Development of EPA | EPA的发展

20 世纪 70 年代

成立第一年，EPA 的预算为 14 亿美元，拥有 5,800 名员工。成立之初，EPA 主要是一个制定目标和标准的技术援助机构。不久，国会通过的新法案和修正案赋予了该机构监管权。1970 年 12 月，《清洁空气法》的重大扩展获得批准。 

环境保护署的工作人员回忆说，在成立初期，他们“怀着强烈的使命感和兴奋感”，并期待着“这个机构能够采取行动，解决这个国家许多人都关心的问题”，因此，成千上万的人投递简历，渴望参与到这项治理美国环境的伟大事业中来。

环保署刚开始运作时，私营部门的成员强烈地感觉到环境保护运动只是昙花一现。鲁克尔豪斯表示，他感到有压力要向对政府效率深表怀疑的公众表明，环保署能够有效应对人们对污染的普遍担忧。1969 年，俄亥俄州克利夫兰的凯霍加河发生大火，引发了全国范围的强烈抗议，各大钢铁公司也受到了刑事指控。1970 年底，美国司法部与新成立的环境保护署合作，开始提起污染控制诉讼。国会颁布了 1972 年《联邦水污染控制法修正案》，即众所周知的《清洁水法》（CWA）。《清洁水法》建立了一个解决水质问题的国家框架，包括强制性的污染控制标准，由该机构与各州合作实施。1972 年，国会修订了《联邦杀虫剂、杀菌剂和灭鼠剂法》（FIFRA），要求环境保护署衡量每种农药的风险与其潜在益处。

1973 年，尼克松总统任命拉塞尔·E·特雷恩为下一任环境保护署署长。1974 年，国会通过了《安全饮用水法案》 ，要求环境保护署为所有公共供水系统制定强制性联邦标准，这些系统服务于 90% 的美国人口。该法律要求环境保护署在州政府机构的合作下执行这些标准。

1976 年 10 月，国会通过了《有毒物质控制法案》（TSCA），该法案与《FIFRA》一样，涉及商业产品的制造、标签和使用，而非污染。该法案赋予 EPA 收集化学品信息并要求生产商进行测试的权力，赋予其监管化学品生产和使用的能力（特别提到了PCB），并要求该机构创建化学品国家清单。

国会还于 1976 年颁布了《资源保护与回收法案》（RCRA），对 1965 年的《固体废物处理法案》进行了重大修订。该法案要求环保局制定国家废物处理目标，节约能源和自然资源，减少废物，并确保废物的环保管理。因此，该机构制定了固体和危险废物法规，并与各州合作实施。

1977 年，吉米·卡特总统任命道格拉斯·M·科斯特尔为环境保护署署长。 为了管理该机构不断增加的法定职责和工作量，到 1979 年底，该机构的预算增长到 54 亿美元，员工人数增加到 13,000 人。

20 世纪 80 年代

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1980 年，在发现许多废弃或管理不善的危险废物处理场（如拉夫运河）后，国会通过了《综合环境反应、补偿和责任法案》，绰号“超级基金”。新法律授权环保局对之前危险废物处理污染场地的责任方进行更广泛的追责，并建立了评估和清理的资金机制。

1981 年，罗纳德·里根总统任命安妮·戈萨奇为环境保护署署长，这是一次戏剧性的右倾举动。戈萨奇以新联邦主义的思路为基础管理环境保护署，即通过将联邦机构的职能和服务下放给各个州来缩小机构规模。[ 35 ]她认为环境保护署对企业的监管过度，而且该机构规模过大，成本效益不高。在她担任机构负责人的 22 个月内，她将环境保护署的预算削减了 22%，减少了针对污染者的案件数量，放宽了《清洁空气法》的规定，并促进了限制使用农药的喷洒。她削减了机构员工总数，并从他们本应监管的行业中聘用员工。环保主义者认为她的政策旨在安抚污染者，并指责她试图解散该机构。

