Environmental protection is the effort to preserve and enhance natural and man-made resources. This includes efforts to prevent pollution, clean up contaminated sites and restore damaged areas. It is often achieved through government regulation, incentives or other measures to discourage environmentally harmful activities. Environmental protection may also be accomplished by educating the public or forming partnerships with private organizations.
EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment by enforcing and improving our nation’s laws, advancing the science of environmental protection, and supporting sustainable communities. The Agency’s FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan identifies measurable outcomes the public can expect and describes how EPA will achieve these results.
Protecting people and the environment from exposure to radiation continues to be a core mission of EPA. The Agency will continue operating RadNet, the national environmental radiation monitoring system; reviewing and updating radiation protection regulations and guidance; conducting research on long-term effects of low-level radiation on humans; and assisting states with the development of nuclear waste management strategies.
In addition to protecting air and water quality, EPA will continue programs to reduce the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS). The Agency will continue promoting and implementing replacement chemicals, products, and processes that help to avoid ODSs and to save energy. EPA will also continue to support cost-effective projects under the Montreal Protocol and other international agreements.
Effective targeting of compliance monitoring and vigorous civil and criminal enforcement are critical to achieving the Agency’s goals for protecting people and the environment. Over the life of this Strategic Plan, EPA will focus enforcement actions on cases that pose the greatest threat to public health and the environment.
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