210R88001
COMPENDIUM
Regional Technology
Transfer Through
Training
October 1988
Developed by the
Human Resources Development Division
Office of Human Resources Management
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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FOREWORD
EPA has a number of ways of transferring its technology to others;
training is probably our premier tool. Earlier this year I made a
commitment to find out what's going on in the Regions in the area of
technology transfer through training, and this compendium
represents the results of our first effort. The amount and variety of
training activities occurring in the Regional offices is truly impressive.
We wish to express our appreciation to the Regional Institute
contacts, technology transfer focal points, program office training
coordinators, State contacts and others who provided much of the
information contained in this compendium. We have included two
appendices which list the Institute contacts and technology transfer
focal points for your information.
The Human Resources Development Division has been given the
lead responsibility to manage the training component of the Agency's
technology transfer effort, and we work closely with the Agencywide
Technology Transfer Staff. We have created this compendium
primarily to serve the needs of Agency personnel who are involved in
the technology transfer effort and need to know the status of our
ongoing training activities with the States.
The compendium's purpose is to make you aware of training
activities that other offices and Regions are engaged in that may be of
interest to you or your State partners. We expect the EPA-State
partnerships in your offices and Regions to be strengthened by taking
advantage of training others have developed and found useful. The
whole effort of transferring technology and training to the States
depends on your willingness to find new ways to meet your own and
the States' needs. This compendium should provide you with ample
opportunity to identify different approaches to sharing training.
Please feel free to share this compendium with the States.
We recognize that this effort may not have captured all of the
training activities taking place between the Regions and States. For
that reason, this compendium will be updated as we learn of new and
different training efforts occurring. Our goal is to present this
information so that it is most useful to you. Please call us with
suggestions for improving the compendium and with any additions you
have to it.
Weiss, Director
Human Resources Development Division
Office of Human Resources Management
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REGION I
Institute Activities
Region I has a solid Institute in place which coordinates training
for all offices in the Region. The Institute publishes a comprehensive
catalog of training offered in the Region and will produce a separate
"mini- catalog" of courses that are open to State participants. The
Region is working to create an information network with the States to
determine what courses they offer which EPA employees could take,
and what training State employees can take from the Institute. For
more information about the Institute, contact Georgie Bishop, Institute
Director, at FTS 835-3393.
Emergenc Resonse Courses
Some of the most popular courses with the States, as in most
Regions, are the courses offered by the Environmental Response Team
(ERT) which works through a contractor to take 10-12 courses per
year to each Region. Two of these courses, the Personnel Protection
and Safety and the Hazardous Materials for First Responders courses
frequently have 70-80% State participation with an average State
participation in ERT courses of at least 50%. ERT sends out a
training calendar to the Regions which in turn distribute the calendars
to the States. This training information is also included in OSWER's
training calendar which is widely circulated throughout the Agency.
Call Tom Sell, ERT Training Coordinator, at FTS 684-7537 for more
information.
Laboratory Activities
In addition, the New England Regional Laboratory trains State
employees both through formal courses coordinated through the
Regional Institute, and through informal hands-on training in the lab
or on-site in the State. For example, State employees may come to the
lab for one week to learn about new technology or equipment, or lab
personnel may visit a plant to instruct State employees in how to
conduct tests. Call Ed Conley, lab director, at 617-860-4315 for more
information.
Active Associations
Region I also has a highly developed network of associations which
offer training to their State members and frequently work with EPA to
develop and deliver courses. The Northeast States for Coordinated Air
Use Management (NESCAUM) is an association of the air quality
managers from eight states which identifies the training needs of its
members and works to meet them, either through seminars on
emerging issues or specific course development. For example, Region
I and NESCAUM jointly developed a toxic modelling course for
NESCAUM members which EPA offers to other states as well.
NESCAUM also has worked with ORE) to develop a course for
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inspectors to prevent accidental releases. For more information, call
Mike Bradley, director, at 617-367-8540.
