The EPA is a classic example of what happens when “moderate” Republicans are in charge.
In the beginning it helped clean up incredibly dirty rivers and extreme and dangerous pollution of various types.
In a few decades it has morphed into a monster telling people how much water can be used by their toilets.
That’s the danger in any government entity. When people post global warming nonsense, I always ask, how does writing a check to the govt “fix” it? How do we know when its “fixed?” And name a govt entity that was disbanded after its core objectives were met.
The solution to seriously polluted rivers was to stop the additions of pollutants and dilution. Very little else was done. The Corps of Engineers or Department of Interior could have done the job of EPA and then gotten back to their core mission.
Politicians and high profile CEOs don't do things in a small, quiet, practical and efficient way. They don't like to use the tools at hand, just not spectacular enough and are a closet admission of their inattention to problems. They have to make a headline and so they create monsters and monuments to their stupidity and arrogance. That is how superfluous irritations and trouble makers like EPA get started.
Tricky Dick also gave us OSHA and the NTSB as part of his legacy. Nixon was as much a big gooberment wonk as many now.