EPA-901-R-96-001
A REPORT TO THE PUBLIC
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This report is dedicated to the memory of
U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine
1914-1996.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, Library (PL-12J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard. 12th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
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THE 1996 STATE OF THE NEW ENGLAND
ENVIRONMENT is published by:
The Environmental Protection Agency
Region I, New England
Public Affairs
John F. Kennedy Building
Boston, MA 02203
617-565-3400
PROJECT MANAGER
Diane Switzer
EPA REGION I, NEW ENGLAND
POLICY COORDINATOR
John Palfrey
EPA REGION I, NEW ENGLAND
GRAPHICS SUPPORT
Heather Surface
MTI
TECHNICAL EDITORS
Chris Paterson & Sue Thomas
GREEN MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRACY
A special thanks to EPA New England office
personnel for their valuable contributions to
this report, including the following:
Norm Belom, Janine Burke, Greg Charest,
Tom D'Avanzo, Lucy Edmondson, Chuck
Franks, Greg Hellyer, Leo Kay, Diane Kelley,
Katrina Kipp, Matt Liebman, Wendy
McDougall, Rosemary Monahan, Marv
Rosenstein, Carol Wood, Alan Van Arsdale
All data is from EPA or individual New
England states unless otherwise noted.
Thank you to the following organizations for
information contained in this report:
NATIONAL OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC
ADMINISTRATION,THE NATURE CON-
SERVANCY, UNIVERSITY OF CON-
NECTICUT, COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
SYSTEM, U.S. GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTING OFFICE
This report was printed with vegetable based
inks on recycled and recyclable paper.
2 United States Environmental Protection Agency
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Open Letter to the People of New England - 4
- J"
Preserving New England's Natural Resources - 6
- 6
- 1C
titin - 16
ig
Building Environmental Stewardship - 21
Restoring Contaminated Sites - 26
New Directions - 28
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Open Letter to the People of New England
Every region of America has something that makes it unique. The characteristic that most clearly sets New England apart from the
rest of the country is its rich blend of tradition and modernity, pressing against one another in the context of a fragile, strikingly
beautiful natural setting. We as New Englanders define ourselves by that tension, in a way our desire to grow and to thrive with-
out sacrificing the environment we hold in common.
For more than three centuries, we have worked hard to preserve New England's natural resources. Today, we must work harder
than ever to protect that environment. Our population continues to grow, hitting new record highs every day. As a consequence,
we drive more miles in our cars, we consume more resources, we create more waste, and we place greater pressure on the land on
which we live.
Last year, EPA's New England office issued the first State of the New England Environment report, which detailed the many envi-
ronmental successes we have achieved over the last quarter century, provided a glimpse of the environmental challenges we face
today, and offered some new directions in environmental protection policy to meet those challenges. We promised to update that
report every year to give the hard-working taxpayers of New England an analysis of where we are in the ongoing effort to pre-
serve and enhance our environment and a justification of how we are spending the federal money they have entrusted to us.
The State of the Environment Report for 1996 is another step toward making good on that commitment. Between its covers, we
offer an update on where we are and where we're headed and, importantly, how we plan to get there.
Our goal at EPA in New England remains the same as it was when the agency was created in 1970, but our approaches, as they must,
are changing to keep up with changing times. We are focused more on places and industries rather than on rules; on people and
communities rather than on regulations. And, most important, we are keenly committed to building partnerships and camaraderie
rather than dictating outcomes from on-high.
This report catalogues some of these new directions. Our ongoing efforts to turn EPA's New England office into a laboratory for
bold experimentation in environmental protection the "how we plan to get there" part fall into three thematic areas:
bringing about cultural and organizational change at EPA to make our operation more efficient and more accountable;
introducing sounder science and smarter economics to our decision-making, with a greater understanding of the real-world impacts
and effectiveness of our efforts; and,
transforming the agency into a force for education and empowerment of others, realizing that none of us much less the federal
government can get the job done alone.
In each of these areas, we have set a standard higher than we can comfortably reach but nonetheless we intend to reach it.
The sentiment behind what Woodrow Wilson once said of America is also true of our work to protect New England's public health
and her environment. "America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us,"
President Wilson said. In that spirit, I welcome your thoughts on how we're doing. I intend for you to hold us accountable for
meeting the goals we have set forth in this report. And, most important, I invite everyone who lives, works and plays here to join us
in protecting the natural resources that make up the unique corner of America that we call New England.
John P. DeVillars
Regional Administrator
EPA 's New England Office
4 United States Environmental Protection Agency
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ntn Auction
"These New England states, I do believe,
will he the noblest country in the world
in a little while. They will be the salva-
tion of that very great body, the rest of
the United States; they are the pith and
marrow, heart and core, head and spirit
of that country. "
FANNY KhMBLh, 1847
k ±
The New
England envi-
ronment is so
precious to us
because it is part
and parcel of our
past and our pre-
sent, of our free
time and our work, of our culture and
our economy. Our environment is made
up of many special places that are
beloved for many different reasons. This
year's State of the New England
Environment Report takes an in-depth
look at a few distinctive elements of our
environment such as coastal areas and
our "urban ecosystems," or city environ-
ments and describes our work to
encourage and achieve sound steward-
ship of those and all our natural
resources.
The people of New England have
always been drawn to the region's
coasts. From the rich oystering and qua-
hogging beds of Long Island Sound to
the sweep of Outer Cape Cod, from the
openness and wildness of Block Island
and its Sound to historic Boston Harbor,
from the great homes looking out over
the New Hampshire shoreline to the
lighthouses and craggy shores of the
coast of Maine, the Atlantic Ocean has
kept New Englanders close to her. The
coastline is up to five times more dense-
ly populated than our inland areas. The
popularity of coastal areas as under-
standable as it is has placed increas-
ing strain on our coastal environment.
This growing strain calls for careful
attention and for innovative approaches
to coastal protection.
Despite the classic imagery of families
passing their days in idyllic, rural New
England communities complete with
town commons and town meetings,
many of us actually live in major cities
like Hartford, Connecticut; Boston,
Massachusetts; Providence, R.I.; and
Portland, Maine. Historically, urban
issues have not been considered environ-
mental issues. At EPA, we no longer
think that way. The protection of the
urban environment of New England is
just as important to us as the protection
of what we have traditionally thought of
as our prized natural resources
astounding waters like Lake Champlain
in Vermont, majestic peaks like Mount
Washington in New Hampshire, and
stunning open spaces like Indian Island
in the Penobscot River of Maine. Urban
spaces, like the coastline, present unique
challenges in environmental protection.
To protect the coastline, the urban areas
and the rest of New England's environ-
ment, EPA has adopted a series of new
approaches to our work new direc-
tions, described throughout this report,
that call for greater participation by the
public and the businesses of New
England. With sufficient teamwork,
these new directions could go a long way
toward preserving our environment for
generations to come.
There is more to the 1996 State of the
New England Environment Report than a
snapshot of the environmental health of
our coasts and our cities and the innova-
tive approaches to protect them at EPA.
But these key areas point to the underly-
ing theme of the report. We live in a
world that is changing fast. We must
adjust to those changes if we are to pre-
serve our environment. EPA is working
hard to keep up with the times. Our state
and tribal partners must and are
doing the same. And the public of New
England must play a greater role than
ever if we are to be successful to con-
tinue to live up to our promise as the
"pith and marrow, heart and core, head
and spirit" of America.
Figure 1
Population Density
in
New England
0-75 People/Sq. Mile
75-250 People/Sq. Mile
250 -1000 People/Sq. Mile
>1000 People/Sq. Mile
State of the New England Environment 5
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Preserving New England's
Natural Resources
th
"We will go where winds blow, waves
dash, and the Yankee clipper sweeps by
under full sail."
WALT WHITMAN
New Englanders love the Atlantic coast-
line. The ocean serves a variety of
needs, contributing a great deal to the
New England economy and our quality
of life. As a result, a large majority of
New England's growing population is
concentrated in coastal areas, placing a
great deal of pressure on the protected
areas where freshwater from rivers mixes
with salty sea water our estuaries.
Plants and animals in these sensitive
ecosystems thrive in a delicate balance
of nutrients and flow patterns unique to
estuaries. This balance is increasingly
under siege by large volumes of sewage,
polluted runoff from city streets and
parking lots, and heavy boating and ship-
ping traffic. Our need to balance the
commercial, recreational, and residential
needs of a growing New England with
the protection of sensitive coastal areas
is a critical challenge before EPA and all
New Englanders.
in
The bond between shellfish and New
England is as thick as a good clam
chowder. The commercial shellfish har-
vest is worth about $200 million per year
to the region and represents a livelihood
for thousands of people. Recreational
shellfishing the fun, messy harvesting
of clams, oysters and mussels draws
tourists to New England's shoreline and
mudflats every summer.
The health of New England's shellfish
beds is important not only as a source of
economic strength and wholesome recre-
ation; it is important also as an indicator
of water quality along the coasts. To
protect consumers from exposure to con-
taminated shellfish, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration and the states clas-
sify shellfish growing habitat based on
levels of fecal coliform bacteria in the
overlying water. These bacteria, which
are present in the intestines of warm-
blooded animals, are indicators that warn
us that harmful contaminants, known as
pathogens, may be present as well.
