Managing for Results: EPA Faces Challenges in Developing Results-Oriented
Performance Goals and Measures (Letter Report, 04/28/2000,
GAO/RCED-00-77).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) performance goals and measures,
focusing on: (1) the extent to which EPA's fiscal year (FY) 2000
performance goals and measures focus on end outcomes, intermediate
outcomes, or outputs; (2) any challenges the agency faces in developing
additional performance goals and measures that focus on end outcomes;
and (3) the initiatives the agency is taking to address any identified
challenges.

GAO noted that: (1) in EPA's FY 2000 performance plan, 16 percent of the
goals and 12 percent of the measures focus on end outcomes, targeting
the environmental changes that EPA plans to achieve as a result of its
activities; (2) end outcomes generally entail reductions in the amount
of pollutants emitted or discharged into or concentrated in the
environment; (3) to a lesser extent, these end outcomes related to
reductions in the amount of pollutant absorbed by living organisms and
the adverse effects of the pollutants on ecology and human health and
welfare; (4) EPA program managers told GAO that the limited availability
of data on environmental conditions and knowledge of the health effects
of pollutants needed to measure EPA's performance was the major
challenge to developing outcome goals and measures; (5) such data is
needed to establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between a
program's activities and the resulting changes in the environment; (6)
this relationship is often difficult to establish because of factors
beyond a program's control, such as changes in weather patterns and
economic conditions; (7) in October 1998, EPA announced plans to
establish a central information office to, among other things, lead the
agency's efforts toward obtaining the environmental information needed
to measure the results of its programs' activities; (8) this office has
initiated several efforts to improve the quality of EPA's data, such as
developing an action plan to detail the key steps the agency needs to
take to help ensure that its environmental data are sufficiently
complete, compatible, and accurate to meet its needs; (9) in addition,
EPA's Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability has initiated an
effort to work with the agency's program offices to improve the quality
of annual performance goals and measures and the agency's Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance is attempting to link its
enforcement and compliance activities with environmental results; and
(10) other program offices are also taking actions to develop additional
outcome goals and measures.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-00-77
     TITLE:  Managing for Results: EPA Faces Challenges in Developing
	     Results-Oriented Performance Goals and Measures
      DATE:  04/28/2000
   SUBJECT:  Performance measures
	     Strategic planning
	     Agency missions
	     Environmental policies
	     Program evaluation
	     Accountability
IDENTIFIER:  Superfund Program
	     EPA Acid Rain Program

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GAO/RCED-00-77

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

22

Appendix II: Strategic Goals in EPA's September 1997
Strategic Plan

24

Appendix III: Performance Goals and Measures In EPA's
Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan

25

Appendix IV: End and Intermediate Outcome Performance
Goals and Measures in EPA's Fiscal Year 2000
Performance Plan

26

Table 1: Hierarchy of Indicators 9

Figure 1: Number and Percentage of Performance Goals
Contained in EPA's Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan 6

Figure 2: Number and Percentage of Performance Measures
Contained in EPA's Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan 7

Figure 3: Numbers and Percentages of Performance Goals
for Each Level of EPA's Hierarchy of Indicators 11

Figure 4: Numbers and Percentages of Performance Measures
for Each Level of EPA's Hierarchy of Indicators 12

EMPACT Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

LUST Leaking Underground Storage Tank

NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards

OMB Office of Management and Budget

OPAA Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability

Project XL Project eXcellence and Leadership

RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

RMP Risk Management Plan

SPCC Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure

Resources, Community, and
Economic Development Division

B-284576

April 28, 2000

The Honorable Bud Shuster
Chairman, Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
House of Representatives

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner
Chairman, Committee on Science
House of Representatives

For over a decade, internal and external studies have called for the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to "manage for environmental results"
as a way to improve and better account for its performance. The Government
Performance and Results Act of 1993 (the Results Act) requires EPA and other
federal agencies to prepare performance plans containing annual performance
goals and measures to help move them toward managing for results. These
performance goals and measures are used to assess an agency's progress
toward achieving the results expected from its major functions. Under the
act, a performance goal is a target level of performance expressed as a
tangible, measurable objective against which actual achievement can be
compared. Performance measures are the yardsticks to assess an agency's
success in meeting its performance goals.

Performance goals and their associated measures are often expressed as end
outcomes, intermediate outcomes, or outputs. End outcomes are the results of
programs and activities compared to their intended purpose, such as ensuring
that drinking water is safe. Intermediate outcomes show progress toward
achieving end outcomes. They are often required for programs when end
outcomes are not immediately clear, easily delivered, or quickly achieved.
For example, convincing local communities to adopt higher water quality
standards is an intermediate outcome leading to the end outcome of safe
drinking water. Outputs are typically activities or products, such as the
number of environmental regulations promulgated, and do not directly measure
results.

EPA's fiscal year 2000 performance plan contains 187 performance goals and
364 performance measures. Concerned about EPA's progress in developing goals
and measures that focus on environmental results rather than on program
activities, you asked us to (1) determine the extent to which EPA's fiscal
year 2000 performance goals and measures focus on end outcomes, intermediate
outcomes, or outputs; (2) identify any challenges the agency faces in
developing additional performance goals and measures that focus on end
outcomes; and (3) describe the initiatives the agency is taking to address
any identified challenges.

In EPA's fiscal year 2000 performance plan, 16 percent of the goals and 12
percent of the measures focus on end outcomes, targeting the environmental
changes that EPA plans to achieve as a result of its activities. End
outcomes generally entail reductions in the amount of pollutants emitted or
discharged into or concentrated in the environment. To a lesser extent,
these end outcomes relate to reductions in the amount of pollutants absorbed
by living organisms and the adverse effects of the pollutants on ecology and
human health and welfare.

EPA program managers told us that the limited availability of data on
environmental conditions and knowledge of the health effects of pollutants
needed to measure EPA's performance was the major challenge to developing
outcome goals and measures. Such data is needed to establish a direct
cause-and-effect relationship between a program's activities and the
resulting changes in the environment. This relationship is often difficult
to establish because of factors beyond a program's control, such as changes
in weather patterns and economic conditions.

In October 1998, EPA announced plans to establish a central information
office to, among other things, lead the agency's efforts toward obtaining
the environmental information needed to measure the results of its programs'
activities. This office has initiated several efforts to improve the quality
of EPA's data, such as developing an action plan to detail the key steps the
agency needs to take to help ensure that its environmental data are
sufficiently complete, compatible, and accurate to meet its needs. In
addition, EPA's Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability has
initiated an effort to work with the agency's program offices to improve the
quality of annual performance goals and measures and the agency's Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance is attempting to link its enforcement
and compliance activities with environmental results. Other program offices
are also taking actions to develop additional outcome goals and measures.

Under the Results Act, federal agencies develop annual performance plans
that establish performance goals to define the level of performance to be
achieved by a program activity and establish performance measures to
indicate or assess the relevant outputs, service levels, and outcomes of
each program activity. Performance goals and measures are key elements in
determining whether an agency has been effectively accomplishing its
strategic goals. Performance measurement reinforces the connection between
the long-term strategic goals and strategies outlined in an agency's
strategic plan and the day-to-day activities of its program offices. (See
app. II for a list of EPA's strategic goals.)

