The only published work that treats the historical evolution of EPA enforcement, this book provides a candid inside glimpse of a crucial aspect of the work of an important federal agency. Based on 190 personal interviews with present and former enforcement officials at EPA, the U.S. Department of Justice, and key congressional staff members—along with extensive research among EPA documents and secondary sources—the book vividly recounts the often tumultuous history of EPA’s enforcement program. It also analyzes some important questions regarding EPA’s institutional relationships and the Agency’s working environment.

This revised and updated edition adds substantial new chapters examining EPA enforcement during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. Its treatment of issues of civil service decline and the applicability of captive agency theory is also new and original.

A former EPA attorney and chief attorney, Mintz is Professor of Law at Nova Southeastern University Law Center, where he teaches environmental law and related courses. He has authored or coauthored six other books, as well as numerous journal articles, on environmental enforcement, sustainability, and state and local taxation and finance.

• Acknowledgments
• Chapter One. Introduction
• Chapter Two. "Where the Rubber Hits the Road and Everything Else Hits the Fan": A Brief Description of EPA's Enforcement Process and the Superfund Program
• Chapter Three. Heavy Seas before the Maelstrom: EPA Enforcement in the 1970s
• Chapter Four. Destruction, Confusion, Confrontation, and Disarray: EPA Enforcement and Congressional Oversight in the Gorsuch Era
• Chapter Five. "Away from the Brink"--But Not Out of the Woods: EPA Enforcement from 1983 to 1989
• Chapter Six. Modest Progress and Renewed Suspicion: EPA Enforcement in the Bush I Administration
• Chapter Seven. "Neither the Best of Times nor the Worst of Times": EPA Enforcement during the Clinton Administration
• Chapter Eight. Suspicions, Schisms, and Partial Revival: EPA Enforcement during the Bush II Administration
• Chapter Nine. Lessons Learned: Some Observations on Congressional Oversight, Organizational Structure, Management Approaches, and Career Staff Trends
• Chapter Ten. Did Industry Capture EPA Enforcement? Captive Agency Theory and Its (Partial) Applicability
• Chapter Eleven. EPA Enforcement in the Context of Federal Civil Service Decline
• Appendix A. Persons Interviewed
• Appendix B. Government Service Job Titles of Individuals Interviewed by Author
• Appendix C. Standard Interview Questionnaire in Interviews Prior to 2003
• Appendix D. Standard Interview Questions Asked in All Interviews Beginning in 2003
• Notes
• Index