The New England Interstate. Water Pollution Control Commission
(NEIWPCC) is another association which offers training to its members
and EPA and apprises the Institute of its offerings. It also makes its
members aware of EPA training when it receives the Regional
Institute's catalog, and is working with the Region to more closely
coordinate their training efforts. For more information, call Rom
Poltac at 617-367-8522. Call Norm Willard at 617-367-8858 for
information on the New England Waste Management Officials
Association (NEWMOA.)
Next Steps
A next step for the Institute will be to work with the States to take
training out to them, share materials with them, and develop courses
through local universities. Call Georgie Bishop at FTS 835-3393 for
more information.
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REGION II
Institute Activities
The Institute is aware of most of the training put on by program
offices and maintains an informal network of program office contacts
to track training. It publishes a quarterly Regional training calendar
and training course updates, and facilitates some training scheduling.
While most of the training States want is offered by program offices,
the Institute is aware of States' interest in other areas such as the
introductory and Superfund-oriented enforcement negotiation skills
courses which are offered alternately in five Regions each year. In
fact, the contractor working with the Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Monitoring (OECM) on the negotiation skills development
workshop will be teaching the same course to the State of
Pennsylvania this winter, and EPA staff will probably help teach it. Call
Renelle Rae, OECM, at FTS 475-8777 for more information on the
enforcement courses. Jane Thomas of the Regional Institute can be
reached at FTS 264-0593 for information on other Regional training.
Risk Assessment Courses
The risk assessment courses have also been popular with the
States. The Region trained its own people in these courses this year
and will focus on training the States in FY 89. ORD is also working on
a course in risk assessment guidelines to offer the States. In addition,
the Region offers training in the Integrated Risk Information System
(IRIS) to States and plans to train universities and other interested
parties in a shortened version of the course. Call Alice Jenik, the
Region's technology transfer focal point, at FTS 264-4296 for more
information.
Groundwater Courses
Groundwater courses are very popular with the States in Region II.
Several States are taking training offered by Headquarters through a
contractor in wellhead protection area delineation. In a course on the
fundamentals of groundwater contamination. State employees
comprised 30% of the participants, and in one instance the Region
was able to offer the course at a local college campus to 200 people,
producing savings of $70,000 by training many people at one time.
The U.S. Geological Survey taught a course in geographical information
systems training to the Region. The Region currently is planning a
geophysics course to be taught by an EPA employee both in the
Regions and in the States. Call Lisa Voyce, Water Management
Division, for more information at FTS 264-5635.
Title HE Education Efforts
Like other Regions, Region II has invested much effort in educating
State and local governments, industry and the public in Title III. A
basic course in community relations concepts and skills was offered to
Regional and State employees, and State employees comprised a full
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25-30% of participants in a workshop on the technical assistance
grants program. Call Lillian Johnson, Office of External Programs, at
FTS 264-7054 for more information.
Emergency and Remedial Response
Region II also takes advantage of the full range of courses offered by
the Headquarters OSWER office, as do most Regions. For example,
several Superfund-specific courses developed in Headquarters have
been delivered in the Regions to joint Regional and State audiences,
such as a remedial investigation feasibility study workshop, and a
regional groundwater modelling workshop. In addition, States often
host courses offered by the Environmental Response Team. The host
State gets 50% of the slots in the course for its students, and the
Region and other States take the remaining slots. Call Peter Ucker,
Emergency and Remedial Response Division, at FTS 264-6324 for
more information.
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REGION IH
Institute Activities
The Regional Institute is preparing a list of all the courses planned
for FY 89 to share among the program offices and with the States. It
plans to designate which courses are open to State participants and to
provide a contact person for the States to call. In addition, the
Institute plans to publish a monthly training calendar and to establish
a training committee with representatives from each program office in
order to share information and more closely coordinate their
activities. Call Larry Merrill or Eileen Burrows, Regional Institute, at
FTS 597-8924 for more information.
Joint Training Efforts with State and Local Governments
The Institute has met with trainers from the District of Columbia
(DC) to share materials developed for some administrative and
management courses such as secretarial training programs, and to
discuss other areas in which they can share training. In addition, DC
is talking with the Hazardous Waste Management Division about
sending some of its employees to Regional courses. Maryland has also
expressed an interest in reviewing the Region's calendar to identify
courses of interest to its employees.
