The US Environmental Protection Agency Essay Example for Free

The US Environmental Protection Agency Essay The US Environmental Protection Agency, USEPA or more commonly referred simply as the EPA, is federal agency responsible for the protection of the natural environment for the protection of human health and ecology. It was established under the President Richard Nixon in December 1970 and is currently being headed by Administrator Stephen L. Johnson (EPA, 2008a). The EPA acts through twelve administrative offices and ten regional offices: the administrative offices are in charge with the development and assessment of policies and regional offices are the serve as the primary executive arm of the agency (EPA, 2008b). Prior to the establishment of the agency, there was no national structure for addressing environmental concerns, develop legislation and management programs or to implement corrective measures. The EPA implements and monitors compliance to environmental protection statutes it establishes or as passed thorough by federal legislation (EPA, 2008a). Shortcomings of the agency are viewed not only as a failure of related policies but also an indication of the political will, ethical standards and social concern for the protection of the environment (Heilprin, 2008; Marris, 2007; Morrissey, 2008). Case in point: when policies are considered to be restrictive to industries, this relegates the ethical cost of violation of EPA regulations, encouraging subterfuge if not blatant opposition to policies. On the other hand, hesitation on the part of the EPA to implement polices and prosecute offenders diminishes the public’s interests and violates its functional mandates. Moreover, as Pelley (2008) and Sood (2008) have highlighted, the EPA’s mandate is extends far beyond its functions. It is designed to delivery in its fullest extent the intention behind environmental protection legislation and to provide framework standards of environmental and social responsibility. References Environmental Protection Agency (2008a).Available at http://www. epa. gov/ Environmental Protection Agency (2008b). Laws that We Administer. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://www. epa. gov/lawsregs/laws/index. html Heilprin, John (2006). Ex-EPA chiefs: Bush neglects environmental problems. USA Today On Deadline, January 18, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://blogs. usatoday. com/ondeadline/2006/01/exepa_chiefs_bu. html Marris, E. (2007). Car emissions are EPAs problem. Nature, 446(7136):589. Morrissey, Susan R. (2008). EPA Issues Nanotechnology White Paper Intra-agency group gives overview, identifies research needs for nanotech. Washington, DC: Environmental Protection Agency Pelley, Janet (2008). EPA toxicity risk assessments in crisis. Environmental Science Technology, March 21, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://pubs. acs. org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2008/may/policy/jp_iris. html Sood, Suemedha (2008). EPA Success Masks Problems. The Washington Independent, May 28, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://washingtonindependent. com/view/epa-cases-mask-long