ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for implementing the federal laws designed to protect the environment. EPA endeavors to accomplish it mission systematically by proper integration of a variety of research, monitoring, standard-setting, and enforcement activities. As a complement to its other activities, EPA coordinates and supports research and anti-pollution activities of state and local governments, private and public groups, individuals, and educational institutions. EPA also monitors the operations of other Federal agencies with respect to their impact on the environment. EPA was created through Reorganization Plan #3 of 1970, which was devised to consolidate the federal government's environmental regulatory activities into a single agency. The plan was sent by the President to Congress on July 9, 1970, and the agency began operation on December 2, 1970. EPA was formed by bringing together 15 components from 5 executive departments and independent agencies. Air pollution control, solid waste management, radiation control, and the drinking water program were transferred from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services). The federal water pollution control program was taken from the Department of the Interior, as was part of a pesticide research program. From the Department of Agriculture, EPA acquired authority to register pesticides and to regulate their use, and from the Food and Drug Administration, EPA inherited the responsibility to set tolerance levels of pesticides in food. EPA was assigned some responsibility from the Atomic Energy Commission, and absorbed the duties of the Federal Radiation Council. The enactment of major new environmental laws and important amendments to older laws in the 1970s and 1980s greatly expanded EPA's responsibilities. The agency now administers ten comprehensive environmental protection laws: (1) Clean Air Act (CAA) (2) Clean Water Act (CWA) (3) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (4) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or "Superfund") (5) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (6) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (8) Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) (9) Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) (10) Pollution Prevention Act The primary mandates for the water-related programs administered through the EPA Water Management Division are the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Public Law 92-500), as amended, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA: Public Law 93-523). The CWA addresses the discharge of pollutants from point and nonpoint sources into waters of the United States (as defined). The goal of the SDWA is to protect public health over lifetime exposure to drinking water by ensuring that the source water as well as the system storage distribution and service lines are free and protected from contamination. EPA water-related programs establish national and regional objectives, promote delegation of programs to states (primacy), and support that delegation in a manner that ensures achievement of required objectives. Also see Science Advisory Board (SAB). (See Appendix E-2 for a more complete description of the organizational structure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.)