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has instructed agencies that, as a
general rule, outcome goals should be included in their annual performance
plans whenever possible. OMB acknowledges, however, that activity-based
output goals can provide important information for agency managers to use in
managing their programs. Consequently, OMB recognizes that the performance
plans of most agencies will contain output goals and measures and that, in
the plans of some agencies, the majority of goals and measures could be
outputs.

EPA's fiscal year 2000 performance plan emphasizes output goals and measures
that provide information on the level or quality of environmental-related
products or services, such as activities that result from the agency's
efforts. As shown in figures 1 and 2, outputs account for 74 percent of the
performance goals and 81 percent of the performance measures contained in
EPA's plan. End outcomes and intermediate outcomes total 26 percent of EPA's
performance goals and 19 percent of its performance measures. EPA planning,
budgeting, and program office officials responsible for performance planning
noted that this was only the second such plan that they had developed under
the Results Act and said that they were striving to make future plans more
outcome oriented.

Figure 1: Number and Percentage of Performance Goals Contained in EPA's
Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan
Figure 2: Number and Percentage of Performance Measures Contained in EPA's
Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan

EPA classifies its programs into two types--media and nonmedia. Media
programs include clean air, safe water, and pollution prevention programs
that aim to clean up the environment. Nonmedia programs include those that
do not directly affect the environment, such as research and development,
enforcement, public awareness and general management activities.

Our analysis shows that EPA's media and nonmedia programs differ
significantly in the extent to which their performance goals and measures
reflect environmental outcomes. Thirty-three percent of EPA's performance
goals and 24 percent of its performance measures for environmental media
programs focus on end or intermediate outcomes; 10 percent of its
performance goals and 7 percent of its performance measures for nonmedia
programs focus on such outcomes.

EPA officials told us that it is much more difficult to link nonmedia
programs to specific environmental results. They pointed out that the
agency's strategic goals cover most, if not all, of the agency's major
activities. Therefore, the annual performance plan includes nonmedia
programs whose outputs are inherently difficult to link to specific
environmental results. For example, officials of the Office of Research and
Development told us that, given the office's role in providing scientific
and engineering information, models, methods, and tools, it is impossible to
tie its achievements to a specific change in pollutant levels. However, they
noted that their models, methods, and tools are inputs to the development of
environmental regulations and policies and frequently advance the state of
environmental science, thereby better enabling EPA to achieve its
environmental outcomes.

EPA has adopted a framework for categorizing its performance goals and
measures. EPA calls this framework the "hierarchy of indicators" because it
ranks the performance goals and measures according to their direct impacts
on improving the environment. The agency uses the framework as a tool to
evaluate its progress in moving from activity-based to results-based
performance goals and measures. As shown in table 1, at the top of the
hierarchy are the reductions of environmental risks or impacts to the
ecology or to human health and/or welfare. An example is EPA's performance
goal and measure for restoring watersheds to their designated uses.
Activities and services that EPA and the states perform, such as producing
rules and standards to achieve environmental improvements are at the low end
of the hierarchy under level 1. EPA has established a level "R" for research
and development efforts to recognize that they are different from other
types of environmental activities. According to EPA's performance planning
guidance, program offices should develop performance goals and measures at
the highest indicator level for which adequate data exist.

Table 1: Hierarchy of Indicators

Continued from Previous Page

                        Type of
                        performance
                        goal and
                                                          Example of
 Level Description of   measure         Example of        performance
       indicator        generally       performance goal
                        associated                        measure
                        with the
                        indicator
                                                          Number of river
       Environmental                                      miles, lake
       risks or impacts                 Restore           acres, and
 6     to the ecology orEnd outcome     watersheds to     estuary square
       human health                     their designated  miles that will
       and/or welfare                   uses.             be restored to
                                                          their designated
                                                          uses.

 5     Pollutants                       Reduce pesticide  Pesticide
       absorbed by the  End outcome     poisonings by 5   poisonings will
       human body                       percent.          be reduced by
                                                          5-percent.
                                                          All areas
                                                          currently meeting
                                                          national ambient
                                        Maintain healthy  air quality
                                        air quality for   standards will
 4     Concentrations of                levels of carbon  continue to
       pollutants in theEnd outcome     monoxide, sulfur  maintain
       environment                      dioxide, nitrogen healthful
                                        dioxide, and      standards for
                                        lead.             carbon monoxide,
                                                          sulfur dioxide,
                                                          nitrogen dioxide,
                                                          and lead.

                                        Reduce discharges Discharges of
 3     Discharges and                   of toxic air      toxic air
       emissions of     End outcome     pollutants by 4   pollutants will
       pollutants                       million pounds    be reduced by 4
                                        per year.         million pounds
                                                          per year.
                                        At least 100
                                        drinking water
                                        systems eligible  At least 100
                                        for Drinking      eligible drinking
       Actions or                       Water State       water systems
 2     responses by     Intermediate    Revolving Funds   will initiate
       regulated partiesoutcome         will have         operations to
                                        initiated         protect human
                                        operations that   health and
                                        protect human     welfare.
                                        health and
                                        welfare.
                                        Prepare final
                                        rules for
                                        disposal of       The lead debris
       Actions by EPA,                  lead-based paint  disposal rule and
       states, tribes,                  debris and        lead hazards
 1     or other         Output          establish         standards rule
       governmental                     standards         will be completed
       bodies                           regarding         by September 30,
                                        hazardous levels  2000.
                                        of lead in paint,
                                        dust, and soil.

                        Type of
                        performance
                        goal and
                                                          Example of
 Level Description of   measure         Example of        performance
       indicator        generally       performance goal
                        associated                        measure
                        with the
                        indicator
                                        Develop a
                                        conceptual model
                                        for developing
                                        watershed         A model to assess
                                        assessment        the exposure of
                                        techniques that   wildlife to
                                        would assist      multimedia
 R     Research and     Output          local, regional,  environmental
       development                                        contaminants
                                        and national
                                        environmental     (i.e., in the
                                        decisionmakers in soil, water,
                                        maintaining the   food, and air)
                                        ecological        will be released.
                                        integrity of a
                                        watershed.

Source: GAO's analysis of EPA's data.

Figure 3 shows the numbers and percentages of performance goals for each
level of EPA's hierarchy of indicators. Figure 4 provides similar
information for performance measures.

Figure 3: Numbers and Percentages of Performance Goals for Each Level of
EPA's Hierarchy of Indicators
Figure 4: Numbers and Percentages of Performance Measures for Each Level of
EPA's Hierarchy of Indicators
Outcome Goals and Measures

EPA considers getting the data needed to measure results its biggest
challenge in developing outcome-oriented performance goals and measures.
Over the years, EPA and the states have collected extensive data on the
environment; however, substantial gaps exist in the data on environmental
conditions and their effects on human health. For example, EPA lacks
toxicity data for more than one-third of the chemicals produced in large
volumes as well as for about two-thirds of the known hazardous air
pollutants. Such gaps make it difficult to establish a direct
cause-and-effect relationship between a program's activities and specific
changes in environmental conditions. Furthermore, different data collection
and analysis methods among EPA's databases and state databases (which EPA
relies upon extensively) make it difficult to aggregate data and use the
information to determine environmental outcomes. Substantial costs are
involved in improving EPA's and the states' databases to be more responsive
to the need for additional outcome-oriented goals and measures.

