The report describes the development and initial results of EPA's Conventional Combustion Pollutant Assessment (CCEA) program planning effort, a recently established EPA program to consolidate the several segments of its research on the environmental effects of pollutants from conventional combustion processes into a comprehensive integrated effort. (In the past, much of EPA's environmental effects research has been performed in conjunction with control technology development.) Fossil fuels are now the Nation's principal source of energy for industrial, commercial, and residential use. The conventional combustion of fossil fuels and their derivatives is likely to remain our primary means of obtaining useful energy for several decades. EPA has, since its inception, conducted research on the environmental effects of fossil fuel combustion. The three principal purposes of such research are: (1) to assess the health and environmental effects caused by the release of combustion pollutants; (2) to define the need for technology to control the release of these pollutants; and (3) to develop standards to limit emissions.