U.S. EPA- Priorities and Strategies 

for Advancing Environmental 

Protection and Public Health

Flexible Packaging Association: EHS Summit

January 29, 2015

G. Alan Farmer, Director

Resource Conservation and Restoration Division

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4

Atlanta, GA
• EPA Overview

• Regulatory Updates

o Air

o Water

o Waste

o Enforcement

• Partnership and Sustainability 

Opportunities

Outline
EPA’s Strategic Plan

EPA’s Strategic Plan

• The Plan identifies five strategic goals to guide the Agency’s work:

• Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality

• Goal 2: Protecting America’s Waters

• Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development

• Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution

• Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws 

and Assuring Compliance

Cross- Agency Strategies

• Working Toward a Sustainable Future

• Working to Make a Visible Difference in Communities

• Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local, and International Partnerships

• Embracing EPA as a High-Performing Organization
1. Making a Visible Difference in 

Communities Across the Country

2. Addressing Climate Change and 

Improving Air Quality

3. Taking Action on Toxics and 

Chemical Safety

4. Protecting Water: A Precious, 

Limited Resource

5. Launching a New Era of State, 

Tribal, and Local Partnerships

6. Embracing EPA as a High 

Performing Organization

7. Working Toward a Sustainable 

Future

EPA: Meeting the Challenges Ahead

Administrator Gina McCarthy
EPA FY 15 Budget: $8.179 Billion 

Total EPA STAG FY 14

EPA Program and

Operational Funding

43% of EPA’s Funding 

is for State and Tribal 

Assistance Grants

Source: EPA BAS 6.0 2014 ENA (v1) and 6.0 2015 ENA (v1)

EPA FY 14 Budget Total: $8.2 Billion

EPA Budget
Regulatory Updates- Air
EPA’s Action to Reduce Carbon Pollution

• Building a 21st century transportation 

sector

• Cutting energy waste in homes, 

businesses, and factories

• Reducing methane and HFCs

• Preparing the U.S. for the impacts of 

climate change

• Helping lead international efforts to 

address global climate change

• Reducing carbon pollution from power 

plants (e.g., EPA’s “Clean Power Plan”)

7
President’s June 2013 Directive to EPA:

Develop carbon pollution standards, regulations or guidelines, as 

appropriate, for:

1. New power plants

• Proposed January 8, 2014

• Final Summer 2015

2. Modified and reconstructed power plants

• Proposed June 2014

• Final Summer 2015

3. Existing power plants

• Proposed Guidelines June 2014

• Final Guidelines Summer 2015

• State Plans due Summer 2016

GHG NSPS Requirements for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants

http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan
This proposal will: 

• Reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants, for which there are currently no 

national limits

• Maintain an affordable, reliable energy system and will help move us toward a cleaner, 

more stable environment for future generations

• By 2030, reduce nationwide carbon dioxide emissions, from the power sector by 

approximately 30% from 2005 levels, with significant reductions to begin by 2020

• Cut hundreds of thousands of tons of harmful particle pollution, sulfur dioxide and 

nitrogen oxides as a co-benefit

• Proposal will avoid an estimated 2,700 to 6,600 premature deaths and 140,000 to 150,000 asthma 

attacks in 2030

• Provide important health protections to the most vulnerable, such as children and older 

Americans

• Lead to health and climate benefits worth an estimated $55 billion to $93 billion in 

2030

• From soot and smog reductions alone, for every dollar invested through the Clean 

Power Plan - - American families will see up to $7 in health benefits 

9

Summary - 111(d) Existing Power Plant Proposal
NAAQS Reviews: Status Update

(as of January 2015)

Ozone Lead Primary

NO2

Primary 

SO2

Secondary 

NO2 and 

SO2

PM CO

Last Review 

Completed 

(final rule 

signed)

