116 



OoMPONrNTS or the H}PA 

 Under the terms of Reorganization Plan No. 3. 



the 



following would be moved to the new Environmental 

 Protection Agency: 



— The functions carried out by the Federal Water Qual- 

 ity Administration (from the Department of the 

 Interior) 

 — Functions with respect to pesticides studies now 



vested in the Department of the Interior. 

 — The functions carried out by the Natonal Air Pollu- 

 tion Control Administration (from the Department 

 of Health, Education, and Welfare) . 

 — The functions carried out by the Bureau of Solid 

 Waste Management and the Bureau of Water Hygiene, 

 and portions of the functions carried out by the 

 Bureau of Radiological Health of the E:nvlromnental 

 Control Administration (from the Department of 

 Health, Education and Welfare). 

 - — Certain functions with respect to pesticides carried 

 out by the Food and Drug Administration (from the 

 Department of Health, Education and Welfare). 

 ^Authority to perform studies relating to ecological 

 systems now vested in the Council on ETnvironmental 

 Quality. 

 — Certain functions respecting radiation criteria and 

 standards now vested In the Atomic Energy Com- 

 mission and the Federal Radiation Council, 

 — Functions respecting pesticides registration and re- 

 lated activities now carried out by the Agricultural 

 Research Service (from the Department of Agri- 

 culture). 

 With its broad mandate. E^PA would also develop com- 

 petence in areas of environmental protection that have 

 not previously been given enough attention, such, for 

 example, as the problem of noise, and it would provide 

 an organization to which new programs in these areas 

 could be added 



In brief, these are the principal functions to be 

 transferred : 



Federal Water Qualhty Administration — Charged 

 with the control of pollutants which impair water qual- 

 ity, it is broadly concerned with the Impact of degraded 

 water quality. It performs a wide variety of functions, 

 including research, standard-setting and .enforcement. 

 and provides construction grants and technical assltance 

 Certain Pesticides Research Authority From the 

 Department of the Interior. — Authority for research on 

 the effects of pesticides on fish and wildlife would be pro- 

 vided to the EPA through thansfer of the specialized 

 research authority of the pesticides act enacted In 1958 

 Interior would retain Its responsibility to do research 

 on all factors affecting fish and wildlife Under this pro- 

 vision, only one laboratory would be transferred to the 

 EPA — the Gulf Breeze Biological Laboratory of the Bu- 

 reau of Commercial Fisheries The EPA would work 

 closely with the fish and wildlife laboratories remaining 

 with the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife 



National Air Pollution Control Administration — As 

 the principal Federal agency concerned with air pollu- 

 tion. It conducts research on the effects of air pollution, 

 operates a monitoring network, and promulgates criteria 

 which serve as the basts for setting air quality standards 

 Its regulatory functions are similar to those of the Fed- 

 eral Water Quality Administration NAPCA Is responsible 

 for administering the Clean Air Act. which Involves des- 

 ignating air quality regions, approving State standards 

 and providing financial and technical assistance to State 

 Control agencies to enable them to comply with the 

 Act's provisions It also sets and enforces Federal auto- 

 motive emission standards. 



Elements of the Environmental Control Adminis- 

 tration — ECA Is the focal point within HEW for evalua- 

 tion and control of a broad range of environmental health 

 problems, including water quality, solid wastes, and radi- 

 ation Programs In the ECA Involve research, development 

 of criteria and standards, and the administration of plan- 

 ning and demonstration grants From the EC\. the activ- 

 ities of the Bureaus of Water Hygiene and Solid Waste 

 Management and portions of the activities of the Bureau 

 of Radiological Health would be transferred Other func- 

 tions of the ECA Including those related to the regula- 



tion of radiation from consumer products and occupa- 

 tional safety and health would remain in HEW. 



Pesticides Research and Standard-Setting Programs of 

 the Food and Drug Administration — FDA's pesticides 

 program consists of setting and enforcing standards 

 which limit pesticide residues In food. ETA would have 

 the authority to set pesticide standards and to monitor 

 compliance with them, as well as to conduct related re- 

 search However, as an Integral part of Its food protection 

 activities. FDA would retain Its authority to remove from 

 the market food with excess pesticide residues 



General Ecological Research From the Council on 

 Environmental Quality. — This authority to perform 

 studies and research relating to ecological systems would 

 be in addition to EPA's other specific research authorities, 

 and it would help EPA to measure the impact of pollu- 

 tants The Council on Environmental Quality would re- 

 tain its authority to conduct studies and research relating 

 to environmental quality. 



Environmental Radiation Standards Programs. — The 

 Atomic Energy Commission Is now responsible for estab- 

 lishing environmental radiation standards and emission 

 limits for radioactivity. Those standards have been based 

 largely on broad guidelines recommended by the Federal 

 Radiation Council. The Atomic Energy Commission's au- 

 thority to set standards for the protection of the general 

 environment from radioactive material would be trans- 

 ferred to the Environmental Protection Agency. The func- 

 tions of the Federal Radiation Council would also be 

 transferred. AEC would retain responsibility for the Im- 

 plementation and enforcement of radiation standards 

 through Its licensing authority. 



Pesticides Registration Program of the Agricultural 

 Research Service. — The Department of Agriculture Is 

 currently responsible for several distinct functions related 

 to pesticides use. It conducts research on the efficacy of 

 various pesticides as related to other pest control methods 

 and on the effects of pesticides on non-target plants, live- 

 stock, and poultry. It registers pesticides, monitors their 

 persistence and carries out an educational program on 

 pesticide use through the extension service. It conducts 

 extensive pest control programs which utilize pesticides. 



By transferring the Department of Agriculture's pesti- 

 cides registration and monitoring function to the EPA 

 and merging It with the pesticides programs being trans- 

 ferred from HEW and Interior, the new agency would be 

 given a broad capability for control over the introduction 

 of pesticides Into the environment. 



The Department of Agriculture would continue to con- 

 duct research on the effectiveness of pesticides. The De- 

 partment would furnish this Information to the BIPA. 

 which would have the responsibility for actually licens- 

 ing pesticides for use after considering environmental and 

 health effects Thus the new agency would be able to make 

 use of the expertise of the Department. 



Advantages of Reorganization 

 This reorganization would permit response to environ- 

 mental problems In a manner beyond the previous capa- 

 bility of our pollution control programs. The EPA would 

 have the capacity to do research on Important pollutants 

 irrespective of the media In which they appear, and on 

 the Impact of these pollutants on the total environment. 

 Both by Itself and together with other agencies, the EPA 

 would monitor the condition of the environment — biol- 

 ogical as well as physical. With these data, the EPA 

 would t>e able to establish quantitative "environmental 

 baselines" — critical if we are to measure adequately the 

 success or failure of our pollution abatement efforts. 



As no disjointed array of separate programs can. the 

 EPA would be able — In concert with the States — to set 

 and enforce standards for air and water quality and for 

 Individual pollutants. This consolidation of pollution 

 control authorities would help assure that we do not 

 create new environmental problems In the process of con- 

 trolling existing ones. Industries seeking to minimize the 

 adverse Impact of their activities on the environment 

 would be assured of consistent standards covering the full 

 range of their waste disposal problems As the States de- 

 velop and expand .their own pollution control programs, 

 they would be able to look to one agency to support their 



