EPA History: Documents about Agency Accomplishments

From regulating auto emissions to banning the use of DDT; from cleaning up toxic waste to protecting the ozone layer; from increasing recycling to revitalizing inner-city brownfields, EPA's achievements have resulted in cleaner air, purer water, and better protected land.

This page provides links to reports, speeches, websites and other information about EPA's achievements through its history. Often this information is published to mark a major EPA anniversary.

Note: The resources listed below are available for historical reference only. Page layout may differ for older documents and some links may be broken.

You can also read milestones in EPA and environmental history on the timeline.

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 50th Anniversary Commemoration Event Brochure (pdf) (11.1 MB, December 2, 2020)

• EPA in 2009: Progress Report

• EPA Celebrates the Nation's Cleaner Environment on its 35th Anniversary / EPA celebra el medio ambiente más limpio de la nación durante su 35to aniversario - press releases in English and Spanish celebrating the 35th anniversary

• January 18, 2006 Remarks of Administrator Steve Johnson at the 35th Anniversary Celebration

• Six Months of Environmental Progress, January 20 to July 20, 2001 - July 20, 2001

• EPA's 30th Anniversary Celebrated - January 19, 2001

• 30 Years of U.S. Environmental Protection - April 17, 2000 speech by Carol M. Browner

• Statement on EPA's 25th Anniversary - December 1, 1995 press release

• A Look at EPA Accomplishments: 25 Years of Protecting Public Health and the Environment - December 1, 1995 press release

• U.S. EPA's 25th Anniversary Report: 1970-1995

• Environmental Quality: The Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report of the Council on Environmental Quality (PDF) (NARA.gov)

• EPA: A Retrospective - November 29, 1990 press release

• EPA: Twenty Years Young - December 3, 1990 speech by William K. Reilly

• Celebrating 15 Years of Progress - December 1985 EPA Times article

• EPA History (1970-1985) - November 1985 article by Phil Wisman

• Past, Present, and Future - November 1985 EPA Journal interview with Lee M. Thomas

• History as Seen by the Regional Administrators - November 1985 EPA Journal article

• What is the most significant environmental achievement of the past decade? - Nov./Dec. 1980 EPA Journal article in which the journal asked this question of a broad spectrum of Americans leaders.