Pennsylvania, Delaware and the city of Philadelphia frequently take
advantage of being located near the Regional office by participating in
training there. Project officer and contract administration courses are
popular with State and local governments, as are courses offered by
the program offices. Call Larry Merrill or Eileen Burrows at FTS 597-
8924 for more information on these training efforts.
Working with Local Colleges
In the past, the Regional Institute has organized focus groups from
the program offices to meet and discuss what topics they would like to
have covered in a given course, e.g., an emergency response course
for the Hazardous Waste Management Division. The Institute then
organizes a meeting with local colleges to solicit proposals to meet
these training needs. The schools work with EPA to develop course
proposals and submit them for approval. They then offer the courses
on a semester basis for EPA employees and others to take. These
courses reach a larger audience, including State and local personnel,
than the Region could on its own by offering the courses internally.
Call Larry Merrill or Eileen Burrows at FTS 597-8924 for more
information.
Technology Transfer Initiatives
The Regional technology transfer focal point has recently published
a Technical Assistance Directory of various technology transfer efforts
going on in the Region. An example of these efforts is the risk
assessment training that was developed in the Region and given to
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more than 50 Regional, State and local employees over the last two
years. The Region taught the whole risk training module to the State
of Virginia. It plans to offer the Headquarters-developed risk
assessment courses to the States this year. Contact Sam Rotenberg in
the Waste Management Branch at FTS 597-2842 for more information.
Another example is the Pretreatment of Industrial Wastewater
Workshop offered by the Water Management Division to municipalities;
and some State personnel in preventing excess discharges of
industrial wastewater into sewage treatment plants. Next fiscal year,
this training will be provided to the States of Pennsylvania and Virginia
to educate them about pretreatment, their responsibilities under the:
delegated program, and how to conduct industrial user investigations.
In a recent meeting with the Region, Maryland and Pennsylvania.,
Maryland shared its experiences in this area in an attempt to prepare
Pennsylvania for starting its own program. Call John Lovell at FTS
597-6279 for more information.
Several universities in the Region have formed consortia with
institutions in Region V to apply to become one of the five Hazardous
Substance Research Centers being developed under Superfund.
Headquarters OSWER has paired each Region with a partner Region to
ensure that the five Centers are evenly placed throughout the country.
These centers will spend $100-150,000 each year for five years to
develop programs to train hazardous waste workers. For example, a.
center might develop a videotape to train EPA and State Superfund
employees or organize a network to distribute research and training
information. Call Roland Schrecongost, Hazardous Waste Management
Division, at FTS 597-9492 for more information.
In a separate effort, the Hazardous Waste Management Division is
establishing a technology transfer and training center to consolidate;
all training information into one database, and organize its technical
documents into an easy-to-use reference system. It will coordinate
this effort with the Regional Institute. For more information, call
Joanne McKernan at FTS 597-8182.
The Region is working to launch an Institute for Cooperative
Environmental Management (ICEM) to pool the talents of industry,
government, academia and the public to facilitate joint environmental
activities. The Institute would focus on disseminating information,
offering training, conducting joint R&D efforts, developing educational
programs in schools, and sharing planning. The Executive Board of
the Institute will meet in October 1988 to flesh out its future
activities. For more information on this and other technology transfer
and training efforts listed in the Technical Assistance Directory, call
Greene Jones, the Regional technology transfer focal point, at FTS
597-4532 or Norm Kulujian, ORD Region III representative, at FTS
597-9336.
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REGION IV
Institute Activities
The Institute functions as a clearinghouse of training information
and publishes bi-annual calendars of courses offered in the Region. It
sends these calendars to State training contacts and facilitates State
employees signing up for courses where there is room available. Some
courses have spaces reserved for State employees, while others
operate on a first-come/first-serve basis. The Institute is seeking to
consolidate training calendars with the program offices, and the Waste
Management Division has recently appointed three contacts to form a
training committee with the Institute to coordinate the division's
training and target it to the appropriate Regional, State and local
audience. For more information on the Institute, call Rich Nawyn at
FTS 257-3486.
