Date: September 17, 2012
Source: News Room
Russell E. Train, an advocate for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its second administrator, died this week at age 92. Train originally served as Richard M. Nixon's first chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and then as administrator of the EPA under Gerald R. Ford. Under Nixon, he helped craft the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, a template for future environmental legislation that introduced environmental impact statements as a requirement for federal projects. He argued successfully for the creation of the EPA empowered to execute and regulate the nation's new program of safeguarding natural resources and protecting public health.
He also had a hand in the passage of various landmark environmental laws including the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973. While at EPA (from 1973 to 1977), he helped pass the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act and directing early implementation of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System to protect the nation's waters.
After leaving government he became president of the World Wildlife Fund's US affiliate and helped transform the organization into a more global force for conservation. "Russell Train's life and work were dedicated to protecting American families and communities from pollution and environmental threats, and his leadership helped set the path for the ongoing work of the EPA," said current EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. "As a dedicated public servant, he always rose above partisan politics, and remained a respected and vocal supporter of conservation and environmental protection into the last years of his life."
EPA PRESS RELEASE
September 17, 2012
Statement by EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on Passing of Former EPA Administrator Russell E. Train
My EPA colleagues and I were sad to learn about the passing of former EPA Administrator Russell E. Train, and the thoughts and prayers of the entire agency are with his family, friends and loved ones today. Russell Train's life and work were dedicated to protecting American families and communities from pollution and environmental threats, and his leadership helped set the path for the ongoing work of the EPA. His years with the agency saw landmark environmental achievements whose impacts are still felt, like the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the initial implementation of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System that protects our nation's waters. He helped pave the way for gas mileage improvements and the adoption of the catalytic converter, and engaged the American people in ensuring the health of the places where we live and work. As a dedicated public servant, he always rose above partisan politics, and remained a respected and vocal supporter of conservation and environmental protection into the last years of his life. I was proud to count him as a friend, and I will continue to work to honor his remarkable legacy.
For more information, contact:
press@epa.gov.
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