The Environmental Protection Agency: Cleaning Up America's Act

by Robin Morris Collin

Overview

The Environmental Protection Agency is a young and dynamic federal agency facing the challenges of modern environmental protection. The political controversies and social impacts of the agency are immense, involving courts, legislatures, and elected officials, and the effects of its actions are far reaching, affecting every single person in the United States.

After a brief history of the agency, chapters describe its organization, programs, controversies, key events, notable people, and impact on society. Topics covered include the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Three Mile Island, and The Clean Air Act, as well as biographies on administrators Carol Browner, William Ruckelhaus, and Anne M. Gorsuch.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313333415
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/30/2005
Series:	Understanding Our Government
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Robert W. Collin is Senior Research Scholar at Willamette University, a member of two Federal Advisory Committees to the EPA, Advisor to Oregon Governor on Environmental Justice, and has many publications in law reviews and book chapters.

Table of Contents

Preface
A Brief History of the Environmental Protection Agency and Its Powers: Basic Organizational Structure; Council On Environmental Quality; Administrative Law Judges; Environmental Appeals Board; The Laws Implemented By The EPA; International EPA Engagement; Summary
Notable Cases Affecting the EPA
Controversies and Issues
Traditions and the Culture of the EPA
Organization and Day-to-Day Activities
Biographies of Important EPA Administrators; William D. Ruclekshaus 1970-1973;1983-1985; Russell E. Train 1973-1977; Ann m. Gorsuch 1981-1983; William K. Reilly 1989-1993; Carol M. Browner 1993-2001
Future Challenges for the EPA; Community Based Environmental Planning; Environmental Justice; The Federal interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice; Descriptions and Links to Individual Case Studies; The EPA Environmental Equity Workgoup; National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Overview; Sustainability; Regional Environmental Vulnerability Assessments at EPA; Current EPA Programs Related to Sustainability;Cumulative Emmissions and Risks; The Beginning; Aggregate Exposure and Risk Assessment; Assessing Cumulative Risk; Ecosystem Approaches
Chonology of Key Events
Appendices
About the Author
Index

Editorial Reviews

[T]his book profiles the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal government agency responsible for drafting and enforcing environmental protection rules, regulations, and laws. There is considerable useful material in the book. Collin provides a brief history of the agency, along with a description of its administrative structure, day-to-day operations, traditions, and culture. Of particular interest is the chapter Controversies and Issues, which reviews such high-profile cases as Love Canal, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Three Mile Island, and a number of others. An appendix profiles many of the agency's administrators, from William Ruckelshaus, the first administrator in the Nixon administration, to Carol Browner of the Clinton administration, the agency's longest serving head. A helpful chronology of key events in EPA history follows….Recommended. All levels.” —Choice

“Aimed at high school students, this review of the EPA covers both the traditions and controversies that have shaped this relatively new government agency. Collin reviews the EPA's history and organizational structure, notable cases affecting the agency, daily activities, and future challenges. The text includes biographies of important EPA administrators, a chronology of key events, the executive order creating the agency, and principles of environmental justice.” —SciTech Book News

From the Publisher