The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, was formed almost 47 years ago. It’s meant to protect the health of everyone living on this planet as well as the planet itself. All efforts to reduce health risks are based on scientific information gathered by other branches of the government and the scientific community. Here is some information about what the EPA does to help protect us.
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Regulations
The agency will develop and implement environmental laws dictated by Congress. Laws like the Clean Air Act or the Clean Water Act were enacted to address the risks to public health from pollutants being pumped into the air and water by many businesses. The agency monitors and regulates the pollutants that industries use to ensure they aren’t dumped into the sewers or storm drains. They’ll do regular inspections to ensure that businesses are treating and disposing of the chemicals in a proper manner.
Environmental Studies
To understand how their efforts are helping the environment, the agency has to monitor and study what’s going on in the water and air around the public. They will research and develop initiatives to help with monitoring the air including emissions from vehicles. Air pollutants like ozone, emissions and particulate matter contribute to the occurrence of lung disease and other respiratory problems in American citizens. After research, they’ll share these findings with other agencies and academic facilities throughout the world.
Grants
The agency’s sole mission is to protect and guard the environment and the health of the general public. To that end, they’ll issue grants to programs and institutions that want to further their mission. They award grants every year that exceed 4 billion dollars. Any business can apply for a grant if they want to make changes in the way they operate to ensure they are working within the EPA’s guidelines. Each year, they have goals for the businesses they want to award grants to, which includes women-owned, veteran-owned and small disadvantaged businesses.
Partnerships
The Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t work to protect the environment and the people living in the world without help. They work with non-profits, governments on a state and local level as well as businesses to guide them and give them the money and information they need to make a difference locally. For example, they might provide support for local water and energy initiatives in a community trying to become more responsible.
Not the EPA
While some problems seem to be under the umbrella of the agency, they’re actually overseen by another agency. For example, nuclear waste issues wouldn’t be handled by the agency. It’s handled by the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management. Endangered species are not handled by the EPA either. That’s handled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Environmental Protection Agency was founded because there was such a concern over the impact we were having on the environment. Entire cities were covered in smog and people were getting very sick before the formation of the agency. Now, there’s an agency that looks out for the health and welfare of future generations.