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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The Anthrax Cleanup on Capitol Hill
This documentary tells the story of how EPA, the National Institutes of Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Center for Communicable Diseases (CDC), and other federal military and civilian agencies, working under severe time pressure and in the full glare of intensive media coverage, collaborated to solve a scientific and engineering challenge never before faced -- the decontamination of an entire building contaminated with deadly anthrax spores.
Chapter 2: How EPA was Created using Reorganization Plan #3
(10 minutes) From Behind the Scenes at the Creation of EPA in 1970Chuck Elkins tells why certain programs were chosen to be moved to the new Agency and why others were left behind.
Chapter 1: A New Approach to a Large Mission but a Small Budget
(14 minutes) From The Underground Storage Tank Program's Early Management ChallengesRon Brand describes the environmental challenges facing the new program and how they chose a franchising approach for dealing with their large management challenge.
Chapter 4: Stratospheric Ozone & Climate Change
(19 minutes) From Interview with Lee Thomas, EPA's 6th AdministratorLee Thomas discusses his role in negotiating the Montreal Protocol to deal with Stratospheric Ozone and the relevance of this experience to today's challenge of Climate Change.
Chapter 1: Beginning a New Agency
(13 minutes) From Bill Ruckelshaus and some of his closest aides recall the Opening Months of the New Agency in 1970The panel discusses the sense of excitement with the opening of the Agency's doors and the expectations of the public. They talk about getting the Assistant Administrators on board and establis...
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.
Keeping Clean in a Land of Snow and Ice
From Billions for Clean Water, Sep. 1975Categories: Research, Water: General
Newsline: Ongoing Enforcement Actions
From Recycling: Closing the Loop, Jul. 1992Categories: Enforcement
Environmentally Speaking: Many Ways to See a Tree by Barbara Blum
From Looking to the Future, May. 1978Categories: Education, Other Federal Agencies, Public, The
The 1980's: A Decade of Challenge
From A Look Ahead, Jan. 1982Categories: CEQ, Management of Agency, Research, States, Superfund
Books & Articles by Alumni
Some of the most detailed history of EPA is contained in books and articles written by alumni.
Chapter 10. Living with Toxic Risks
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Driving the Future: Combating Climate Chagne with Cleaner, Smarker Cars by Margo Oge
From Driving the Future: Combating Climate Change with Cleaner, Smarter Cars by Margo T. Oge
Chapter 7. The Greening of Industry
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
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
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.
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
Creation of EPA: Message to Congress
From Creation of EPA: Message to Congress
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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