Do We Still Need the EPA?

• Author: Gaby, Keith
• Position: Debate

The Environmental Protection Agency, created in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, is responsible for enforcing environmental regulations passed by Congress. The EPA has the power to fine companies that pollute the nation's air and water and to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change.

But some politicians, including President Trump, believe the laws enforced by the EPA stifle economic growth, and that the agency should be scaled back, or even abolished altogether. Environmentalists, however, say the EPA has a key role to play and is as necessary as ever. Here, an environmentalist and a scientist at an organization that promotes limited government square off about the EPA.

YES

Next time your parents or your grandparents tell you about the good old days, tell them they're wrong--at least when it comes to our environment. Before the Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970, air pollution was so thick in some cities that it was hard to see or breathe. Rivers caught fire because of all the pollution in them.

America is dramatically cleaner today. It didn't happen because companies voluntarily cut pollution; it happened because of strong national environmental laws that were enforced by the EPA.

Every year, rigorous enforcement of the Clean Air Act alone prevents more than 160,000 premature deaths due to heart attacks, lung disease, and other health problems, according to an EPA report. And the value of the benefits--from higher productivity to avoided deaths and fewer sick days--is more than 30 times greater than the costs, according to the EPA. Toxic lead, which harms brain development and causes behavioral problems, has dropped dramatically in our air, in part because of the EPA's work to remove it from gasoline.

Having national rules from the EPA is critically important. Without federal standards, federal enforcement, and federal support of scientific research, pollution would be out of control. Without the EPA, it would be harder to stop the vast amount of air pollution that crosses state borders, or deal with pollution dumped in rivers, lakes, and oceans that touch many states. What's more, states would be tempted to lower their pollution standards in the competition to attract companies, rather than having a level playing field with the same high environmental standards enforced nationally.

There's still much more to be done on lead, air pollution, toxic chemicals, and especially climate change. We need a strong EPA to...