Sources of pathogens contaminating
shellfish beds include improperly treated
or untreated sewage, storm water pollut-
ed with animal and other wastes, as well
as other nonpoint (or diffuse) sources
of pollution. Not surprisingly, shellfish
beds permanently or conditionally closed
for harvest are located in densely popu-
lated areas. Although the total acreage of
open, productive shellfish beds has
increased over the years, primarily due to
offshore beds that have been opened to
harvesting, the percentage of closed beds
has increased. A disturbing trend in the
last two decades is an increase in shell-
fish bed closures near suburban and rural
areas (Fig. 2).
In the effort to open healthy shellfishing
beds for commercial and recreational
use, the tension between development
and conservation is quite apparent. As
the landscape becomes developed,
previously vegetated areas are converted
to impervious surfaces such as parking
lots and rooftops. As a consequence,
storm water runoff, which carries with it
contaminants, increases dramatically.
Instead of being absorbed into the
ground and taken up by plants, rainwater
is washed directly into streams and estu-
aries carrying with it any pollutants in
its path. As a result of this phenome-
non, shellfish beds often suffer; on Cape
Cod, for instance, one of the fastest
growing areas in New England, the
acreage of productive clam flats closed
Figure 2
Summary of Classified Shellfish Water Acreage
in New England Estuaries
80%
1980
1990
[Approved ff Prohibited |ty|'| Conditional/Restricted |
Data Source NOAA National Shefch Register of Classified Estuarme Waters, 1985 & 1990
Nonproductive
6 United States Environmental Protection Agency
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Greenwich Bay in Rhode Island
encompasses some of the most produc-
tive clam, beds oa the East Coast.
After a severe Nor* Easter in December
1992, elevated levels of bacteria trig-
gered an extended closure of the bay to
sheBfishlng, In response, EPA, the
Narragansett Bay National Estuary
Program (NBNEP), the City of
Warwick, Save the Bay, the Natural
Resource Conservation Service
(NRCS), the RI Shellfisherman's
Association, and the Rl Coastal
Resource Management Council pooled
resources and established the
"Greenwich Bay Initiative" to improve
water quality and re-open the shellfish
beds. The NBNEP and the University
of Rhode Island received a federal
grant to pinpoint sources of contamina-
tion to the bay. Untreated sewage from
or restricted rose from 700 acres in 1980
to 3500 acres in 1986.
To combat these unwanted side effects of
development, EPA has spearheaded com-
munity-based efforts to protect Casco
Bay in Maine; Great Bay in New
Hampshire; Massachusetts Bays and
Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts;
Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island; and
Long Island Sound off Connecticut.
This approach relies on coordination
among federal agencies, local towns and
state shellfish staff to increase monitor-
ing, identify and address sources of pol-
lution, and re-open formerly closed shell-
fish beds. In part thanks to these pollu-
tion control efforts, 40,000 acres of
shellfish beds have been opened in
Massachusetts in the last year, including
10,000 acres on Cape Cod.
rest rooms at an
old mill and a
farm manure
storage pile
turned out to be
the major sources
of the bacterial
contamination.
The rest room discharges have been
eliminated and the NRCS is working
with the farm owner on a manure stor-
age plan. Shellfishiag resumed in June,
1994 on a partially restricted basis. In
the last year, BRA has been working
with its many partners toward full
restoration of Greenwich Bay. The
goal is to open the shellfishing beds
unconditionally and to ensure that a
sustainable yield shellfish management
plan is in place to protect the bay in the
future.
gation, excess sediment must be dredged
regularly, or removed, to ensure safe pas-
sage through shipping channels. Fully
one million cubic yards of sediment are
dredged from New England harbors on
an annual basis to allow for the shipment
of about 70 million tons of cargo.
The discharge of wastewater, often treat-
ed sewage, and the runoff of stormwater,
bringing with it pollutants from industri-
al activities and urban centers, often end
up contaminating the sediment that needs
to be dredged to allow boats to pass.
While most of the sediment is not conta-
minated, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers estimates that between 5 and
15 percent of sediment is unsafe for dis-
posal in open waters and requires partic-
ular care. These contaminants must be
disposed of in a safe manner. Sediments
can build up toxic contaminants such as
trace metals (cadmium, lead, mercury).
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesti-
cides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocar-
bons (PAHs), which come from the use
of petroleum products.
These contaminants accumulate in sedi-
ments over time. They are a problem
because they pose a direct risk to the
health of bottom-dwelling plants and
animals. Fish and shellfish, which are
further up the food chain, sometimes
develop lesions and other abnormalities
and in turn can be hazardous to humans
consuming them. A winter flounder,
for instance, is more at risk of develop-
ing cancer in estuaries with contaminat-
ed sediments like Salem Sound, Boston
Harbor, New Bedford Harbor, and New
Haven Harbor than in areas with clean
sediments, such as Pleasant Bay on
Cape Cod.
Contaminated sediments are a particular-
ly challenging environmental issue
because the problem cannot be fixed
simply by eliminating the source of pol-
lution. For example, sediments in Salem
Sound in Massachusetts still exhibit high
levels of chromium, a compound former-
ly used to cure leather in tanneries. The
vast majority of the tanneries in that
area, however, are no longer operating.
EPA and its sister agencies are address-
ing the problem of contaminated sedi-
ments in two ways. Where possible, we
are working with the states and local
communities to prevent pollutants from
getting in the water in the first place.
And where it is already too late to pre-
vent the pollution, EPA is working to
find suitable options for the treatment
and disposal of contaminated sediments.
These tasks can be complex and expen-
sive. But because keeping the naviga-
tional channels of New England's ports
open and safe is such a necessity, this
work is very important to the economic
and environmental health of the region.
Harbor Masters, Port Authorities, and
state and federal agencies continually
grapple with the management of the
large volumes of sand, silt, and mud
known as sediment that accumulate
in harbors and estuaries. For safe navi-
State of the New England Environment 7
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Figure 3
Long Island Sound Dissolved Oxygen Concentrations
Scenarios are for the month of August, reflecting worst-case conditions.
Impacts occur at dissolved oxygen levels below 3.5 mg/l
Pre-settlement
Conditions
(Nitrogen loading = 40
thousand tons/yrl
Bottom Minimum
Disolved Oxygen
Achievable With
Current Technology
(nitrogen loading = 63
thousand tons/yr)
Bottom Minimum
Disolved Oxygen
Just as a houseplant needs the right com-
bination of water and sunlight, plants and
marine life in estuaries need the right
amount of nitrogen for healthy growth.
If there is too little nitrogen, plants
do not get enough of a nutrient they
need; if there is too much nitrogen in an
estuary, then planktonic algae grows,
which can cause a problem for plant and
animal life in the estuary. When the sur-
plus algae that grew because of the high
level of nitrogen dies, decays and settles
to the bottom, large volumes of oxygen
are consumed in the process. This short-
age of oxygen causes a condition known
as hypoxia. Hypoxia means that there
are inadequate levels of dissolved oxy-
gen to support healthy populations of
lobsters, fish, and other aquatic life.
As part of the Long Island Sound Study
(LISS) which is funded in substantial
part by EPA academic, state and fed-
eral scientists have conducted extensive
monitoring over the past decade to
characterize water quality and provide
direction to state and federal manage-
ment efforts. The study confirmed that
excessive nitrogen discharges were the
primary cause of hypoxia in the Sound.
Ammonia in sewage treatment plant
effluent is a major source of nitrogen to
the Sound. Every day, over a billion gal-
lons of partially treated sewage is
released into the Sound a product of
the 8 million people who live and work
in the Long Island Sound watershed area.
Recently, we have been able to stop
additional environmental degradation
from occurring thanks to major efforts in
installing de-nitrofication equipment at
municipal wastewater treatment plants
along the Sound. In Connecticut, instal-
lation of control equipment at 12 treat-
ment plants will be completed by
December 1996, resulting in a decrease
of 5,000 pounds per day of nitrogen dis-
charged to Long Island Sound. Long
Island Sound protection efforts today are
focused on pursuing additional nitrogen
reduction from both point and nonpoint
sources. Using a computer model to pre-
8 United States Environmental Protection Ageney
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diet the changes in dissolved oxygen lev-
els that would result from varying levels
of nitrogen reduction, EPA and the state
environmental agencies in New York and
Connecticut are working together to
implement a phased approach to reduc-
ing "nitrogen loadings" instances in
which nitrogen accumulates in the water
from sewage treatment plants and non-
point sources. The model allows EPA to
compare dissolved oxygen levels in the
Sound with different nitrogen loading
scenarios, from pre-settlement times to
the present day. The model can also pre-
dict what conditions will be like after we
have reduced the level of nitrogen in the
future (Fig. 3).
Among our most important coastal wet-
lands are the extensive eelgrass meadows
found in protected shallow bays along
the New England coast. One of the rea-
sons that Penobscot Bay in Maine, for
instance, is such a critical environmental
resource is that it boasts the most exten-
sive eelgrass beds in New England.
These meadows consist of a single
species of plant, Zostera marina, and the
numerous animals and seaweeds that live
on or among its long thin blades. In
addition to providing important habitat
and nursery areas for juvenile fish and
other estuarine life, eelgrass meadows
function as natural pollution control sys-
tems by keeping sediments near the
shore in place and absorbing nutrients
from the water column. Eelgrass is also
a valuable indicator of how clear the
water is because, like all plants, it cannot
thrive without adequate light.
The abundance of eelgrass meadows has
declined since the 1800s in part because
of naturally-occurring disease. More
recently, their recovery has been ham-
pered by waters that are too rich in nutri-
ents, erosion of the surrounding coast-
line, dredging, and boating. EPA and its
state and local partners are becoming
increasingly interested in protecting the
remaining eelgrass meadows.
