One Health and U.S. EPA Statutory Authorities

The mission of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is to protect human health and safeguard the environment – air, water, and land – upon which all life depends.  EPA’s statutes – including Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and others – serve as the foundational statutory authority supporting the Agency’s health mission. While these foundational statutes and authorities predate the term “One Health”, they inherently embody its principles by acknowledging the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health.  In the simplest terms, One Health recognizes that the health of humans and animals are inextricably linked to their local environment.  A more comprehensive and expansive view is that the phrase “One Health” represents a myriad of interconnected human, animal, and environmental health issues that collectively impact national and global economics and social orders.  This view of One Health aligns with the mission of the EPA. This poster crosswalks key environmental and statutory legal definitions of concepts that comprise the considerations or standards for decision making on actions that EPA is directed to take under the major provisions of these laws. Both the definitions or policy statements that drive interpretation and implementation, and the standard setting language from the major provisions, are identified. The goal is to demonstrate that a One Health approach is compatible with and enhances EPA’s existing efforts under the law. 

Impact/Purpose

This poster examines how federal mandates for the EPA align with a One Health systems approach emphasizing the interrelatedness of human, animal, and environmental health. The goal is to demonstrate that a One Health approach is compatible with and enhances EPA’s existing efforts under the law, potentially leading to more comprehensive analysis, more effective and durable solutions, improved decision making, and increased efficiency. Identifying One Health principles in any of these statutes does not imply any policy change to existing programs, regulatory structures, or actions – which require consideration of costs, benefits, and other factors, often involving public comment and input processes managed by the relevant EPA program office. Instead, recognizing One Health principles in the environmental statutes serves as foundation for conceptualizing EPA’s role as part of the ‘environmental pillar’ of One Health in the federal government.  

Citation

Nichols, T., Garland Waleko, A. Sjodin, L. Davis, L. Meyrueix, V. Sandiford, AND A. McKallip. One Health and U.S. EPA Statutory Authorities. EPA Cincinnati Spring Poster Session, Cincinnati, OH, April 22, 2025.

• ONE HEALTH AND U.S. EPA STATUTORY AUTHORITIES_508.PDF (PDF)  (NA  pp, 857.0 KB, about PDF)