Even with better data, linking environmental programs and activities to
outcomes is sometimes difficult. Environmental conditions change because of
a complex web of factors, including such variables as the weather or
economic activity, many of which are beyond the control of EPA and its state
partners. For example, the annual use of pesticides in a particular region
can vary depending on how insect populations fluctuate from year to year.
Therefore, the peaks and valleys in the annual application of pesticides
make it difficult to attribute reductions in their use to a specific
governmental program. Some EPA officials have raised concerns about being
held accountable under the Results Act for environmental outcomes that they
think are largely out of their control and have indicated that they would
rather be held accountable for program outputs, over which they have more
control.

The long-term nature of environmental programs also hinders the development
of the data needed for annual performance goals and measures. A program
implemented today might take many years to show results. The actions by EPA
and the states to reduce the amount of polluting nutrients that work their
way into lakes, rivers, and bays illustrate the lengthy interval between
some environmental activities and their effects. Nutrients from fertilizers
and the manure of poultry and other livestock flow through the ground and
eventually find their way into the water. These nutrients pollute the water
and, among other things, cause the growth of algae that can release toxins,
killing fish. However, reducing the amount of polluting nutrients in the
ground today may not result in improved water quality for a decade or more.
Therefore, a performance goal to reduce these nutrients in the water may not
result in an environmental impact in the short-term.

Another challenge in developing better information on program results is
that data provided by the states often are incompatible. For example, states
do not use identical survey methods and criteria to rate their water
quality. EPA officials told us that such inconsistencies from state to state
make developing national performance goals and measures difficult.
Furthermore, they said that the scientific community generally recognizes
that the indicators for measuring performance in improving water quality
have not been very good.

Despite such limitations in the states' data systems, EPA is dependent upon
them for much of the data it needs to measure its performance. These
systems, like EPA's systems, primarily are designed to provide information
on the outputs associated with program activities, such as the enforcement
of regulations, rather than the environmental results of these activities.
Given the expense of collecting environmental data, EPA is concerned about
the reporting burden it may place on states and regulated industries as the
agency seeks to obtain better data to measure its results. States have
expressed concern about additional reporting burdens and have called for any
expansion in reporting requirements to be balanced with a reduction in some
of EPA's other reporting requirements.

EPA is considering ways to modernize its own data systems, but correcting
the problems may require considerable resources. Substantial resources and
expertise are required to identify and test potential results-oriented
performance measures. Once the measures are established, gathering and
analyzing the data can be resource-intensive and can take years to show
environmental improvement. Nor is it always cost-effective to collect the
data needed to monitor environmental programs. For example, Office of Water
officials told us that to establish a complete set of outcome goals and
measures for water quality would require creating a costly national
monitoring system that would take years to implement. They also noted that,
in passing the Clean Water Act, the Congress never envisioned a federal
system and left the primary monitoring responsibility with the states.

Performance Goals and Measures

EPA has recently taken several actions that should strengthen its ability to
develop additional outcome-oriented performance goals and measures. The most
important initiative is the creation of the Office of Environmental
Information, which is charged with ensuring that EPA has the data it needs
to manage for results. Other initiatives include developing processes and
long-term strategies to improve the quality of performance goals and
measures and linking the activities of program offices with environmental
results.

In October 1998, EPA announced plans to establish a central information
office to consolidate its diverse data systems and to improve the quality of
data used by EPA and provided to the public. The new Office of Environmental
Information is responsible for (1) ensuring that the quality of data
collected and used by EPA is known and appropriate for its intended uses,
(2) reducing the data collection and reporting burden of the states and
regulated industries, (3) filling significant data gaps, and (4) providing
the public with integrated information and statistics on environmental and
public health issues.

In a September 1999 report on the status of EPA's efforts to improve its
information management,1 we recommended that the EPA Administrator direct
the program manager of the new Office of Environmental Information to
develop an action plan detailing the steps the agency needs to take to help
ensure that EPA's environmental and regulatory data are sufficiently
complete, compatible, and accurate to meet its needs. We said this action
plan should include the office's strategy, milestones, and resource needs to
(1) fill key gaps that have been identified in the agency's information on
environmental conditions; (2) identify and develop all needed data standards
and implement them in all major databases; (3) coordinate EPA's data
standardization efforts with the states, federal agencies, and other
organizations that maintain major environmental databases; (4) improve the
collection of accurate data by implementing its quality assurance throughout
the agency as well as in the states; and (5) identify the procedures so that
the data errors detected in one EPA information system can be corrected
agencywide. On December 22, 1999, EPA advised the Chairman, Senate Committee
on Governmental Affairs, that it agreed with our recommendation and intended
to develop an information plan that would serve as its action plan.

EPA officials responsible for designing EPA's Office of Environmental
Information have stated that developing environmental results data will be a
major part of the agency's initiative to overhaul how it collects, manages,
and disseminates information. EPA has indicated that its information plan
will articulate the central role that performance measures will play in
helping the agency meet its strategic goals. According to the agency, the
plan will describe how it will foster and encourage efforts to develop
performance measures.

EPA recognizes that to be successful in filling data gaps it will need a
clear understanding of the data required to measure performance for the
diverse environmental activities the agency undertakes. As EPA program
offices move toward developing outcome goals and measures, it will become
more apparent what specific environmental information is needed to measure
the agency's progress toward improving the environment. In some cases,
program offices may need to establish outcome goals before all the
environmental data are available to provide the Office of Environmental
Information a starting point to determine what data should be collected and
analyzed. For example, the Office of Water has adopted a fiscal year 2000
outcome goal to restore watersheds. However, this goal does not show the
target level of watersheds to be restored during that fiscal year because
EPA does not have the baseline data available to measure the performance for
this goal.

of Performance Goals and Measures

In June 1999, the Director of EPA's Office of Planning, Analysis, and
Accountability implemented an effort--called the Performance Measurement
Improvement Team--to work with program staff to develop more
results-oriented goals and measures. The team currently includes members of
EPA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer and may be expanded to include
members of the program offices and other key staff involved with performance
planning. EPA planning officials had hoped that this initiative would lead
to improvements in the agency's fiscal year 2001 performance plan. However,
they said that the schedule to submit the goals and the measures to OMB for
approval in September 1999 did not allow them enough time to significantly
participate in the development of the fiscal year 2001 performance goals and
measures.

Nevertheless, the team is focusing on a long-term effort to make incremental
improvements to EPA's performance goals and measures. The team is developing
a process to work with the program managers to develop long-term strategies
for addressing the specific problems facing each program office in
establishing outcome goals and measures. The director of the team told us
that one of the key reasons that many of EPA's performance goals and
measures are output-oriented is that they are linked to EPA's strategic
objectives, which were established in September 1997 in response to the
requirements of the Results Act. About half of the 41 strategic objectives
are output-oriented. The director told us that the team plans to work with
the program offices to develop more outcome-oriented strategic objectives,
which in turn will lead to additional outcome goals and measures of
performance.

