National Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS)
About NEPPS
EPA, states, and Tribes share responsibility for protecting human health and the environment. The unique relationship between EPA, states, and Tribes is the cornerstone of the nation's environmental protection system. Working together, EPA, states, and Tribes have made enormous progress protecting our air, water, and land resources.
The National Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS) was established in 1995 as a performance-based system of environmental protection designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of EPA partnerships with states, territories, and Tribes. By focusing resources on the most pressing environmental problems and taking advantage of the unique capacities of each partner, performance partnerships can help achieve the greatest environmental and human health protection.
Performance Partnership Agreements and Grants
One of the main ways EPA, states, and Tribes implement performance partnerships is by negotiating Performance Partnership Agreements (PPAs). These agreements set out jointly-developed priorities and protection strategies and how EPA and the state or Tribe will work together to address priority needs. States and Tribes can also choose to combine funds from multiple federal environmental program grants into Performance Partnership Grants (PPGs) which allow them to direct resources where they are needed most or try innovative solutions to environmental problems.
- An assessment of environmental conditions and program implementation needs;
- Analysis of approaches and tools that are most likely to bring about the greatest environmental results; and
- Jointly developed goals and priorities that are translated into plans at the operational level.
Joint planning opportunities exist for all states and Tribes, even those that do not negotiate formal PPAs with their EPA regional offices. In these cases, the goals and priorities are articulated in grant work plans or other agreements.
EPA provides financial assistance to states and Tribes to help them develop and implement environmental programs. For many years, states and Tribes wanted greater flexibility in how they use and manage the grant funds they receive from EPA. In 1996, Congress responded by authorizing EPA to award PPGs. States, certain interstate agencies, and Tribes can now choose to combine two or more environmental program grants into a single PPG.
- Reduce administrative costs through streamlined paperwork and accounting procedures;
- Direct EPA grant funds to priority environmental problems or program needs; and
- Try multi-media approaches and initiatives that were difficult to fund under traditional categorical grants.
PPG Story Map
The Story Map below provides examples of how states and Tribes have utilized the flexibilities of PPGs. A larger version of the Story Map can be viewed here.