EPA was established in 1970 (www.epa.gov/history) to ensure environmental protection through research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement.  EPA administers several environmental laws that protect the health of the American people and the environment in which they live, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

EPA, has been participating member of MRLC since the mid-1990s because understanding the dynamics of land cover is important to environmental protection.  EPA’s EnviroAtlas project is one of many in which land cover plays an important role in promoting the health and welfare of the nation.  The EnviroAtlas is an online portal of geographic data that citizens can use to understand the benefits that people derive from nature.