EPA at 30: Top Environmental Stories, 1970-2000

1990-2000

1990

Clean Air Act Amendments (National) Congress passes, and President George Bush signs, Clean Air Act Amendments including provisions to reduce hazardous air pollutants, tighten controls on industrial emissions, and require cleaner-burning gasoline in urban areas with unhealthy air. Most oil companies plan to meet that requirement by adding MTBE.

1991

Sacramento River Chemical Spill (Regional) Train derailment near Dunsmuir, California spills a tank car load of the deadly soil fumigant metam sodium into the Sacramento River, killing fish, wildlife, and plants along more than 40 miles of the river downstream from the crash site.

1993

Cryptosporidium Sickens 400,000 In Milwaukee (National) The water-borne microorganism cryptosporidium in the Wisconsin city's drinking water sickens 400,000 people, and causes the death of 100 people with weak immune systems.

Six-year California Drought Ends (Regional) Heavy winter rain and snow ends the longest drought since California weather records began in 1850. For the first time in six years, there is sufficient water to meet the needs of urban areas, agriculture, endangered salmon runs, and other fish and wildlife.

EPA Sets Salinity Standard For Delta (Regional) Noting that the state of California has failed during the six-year drought to set water quality standards needed to protect fish in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, EPA sets a salinity standard for the waterway.

1994

Bay-Delta Accord (Regional) After decades of legal and political battling, urban, agricultural, and environmental water interests agree to support a cooperative effort by state and federal agencies to draft a long-term plan to meet Californians' water needs while restoring Bay-Delta fish and wildlife.

Environmental Justice Policy (National) President Clinton signs Executive Order 12898, ordering all federal agencies to abolish and prevent policies that led to a disproportionate distribution of environmental hazards to low-income communities of color.

Brownfields Program (National) EPA launches its Brownfields grant program to revitalize abandoned industrial sites.

1996

EPA Approves California Smog Plans (Regional) EPA approves the state's plans to meet federal health standards for smog-causing ground-level ozone in the Los Angeles area (by 2010), Southeast Desert (by 2007), Ventura (by 2005), Sacramento (by 2005), the San Joaquin Valley (by 1999), San Diego (by 1999), and Santa Barbara (by 1996).

Grand Canyon Clean Air Accord (Regional) The Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission, which includes EPA, eight western governors, and four tribal government chairs representing over 200 American Indian tribes, reaches a historic agreement on a 40-year plan to restore clear skies over the Grand Canyon.

Truckee River Water Quality Agreement (Regional) Pact between the state of Nevada, Reno, federal agencies and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe settles decades of litigation on Truckee River water rights, ensures sufficient stream flows for endangered cui-ui fish to survive.

Safe Drinking Water Act, Food Quality Protection Act (National) Congress passes Safe Drinking Water Act and Food Quality Protection Act, mandating use of stricter new standards to limit contaminants in water and food. The new standards are based on new technology that allows technicians to measure minute traces of contaminants -- as low as a few parts per trillion.

1997

Tahoe Presidential Summit (Regional) President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore visit Lake Tahoe, meet stakeholders, pledge federal resources to assist state and local efforts to save lake's renowned clarity.

EPA Joins Santa Monica MTBE Enforcement Action (Regional) Responding to Santa Monica's request for assistance, EPA takes enforcement action against oil companies potentially responsible for polluting local drinking water wells with the gasoline additive MTBE from underground tank and pipeline leaks. The L.A.Regional Water Board orders oil companies to pay for replacement water. South Lake Tahoe shuts down several wells due to MTBE.

EPA Adopts Stricter Health Standards for Ozone, Particulates (National) After more than a decade of reviewing scientific evidence, EPA adopts stricter ozone (smog) and particulate (dust and soot) standards to protect the health of 125 million Americans, including 35 million children. Opponents delay the new standards, appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court by 2000.

1998

Safe Drinking Water Act Takes Effect (National) New law requires water purveyors to disclose violations to consumers in annual consumer confidence reports; bans use of untreated irrigation canal water for drinking. After years of resistance, California's Imperial Irrigation District finally provides bottled water to customers using canal water.

National Oceans Conference in Monterey (Regional) President Clinton and Vice President Gore attend national conference on oceans in Monterey. Federal, state and local agencies pool efforts on research, fisheries management, coral reef protection, clean beaches.

1999

L.A.Smog Litigation Settled; Houston Smoggier (Regional) The South Coast Air Quality Management District, settling 25 years of litigation, amends its smog plan with measures that EPA and environmental groups agree will keep the Los Angeles area on track to meet the national health standard for ozone by 2010. For the first time, another U.S. city (Houston) is smoggier than L.A.

U.S./Mexico Border Hazwaste Pact (National and Regional) EPA and Mexico's National Institute of Ecology signs a bi-national agreement to exchange information on hazardous and radioactive waste management sites in the border region. For the first time, both nations share information on existing waste facilities, as well as proposed new ones.

2000

Chemical Weapons Stockpile Safely Destroyed (Regional) Under strict oversight of EPA since 1990, the U.S. Army's Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) safely destroys a stockpile of about 400,000 chemical weapons. The facility, on a small island about 800 miles southwest of Hawaii, is a model for similar ones to be built on the mainland.

CALFED Bay-Delta Water Plan Approved (Regional) The five-year CALFED Bay-Delta water planning process, involving a consortium of state and federal agencies including EPA, successfully completes its comprehensive plan for managing California's rivers, dams, and canals, balancing the needs of cities and agriculture, while restoring fish, wildlife, and wetlands.

EPA To Cut Pollution From Trucks, Buses (National) EPA approves new emission standards for new heavy duty trucks and buses, which will cut their pollution 95% by the year 2010. Cleaner diesel fuel,with 97% less sulfur, must be sold by 2006. Announced Dec. 21, this action comes one year after EPA approves tougher emission standards for new Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

We invite readers to send their own ideas for top environmental stories of the past 30 years by phone (415) 947-8000, fax (415) 947-3591, or email: r9.info@epa.gov

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