Power, Lost and Found: America At Century’s End 515trayed as a nightmare, simply involved moderate limits on carbon monoxide,
bus and truck noise, and hazardous waste rules that were put into place dur-
ing the 1970s and were not strictly enforced to begin with. They certainly
did not inhibit industrial production.
Nevertheless, Reagan approved mass reductions of federal environmental
protections in a three-pronged attack of deregulation, defunding, and devolu-
tion. Deregulation simply meant that the administration halted the creation
of new government statues and relaxed or removed existing ones. Defunding
involved large cuts in environmental protection funding as well as large tax
cuts to prevent future spending. It also meant that the EPA staff was reduced
and research funding cut. Devolution included turning over federal environ-
mental policy to state and local governments [Reagan also cut state funding
by some 47 percent] or simply abandoning government programs all together.
Deregulation, defunding, and devolution were all decided upon unilaterally by
the administration, without congressional or public support. Reagan issued a
moratorium on new regulations and appointed a Regulatory Relief Task Force
chaired by Vice President George H.W. Bush to review and reverse regulations
made during the previous decade. Bush, with the help of industrial leaders,
developed a “hit list” of which regulations to remove first. The result: all
automobile industry, hazardous waste, industrial pretreatment of wastewater
released into public sewers, and pesticide registration regulations were
removed. Regulations on lead, one of the most common and dangerous tox-
ins, in gas were also reduced, despite the damaging affects this would have on
the health of urban children. Reagan also placed his friends, most of who
had no experience in managing large organizations and had no expertise in
the ecosystem, in key positions. The Reagan administration thus deliberately
appointed people without experience or knowledge. “Such people,” as
Andrews explained, “would carry out Reagan’s deregulation agenda on auto-
pilot.” The Reagan administration produced deep and lasting negative affects
to environmental policy and the EPA, which now had a reputation for cor-
ruption, scandal and distrust.
A public backlash against Reagan’s wave of deregulation formed before his
first term had even ended. His attack on environmental policy was becoming
a policy failure and a political embarrassment to his administration. Even the
conservative National Wildlife Federation, a group in which 70 percent of its
members had voted for Reagan, publicly condemned his policies. The presi-