1983 年 2 月，助理署长丽塔·拉维尔因对超级基金计划管理不善被里根解雇。戈萨奇与国会在超级基金和其他计划上的冲突日益加剧，包括她拒绝提交传票文件。戈萨奇被指控藐视国会，白宫指示环保局向国会提交文件。戈萨奇和她的大部分高级职员于 1983 年 3 月辞职。里根随后任命威廉·拉克尔豪斯连任环保局局长。作为接受任命的条件，拉克尔豪斯从白宫获得了任命高级管理团队的自主权。他随后任命经验丰富、能力出众的专业人士担任高层管理职位，并努力恢复公众对该机构的信心。

1985 年，李·M·托马斯接替鲁克尔豪斯担任环保署署长。1986 年，国会通过了《紧急计划和社区知情权法案》，授权环保署收集有毒化学物质的数据，并与公众分享这些信息。环保署还研究了平流层臭氧损耗的影响。在托马斯的领导下，环保署与几个国际组织联合对平流层臭氧进行了风险评估，这为 1987 年 8 月达成的《蒙特利尔议定书》提供了动力。

1988 年，在第一次总统竞选期间，老布什就直言不讳地谈论环境问题。在当选后，他于 1989 年任命环保主义者威廉·K·赖利为环保署署长。在赖利的领导下，环保署实施了自愿计划，并开始制定“集群规则”，以对纸浆和造纸行业进行多媒体监管。[ 43 ]当时，人们越来越意识到，一些环境问题是区域性或地方性的，更适合采用国家以下层面的方法和解决方案来解决。这种认识反映在 1990 年《清洁空气法》的修正案和该机构的新方法中，例如在《清洁水法》计划中更加强调基于流域的方法。 

1970s

In its first year, the EPA had a budget of $1.4 billion and 5,800 employees. At first, the EPA was primarily a technical assistance agency that set goals and standards. Soon, new acts and amendments passed by Congress gave the agency regulatory powers. In December 1970, a major expansion of the Clean Air Act was approved.

 

EPA staff recalled that in the early days, they had "a great sense of mission and excitement" and expected "this agency to take action to address issues that concern many people in this country," so thousands of people submitted resumes, eager to participate in this great cause of managing the American environment.

When the EPA first began, members of the private sector felt strongly that the environmental movement was just a flash in the pan. Ruckelhaus said he felt pressure to show a public that was deeply skeptical of government efficiency that the EPA could effectively respond to widespread concerns about pollution. In 1969, a large fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, sparked a nationwide outcry and criminal charges against major steel companies. In late 1970, the U.S. Department of Justice, in partnership with the newly created EPA, began filing pollution control lawsuits. Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, better known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Clean Water Act established a national framework for addressing water quality issues, including mandatory pollution control standards to be implemented by the agency in partnership with the states. In 1972, Congress amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to require the EPA to weigh the risks of each pesticide against its potential benefits.

In 1973, President Nixon appointed Russell E. Train as the next EPA Administrator. In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act, requiring the EPA to establish mandatory federal standards for all public water systems, which serve 90% of the U.S. population. The law required the EPA to enforce those standards in partnership with state agencies.

In October 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which, like FIFRA, dealt with the manufacture, labeling, and use of commercial products, not pollution. The act gave EPA the power to collect information on chemicals and require manufacturers to test them, gave it the ability to regulate the production and use of chemicals (PCBs were specifically mentioned), and required the agency to create a national inventory of chemicals.

Congress also enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976, a major revision of the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. The act required EPA to establish national waste disposal goals, conserve energy and natural resources, reduce waste, and ensure the environmentally sound management of waste. As a result, the agency developed solid and hazardous waste regulations and worked with states to implement them.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Douglas M. Costell as Administrator of the EPA. To manage the agency's growing statutory responsibilities and workload, the agency's budget grew to $5.4 billion and its staff to 13,000 by the end of 1979.

