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Progress for a Stronger Future
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF THE
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DECEMBER 2020
WASHINGTON D.C.

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^LETTER FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR^
America's environment today is cleaner than it's been in our lifetimes. President Richard M. Nixon charted this
course by creating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 — guiding 50 years of progress towards
a stronger future.
It is an honor to serve as EPA's 15th Administrator, to celebrate this extraordinary milestone for our agency, and
to iook forward to even greater success in the next 50 years.
Since the moment of its founding, EPA's mission has been to protect human health and the environment, and
in 1970, there was an enormous amount of work to do.
Across America, an environmental crisis was unfolding. Smog was at unhealthy ieveis in many cities across the
country, lead was still in common use in many products, and water pollution threatened the drinking water
supplies of millions of Americans.
When the first EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus was appointed to lead the agency, environmental
programs were scattered throughout the federal government and didn't properly support states, leaving
enormous gaps in protections necessary to complete EPA's new mission.
EPA's task, as the country's environmental enforcement agency, was to "clean up America,"a herculean job, if
ever there was one.
And the agency, through cooperation with states and the incredible dedication of tens of thousands of EPA employees, delivered on this difficult mission.
Chemicals and compounds that were once thought to be harmless and commonplace have been banned, replaced and cleaned up.
In the 50 years between 1970 and 2020, air pollution has fallen an incredible 77 percent, even as the economy grew by 285 percent.
Before EPA was established, more than 40 percent of our nation's drinking water systems failed to meet even the most basic health standards.
But now, more than 92 percent of community water systems in this country meet all health-based standards all the time.
And the Superfund program - which was founded in 1980 - has led to the cleanup and removal of more than 400 of the nation's worst hazardous waste sites from the
Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).
In doing these things, EPA ensures that Americans of all walks of life can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live, work and play on land free from pollution.
As we look forward to the next 50 years, we should pause for a moment and consider ways that EPA can better itself, and by doing so, better the nation's environment
in the 21 st Century.
EPA under the Trump Administration has worked hard to tear down the silos between programs within the agency to be more effective in addressing the
environmental burdens that communities face.
Communities that deal with the worst pollution iri this country—and that tend to be low-income and minority—face multiple environmental problems that need
solving.
By focusing on communities where past industrial pollution has had a negative impact on the well-being of people and local economies, this agency will transform
itself into a much better version of government, with benefits that will last for many administrations.
Cleaning up these communities more quickly and leveraging new private investment opportunities through Brownfields grants, WIFIA loans, state revolving funds,
and targeted airshed grants can help solve America's environmental problems that have remained unresolved for decades.
EPA has accomplished a lot over the last four years and has laid the groundwork for future agency success.
We have implemented five structural changes—five pillars—that have transformed the way the agency operates today.
We created a cost-benefit rule for the Clean Air Act because the American public deserves to know what the costs and benefits are for its air rules.
We created a science transparency rule that can be applied consistently because the American public has a right to know the scientific justification behind a regulation.

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We have published new guidance policy procedures that brings all of our guidance documents to light in a searchable database for the entire public to read for the first
time ever.
We have reorganized our regional offices so that all 10 of our regional offices mirror our headquarters structure.
And we have implemented a lean management system — also known as the Toyota system — throughout the agency to improve the way we operate.
America is home to some of the most exceptional natural and environmental gifts on the planet, and EPA has spent five decades improving the health of these gifts.
It's been my experience that EPA employees have an uncommon allegiance to the mission of the agency, a devotion you don't find in many other places — and we
can see this devotion in the fact that EPA has seven charter employees still working at the agency.
These seven charter employees have been working for EPA since it was founded a half century ago and are representative of the dedication that has made America's
environment what it is today — the cleanest on record.
Fifty years ago, the environmental challenges before us were very large and difficult to overcome. But many of these challenges have been overcome, and even
conquered.
And as hard as the agency has worked, the environmental challenges before us in the coming 50 years will surely be difficult. But if we do the work before us, with
transparency and fairness, we can protect the places we love and bring back the places that have been hurt by pollution — and make them better than they were
before.
I hope everyone can support our agency as we continue to work on delivering this vision of a great environmental future for all Americans.
Andrew Wheeler
Administrator

