History of the EPA
Below we serve up glimpses of EPA's history in five different "flavors":
Oral History Videos
Alumni have recorded videos on a variety of subjects. Most videos are 45 to 60 minutes in length but are broken down into chapters for easier viewing. Transcripts and podcast versions of these videos are also provided. HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS TO PEEK YOUR INTEREST.
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Interview with James (Jim) Seif
Jim Seif, former Regional Administrator in EPA’s Region 3 and Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection discusses his experiences during a 45-year career in environmental regulation.
Chapter 2: EPA's Relationship with the Private Sector
(8 minutes) From Former Deputy Administrator Hank Habicht talks about management at EPAHank Habicht's views of the relationship between EPA and the Private Sector, then and now.
Chapter 3: Commissioner of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
(22 minutes) From David Dominick, Commissioner of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration (1969-1970)David Dominick describes his tenure as head of the Water Pollution Control program in the Department of the Interior, his battles with Assistant Secretary Carl Klein, the efforts of Murray Stein, A...
Chapter 2: My Agenda at EPA
(6 minutes) From Reflections on US Environmental Policy: Interview with William K. ReillyBill Reilly describes how he set his agenda at EPA drawing on the advice of the Science Advisory Board regarding the highest priority issues in the Agency including ecology and no-net-loss in wetla...
Chapter 1: Major Elements of the Legislation and their Historical Context
(33 minutes) From Early Implementation of the Safe Drinking Water ActIn this chapter the panelists discuss the context for the passage of the legislation and the major components of the program.
Half Century of Environmental Progress
High school and college students as well as others may not know about the major environmental problems and issues encountered in the United States in the latter half of the 20th century, how they were addressed, and the importance of continued vigilance in attacking remaining and evolving issues. This history of EPA has been written for them."
Waste Management: A Half Century of Progress
From Waste Management: A Half Century of ProgressCategories: RCRA
EPA Journals
For many years, EPA published the "EPA Journal" with interesting articles on a very wide variety of topics. The Association is slowly digitizing and categorizing these Journals. To date we have digitized 3034 articles. HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTED ARTICLES FOR YOU TO SAMPLE.
Tackling the Institutional Barriers by Jessica Tuchman Mathews
From Protecting the Earth: Are Our Institutions Up to It?, Jul. 1989Categories: Climate, International
Viewpoints: Pizza at Midnight by Rob Brenner and John Beale
From The New Clean Air Act: What It Means to You, Jan. 1991Categories: Air: General, Air: Mobile
Books & Articles by Alumni
Some of the most detailed history of EPA is contained in books and articles written by alumni.
Chapter 3. The Uncertainty of Risk but the Reality of Cost
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Chapter 4. Explaining Risks to an Aroused Public
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Chapter 9. The Power and Limitations of Science and Technology
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Index (for detailed searching)
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Historical Documents
Some documents have made a big difference in the direction that EPA has taken through the years. Here we present some of them.
Interview with Alvin Alm in 1993
From Interview of Alvin Alm January 1994Categories: Congress, Economic Impact, Enforcement, Management of Agency, OMB, Other Federal Agencies
Creation of EPA: Message to Congress
From Creation of EPA: Message to Congress
Reorganization Plan that Created EPA
From Reorganization Plan that Created EPA
White House Fact Sheet re Creation of EPA
From White House Fact Sheet re Creation of EPASearch all history files.
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Headline Media, Bob Bell (Developer), Nicole Lane (Developer), and Chuck Elkins & Barry Gilbert (Members)
Headline Media, Bob Bell (Developer), Nicole Lane (Developer), and Chuck Elkins & Barry Gilbert (Members)