The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an independent executive agency of US federal government, is charged with protecting the environment. The administrator of the agency is named by the president and approved in the Senate. [3] Michael S. Regan is the current administrator. Although the EPA is not a Department, its administrator is usually given rank.
The EPA has its headquarters in Title=”Washington, D.C.”>Washington, D.C., headquarters of the EPA. It is responsible for maintaining and enforcing the national standards in accordance with a variety environmental laws. This includes consultation with local, state, and tribal governments. Some of its permitting, monitoring, enforcement, and enforcement responsibility is delegated to the U.S. The federally recognized tribes and states are also able to use the EPA’s enforcement powers. The EPA has the ability to enforce fines and sanctions as well as other measures. The agency works closely with all levels of government and industries to implement a variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs as well as energy conservation efforts.
In 2022, the agency has 14,581 employees.
Many environmental and public health groups support the agency, believing that it creates a better world. Others criticize the agency for imposing unnecessary regulations on property and business owners.
History[edit]
Background[edit]
Similar smokestacks after the plant was shut down in an effort to increase environmental protection
Beginning in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, Congress reacted to increasing public concern about the impact that human activity could have on the environment.[6][7][8] Senator James E. Murray introduced a bill, the Resources and Conservation Act (RCA) of 1959, in the 86th Congress. The bill would have established a Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President, declared a national environmental policy, and required the preparation of an annual environmental report.[9][10][11][12]
Silent Spring, a 1962 book by Rachel Carson, alerted the public to the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment.[13]
Similar bills were introduced in the years that followed. Hearings were held to discuss issues related to the environment and possible solutions. In 1968, the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs chairmen, Senator Henry M. Jackson and Representative George P. Miller convened a joint House/Senate colloquium to discuss how the nation could implement an environmental policy. Some members of Congress voiced concern about federal agency actions that affect the environment.
NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (14), was modeled after the 1959 RCA bill. President Nixon signed NEPA into Law on January 1, 1970. The legislation created the Council on Environmental Quality. [6] NEPA required a detailed statement of all federal actions that could have a significant impact on the environment to be prepared. The “detailed” statement would eventually be called an environment impact statement(EIS).
Programs[edit]
EPA scientists conduct a stream survey of the Merrimack River Massachusetts
The primary missions of Congress were the basis for the establishment of EPA’s major programs. To interpret the primary missions, additional programs were developed. To interpret the primary missions, additional programs have been developed. [117]
In 2016, former Administrator William Ruckelshaus pointed out that EPA faced a serious threat from air, water and waste being disconnected.
Scope and fulfillment agency’s authority[ ]
Congress passed laws like the Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to prevent and resolve environmental damage. In order to prevent and reconcile environmental damages, Congress passed laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and CERCLA.
Furthermore, the CAA’s discretionary application has caused a varied application of the law among states. Additionally, the CAA’s discretionary applicationsup
Environment justice
The EPA has been criticized because it is not making progress towards environment justice. The EPA has been criticized for its inability to make progress towards environmental justice. In September 2006, another report found that the agency had not reviewed the effectiveness of its policies and programs towards environmental justice.
