doi:10.7916/enes-mf74Oral history interview with Gina McCarthy, 2020McCarthy, Ginaoral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesPublic health--United StatesEnergy industries--Environmental aspectsFossil fuels--Environmental aspectsAutomobiles--Fuel consumption--United StatesGreenhouse gas mitigation--United StatesClimatic changes--United StatesClimate change mitigation--United StatesEnvironmental protection--United StatesEnvironmental policy--United StatesHydraulic fracturing--United StatesWater quality management--MichiganLead poisoning--MichiganMcCarthy, GinaObama, BarackClean Power Plan (U.S.)Keystone XL ProjectUnited States. Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States. Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental JusticeGina McCarthy reflects on her career in environmental protection and regulation, and discusses her contribution to the environmental policy of the Obama administration, in which she served as assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for air and radiation from 2009 to 2013 and as EPA administrator from 2013 to 2017. McCarthy remembers the origins of her interests in public health and environmental protection, and recounts experiences from her career prior to the Obama presidency that informed her work at the EPA. She outlines the structure and organization of the EPA, and describes the agency's role in the federal establishment of environmental standards, the implementation of state-level rules, and the federal response to natural and industrial disasters. McCarthy speaks widely about notable issues and initiatives with which she was closely involved, and provides details about the tightening of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards; efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation and energy sectors; the development and release of the administration's Climate Action Plan and Clean Power Plan; the proposed extension of the Keystone XL pipeline system; and the work of the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice. McCarthy also remembers the process by which she became EPA administrator and conversations with Obama about his focus on taking action to avert the worst effects of climate change during his second presidential term. Also discussed are the political status of the EPA, the distribution of authority for environmental regulation and protection across the federal government, the administration's approach to hydraulic fracturing and domestic natural gas production, and the water crisis in Flint, Michigan