An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

EPA History

EPA History: Documents about Agency Accomplishments

Christine Todd Whitman, Russell E. Train,
William Ruckelshaus, Stephen L. Johnson 
(from left to right) at the 35th anniversary celebration.

Commemorating EPA's 20th Anniversary, 
December 3, 1990, Arena Stage, Washington, DC.
Left to Right: William K. Reilly, Lee M. Thomas,
James Gustave Speth, Julie Belaga, Russell E. Train,
William D. Ruckelshaus.

William K. Reilly and Hank Habicht cutting birthday
cake at EPA's 20th Anniversary celebration

From regulating auto emissions to banning the use of DDT; from cleaning up toxic waste to protecting the ozone layer; from increasing recycling to revitalizing inner-city brownfields, EPA's achievements have resulted in cleaner air, purer water, and better protected land.

This page provides links to reports, speeches, websites and other information about EPA's achievements through its history. Often this information is published to mark a major EPA anniversary.

Unlinked material below is now in the EPA Archive. To find the material,
  • block the name of the document below that you want to find,
  • click on the Search EPA Archive button below, and
  • copy the name of the topic into the search box on the archive home page.

To ensure the best search results, be sure to put quotes around the name of the document.

Search EPA Archive

You can also view milestones in EPA and environmental history on the timeline on the EPA History home page.

  • EPA in 2009: Progress Report

  • EPA Celebrates the Nation's Cleaner Environment on its 35th Anniversary / EPA celebra el medio ambiente más limpio de la nación durante su 35to aniversario - press releases in English and Spanish celebrating the 35th anniversary

  • January 18, 2006 Remarks of Administrator Steve Johnson at the 35th Anniversary Celebration

  • Six Months of Environmental Progress, January 20 to July 20, 2001 - July 20, 2001

  • EPA's 30th Anniversary Celebrated - January 19, 2001

  • 30 Years of U.S. Environmental Protection - April 17, 2000 speech by Carol M. Browner

  • Statement on EPA's 25th Anniversary - December 1, 1995 press release

  • A Look at EPA Accomplishments: 25 Years of Protecting Public Health and the Environment - December 1, 1995 press release

  • U.S. EPA's 25th Anniversary Report: 1970-1995

  • Environmental Quality: The Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report of the Council on Environmental Quality (PDF) (NARA.gov)

  • The Environmental Protection Agency: A Retrospective - November 29, 1990 press release

  • EPA: Twenty Years Young - December 3, 1990 speech by William K. Reilly

  • Celebrating 15 Years of Progress - December 1985 EPA Times article

  • EPA History (1970-1985) - November 1985 article by Phil Wisman

  • Past, Present, and Future - November 1985 EPA Journal interview with Lee M. Thomas

  • History as Seen by the Regional Administrators - November 1985 EPA Journal article

  • What is the most significant environmental achievement of the past decade? - Nov./Dec. 1980 EPA Journal article in which the journal asked this question of a broad spectrum of Americans leaders.