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STRENGTHENING THE FEDERAL R&D 

 INFRASTRUCTURE 



Our federal environmental R&D system is broad, diverse, and highly de- 

 centralized. Led by the intramural programs of the Environmental Protec- 

 tion Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey, and complemented by the ex- 

 tensive extramural programs of the National Institute of Environmental Health 

 Sciences and the National Science Foundation, the principal federal environ- 

 mental R&D infrastruaure is comprised of programs in numerous depan- 

 mcnts and agencies, each with a different mission and a different set of 

 sucngths and weaknesses. The recommendations below are aimed at strength- 

 ening the individual and collective R&D efforts of these organizations, as 

 well as their ability to contribute to the evaluation and implementation 

 of environmental policies. 



■ The federal environmental R&D infrastruaure should be 

 ntengthened by improving and streamlining EPA's existing labotatoty 

 organization, by supporting a group of nonfederal Environmental Research 



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