Locating and mapping existing eelgrass
beds is the first step in protecting them.
Over the past year, EPA's New England
office has begun to develop a detailed
regional inventory which has already
been used in planning dredging projects
and in influencing port development.
For example, the need to protect exten-
sive eelgrass beds near Sears Island
the largest uninhabited island on the
Maine coast was a major factor in
EPA's efforts to insure adequate environ-
mental protection associated with the
development of a shipping port on the
island.
Developing Waquoit lay's Watershed
Management Strategy
Waquoit Bay is a beautiful, shallow
estuary on the south coast of Cape Cod,
Massachusetts. Since 1950, population
in the watershed area has increased
more than tenfold, while eelgrass bed
cover has declined (Fig. 4).
Contamination of the groundwater sup-
ply that feeds into the estuary is of par-
ticular concern. Nitrogen loading from
on-site septic systems has contributed
to the growth of "nuisance algae", as
well as the loss of eelgrass and bay
scallops. Organic solvents from the
Massachusetts Military Reservation (a
hazardous waste site being cleaned up
under the Superfund program) have
leached into groundwater upstream of
the Bay; contaminated plumes from the
site could reach the waters of the estu-
ary in the next decade,
Figure 4
EFA is potting its
coramitmfent to
commuBity-
based environ-
mental protection
to work at
Waquoit Bay.
The goal is to, - -"""- '''.r~*~*f~-
evaluate different options for protecting
this important area and coping up with
ways that make sense for the peopte
who live there. Area residents, local
scientists, civic groups aadenviroitr
mental professionals wojked coopera-
tively to develop goals, and environ-
mental indicators (sp
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EPA's National Heavy Duty Engine initiative
Heavy-duty engines (trucks, buses, and non-road equipment)
contribute 59% of the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions and
82% of the particulate matter (PM-1G) emissions from mobile
sources nationally {Fig, 9). In the Northeast, heavy duty
engines account for approximately 20-30% of total NOx emis-
sions. Given these significant emissions, strategies to control
pollution from heavy duty engines are critical if we are to
improve the quality of our air.
EPA, working with the California Air Resources Board and
leading national manufacturers of heavy duty engines, is meet-
ing this challenge through a national initiative to reduce emis-
sions from new trucks and buses substantially. The goal of this
initiative is for engine manufactures to produce engines that
emit only half as much NOx as current
engines by model year 2004,
Here in New England, EPA is working
with private companies and public agen-
cies to demonstrate innovative technolo-
gies for reducing pollution from heavy
duty engines. One such project, at Logan
International Airport, is demonstrating the
benefits of bio-diesel fuel and compressed natural gas in a
variety of passenger service vehicles. This project is a show-
case for what one facility New England's gateway airport
can do to reduce pollution from heavy duty engines.
New
Directions
Figures
Mobile Source Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM-10)
A. 1990 Nitrogen Oxides
B. 1990 Particulate Matter
Light Duty Vehicle
40%
Nonroad Diesel
19%
Nonroad Gasoline
1%
Heavy Duty Gasoline
Heavy Duty Diesel
38%
Heavy Duty Diesel
22%
Nonroad Diesel
43%
Light Duty Vehicle
9%
Heavy Duty Gasoline
1%
Nonroad Gasoline
9%
State of the New England Environment 13
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"The perch swallows the grub-worm, the
pickerel swallows the perch, and the fish-
erman swallows the pickerel; and so all
the chinks in the scale of being are
filled,"
HENRY DWID THORL/UI
The pollution of lakes and waterways
with mercury was once thought to be pri-
marily an isolated problem that affected
only a few areas. Today, growing evi-
dence shows that mercury contamination
in our national water resources is wide-
spread. States with quite serious mer-
cury pollution problems began to issue a
statewide fish advisory for mercury as
early as 1975. Now, five of the six New
England states and 33 of the 50
United States have issued advisories
restricting freshwater fish consumption
due to mercury.
Mercury occurs naturally in the earth's
crust, but the release of small amounts
of this toxic metal by a large number of
sources over time has led to high con-
centrations, of mercury in New
England's soils, sediments, and water-
ways. Today, mercury traveling through
the air and landing in the water a
process called atmospheric deposition
is considered the primary way that the
metal contaminates the waters of New
England. Much of the problem comes
from the emissions of distant power
plants and nearby municipal and medical
waste incinerators.
High concentrations of mercury pose a
risk both to human and ecological health
in New England. Mercury deposited on
New England's landscape is slowly
released from soils into water bodies.
Once in lakes and ponds, mercury gen-
erally does not remain suspended in the
water column, but is deposited in the
sediment. A tiny amount is incorporated
into the food chain and undergoes
biomagnification a natural process
whereby contaminants like mercury are
found at progressively higher concentra-
tions as they pass from prey to predator
up the food chain. Biomagnification of
mercury can lead to concentrations in
fish flesh that exceed safe levels for
human consumption. Mercury can be
toxic to both humans and animals, caus-
ing impairments in nervous systems and
kidney functions.
the
in
All six New England states are investi-
gating mercury contamination in fish tis-
sue, and all except Rhode Island have
Figure 10
Distribution of Lakes in Maine with Fish Tissue Concentrations
of Mercury Above and Below Maine's Health Standard
Mercury in Fillets < .43 ppm
Mercury in Fillets >= 43 ppm
14 United States Environmental Protection Agency
-------
issued fish consumption advisories for
all lakes and rivers. The primary health
risk is to young children, pregnant
women, and women of child-bearing age.
These advisories are the result of moni-
toring efforts which have shown that
some freshwater game fish have mercury
levels in excess of the recommended lev-
els set by state health agencies. Some
states set health standards which are more
protective than the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration's standard of 1.0 ppm
(parts per million), such as Maine, which
has a standard of 0.43 ppm.
The State of Maine was the first in New
England to issue a state-wide fish con-
sumption advisory, which is based on
fish tissue data from the Regional
Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program (R-EMAP), a study
funded by EPA which investigated mer-
cury contamination in Maine lakes. The
results strongly suggest that there is no
consistent pattern of mercury distribution
across the State, (Fig 10) and no obvi-
ous correlations between mercury conta-
mination and any lake characteristics or
water chemistry. This supports the belief
that atmospheric deposition is the prima-
ry source of mercury.
EPA is committed to reducing mercury
pollution. The 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments established new rules for
reducing the amount of mercury emitted
from incinerators by an estimated 90%.
Several New England states already
require mercury emissions limits and
testing for mercury in the stacks of
municipal incinerators. In addition, pol-
lution prevention and recycling programs
to reduce mercury- bearing wastes
such as thermometers, batteries, fluores-
cent lights and switches have led to
significant reductions in the amount of
mercury in solid waste streams.
A national mercury study, examining the
sources of mercury pollution and the
associated risks to humans, fish and
wildlife will be released by EPA within a
year. A companion report, the Utility
Mercury Study, which characterizes the
nature and importance of emissions from
the utility industry will also be released.
In addition, EPA's New England office,
other federal agencies, our states and
interstate organizations are working to
compile current regional data and identi-
fy information gaps. This year, EPA is
preparing to launch a second R-EMAP
project to supplement state fish tissue
investigations and provide sediment and
additional atmospheric deposition infor-
mation. The effects on New England's
waterfowl is also under investigation.
While EPA and the states are working
hard to gain a better understanding of
and figure out new ways to control the
major sources of mercury contamination,
citizens also have important roles to
play. Mercury contamination of freshwa-
ter fish occurs throughout New England,
but not all fish are unfit for eating. As a
first step in being smart consumers, citi-
zens should learn more about mercury
contamination in their state and avoid
any associated health risks.
New Englanders can help control and
prevent further mercury contamination
by recycling and eliminating mercury
products from household waste. In addi-
tion, adopting energy conservation prac-
tices, such as the use of energy efficient
appliances and fixtures, can reduce the
demand for electricity and hence reduce
power plant emissions of mercury.
State ot the New England Environment 15
-------
Figure 11
Amphibians, Mammals and Birds at Risk; as a percentage
of Native New England Species
"I do not blindly oppose progress.
I oppose blind progress. "
DAVID BROWER
A major challenge to EPA and to all New
Englanders is to protect our natural
resources and ecosystems before they
become impaired. To do this we need to
tackle the less conspicuous, but
widespread, threats posed by problems
like polluted runoff and habitat alter-
ation. Often these problems are difficult
to address and the effects are cumulative.
And we need to do a better job of land-
use planning before it is too late. EPA
cannot ensure success in the protection
of our natural resources without individ-
Vernal Pools
Vernal pools are temporary freshwater
pools that provide critical breeding
habitat for many amphibians and their
invertebrate prey, such as fairy shrimp,
Verna! pools are protected under the
Massachusetts Wetlands Protection
Act only if breeding by certain species
including some frogs, toads and
salamanders is documented. In
1992, a local environmentalist, Leo
Kenney, and his students formed the
Reading Memorial High School
Vernal Pool Association in Reading,
Massachusetts. The Association has
since certified 200 vernal pools in the
state, close to one-third of all the
pools documented to date, Mr,
Kenaey's students also present
instructional workshops in vernal pool
natural history and certification to stu-
dents, teachers, and Conservation
Commissions.
This innovative effort has prompted
many public school and college
instructors to initiate their own certifi-
cation projects. The work of Mr.
Kenney and his students has been rec-
ognized with a number of prestigious
regional and national awards.