Several of EPA's program offices have initiatives aimed at developing more
outcome-oriented goals and measures. After consulting with stakeholders, the
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance established its National
Performance Measures Strategy in 1997, which included a strategy to develop
more and better outcome and output performance goals and measures. In
reporting on this strategy in December 1997, the office identified outcome
and output goals and measures that it intended to adopt, along with an
implementation schedule. For fiscal year 2001, the office established five
additional outcome goals and four additional output goals. For example, the
office has a fiscal year 2001 goal to increase or maintain environmental
compliance rates or other indicators of compliance for selected regulated
industries using baseline data developed during fiscal year 2000. The office
also has cooperative agreements with 11 states to develop and implement
outcome-based performance measures for enforcement and compliance assurance
programs.

In addition, EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances
has set up a working group to explore ways to develop more outcome goals and
measures. For example, the group is examining the possibility of measuring
the results of reductions in the use of harmful pesticides based upon
wildlife mortality rates. The office also has a cooperative agreement with
Florida State University to identify environmental indicators for
pesticides, toxics, and pollution prevention. Thirteen representatives from
the private sector, states, academia, and environmental groups will serve as
advisers to the university. Although the indicators are being developed for
the states, officials from the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic
Substances told us that they also plan to use the data to modify their
portion of EPA's revised strategic plan, which is scheduled to be completed
in September 2000, to make future performance goals and measures more
outcome-oriented.

The Office of International Activities also led a working group to develop
"best practices" for the agency's international capacity building programs
to assist other nations to reduce environmental risks. According to program
officials, they have used this guidance to develop more outcome-oriented
goals and measures for fiscal year 2001. For example, the office has a goal
to increase access to safe drinking water in certain communities in Central
America and Africa. EPA will establish baselines and measure the progress of
these programs in strengthening the analytical capabilities of laboratories,
improving the effectiveness of treatment plants for drinking water, and
implementing source water protection programs in targeted communities. This
intermediate outcome goal will show progress in achieving the end outcome of
safer drinking water in the communities.

While officials of EPA's program offices recognize that they need additional
outcome goals and measures, they told us that, for the most part, they would
continue to need outputs to manage their programs. They said that statutory
requirements drive many of EPA's output goals and measures and others are
necessary to manage the programs. For example, EPA's fiscal year 2000 output
goal to reassess 20 percent of the pesticide tolerances (legal amounts of
pesticide residue permissible on food) is mandated by the Food Quality and
Protection Act of 1996. The act requires EPA to reassess within 10 years the
9,721 pesticide tolerances existing in 1996. Progress in this area is of
interest to the Congress and other stakeholders, including farmers, food
processors, and public interest groups.

We noted that some goals that have been established in response to
legislative mandates are outcomes. In enacting the Acid Rain Program, the
Congress included an outcome goal for a specific reduction of nitrogen
oxide. Consequently, EPA has an outcome goal for this program to reduce
annual emissions of nitrogen oxide by 2 million tons by the end of fiscal
year 2000. Superfund officials told us that recent congressional direction
has increased the awareness of the need to develop outcome goals and
measures. In its report accompanying the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies
fiscal year 2000 appropriations act,2 the Senate Committee on Appropriations
expressed concern that EPA had gauged the performance of the Superfund
Program solely on outputs, such as the number of contaminated sites cleaned
up, and had no outcome-oriented measures that "directly address reduction of
risk to human health and welfare and the environment." The Superfund program
plans to establish an outcome goal to specify the percentage of sites where
human exposure and ground water releases have been controlled.

While EPA has developed outcome goals and measures for its various strategic
goals and objectives, its progress has been limited because of gaps in the
environmental data needed to determine the impact of its programs. EPA has
recently established an Office of Environmental Information to fill such
gaps, but it is too early to tell what contributions the new office will
make in providing the data needed by EPA to establish outcome goals and
measures. The success of the new office will largely depend upon the extent
to which the program offices are able to identify their specific data
requirements. Current actions by several program offices to develop more
outcome-oriented performance goals and measures are a step in the right
direction toward identifying such requirements.

We provided a draft of this report to EPA for its review and comment. EPA
commented that the report presents a balanced picture of the challenges the
agency faces in developing more outcome-oriented performance goals and
measures and the progress that it has made. EPA generally agreed with the
report's classifications of the agency's performance goals and measures as
outputs, intermediate outcomes, and end outcomes; although, in a few cases,
EPA believed that the goals and the measures classified as outputs
reasonably could be considered intermediate outcomes. However, EPA
recognized that such classifications are subject to the application of the
best professional judgment and that reclassifying them would not materially
affect the report's conclusions. We believe that our classifications of
EPA's performance goals and measures are appropriate and consistent with the
definitions of outputs, intermediate outcomes, and end outcomes that we used
in performing our work. (See app. I.) EPA also provided specific technical
comments and clarifications that we have included in the report.

The scope and methodology for our work are discussed in appendix I. We
performed our work from August 1999 through March 2000 in accordance with
generally accepted auditing standards.

As arranged with your offices, unless you publicly announce its contents
earlier, we will make no further distribution of this report until 7 days
after the date of this letter. At that time, we will send copies of this
report to the Honorable Carol Browner, EPA Administrator, and to other
interested parties. We will also make copies available to others on request.
If you or your staff have any questions, please call me at (202) 512-6111.
Major contributors to this report were Edward Kratzer, Ralph Running, Donald
Pless, and Bernice Dawson.
David G. Wood
Associate Director, Environmental
Protection Issues

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

We were asked by the Chairman, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, House of Representatives, and the Chairman, Committee on
Science, House of Representatives, to (1) determine the extent to which the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) fiscal year 2000 performance goals
and measures focus on end outcomes, intermediate outcomes, or outputs; (2)
identify any challenges the agency faces in developing additional
performance goals and measures that focus on end outcomes; and (3) describe
the initiatives the agency is taking to address any identified challenges.

To determine the extent to which EPA's fiscal year 2000 performance goals
and measures are outcomes, we obtained and reviewed EPA's Fiscal Year 2000
Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification, the Government
Performance and Results Act of 1993, and the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Circular A-11 part 2. We classified the performance goals and measures
in the agency's annual performance plan either as outcome or output using
the definitions provided by OMB's Circular A-11. We further classified
performance goals and measures as intermediate outcomes. The Government
Performance and Results Act and OMB's guidance do not define intermediate
outcomes. Therefore, consistent with previous GAO work, for review purposes,
we defined intermediate outcomes as goals and measures that provide
information on the results, the effects, or the consequences of programs and
activities that are expected to lead to end outcomes but are not themselves
"ends." 3 We compared our evaluation with classifications prepared by EPA's
Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability (OPAA) and found them to be
generally consistent. However, EPA did not break outcomes into end outcomes
and intermediate outcomes.

To gain a better understanding of the relationship of EPA's annual
performance goals and measures to the agency's strategic goals, we obtained
and reviewed the agency's strategic plan and discussed the strategic goals
and objectives with program officials responsible for its development. We
also obtained and reviewed guidance that the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer issued to the program offices to prepare the annual performance plan
and discussed with EPA officials their interpretation and understanding of
the guidance related to the development of the programs' outcome goals and
measures.

