Collaborative Projects with State Environmental Health Experts
EPA works with the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) to advance our shared mission to protect the public's health from environmental threats and hazards and to advance environmental health for all.
EPA, ECOS, and ASTHO work together on collaborative projects that integrate environment and public health through our Memorandum of Agreement. Additional information on the joint EPA-ECOS-ASTHO projects can be found on the EPA-ECOS-ASTHO Annual Accomplishment Reports page.
EPA also works directly with ASTHO to address environmental health challenges through a cooperative agreement. Activities are performed by ASTHO, with guidance from EPA.
This page highlights a selection of collaborative projects under the two agreements.
On this page:
- Lead (Pb)
- Children’s Environmental Health
- Resiliency
- Wildfires and Prescribed Burns
- One Health
- Water Safety and Public Health Surveillance
- PFAS and HABs Risk Communication
Lead (Pb)
In 2026, ECOS and ASTHO convened five regional lead listening sessions with state public health and environmental agencies to help better understand and encourage the collaboration between state health departments and environmental agencies related to lead. A summary document outlining themes for each listening session will be available soon.
Children's Environmental Health
In 2026, ASTHO established a group of state children’s environmental health experts. The group meets monthly to discuss best practices and lessons learned; strengthen knowledge and understanding of policies, programs and practices that support children’s environmental health (CEH); and create collaborative learning opportunities to share successes, challenges, innovations, and collaborations between state agencies that support CEH. A summary document outlining themes from the calls will be available in 2027.
In 2024, ASTHO developed four Community Action Plan Templates that can be used by any jurisdiction to help address children’s environmental health issues to reduce negative environmental health exposures. Topic areas include air quality/asthma; climate; and lead poisoning.
Resiliency
In 2025, building upon their previous resiliency work, ECOS and ASTHO developed a State Resiliency Hub. This resource hub contains links to state resiliency plans and guidance documents, outreach and training materials, tools, case studies, and additional resources to support jurisdictions in their disaster resiliency planning and implementation.
In 2024, ASTHO and ECOS partnered to gather information at regional listening sessions and share best practices for state and territorial health and environmental agency resiliency planning. Based on those discussions, ASTHO and ECOS developed a summary document to assist health and environmental agencies in their planning process.
In 2022, ECOS and ASTHO hosted two listening sessions on resilience and vulnerability to complex disasters or environmental events with multiple interacting impacts. The summary document highlights lessons learned and offers a path forward for states and co-regulators.
- ASTHO - Lessons on State Resilience and Vulnerability to Complex Disasters
- ECOS - Lessons on State Resilience and Vulnerability to Complex Disasters
Wildfires and Prescribed Burns
In 2024, ASTHO hosted a focus group to identify lessons learned from state public health agencies who are working successfully to protect community health through wildfire smoke health risk communication and developed two reports. ASTHO also hosted a dual webinar providing a background on the health risks of smoke and resources available to prepare ASTHO members for smoke events in their communities. ASTHO then developed and disseminated a list of existing wildland fire smoke health risk communication and intervention/mitigation resources to ASTHO members following the webinar series.
- Communicating the Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke
- Partnering to Address Health Risks and Expand Communication Before and During Prescribed Fires
- Wildfire and Wildfire Smoke Guidance and Resources
- ASTHO Wildland Fire Webinar
The Wildfire Smoke Guide provides states and local communities information to prepare for smoke events. When wildfire smoke is present, the guide provides information to communicate health risks and take measures to protect the public. EPA partnered with ECOS and ASTHO from 2016 to 2017 to "test drive" the guide and use their experience to provide input for the 2019 updated Guide.
One Health
Since 2021, ASTHO, ECOS, and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) have been partnering to promote and advance the One Health approach. They have hosted webinars, workshops, and an ongoing community of practice to focus on the environmental pillar of One Health and missions relevant to EPA, ECOS, ASTHO, and AFWA.
- 2-part One Health Webinar Series
- EPA Tools & Resources Webinar: One Health
- Join the community of practice (open to state, Tribal, and federal partners)
In 2023, ECOS and ASTHO developed four case studies of state agencies applying the One Health approach to tackle environmental challenges. The case studies include lead in Idaho, harmful algal blooms in New Jersey, fish tissue monitoring in Georgia, and PFAS in Wisconsin.
Water Safety and Public Health Surveillance
In 2021, ASTHO convened a collaborative comprised of environmental health and informatics experts who would provide support, guidance, and coordination on the issue of filling data gaps with electronic health records around health impacts from exposure to contaminants of emerging concern.
- Issue Brief: Considering the Role of Social Stressors in Chemical Risk Assessment
- Technical report with best practices for diagnostic sampling of heavy metals in drinking water
PFAS and HABs Risk Communication
In 2019, ECOS and ASTHO compiled existing tools, materials and strategies for a per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) Risk Communication Hub. Specifically, the PFAS Risk Communication Hub contains guidance materials for risk communication (toolkits, fact sheets, templates) and a collection of state and federal resources.
In 2018, ECOS and ASTHO interviewed health and environmental agency staff about risk communication strategies and lessons learned for PFAS or harmful algal blooms (HABs). The case studies are compiled on both ECOS’s and ASTHO's websites.