CD
*U
u
co
a
(B
ai
E
L1J
3
0)
0)
OS
1
0)
Si
CD
Q_
40%-
35%
30%
25% -
20% -
15%
10% .
5%.
0%.
uals and communities working with us as
partners in meeting this challenge.
Some species are particularly sensitive to
ecological threats and may herald
changes in the environment before they
become obvious. Amphibians (frogs,
toads, newts, and salamanders) are
important indicators of water quality and
quantity, and habitat degradation and
fragmentation. Their moist and perme-
able skin, plant and animal diet, and ten-
dency to remain in the same area
throughout their lives make these famil-
iar animals especially sensitive to
changes in the environment.
Long term ecological studies in New
Hampshire have shown salamanders to
be critical links in northeastern forest
food webs. In a healthy forest ecosys-
tem, the weight of all the woodland
salamanders may equal that of all other
small mammals combined and twice the
weight of breeding birds. Amphibians
Source The Nature Conservancy
are also an important pharmaceutical
resource. Hundreds of compounds have
been found in their skins, some of which
are used as painkillers and to treat heart
attack and burn patients.
Troubling worldwide declines and the
extinction of a number of amphibian
species, even in protected natural areas,
were first noted in 1990. Investigations
are underway both here and abroad
to determine the causes and extent of the
decline in amphibians, but most experts
believe that the loss and degradation of
habitat, including
wetlands and
uplands, is the
most wide-
spread cause.
New England is
unfortunately no
exception to
worldwide trends,
and declines have been
reported in numerous
species. Since a number of our
native amphibians are rare, the prospect
of further declines is worrisome. Each
of the New England states has a signifi-
1 6 United States Environmental Protection Agency
-------
cant percentage of their native species of
amphibians, bird and mammals at risk
(Fig. 11).
Amphibians are not the only animals
affected by changes in habitat. The frag-
mentation of forests, grasslands, and
other habitats can cause problems for a
variety of wildlife. In order to breed
successfully, many species need large
tracts of forest or open habitat far from
human disturbance. The problem is par-
ticularly well known in birds, including
a number of neotropical species that
winter in Latin America and breed in
New England. The patchwork quilt of
increasingly small "habitat islands" in an
intensively used landscape is contribut-
ing to declines in sensitive species.
Increased human demand for land
Charles River -
Swimmable and
Fishable by 2005
The Charles Miver, which flows into
Boston Harbor, is one of the premier
urban rivers in America and a crown
jewel of the Boston area. The Charles
and its banks provide boating, jogging
and other recreational opportunities for
hundreds of thousands of city dwellers
who have limited access to natural
resources. But after a heavy rain, the
lower river becomes notable not for its
recreation potential, but for the stench
of sewage. This year, EPA set an
ambitious goal: to make the lower
Charles River swirnmable and fishable
by Earth Day, 2005, This plan relies
on cooperation among federal, state,
and local governments; citizen partici-
pation; good science; and, where nec-
essary, strong enforcement Many
actions are already underway, includ-
ing the elimination of illegal sewage
discharges to storm drains, control of
combined sewer overflows, and
implementation of comprehensive
storm water management programs.
resources is challenging all of us who
care about the environment and the econ-
omy to identify creative and reliable
strategies for conserving valuable habitat
in New England. A number of organiza-
tions, from small local land trusts to
national organizations such as The
Nature Conservancy, have been success-
ful in preserving important habitat by
buying land from willing sellers.
Although EPA does not conserve land
directly, the agency can help with these
efforts. For example, the EPA-sponsored
Lake Champlain Basin Program obtained
$600,000 in North American Wetland
Conservation Act funds to protect 1 ,500
acres of important waterfowl habitat.
A second strategy protects against habitat
fragmentation through land use planning.
In New England, the authority to make
land use decisions is vested in the hands
of local governments. Providing better
information to local decision makers
about important natural resources in their
area is one way EPA and others help
local governments make well-informed
land use choices. Comprehensive land
use planning, including broad public par-
ticipation, reduces the potential for envi-
ronmental "train wrecks" avoidable
circumstances in which economic inter-
ests are pitted against environmental pro-
tection.
n
Instead of reacting to crises, EPA and its
partners are working together to prevent
them from occurring in the first place.
EPA's New England office has teamed
up with the New England Interstate
Water Pollution Control Commission,
other federal and state agencies, and
environmental organizations to identify
and protect New England's most impor-
tant natural resources an effort called
the Resource Protection Project. The
goal of the project is two-fold: to identi-
fy high priority natural resources and to
develop and implement plans to protect
these resources.
The project's pilot phase took place in
Figure 12
High Priority Natural Resource
Areas in New Hampshire
Sites selected through
New Hampshire Resource
Protection Project
Connecticut
Lakes
Region
Lake
Umbegog
Region
Ossippee
Lake
Region
Great
Bay
Region
Seacpast
Region
New Hampshire, with the participation
of more than 20 public agencies and pri-
vate organizations with regulatory, con-
servation, development, or planning
interests. Six areas in New Hampshire
have been identified as high-priority
environmental resources, based
on the value of their wildlife habitats and
drinking water supplies (Fig. 12).
Participants in the project are working
through existing programs and using
partnerships with communities to protect
the targeted resources. Currently, Rhode
Island and Connecticut are engaged in
similar efforts to identify their own high
priority natural resources.
State of the New England Environment 17
-------
"What's the use of a house if you haven't
got a tolerable planet to put it on ? "
HENRY DAVID THOREUI
People living in New England's urban
areas often bear a disproportionate share
of society's environmental hazards: high
levels of lead paint in older housing;
increased smog caused by traffic conges-
tion; hazardous materials running
through storm drains and streets; and
illegal dumping of household and indus-
trial waste in vacant lots. Combined
with other socio-economic factors, the
result is best described as environmental
injustice.
Cn\iiTtsnmtnt(l
This past fall, recognizing that
"citysheds" are as important as water-
sheds, EPA in New England officially
launched its Urban Environmental
Agenda to work with communities to
address these pressing issues. EPA's goals
are to develop environmental capacity at
the community level, involve
communities more substantially in the
environmental decision-making process,
and build the public-private partnerships
necessary to address urban environmental
issues. The principles of community-
based environmental protection, environ-
mental justice, pollution prevention and
economic redevelopment are the corner-
stones of this effort.
EPA has targeted three pilot cities for this
initiative. Three new EPA city project
managers are now leading efforts in
Hartford, Connecticut; Providence,
Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts,
to join community organizations, city,
state and federal officials, and the private
sector in building the necessary environ-
mental protection infrastructure at the
local level. The initiative involves the
following components:
The Youth and the Environment and
National Service Project joins EPA's
New England office with City Year, for
the fourth consecutive semester, and
other youth organizations and communi-
Once Vacant Now Productive
One of the Urban Environmental
Agenda's first endeavors has taken a
life of its own in Roxbury's Dudley
Street neighborhood. Only a year after
EPA, City Year and the Dudley Street
Neighborhood Initiative turned their
attention to revitalizing a 1/2 aere
vacant lot on the corner of Langdon and
George streets, the property has now
been taken over by the Food Project for
use this summer as a vegetable and fruit
garden. Food from the garden will be
used to supply homeless shelters, and
will also be sold in a farmer's market
that will open up in the Dudley Street
neighborhood thii year.
In addition, the Magazine Street lot,
another nearby lot that EPA worked
with City Year to prepare, was used by
residents this past summer for vegetable
gardens. After years
of neglect, not one
section of the former
vacant lot went unat-
tended once it had
been transformed into
a garden.
New
Directions
Greenleaf Composting, the firm that
supplied compost for the Langdon
Street Lot, is now interested in provid-
ing clean compost to additional vacant
lots in the Dudley Street Area. The
company currently has a grant to supply
compost to lots in the Dudley area and
wants to work with the Urban
Environmental Agenda in Roxbury on a
larger organic composting project,
employing local residents in the com-
posting operation.
ty partners to reduce environmental haz-
ards in urban neighborhoods. City Year
teams have transformed abandoned,
trash-strewn lots into community gar-
dens, developed afterschool environmen-
tal programs and worked with EPA and
others to perform environmental indoor
air and energy efficiency audits in low-
income Roxbury homes last year. This
year, an additional indoor audit pro-
gram will focus primarily on asthma pre-
vention in low income neighborhoods.
The Economic Redevelopment Program
develops ways to make environmental
protection economically beneficial to
urban communities. A centerpiece of
this effort is the Brownfields program,
through which EPA provides grants to
return abandoned and formerly contami-
nated commercial and industrial sites to
productive use, and to ensure that future
development is sustainable and environ-
mentally sound. To date, EPA has
awarded Brownfields grants totaling $1
million to five pilot cities in New
England: Boston, Bridgeport, Lawrence,
Worcester, and the Providence
Metropolitan area.
The Regional Lead Initiative aims to
reduce the incidence of lead poisoning
in young children through an education
and outreach program concerning the
hazards of lead in paint, soil and water.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control, one in six children have levels
of lead in their blood above the level
believed to be safe. Children living in
New England's cities are far more likely
18 United States Environmental Protection Agency
-------
to suffer from lead poisoning than chil-
dren living in suburban areas. To address
this problem, EPA is developing an
English as a Second Language curricu-
lum; expanding Geographic Information
System efforts to map lead sources; and
marketing sustainable design guidelines
for reducing exposures to environmental
contaminants in urban areas.