1980s

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In 1980, following the discovery of many abandoned or poorly managed hazardous waste sites, such as Love Canal, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, nicknamed "Superfund". The new law authorized EPA to more broadly hold responsible parties responsible for previously contaminated sites and established funding mechanisms for assessment and cleanup.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Anne Gorsuch as EPA Administrator, a dramatic move to the right. Gorsuch ran the EPA based on the New Federalist approach, which aimed to reduce the size of the agency by delegating federal agency functions and services to the states. [35] She believed that the EPA was overly regulated by industry and that the agency was too large and cost-ineffective. In her 22 months as agency head, she cut the EPA's budget by 22 percent, reduced the number of cases against polluters, relaxed regulations of the Clean Air Act, and promoted limited use of pesticide spraying. She cut the total number of agency employees and hired employees from the industries they were supposed to regulate. Environmentalists believed her policies were designed to appease polluters and accused her of trying to dismantle the agency.

In February 1983, Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle was fired by Reagan for mismanaging the Superfund program. Gorsuch had increasing conflicts with Congress over Superfund and other programs, including her refusal to turn over subpoenaed documents. Gorsuch was charged with contempt of Congress, and the White House directed the EPA to turn over documents to Congress. Gorsuch and most of her senior staff resigned in March 1983. Reagan then appointed William Ruckelhaus to a second term as EPA Administrator. As a condition of accepting the appointment, Ruckelhaus received autonomy from the White House to appoint a senior management team. He subsequently appointed experienced and capable professionals to top management positions and worked to restore public confidence in the agency.

Lee M. Thomas succeeded Ruckelhaus as EPA Administrator in 1985. In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which authorized EPA to collect data on toxic chemicals and share that information with the public. EPA also studied the effects of stratospheric ozone depletion. Under Thomas' leadership, EPA worked with several international organizations to conduct a risk assessment of stratospheric ozone, which provided momentum for the Montreal Protocol reached in August 1987.

During his first presidential campaign in 1988, Bush Sr. was outspoken about environmental issues. After his election, he appointed environmentalist William K. Reilly as EPA Administrator in 1989. Under Reilly's leadership, EPA implemented voluntary programs and began developing "cluster rules" to provide multimedia regulation of the pulp and paper industry. [ 43 ] At the time, there was a growing awareness that some environmental problems were regional or local in nature and better suited to subnational approaches and solutions. This recognition was reflected in the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act and in new approaches by the agency, such as a greater emphasis on watershed-based approaches in Clean Water Act programs.

20 世纪 90 年代

1992 年，美国环保署和能源部启动了“能源之星”计划，这是一项促进能源效率的自愿计划。

卡罗尔·布朗纳被比尔·克林顿总统任命为环境保护署署长，任期为 1993 年至 2001 年。布朗纳任期内的主要项目包括：

·       1995 年启动棕地试点项目

·       1995 年石油炼油​​厂初始有害空气污染标准

·       1996 年 TSCA首次出台含铅油漆减排法规

·       1997 年更新了国家环境空气质量标准中的颗粒物和臭氧。 

自 1980 年《超级基金法》通过以来，美国政府一直对化学和石油行业征收消费税，以支持清理信托基金。国会对该税的授权将于 1995 年到期。尽管布朗纳和克林顿政府支持继续征税，但国会拒绝重新授权。随后，超级基金计划仅由年度拨款支持，大大减少了每年修复的废物处理场数量。（2021 年，国会重新授权对化学品制造商征收消费税。）

克林顿政府时期的主要立法更新是《食品质量保护法》和 1996 年《安全饮用水法》修正案。

2000 年代

2001 年，小布什总统任命克里斯汀·托德·惠特曼为环境保护署署长。2003年，迈克·莱维特接替了惠特曼的职位， 2005 年，史蒂芬·L·约翰逊接替了惠特曼的职位。 