Mar 2008 Oct 2008 Jan 2010 Jun 2010 Mar 2012 Dec 2012 Aug 2011

Recent or 

Upcoming 

Major 

Milestone(s)1

August 2014

Final REAs

Final PA

Dec 1, 2014 2

Proposed rule

Oct 1, 2015 2

Final rule

May 2014

Final PA

2014

Proposed 

rule

June 2014

Final IRP

Fall 2014

2

nd Draft ISA 

REA 

Planning 

Document

Summer 

2014

Final IRP

Fall 2014

Draft IRP

Feb 9-11, 

2015

Kickoff 

workshop

(see 79 FR 

71764)

TBD3

10

1

IRP – Integrated Review Plan; ISA – Integrated Science Assessment; REA – Risk and Exposure Assessment; PA – Policy 

Assessment

2 Bold and underlined dates indicate court-ordered or settlement agreement deadlines

3 TBD = to be determined

Additional information regarding current and previous NAAQS reviews is available at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs
Air Toxics – Report to Congress

• On August 21, 2014, EPA released the Second (and final) Integrated Urban Air 

Toxics Report to Congress 

• The report highlights some of the results achieved through EPA’s air toxics 

regulations, including:

• 66% reduction in benzene

• Nearly 60% reduction in mercury from man-made sources like coal-fired power plants

• 84% decrease of lead in outdoor air

• Removal of an estimated 1.5 million tons per year of air toxics from stationary sources, and 

approximately 3 million tons per year of criteria pollutants as a co-benefit of air toxics reductions

• The removal of an estimated 1.5 million tons per year of air 

toxics from mobile sources -- a 50% reduction in mobile 

source air toxics emissions

• Even with this progress, additional work remains to 

improve our understanding of air toxics and to 

effectively reduce remaining risks, particularly in 

overburdened communities

http://www2.epa.gov/urban-air-toxics/second-integrated-urban-air-toxics-report-congress
Regulatory Update- Water
National Water Priorities

• Protecting Populations at Risk

• Improving Integrity of Nation’s 

Drinking Water and Clean Water 

Quality

• Providing Safe & Sustainable Water 

Resources and Infrastructure

• Assuring High Quality and Accessible 

Water Information

• Controlling Nutrient Pollution
Protecting Water: Understanding Nutrients

• Nutrient pollution is one of the 

costliest and the most challenging 

environmental problems we face

• Nutrient pollution is expected to 

continue to grow

• U.S. population growth

• Stormwater runoff

• Sewage treatment plants

• Air deposition

• Agricultural livestock and row crop 

runoff

• Cleaning up already degraded waters 

will require significant resources
EPA’s Focus on Stormwater

• Incorporate green infrastructure into 

sites as they are being developed and 

redeveloped

 Cost-effective to control stormwater at its 

source

 Prevents water quality degradation in 

healthy waters

 Helps restore impaired waters

• Incentives for green infrastructure:

 Off-site mitigation, banking or trading 

programs

• Employ innovations in use by 

developers & communities

 Integrate curb cuts into parking islands to 

allow water to infiltrate

 Cisterns
Waters of the U.S. Proposed Rule

• Clarifying protection for streams and wetlands 

under the Clean Water Act

• Rulemaking was requested by many 

stakeholders

• Supported by peer-reviewed science

• Provides more benefits to the public than 

costs

• Input on Proposed Rule is Important to EPA

• Extensive outreach conducted by Regions 

and HQ

• Comment period closed on November 14, 

2014

• Over 900,00 comments received

• Plan is to submit a final rule to OMB by 

Spring, 2015

www.epa.gov/uswaters
Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) Program Plan 

(304(m))

• Preliminary 2014 Effluent Limitations Guidelines Plan published Sept. 16, 

2014; final to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in March, 2015

• 60-day comment period ended November 17, 2014; comments received 

from 9 industry organizations, one State organization, and several NonGovernment Organizations

• Key actions/decisions in Final 2014 ELG Plan:

• Continue Preliminary Study of Metal Finishing

• Continue Detailed Study of Petroleum Refining

• Continue Detailed Study of Centralized Waste Treaters (CWTs) accepting 

oil and gas extraction wastewater

• Continue gathering information on long term impact of Nano-materials 

• Announce progress made in investigating Pesticide Chemicals 

Manufacturing, Formulating, and Packaging- examine unregistered 

pesticides manufactured for export

• Announce no further investigation warranted for Brick and Structural 

Clay Products Manufacturing
Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG), Cont.

