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.
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Interview with Lee Thomas, EPA's 6th Administrator
Lee Thomas, EPA's 6th Administrator, served during one of the most critical periods in the agency's history A member of the Ruckelshaus "save EPA" management team, Thomas discusses his service as OSWER AA and then as successor to Ruckelshaus as Administrator. He talks at length about the issues that marked his tenure, including Chernobyl, Superfund reauthorization, Stratospheric Ozone, and Climate Change. In explaining his core values and management style, Lee offers encouragement to current EPA employees.
Chapter 1: Joining the Administration: Relationship with the President
(8 minutes) From Reflections on US Environmental Policy: Interview with William K. ReillyBill Reilly describes his decision to accept President H.W. Bush's invitation to become Administrator and the agreements he worked out with the President on selecting staff and organizing...
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 1: The Public and Social Context for the Creation of EPA
(16 minutes) From Behind the Scenes at the Creation of EPA in 1970Chuck Elkins describes events leading to President Nixon's decision to create EPA and details the status of environmental programs at time of EPA's creation.
Chapter 2: Applying "Total Quality Management" to a Federal Program.
(16 minutes) From The Underground Storage Tank Program's Early Management ChallengesDescription of the successful first time application of the private sector's "Total Quality Management" principles to a federal government 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."
Water Quality: A Half Century of Progress
From Water Quality: A Half Century of ProgressCategories: Water: General
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.
How Clean is "Clean" at a Hazardous Waste Site? Key Observers Answer
From Controlling Hazardous Waste, Oct. 1984Categories: States, Superfund
Building Coalitions by Linda Starke
From Sustainable Development: Linkages and Partnerships for the Developing World, Apr. 1993Categories: International
Making RCRA Stick by Jacqueline Tenusak
From The Challenge of Hazardous Waste, Apr. 1986Categories: Enforcement, RCRA
EPA's "Navy" at Work by Margherita Pryor
From The Oceans, Nov. 1984Categories: Research, Water: General
Books & Articles by Alumni
Some of the most detailed history of EPA is contained in books and articles written by alumni.
Chapter 4. Explaining Risks to an Aroused Public
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Chapter 1: Toxic Chemicals Move to Center Stage
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Air: General, Toxics
Chapter 10. Living with Toxic Risks
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Cleaning up America: An Insider's View of EPA by John Quarles
From Cleaning up America: An Insider's View of EPA by John QuarlesHistorical Documents
Some documents have made a big difference in the direction that EPA has taken through the years. Here we present some of them.
First Presidential Environmental Message (Nixon) 1970
From First Presidential Environmental Message (Nixon) 1970
White House Fact Sheet re Creation of EPA
From White House Fact Sheet re Creation of EPA
Reorganization Plan that Created EPA
From Reorganization Plan that Created EPA
Interview with Alvin Alm in 1993
From Interview of Alvin Alm January 1994Categories: Congress, Economic Impact, Enforcement, Management of Agency, OMB, Other Federal Agencies
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