The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a federal agency of the United States created by the legislative and executive branches in 1970 to implement key environmental legislation.

The EPA has split the United States into 10 different regions to oversee the state implementation of and assist in the enforcing of the major federal regulations created by the following legislation:

1. National Enviornmental Policy Act of 1969 2. The Clean Air Act of 1970 and its amendments 3. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 4. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 5. The Clean Water Act of 1977 and many more. The EPA has worked diligently to reduce the amount of polluntants in the air, water, and earth of the United States despite having severe trouble because of bugetary limitations forced upon them by Congress and the public's general apathy. Each state has a state agency or organization that works to implement the federal regulations and any state regulations at the local level. Among these organizations are the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA), and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).