Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA is the principal U.S. federal agency for environmental protection. With approximately 15,000 employees and a $9 billion budget (less than half its 1978 inflation-adjusted peak), the agency regulates air quality, water quality, chemical safety, and hazardous waste. It has been a primary target of deregulation efforts across Republican administrations.
The EPA demonstrates the vulnerability of regulatory agencies to political whiplash. Major rules are reversed with each administration change - 78 environmental policies reversed in Trump's first term alone. West Virginia v. EPA (2022) established the 'major questions doctrine,' limiting agency authority without explicit Congressional authorization.
EPA has had the slowest Senate confirmation rate of any major agency - 25 of 37 Trump nominees had industry ties. Administrator Andrew Wheeler was a former coal lobbyist. Budget has declined 17% in inflation-adjusted terms since 2010. Enforcement personnel fell 48% from 2010 to 2023. Civil enforcement cases hit 40-year low in 2019.
Key Facts
Power Dynamics
Broad authority under Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA
Severely constrained by West Virginia v. EPA (2022); industry challenges most major rules; budget controlled by hostile Congress; political appointees often from regulated industries
- Supreme Court 'major questions doctrine'
- Congressional appropriations
- Industry lawsuits
- State non-implementation
- Industry revolving door
- State environmental agencies (implementation partners)
- Environmental NGOs (litigation allies)
Revenue Structure
Environmental Protection Agency Revenue Sources
- Congressional appropriations 95%
- Fees and fines 5% ↻
Entirely dependent on appropriations from Congress where fossil fuel interests have significant lobbying power
Unlike FDA, no industry user fees; entirely subject to political funding battles
Decision Dynamics at Environmental Protection Agency
Emergency orders for acute contamination (Flint, East Palestine) in days/weeks
Clean Power Plan took 5+ years, reversed, still litigated; PFAS regulations decades delayed
Notice-and-comment rulemaking; cost-benefit analysis requirements; litigation; administration changes
Failure Modes of Environmental Protection Agency
- Flint water crisis (ignored for 18 months)
- East Palestine derailment response criticized
- Superfund cleanup backlog
- 78 policies reversed in Trump first term
- Political whiplash reverses rules each administration
- Budget/staff decline limits enforcement
- Major questions doctrine limits authority
- Industry capture via appointments
If climate change requires rapid regulatory response, EPA lacks legal authority and political independence to act
Biological Parallel
Like an immune system where half the body attacks the other half. EPA's authority oscillates with elections - one administration builds capacity, the next dismantles it. The 'major questions doctrine' is like autoimmune disease where the body's own defenses (courts) attack its protective organs (regulatory agencies). Staff morale plummets as their work is repeatedly undone.
Key Agencies
Air quality and climate regulation
Water quality and drinking water
Environmental enforcement