It's not like environmental law began with the EPA. Like most such organizations, it initially consolidated a bunch of existing responsibilities under one roof.

It's not like environmental law began with the EPA. Like most such organizations, it initially consolidated a bunch of existing responsibilities under one roof. There was a direct predecessor organization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Health_Divisions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Health_Divisions What actually changed was that the public became more concerned about pollution, and politicians reacted to that.