2005 年 3 月，美国九个州（加利福尼亚州、纽约州、新泽西州、新罕布什尔州、马萨诸塞州、缅因州、康涅狄格州、新墨西哥州和佛蒙特州）起诉了美国环保署。美国环保署监察长认定，美国环保署对汞排放的监管不符合《清洁空气法》，而且这些监管受到了高层政治任命的影响。美国环保署压制了哈佛大学委托的一项与其汞控制立场相矛盾的研究。该诉讼称，美国环保署免除燃煤发电厂使用“最大可用控制技术”的规定是非法的，还指控美国环保署旨在降低平均汞含量的限额与交易体系将允许发电厂放弃减少汞排放，他们反对这种做法，认为即使平均汞含量下降，也会导致局部地区出现危险的汞污染热点。一些州也开始颁布自己的汞排放法规。伊利诺伊州提出的法规将在 2009 年之前将发电厂的汞排放量平均减少 90%。2008 年（当时共有 14 个州加入了诉讼）美国哥伦比亚特区上诉法院裁定 EPA 法规违反了《清洁空气法》。[ 60 ]作为回应，EPA 宣布计划提出此类标准来取代已撤销的《清洁空气汞法规》，并于 2011 年 3 月 16 日正式实施。

2005 年 7 月，美国环保署的一份报告被推迟发布，该报告显示汽车公司正在利用漏洞生产燃油效率较低的汽车。这份报告本应在一项备受争议的能源法案通过的前一天发布，并会为反对该法案的人提供支持，但美国环保署在最后一刻推迟了发布。

美国环保署于 2006 年启动了自愿性WaterSense计划，通过在消费品上使用特殊标签来鼓励提高用水效率。 

2007 年，加利福尼亚州起诉美国环保署，指控其拒绝加利福尼亚州和其他 16 个州提高新车的燃油经济性标准。美国环保署署长斯蒂芬·约翰逊声称，美国环保署正在制定自己的标准，但人们普遍认为，这一举措是试图在联邦层面制定较低标准，从而使汽车行业免受环境监管的约束，而这些标准将优先于州法律。加州州长阿诺德·施瓦辛格和其他 13 个州的州长表示，美国环保署的行为无视联邦法律，加州现行标准（除加州外，许多州也采用该标准）的效果几乎是拟议的联邦标准的两倍。据报道，约翰逊在做出这一决定时无视了自己的工作人员的意见。

2007 年，有报道称，EPA 的研究受到了职业经理人的压制。 EPA 国家环境评估中心的主管要求从一篇关于 EPA综合风险信息系统的同行评议期刊文章中删除几段文字，导致两位合著者的名字从出版物中被删除，通讯作者 Ching-Hung Hsu 离开 EPA，“原因是出版受到严厉限制”。2007 年的报告称，EPA 对撰写科学论文的员工进行事前限制，即使这些论文是在私人时间撰写的。

2007 年 12 月，环保局局长约翰逊批准了一份文件草案，宣布气候变化危及公众福利——这一决定将引发第一部全国性的强制性全球变暖法规。副局长杰森·伯内特通过电子邮件将草案发给了白宫。伯内特说，白宫助手们——长期以来一直反对以强制性法规来应对气候变化——知道约翰逊的调查结果的要点。他们还知道，一旦打开附件，它就会成为公共记录，从而引起争议并且很难撤销。所以他们没有打开它；而是打电话给约翰逊，要求他收回草案。约翰逊撤销了草案；2008 年 7 月，他发布了一份新版本，其中没有指出全球变暖危及公众福利。伯内特辞职以示抗议。

更多信息：《清洁空气法》对温室气体的监管

2008 年 4 月，忧思科学家联盟表示，在通过在线方式回答详细问卷的近 1,600 名 EPA 工作人员科学家中，超过一半的人表示，他们在工作中曾遭遇过政治干预。调查对象包括化学家、毒理学家、工程师、地质学家和其他科学领域的专家。约 40% 的科学家表示，过去五年的干预比前几年更为普遍。

2009 年，美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马任命丽莎·P·杰克逊为环境保护署署长。 

2010 年代

2010 年有报道称，布什和奥巴马政府期间，一项耗资 300 万美元的海平面上升测绘研究被环境保护署管理层压制，管理人员修改了一份重要的跨部门报告，以反映地图被删除的事实。

