United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-07-02 monographic deposited born digital 67 p. GA 1.13:RCED-97-155 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155 P0b002ee180385503 f:rc97155 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-05-04 GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155 RCED-97-155 Agency missions Environmental law Interagency relations Pollution control Reengineering (management) Environmental policies Strategic planning EPA Common Sense Initiative EPA National Environmental Performance Partnership System EPA Project XL Chapter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined: (1) what the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) reinvention initiatives are and how EPA is structured to carry them out; and (2) what key issues need to be addressed for these initiatives to have their intended effect.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) EPA maintains that its reinvention initiatives seek to reduce paperwork and eliminate obsolete rules, make it easier for businesses to comply with environmental laws, use innovation and flexibility to achieve better environmental results, or engage states, tribes, communities, and citizens in partnerships to protect public health and the environment; (2) in February 1997, the Administrator announced her decision to create an Office of Reinvention, which will provide overall direction and support for EPA's reinvention initiatives; (3) in addition: (a) EPA's program offices participate in agencywide initiatives and have generated some of their own, more medium-specific initiatives; and (b) each of EPA's regional offices has established varied structures and strategies to implement both the EPA-wide and program-specific initiatives; (4) while many of EPA's reinvention efforts are consistent with both the Government Performance and Results Act's goal of focusing on achieving results and with past recommendations by GAO and other organizations to achieve a more integrated, cost-effective approach toward environmental protection, EPA faces significant challenges that must be addressed effectively if reinvention is to succeed: (a) key stakeholders in the reinvention process have expressed concern over the large number of complex and demanding initiatives now being undertaken, as well as confusion over the underlying purpose of some of EPA major initiatives; (b) EPA has had difficulty achieving "buy-in" among the agency's rank and file, who have grown accustomed to prescriptive, medium-by-medium regulation during EPA's history; (c) EPA has had difficulty achieving agreement among external stakeholders particularly when they perceive that unanimous agreement is required before progress can be made; (d) EPA's process for resolving miscommunication and other problems involving EPA headquarters staff, regional staff, and other stakeholders does not distinguish between problems that require the attention of senior management and those that should be resolved at lower levels; and (e) EPA has an uneven record in evaluating the success of many of its initiatives; (5) in addition, the current prescriptive, medium-specific environmental laws impose requirements that have led to, and tend to reinforce, many of the existing regulatory and behavioral practices that EPA is seeking to change; and (6) as a consequence, EPA will be limited in its ability to reinvent environmental regulation within the existing legislative framework. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155.pdf GAO/RCED-97-155 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-155 Chapter Report GAO/RCED-97-155; Environmental Protection: Challenges Facing EPA's Efforts to Reinvent Environmental Regulation; Agency missions Environmental law Interagency relations Pollution control Reengineering (management) Environmental policies Strategic planning EPA Common Sense Initiative EPA National Environmental Performance Partnership System EPA Project XL