National Environmental Education Act of 1990:
Overview, Implementation, and Reauthorization Issues

David M. Bearden
Environmental Information Analyst
Environment and Natural Resources Policy Division

Updated September 14, 1998

97-97 ENR CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Introduction
Overview and Implementation

Office of Environmental Education
Environmental Education and Training Program
Environmental Education Grants
Environmental Internships and Fellowships
Environmental Education Awards
Environmental Education Advisory Council and Federal Task Force on Environmental Education
National Environmental Education and Training Foundation
Other Activities

Reauthorizing Legislation in the 105th Congress

Introduction

The Environmental Education Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-516) established an Office of Environmental Education in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to award grants for developing environmental curricula and training teachers. Congress moved the office to the newly formed Department of Education in 1979. However, in response to the Reagan Administration's efforts to transfer the federal role in many programs to the states, Congress eliminated the Office of Environmental Education in 1981.

The 101st Congress enacted the National Environmental Education Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-619) to renew the federal role in environmental education and reestablish an office of environmental education within EPA to implement programs authorized under the Act and coordinate EPA's efforts with related federal programs. The House Committee on Education and Labor reported that increasing public understanding of underlying issues is crucial to successfftl public policy and that renewing the federal role in environmental education would be an investment to prevent costly environmental disasters and promote sustainable use of natural resources.1 Under Section 2 of the Act, congressional findings indicated that developing solutions to environmental problems requires a well educated and trained professional work force. In their findings, the 101St Congress stated that existing federal programs to educate the public about environmental problems and train environmental professionals were inadequate and that increasing the federal role in this area was therefore necessary.

The Act authorizes EPA to work with educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, tribal governments, and state and local environmental agencies to educate the public about environmental problems and encourage students to pursue environmental careers. Annual appropriations for these activities have varied from $5.6 to $7.8 million. Authorization of appropriations under the Act expired at the end of FY 1996. Congress has continued to flind the program since then, and the Administration has requested $7.2 million for FY 1999.

Appropriations for Environmental Education: FY 1992-FY 1999 Request

Overview and Implementation

Environmental education involves learning ecological concepts to understand the relation between human behavior and environmental quality and developing the knowledge and skills to analyze environmental problems and create solutions. EPA reports that the goal of the Environmental Education Program is to increase public knowledge about environmental issues and provide the public with the skills necessary to make informed decisions and take responsible actions to protect the environment. Under the Act, EPA awards grants for developing environmental curricula and training teachers, supports intemships and fellowships to encourage the pursuit of environmental professions, selects individuals for environmental awards, and sponsors workshops and conferences. The agency also consults with the Environmental Education Advisory Council and the Federal Task Force on Environmental Education in conducting the above activities and coordinating its efforts with related federal programs. Additionally, the Act established a nonprofit foundation to encourage cooperation between the public and private sectors to support environmental education.

Office of Environmental Education. Section 4 of the Act directed EPA to establish an office of environmental education to implement programs authorized under the law and coordinate its activities with related federal programs. EPA established the Environmental Education Division within the Office of Communications, Education, and Public Affairs to perform these flinctions.

Environmental Education and Training Program. EPA developed the Environmental Education and Training Program (EETP) to train education professionals to develop and teach environmental curricula. Under Section 5 of the Act, EPA awards an annual grant to a higher educational institution or nonprofit organization to operate the EETP under a 3-year agreement. Teachers, administrators, and related staff of educational institutions as well as staff of state and local environmental agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to participate in the program. In 1992, EPA awarded the first agreement to the University of Michigan. The program developed resource materials, established a database of educational materials, and conducted workshops to train K-12 teachers. In September 1995, EPA awarded the second agreement to the North American Association for Environmental Education, which expands on the University of Michigan's accomplishments. Since 1992, EPA has awarded annual grants to support the EETP ranging from $1 .4 to $1.9 million for a total of approximately $8.9 million.

Environmental Education Grants. The Environmental Education Grant Program supports activities that develop environmental curricula, study environmental problems, tram teachers, and foster environmental cooperation between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Educational institutions, state and local environmental agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations are eligible for these grants. Section 6 of the Act Innits a single grant to $250,000 and reserves 25% of the grants for smaller amounts of $5,000 or less. A grant cannot exceed 75% of the cost to implement a proposed project, and the recipient must match the remaining 25% with other fiinding. However, EPA can grant ftill federal flinding for certain priority projects that cannot be undertaken without flill federal support.

Since the beginning of the program in FY1992, EPA has awarded roughly 1,600 grants for a total of $19 million in funding for environmental education projects to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of this amount, EPA has awarded over 200 grants totaling $3 inillion in FY 1998. The deadline to submit proposals for grants to be awarded in FY 1999 is November 16, 1998, and EPA expects to announce its selection of the grant recipients in the spring of 1999. 2

Environmental Internships and Fellowships. EPA administers the National Network for Environmental Management Studies to encourage post-secondary students to pursue environmental careers. Over 200 universities participate in the network. Students work with an environmental professional at EPA on a specific project or conduct university research under EPA's direction. Since 1992, EPA has awarded 450 internships. In 1995 and 1996, the Princeton Review listed the program as one of America's Top 100 Internships out of a field of 1,000 organizations. EPA also developed a pilot fellowship program to place teachers in federal agencies for one year to work on specific environmental projects. Between 1992 and 1993, EPA received 200 fellowship applications and selected 10 teachers to serve as fellows in EPA and the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, and Energy. Section 7 of the Act authorized a minimum of 250 intemships and 50 fellowships annually. However, EPA has awarded significantly fewer internships and fellowships due to the expense of supporting them.

