Oral History of the EPA
Interview with Lee Thomas, EPA's 6th Administrator
Chapter 3: OSWER & Superfund Reauthorization - 8 minutes
Lee Thomas describes his service as the Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response and his work on Superfund Reauthorization.
Audio Track - Chapter 3 - 8 minutes
THE INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS
The individual "chapters" of the discussion are available for viewing individually as is the complete interview (74 minutes).
Chapter 1: An Unusual Arrival at EPA (18 minutes)
Lee Thomas discusses the very unusual circumstances of his arrival at EPA and his subsequent appointment by the President to be the new Administrator of EPA.
Chapter 2: Chernobyl's Radiation Emergency (8 minutes)
Lee Thomas describes his being put in charge of handling the consequences for the United States of the Chernobyl Radiation Emergency in the Soviet Union.
Chapter 3: OSWER & Superfund Reauthorization (8 minutes)
Lee Thomas describes his service as the Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response and his work on Superfund Reauthorization.
Chapter 4: Stratospheric Ozone & Climate Change (19 minutes)
Lee 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 5: Management & Core Values (23 minutes)
Lee Thomas describes his management style and the core values that have served him well both in government and the private sector. Lee closes with some encouragement for current EPA employees.
THE INTERVIEW AS A WHOLE (74 minutes)
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.
The introduction to the interview is as follows:
Newest Interviews
| The Complete Interview | 39m | |
| C1: | Joining the Administration: Relationship with the President | 8m |
| C2: | My Agenda at EPA | 6m |
| C3: | International Issues | 9m |
| C4: | Priorities at EPA | 5m |
| C5: | EPA Leadership and Staff | 3m |
| C6: | EPA's Challenges | 4m |
| C7: | Major Accomplishments | 5m |
| The Complete Interview | 74m | |
| C1: | An Unusual Arrival at EPA | 18m |
| C2: | Chernobyl's Radiation Emergency | 8m |
| C3: | OSWER & Superfund Reauthorization | 8m |
| C4: | Stratospheric Ozone & Climate Change | 19m |
| C5: | Management & Core Values | 23m |
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| The Complete Interview | 55m | |
| C1: | Beginning a New Agency | 13m |
| C2: | Setting up the New Agency's Structure | 17m |
| C3: | DDT & the Clean Air Act of 1970 | 13m |
| C4: | Leadership at the New Agency | 12m |
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15044 Views
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