EPA released an update to its FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan September 9. The original plan, released February 2018, highlighted the agency’s “Back-to-Basics” agenda. The plan outlined three main goals and though these new revisions leave the overall plan “largely unchanged”, it does update the language of the three goal statements:
- Goal 1: A Cleaner, Healthier Environment - Deliver a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment for all Americans and future generations by carrying out the Agency’s core mission. (Previously stated as: Core Mission - Deliver real results to provide Americans with clean air, land, and water, and ensure chemical safety.)
- Goal 2: More Effective Partnerships: Provide certainty to states, localities, tribal nations, and the regulated community in carrying out shared responsibilities and communicating results to all Americans. (Previously stated as: Cooperative Federalism - Rebalance the power between Washington and the states to create tangible environmental results for the American people.)
- Goal 3: Greater Certainty, Compliance, and Effectiveness - Increase certainty, compliance, and effectiveness by applying the rule of law to achieve more efficient and effective agency operations, service delivery, and regulatory relief. (Previously stated as: Rule of Law and Process- Administer the law as Congress intended, to refocus the Agency on its statutory obligations under the law.)
According to the agency’s press release, the plan “describes how the agency will accomplish its mission to protect human health and the environment, provide the measures we will use to evaluate our success, and communicate the Administrator’s priorities. The Agency uses the plan routinely as a management tool to guide the Agency’s path forward, tracking progress and assessing and addressing risks and challenges that could potentially interfere with EPA’s ability to accomplish its goals.”