About EPA
EPA Accomplishments
Presidential Award for Management Excellence Awards
The Presidential Award for Management Excellence - the President's Quality Award (PQA) - is the highest award given to Executive Branch agencies for management excellence. The award was established in 1988 to recognize excellence in quality and productivity. EPA has received four PQA honors over the years:
- 2002 - Finalist in "Budget Performance Integration" Category
- 2003 - Winner in "Improved Financial Performance" Category
- 2007 - Winner of "Overall Management" Category
- 2008 - Winner of "Overall Management" Category
With the 2008 award, EPA became the first federal winner of "Overall Management" category back to back, and became a model for other federal agencies by operating with a results-oriented, data-driven, performance management approach. The awards were discontinued after 2008.
Christine Todd Whitman, Russell E. Train, William Ruckelshaus, Stephen L. Johnson (from left to right) at the 35th anniversary celebration.
Commemorating EPA's 20th Anniversary, December 3, 1990, Arena Stage, Washington, DC. Left to Right: William K. Reilly, Lee M. Thomas, James Gustave Speth, Julie Belaga, Russell E. Train, William D. Ruckelshaus.
William K. Reilly and Hank Habicht cutting birthday cake at EPA's 20th Anniversary celebration
From regulating auto emissions to banning the use of DDT; from cleaning up toxic waste to protecting the ozone layer; from increasing recycling to revitalizing inner-city brownfields, EPA's achievements have resulted in cleaner air, purer water, and better protected land.
This page provides links to reports, speeches, websites and other information about EPA's achievements through its history. Often this information is published to mark a major EPA anniversary.
You can also view milestones in EPA and environmental history on the timeline on the EPA History home page.
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EPA@40: Healthier Families, Cleaner Communities, A Stronger America - website created for 40th anniversary
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Cleaner Air, Water and Land - EPA's 35-Year Legacy and Future Promise - column written by Region 1 Administrator Robert Varney
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EPA Celebrates the Nation's Cleaner Environment on its 35th Anniversary / EPA celebra el medio ambiente más limpio de la nación durante su 35to aniversario - press releases in English and Spanish celebrating the 35th anniversary
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January 18, 2006 Remarks of Administrator Steve Johnson at the 35th Anniversary Celebration
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Six Months of Environmental Progress, January 20 to July 20, 2001 - July 20, 2001
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EPA's 30th Anniversary Celebrated - January 19, 2001
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30 Years of U.S. Environmental Protection - April 17, 2000 speech by Carol M. Browner
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Statement on EPA's 25th Anniversary - December 1, 1995 press release
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A Look at EPA Accomplishments: 25 Years of Protecting Public Health and the Environment - December 1, 1995 press release
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U.S. EPA's 25th Anniversary Report: 1970-1995 (PDF) (63pp, 1.6MB, About PDF)
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Environmental Quality: The Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report of the Council on Environmental Quality (PDF) (About PDF, 11 pp, 165K)
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The Environmental Protection Agency: A Retrospective - November 29, 1990 press release
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EPA: Twenty Years Young - December 3, 1990 speech by William K. Reilly
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Celebrating 15 Years of Progress - December 1985 EPA Times article
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EPA History (1970-1985) - November 1985 article by Phil Wisman
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Past, Present, and Future - November 1985 EPA Journal interview with Lee M. Thomas
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History as Seen by the Regional Administrators - November 1985 EPA Journal article
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Landmarks: What is the most significant environmental achievement of the past decade? - Nov./Dec. 1980 EPA Journal article