Training Activities with the States
Since travel costs to Atlanta prevent many States from sending
employees to the Regional office for training, the Region offers several
courses on-site in the States. In addition to the hazardous materials
courses offered on-site by the Environmental Response Team and
Headquarters OSWER, the Environmental Services Division (ESD)
teaches courses in the States on how to sample at hazardous waste
sites. ESD also offers courses in the states on trouble-shooting
wastewater treatment facilities and compliance monitoring. In
addition, the Waste Management Division offers a risk assessment
decision-making course in the Regional office which States have
attended, and it has trained the States to put on the course
themselves. The division will make a staff member available to support
States in their first efforts to train their own employees this year. For
more information, contact Rich Nawyn at FTS 257-3486.
Innovative Training Initiatives
There are several new efforts underway in the Region to get
training out to a wider audience. The Hazardous Waste Management
Institute at East Tennessee State University opened in June 1988 to
serve as a national center to provide short-term technical training
relating to Superfund activities to Federal, State and local employees;
long-term academic training in a Masters program; and special
research projects. This institute is supported by the entire Agency,
not just Region IV. Call George Moien, Director (on IPA from Region
IV), at 615-929-4429 for more information.
In addition, the Region is planning to open a RCRA training
institute at Mississippi State University to offer a range of courses
from basic orientation to more specific implementation and
compliance activities. The institute will offer a two-week annual
course for new compliance employees to at least 35 State and Regional
employees each year. More courses may be offered as Mississippi
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State works with the Region and States to develop materials ami
curricula. The institute will be jointly funded by Region IV and the
States. Call Otis Johnson, Waste Management Division, at FTS 257-
3016 for more information.
As the lead Region for enforcement, Region IV is hoping to pilot a
State inspector training course to be a model for other Regions as they
begin to implement this newly-ordered Agency- and State-wide
training program. Call Tom Nessmith, Region IV technology transfer
focal point, at FTS 257-7109 for more information.
Region IV also has a contract with the University of Florida to
administer a program using funds pooled from the States' 105 air
grants to pay for travel and per diem associated with training for State
employees. The States found in the past that they frequently ran out
of travel funds before their staffs received necessary training. Under
this arrangement, the States pool roughly $100,000 each year to pay
for air-related training, such as a workshop at Georgia Tech in
asbestos removal, or a New Source Review workshop in the Region.
128 State and local employees benefited from this program in FY 87.
Call Bruce Miller, Air Programs Branch, at FTS 257-2864 for more
information.
Medical Monitoring
Finally, the Institute has developed a field safety and medical
monitoring system to track category I-III employees who are required
to take these training courses. The Institute is willing to share a copy
of its computer program with other Regions. Contact Rich Nawyn a.t
FTS 257-3486 for more information.
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REGION V
Institute Activities
The Institute keeps track of some training taking place in the
Region, although not all program office training is coordinated with
the Institute. The Institute is encouraging the program offices to let it
know about training activities with the States so that it can coordinate
the various outreach efforts to the States, academia, and the private
sector. It plans to accompany the program offices on their annual
visits to the States this year in order to talk with States about their
training needs. The Region's technology transfer focal point will also
work out of the Institute so that these activities will be coordinated.
Call Ric Sims or Bob Thayer, Regional Institute, at FTS 886-7535, or
Janet Mason, Regional technology transfer focal point, at FTS 886-
7501 for more information.
Computer Training for the States
States come to the Region to take computer training courses in the
various database systems used in the Agency. In addition, since many
States cannot afford to travel to the Regional office to take training,
the Region is working with a contractor to offer some computer
courses off-site in a central location more convenient to the States.
Call Janet Mason, technology transfer focal point, at FTS 886-7501 for
more information.
