This paper provides an overview of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), examining its core mission, organizational structure, and financial management obligations. It describes the EPA's role in developing and enforcing environmental regulations, issuing permits to American-Indian tribes, and administering grants to state programs. The paper also outlines the agency's fourteen distinct offices, its compliance requirements under the Federal Manager's Financial Integrity Act, the Inspector General's Act Amendments of 1998, and the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, as well as ongoing efforts to modernize its financial and administrative infrastructure.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the overall mission of this federal government body is to "develop and enforce regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress" and to be responsible for "researching and setting national standards for a wide variety of environmental programs funded by the U.S. government." One example of this work is the issuing of government permits to American-Indian tribes in order to trace their compliance with federal laws ("U.S. Environmental," 2006).
The EPA also offers a wide range of financial assistance programs in the form of grants, which have helped numerous state environmental programs — such as Michigan's efforts to eradicate zebra mussels from the Great Lakes. It also provides funds for "non-profit and educational institutions which support high-quality research" aimed at improving and exploring both established and emerging methods related to national environmental issues.
As an organization, the EPA contains fourteen distinct offices, including those focused on administration and resources management, air and radiation, and the American-Indian Environmental Office. Additional offices cover Environmental Justice, environmental information, and the history of the EPA. The agency also maintains the offices of General Counsel, Inspector General, International Affairs, Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, Research and Development, Solid Waste and Emergency Response, and, lastly, the Office of Water — one of the most important of all these entities due to its role in regulating drinking water ("U.S. Environmental," 2006).
Regarding its financial management, the EPA must always be "in compliance with applicable laws" as laid out in the Federal Manager's Financial Integrity Act. This act requires agency managers and staff to submit to the U.S. government an annual report that outlines "reasonable assurance that the agency's policies and procedures are adequate to support the achievement" of the EPA's overall mission, goals, and objectives related to environmental control, monitoring, and the enforcement of the law.
In addition, the EPA adheres to a strict audit management process that helps identify weaknesses within management control and important management challenges in relation to its budget. The Inspector General's Act Amendments of 1998 further require that the EPA provide a report to Congress "twice a year and that the OIG reports to Congress annually on the status of audits and corrective actions" ("U.S. Environmental," 2006).
"GPRA mandates and five-year strategic planning"
"Technology-driven administrative modernization efforts"
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