Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a government agency charged with protecting human health and the environment, specifically the air, water, and land. It was originally established by the president and the U.S. Congress in 1970 to promote greater coordination between environmental agencies involved in enforcing the nation's environmental laws. It addressed cleanup and restoration issues that had arisen from decades of uncontrolled and harmful pollution. It was also chartered to develop and enforce policy to ensure future environmental protection and human health. In addition, the EPA was instituted to serve as a funding agency for support of external research to state environmental programs, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions.

As of 2007, the EPA employs 18,000 individuals. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 10 regional offices and more than 12 laboratories located throughout the United States. The EPA headquarters houses the offices of the administrator and the executive staff and large programmatic offices. The 10 regional offices serve the local population, agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders to provide information and conduct research and development. The EPA laboratories engage in environmental research and assess conditions to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental issues.

The EPA serves as a regulatory agency, enforcing environmental laws and developing policy and national standards. It grants authority to states and Indian (North American) tribes for monitoring and compliance. In cases of noncompliance, the EPA has the authority to issue sanctions and enforce mandates to achieve the desired levels of environmental quality. It also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts.