washington business
In Their Words
William D. Ruckelshaus was the first administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency when it was formed
under President Nixon in 1970, and served as its fifth
administrator when President Reagan appointed him to the
position again in 1983. Washington Business’ Jason Hagey
sat down with Ruckelshaus to talk about the current state
of the agency, which has come under harsh criticism for its
aggressive regulations.
What do you think of the criticism
being directed at the EPA, particularly from
Republican presidential hopefuls?
William D. Ruckelshaus
Well, I think that really reflects the attitude of their
constituents. When the EPA was first formed in 1970,
there was overwhelming public concern about the
environment. We had “smell, touch and feel” problems
back in those days. I mean, literally, you could see the
pollution. You had flammable rivers. The Cuyahoga
River caught on fire. There were terrible smog problems caused largely by the automobile in places like
Los Angeles and even Washington, D.C. There wa