State Participation in Waste Management Division Training
States come to 80% of the courses offered by the Waste
Management Division. The division mails catalogs listing its courses,
including Environmental Response Team courses, community
relations courses, risk assessment courses and others to the States to
advertise them. It also issues individual course announcements six to
eight weeks before courses start to its State contacts. Frequently
States comprise 10-15% of the classes, and States sometimes ask for
special courses to meet their specific training needs. The division
provides courses, videotapes, assistance in developing courses, and
any other help it can to meet the States' needs. The division plans to
send its training coordinator to the States this year to let them know
what training and assistance is available. It also will coordinate its
courses closely with the Institute to produce a unified catalog, and
plans to share needs assessment information it learns from its State
visits with the Institute.
In FY 89, the division plans to work with the State of Indiana
Department of Environmental Management to develop a soil/glacial
geology course which a State employee will teach. It will be offered to
other States and the Region in the Regional office, then may be offered
in the States if there is interest. Alternately, EPA and Indiana may
train the other States' trainers so they can teach the course
themselves.
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Popular courses with the States over the past year included:
Introduction to Procurement under Superfund; RCRA Orientation;
Superfund RI/FS Workshop; CERCLA Orientation; and Skills
Development in RCRA/CERCLA Disputes. Altogether, a total of 66
State employees received training. For more information about these
courses, call Pat Easley, Waste Management Division training
coordinator, at FTS 886-2775.
Barbara Lambert of the Waste Management Division is working to
develop a basic solid waste training program for the Indian tribes in
the Region. Call her at FTS 886-6822 for more information.
Air Division Interaction with States
The Air Pollution Training Institute out of RTP offers its courses in
the Region and through the Illinois Institute of Technology and other
avenues. States take these courses along with Regional personnel. For
example, in an inspection procedures and safety course, 20 of the 36
participants were from State and local governments.
Other popular courses this year included: Control of Particulate
Emissions; Combustion Evaluation for Air Pollution Control; Control of
Volatile Organic Compounds; and Control of Gaseous Emissions. All of
these courses had approximately 50% State and local participation,
and a total of 46 State and local employees were trained altogether.
Call George Hurt, Air Compliance Branch, at FTS 886-6822 for more
information.
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REGION VI
Institute Activities
The Institute does not function as a central clearinghouse for
training information, but it is aware of courses offered by the program
offices which are popular with the States. The program offices invite
State employees to participate in their classes, or the Institute
reserves spaces in a course for States at the program offices' request.
The Institute does plan to include the States next year in its training
needs assessment. Call Cynthia Singletary or Sally Bela, Regional
Institute, at FTS 255-6560 for more information.
Popular Courses with States
There have been several highly specialized courses offered by ORD
in which States have participated. For example, 30 State and 40
Regional employees recently attended a course on the ecological
effects of toxic substances. Similarly, 50% of the participants in a
course on investigation of groundwater contaminated by field activities
were State employees. Other courses popular with the States were on
groundwater hydrology, hazardous waste landfills design, and
statistical sampling.
Like most Regions, Region VI is experiencing significant State
participation in the risk assessment courses. In fact, the Region is
planning to take the risk assessment and decision-making course out
to the States in the coming year. In addition, the Office of Pesticides
runs an expert witness course in which more than 70% of the
participants are from the States.
The Regional technology transfer focal point is compiling a catalog
of courses offered by both the Institute and the program offices, and
plans to share it with the States. He also plans to visit each of the
States to establish technology transfer contacts there. He expects the
Region to continue to share ORD reports and other technical
information and guidance with these State contacts, as well as sharing
training. Call the technology transfer focal point, Norm Dyer, at FTS
255-2270 for more information.
New Initiatives
In conjunction with the Agencywide Technology Transfer Staff, the
Region has recently established the EPA-University of Texas at
Arlington (UTA) Environmental Institute for Technology Transfer.
The Institute is a cooperative effort between Region VI and UTA to
support the needs of the Region VI community in environmental
research, education, and training programs. It will set up a network
between EPA, universities, industry and State and local governments
to work through academic institutions in the Region to conduct joint
research projects and training programs to help States and industry
better carry out regulatory programs.
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The Institute will not directly teach courses but will provide
assessment tools to the State agencies to help them identify their
training needs; develop courses and materials to respond to these
needs; and develop programs to train Regional, State and local staffs.