To better understand the challenges EPA faces in developing additional
outcome goals and measures as well as the actions the agency is taking to
address these challenges, we interviewed EPA budget and program officials
responsible for their development. Our review included interviews with
officials in the program offices responsible for achieving the performance
goals in the annual plan, including the Office of Air and Radiation; the
Office of Water; the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response; the
Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances; the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; the Office of Research and
Development; and the Office of International Activities. At each office, we
discussed the process and the criteria used to develop performance goals and
measures, the need to develop additional outcome goals and measures, and the
constraints and the challenges to developing outcome goals and measures.
Each program office was also requested to provide information on any
activities or initiatives it was taking or planned to take to develop
outcome goals or measures and the time frames for when more outcome goals or
measures might be included in its annual performance plan.

We conducted our review from August 1999 through March 2000 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Strategic Goals in EPA's September 1997 Strategic Plan

 Number Strategic goal                   Description
                                         The air in every American
                                         community will be safe and healthy
                                         to breathe. In particular,
                                         children, the elderly, and people
                                         with respiratory ailments will be
                                         protected from health risks of
 1      Clean air                        breathing polluted air. Reducing
                                         air pollution will also protect
                                         the environment, resulting in many
                                         benefits, such as restoring life
                                         in damaged ecosystems and reducing
                                         health risks to those whose
                                         subsistence depends directly on
                                         those ecosystems.
                                         All Americans will have drinking
                                         water that is clean and safe to
                                         drink. Effective protection of
                                         America's rivers, lakes, wetlands,
                                         aquifers, and coastal and ocean
                                         waters will sustain fish, plants,
 2      Clean and safe water             and wildlife, as well as
                                         recreational, subsistence, and
                                         economic activities. Watersheds
                                         and their aquatic ecosystems will
                                         be restored and protected to
                                         improve public health, enhance
                                         water quality, reduce flooding,
                                         and provide habitat for wildlife.
                                         The foods Americans eat will be
                                         free from unsafe pesticide
                                         residues. Children especially will
 3      Safe food                        be protected from the health
                                         threats posed by pesticide
                                         residues, because they are among
                                         the most vulnerable groups in our
                                         society.
                                         Pollution prevention and risk
                                         management strategies aimed at
                                         cost-effectively eliminating,
                                         reducing, or minimizing emissions
        Preventing pollution and         and contamination will result in
 4      reducing risk in communities,    cleaner and safer environments in
        homes, workplaces and            which all Americans can reside,
        ecosystems                       work, and enjoy life. EPA will
                                         safeguard ecosystems and promote
                                         the health of natural communities
                                         that are integral to the quality
                                         of life in this nation.
                                         America's wastes will be stored,
                                         treated, and disposed of in ways
                                         that prevent harm to people and to
        Better waste management,         the natural environment. EPA will
 5      restoration of contaminated      work to clean up previously
        waste sites, and emergency       polluted sites, restoring them to
        response                         uses appropriate for surrounding
                                         communities, and respond to and
                                         prevent waste-related or
                                         industrial accidents.
                                         The United States will lead other
                                         Nation's in successful,
        Reduction of global and          multilateral efforts to reduce
 6      cross-border environmental       significant risks to human health
        risks                            and ecosystems from climate
                                         change, stratospheric ozone
                                         depletion, and other hazards of
                                         environmental concern.
                                         Easy access to a wealth of
                                         information about the state of
                                         their local environment will
                                         expand citizen involvement and
                                         give people tools to protect their
                                         families and their communities as
 7      Expansion of American's right    they see fit. Increased
        to know about their environment  information exchange between
                                         scientists, public health
                                         officials, businesses, citizens,
                                         and all levels of government will
                                         foster greater knowledge about the
                                         environment and what can be done
                                         to protect it.
                                         EPA will develop and apply the
        Sound science, improved          best available science for
 8      understanding of environmental   addressing current and future
        risk, and greater innovation to  environmental hazards, as well as
        address environmental problems   new approaches toward improving
                                         environmental protection.
        A credible deterrent to          EPA will ensure full compliance
 9      pollution and greater            with the laws intended to protect
        compliance with the law          human health and the environment.
                                         EPA will establish a management
                                         infrastructure that will set and
 10     Effective management             implement the highest quality
                                         standards for effective internal
                                         management and fiscal
                                         responsibility.

Source: EPA.

Performance Goals and Measures In EPA's Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan

             Performance goals                               Performance measures
                               End                                                End
 Strategic   Out- Intermediate       PercentagePercent-age            Intermediate      Percent-age Percent-age
 goal                          out-  outputs   outcomes      Out-puts outcomes    out-  outputs     outcomes
             puts outcomes
                               comes                                              comes
 Clean Air   9    0            5     64        36            19       0           14    58          42
 Clean Water 30   4            9     70        30            65       7           10    79          21
 Safe Food   4    0            1     80        20            16       0           1     94          6
 Pollution
 Prevention  19   3            7     66        34            28       4           10    67          33
 Waste
 Management  14   8            1     61        39            34       6           2     81          19
 Global and
 Cross Border15   0            6     71        29            27       1           6     79          21
 Right to
 Know        11   2            0     85        15            28       3           0     90          10
 Sound
 Science     19   1            0     95        5             34       1           1     94          6
 Enforcement/
 Compliance  5    1            1     71        29            15a      2           1     83          17
 Effective
 Management  12   0            0     100       0             29       0           0     100         0
 Total       138  19           30    74        26            295      24          45    81          19

aThree of the fiscal year 2000 performance measures for EPA's Strategic goal
for Enforcement/ Compliance are necessary to establish statistically valid
noncompliance rates and other baselines for three intermediate outcome
measures included in EPA's Fiscal Year 2001 Annual Performance Plan and
Congressional Justification.

Source: GAO's analysis of EPA data.

End and Intermediate Outcome Performance Goals and Measures in EPA's Fiscal
Year 2000 Performance Plan

