchandDevelopment
The Office of Research and Development (ORD) is the principal scientific and research arm of the
EPA. ORD’s Strategic Plan describes its approach to fulfilling a mission to conduct leading-edge
research and foster the sound use of science and technology to fulfill EPA’s mission to protect human
health and safeguard the natural environment. This mission commits ORD to conduct its research in a
way that will have a direct and meaningful impact on EPA’s decisions and programs.
ORD’s Research Programs:
• Air, Climate, and Energy
• Chemical Safety for Sustainability
• Human Health Risk Assessment
• Homeland Security
• Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
• Sustainable and Healthy Communities
ORD’s laboratories, centers and offices:
• National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT)
• National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA)
• National Center for Environmental Research (NCER)
• National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL)
• National Health & Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL)
• National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC)
• National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL)
• Office of the Science Advisor (OSA)
• Office of Science Policy (OSP)

3. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
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AirClimateand Energy($93million)
Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE) research is being captured in three broad research areas with
underlying objectives. They are:
1. Assess Impacts
The goal of this research is to assess human and ecosystem exposures and effects associated with
air pollutants and climate change at the individual level as well as community, regional, and global
levels. This theme includes the following objectives:
• Assess multipollutant exposures and effects and integrated impacts of climate change on air
and water quality and human and ecosystem health.
• Develop innovative approaches to assess human and environmental exposures and effects of
pollutants in the atmosphere.
• Identify characteristics of populations and ecosystems susceptible to effects from exposure to
air pollutants and climate change impacts.
• Inform review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
2. Prevent and Reduce Emissions
The goal of this research is to provide data and tools to develop and evaluate approaches to prevent
and reduce emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere, particularly environmentally sustainable, cost-
effective, and innovative multipollutant and sector-based approaches. This research includes the
following objectives:
• Support the management of air pollution problems to better account for regional and daily or
yearly differences in air pollution.
• Develop methods and data for life-cycle analyses of alternative pollution reduction and
energy options regarding the most sustainable and cost effective uses of resources.
• Provide innovative technologies to support the implementation of management strategies to
prevent and reduce air pollution.
• Conduct evaluations of integrated, sustainable pollution reduction and prevention solutions.
• Support implementation of NAAQS.
3. Respond to Changes in Climate and Air Quality
The goal of this research is to provide human exposure and environmental modeling, monitoring,
metrics and information needed by individuals, communities, and governmental agencies to adapt to
the impacts of climate change and make public health decisions regarding air quality. This research
includes the following objectives:
• Evaluate alternative adaptation strategies, focusing on the most vulnerable individuals, com-
munities, and ecosystems.
• Devise innovative methods to inform individual- and community- level adaptation to climate
change and decision making regarding air quality.
• Evaluate social, behavioral, and economic factors that may hinder the ability of
communities and individuals to implement adaptation strategies for climate change and make
informed decisions regarding air quality.

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ChemicalSafetyforSustainability($123million)
Using innovative approaches, EPA scientists and their partners are embracing the principles of green
chemistry to produce safer chemicals. Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS) research is focused
on three main goals:
1. Developing the scientific knowledge, tools and models needed to conduct integrated, timely and
efficient chemical evaluation strategies
The first goal is intended to deliver a suite of tools (i.e., data, methods, models) that offers
researchers and environmental decision-makers needed resources for improved chemical assessments.
Research in this area will provide critical information for assessments and decision making on chemical
exposure and impacts to humans and wildlife at the individual and population levels. This research area
has multiple levels including chemical properties, prioritization and screening, hypothesis-driven
targeted research and systems understanding of complex environmental risk.
2. Improving methods for assessment and informing management for chemical safety and
sustainability
The second goal is focused on the application of the tools for risk assessment and chemical
management to ensure the safe and sustainable design, production and use of chemicals, including the
advancement of green chemistry. Research will support the next generation of risk assessment and
management approaches to help screen and prioritize chemicals for their safety and make major
regulatory decisions to protect human health and wildlife. These chemical risk assessment and
management methods will: 1) Lead to better and more efficient assessments and 2) Provide risk
management options that better target where risks are more likely to occur throughout a chemical’s
life cycle from production to disposal.
3. Providing targeted high-priority research solutions for immediate and focused attention
The third goal is intended to ensure that the high-priority human and environmental health-related
specific research needs of the Agency, identified by its program and regional offices, are met while the
long-term research solutions are advanced. The work focuses on filling critical data gaps and
identifying high priority needs of chemical management programs using the products of the other two
research areas.
CSS’s key research outcomes include:
 Improved chemical hazard assessments
 Improved chemical prioritization, screening, testing and quantitative risk assessments
 Improved understanding of the relationship of chemical exposures and health outcomes to
the fetus and children
 Development of sustainable risk management approaches
 Accessible, useful information
Human Health Risk Assessment
The Human Health Risk Assessment Program (HHRA) plays a unique role in serving the needs of
EPA’s programs and regions, as well as the broader risk assessment/management community, by
identifying, evaluating, synthesizing and integrating scientific information on individual chemicals and
chemical mixtures. The HHRA research program is comprised of four complementary and integrated research

