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 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.
Chapter 5: EPA Leadership and Staff
(3 minutes) From Reflections on US Environmental Policy: Interview with William K. ReillyBill Reilly discusses how his view of the EPA staff changed (in a favorable direction) once he arrived at the Agency. He also discusses his approach to choosing the Agency's political lea...
Chapter 3: State Implementation Planning
(12 minutes) From Early Implementation of the Clean Air Act of 1970 in CaliforniaJohn Wise lays out the setting for the litigation by the public interest firm. He later discusses how the litigation drove EPA into looking at land use and transportation as a source of measu...
Chapter 3: Running an Independent Program within a Larger Agency.
(18 minutes) From The Underground Storage Tank Program's Early Management ChallengesHow the UST program ran relatively independently plus Ron Brand's suggestions for "lessons learned."
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."
Toxic Substances: A Half Century of Progress
From Toxic Substances: A Half Century of ProgressCategories: Toxics
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.
The States: Innovative Ways to Enforce the Cleanup by LeRoy Paddock
From Enforcing Environmental Laws, Mar. 1987Categories: Enforcement, States
Update
From Our Fragile Atmosphere: The Greenhouse Effect and Ozone Depletion, Dec. 1986Categories: Air: General, Enforcement, Lead, Pesticides, RCRA, Toxics
Sparks of Bilateral Congeniality by Fitzhugh Green
From The New Superfund: Protecting People and Their Environment, Jan. 1987Categories: International
Books & Articles by Alumni
Some of the most detailed history of EPA is contained in books and articles written by alumni.
Chapter 6. The States Begin to Take Charge
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerCategories: Toxics
Chapter 8. Exceeding the Absorptive Limits of the Global Commons
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
Chapter 2. Controlling 3000 chemicals: One by One
From Borrowed Earth, Borrowed Time: Healing America's Chemical Wounds by Glenn E. SchweitzerHistorical Documents
Some documents have made a big difference in the direction that EPA has taken through the years. Here we present some of them.
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
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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