Continued from Previous Page

                              Intermediate outcome        Level in                              Intermediate     Level in
    End outcome goals                                    hierarchy    End outcome performance      outcome      hierarchy
                                performance goals            of              measures            performance        of
                                                        indicators                                measures     indicators
 Strategic Goal 1 −
 Clean Air
 Certify that 5 of the
 estimated 30 remaining
 non-attainment areas have
 achieved the 1-hour
 National Ambient Air
 Quality Standards (NAAQS)                                            1,406,000-ton reduction
 for ozone.                                             4             in national highway                      3
 (Non-attainment areas do                                             vehicle volatile organic
 not meet one or more of                                              compounds emissions
 the NAAQS for certain
 types of air pollutants
 designated in the Clean
 Air Act.)
                                                                      936,000-ton reduction in
                                                                      national highway vehicle                 3
                                                                      nitrogen oxide emissions
                                                                      343,000-ton reduction in
                                                                      national non-road mobile                 3
                                                                      source volatile organic
                                                                      compounds emissions
                                                                      133,000-ton reduction in
                                                                      national non-road mobile                 3
                                                                      source nitrogen oxide
                                                                      emissions
                                                                      Number of non-attainment
                                                                      areas to have the 1-hour                 4
                                                                      ozone standard revoked
 None (The goal is an
 output. Maintain progress
 and continue to implement                                            55,000-ton reduction in
 measures to reduce                                                   national highway vehicle
 particulate emissions,                                 1             particulate matter 10                    3
 and transition to and                                                emissions
 implement the particulate
 matter 2.5 NAAQS.)
                                                                      52,000-ton reduction in
                                                                      national highway vehicle                 3
                                                                      particulate matter 2.5
                                                                      emissions
 Nationwide, reduce air
 toxics emissions from
 stationary and mobile
 sources combined by 5                                                5-percent reduction in
 percent from 1999 (for a                               3             combined stationary and                  3
 cumulative reduction of                                              mobile source air toxics
 30 percent from the 1993                                             emissions
 level of 1.3 million
 tons.)
                                                                      21,871-ton reduction in
                                                                      national highway vehicle                 3
                                                                      benzene emissions
                                                                      3,498-ton reduction in
                                                                      national highway vehicle                 3
                                                                      1.3 butadiene emissions
                                                                      14,400-ton reduction in
                                                                      national highway vehicle                 3
                                                                      formaldehyde emissions
                                                                      100 percent of areas
 Maintain healthful and                                               that have been
 improve substandard                                                  designated as meeting
 ambient air quality with                                             national air quality
 respect to carbon                                      4             standards will continue                  4
 monoxide, sulfur dioxide,                                            to maintain healthful
 nitrogen dioxide, and                                                standards for carbon
 lead.                                                                monoxide, sulfur
                                                                      dioxide, nitrogen
                                                                      dioxide, and lead.
 Reduce the level of
 nitrogen oxide from
 coal-fired utility
 sources by 2 million tons
 from levels before                                                   2-million-ton nitrogen
 implementation of Title                                3             oxide reduction                          3
 IV of the Clean Air Act
 Amendments. Reflects
 total reduction that will
 be maintained annually.
 Reduce emissions of
 sulfur dioxide from
 utility sources by 5                                                 5-million-ton reduction
 million tons from the                                  3             in sulfur dioxide                        3
 1980 baseline. Reflects                                              emissions
 total reduction that will
 be maintained annually.
 Strategic Goal 2 −
 Clean Water
 Reduce the consumption of
 contaminated fish and
 exposure to contaminated
 recreational waters by
 increasing the                                         5             None                    None
 information available to
 the public and
 decisionmakers.
                                                                      91 percent of the
 91 percent of the                                                    population served by
 population served by                                                 community drinking water
 community drinking water                                             systems will receive
 systems will receive                                                 water for which there
 drinking water meeting                                 5             have been no violations                  5
 all health-based                                                     during the year of any
 standards that were in                                               federally enforceable
 effect as of 1994.                                                   health-based standards
                                                                      that were in effect as
                                                                      of 1994.
                                                                                              7,000 community
                                                                                              water systems
                                                                                              implementing
                          States and community water                                          efforts to
                          systems will increase efforts                                       protect their
                          and programs to protect their 2                                     source water     2
                          source water resources                                              resources, such
                          including ground water.                                             as wellheads,
                                                                                              sole source
                                                                                              aquifers, and
                                                                                              watersheds
                                                                                              Estimated number
                                                                                              of community
                                                                                              water systems
                                                                                              (and estimated
                                                                                              percentage of
                                                                                              population
                                                                                              served)          2
                                                                                              implementing a
                                                                                              multiple barrier
                                                                                              approach to
                                                                                              prevent drinking
                                                                                              water
                                                                                              contamination
                                                                                              (No target)
                                                                                              A population of
                                                                                              28 million will
                                                                                              be served by
                                                                                              community water
                                                                                              systems that are
                                                                                              implementing
                                                                                              efforts to       2
                                                                                              protect their
                                                                                              source water
                                                                                              resources, such
                                                                                              as wellheads,
                                                                                              sole source
                                                                                              aquifers, and
                                                                                              watersheds.
                                                                                              100 community
                                                                                              and nonprofit,
                          At least 100 eligible                                               noncommunity
                          drinking water systems will                                         water systems
                          have initiated operations                                           that have
                          that will protect human                                             initiated
                          health and ensure compliance  2                                     operations as a  2
                          with health-based drinking                                          result of
                          water standards through use                                         receiving funds
                          of the Drinking Water State                                         from the
                          Revolving Fund.                                                     Drinking Water
                                                                                              State Revolving
                                                                                              Fund
                                                                      Assessed river miles,
                                                                      lake acres, and estuary
 Restore and protect                                                  square miles that are
 watersheds through                                                   covered under Watershed
 implementation of Clean                                6             Restoration Action                       6
 Water Act Strategies.                                                Strategies and were
                                                                      restored to their
                                                                      designated uses during
                                                                      the reporting period
                          Reduce the number of nonpoint
                          sources contributing to the
                          total load of fecal           2             None                    None
                          contamination and nutrients
                          in two targeted Gulf
                          watersheds.
                                                                      71,500 acres of
 Improve habitat in the                                               submerged aquatic
 Chesapeake Bay.                                        4             vegetation will be                       4
                                                                      present in the
                                                                      Chesapeake Bay.
                                                                      877 stream miles of
                                                                      migratory fish habitat
                                                                      will be reopened through                 4
                                                                      provision of fish
                                                                      passages.
                                                                                              70 percent of
                                                                                              agricultural,
                                                                                              recreational and
                                                                                              public lands
                                                                                              have voluntarily 2
                                                                                              integrated pest
                                                                                              management
                                                                                              practices in the
                                                                                              Chesapeake Bay
                                                                                              watershed.
                                                                                              40 percent of
                                                                                              wastewater flow
                                                                                              into the
                                                                                              Chesapeake is    2
                                                                                              treated by
                                                                                              biological
                                                                                              nutrient
                                                                                              removal.
 Another two million
 people will receive the                                              Two million additional
 benefits of the secondary                                            people will receive the
 treatment of wastewater,                               5             benefits of the                          5
 for a total of 181                                                   secondary treatment of
 million people.                                                      wastewater.
                                                                      Publicly owned treatment
                                                                      works beneficially
                                                                      reusing all or a part of
 54 percent of biosolids                                              their biosolids, and
 are beneficially reused.                               3             where data exists, the                   3
                                                                      percentage of biosolids
                                                                      generated that are
                                                                      beneficially reused are
                                                                      54 percent
 Reduce the number of
 homes in Indian country
 with inadequate                                                      6-percent reduction in
 wastewater sanitation                                                the number of homes in
 systems by 6 percent                                   5             Indian country with                      5
 through funding from the                                             inadequate wastewater
 Clean Water State                                                    sanitation systems
 Revolving Fund Tribal Set
 Aside Program.
 Industrial discharges of
 nonconventional                                                      1.5-billion-pound
 pollutants will be                                                   reduction in loadings in
 reduced by 1.5 billion                                               permit compliance system
 pounds per year (a 7                                                 database for facilities
 percent reduction) as                                  3             subject to effluent                      3
 compared to 1992                                                     guidelines promulgated
 discharges when                                                      prior to 1998, as
 considerations for growth                                            compared to 1992 levels
 are considered.
 Industrial discharges of
 toxic pollutants will be
 reduced by 4 million                                                 388-million-pound
 pounds per year (a 14                                                reduction in loadings in
 percent reduction) and                                               permits compliance
 conventional pollutants                                              system for conventional
 will be reduced by 388   .                             3             pollutants for                           3
 million pounds per year                                              facilities subject to
 (a 9 percent reduction)                                              effluent guidelines
 as compared to 1992                                                  promulgated prior to
 discharges when                                                      1998, as compared to
 consideration for growth                                             1992 levels
 are considered.
                                                                      4-million-pound
                                                                      reduction in loadings in
                                                                      permits compliance
                                                                      system of toxic
                                                                      pollutants for                           3
                                                                      facilities subject to
                                                                      effluent guidelines
                                                                      promulgated prior to
                                                                      1998, as compared to
                                                                      1992 levels

