The First
Five Years
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
RM«
. "L,
m
•
-------
The First Five Years
The U S Environmental Protection
Agency celebrates its fifth
anniversary on December 2, 1975
The decision to create a Federal
Environmental Protection Agency.
with responsibility for protecting the
environment as a single, interrelated
system, was one of the major
responses to the environmental
challenge
Today all levels of government have
environmental programs Industry
now considers environmental
safeguards a necessary part of doing
business Environmental education
is taught in schools Environmental
law and environmental engineering
are growing specialities
In five short years environmental
protection has been woven into the
fabric of our society It has become
an'integral part of the way we think
and the way we live
There is mounting evidence that the
quality of the environment is
improving significantly Salmon and
trout are returning to many rivers.
public beaches are reopening, the
persistent smog over our cities is
beginning to abate There is still a
tremendous job ahead if the Nation
is to realize its hopes of a clean
environment But these first five
years have planted us firmly on the
road to that goal
Russell E Tram
Administrator
U S Environmental
Protection Agency
History may well record that the
beginning of the decade of the
Seventies marked the turning point
in the misuse of our living
environment Governments at all
levels geared up for an attack on
environmental problems Citizens
from every walk of life mobilized to
enhance the environment both for
themselves and for posterity
Industries, great and small, began to
embrace a new view of corporate
responsibility for protecting the
environment International bodies
began planning in earnest for
global pollution control
THE UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY was formed in December
1970, by order of the President with
the consent of the Congress, as an
independent agency by bringing
together various Federal pollution
control activities that had been
scattered among a number of
departments and agencies EPA sets
standards, determines how much
pollution is tolerable, establishes
timetables to bring polluters into line
with the standards, and enforces
environmental laws EPA conducts
an extensive environmental research
program, provides technical,
financial, and managerial help to
State, regional and municipal
pollution control agencies and
allocates funds for constructing
sewage treatment facilities
During THE FIRST FIVE YEARS of
the integrated, coordinated Federal
attack on pollution. Congress
enacted increasingly stringent laws,
and put more money into laws
These laws, combined with strict
enforcement by EPA have led to a
significant improvement in
environmental quality
This improvement could not have
been achieved without the deep and
continuing support of the public In
tvery walk of life. Americans have
shown that they care about the
environment
EPA encourages active citizen
participation in the planning and
execution of its environmental
programs It encourages citizen
groups to make a case for the
environment at public hearings on
new laws and regulations. Federal.
State or local Indeed, citizen care,
concern and participation are
central to improvement in the quality
of life
t
As long as individual Americans
understand that air and water are
public gifts, not private property, and
are willing to work to protect and
preserve their natural environmental
heritage, the cause will persevere
For the environment belongs to
everybody, and it is everybody's
business
-------
Things Are Looking Up
More than 97 percent of all
municipalities and industries
discharging into our lakes and
streams are either complying with
pollution control standards or are on
definite water clean-up schedules
backed by strong penalties for
violations
Of 20.000 major stationary sources of
air pollution (industries, powerplants,
municipal incinerators, etc ) 16.190.
or 84 percent, are complying with air
pollution regulations or are meeting
an abatement schedule.
The amount of hydrocarbons and
carbon monoxide in the exhausts of
1976 automobiles is 85 percent less
than the pre-1968 uncontrolled cars
and with gasoline mileage as good
as the uncontrolled cars.
A decade ago Lake Erie was waiting
at death's door. Florida's Escambia
Bay wasn't far behind- Today, thanks
to Federal. State and local efforts.
fish life not only survives but is
thriving.
Sulfur dioxide concentrations have
been reduced by roughly 25 percent
nationally since 1970 This
improvement is particularly evident
in major metropolitan areas
Salmon are being caught in
Michigan's Grand River more than 30
miles upstream from Lake Michigan,
an area where only sucker and carp
survived before Trout, perch, coho
and chinook salmon abound in the
lake
Demonstration projects are
underway in several cities to test the
feasibility of converting trash to fuel
for heating and electric power
The national average for particulate
matter (dust, smoke, soot) dropped
14 percent between 1970-71 and
this trend continued into 1974.
