EPA and the States

Congress designed most federal environmental programs so that they could be administered at the state and local levels. Once a state shows that it is capable of implementing an environmental program, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delegates most day-to-day responsibilities to the state. After delegation, EPA regions, with guidance from headquarters, continue to set goals for the states, provide them with grants, and monitor their performance. This report examines (1) whether EPA and the states have had difficulty implementing federal environmental requirements; (2) the extent to which they have had difficulty, and the reason for the difficulty; and (3) how they can better implement the requirements.

GAO found that: (1) most states have had difficulty in implementing federal environmental programs and have become reluctant to accept the additional responsibilities associated with environmental laws; (2) resource limitations are a major cause of the states' problems, as federal funding has not kept pace with environmental requirements; (3) EPA has required states to apply scarce resources to national priorities at the expense of their own environmental concerns; (4) the relationship between EPA and the states has been strained because EPA does not provide adequate technical support to states and does not consult states before making decisions concerning them; and (5) although EPA has taken measures over the past 10 years to improve its relationship with the states, key issues still remain unresolved.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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