The Institute will then share these developed curricula with other
universities and community colleges to further ensure that training is
getting out to meet local needs. In addition, the partners in the
Institute will jointly develop research agendas, share new
technologies, and provide a forum to address common concerns. Call
Gerald Nieman (on IPAfrom EPA to UTA) at 817-273-2300 for more
information.
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REGION VII
Institute Activities
The Institute publishes a quarterly training catalog and sends it to
the States. It allows State employees to sit in on courses, especially
when a State has expressed a particular training need. For example,
in the past when several States have expressed an interest in getting
ADP training from the Region, State people have come to the Regional
office for training and the Region has also gone out to provide training
in the States. This has occurred frequently when the States needed
modifications to their data systems and training in these system
changes. Call Mary Melton or Marian Hess at FTS 757-2821 for more
information on the Institute.
Technology Transfer
When the Region offers formal courses like those from the
Environmental Response Team or the Air Pollution Training Institute,
it normally invites the States to attend, and may even hold the courses
on-site in the States. The Region also offers more informal training to
the States. It is setting up a library with self-study training materials
that Regional and State employees can use. It has jointly developed a
slide show on wetlands management with the State of Nebraska, the
Army Corps of Engineers, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Finally,
the Region is considering expansion of its risk assessment training
this year to include State soil conservation staffs. Call Gene Ramsey,
Regional technology transfer focal point, at FTS 757-2819 for more
information on these initiatives.
Joint Training Efforts with Kansas University
The Region has a special relationship with Kansas University (KU)
wherein KU develops manuals and provides specialized training to
EPA and the States in asbestos, air toxics monitoring for inspectors,
and other areas. KU was one of seven universities that received a seed
grant to develop asbestos training courses. It has eight mobile training
facilities which travel into the field and teach asbestos removal
techniques. Call Gene Ramsey at FTS 757-2819 for more information.
Waste Management Training
The Waste Management Division has an extensive contract with the
Ecology and Environment Technical Assistance Team (TAT) which
accounts for much of the training offered in the Region and to the
States. The TAT coordinates a joint effort by Region VII and the
Union Pacific Railroad to teach a first responders course. The
audience for this course is usually 20-25% State employees, 65-70%
local employees, and 5-10% industry employees. It is offered at no
cost to the students.
This initial course is followed by a more detailed hands-on course
for first responders, and the two courses are each offered
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approximately 15 times per year. The contractor provides the States
with the course schedules, and the States advertise the courses to
local agencies. For more information on these courses and other
waste management training activities, call Bill Keffer, Waste
Management Division, at FTS 757-3720.
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REGION VIII
Institute Activities
The Institute is working to centralize training and to include all
program offices' courses in its annual calendar. It also publishes a
monthly newsletter, as well as special course announcements. It is
working closely with program office contacts to keep abreast of
training going on with the States, and plans to share its annual
calendar with the States in the future.
In addition, the Institute is working to increase its technical
understanding of the training offered by the program offices so it can
more effectively market these courses. It wants to receive advance
schedules of program office training in order to advertise the courses
to States before they fill up. The Institute lets States know if there are
spaces still available in a class, and will take registration over the
phone to facilitate the States' participation. Call Mary Rogers,
Regional Institute, at FTS 564-1498 for more information.
Popular Courses with the States
Risk training has been successfully taken to the States this year.
The Region offered the basic risk assessment course in Colorado,
Montana, Utah and South Dakota to about 250 people, and taught the
more technical exposure assessment training to an additional 50. The
Region plans to train some State trainers to teach these risk courses.
Whenever the Region offers training at its operations office in
Helena, Montana it invites the State to attend. These courses have
included project officer and contract administration training, risk
assessment, RCRA orientation, and training in the Integrated Risk
Information System (IRIS). Call Mary Rogers for more information on
these courses at FTS 564-1498.
Technology Transfer Group
The Region's technology transfer focal point chairs a group of
program office and State contacts involved in the transfer of
technology and training in the Region. The Institute participates in
the group and uses it to identify mechanisms to get training to the
States. The group is planning to publish a directory listing the expert
staff contacts associated with various fields and subject areas in the
Region to share with the States.