                          Through assistance under the                                        699 wastewater
                          Clean Water Action Section                                          facilities are
                          104(g), 699 wastewater                                              prevented from
                                                                                              going into Clean
                          treatment facilities will be  2                                     Water Act        2
                          prevented from going into
                          Clean Water Act noncompliance                                       non-compliance
                          or assisted in moving toward                                        or assisted in
                          compliance.                                                         moving toward
                                                                                              compliance.
 Strategic Goal 3 - Safe
 Food
 Use of pesticides
 classified as having the
 highest potential to                                                 5-percent reduction of
 cause cancer, or                                                     pesticide use that has
 neurotoxic effects, will                               3             the highest potential to
 be reduced by 5 percent                                              cause cancer or
 (from the fiscal year                                                neurotoxic effects
 1995 baseline).
 Strategic Goal 4 -
 Pollution Prevention
                          10 to 15 model agricultural
                          partnership projects will be
                          implemented that demonstrate                                        Implementation
                          and facilitate the adoption                                         of 10-15 model
                          of farm management decisions  2                                     agricultural     2
                          and practices that provide                                          partnership
                          growers with a "reasonable                                          pilot projects
                          transition" away from the
                          highest risk pesticides.
 Protect homes,
 communities, and
 workplaces from harmful
 exposure to pesticides
 and related pollutants
 through improved cultural
 practices and enhanced
 public education,                                      5             20-percent reduction in                  5
 resulting in a reduction                                             pesticide poisonings
 of 5 percent, or 20
 percent cumulative, (from
 1994 levels) in the
 incidences of pesticide
 poisonings reported
 nationwide.
                                                                                              15 percent of
                                                                                              pesticides with
                                                                                              high probability 2
                                                                                              to leach/persist
                                                                                              in groundwater
                                                                                              will be managed.
 Reduce exposure to toxic
 fibers by identifying
 fibers of concern and
 addressing risks through                               5             None                    None
 outreach, voluntary
 initiatives, and
 regulatory actions.
 890,000 additional people
 will live in healthier                                               315,000 additional
 residential indoor                                     5             people will live in                      5
 environments.                                                        radon-resistant homes.
                                                                      64,000 additional people
                                                                      will live in                             5
                                                                      radon-mitigated homes.
                                                                      360,000 fewer children
                                                                      will be exposed to                       5
                                                                      environmental tobacco
                                                                      smoke.
                                                                      890,000 additional
                                                                      people will live in                      5
                                                                      healthier indoor air.
 2,580,000 students,                                                  2,580,000 students,
 faculty, and staff will                                              faculty, and staff will
 experience improved                                    5             experience improved                      5
 indoor air quality in                                                indoor air quality in
 their schools.                                                       their schools.
 The quantity of Toxic
 Release Inventory
 pollutants released,
 treated, or combusted for                                            200-million-pound
 energy recovery will be                                3             reduction of Toxic                       3
 reduced by 200 million                                               Release Inventory
 pounds, or 2 percent,                                                pollutants
 from 1999 reporting
 levels.
 None (The goal is an
 output: Continue to
 assure broad                                                                                 145,000
 implementation and                                                                           facilities
 reporting of pollution                                 1                                     submit form Rs   2
 prevention measures by                                                                       with source
 facilities required to                                                                       reduction
 submit Toxic Release                                                                         activity.
 Inventory data.)
                          Achieve a 5-percent increase
                          in the use of cleaner
                          flexographic ink technologies
                          and cleaner                   2             None                    None
                          (water-or-non-solvent-based)
                          adhesives or bonding
                          techniques in foam furniture
                          products.
                          From the 1998 baseline,
                          expand pollution prevention                                         35-percent
                          practices in the garment and                                        increase in the
                          textile industries by         2                                     use of           2
                          achieving a 35-percent                                              alternative
                          increase in the use of safer                                        cleaning
                          alternative cleaning                                                technologies
                          technologies.
 Reduce persistent,
 bioaccumulative, and                                                 10-percent reduction in
 toxic chemicals in                                                   persistent,
 hazardous waste streams                                3             bioaccumulative, and                     3
 by 10 percent as compared                                            toxic chemicals in
 to the 1991 baseline.                                                hazardous waste streams
 Divert an additional 1
 percent (for a cumulative
 total of 29 percent or 64
 million tons) of
 municipal solid waste
 from landfilling and                                                 64 million tons of
 combustion, and maintain                               3             municipal solid waste                    3
 per-capita generation of                                             will be diverted.
 Resource Conservation and
 Recovery Act (RCRA)
 municipal solid waste at
 4.3 million pounds per
 day.
                                                                      4.3 million pounds of
                                                                      daily municipal solid                    3
                                                                      waste generation will be
                                                                      maintained.
 Strategic Goal 5 - Waste
 Management
 170 (for a cumulative
 total of 408 or 24
 percent) of high priority
 RCRA facilities will have
 human exposures                                                      170 high-priority RCRA
 controlled and 170 (for a                              3             facilities with human                    3
 cumulative total of 289                                              exposures to toxins
 or 17 percent) of high                                               controlled
 priority RCRA facilities
 will have groundwater
 releases controlled.
                                                                      170 high-priority RCRA
                                                                      facilities with human                    3
                                                                      exposures to groundwater
                                                                      controlled
                          Maximize all aspects of
                          Potentially Responsible Party
                          participation, including 70
                          percent of the work conducted
                          on new construction starts at
                          nonfederal facility sites on
                          the National Priorities List, 2             None                    None
                          and emphasize fairness in the
                          settlement process. Result is
                          timely and protective cleanup
                          of the nation's worst
                          contaminated sites and other
                          significant threats to public
                          health.
                          Complete 21,000 leaking                                             21,000 LUST
                          underground storage tank      2                                     cleanups         2
                          (LUST) cleanups.                                                    completed
                          90 percent of underground
                          storage tanks will be in                                            90 percent of
                          compliance with the December                                        underground
                          22, 1998, requirement, which  2                                     storage tanks in 2
                          improves upon the estimated                                         compliance with
                          65 percent as of December 22,                                       the 1998
                          1998 deadline.                                                      deadline
                                                                                              74 percent of
                          74 percent (141 for a                                               existing RCRA
                          cumulative total of 2,600 out                                       municipal solid
                          of 3,536) of existing RCRA                                          waste facilities
                          municipal solid waste                                               in states will
                                                                                              have approved
                          facilities in states will     2                                     controls in      2
                          have approved controls in
                          place to prevent dangerous                                          place to prevent
                          releases to air, soil,                                              dangerous
                          groundwater, and surface                                            releases to air,
                          water.                                                              soil,
                                                                                              groundwater, and
                                                                                              surface water.
                          146 more hazardous waste
                          management facilities will                                          146 hazardous
                          have approved controls in                                           waste management
                          place to prevent dangerous    2                                     facilities with  2
                          releases to air, soil, and                                          permits or other
                          groundwater, for 65 percent                                         controls in
                          of 3,380 facilities.                                                place
                          75 percent of facilities will
                          be in compliance with the
                          Risk Management Plan (RMP)
                          submission requirements, 6                                          75 percent of
                          states (for a cumulative                                            facilities in
                          total of 13) will be          2                                     compliance with  2
                          implementing the RMP program,                                       the RMP
                          and 300 audits will be                                              requirements
                          completed on RMP plans to
                          determine completeness and
                          accuracy.
                          400 additional facilities
                          will be in compliance with
                          the Spill Prevention, Control                                       400 facilities
                          and Countermeasure (SPCC)     2                                     in compliance    2
                          provisions of the oil                                               with the SPCC
                          pollution prevention                                                provisions
                          regulations (for a cumulative
                          total of 890 facilities.)
                          Facilities will be managed so
                          as to prevent releases into   2             None                    None
                          the environment.
 Strategic Goal 6 −
 Cross Border and Global
 Aquatic, wetland,
 riverine, and terrestrial                                            6,000 aquatic, wetland,
 habitat protection and                                               riverine, and
 restoration projects                                                 terrestrial habitat
 funded by the Great Lakes                              4             acres affected by the                    4
 National Program Office                                              Great Lakes National
 will impact an additional                                            Program Office
 6,000 acres.
                                                                                              10 actions
                                                                                              catalogued and
                                                                                              publicized
                                                                                              (partnerships or
 Documented reductions or                                                                     virtual
 progress which fulfills                                                                      elimination
 challenges under the                                   3                                     demonstration    2
 Binational Toxics                                                                            projects)
 Strategy.                                                                                    initiated toward
                                                                                              reduction
                                                                                              challenges under
                                                                                              the Binational
                                                                                              Toxics Strategy
 Greenhouse gas emissions
 will be reduced from
 projected levels by more
 than 50 million metric
 ton carbon equivalent per
 year through EPA                                                     50-million-metric-ton
 partnerships with                                                    carbon equivalent
 businesses, schools,                                   3             reduction in annual                      3
 state and local                                                      greenhouse gas emissions
 governments, and other
 organizations. Reduction
 level will increase 10
 million metric tons over
 1999.
 Reduce energy consumption
 from projected levels by
 more than 60 billion
 kilowatt hours, resulting
 in over $ 8 billion in
 energy savings to
 consumers and businesses                               3             60-billion-kilowatt-hour                 3
 that participate in EPA's                                            annual energy savings
 climate change programs.
 Increase of 15
 billion-kilowatt hours
 and $ 5 million in annual
 energy savings over 1999.
 Restrict domestic
 consumption of class II
 hydrochlorofluorocarbons
 below 208,400 metric tons                                            Less than
 and restrict domestic                                                208,400-metric-ton
 exempted production and                                3             domestic consumption of                  3
 import of newly produced                                             class II
 class I                                                              hydrochlorofluorocarbons
 chlorofluorocarbons and
 halons below 130,000
 metric tons.
                                                                      Less than 130,000 metric
                                                                      tons of domestic
                                                                      exempted production and
                                                                      import of newly produced                 3
                                                                      class I
                                                                      chlorofluorocarbons and
                                                                      halons
 Restrict domestic
 consumption of                                                       Less than
 methylbromide by 25                                    3             19,200-metric-ton                        3
 percent of baseline                                                  domestic consumption of
 levels.                                                              methylbromide
 Strategic Goal 7 - Right
 to Know
                                                                                              55,000 community
                          All community water systems                                         water systems
                          will issue annual consumer                                          will comply with
                          confidence reports according  2                                     the regulations  2
                          to the rule promulgated in                                          to publish
                          August 1998.                                                        consumer
                                                                                              confidence
                                                                                              reports.
                                                                                              249 million
                                                                                              people will be
                                                                                              served by
                                                                                              community water
                                                                                              systems that
                                                                                              will comply with 2
                                                                                              the regulation
                                                                                              to publish
                                                                                              consumer
                                                                                              confidence
                                                                                              reports.
                          By FY 2000, 75 percent of
                          environmental monitoring for
                          public access and community
                          tracking (EMPACT) communities                                       Number of
                          will have in place, or will                                         community-based
                          have initiated, community                                           strategies in
                          based strategies for time     2                                     place (i.e.,     2
                          relevant environmental                                              number of
                          monitoring, information                                             pilots)
                          management and communication
                          that will result in sustained
                          community capacity to deliver
                          timely environmental
                          information.
 Strategic Goal 8 - Sound
 Science