2011 年至 2012 年间，一些美国环保署员工报告称，由于行业和政府的压力，他们在开展和报告水力压裂研究结果方面遇到了困难，并且担心环境报告受到审查。

奥巴马总统于 2013 年任命吉娜·麦卡锡为环境保护署署长。

2014 年，美国环保署发布了针对轿车、卡车和其他机动车的“Tier 3”标准，加强了空气污染排放要求，并降低了汽油中的硫含量。

2015 年，美国环保署发现大众集团在2009 年至 2016 年款的大众和奥迪柴油发动机汽车生产中存在大量违规行为。在违规行为和可能受到刑事制裁的通知后，大众后来同意达成法律和解并支付了数十亿美元的刑事罚款，并被要求启动车辆回购计划并改造车辆的发动机以减少非法空气排放。

2015 年 8 月，美国环保署最终确定了《清洁电力计划》，以规范发电厂的排放，预计 15 年内将减少 32% 的二氧化碳排放，即 7.89 亿吨。2019 年，该计划被特朗普政府的《可负担清洁能源规则》废除，取而代之的是2022 年，最高法院裁定其不符合宪法。

2015 年 8 月，美国环保署承包商在检查科罗拉多州一座矿井的铅和砷等污染物含量时，发生了2015 年金王矿废水泄漏事件[ 86 ]，意外向水泥溪和阿尼玛斯河排放了超过 300 万加仑的废水。[ 87 ] 2015 年，世界卫生组织下属的国际癌症研究机构（IARC）援引研究报告，称孟山都公司生产的除草剂 Roundup 的成分草甘膦与非霍奇金淋巴瘤有关。2017 年 3 月，一起由声称患有草甘膦相关非霍奇金淋巴瘤的人提起的诉讼的主审法官公开了孟山都公司的电子邮件和其他与此案有关的文件，包括该公司与联邦监管机构之间的电子邮件往来。据《纽约时报》报道，“记录显示孟山都曾委托他人代笔研究，后来该研究被归为学术研究，并表明美国环境保护署的一名高级官员曾试图阻止美国卫生与公众服务部对农达主要成分草甘膦的审查。”记录显示，在几个月前，时任美国环境保护署癌症评估审查委员会主席的杰斯·罗兰 (Jess Rowland)向孟山都通报了这一决定后，孟山都得以针对这一发现“展开公关攻势”。电子邮件还显示，罗兰“曾承诺要挫败美国卫生与公众服务部自行进行审查的努力。” 

2017 年 2 月 17 日，特朗普总统任命斯科特·普鲁特为美国环保署署长。民主党认为这一任命是一个有争议的举动，因为普鲁特在其职业生涯的大部分时间里都在挑战环境法规和政策。他之前没有环境保护领域的经验，并曾接受过化石燃料行业的财政支持。2017 年，特朗普政府提议将美国环保署预算从 81 亿美元削减 31% 至 57 亿美元，并裁减该机构四分之一的职位。然而，这一削减计划未获国会批准。普鲁特于 2018 年 7 月 5 日辞去该职位，理由是持续的道德争议导致他“不断受到攻击”。

特朗普总统于 2019 年任命安德鲁·惠勒 (Andrew R. Wheeler)为环境保护署署长。

2019 年 7 月 17 日，美国环保署管理层禁止该机构的科学诚信官员弗朗西斯卡·格里福 (Francesca Grifo ) 在众议院委员会听证会上作证。美国环保署提议派另一位代表代替格里福，并指责委员会“向该机构指手画脚，要求他们指派他们认为有资格发言的人”。听证会旨在讨论允许联邦科学家和其他雇员在任何时候、向谁自由谈论他们的研究，而不必担心任何政治后果的重要性。

2019 年 9 月，加州的空气污染标准再次受到攻击，因为特朗普政府试图撤销向该州颁发的一项豁免，该豁免允许该州对汽车和卡车排放实施比联邦标准更严格的标准。

2020 年代

[编辑]

总统乔·拜登任命迈克尔·里根于 2021 年担任管理员。里根于 2021 年 3 月 11 日开始任职。

2021 年 10 月，EPA 公布了“PFAS 战略路线图”。PFAS是一种有机氟化合物，被称为“永久化学品”。该路线图是一项“EPA 全战略”，该机构将考虑 PFAS 的整个生命周期，包括防止 PFAS 进入环境、追究污染者的责任以及修复受污染场地。它还将包括饮用水监测和生物固体（用作肥料的加工污水污泥）中PFOA和PFOS的风险评估。 

1990s

In 1992, the EPA and DOE launched the Energy Star program, a voluntary program to promote energy efficiency.

