As Others See Us

[EPA Journal - Nov./Dec. 1975]

Congratulations from William D. Ruckelshaus to EPA Administrator Russell E. Train

My congratulations to you and to EPA upon the passing of the Agency's fifth anniversary. As I reflect on those initial days at EPA it sometimes seems like five decades instead of five years when it all began. In retrospect we started with high hopes and great excitement and some naivete, but in the annals of Federal agencies I think few will be able to point to the accomplishment of so much is such a short time.

As the first Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality you were certainly there at the beginning and know first-hand what has been done since Earth Day of 1970. We have seen the passage of massive changes in federal laws involving air pollution, water pollution, solid waste, pesticides and noise. These Federal changes have been accompanied by similar shifts in the state and local laws and regulations. Most important, the American people have awakened to the threats to their environment. Much of the stewardship of turning the rhetoric and legislation into the reality of environmental cleanup has fallen to EPA. I believe this task has been performed by the thousands of EPA employees at a level of dedication and competence unmatched in the federal government.

The Agency can take great pride in what it has accomplished and all its employees can truly say to generations yet to come, "We have done our best to make your world better than ours." When you think about it, not many can say the same.

My congratulations to you, Russ, for your able leadership of EPA and to all the employees of the Agency who continue to labor for the betterment of mankind.

William D. Ruckelshaus

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