<P> The United States Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA or sometimes U.S. EPA ) is an agency of the federal government of the United States which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress . President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA and it began operation on December 2 , 1970 , after Nixon signed an executive order . The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate . The agency is led by its Administrator , who is appointed by the President and approved by Congress . The current Administrator is Scott Pruitt . The EPA is not a Cabinet department , but the Administrator is normally given cabinet rank . </P>
which president supported the creation of the environmental protection agency ( epa )
President Richard Nixon