William D. Ruckelshaus: Oral History Interview

This publication inaugurates a series of oral history interviews with the Environmental Protection Agency's administrators and deputy administrators. The EPA History Program has undertaken this project in order to preserve, distill, and disseminate the main experiences and insights of the men and women who have led the agency. EPA decision-makers and staff, related government entities, the environmental community, scholars, and the general public, will all profit from these recollections. Separately, each of the interviews will describe the perspectives of particular leaders. Collectively, these reminiscences will illustrate the dynamic nature of EPA's historic mission; the personalities and institutions which have shaped its outlook; the context of the times in which it has operated; and some of the agency's principal achievements and shortcomings.

The techniques used to prepare the EPA oral history series conform to the practices commonly observed by professional historians. The questions, submitted in advance, are broad and open-ended, and the answers are preserved on audio tape. Once transcripts of the recordings are completed, the History Program staff edits the manuscripts to improve clarity, factual accuracy, and logical progression. The finished manuscripts are then returned to the interviewees, who may alter the text to eliminate errors made during transcription of the tapes, or during the editorial phase of preparation.

A collaborative work such as this incurs many debts. Kathy Petruccelli, Director of EPA's Management and Organization Division, sought support for transcription, travel, and printing costs. Her superiors--John Chamberlin, Director of the Office of Administration, and Christian Holmes, Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management--provided the necessary funds. The History Program's researcher, Rebecca Jamison, designed the page layout. Finally, the crucial contributions of two EPA administrators must be recognized: William K. Reilly, who began the EPA History Program; and William Ruckelshaus himself, whose candor and insight set a high standard indeed for the volumes to follow.

William D. Ruckelshaus: Oral History Interview

Contents

Foreword

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