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themes:
1. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health hazard and dose-response assessments
IRIS assessments are used widely by EPA’s programs and regions, states, international
organizations and the general public as a scientific foundation for decision-making (e.g., site-specific
cleanups, rules, regulations and health policy determinations). Potential impacts that may result from
these decisions include reduced environmental exposures, reduced disease burdens and improved
public health. Additionally, improvements to the IRIS process and database will increase the
transparency and clarity of IRIS assessments. Examples of outputs produced under the IRIS theme
include: individual IRIS assessments, scientific and technical support, and improvements to the
IRIS process and database utility.
2. Integrated Science Assessments (ISAs) of criteria air pollutants
Under the ISA theme, HHRA scientists develop ISAs summarizing the state-of-the-science for the six
criteria air pollutants—ozone, particulate matter, sulfur and nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, and lead—
and Multipollutant Science Assessments (MSAs) to support the reviews of the primary (health-based) and
secondary (welfare-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), as well as to address the
combined effects of nitrous and sulfur oxides. ISAs provide the scientific foundation for the EPA
Administrator’s decision on each of the NAAQS. Attainment of the NAAQS for these pollutants has been
estimated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and EPA to provide significant public health
and environmental benefits to the American public that far exceed the cost of control programs. The direct
benefits of EPA’s air programs include the reduced incidence of a number of adverse human health
impacts, including premature death and disease, improvements in visibility and avoided damage to
agricultural crops and other vegetation.
3. Community Risk and Technical Support (CRTS) for exposure and health assessments
Major outputs of the CRTS theme include quick turn-around exposure and risk assessments, crisis-
level technical support, the development of Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs),
tools and guidance for exposure assessments and methods and tools for conducting cumulative impact
assessments. The rapid response and applied technical support provided under the CRTS theme
enhances the ability of EPA regional offices to quickly make sound, risk-based decisions regarding
emerging issues of concern in their communities. ORD’s work in this area also ensures that EPA
regional offices have the requisite tools to address community needs for screening-level decisions,
records of decisions and permitting through risk-based information. EPA’s ability to respond to
environmental justice concerns also will be enhanced through the incorporation of nonchemical
stressors into community risk assessment. The development of PPRTVs enables the Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) to make informed clean-up decisions at contaminated
Superfund sites, which can lead to improvements in human and ecological health in the vicinity of
Superfund sites, as well as improved economic conditions and quality of life for nearby communities.
Across the board, Theme 3 outputs will positively contribute to protecting the public’s health,
including reducing risks for sensitive populations.
4. Modernizing Risk Assessment Methods (Methods)
Theme 4 focuses on the translation of research, described in the Chemical Safety and
Sustainability (CSS) research program and state-of-the-science methods from peer reviewed
sources, into practical application in IRIS, ISA, MSA, and PPRTV assessments and in assessing
special problems (e.g., hydraulic fracturing under the Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
(SSWR) research program). Theme 4 products will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of
EPA risk assessment programs by developing innovative approaches and applying them to mine