Carol Browner was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as Administrator of the EPA from 1993 to 2001. Major projects during Browner's tenure included:

 Launch of the Brownfields Pilot Program in 1995

 Initial Hazardous Air Pollution Standards for Petroleum Refineries in 1995

 First Lead Paint Reduction Regulations under TSCA in 1996

 Updates to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter and Ozone in 1997.

 

Since the passage of the Superfund Act in 1980, the U.S. government has levied excise taxes on the chemical and petroleum industries to support cleanup trust funds. Congressional authorization for the tax expired in 1995. Despite support from Browner and the Clinton Administration for continued taxation, Congress refused to reauthorize it. Subsequently, the Superfund program was supported solely by annual appropriations, which greatly reduced the number of waste sites remediated each year. (In 2021, Congress reauthorized the excise tax on chemical manufacturers.)

The major legislative updates during the Clinton administration were the Food Quality Protection Act and the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.

2000s

In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Christine Todd Whitman as EPA Administrator. Mike Levitt succeeded Whitman in 2003, and Stephen L. Johnson in 2005.

In March 2005, nine states (California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico, and Vermont) sued the EPA. The EPA Inspector General determined that EPA regulations on mercury emissions were inconsistent with the Clean Air Act and that those regulations were influenced by high-level political appointments. The EPA suppressed a Harvard-commissioned study that contradicted its position on mercury controls. The lawsuit claimed that the EPA's exemption of coal-fired power plants from using "maximum available control technology" was unlawful, and that the EPA's cap-and-trade system, designed to reduce average mercury levels, would allow power plants to forgo reducing mercury emissions, an approach they opposed, arguing that even if average mercury levels were reduced, dangerous local hotspots of mercury pollution would emerge. Some states also began to enact their own mercury regulations. Illinois' proposed rule would reduce mercury emissions from power plants by an average of 90 percent by 2009. In 2008 (when 14 states joined the lawsuit), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA's rule violated the Clean Air Act. [60] In response, the EPA announced plans to propose such a standard to replace the now-retired Clean Air Mercury Rule, which would take effect on March 16, 2011.

In July 2005, the EPA delayed the release of a report showing that auto companies were exploiting loopholes to produce less fuel-efficient cars. The report was supposed to be released the day before a controversial energy bill was passed and would have bolstered opponents of the bill, but the EPA delayed its release at the last minute.

The EPA launched the voluntary WaterSense program in 2006 to encourage water efficiency through special labels on consumer products.

In 2007, California sued the EPA for rejecting California and 16 other states' calls to raise fuel economy standards for new cars. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson claimed the EPA was setting its own standards, but the move was widely seen as an attempt to exempt the auto industry from environmental regulation by setting lower standards at the federal level that would take precedence over state laws. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the governors of 13 other states said the EPA was acting in defiance of federal law and that California's current standards (which are also adopted by many states besides California) were nearly twice as effective as the proposed federal standards. Johnson reportedly ignored the opinions of his own staff in making the decision.

In 2007, it was reported that the EPA's research was being suppressed by career managers. The director of the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment requested that several paragraphs be removed from a peer-reviewed journal article about the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System, resulting in the names of two co-authors being removed from the publication and the corresponding author, Ching-Hung Hsu, leaving the EPA “due to severe restrictions on publishing.” The 2007 report said the EPA placed ex ante restrictions on employees writing scientific papers, even if they were written on personal time.

In December 2007, EPA Administrator Johnson approved a draft document declaring climate change a threat to the public welfare—a decision that would have triggered the first nationwide mandatory global warming regulations. Deputy Administrator Jason Burnett emailed the draft to the White House. Burnett said White House aides—who have long opposed mandatory regulations to address climate change—knew the gist of Johnson’s findings. They also knew that once the attachment was opened, it would become public record, making it controversial and difficult to undo. So they didn’t open it; instead they called Johnson and asked him to retract the draft. Johnson rescinded the draft; in July 2008, he issued a new version that did not state that global warming endangered public welfare. Burnett resigned in protest.

