EPA’s job is to protect America’s air, water and land. Here’s how a shutdown affects that effort

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency was already reeling from massive stuff cuts and dramatic shifts in priority and policy. “This administration has already been implementing a serial shutdown of EPA,” Symons said. The birth of EPAThe EPA was created under Republican President Richard Nixon in 1970 amid growing fears about pollution of the planet’s air, land and water. The agency’s shutdown plan calls for it to stop doing non-criminal pollution inspections needed to enforce clean air and water rules. Those are done under the Clean Air Act to make sure facilities are adequately managing the risk of chemical accidents.