• Next Steps:

• Submit Final Plan to OMB (March, 2015)

• Publish Final 2014 Plan (June, 2015)

• Prepare Preliminary 2016 ELG Plan (note: EPA issues an ELG Plan every 

two years):

• Report on 2015 Toxicity Rankings Analysis (TRA)

• Report findings/proposals/decisions from studies/investigations

• Publish Preliminary 2016 Plan (Nov. 2015)
Regulatory Update- Waste
Coal Ash Spills

Kingston Coal Ash Spill, 2008 

Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill, 2014
• Residuals from the combustion of coal at coal-fired power plants (fly 

ash, bottom ash, flue gas desulfurization material, and boiler slag)

• One of the largest U.S. industrial waste streams (~122 million tons 

generated in 2012) 

• Approximately 60% disposed in landfills and surface impoundments

• 1980 “Bevill Amendment” excluded certain large-volume wastes 

generated primarily from the combustion of coal or other fossil fuels 

from regulation as hazardous wastes under Subtitle C of RCRA

• EPA was required to submit a report to Congress and make a 

determination either to promulgate regulations under RCRA Subtitle C or 

that such regulations were unwarranted

• Currently, CCRs are not subject to any federally enforceable standards for 

waste management

• Concern about risks from structural failures from surface 

impoundments, groundwater contamination, and fugitive dust

21

Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR)

www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/index.htm
• EPA finalized the rule on December 19, 2014, to treat CCR as a RCRA 

Subtitle D non-hazardous waste.

• Regulates disposal units; requires composite liners, GW monitoring, structural stability 

requirements, corrective action, and closure/post-closure care

• Self-implementing; rule effective 6 months after publication

22

CCR Rule

www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/index.htm
Modifications to RCRA Rules Associated with Solvent 

Contaminated Industrial Wipes Final Rule

• Also referred to as the “RCRA 

Wipes Rule”; (40 CFR 260 and 261) 

• The Solvent Contaminated 

Industrial Wipes Rule (Wipes Rule) 

was originally proposed in 

November 2003

• The rule affects contaminated 

industrial (disposable and nondisposable) wipes 

• Some wipes are excluded from 

landfills depending on the type of 

secondary hazardous waste it 

contains

• The final Wipes Rule was 

published on July 31, 2013 and 

effective on January 31, 2014

• States may, but are not required 

to, adopt this rule
Hazardous Waste Manifest Revisions – Standards & 

Procedures for Electronic Manifests Final Rule

Also referred to as “E-Manifest Rule”

Purpose: allows for submittal of hazardous 

waste transport manifests in electronic format

Key considerations: ease of use and, ease of 

data retrieval

EPA worked with affected industry, states and 

the general public in the development of this 

rule

The rule was finalized on February 2, 2014 

and was effective on August 6, 2014.