 None (Goal is an output:
 Implement sectorwide
 environmental strategies
 that will lead to reduced
 priority emissions, Toxic
 Release Inventory
 emissions, water use,                                                30-percent reduction in
 energy use and volatile                                1             emissions                                3
 organic compounds
 emissions as well as
 non-point source
 pollution and nitrogen
 fertilizer use among
 participating firms.)
                          All 50 Project XL (eXcellence                                       50 Project XL
                          and Leadership) projects will 2                                     projects in      2
                          be implemented.                                                     implementation
 Strategic Goal 9 -
 Credible Deterrent
 Deter and reduce
 noncompliance and achieve
 environmental and human
 improvements by
 maintaining a strong,
 timely, and active
 enforcement presence. EPA
 will direct enforcement
 actions to maximize
 compliance and address
 environmental and human                                3             300-million-pound                        3
 health problems; 75                                                  reduction in pollution
 percent of concluded
 enforcement actions will
 require environmental or
 human health
 improvements, such as
 pollutant reductions
 and/or physical or
 management process
 changes.
                                                                                              35 percent of
                                                                                              actions require  2
                                                                                              pollutant
                                                                                              reductions
                          iIncrease entities
                          self-policing and
                          self-correction of
                          environmental problems                                              1150 facilities
                          through use of EPA incentive  2                                     self-disclose    2
                          policies: small business,                                           potential
                          small community and audit                                           violations.
                          policies over fiscal year
                          1998 levels.

(160490)

Table 1: Hierarchy of Indicators 9

Figure 1: Number and Percentage of Performance Goals
Contained in EPA's Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan 6

Figure 2: Number and Percentage of Performance Measures
Contained in EPA's Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan 7

Figure 3: Numbers and Percentages of Performance Goals
for Each Level of EPA's Hierarchy of Indicators 11

Figure 4: Numbers and Percentages of Performance Measures
for Each Level of EPA's Hierarchy of Indicators 12
  

1. Environmental Information: EPA Is Taking Steps to Improve Information
Management, but Challenges Remain (GAO/RCED-99-261 , Sept. 17, 1999).

2. S. Rep. No. 106-161, at 89 (1999).

3. Results Act: Information on Performance Goals and Measures Contained in
the Department of Transportation's Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Plan
(GAO/RCED-00-13R , Nov. 15, 1999) and Managing for Results: Measuring
Program Results That Are Under Limited Federal Control (GAO/GGD-99-16 , Dec.
11, 1998).
*** End of document. ***