The Republic of the Marshall Islands Environmental Protection Authority (RMIEPA) was created in 1984, with the mandate to preserve and improve the quality of the environment. In 1987 the Authority was combined with the National Environmental Sanitation office. The EPA operates as a government funded statutory authority with ties to the Ministry of Health and Environment. Serving today as the nation’s primary agency for environmental protection, the RMIEPA’s duties encompass the areas of nature conservation, waste disposal, public sanitation, public and marine water quality monitoring and environmental education. During the years since RMI's independence, significant progress has been made in establishing regulatory programs focussing on monitoring of development activities, monitoring the quality of marine and public water systems and public sanitation.