EPA is in the process of developing a fee 

schedule. It will be in subsequent rulemaking.
Regulatory Update- Enforcement
EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives

Cutting Air Pollution That Affects Communities’ Health: MACT Standards

Clean Water: Keeping raw sewage and contaminated stormwater out of 

waters; Preventing animal waste from contaminating surface and 

groundwater 

Reducing Pollution from Mineral Processing

Assuring Energy Extraction Sector Compliance with Environmental Laws

Reducing Widespread Pollution from Largest Sources : New Source Review 

and Prevention of Significant Deterioration Sector Focus--Utilities, Cement, 

Glass and Acid Sectors

Clean Communities: protect people from exposure to hazardous chemicals 

and require polluters to pay for cleanup of contaminated sites 
Next Generation Compliance

Effective 

Rules

Advanced 

Monitoring

Electronic 

Reporting Transparency

Innovative 

Enforcement
Partnership and Sustainability Opportunities
Product Lifecycle

Waste Management vs. Materials Management
Sustainable Materials Management
31

Durable 

Goods

24%

Nondurable 

Goods

21%

Containers 

and 

Packaging

24%

Food Scraps

20%

Yard 

Trimmings

9%

Other Waste

2%

Disposed Tons = 164,720 tons

MSW Disposed by Category 

An additional 24 million tons diverted from landfills 

(a corresponding value of $2.6 billion)

104 billion gallons of water saved 

(equivalent to the average water usage of 1.8 million peoplethe population of Boston, Charlotte and Atlanta combined)

=

JUST 10% MORE

A 10% increase in our national 

recycling rate would result 

annually in:

A savings of 55 million metric tons of CO2

(equivalent to taking 10.1 million vehicles off the road)

CO

2

Sources: U.S. EPA Municipal 

Solid waste data, 

RecyclingMarkets.net, WaRM, 

WRAP, PE Americas, BUWAL, 

and NRDC
Packaging Dialogue 2010 

 At the request of state and local governments

 Funded by EPA and convened in the Summer 2010

• 4 meetings have been held in Washington DC and Kansas City in 2010 

and 2011 

 Project Focus

• The dialogue is focused on packaging and printed materials found in the 

municipal waste stream from households, businesses, institutions, and 

locations away from home
Waste recovery

research and 

recommendations

aimed at policy

makers:

7/29/2015 www.ameripen.org 35
“Eleven SE states united to develop 

and promote sustainable recycling 

programs”

SERDC works to: Unite industry, 

government and non-government 

organizations to promote sustainable 

recycling in the Southeast. 

Recycling isn’t just about smart use of natural resources. It’s about 

delivering valuable commodities to some of our most important 

businesses.

Southeast Recycling Development Council (SERDC)
SERDC 120 Statement 

Engage industry in 

voluntary public/private partnerships 

to make strategic, one-time, leveraged 

investments that sustain higher levels of 

recovery through the adoption of 

proven best practices in 

municipal recycling programs.

PARTNERSHIP

Seeding private dollars to 

unlock a larger public 

match.

APPLIED KNOWLEDGE 

Technical assistance as 

well as education and 

outreach. 

The Recycling Partnership

STRATEGY

Creating a systems 

solution to a systems 

problem.

LASTING IMPACTS 

One time contributions, 

self-sustaining 

improvements. STRENGTHENED

SUPPLY 

CHAIN
40

420

Million 

new 

pounds

Paper 

280

Million 

new 

pounds

Glass

60

Million 

new 

pounds

HDPE 

& PET Steel

30

Million 

new 

pounds

180

Million 

new 

pounds

Cardboard

15

Million 

new 

pounds

Mixed Plastic

Non-bottle

10

Million 

new 

pounds

Aluminum

5

Million 

new 

pounds

Cartons

1BILLION

new pounds

OVER 

10 YEARS

One time intervention =

PERMANENTNEW SUPPLY
Tools & Resources

• EPA Sustainable Materials Management 

Tools– Tracking, Food Recovery Challenge, 

Calculators:

 http://www.epa.gov/smm/wastewise/retrac.htm

 http://www.epa.gov/smm/foodrecovery/index.htm

 http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/tools/warm/ 

• EPA and State Pollution Prevention Networks:

 http://www.epa.gov/p2/

 http://www.epa.gov/p2/pubs/assist/index.htm

• Pollution Prevention Resources Exchange 

Centers:

 http://www.p2rx.org/
Questions?

42