Environmental Education Awards. Section 8 of the Act created four national awards to recognize outstanding contributions to environmental education and training. EPA announced the first recipients in 1993. The awards commemorate Theodore Roosevelt for teaching, Henry David Thoreau for literature, Rachael Carson for commmunications media, and Gifford Pinchot for natural resources management. EPA also administers the Presidential Environmental Youth Awards Program to recognize outstanding projects that promote local environmental awareness. Elementary and high school students are eligible to compete annually. EPA selects a winner in each of its 10 regions. The recipients receive national recognition from the President and Vice President of the United States and the EPA Administrator.

Environmental Education Advisory Council and Federal Task Force on Environmental Education. EPA established an Environmental Education Advisory Council and a Federal Task Force on Environmental Education under Section 9 of the Act. The council consists of 11 members representing a diverse range of public and private expertise in environmental education and training. The council consults with EPA and reports to Congress every two years on the quality of environmental education, the implementation of the Act, and its recommendations to improve environmental education and training. The council has met once or twice annually since 1992. The task force coordinates EPA's environmental education and training activities with related federal programs. EPA chairs the task force, and its members have included representatives from the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Interior, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation. The task force has met once or twice annually since 1991.

National Environmental Education and Training Foundation. The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation encourages cooperation between the public and private sectors to support environmental education and training. Section 10 of the Act established the foundation as a charitable and nonprofit corporation with a board of 13 directors who insure that its activities adhere to EPA policies. Since 1991, the foundation has awarded 110 grants totaling roughly $4 million from public and private flinding to support various national, state, and local environmental education and training projects. Federal and corporate partners of the foundation have included EPA, the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and Interior, Phillips Petroleum, Church and Dwight Co., and R.R. Donnelley Sons Co. To ftlrther the foundation's mission of public and private collaboration, EPA has formed partnerships with other corporations including Time Warner, General Motors, Keebler Co., Dow Chemical, Motorola, and Niagara Mohawk Power Company. EPA's partnerships with nonprofit organizations include the North American Association for Environmental Education, the Alliance for Environmental Education, the National Wildlife Federation, and the National Audubon Society. Partners may contribute ftinding or provide other forms of assistance to promote environmental education and training.

Other Activities. EPA also conducts other environmental education and training activities related to the programs under the Act. In 1991, EPA sponsored a conference with the Federal Task Force on Environmental Education to discuss the federal role in promoting environmental education and training. To follow up this conference, EPA has sponsored several smaller conferences through its regional offices. Since 1991, EPA's Tribal Lands Environmental Science Scholarship Program has awarded almost $1 million to over 220 Native American students for pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in environmental science. EPA developed this scholarship program to increase the number of Native Americans working to protect the environment of Indian lands. Offices throughout EPA contribute flinding under their training authority to support these scholarships. In 1992, EPA negotiated a Trilateral Memorandum of Understanding among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The nations agreed to share information on education and training policies and participate in workshops and conferences. EPA also has worked to establish international environmental education centers in Puerto Rico, Budapest, and Ukraine, and has briefed over 100 foreign representatives on environmental education programs since 1991.

Reauthorizing Legislation in the 1O5th Congress

On March 11, 1998, Representative Scott KIug introduced the National Environmental Education Amendments Act of 1998 (H.R. 3441), and Senator James Inhofe introduced a similar bill (S. 2359) on July 27, 1998. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved S. 2359 on July 29, 1998 prior to the August recess and reported the bill on August 25, 1998 (S.Rept. 105-287). Both bills would authorize appropriations of $10 million annually for EPA's environmental education program from FY 1999 to FY2004 and require at least 40% of appropriated flinding to be reserved for grant awards. Both bills also would reduce the percentage of ft~nds reserved for smaller grants of $5,000 or less from 25% to 15%, and they would shift the focus of the program to awarding grants primarily through terminating the internships and fellowships program and eliminating all awards except for the President's Environmental Youth Awards. Several provisions in both bills also would amend administrative requirements regarding program staffing levels, membership on the National Environmental Education Advisory Council and the Federal Task Force on Environmental Education, and the size of the Board of Directors for the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (which would be renamed as the "National Environmental Learning Foundation"). In addition, both bills include a provision that would exclude lobbying activities from ftlnding, although EPA has not awarded grants for such activities in past years.

HR. 3441, as introduced, and S. 2359, as reported, also address the issue of whether activities supported by EPA's environmental education program are objective and based on accurate data. Both bills include language that would allow ftinding only for those activities that are "balanced and scientifically sound." While neither bill includes provisions that would establish specific criteria to determine whether an activity meets this requirement, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee included language in its report on S. 2359 that outlines three key principles as a guideline for EPA to follow. Under the bill, an activity would be considered balanced and scientifically sound if it.

· characterizes environmental problems in a factual and objective way;
· points students and teachers toward constructive solutions to problems including those that foster conservation and economic goals; and
· when appropriate to a particular environmental topic, attempts to incorporate public health and economic analysis of environmental problems and solutions.

S. 2359 also includes two provisions not contained in H.R. 3441. First, the Senate's bill would require EPA's Science Advisory Board to review and approve any new guidance for grant applicants prior to its issuance. Second, the bill would require EPA to submit an annual report to Congress at the end of each fiscal year which "states in detail" the activities for which the agency has expended appropriated flinds.

ENDNOTES

1 U.S. Congress. Rouse Committee on Education and Labor. National Environmental Education Act of 1990. Report to Accompany H.R. 3684. H.Rept. 101-671, 101st Congress, 2nd Sess. August 4, 1990. p.11-12.

2 EPA. Federal Register. FY 1999 Environmental Education Grants Program Solicitation Notice. August 25, 1998. p.45338-45348.