ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the broad and complex issue of environmental regulation, the aspect of the process that has the most impact on environmental policymaking and is, therefore, the most politically contentious. It focuses on the regulatory arena itself and the spectacle of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) turbulent history. The EPA was formally established by an executive order submitted by President Richard Nixon to Congress on July 9, 1970. On March 16,1995, President Bill Clinton and Vice President AI Gore issued a detailed report called Reinventing Environmental Regulation as part of their National Performance Review. In it they enumerated "10 Principles for Reinventing Environmental Regulation" by which the EPA would be guided in carrying out its mission in the future. The tug of war between Congress and the administration over the EPA clearly swung in favor of the White House. President Reagan sought to limit the power of the EPA by transferring power and authority to state and local governments.
