Diverting responsibility to others is really a fruitless exercise. What I was trying to describe is that no matter how people spin the situation, NASA was always responsible for the lives of the astronauts, no matter what the EPA did. You can never hand off the responsibility to someone else.
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover once said:
Responsibility is a unique concept: it can only reside and inhere in a single individual. You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you. You may disclaim it, but you cannot divest yourself of it. Even if you do not recognize it or admit its presence, you cannot escape it. If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance, or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the person who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible.
"Diverting responsibility to others is really a fruitless exercise."
... though very successful for enviros.