The Strong, Targeted Enforcement
Program (STEP-UP) Team identifies
strategies and goals for environmental
enforcement in urban areas. Over the
past year, EPA increased by tenfold the
number of inspections in New England's
urban areas. Moreover, EPA has targeted
New England's auto repair industry as
businesses to which we will offer envi-
ronmental assistance, like advice on
how to prevent pollution. The program
has performed more than 100 multi-
media inspections (covering more than
one environmental medium) in Boston,
Massachusetts; New Haven, Hartford,
and Bridgeport, Connecticut; and
Providence, Rhode Island, since
September, 1994.
Education, Research and Technical
Assistance helps communities secure the
resources they need to understand and
work on complex environmental issues
and statutes. EPA is providing access to
the research and technical assistance of
universities and colleges and helping to
develop environmental curricula for
public schools, community colleges and
vocational schools. With an emphasis
on Environmental Justice and Pollution
Prevention, EPA's New England office
awarded nearly $2 million in grants last
year to community and academic institu-
tions, including Roxbury Community
College to establish a Center for
Environmental Education. This
includes the training of minority con-
tractors and community residents on
lead abatement and the establishment of
a two-year degree program in environ-
mental management.
EPA is building The New England Urban
Environmental Infrastructure, including
the establishment of a New England-
Nonpoint Education for
Municipal Officials
In Connecticut, EPA is one of several
agencies Involved in the "Nonpoint
Education for Municipal Officials"
(NEMO) Project, which educates local
land use officials about water resource
protection and watershed management.
Developed and led by the University of
Connecticut's Cooperative Extension
Service, the NEMO project uses color-
ful maps and images generated by geo-
graphic information system (GIS) map-
ping technology to help local decision
makers understand the complex rela-
tionships between land use and water
quality.
NEMO places particular emphasis on
the growth of impervious (impermeable
or paved) surfaces as an indicator of
potential water quality problems. In
general, the greater the amount of
impervious surface {parking lots and
rooftops) in a watershed, the poorer the
water quality. Using a zoning-based
"build-out" analysis to project future
problem areas, fee NEMO(.-message is
that water resources cap be protected
while allowisg for cowpatibte econom-
ic growth and uibsn deve|opa»»t
through a three-tiered strategy^ of natur-
al resources-based phasing, protective
site design, and use $£-so^ealeB best
management practices that protect the
environment (Fig, 13).
NEMO relies heavily fa laadisovsr
data obtained by J2PA,- In addition,
EPA has supported two watershed pro-
jects conducted by NSSlO and The
Nature- Coaservancy (IMC} la the
lower Connecticut Rivervaiey. This
area has been singled out by several
agencies as having cri&satty important
high quality tidal marsh habitat.
Municipalities and private land owners
in the two watersheds we'wortehg
with the NEM0/TNG team OB a range
of land use issue* that include forest
stewardship, steam' buffers and other
nonpoint source pollution controls.
Figure 13
Existing Imperviousness
Impervious Surface Areas
in Chester Creek
Watershed in Connecticut
Current Status and Future
Projection Based Upon
Current Zoning
Percent Imperviousness
EE3 0-14.9%
15-29%
>=30%
Buildout Imperviousness based on current zoning
»
Local Basins
Lakes/Open Water
Brooks/Streams
/\ / Town Boundaries
Roads
1
Source University of Connecticut Extension System
State of the New England Environment 19
-------
wide forum for all public and private
constituencies to address urban environ-
mental policy issues. This network will
offer accessible information to the public
through an annual conference, periodic
meetings and, we hope, a consortium of
academic institutions, including local
community colleges. EPA is holding a
series of roundtable discussions through-
out the spring and summer in eight
cities throughout New England to engage
public and private constituencies in dis-
cussions of pressing environmental
issues. A New England-wide conference
in Hartford is being planned for late
September 1996.
tr
Most people are aware that outdoor air
pollution can damage their health. Many
people, though, do not know that indoor
air pollution can also cause significant
health effects. EPA studies of human
exposure to air pollutants indicate that
indoor levels of pollutants may be two to
five times higher than outdoor levels.
These levels of indoor air pollutants are
of particular concern because most
people spend about 90% of their time
indoors.
Indoor air pollution comes in a number
of forms: combustion products, such as
carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and
particulate matter, which result from the
burning of fuel; biological contaminants,
including dust mites, bacteria, fungi, and
viruses; and inorganic pollutants such as
radon, lead, and asbestos. Pesticides,
volatile organic compounds, and envi-
ronmental tobacco smoke are also some-
times found in poor indoor air quality
and can pose a risk to people's health.
Long term exposure to these additional
three pollutants could lead to the devel-
opment of cancer and other chronic dis-
eases in humans.
Children may be especially susceptible
to air pollution. Exposure to the same
concentration of pollutants can result in a
higher intake of pollution in children
than adults compared to the size of their
bodies because children breathe a greater
volume of air relative to their body
weight. Children as well as the elderly
are also generally more sensitive to
air contaminants than healthy adults due
to some critical physiological changes
that occur in humans.
Air quality in schools is of particular
concern to EPA. A recent US General
Accounting Offices' report. School
Facilities - the Condition of America's
Schools, notes that "about 50 percent of
the schools reported at least one unsatis-
factory environmental condition; while
33 percent reported multiple unsatisfac-
tory conditions." (Fig. 14).
According to the GAO report, "the
nation's schools need about $112 billion
to repair or upgrade America's multibil-
lion dollar investment in facilities to
good overall condition."
To address the issue of indoor air quality
in schools an issue of particular con-
cern to EPA the agency has recently
published Indoor Air Quality Tools for
Schools Action Kit, a voluntary guide
for school officials. The goal of this kit
is to provide clear guidance that will
help prevent indoor air quality problems
and resolve such problems promptly if
they do arise. It recommends practical
action that can be carried out by the
school staff without the need for exten-
sive training, and is flexible enough to
conform to the specific needs of any
school. The kit can easily be used to
form an indoor air quality management
plan for the school.
Figure 14
New England Schools Reporting
Unsatisfactory Environmental Conditions
NH
Rl
VT
Ventilation
Indoor Air Quality
Data Source GAO School Facilities Report April 1995
20 United Slates Environmental Protection Agency
-------
Building Environmental
Stewardship
"We should have learnt by now that laws
and court decisions can only point the
wa\."
Hi BLRI Hl'\1FHRh\
At EPA in New England, the new Office
of Environmental Stewardship (OES) is
the focal point for encouraging and
rewarding responsible environmental
management by industry and other
regulated entities and for enforcing
the law against those who do not act
responsibly.
The Assistance and Pollution Prevention
Unit, the largest organization of its kind
in the country, provides technical and
regulatory assistance to industry and the
public sector that we regulate cities,
towns and other agencies. In addition to
encouraging environmental compliance,
this team promotes pollution prevention,
the development and use of innovative
environmental technologies, and
advanced environmental management
systems through partnerships with states
and those we regulate.
The Enforcement Unit of OES enforces
the nation's environmental laws com-
bining strong, targeted enforcement with
penalty strategies designed to provide
direct benefits to the public and the envi-
ronment of New England. The EPA
enforcement staff work in cross-media
teams of attorneys and technical experts
teams that look at air, water and
waste as interconnected rather than as
separate from one another which are
targeting their efforts to those industrial
sectors and sensitive ecosystems where
the likelihood of environmental law-
breaking is greatest and the consequence
is most severe in terms of public health
and ecological integrity.
"Unless the reformer can invent some-
thing which will substitute attractive
virtues for attractive vices, he will fail. "
\V-\ITrR LlPFM \NN
The command-and-control system of
environmental protection the back-
bone of the American environmental pro-
tection system for the last twenty years
has yielded many impressive results
in the preservation of our natural
resources and the safeguarding of our
public health. Elements of that
system, like the enforcement and permit-
ting programs, are tools which are still
necessary in protecting New England's
environment. Nevertheless, we are
working hard to improve them continual-
ly. But at EPA in New England, we
believe that we will achieve even greater
environmental results by adopting new
approaches and strategies.
That is why EPA's New England office
has launched an unprecedented series of
assistance programs designed to help
prevent pollution. These initiatives offer
assistance to communities, companies
and others to educate and empower them
to protect the environment better and
grow the economy in large part by
preventing pollution before it becomes a
problem.
^Prevention
the
to
Since 1988, companies have been
required to disclose to the public a great
deal of information about the release and
storage of toxic and hazardous sub-
stances under the Community Right to
Know laws. Expansion of these provi-
sions to cover more chemicals and more
facilities is a top priority for EPA.
To help people make the most of this
information, EPA's New England office
has been training local librarians and
community groups in using the comput-
erized Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).
Those who have taken advantage of their
right to know about toxics emitted into
their neighborhoods have likely noticed
that industry continues to reduce dramat-
ically their impact on the environment.
Figure 15 shows very clearly the
Figure 15
Toxic Releases to Land, Air and Water in New England
1991
1992
1993
1994
Slate o! the New England Environment 21
-------
progress New England companies are
making in reducing toxic releases to the
environment. Companies have told EPA
that this public reporting requirement
and the potential for them to be identi-
fied as ma|or emitters has been a major
incentive in decreasing toxic releases.
tn
The New England Environmental
Assistance Team (NEEAT) provides
extensive pollution prevention assistance
to targeted sectors of the community.
The first sectors we identified chosen
in no small measure based on their
impact on the environment were
metal finishers, printers, manufacturers
of computers and electronics, and munic-
ipalities. This year, we're adding auto
repair shops to that list. The NEEAT
team builds on the successes of EPA
Administrator Carol Browner's
Common Sense Initiative and offers:
HADCO & IBM
Two New England facilities, IBM in
Vermont and HADCO in New
Hampshire, have been .accepted into
the XL program with projects that will
result in improved Waste management
at lower cost.