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databases and link information to users’ needs in a more effective fashion. This process will
enable assessments to be performed quickly and more transparently. Additionally, using
quantitative estimates of incremental population risk, along with better quantitative
characterization of uncertainty and vulnerability, will enable risk manages to more effectively use
HHRA products in the context of formal decision analysis and cost-benefit analysis. This theme
also includes the development of the Risk Assessment Training and Experience (RATE) Program
and the application of Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO) to assessment
products.
Homeland Security ($39 million)
EPA’s Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP) was established to conduct applied research
and provide technical support that increases the capability of EPA to achieve its homeland security
responsibilities. The HSRP helps build systems-based solutions by working with Agency partners to
plan, implement and deliver useful science and technology products. HSRP maintains robust
coordination efforts with other federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others.
HSRP’s research is conducted and science products are constructed to address “all hazards,” filling
science gaps associated with chemical, biological and radiological contamination intentionally released
by terrorists or caused by natural disasters or accidents.
The HSRP is organized into three Research Themes: two themes align with each of EPA’s main
homeland security responsibilities (water security and environmental cleanup), and a third cross-
cutting theme addresses issues common to both of these responsibilities. The themes are as follows:
 Theme A: Securing and Sustaining Water Systems
 Theme B: Characterizing Contamination and Determining Risk
 Theme C: Remediating Indoor and Outdoor Environments
This research action plan describes the mission and design of the HSRP, its strategic directions, and
the critical scientific and technical questions it is addressing. The research action plan is a high-level
strategic document that will be revised every three to four years.
Safe&SustainableWaterResources($106million)
Increasing demands are being placed on finite water resources to supply drinking water, water for
other societal needs (including energy, agriculture and industry), and the water necessary to support
healthy aquatic ecosystems. Having adequate water of sufficient quality underpins the Nation’s health,
economy, security and ecology. It is the responsibility of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to conduct research and analyses that will ensure that the Nation’s water resources are safe for
use and can be sustained for future generations. To ensure that EPA decisions protecting water
resources are based on sound science, EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) has
integrated its Drinking Water and Water Quality research programs to create the Safe and Sustainable
Water Resources (SSWR) Research Program. The SSWR Research Program is undertaking
development of sustainable solutions to 21st century water resource problems by integrating research
on social, environmental and economic outcomes to provide lasting solutions. SSWR will target two
major challenges:
1. Provide the best science in a timely manner to allow faster and/or smarter management
decisions for the Nation’s existing water resource problems; and
2. Get scientific knowledge out in front of tomorrow’s problems by developing and applying
new approaches that better inform and guide environmentally sustainable water resource

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management.
Increasing demands for sources of clean water, combined with changing land use practices,
population growth, aging infrastructure, and climate change and variability, pose significant threats to
the Nation’s water resources. Failure to manage the Nation’s waters in an integrated, sustainable
manner can jeopardize human and aquatic ecosystem health and impact our society and economy.
The SSWR Research Program seeks to develop sustainable solutions to these complex water issues
and proactively develop solutions to emerging and future problems, ensuring that clean, adequate and
equitable supplies of water are available to support human well-being and resilient aquatic ecosystems,
now and in the future. The SSWR Strategic Research Action Plan was developed by EPA scientists
and managers from ORD, the Office of Water (OW), other programs offices and the regions, with
input from stakeholders from water associations, water research foundations, utilities, environmental
groups, tribes, industry, and state agencies. The input from these groups was invaluable in identifying
the problem statement and vision for SSWR, as well as the key research that will result in timely,
relevant and sustainable solutions.
The program uses two broad, interrelated research themes as its framework: (1) Sustainable Water
Resources and (2) Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems. The goals of these thematic research
areas are:
 Research Theme 1—Sustainable Water Resources: Ensure safe and sustainable water
quality and availability to protect human and ecosystem health by integrating social,
economic and environmental research for use in protecting and restoring water resources
and their designated uses (e.g., drinking water, aquatic life, recreation, industrial processes,
other designated uses) on a watershed scale.
 Research Theme 2—Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems: Ensure the sustainability of
critical water resources using systems-integrated water resource management in which the
natural, green and built water infrastructure is capable of producing, storing and delivering
safe and high-quality drinking water, and providing transport and use-specific treatment of
wastewater and stormwater.
Sustainable & Healthy Communities ($160 million)
Sustainable and Healthy Communities research (SHC) is expressly focused on the growing interest
of U.S. communities in sustainable practices. Agency researchers and their partners are working
together to better understand the balance among the three pillars of sustainability: the environment,
society, and the economy. The transdisciplinary work conducted through SHC will provide decision
tools and data that communities need to make strategic decisions for a prosperous and environmentally
sustainable future. The SHC research program also conducts research to seek more cost-effective
means of accomplishing EPA’s mission—means that will maximize the benefits of multiple
approaches to environmental protection, recognize synergies between protecting human and ecosystem
health, and reduce the likelihood that policy decisions will have unintended consequences. The design
of this research program was truly collaborative, as is its implementation. EPA scientists held a series
of meetings with internal EPA partners in the policy and regional offices and conducted listening
sessions with community officials, tribal representatives, academic experts, and non-profit
organizations. These discussions highlighted community and local government approaches for
managing their financial and natural resources and for providing services that directly affect their local
economies, environment, and the health and well-being of their residents.
Working in collaboration with agency partners and community stakeholders, SHC developed a
problem statement and vision statement to guide SHC research; both emphasize the need for methods
to integrate and weigh trade-offs inherent in community decision-making. The SHC builds upon EPA’s