More information: Clean Air Act regulation of greenhouse gases

In April 2008, the Union of Concerned Scientists said that more than half of nearly 1,600 EPA staff scientists who responded to a detailed online questionnaire said they had experienced political interference in their work. Respondents included chemists, toxicologists, engineers, geologists, and experts in other scientific fields. About 40% of scientists said interference had been more common in the past five years than in previous years.

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Lisa P. Jackson to be EPA Administrator.

2010s

In 2010, it was reported that a $3 million sea level rise mapping study during the Bush and Obama administrations was suppressed by EPA management, and that managers altered a major interagency report to reflect the fact that the maps had been removed.

Between 2011 and 2012, some EPA employees reported that they had difficulty conducting and reporting on hydraulic fracturing research results due to industry and government pressure and feared that environmental reporting would be censored.

President Obama appointed Gina McCarthy as EPA Administrator in 2013.

In 2014, the EPA issued "Tier 3" standards for cars, trucks, and other motor vehicles, which strengthened air pollution emission requirements and reduced sulfur content in gasoline.

In 2015, the EPA found that Volkswagen Group had numerous violations in the production of Volkswagen and Audi diesel engine vehicles from the 2009 to 2016 model years. After the notice of violations and possible criminal sanctions, Volkswagen later agreed to a legal settlement and paid billions of dollars in criminal fines and was required to initiate a vehicle buyback program and modify the vehicles' engines to reduce illegal air emissions.

In August 2015, the EPA finalized the Clean Power Plan to regulate emissions from power plants, which was expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32%, or 789 million tons, over 15 years. In 2019, the plan was repealed by the Trump administration's Affordable Clean Energy Rule and replaced by the 2022 Supreme Court, which ruled it unconstitutional.

In August 2015, the 2015 Gold King Mine Wastewater Spill occurred when EPA contractors were checking for levels of pollutants such as lead and arsenic at a mine in Colorado, accidentally releasing more than 3 million gallons of wastewater into Cement Creek and the Animas River. [87] In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organization, cited research that linked glyphosate, an ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In March 2017, the judge presiding over a lawsuit brought by people who claimed to have glyphosate-linked non-Hodgkin lymphoma released Monsanto emails and other documents related to the case, including email exchanges between the company and federal regulators. According to The New York Times, “The records show that Monsanto had commissioned a ghostwritten study that was later classified as academic and that a senior EPA official had tried to block a review of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” The records show that Monsanto was able to “launch a public relations offensive” against the finding after Jess Rowland, then-chairman of the EPA’s Cancer Assessment Review Committee, informed Monsanto of the decision months earlier. The emails also show that Rowland “promised to defeat HHS’s efforts to conduct its own review.”

On February 17, 2017, President Trump appointed Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator. Democrats viewed the appointment as a controversial move, as Pruitt has spent much of his career challenging environmental regulations and policies. He had no prior experience in the field of environmental protection and had received financial support from the fossil fuel industry. In 2017, the Trump administration proposed to cut the EPA budget by 31% from $8.1 billion to $5.7 billion and eliminate a quarter of the agency's positions. However, this cut was not approved by Congress. Pruitt resigned from the position on July 5, 2018, citing ongoing ethical controversies that had led to him being "constantly attacked."

President Trump appointed Andrew R. Wheeler as EPA Administrator in 2019.

On July 17, 2019, EPA management barred the agency's scientific integrity officer, Francesca Grifo, from testifying at a House committee hearing. The EPA proposed to send another representative to replace Grifo and accused the committee of "telling the agency what to do and asking them to appoint someone they thought was qualified to speak." The hearing was intended to discuss the importance of allowing federal scientists and other employees to speak freely about their research at any time and to whomever they choose, without fear of any political consequences.

In September 2019, California's air pollution standards came under attack again when the Trump administration sought to revoke a waiver issued to the state that allowed it to impose stricter standards on car and truck emissions than federal standards.

