President Richard Nixon

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an agency of the
federal government which was created for the purpose of protecting
human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations
based on laws passed by Congress.The EPA was proposed by President
Richard Nixon and began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon
signed an executive order (above). The new agency was led by its first
director, William Ruckelshaus (below).

William D. Ruckelshaus