ABSTRACT
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the most important federal environmental regulatory authority. The agency's regulatory powers include the writing and enforcement of national environmental quality standards for air and water quality, control of the manufacture, use and disposal of toxic and hazardous substance, pesticide standards, drinking water quality, public exposure to environmental contaminants, and more. Environmental Protection Agency also administers federal grants to state, local, and tribal governments for pollution control facilities and administration. Its authority is based on 21 federal statutes, Executive Orders and other presidential directives, and federal court decisions resulting from environmental litigation. EPA authority is also limited by statutory guidelines written into all federal laws it administers, by the Administrative Procedures Act.Administrative oversight by the federal courts, and Executive Orders and budget management by the White House. Additional constraints are created by spending limits associated with all congressional appropriations for EPA programs. Major challenges to EPA include budget resources insufficient for increasing regulatory responsibilities and growing the scope of air and water quality pollution.