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existing community-based programs and extensive use of voluntary practices to achieve human health
and environmental goals. In particular, SHC seeks to provide information that will assist decision-
makers in implementing innovative actions within communities and tribal programs that can
complement EPA, state, and tribal authorities and, in so doing, to achieve shared sustainability goals in
more flexible, economically beneficial and effectively synergistic ways. Ongoing communication and
feedback is a critical part of the SHC, and will be essential in keeping the program as responsive and
relevant as possible to local, EPA policy, and regional needs.
The scope of SHC research is evident in both the national and local priorities it addresses. For
example, SHC is the primary source of research support for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response, and Office of Sustainable Communities. It is also the focal point for
coordination of research across ORD that contributes to EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection
and the Agency’s Environmental Justice programs. In addition, because the consequences of decisions
affecting air quality, resilience to climate change, availability of energy and water, chemical safety,
homeland security, and risk assessment are all ultimately encountered at a local level, SHC integrates
aspects of each of ORD’s other research programs into the conduct of its work.
To organize this breadth of research, SHC is structured into four interrelated themes having the
following objectives:
1. Data and Tools to Support Community Decisions: will use cutting edge technologies to
collaboratively develop better data, methods, and indicators, new spatial analyses, and decision tools to
assist communities in developing effective approaches to achieve their sustainability goals.
2. Forecasting and Assessing Ecological and Community Health: will develop the information and
methods that communities need to assess how the natural and built environment affect the health and
well-being of their residents and to identify sound and sustainable management options.
3. Implementing Near-Term Approaches to Sustainable Solutions: will build upon regional and
state successes and experience to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of methods and guidance to
address existing sources of land and groundwater contamination while advancing innovative
approaches that reduce new sources of contamination and enable the recovery of energy, materials, and
nutrients from existing waste streams. This research provides scientific support to EPA program and
regional offices and to states and tribes that implement federal requirements and guidelines related to
land and groundwater contamination.
4. Integrated Solutions for Sustainable Outcomes: will assess the state of the art for sustainable
practices for four high-priority community decision areas with environmental impacts: waste and
materials management; infrastructure, including energy and water; transportation options; and planning
and zoning for buildings and land use. It will use whole-system modeling to integrate these four areas
to better achieve outcomes with multiple benefits and to develop and test methods to estimate the Total
Resource Impacts and Outcomes of alternate decisions (TRIO methods).
Congressional Priorities ($5 million)
Superfund ($22 million)
Superfund is the federal government’s program to clean up the nation’s uncontrolled hazardous
waste sites. The Superfund cleanup process is complex; it involves the steps taken to assess sites, place
them on the National Priorities List, and establish and implement appropriate cleanup plans. EPA’s
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) in Washington, D.C. oversees the Super-
fund program. The Office of Emergency Management within OSWER is responsible for short term
responses conducted under the authority of Superfund. In addition, the Agency has the authority to
conduct removal actions where immediate action needs to be taken; to enforce against potentially
Comment [RS1]: “The EPA is not requesting
funds to support this grant program in FY 2014.”

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responsible parties; to ensure community involvement; to involve states; and to ensure long-term
protectiveness.
FurtherReading
 United States Environmental Protection Agency FY 2014 Planning and Budget -
http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy2014
 FY 2014 Justification of Appropriation Estimates for Committee on Appropriations -
http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/cjfy14.pdf