evidence: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters.[2] President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order.[3] The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. [...] Establishment [edit]On July 9, 1970, Nixon proposed an executive reorganization that consolidated many environmental responsibilities of the federal government under one agency, a new Environmental Protection Agency.[13] This proposal included merging pollution control programs from a number of departments, such as the combination of pesticide programs from the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of the Interior.[14]: 5 After conducting hearings during that summer, the House and Senate approved the proposal. The EPA was created 90 days before it had to operate,[14]: 11 and officially opened its doors on December 2, 1970. The agency's first administrator, William Ruckelshaus, took the oath of office on December 4, 1970.[8] [...] - Freedman, Jeri. The Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (Cavendish Square. 2017)