News Release

Advancing Cooperative Federalism: EPA Awards Cooperative Agreement to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials to Support States and Territories on Environmental Health

November 4, 2026 | Contact EPA's Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new agencywide cooperative agreement with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) to support their efforts to address environmental health challenges.

“Protecting public and environmental health works best when federal, state, and territorial partners work together. This collaboration between EPA and ASTHO puts cooperative federalism into action by bringing public health and environmental expertise to the same table, delivering impactful and timely results to improve environmental outcomes for communities across the country.” said Associate Deputy Administrator Travis Voyles.

“This cooperative agreement strengthens the partnership between ASTHO and EPA and supports state and territorial health agencies in addressing environmental health challenges and protecting the health of their communities,” said Dr. Meredith Allen, Vice President of Health Security, ASTHO.

Under the agreement, EPA and ASTHO will continue collaboration on shared environmental health priorities, including water safety, wildfire smoke, data centers, PFAS, lead, and indoor air quality.

Through this cooperative agreement, EPA scientists and engineers will provide critical technical assistance to enhance state and territorial capacity to address environmental health challenges through activities to support knowledge sharing and capacity building including webinars, in-person meetings, and technical training.

The agreement also supports a recently signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between EPA, ASTHO, and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) to collaborate on environmental health projects, protect public health from environmental threats and hazards, and strengthen environmental health systems nationwide.

These types of agreements help advance cooperative federalism and cross-agency partnerships and continue cooperative progress toward providing clean air, land, and water for all Americans.

This work also supports EPA’s contributions to the Federal Lead Action Plan and President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again initiative by taking an integrated approach to addressing human health and environmental challenges.

For more information on EPA’s collaborations with ASTHO and ECOS, visit Collaborative Projects with State Environmental Health Experts.