EPA has registered 1.200 compounds
for pesticide use It has banned, as
hazardous to human health, only
three — DDT, aldrin and dieldrin —
and is in the process of banning two
others — chlordane and heptachlor
The oil slicks, scum and chemical
odors which plagued the Kanawha
River near Charleston, West Virginia,
are gone
In areas where there is sufficient data
to define a trend, concentrations of
photochemical oxidants (smog) have
significantly diminished; the Los
Angeles and San Francisco areas are
cases in point.
For the first time in 100 years Atlantic
salmon appear to be returning to the
Connecticut River.
By 1980 at least 25 major American
cities will be involved in some form
of resource recovery from municipal
trash.
Lake County beaches near Chicago.
closed by pollution in 1969. were
reopened in the summer of 1975
Noise standards have been set for
big trucks and standards are being
developed for airports, locomotives
and other noise sources
From its establishment through the
end of 1974 EPA has brought more
than 6,200 enforcement actions
against violators of air, water and
pesticide pollution laws. Fines and
penalties imposed totalled more than
$9 million.
Denver's South Platte River is no
longer the polluted, trash strewn
eyesore it was a decade ago.
Nationwide, the number of
measurements of excessive carbon
monoxide in community air has
dropped 50 percent
And at the old Grist Mill on Hop
Brook in Marlborough,
Massachusetts, the miller can see
through the water to the bottom of
his wheel for the first time in his 23
years at the site
-------
A Look Ahead
These are just a few examples of the
tangible returns on the Nation's
investment in pollution abatement,
and the number of returns is growing
daily. More and more Americans
will feel, smell, see, hear and
experience environmental
improvement
But the Nation has only just begun
the task. It has taken decades to
reach the level of pollution we face
today, and it will take many years to
restore the environment to an
acceptable level of quality. In many
ways the road will be more difficult
as more is learned about the
complex reactions and interactions
of pollutants and their impact on
public health and welfare
What can be expected over the next
few years, as the result of present
efforts, is that most of the Nation's
waters will be cleaned up for
recreation, and that the air in most
areas will be better than the national
standards EPA has established
Specifically, these are the
developments we can anticipate:
• Stronger bonds of cooperation
among Federal. State and local
governments in jointly attacking and
solving environmental problems
• Achievement of the goal written
into the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act Amendments of 1972.
that water wherever possible shall be
clean enough by 1983 for swimming
and other recreational uses, and
clean enough for the protection and
propagation of fish, shellfish and
wildlife.
• Attainment of the national
ambient air quality standards in
many air quality control regions that
now fall short of these goals
• A more pronounced trend away
from environmental clean-up to
prevention of environmental
degradation. Already industry is
cooperating by producing cleaner-
running and smaller cars, less
wasteful of fuel Industry is also
making process changes in
manufacturing that conserve more
energy and eliminate waste, rather
than relying solely on end-of-the-
pipe cleanup devices There will be
more recycling of materials and
fewer throwaway products
• Finally, the Nation can expect a
continuation of the strong public
participation that has marked
environmental improvement in the
past half-decade of EPA's history. All
the opinion polls confirm that the
public's support of environmenta1
programs remains very high, despite
the fuel and economic difficulties of
recent times. The Agency's concern
now is to encourage interested
citizens to continue to rally behind
the great laws enacted over the past
five years, and to make sure these
laws achieve their goals.
Environmental control came into
being as a grass-roots movement
That is where its strength still lies.
With the support and cooperation
of private citizens who care about
the quality of their own lives and
those of their children and
grandchildren, EPA can and will
fulfill its mission of enhancing and
protecting the Nation s
environment.
GPO 896-822
-------
j?rf>.r
••f*fettiv3»
r " K
•••
*•
-------
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A-107)
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA-335
THIRD CLASS BULK RATE
------- |