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^EPA Administrators^
William D. Ruckelshaus
EPA Administrator
12/4/70-4/30/73
Russell E. Train
EPA Administrator
9/13/73- 1/20/77
Douglas M. Costle
EPA Administrator
3/7/77- 1/20/81
Anne M. Gorsuch (Burford)
EPA Administrator
5/20/81 - 3/9/83
William D. Ruckelshaus
EPA Administrator
5/18/83- 1/4/85
Christine Todd Whitman
EPA Administrator
1/31/01 - 6/27/03
Lee M. Thomas
EPA Administrator
2/8/85- 1/20/89
Michael O. Leavitt
EPA Administrator
11/6/03- 1/25/05
William K. Reilly
EPA Administrator
2/6/89 - 1/20/93
Stephen L. Johnson
EPA Administrator
5/2/05-1/20/09
Carol M. Browner
EPA Administrator
1/22/93- 1/19/01
Lisa P. Jackson
EPA Administrator
1/26/09-2/14/13
Gina McCarthy
EPA Administrator
1/19/13-1/20/17
Scott Pruitt
EPA Administrator
2/17/17-7/6/18
Andrew Wheeler
EPA Administrator
2/28/19 - Present

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50TH ANNIVERSARY LAPEL PIN<^
Thank you for your commitment
to cleaning up America
50 years of protecting human
health and the environment
Progress for a Stronger Future
Award for Excellence
in Public Service
PROGRESS FOR A
STRONGER FUTURE

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^>50th Anniversary Themes^
A Cleaner, Healthier Environment for All
Progress for a Stronger Future
JANUARY
MAY
FEBRUARY
JUIME
Protecting Children's Health
Progress for a Stronger Future
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER

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^>50th Anniversary Themes^
MARCH
JULY
APRIL
AUGUST
50 Years of Earth Day
Progress for o Stronger Future
Ensuring Environmental Compliance
Progress for a Stronger Future
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER

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50 Year Environmental Timeline
1970
Twenty million people celebrate the
first Earth Day.
1970
President Richard Nixon creates EPA with
a mission to protect the environment and
public health.
1970
Congress amends the Clean Air Act to set
national air quality, auto emission, and
anti-pollution standards.
1971
Congress restricts use of lead-based paint
in residences and on cribs and toys.
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1972
EPA bans DDT, a cancer-causing pesticide, and requires
extensive review of all pesticides.
1972
The United States and Canada agree to clean up the
Great Lakes, which contain 95 percent of
America's fresh water and supply drinking
water for 25 million people.
1972
Congress passes the Clean Water Act,
limiting raw sewage and other pollutants
flowing into rivers, iakes, and streams.
1973
EPA begins phasing out leaded
gasoline.
FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS
THE INTRODUCTION OF
ANY GASOLINE CONTAINING
LEAD. OR 0H6SPHORUS
INTO ANY MOTOR LABELED
"UNLEADED GASOLINE ONLY"
1973
OPEC oil embargo triggers energy crisis,
stimulating conservation and research
on alternative energy sources.
1973	If-5
EPA issues its first permit limiting a
factory's polluted discharges into waterways.
1974
Congress passes the Safe Drinking Water Act, allowing
EPA to regulate the quality of public drinking water.
1975
Congress establishes fuel economy standards and sets
tail-pipe emission standards for cars, resulting in the
introduction of catalytic converters.
1976
Congress passes the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act, regulating hazardous waste from its production to its
disposal.
1976
President Gerald Ford signs the Toxic
Substances Control Act to reduce
environmental and human health risks.
1976
EPA begins phase-out of cancer-causing PCB production
and use.
1977
President Jimmy Carter signs the Clean Air Act
Amendments to strengthen air quality standards and
protect human health.
1978
Residents discover that Love Canal,
New York, is contaminated by buried
leaking chemical containers.
1978
The federal government bans
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as propellants in aerosol cans
because CFCs destroy the ozone layer, which protects the
earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
1979
EPA demonstrates scrubber technology
for removing air pollution from coal-
fired power plants.This technology is
widely adopted in the 1980s.
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
Congress creates Superfund to clean up hazardous waste
sites. Polluters are made responsible for cleaning up the
most hazardous sites.
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1981
National Research Council report
finds acid rain intensifying in the
northeastern United States and
Canada.
STOP
ACID
RAIN

