Vendor:United States Environmental Protection Agency
| Environmental Protection Agency | |
|---|---|
| EPA | |
| |
| Environmental Protection Agency logo | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | December 2, 1970 |
| Agency executive | Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator |
| Website | |
| EPA.gov | |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or sometimes USEPA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.[1] The EPA was proposed by President Richard Nixon and began operation on December 3, 1970, after Nixon submitted a reorganization plan to Congress and it was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate.[2] The agency is led by its administrator, who is appointed by the President of the United States and approved by Congress. The current administrator is Lisa P. Jackson. The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but the administrator is normally given Cabinet rank.
The agency has approximately 18,000 full-time employees.[3] Its employees are distributed across the headquarters program offices, 10 regional offices, and 27 laboratories across the country. More than half of its staff are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists; other groups include legal, public affairs, financial, and computer specialists.
The agency conducts environmental assessment, research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and Native American tribes. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions, and other measures.
The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts.
History
Technology and products
The EPA offers its FORMS II Lite software at no cost for use by or for any federal agency.[4]
References
- ↑ "Our Mission and What We Do". U.S. EPA. http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/whatwedo.html. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ↑ "Public Access – When and how was the EPA Created?". U.S. EPA. http://publicaccess.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23012/Article/23723/When-and-how-was-the-EPA-created. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ↑ Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley (August 26, 2007). "As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html.
Also see U.S. Census Bureau spreadsheet - ↑ "FORMS II Lite". U.S. EPA. http://epa.gov/superfund/programs/clp/f2lite.htm. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
