What's weird is how common it was to have completely polluted rivers inside US cities.

And how Nixon needed to make it an Agency first because he didn't want Congress to have a Department of the Environment which would be out of control from the executive.

And how that has shaped the US environmental plans by making it a bargaining chip of the executive rather than a foundational aspect of our representative government.

Disband the EPA and create a Department of The Environment under Congress. Executive Orders do not have the gravitas required for a solid policy.