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50 Year Environmental Timeline
WARNING:RADON IS DEADLY
IN THIS AREA.
1982
Congress enacts laws for safe disposal
of nuclear waste.
1982
Dioxin contamination forces the
government to purchase homes in
Times Beach, Missouri. The federal
government and the responsible
polluters share the cleanup costs.
1982
A PCB landfill protest in North Carolina begins
the environmental justice movement.
1983
Cleanup actions begin to rid the Chesapeake Bay of
pollution stemming from sewage treatment plants, urban
runoff, and farm waste.
1983
EPA encourages homeowners to test for radon
gas, which causes 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, and water.
1987
The United States signs the Montreal Protocol, pledging
to phase-out production of CFCs.
1987
Medical and other waste washes up on shores, closing
beaches in New York and New Jersey.
1987
EPA's"Unfinished Business" report compares relative risks
of environmental challenges for the first time.
1988
Congress bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge and
industrial waste.
1989
Exxon Valdez spills 11 million
gallons of crude oil into Alaska's
Prince William Sound.
1990
Congress passes the Clean Air Act Amendments, requiring
states to demonstrate progress in improving air quality.
1990
EPA's Toxic Release Inventory tells the
public which pollutants are being
released from specific facilities in their
communities.
1990
President George Bush signs the Pollution Prevention Act,
emphasizing the importance of preventing—not just
correcting—environmental damage.
1990
President George Bush signs the National Environmental
Education Act, signifying the importance of educating
the public to ensure scientifically sound, balanced, and
responsible decisions about the environment.
1991	^ -
Federal agencies begin using recycled
content products.
1991
EPA launches voluntary industry partnership programs
for energy- efficient lighting and for reducing toxic
chemical emissions.
1992
EPA launches the ENERGY STAR® Program
to help consumers identify energy-
efficient products.

ENERGY STAR
1993
EPA reports secondhand smoke
contaminates indoor air, posing serious health risks to
nonsmokers.
1993
A Cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's
drinking water sickens 400,000 people and kills more
than 100.
1993
President Bill Clinton directs the federal
government to use its $200 billion annual
purchasing power to buy recycled and
environmentally preferable products.