The first to he approved was HADCO
Corporation,, whteh has four facilities in
NH and two outside of Mew England.
HADCO contended that tiieir sludges
no longer contain th$ toxic chemicals
that led them to be listed as hazardous,
and that they should be allowed to ship
these sludges directly » a smelter for
reclamation, m; mon-haiarcbus waste.
HADCO has indicated that the cost sav-
ings associated with direct recycling
will allow it to recycle other non-haz-
ardous process wastes containing high
copper content, EPA and the states will
monitor HADCG's compliance with the
agreement; if the experiment is success-
ful, we will change the rules for all
companies in the same situation.
pollution prevention audits;
workshops on regulatory and pollution
prevention issues;
user-friendly compliance manuals;
model facility and technology demon-
stration projects;
a pollution prevention financing guide
for small and medium-sized
businesses;
on-site assistance to municipal waste
water treatment plants;
an awards and recognition program;
a toll free regulatory assistance hotline
(1-800-90NEEAT).
NEEAT team members are finding new
ways for EPA staff to help protect the
environment. For example, one team
member played an important role in
developing a pilot program to transfer
useful equipment from abandoned metal
plating operations to active companies
that could use it. In past years, the
equipment would have been treated as a
hazardous waste; today, it's helping to
drive the economy. Making these kind
of connections is what the NEEAT team
is all about.
The second New
England XL pro-
ject to be
approved is for
the IBM semi-
conductor manu-
facturing facility
in Essex Junction, VT. IBM proposed
to treat its isopropyl alcohol (IPA) sol-
vent waste (which is currently identified
as an ignitable hazardous waste) using
aa existing biological treatment system.
This solvent waste contains a high con-
centration of carbon and tearing it with
the wastewater (which contains high
concentrations of nitrogen) already
treated in the biological treatment sys-
tem would optimize the operating effi-
ciency of that system and reduce the
total pollutants discharged to the
Winooski River, The proposal would
also eliminate the hazards associated
with off-site transport and incineration
of over 150,000 gallons of solvent per
year of IPA.
The environmental technology industry
of New England is one of the best
friends the environment of this region
and EPA, for that matter could have.
This industry churns out innovative ways
to protect the environment and public
health more efficiently and with a lower
price tag making it possible to protect
more with less. At the same time, the
industry employs 150,000 people in this
good work and contributes over $10 bil-
lion to the region's economy.
To promote these new ideas, and the
environmental and economic benefits
associated with them, EPA's New
England office opened the nation's first
regional Center for Environmental
Industry and Technology (CEIT) last
year. In October, 1995, CEIT celebrated
a successful first year by awarding $4.9
million in environmental technology
grants to New England institutions and
businesses. In addition to these grant
funds, the center made huge strides in its
first year in all five of its goal areas:
Increase Access To Public and Private
Capital: EPA sponsors Venture Capital
Forums that link technology develop-
ers with investors and assists entrepre-
neurs to access grant funding through
the Environmental Technology
Initiative and other federal and state
technology funding programs.
Easy Access to Information: New
England's environmental technologists
can attend our Golden Opportunities
seminars held six to eight times a year
in partnership with the Environmental
Business Council of New England as
well as visit the CEIT World Wide
Website(http://www.epa.gov/region01),
receive informative mailings or call
into a toll-free hotline (800-575-CEIT).
22 United States Environmental Protection Agency
-------
Increase Innovative Technology
Demonstrations: The center is field-
testing promising technologies for
innovative waste remediation and mon-
itoring methods at Superfund sites and
elsewhere.
Remove Regulatory and Institutional
Barriers: EPA is funding environmental
business ombudsmen in two of our
states and working with our state part-
ners to develop technology certification
procedures common to all states.
Improve International Technology
Assistance: EPA has co-led two trade
missions in the last year and sponsors
technical training and technology trans-
fer in Eastern Europe.
Figure 16
1994 National Waste Management Profile
EPA's New England office has several
new initiatives geared toward businesses
and communities that have already proven
that they are environmental leaders or who
demonstrate a sincere commitment to
going beyond what the law requires of
them.
Compliance Leadership through
Enforcement, Audits, and Negotiation
(CLEAN): Pollution prevention has been
proven, time after time, to save money and
preserve the environment at the same time.
No two institutions have found this to be
more true than EPA's partners in the
CLEAN initiative the University of New
Hampshire and the Maine Metal Products
Association. With the help of these able
partners and backed by federal grant fund-
ing, EPA is offering free environmental
audits to metal platers in Maine and New
Hampshire to help them find ways to pre-
vent pollution. Companies that participate
are receiving this audit free of charge and
are offered relief from enforcement if viola-
tions are found during the audit and correct-
ed promptly.
The Environmental Leadership Program
(ELP): New England not only had 2 of the
charter companies in the national
All Toxic Wastes
Total Pounds = 556,387,216
Recycle
53.2%
Releases
7.9%
Energy Recovery
7.5%
Environmental Leadership Program in the
past year The Gillette
Company of Massachusetts and Ocean
State Power of Rhode Island but a new
regional program has added 1 9 more New
England leaders to the initiative this spring.
ELP encourages and rewards companies to
go beyond compliance, with a heavy
emphasis on pollution prevention. In return
for this leadership, EPA offers a tailor-made
combination of enforcement amnesty, sim-
plified and expedited permitting, reduced
inspections and public recognition.
The Excellence and Leadership Program
(Project XL) is a flagship of President
Clinton's environmental reinvention initia-
tives. Two New England companies
HADCO of Deny and Salem, N.H. and
IBM's Essex Junction Facility have
already been selected for this competitive
national program. Through Project XL,
EPA says to businesses and communities
that if they can come up with more effective
ways to protect public health and the envi-
ronment than the way the law requires, then
the agency will throw out the ineffective set
of rules and regulations and contract with
the company to achieve greater environ-
mental benefits at less cost and complexity.
Treatment
31.5%
pollution and enhance our environment
is by recycling. Many fewer people,
though, recognize the full extent of
the economic potential of recycling.
Today, there are 26,897 jobs in New
England associated with the processing
and manufacturing of recyclables, con-
tributing $1.1 million to New England's
economy every year.
Since EPA's "Jobs Through Recycling"
grant program was launched in 1994, it
has resulted in the creation of over 250
jobs and sparked over $36 million in
capital investments in recycling busi-
nesses across the nation. New England
states have received five of these grants
that create new jobs and investment
while reducing solid waste. The Rhode
Island Department of Environmental
Management received a grant to help
manage the growing amount of "litter"
along the information superhighway. The
state is developing a business plan and
providing consulting services to start an
"End-of-Life" Electronics Demanu-
facturing Facility for used computers and
other electronic equipment. The facility
is expected to create 75 jobs. A national
summary of how our toxic wastes are
managed also reflects the types of jobs
that have been created in the waste man-
agement arena (Fig. 16).
Most New Englanders today know that
an important and popular way to prevent
State of the New England Environment 23
-------
"The mightiest corporation, like the
humblest private citizen, must be held in
strict adherence to the law of the land. "
TnroDORr RooshvhLi
Despite the vastly increased emphasis
that EPA's New England office has
placed on helping those we regulate pre-
vent pollution and come into compliance,
enforcement of the law remains at the
core of the agency's work. In fact, with-
out enforcement, many of the agency's
innovative programs like pollution
prevention and compliance assistance
would be far less effective.
Since the agency opened its doors in
1970, EPA has
taken over
60.000 enforce-
ment actions
and assessed
over
$615,000,000
in judicial and
administrative penalties. These actions
have played an important role in the
many environmental successes of the
past quarter century. But, like any tool,
EPA's enforcement authority needs to be
honed and sharpened continually to
achieve greater environmental results.
The reinvention of the enforcement pro-
gram at EPA's New England office is
centered on two key areas. First, the
agency is targeting 80 percent of our
inspections on four key sectors public
agencies, urban ecosystems, industrial
sectors, and sensitive ecosystems
where we believe the greatest environ-
mental and public health benefits can be
achieved. And second, the agency is
using creative approaches to settle dis-
putes in ways that benefit the environ-
ment and involve local communities in
reaching acceptable solutions.
EPA's New England office is becoming a
national leader in using alternative dis-
pute resolution (ADR) to settle cases and
to increase community involvement in
controversial environmental decisions.
ADR encompasses many techniques; in
New England we have relied primarily
upon mediation, in which a neutral third
party helps the negotiating parties reach
Massachusetts Highway Department Settlement
Between April and December 1993,
EPA Inspected several Massachusetts
Midway Department (MHD) facilities
in response to an anonymous citizen's
complaint and uncovered numerous
RCMA violations, including failure to
label open and leaking containers, vio-
lations of storage requirements, failure
to train personnel responsible for man-
aging hazardous wastes properly and
failure to prepare contingency plans for
their facilities. EPA also discovered
that this careless management of haz-
ardous waste was widespread at MHD
facilities throughout the Commonwealth
and had, in fact, been identified by
MHD several years earlier.
In September 1994, EPA simultaneously
signed an administrative complaint
proposing penalties of $3,9 million and
a consent agreement settling the case.
After lengthy negotiations, the case was
settled for a penalty of $100,000 and an
agreement to spend $5 million on sup-
plemental environmental projects. In
addition, MHD agreed to spend approxi-
mately $20 million to audit and remedi-
ate, if necessary; all of its 139 facilities.
