This is the sixth in a series of seven posts about regulatory compliance priorities and enforcement trends.  The first post was about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  The second post was about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  The third post was about the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).  The fourth post was about the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).  Last week’s post was about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  Today’s post will be about the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Finally, the seventh post, on Thursday February 1, will be about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the US regulator charged with supervising and enforcing federal laws concerning human health and the environment.  The USDA was created in 1970 by an order of President Richard Nixon in the course of an executive reorganization that consolidated a number of offices and councils that were created by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.  The EPA has never been formally elevated to executive cabinet status but is often accorded this rank operationally anyway.