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78 EN\'lRONMbNTAL RESLARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 



graphic Data Committee. Coordination activities of this kind will become 

 increasingly important as massive quantities of data on the state of the en- 

 vironment are generated in the years ahead. 



One imponant activity of the National Center and the Environ- 

 mental Monitoring Agency should be the development of national biolog- 

 ical inventories, a concened effort to document the nation's plant and animal 

 resources.'' Such information is critical in documenting the impact of pol- 

 lutants and other forms of disruption on ecosystems, in evaluating biolog- 

 ical diversity, and in monitoring the progress of environmental protection 

 efforts. 



ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM 



■ A federal interagency Environmental Technologies Program should be 

 established to promote and support the development of advanced technol- 

 ogies by federal agencies, universities, industry, and nongovernmental 

 organizations. 



Responding to the environmental challenges of the decade ahead 

 will require the development of a fiill range of advanced technologies to 

 minimize waste, enhance energy efficiency, promote agricultural productivity, 

 and limit the release of pollutants into the environment. These include bio- 

 technologies that can limit the use of traditional toxic pesticides, minimize 

 the application of fertilizers, and enhance the productivity of crops. Pro- 

 grams supporting the development of environmental technologies are under 

 way throughout the federal govenunent.'^ Federal agencies, particularly 

 EPA, must modify their regulatory procedures to encourage these kinds of 

 technological innovation,'' but regtilatory incentives alone are not sufficient. 



We recommend the establishment of a fiideral interagency Environ- 

 mental Technologies Program that would provide support to federal agencies 

 and the private sector through grants, loans, and cooperative agreements 

 to promote the development and diffusion of these technologies. EPA, or 

 a Department of the Environment, should function as the lead federal agency, 

 providing funds to other agencies, industries, academic instituuons, and 

 nongovernmental insutuuons as appropriate to support new and existing 

 technology development programs. Govemment suppon should primarily 

 be for precompetitive, general technologies*-" or activities leading to useful 

 nonproprietary knowledge — knowledge that is broadly applicable, but whose 

 potential applications can be predicted, with some degree of accuracy, in 

 advance.'' 



EPA has experience in administering programs of this kind. In the 



