What You Need to Know About Michael Regan and the EPA

On March 10, 2021, Michael S. Regan was confirmed as head of the EPA. Earthjustice outlines Regan's background in environmental advocacy and identifies key priorities for the agency, including the restoration of the National Environmental Policy Act, stricter chemical pollution standards, and a transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy that prioritizes marginalized communities.

• Michael S. Regan was confirmed as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 10, 2021. His professional history includes serving as the top official at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, as an associate vice president for clean energy and Southeast regional director at the Environmental Defense Fund, and in air quality and energy programs at the EPA during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
• The EPA's primary responsibilities include enforcing national standards on harmful pollutants, overseeing hazardous waste containment (such as chemical and oil spills), reviewing marketplace chemicals for safety, and ensuring clean air, land, and water via the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. The agency also serves as a research and investigative body that provides science-based information on chemicals and industry pollution to the public.
• Earthjustice identifies three critical priorities for the EPA under Michael Regan: adopting stricter standards and monitoring for chemical pollution, restoring the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to ensure public participation in environmental decisions after it was weakened by the Trump administration, and pursuing an equitable transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy that prioritizes communities of color and low-income communities.
• Earthjustice describes the Trump administration as the most anti-environmental administration in at least 50 years, noting that the organization filed over 100 lawsuits against it during the preceding four years.

APA

Earthjustice (2021). What You Need to Know About Michael Regan and the EPA. https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-michael-regan-and-the-epa

Chicago

Earthjustice. What You Need to Know About Michael Regan and the EPA. 2021. https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-michael-regan-and-the-epa.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=What You Need to Know About Michael Regan and the EPA |date=10 March 2021 |url=https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-michael-regan-and-the-epa |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2021what, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{What You Need to Know About Michael Regan and the EPA}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-michael-regan-and-the-epa}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }