Environmental Protection Agency
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:'''''EPA''' redirects here. For the omega-3 fatty acid, see Eicosapentaenoic acid. For the city, see East Palo Alto, California. For Electrostatic Protected Areas, see Electrostatic discharge.''
The '''Environmental Protection Agency''' ('''EPA''' or sometimes USEPA) is an List of United States federal agencies|agency of the United States federal government charged with protecting human health and with safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land. The EPA began operation on December 2, 1970. It is led by its Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency|Administrator, who is appointed by the President of the United States. The EPA is not a United States Cabinet|Cabinet agency, but the Administrator is normally given cabinet rank. The current Administrator (as of 2005) is Stephen L. Johnson.
Overview
The EPA comprises 18,000 people in headquarters program offices, 10 regional offices, and 17 labs across the country. The EPA employs a highly educated, technically trained staff, more than half of whom are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists. A large number of employees are legal, public affairs, financial, and computer specialists.
The EPA provides leadership in the nation's environmental science, research, education, and assessment efforts. The EPA works closely with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and Native American tribes to develop and enforce regulations under existing environmental laws. The EPA is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs and delegates to states and tribes responsibility for issuing permits, and monitoring and enforcing compliance. Where national standards are not met, the EPA can issue sanctions and take other steps to assist the states and tribes in reaching the desired levels of environmental quality. The Agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts.
In July of 1970, the law that established the EPA was passed in response to the growing public demand for cleaner water, air and land. Prior to the establishment of the EPA, the federal government was not structured to make a coordinated attack on the pollutants which harm human health and degrade the environment. The EPA was assigned the task of repairing the damage already done to the natural environment and to establish new criteria to guide Americans in making a cleaner environment a reality.
In 1992 the EPA launched the Energy Star program. EPA also administers the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (which is much older than the agency) and registers all pesticides legally sold in the United States. It is also responsible for reviewing projects of other federal agencies' Environmental Impact Statements under NEPA.
Fuel economy
American automobile manufacturers are required to use EPA fuel economy test results to advertise the gas mileage of their vehicles, and the manufacturers are disallowed from providing results from alternate sources. However, the tests have been questioned, because they do not measure actual fuel consumption but rather base measurements on tailpipe emissions. As emissions standards have become more strict, the test has drifted away from actual vehicle performance. The EPA's current testing system was developed in 1972. It apparently takes little to no consideration of carbon dioxide as it is not a regulated part of motor vehicle exhaust in the United States, even though it is the primary component.
In the 1980s, an EPA study showed that customers were obtaining significantly lower mileage than the EPA rating. The agency correspondingly reduced advertised city mileage by 10% and highway mileage by 22%, but there continue to be significant differences. As of the 2000s decade, this problem is most evident in hybrid vehicles, which sometimes produce zero emissions (when running on battery (electricity)|batteries).
In February 2005, the organization launched a program called "http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do that allows drivers to add real-world fuel economy statistics into a database on the EPA's fuel economy website and compare them with others and the original EPA test results.
1955 - Air Pollution Control Act PL 84-159
1963 - Clean Air Act PL 88-206
1965 - Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act PL 89-272
1966 - Clean Air Act Amendments PL 89-675
1967 - Air Quality Act PL 90-148
1969 - National Environmental Policy Act PL 91-190
1970 - Clean Air Act (1970)|Clean Air Act Extension PL 91-604
1976 - Toxic Substances Control Act PL 94-469
1977 - Clean Air Act Amendments PL 95-95
1990 - Clean Air Act (1990)|Clean Air Act Amendments PL 101-549
Water
1948 - Water Pollution Control Act PL 80-845
1965 - Water Quality Act PL 89-234
1966 - Clean Waters Restoration Act PL 89-753
1969 - National Environmental Policy Act PL 91-190
1970 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration created
1970 - Water Quality Improvement Act PL 91-224
1972 - Water Pollution Control Act PL 92-500
1974 - Safe Drinking Water Act PL 93-523
1976 - Toxic Substances Control Act PL 94-469
1977 - Clean Water Act PL 95-217
1987 - Water Quality Act PL 100-4
Land
1964 - Wilderness Act PL 88-577
1968 - Scenic Rivers Preservation Act PL 90-542
1969 - National Environmental Policy Act PL 91-190
1970 - Environmental Protection Agency established
1970 - Wilderness Act PL 91-504
1977 - Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act PL 95-87
1978 - Wilderness Act PL 98-625
1980 - Alaska Land Protection Act PL 96-487
1994 - California Desert Protection Act PL 103-433
Endangered species
1946 - Coordination Act PL 79-732
1966 - Endangered Species Preservation Act PL 89-669
1969 - Endangered Species Conservation Act PL 91-135
1972 - Marine Mammal Protection Act PL 92-522
1973 - Endangered Species Act PL 93-205
Hazardous waste
1965 - Solid Waste Disposal Act PL 89-272
1969 - National Environmental Policy Act PL 91-190
1970 - Resource Recovery Act PL 91-512
1976 - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act PL 94-580
1980 - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("Superfund") PL 96-510
1982 - Nuclear Waste Repository Act PL 97-425
1982 - Hazardous and Solid Wastes Amendments Act
1986 - Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act PL 99-499
2002 - Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act ("Brownfields Law") PL 107-118
Controversy
The EPA has been involved in controversy since its inception. Many legislators protested that there was no constitutional authority for its creation and operation. Virtually every rule-making of the agency is controversial, with proponants of a particular rule valuing the potential improvements to environmental quality, and opponents challenging the value or legality or the rule.
The EPA has been involved in allegedly improper practices, during the George W. Bush administration|Bush administration which was in power from 2001 to the present. EPA reports have allegedly been modified and distorted or politically-timed, and political influence has been alleged, but not proven, to be a factor in many cases. Politcal inluence on EPA activities has also been charged in previous administrations.
Cornell University and the Union of Concerned Scientists found in a non-scientific survey of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that about 42 percent of scientists said they "felt pressured to not report publicly any findings that do not agree with Bush policies on endangered species" and almost a third said they felt pressured not to even express views within the agency.
:http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7004259/ ''MSNBC'', February 20, 2005
Acid mine drainage
Renewable energy
Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training
External links
http://www.epa.gov/ http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
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