Environmental Affairs Agency

Administrative History

The Environmental Affairs Agency was formed through a series of executive actions in the 1970s, in order to maintain and enforce existing environmental laws in California. The agency played an integral part in the development of California's environmental policies, some of which were the first of their kind nationwide. However, the agency was never formally established in statute, and its haphazard development reflected the fragmented nature of California's early environmental policies. Beginning in the 1950s, environmental programs were created by statute and focused on singular issues, like air pollution. These programs were scattered throughout a variety of different agencies, which presented a significant obstacle in implementing a comprehensive environmental plan for the state. In 1961, Governor Pat Brown reorganized the executive branch of California's government and placed all existing environmental quality programs, commissions and departments within the Resources Agency. Created to improve California's natural resources through careful use and conservation, the formation and organization of the Resources Agency marked the first attempt to consolidate the state's environmental programs.

The formation of cohesive federal and state environmental regulatory agencies was largely the consequence of a significant environmental disaster. The horrific 1969 oil spill in the Santa Barbara Channel off the California coast galvanized public opinion in favor of more stringent environmental protection laws. As a result, President Nixon created the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. Most states, including California, worked to develop comparable programs. Governor Jerry Brown submitted the first proposal for an Environmental Quality Agency to the Little Hoover Commission as part of the Governor's Reorganization Plan of 1975. The program would have abolished the State Air Resources Board and the Solid Waste Management Board, and transferred the State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards from the Resources Agency to the Environmental Quality Agency. The reorganization plan failed to win support in the Legislature, and was defeated. In response, Governor Brown created the cabinet-level post of Secretary of Environmental Affairs through Executive Order B2-75, and appointed Air Resources Board Chair A. Thomas Quinn to the position. The order stipulated that the Air Resources Board, the Water Resources Control Board, and the Solid Waste Management Board "communicate" with the Governor through the Secretary of Environmental Affairs. Legislation was later passed that reinforced the appointee's dual role as Chair of the Air Resources Board and Secretary of Environmental Affairs. Under the direction of the secretary, the Environmental Quality Agency proceeded to grow and function without statutory authority.

The Environmental Quality Agency became the Environmental Affairs Agency in 1983. Many attempts were made to establish the agency in statute during the administration of Governor George Deukmejian, but none were successful. As such, budgeting required borrowing funds from the boards coordinated by Environmental Affairs. Despite its lack of designated financial resources, the agency persisted in its goals to maintain and enforce the state's environmental laws, and to provide clean air and water to California's citizens. Functions were continually added to the office of the Secretary of Environmental Affairs. In addition to chairing the Air Resources Board, the secretary was appointed to serve as the Governor's Outer Continental Shelf Policy Advisor, charged with reviewing offshore oil and gas development proposals and providing policy advice. The secretary also oversaw the operations of the three environmental boards under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Affairs Agency: the Air Resources Board, the Water Resources Control Board, and the California Waste Management Board. Staff and facilities were made available to the secretary in order to carry out the responsibilities of the position.

Although it functioned as a state agency, the Environmental Affairs Agency was not as large or as well defined as other state agencies created by statutory authority. In 1991, Governor Pete Wilson proposed a reorganization plan that provided for the continuation of the programs formerly under the Environmental Affairs Agency, as well as additional programs, administered by the new Secretary for Environmental Protection. The secretary would no longer chair the Air Resources Board. The plan received mixed support; the agricultural industry, environmental groups and other special interest industries were divided over the proposed regulatory agency. Before the plan could be rejected, a freight train derailed near Redding and spilled thousands of gallons of toxic materials into the Sacramento River. The Environmental Affairs Agency successfully coordinated the response efforts, and demonstrated the necessity for an environmental regulatory agency. The Governor's Reorganization Plan went into effect in July 1991, and the Environmental Affairs Agency became the California Environmental Protection Agency.

The Secretaries for the Environmental Affairs Agency were as follows:

Environmental Quality Agency

A. Thomas Quinn, 1975-1979

Mary D. Nichols, 1979-1983

Environmental Affairs Agency

Gordon Duffy, 1983-1985

Jananne Sharpless, 1985-1991

*Chair, Air Resources Board, 1985-1993

Environmental Protection Agency

James M. Strock, 1991-1994

From the guide to the Environmental Affairs Agency Records, 1972-1994, (California State Archives)