In FY95, EPA approved four SEPs and
is reviewing two other SEP proposals
from MHD. The approved SEPs were
initiated in this past year and have sig-
nificant environmental benefits. They
include the following:
City of Lawrence Site Reclamation
and Recreational Area Development
Partnership Project: $1,5 million has
been committed by MHD to assess, cap,
close and convert a former incinerator
site and adjacent incinerator residue
landfill in the City of Lawrence into a
multi-use recreation area. The site is
located on the bank of the Merrimack
River, adjacent to an environmental jus-
tice neighborhood, and will be connect-
ed to a city "river walk" that continues
off-site.
Contribution to the Holyoke
Initiative; MHD will contribute
$750,000 to the Holyoke Initiative,
which is being undertaken as part of a
cooperative agreement between EPA and
the state (a pilot project to integrate fed-
eral and state removal and site assess-
ment programs). The funding will be
used to assess and remediate two sites in
the Churchill neighborhood of Holyoke,
an environmental justice area.
Gwemmeat Training: MHD is devel-
oping an environmental education pro-
gram for the state and loca} highway
and pubMc works departments of 351
cities and towns in the Commonwealth,
covering the environmental regulatory
requirements which typically govern
state and municipal maintenance facili-
ties, at a cost of $500,000,
Computer-Aided Management of
Emergency Operations (CAMEO)
Donation and Training: MHD is
donating CAMEO software and IBM
hardware to run CAMEO, and provid-
ing requisite training to 80 local emer-
gency planning committees in
Massachusetts, at a cost of $685,000.
This project will enable local fire
departments and emergency planning
committees to more effectively respond
to emergency releases of hazardous
materials in their communities.
24 United States Environmental Protection Agency
-------
a mutually acceptable solution. Our ADR
experience has grown from a one-day
mediation of one penalty case in 1992, to
a total of over 30 cases involving a range
of statutes and negotiating challenges.
We are currently in various stages of
mediation in 10 Superfund cases and 8
non-Superfund cases.
Building consensus around divisive envi-
ronmental decisions is a key focus of our
current ADR efforts. For Superfund
cases such as the Pine Street Barge
Canal in Vermont and New Bedford
Harbor in Massachusetts, ADR was initi-
ated at a time when relationships had
deteriorated to the point where it was
impossible to discuss key issues on their
merits. In both cases, clean up measures
are now underway with a broader base of
support and the parties have gone on to
address a
wider range of
issues than
those which
originally
drove the
process.
Conrail
Supplemental environmental projects
(SEPs), which can be negotiated as part
of enforcement settlements, are excellent
means of getting polluters to comply
with environmental laws while improv-
ing the environmental condition of sites
beyond what would be required by law.
Cash portions of the penalty that would
be paid to the agency are reduced some-
what in lieu of expenditures that provide
long-term benefits to the environment.
Over the past year, EPA has negotiated
11 SEPs, yielding over $4 million to
fund projects that directly benefit the
health and the environment of New
England communities.
In the fall of 1995, an unknown source
began to dump large volumes of acid
into a municipal sewer system late at
night. Unable to treat the strong acid,
the city's wastewater treatment plant
failed on at least three occasions, releas-
ing a great deal of raw sewage into one
of our New England rivers. The treat-
ment plant operator called EPA's
Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to
ask for help.
With assistance from federal, state, and
local environmental engineers, CID
immediately began tracing the acid back
up the sewer line and gathering informa-
tion on the industrial users of the city's
sewer system. Before long, the investi-
gation team had identified the suspected
source of the illegal discharge. CID
obtained a federal search warrant, placed
monitoring devices in the sewer lines
surrounding the facility, and waited for
the company to take the next step. Late
that same night, during severe blizzard
conditions, the treatment plant started
receiving another acidic dump. When
CID's monitoring devices confirmed the
source of the discharge, the investigation
team entered the facility. Once inside,
they found two very surprised company
employees in the act of dumping
sulfuric acid into the sewer system.
This true story is a good example of the
type of case EPA pursues as a criminal
case. Criminal enforcement authority
sits atop EPA's environmental enforce-
ment pyramid, targeting the most signifi-
cant and flagrant violations. Two factors
guide EPA in determining whether to
pursue criminal charge: significant envi-
ronmental harm and culpable conduct.
Culpability distinguishes violations that
are committed knowingly from those that
are the result of accident or inadvertence.
Some indicators of culpable conduct
include history of repeat violations,
deliberate misconduct, concealment, and
tampering with monitoring or pollution
control equipment.
On April 7, 1994, as -s^para-
tor failed at Cotir If
Yard
a
had
tion and flsaiateaswcC .
gallon revealed' '
-oil :
expired. Prior to
consistently
monthly reports 'thai 'woiiclJst^
'
ly
Pursuant to a ;
agreed, to pay Sif.ffsal
$1,5 latffion &f l«5jS8r' _
directed to t&eOii Trust
Fund,
take an
program at llt4:lsaepii;|^rX;^(*Bd- aad
donate
of a tateafipfcy 'fof -Btoi Jtorjag
quality in
Cases like this one require a team
approach, with assistance provided by
state and municipal agencies, as well as
other EPA staff. EPA's criminal enforce-
ment program has worked hard to estab-
lish close partnerships with state and
local environmental regulators and law
enforcement organizations throughout
New England.
CID currently has ten agents in New
England, with offices in Boston,
Massachusetts and New Haven,
Connecticut. These agents conduct crim-
inal investigations in all six New
England States under every environmen-
tal statute administered by EPA.
State of the New England Environment 25
-------
Restoring Contaminated Sites
"No child should have to live near a
toxic waste dump. "
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J CLINTON
EPA is bringing bold thinking to our
work to clean up hazardous waste sites.
New England has almost 100 of the
nation's roughly 1400 priority hazardous
waste sites.
Last year, EPA's New England office
launched an ambitious reform effort to
reinvent the way we address sites conta-
minated by hazardous waste. This
reform agenda is designed to achieve
faster Superfund cleanups at sites with
high economic reuse potential. This
reinvention also involves a series of
steps to ensure greater community
involvement in cleanup decisions, earlier
and fairer settlements for small business-
es, and increased development of new
technologies for improved cleanups. The
success of these reforms will be mea-
sured in hard and fast environmental
results by more timely, appropriate,
and cost-effective site clean ups.
A centerpiece of the Superfund Reform
Agenda, the Brownfields Initiative, is
designed to promote the economic reuse
of previously contaminated sites.
"Brownfields" are abandoned or under-
used industrial or commercial sites
where development is complicated by
environmental contamination. People
who might otherwise consider redevelop-
ing these sites are held back by concerns
26 United States Environmental Protection Agency
about their liability they may face
because of hazardous waste at the site.
There are over 10,000 such Brownfields
in New England today.
EPA's goal is to remove liability barriers
to redevelopment and return hazardous
waste sites to productive economic reuse
without sacrificing protection of the
environment. EPA is committed to pro-
viding grants to communities, clarifying
the liability of potential developers
through "covenants not to sue", and
building partnerships with states, cities
and community representatives through
aggressive outreach efforts. Recent suc-
cesses include the award of a $200,000
grant to the City of Boston to inventory
and prioritize contaminated properties in
the Dudley Street area. The goal of this
project: to achieve redevelopment at five
sites. Other pilot projects adding up to
$1 million in Brownfields funding for
New England communities include
the Lawrence Gateway Project and
Worcester, Massachusetts; the State of
Rhode Island, with a focus on the
Woonasquatucket and Blackstone Rivers
area; and an ongoing project in
Bridgeport, Connecticut. Communities
from every corner of New England are
encouraged to apply for Brownfields
funding or call EPA's New Eingland
office for assistance.
"~£ht
-------
One challenge we face in developing
new technologies is the financial risk
involved in testing them. Communities
and companies are understandably reluc-
tant to serve as "guinea pigs" for tech-
nologies without an established track
record. EPA's New England office was
the first in the nation to share in the risk
involved with an innovative technology.
EPA will share the financial risk with the
community of Somersworth, NH and pri-
vate parties for an innovative in-situ
ground water treatment system at the
Somersworth Landfill that will save
those responsible more than $15 million.
tki
The Community Empowerment Initiative
expands our efforts to involve local com-
munities fully in decisions about site
cleanup and future property uses. EPA
has targeted three New England sites
for particular attention under this initia-
tive: New Bedford (MA) Harbor;
Massachusetts Military Reservation (Otis
AFB), and Pine Street Canal (Burlington,
VT). In each case, a public/private
forum has been created to ensure partici-
pation by citizens, local and state offi-
cials, and potentially responsible parties
in the design of the cleanup process.
The goal of the Responsible Alternatives
to Superfund Listing Initiative is to max-
imize environmental results by ensuring
EPA resources are directed where they
will be most effective. This process
helps clean up sites in a more cost-effec-
tive and timely fashion by facilitating
cleanup by states and property owners
where appropriate. As incentives for
redevelopment and reuse, EPA removed
899 New England sites from the
Superfund inventory the "master list"
of sites. By taking these sites off the list,
EPA is indicating that no further federal
action is planned at the site. This simple
act often reduces the stigma associated
with hazardous waste sites and can help
spur economic redevelopment.
Recognizing that information and tech-
nologies can become outdated, the
Bristol Sandblasting Site
In the summer of 1994, the State of
Rhode Island asked for EPA's help in
mitigating the threat to human health
and the environment at the Bristol
Sandblasting Site, located in Warren,
Rhode Island, Sandblasting had been
performed for many years on vehicles,
farm machinery, residential and com-
mercial facilities on and near the site.
