Environmental Protection Agency

The u.s. environmental protection agency (epa) was established under President Nixon's Reorganization Act 3 of 1970. The creation of the EPA was part of a sweeping transformation of American environmental regulation that is often credited to the social movements that evolved around growing public and scientific awareness of environmental crises. The publication of Silent Spring, the burning of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, and the Santa Barbara oil spill are often cited as significant events, which crystallized mainstream opinion around the need for a strong federal regulatory hand in ensuring environmental quality.

Strong federal environmental roles were minted in landmark laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act (1969), the Clean Air Act (1970), the Clean Water Act (1972), and the Endangered Species Act (1973). The ...