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Environmental Quality (CEQ) in developing and rec ommending to the President new policies for environ mental protection. The first EPA Administrator was a 38-year old Assistant Attorney General, William D. Ruck- leshaus. His was the formidable task of organizing the various EPA units originating from different Depart ments, Programs, Councils, etc., into one coherent unit. Endowed with extraordinary leadership qualities and charisma, he was soon nicknamed “Mr. Clean” and “The Enforcer”. The initial EPA staff comprised some 5,600 persons who were highly skilled, competi tive, and fiercely protective of their former turfs. Only a managing genius like Ruckleshaus could transform such a diverse group of individuals into a cohesive and an efficient team. From the outset, the EPA took a philosophical organizational approach, grouping the air and water program under a single Assistant Administrator for Media Programs. Manmade pollutants like pesticides, radiation and solid waste would be headed by another Assistant Administrator. This was only the beginning of a lengthy trial-and-error process. In order to organize EPA into the agency that it is today, two main difficulties had to be faced and overcome. First was the fact that many EPA officials still maintained the mindsets of and/or loyalties to their former Departments and agencies. The second and more complex problem was delineating the juris dictional boundaries of Federal and State govern ments. The concept of centralism vs. federalism is imbedded in American political thought and this situa tion was taken advantage of for years by interested parties (mostly industry) who had more clout over state and local jurisdictions than over federal agencies. On the other hand there was the presidential mandate to view “the environment as a whole” and to treat “air pollution, water pollution and solid wastes as different forms of a single problem. In the course of time the various EPA programs became separate ad ministrative units headed by Assistant Administrators. Eventually, Research, Enforcement, and Management departments, also headed by Assistant Administrators, were created. From the outset the ap proach was that of decentralized management. The EPA would take the enforcement initiative as a last resort when the local authorities reached an impasse. It would act as a “gorilla in the closet” to frighten pol luters and their local watchdogs into action - the en forcement bite was stronger than the legislative bark. From the beginning, the EPA faced the prob lem of how to balance the demands for protection of human and environmental health against legitimate economic demands. An additional consideration has been the relationship between industry and its contri butions to the political life and its influence on the leg islation and the enforcement of our environmental laws. Such are the facts of our political and economic life. Despite early organizational difficulties and assorted political and economic issues, the EPA has had considerable success, not only in giving Ameri cans a cleaner and safer environment, but in inspiring grassroots awareness and environmental activism. Listed below are the highlights of environmental events that took place during the past thirty years of the EPA’s existence: 1970 The first Earth Day is celebrated by twenty mil lion people. 1971 Restriction of use of lead-based paint. 1972 DDT, a cancer causing pesticide, is banned and a movement to clean up the Great Lakes is begun. 1973 Start of program to phase-out leaded gasoline. 1974 Regulation of quality of drinking water begun. 1975 Congress establishes fuel economy standards for cars, resulting in the introduction of catalytic con verters. 1976 The Toxic Substances Control Act is signed into Law regulating hazardous waste from its produc tion to its disposal. 1977 President Jimmy Carter signs the Clean Air Act Amendments to protect air quality in national parks and wilderness areas. 1978 CFCs propellants in aerosol cans are banned be cause CFCs destroy the ozone layer, which pro tects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, increases awareness and discussion about nuclear power safety. EPA and other agencies monitor radioactive fallout. 1980 EPA develops a nationwide program for toxic waste site cleanups under the new Superfund law and compiles a list of the most hazardous toxic sites in the US. 1981 Report finds that acid rain is intensifying in Northeastern United States and Canada. 1982 Congress enacts laws for safe disposal of nu clear waste. A PCB landfill protest in North Caro lina begins the environmental justice movement. 1983 EPA encourages homeowners to test for radon gas, a leading cause of lung cancer. 1985 Scientists report that a giant hole in the earth's ozone layer opens each spring over Antarctica. 1986 Congress declares the public has a right to know when toxic chemicals are released into air, land,
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