Historical eventAugust 52015

United States Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency personnel accidentally caused a spillage (aftermath pictured) of 3 million gallons (11 million litres) of mine waste water and tailings trapped inside the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.

Everything on August 5Original source

In context

When
Wednesday, August 5 201511 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2010s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2015.

What happened

History Background Stacks emitting smoke from burning discarded automobile batteries, photo taken in Houston in 1972 by Marc St. Gil , official photographer of recently founded EPA Same smokestacks in 1975 after the plant was closed in a push for greater environmental protection Beginning in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, the US Congress reacted to increasing public concern about the impact that human activity could have on the environment. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Senator James E.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was sent to the House and Senate in accordance with the Reorganization Act of 1949, in which they had 60 days to pass a disapproval resolution or the order would take effect.

August 5 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 20102010 Copiapó mining accident
  2. 2010International Assistance Mission
  3. 2011Juno (spacecraft)
  4. 2012Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting
  5. 2012Implosion of Radio Network House
  6. 2012White supremacy
  7. 20152015 Gold King Mine waste water spill
  8. 2015United States Environmental Protection Agency
  9. 2019Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir
  10. 2021Australia
  11. 2024Non-cooperation movement (2024)

Also in 2015

  • September 9Elizabeth IIElizabeth II (pictured) became the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria.
  • September 11Mecca crane collapseA crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.
  • September 12Petlawad explosionAn explosion involving illegally stored mining detonators in Petlawad, India, killed 104 people and injured more than 150 others.
  • September 14LIGOPhysicists of the LIGO and Virgo projects first observed gravitational waves, the existence of which was predicted by Henri Poincaré in 1…
  • September 14First observation of gravitational wavesThe first observation of gravitational waves is made, announced by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations on 11 February 2016.
  • September 162015 Illapel earthquakeA 8.3 Mw earthquake strikes the Chilean city of Illapel, killing 15 people, injuring at least 34, leaving at least six missing, and causi…
  • September 182015 Camp Badaber attackTwo security personnel, 17 worshippers in a mosque, and 13 militants are killed during a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attack on a Pakistan A…
  • October 222015 Trollhättan school attackA sword-wielding man attacked students and teachers at a high school in Trollhättan, killing three people in Sweden's deadliest school at…

Everything we record for 2015 →

Sources

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“United States Environmental Protection Agency”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/united-states-environmental-protection-agency-2015-august-5, accessed October 25, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did United States Environmental Protection Agency happen?

August 5 2015 — 11 years ago, on a Wednesday.

Where does this text come from?

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