The residue from this sandblasting was
used as fill at the site resulting in high
concentrations of lead in surface and
subsurface soil as well as varying con-
centrations of PCBs from unknown
sources. The site consisted of two resi-
dences with a total of seven adults and
seven children, aged fourteen and
younger, and town conservation l*nd.
One of the children has had elevated
blood lead levels in the past.
Remedy Decision Update Initiative
reviews old decisions at Superfund sites
where construction has not yet started.
This "re-review" determines whether the
clean up plan should be modified in
favor of more cost-effective remedies.
EPA is using this process to amend its
plan for the clean up of the Norwood
PCB Superfund Site in Norwood,
Massachusetts, which was finalized in
1989. Changes to the original remedy
will protect public health, allow for
reuse of the property within a relatively
short time, and save taxpayers big
money in the case of the Norwood
site, close to $50 million at no cost to
the environment.
at
Start RCRA Cleanup 2000 is designed to
get RCRA Corrective Action work start-
ed in more cooperative and often
more efficient manner. What makes a
RCRA site different from a Superfund
site is that RCRA sites are often contam-
inated facilities that are still in business
and subject to hazardous waste manage-
ment laws. The short term goal of this
After sampling to determine, the extent
of contamination, BPAi b>|ait: work at
the site in April,
EPA and its
the
teamexcavaled-a'Wtal;Of,,8iSi^'tons of
-soil and re«»«e<} the
for'profer disposal -
involved shipping g.GQff e>f e %5p0
tons to a local laftdlil
teaching tests
would iaot
unsiafe amounts.
Ais 8,000 tons failed t
the first
before being slipped; ,
landfill In' New York' 'Sttte *&» to the
higher PCB eoncetofiratioa M Ae soil.
initiative is to implement final solutions
or stabilize the highest priority RCRA
facilities a group of approximately
160 out of the 500 or so RCRA
Corrective Action sites in the region
by the year 2000.
EPA's New England office is pursuing
this goal using methods like voluntary
corrective action by industry; expanding
the role of the New England states; and
improving cooperative efforts with our
Superfund Removal Program. Voluntary
commitments have been received from
General Dynamics Electric Boat
Division; Sikorsky-Bridgeport; Tech
Systems; and Technicircuits to begin field
work consistent with our initiative goals.
State of the New England Environment 27
-------
New Directions:
"A new ethic is required, a new attitude
toward discharging our responsibility for
caring for ourselves and for the earth.
This ethic must motivate a great move-
ment, convincing reluctant leaders and
reluctant peoples themselves to effect
needed change. "
TWO IIIOUS'\ND SCIbNHSIS, INCLUDING 102 NOBhL
LAUREATES. FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
We live in a time of great change in New
England. Environmental policies must
keep up with the times. To meet the next
generation of environmental challenges
in an era of dwindling federal resources,
those of us at EPA are bringing a new
ethic to our work: a belief that consen-
sus, rather than confrontation, will
achieve greater environmental results.
With this ethic in mind, EPA's New
England office is transforming itself into
a laboratory for bold experimentation in
environmental policy. In the last year,
many innovative ideas have gone from
action plans to plain action. Pilot pro-
jects launched last year such as the
Urban Environmental Initiative, our
environmental technology initiative, tar-
geted enforcement, third-party certifica-
tion, enforcement amnesty in return for
pollution prevention, and the New
England Environmental Assistance Team
have become the day-to-day work of
EPA staff. Most important, these innova-
tive approaches are beginning to yield
measurable environmental results.
This report is filled with new directions
in environmental policy. Many of these-
new initiatives have taken hold already:
several are still in development. A few
of those initiatives that are still in their
infancy are set out below as indicative of
where the region's efforts are headed.
EPA's reinvention agenda for New
England falls into three thematic areas:
Cultural and organizational change at
EPA: EPA is making its operation in
New England more efficient and more
accountable to the public through a
major management restructuring set in
place this past fall. This re-engineering
has flattened the management structure
from one manager for every five
employees to one manager for every
eleven employees. The restructuring has
also gotten rid of our old media divisions
air, water and waste and replaced
them with place-based, sector-based divi-
sions.
In addition, EPA is encouraging and
rewarding high performance by its
employees. Three years ago at EPA,
80% of the region's employees received
performance bonuses which amount-
ed to little more than a modest salary
supplement. This year, 20% of the
workforce received bonuses, rewarding
and encouraging truly outstanding per-
formance on behalf of public health and
the environment.
Sounder science and smarter econom-
ics: Our decisions, increasingly, must be
grounded in sound science and smart
middle
- seiiool
excavation;
.- jies htvefesolteditr
- approximately' "
Redevelopment of the Raymark FaciI ity -
"A Model far ffte 0tm!ryw
From 1919 to 19B9, Raymark Industries
operated a brake manufacturing facility
on 33 acres in Stratford, Cenaeeticut,
During these 70 years of operation,
manufacturing wastes containing
asbestos, lead and polychloriaated
biphenyls {PCBs) were commonly dis-
posed of as fill on the property and on
residential, commercial and municipal
properties throughout the towa of
Stratford, In 1993, a public health advi-
sory was issued by the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
in cooperation with the Connecticut
Department of Health warning of the
risks from exposure to Raymark's man-
ufacturing waste found throughout the
town.
In response to the health advisory, EPA.
began hazardous waste removal work at
several residential properties in
September, 1993, Over the next two
years, EPA completed the excavation of
Raymark w,aste from the yards of 47
homes while, at the same time, the State
of Connecticut completed excavation
activities on the baseball fields at the
Directions
to the -original; facilfty-'-wbere it presently
. sits in 20-36 fool fi§l-,«6«kpilek' - .
»*~~fhe
s'fewt tte eteaitap
plan r os.luly.-3v l^i,.wlttefeAie$jjdwl
the demolitHja 'of ai teildiajis on-site
mA tije-cappin|\Cwjth>;|e0&fit
clay Jiner) of :th«;ea'tii
EPA <|uiekly_]begai deDftolitiaa-at t|ie
facility in' Septsp|j|er ,1995,,-. Ai$ of Ais
spring, ovier-9f)%.4f -the-'-l,5'acres-of:.
baiiding* had been 4spolShed, Tfie
ultanafe goal is to m^ke this Superfund
site die first in the nwtioa that is pot
back into beneficial economae ase, EPA
AdHiiaistratoj Cafol Brownet called the
Raymark cleanupf"a model for the
country,** ' ."'.'''..
28 United States Environmental Protection Agency
-------
economics. To this end, EPA is pushing
forward on an initiative to define envi-
ronmental results based on scientific evi-
dence also known as developing environ-
mental indicators. These indicators will
improve our future State of the New
England Environment Reports by provid-
ing a clearer sense of whether the quality
of our environment is improving or get-
ting worse. And the indicators will pro-
vide EPA staff with a better idea of
which efforts yield the most meaningful
environmental results as measured in
sound scientific terms.
And we are continuing to bring the mar-
ket to bear on environmental problems.
Initiatives like Market-Based Emissions
Trading are already letting the invisible
hand work its magic on behalf of New
England's environmental and economic
health. A new effort to promote effluent
trading will bring the same principles
that are working to improve air quality to
protect our waterways. And a new $2
billion tax incentive, proposed by
President Clinton this winter, would use
the tax structure to promote redevelop-
ment of formerly contaminated sites, or
Brownfields.
Education and empowerment:
EPA recognizes that we must draw upon
the ingenuity and love for the environ-
ment of New Englanders to help us pro-
tect our shared environment. That is the
precept behind our many community-
based environmental protection efforts
EPA's partnerships with environmen-
talists at Waquoit Bay on Cape Cod and
dairy farmers near Lake Champlain, with
metal platers in Maine and major corpo-
rations like The Gillette Company in
Boston.
Empowerment is also what new pro-
grams, like StarTrack, are all about.
EPA's New England office recognizes
that some companies are superb environ-
mental citizens and deserve to be regu-
lated differently than others. StarTrack
offers companies with proven records of
environmental leadership the opportunity
to have an independent third party audit
and monitor their environmental perfor-
mance in the place of EPA inspectors.
This initiative has the potential to create
a whole new class of professional envi-
ronmental auditors upon which, in the
future, EPA will rely to ensure the
environmental integrity of corporations
much the way the SEC relies on CPAs to
ensure the financial integrity of those
same corporations today.
In our first State of the New England
Environment Report, we promised to
issue an annual report on our progress as
a society in protecting our public health
and our resources. Each year, we will
strive not only to improve our environ-
ment but also to improve the quality of
the data and other information that we
provide the public.
We encourage all New Englanders to
challenge those of us at EPA to reach
greater heights, hold us accountable
when we fall short of our ambitious
goals, and most important, to join us in
our work to provide a cleaner, safer,
healthier environment for all who will
follow.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, Library (PL-12J)
77 West Jackson Boulevar.d, 12th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
State of the New England Environment 29
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 1
New England Office
EPA901-R-96-001
August 1996
United States Environmental Protection - New England
Office of Public Affairs
John F Kennedy Building, RAA
Boston, Massachusetts, 02203-0001
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
First-Class Mail
Postage and Fees Paid
EPA
Permit No. G-35
Mr vnUins V. Adamkus
PFaioivU Administrator _
US Environmental Protecnon
6060/, 5507
Forwarding and Address
Correction Requested
------- |