2020s

[edit]

President Joe Biden appointed Michael Regan to serve as administrator in 2021. Regan began his term on March 11, 2021.

In October 2021, the EPA released its "PFAS Strategic Roadmap." PFAS are a class of organofluorine compounds known as "forever chemicals." The roadmap is an "EPA-wide strategy" in which the agency will consider the entire life cycle of PFAS, including preventing PFAS from entering the environment, holding polluters accountable, and remediating contaminated sites. It will also include drinking water monitoring and risk assessments for PFOA and PFOS in biosolids (processed sewage sludge used as fertilizer).

2021 年 12 月，美国环保署发布了针对乘用车和轻型卡车的新温室气体标准。该标准将减少气候污染并改善公众健康，并将于 2023 年车型年生效。

2022 年 3 月，拜登政府允许加州再次制定更严格的汽车排放标准。

2022 年 8 月，根据《通货膨胀削减法案》（IRA），EPA 获得了约 532.16 亿美元的资金。EPA 列出了 24 项举措，其中最引人注目的是温室气体减排和监测、超级基金石油税、用零排放汽车取代现有重型汽车以及甲烷激励计划。2023 年 2 月 3 日，东巴勒斯坦有 100 多节火车车厢脱轨，其中约一半车厢含有丙烯酸丁酯、氯乙烯和丙烯酸乙基己酯等化学物质。随后，化学物质燃烧成火焰，方圆数英里都能看到，烟雾弥漫在空气中，居民报告说动物生病，眼睛和鼻子有灼热感。环保署正在监测情况，专家建议当地居民参加环保署的家庭空气筛查。

2023 年 4 月 12 日，美国环保署提出了新的联邦汽车尾气排放标准，以加速向电动汽车(EV) 的过渡。该标准要求到 2032 年，美国销售的所有新车中至少有三分之二为零排放汽车。这些规则旨在减少空气污染和气候变化。美国环保署在 2023 年 7 月 25 日之前征求公众意见。[ 104 ]如果这些规则获得批准，将对交通运输部门和公众健康产生重大影响。2024 年 3 月，美国环保署最终确定了新规则，并预计到 2032 年将减少 70 亿公吨的排放量，即 2026 年水平的 56%。

2024 年 4 月，EPA 最终确定了发电厂碳排放的新标准，预计到 2028 年将减少 6.5 万吨，到 2047 年将减少 13.8 亿吨。该机构还发布了六种 PFAS 化合物的最终饮用水标准。

In December 2021, the EPA released new greenhouse gas standards for passenger cars and light trucks. The standards will reduce climate pollution and improve public health and will take effect for the 2023 model year.

In March 2022, the Biden administration allowed California to set stricter vehicle emissions standards again.

In August 2022, the EPA received approximately $53.216 billion in funding under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The EPA listed 24 initiatives, the most notable of which were greenhouse gas reduction and monitoring, Superfund oil taxes, replacing existing heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission vehicles, and methane incentive programs. On February 3, 2023, more than 100 train cars derailed in East Palestine, about half of which contained chemicals such as butyl acrylate, vinyl chloride, and ethylhexyl acrylate. The chemicals then burned into flames that could be seen for miles around, smoke filled the air, and residents reported sick animals and burning eyes and noses. EPA is monitoring the situation, and experts recommend that local residents participate in EPA's home air screening.

On April 12, 2023, the EPA proposed new federal vehicle tailpipe emissions standards to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The standards would require that by 2032, at least two-thirds of all new vehicles sold in the United States be zero-emission vehicles. These rules are intended to reduce air pollution and climate change. The EPA is seeking public comment until July 25, 2023. [104] If these rules are approved, they would have significant impacts on the transportation sector and public health. In March 2024, the EPA finalized the new rules and projected that they would reduce emissions by 7 billion metric tons by 2032, or 56% of 2026 levels.

In April 2024, the EPA finalized new standards for carbon emissions from power plants, which are expected to reduce emissions by 65,000 tons by 2028 and 1.38 billion tons by 2047. The agency also issued final drinking water standards for six PFAS compounds.