ABSTRACT
The problems associated with the regulatory framework of the federal environmental management program have always been questioned. As with any government-controlled operation, many steps must often be taken before anything meaningful can be accomplished. The EPA’s first administrator, William Ruckelshaus, initially sought to convey the impression that his agency would aggressively enforce the new policies and adopted a systems approach by forming two primary program offices to handle the variety of issue areas and legislative mandates under its jurisdiction plus several function-oriented divisions designed to be more responsive to White House concerns as well as fulfill certain agency-wide objectives such as enforcement and research. A case involving Chevron in California led to a change in legislation. Chevron wanted to replace two smaller refineries with one large one, with a capacity of 315,000 barrels per day compared to 90,000 for each of the two older plants.
