Douglas M. Costle: Oral History Interview

Interview conducted by Dr. Dennis Williams on August 4-5, 1996, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, McLean, Virginia, and at Douglas M. Costle's home in Vermont

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Foreword

This publication is the fifth in a series of interviews of EPA leaders that includes William Ruckelshaus, Russell Train, Alvin Alm, and William Reilly. The EPA history program undertook this project 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 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 the transcription of the tapes, or during the editorial phase of preparation.

Douglas M. Costle: Oral History Interview

Contents

Foreword

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