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1994
EPA launches its Browrifields
Program to clean up abandoned,
contaminated sites to return
them to productive community
use.
1994
EPA issues new standards for chemical plants that will
reduce toxic air pollution by more than half a million tons
each year—the equivalent of taking 38 million vehicles
off the road annually.
1995
EPA launches an incentive-based acid rain program to
reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.
1995
EPA requires municipal incinerators to reduce toxic
emissions by 90 percent from 1990 levels.
1996
Public drinking water suppliers
are required to inform customers
about chemicals and microbes
in their water, and funding is
made available to upgrade water
treatment plants.
1996
EPA requires that home buyers and renters be informed
about lead-based paint hazards.
1996
President Bill Clinton signs the
Food Quality Protection Act to
tighten standards for pesticides
used to grow food, with special
protections to ensure that foods
are safe for children to eat.
1997
An Executive Order is issued to protect children from
environmental health risks, including childhood asthma
and lead poisoning.
1997
EPA issues tough new air quality standards for smog and
soot, an action that would improve air quality for 125
million Americans.
1998
President Bill Clinton announces the Clean Water Action
Plan to continue making America's waterways safe for
fishing and swimming.
1999
President Bill Clinton announces new
emissions standards for cars, sport utility
vehicles, minivans and trucks, requiring
them to be 77 to 95 percent cleaner
than in 1999.
1999
EPA announces new requirements to improve air quality
in national parks and wilderness areas.
2000
EPA establishes regulations requiring more than 90
percent cleaner heavy duty highway diesel engines and
fuel.
2000
National Performance Track program is launched to
recognize facilities that exceed legal requirements to
make measurable environmental progress.
2002
President George W. Bush signs the Small Business
Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act to
reclaim and restore thousands of abandoned properties.
2003
EPA provides funds for more
than 4,000 school buses to be
retrofitted through the Clean
School Bus USA program,
removing 200,000 pounds of
particulate matter from the air
over the next 10 years.
2004
New, more protective, 8-hour ozone and fine particulate
standards go into effect across the country.
2004
EPA requires cleaner fuels and
engines for off-road diesei
machinery such as farm or
construction equipment.
2005
EPA issues the Clean Air Act Interstate Rule to achieve the
largest reduction in air pollution in more than a decade,
by permanently capping S02 and NOx emissions in the
Eastern United States.
2006
EPA launches the WaterSense program
to help families and businesses
identify water-efficient products.
CLEAN SCHOOL BUS

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V
2007
Diesel trucks and buses are as
much as 95 percent cleaner
than in 2006.
2007
President George W. Bush signs the Energy Independence
and Security Act of 2007, increasing the national fuel
economy standard to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 and
requiring fuel producers to use at least 36 billion gallons
of biofuel in 2022.
2008
National Performance Track program reaches over 500
members.
2008
EPA issues the most health-protective
standards for smog in our nation's history.
2008
EPA issues new diesel locomotives and
marine engine standards to cut emissions
of particulate matter by 90 percent and nitrogen oxides
by 80 percent.
2009
Initiative to Monitor Toxic Air Pollutants Near Schools -
EPA and its state partners begin to monitor schools for
more extensive air quality analysis.
2010
The BP-operated Deepwater
Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of
Mexico explodes leading to
the largest oil spill in American
history. EPA joins the emergency
response, environmental data
collection and analysis, and cleanups.
2011
Fukishima Nuclear Reactor Damaged - An earthquake
and the resulting tsunami damage Japan's Fukishima
nuclear power plant, releasing radiation into the air. EPA
responds with radiation monitors.
2012
First Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants
Proposed - The rule creates opportunities for new
technologies at future facilities to burn coal, while
emitting less carbon pollution.
2014
New Rules for Cleaner Fuels and Cars - The"Tier 3"
standards sets new vehicle emissions standards and
lowers the sulfur content of gasoline beginning in 2017.

2016
Drinking Water Action Plan- The
Plan outlines how government,
utilities, community
organizations, and other
stakeholders can increase the
safety and reliability of drinking
water.
2016
President Obama signs the Lautenberg Chemical
Safety for the 21 st Century Act which amends the Toxic
Substances Control Act, the nation's primary chemicals
management law, requiring EPA to evaluate existing
chemicals with clear and enforceable deadlines.
2016
Paris Climate Accord -196 nations negotiated the
Accord to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases that
contribute to global warming and climate change.
2017
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt
establishes the Superfund
Task Force to provide
recommendations for improving
and expediting cleanup and
promoting redevelopment.
2017
Agency announces actions to support local communities
and increase research on PFOA, PFOS and other Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
2019
Administrator Wheeler Signs
Memo to Reduce Animal Testing
- The memo calls for EPA to
reduce mammal study requests
and funding by 30% by 2025 and
eliminate them by 2035.
2019
EPA announces plans to establish national recycling
goals.
2020
National Water Reuse Action Plan - The Action Plan
supports water reuse technology to ensure the viability of
our water economy.
2020
Federal Strategy for Addressing Global
Marine Litter - EPA, USAID and NOAA
implements innovative programs and
finance initiatives to address marine
litter.
*

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