page_title: William Ruckelshaus
section_title: EPA Administrator (1970–1973)
hierarchical_section_title: William Ruckelshaus / EPA Administrator (1970–1973)
caption_attribution_description: English: William Ruckelshaus swearing in as the first Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Seen from left to right: President Richard M. Nixon, William Ruckelshaus, Jill Ruckelshaus (wife), Chief Justice Warren Burger.
context_page_description: William Doyle Ruckelshaus was an American attorney and government official.
  Ruckelshaus was the first Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency from 1970 to 1973. He subsequently served as acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then as U.S. Deputy Attorney General. In October 1973, in what became known as the "Saturday Night Massacre", Ruckelshaus, along with U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson, resigned from their positions rather than obey the order of President Richard Nixon to fire the independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, tasked with investigating Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal. Ruckelshaus later returned as EPA Administrator from 1983 to 1985.
context_section_description: Ruckelshaus became the United States Environmental Protection Agency's first Administrator when the agency was formed on December 2, 1970, by President Nixon. Although many people were mentioned as possibilities for this new position, Ruckelshaus got the nod based upon the strong recommendation of the U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell. Ruckelhaus had been suggested in a Newsweek opinion column by a friend without his knowledge, after which he approached Mitchell about the position.
  The burning of the Cuyahoga River had created a national outcry; the Justice Department under Mitchell filed a civil lawsuit against the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company "for discharging substantial quantities of cyanide into the Cuyahoga" at Ruckelshaus' request, seeking an injunction "to halt the discharge of these deleterious materials into the river...."
  Also during his first tenure at the EPA, Ruckelshaus advocated for and enacted a ban on the insecticide DDT.
  Ruckelshaus laid the foundation for the EPA by hiring its leaders, defining its mission, deciding on priorities, and selecting an organizational structure. He also oversaw the implementation of the Clean Air Act of 1970.
caption: Ruckelshaus sworn in as first EPA Administrator. The people in the photo from left to right are: President Richard M. Nixon, William Ruckelshaus, Jill Ruckelshaus, and Chief Justice Warren Burger.
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