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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 This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.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

Historical Environmental Topics

On this page:

Historical Resources about Statutes, Regulations and Policies

Unlinked material below is now in the EPA Archive. To find the material,
  • block the name of the topic 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 topic.

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Bubble Policy
Clean Air Act of 1970/1977 and Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
Clean Water Act
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
Environmental Research, Development and Demonstration Authorization Act
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972
Fishbowl Policy
Food Quality Protection Act
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (ocean dumping)
National Environmental Policy Act
Noise and the Noise Control Act
Pollution Prevention Act  (search for "Pollution Prevention Takes Center Stage")
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Safe Drinking Water Act
Superfund
Toxic Substances Control Act

See also:

  • Looking Backward: A Historical Perspective on Environmental Regulations
    by Jack Lewis [EPA Journal - March 1988]
  • Environmental Regulation: The Early Days at EPA
    by William D. Ruckelshaus [EPA Journal - March 1988]

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Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies

Unlinked material below is now in the EPA Archive. To find the material,
  • block the name of the topic 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 topic.

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Bhopal (search for "The Aftermath of Bhopal")
Chernobyl (search for "Answering Questions about Chernobyl")
Columbia Space Shuttle Accident 
Eco-Terrorism (search for "Responding to Eco-Terrorism")
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (search for "Response to 2005 Hurricanes")
Love Canal
Three Mile Island
Times Beach
Valley of the Drums
World Trade Center (9/11)

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Other Topics of Historical Interest

Unlinked material below is now in the EPA Archive. To find the material,
  • block the name of the topic 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 topic.

Search EPA Archive

Alar (search for "Daminozide (Alar) Pesticide Canceled for Food Uses")
DDT
Earth Day
Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, 1992
Henry David Thoreau 
Lead
London's Historic "Pea-Soupers"
Montreal Protocol (see also the Ozone Layer Depletion link below)
Noise and the Noise Control Act
North American Free Trade Agreement (search for "Statement on the North American Free Trade Agreement"
Ozone Layer Depletion (see also the Montreal Protocol link above)
Pesticides
Public Participation and Transparency
Rachel Carson 
Selected Multilateral Environmental Instruments In Force for the U.S
Women and the Environment 

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