Similar forces have transformed environmental policy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does very little itself. The Justice Department litigates on its behalf. Private contractors clean toxic waste sites in the Superfund program. State governments do much of the enforcement. Congress mandates the EPA to set national environmental standards, and the EPA conducts some enforcement activity. Despite its image in the popular (and sometimes congressional) mind, most of the EPA's important functions occur through partnerships with the states and private contractors