On This Day: The Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

On December 2nd, 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency officially began operation. Proposed by President Richard Nixon, the agency is the primary regulatory agency involving environmental protection in the United States. After several decades of increased public concern of the impact of human activity on the environment, Nixon issued Reorganization Plan No. 3 to reorganize and combine similar agencies tasked with protecting the environment. The new agency was tasked with enforcing environmental protection standards, conducting environmental research and collaborating with other entities to curb environmental pollution.