In addition, the technology transfer focal point has visited each
program office to find out what they are doing in the area of
technology transfer. Several of the initiatives from this list are
described below. Call the technology transfer focal point, Jim Lehr, at
FTS 564-1441 for more information.
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New Initiatives with Regional Academic Institutions
The Region is working with the Colorado School of Mines on a pilot
program to provide engineers and geoscientists who have project
management experience with the training they need to move into the
field of managing remediation of hazardous waste sites. This program
is part of a larger effort by the Region, States and others to retrain out-
of-work miners and energy workers into this field. The Region is on
the advisory committee to evaluate this pilot program and direct
future training efforts to meet government agencies' needs. The pilot
began earlier this year and will be completed this fall.
Front Range Community College is adding an associate degree and
EPA courses to its curriculum and will become a Center of Excellence
to train a much-needed applicant pool of hazardous waste technicians.
The Region has shared training materials with the Center, and
Regional personnel will teach some courses. Rocky Mountain Junior
College is also developing as a Center of Excellence to train sewage
treatment plant operators. The Region has contributed grant money,
and Regional staff will be teaching some courses.
Other Technology Transfer Efforts
The Region has taken a course in biological monitoring techniques
for stream assessment to the States and trained four to six State
employees at each location. In addition, the Region's inspectors often
join State employees in conducting their annual inspections of
wastewater and drinking water plants and train them in proper
techniques.
The Region took an Incinerator Technology and Safety course to
the State of Utah last year in response to a special request from the
State. Utah had six applications for new incinerators in one year, and
no one in the State was adequately familiar with the field to review the
applications. The Region taught a workshop for State employees and
the public to educate them about incinerator technology, and other
States came to take the training as well.
Colorado State University is working closely with the Region to
develop an integrated pest management videotape on the alternatives
to using pesticides. It should be available this year.
Call Jim Lehr at FTS 564-1441 for information on these and other
Region VIII technology transfer activities.
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REGION IX
Institute Activities
The Institute is well-coordinated and keeps abreast of the training
offered by the various program offices. It plans to hire a full-time
training officer to establish contacts with State training officers,
assess State training needs, and explore how the Region can meet
some of the States' most pressing needs. The Institute publishes an
annual course catalog which includes program office training
information. Call John Duff, Regional Institute, at FTS 454-8016 for
more information.
Popular Courses with the States
Risk assessment and decision-making is a very popular course and
has been offered to States both in-house and on-site. The University of
California (UC) at Berkeley has been the site for some classes, and
UC has sent an individual on an IPA to EPA to facilitate the transfer of
risk training. The Region offers the course every two months in
California to an audience of approximately 20 EPA and 20 State
employees. The course delivery facilitates team-building between the
Region and State and focuses on problem-solving techniques and
hands-on application of the material. Call Bill Wilson, Waste
Management Division, at FTS 454-0960, or John Duff, Regional
Institute, at FTS 454-8016 for more information.
Another popular course with the States has been contract
administration, both for project officers and for supervisors; 15 State
and 20 EPA employees have been trained so far. Enforcement
negotiation training is also of interest to the States, which have
comprised 10% of the audiences in the classes taught to date. For
more information on State participation in Regional courses, call John
Duff at FTS 454-8016.
Air Training Initiatives with States
The California Air Resources Board (ARB), comprised of the various
air districts in the State, has been working on a task force with the
Region's Air Management Division for the last two years to develop a
series of training materials and videotapes to provide a uniform air
quality training program for air agency personnel, particularly field
inspectors. The program will consist of three levels of training
videotapes to be offered to all the districts in the State.
The first-year curriculum includes 14 courses in such areas as the
history of air pollution control and the Clean Air Act, climatology and
meteorology, concepts of regulation development, inspector conduct
and liability, field safety, air contaminants, air pollution control
equipment, sampling techniques, and other courses. The task force
developed the materials, the Region is paying for the videotapes, and
the ARB will track individuals' progress through the training,
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administer exams, and issue certificates to personnel who successfully
complete the training. Three of the 14 first-year videotapes have been
developed, and the rest are underway.
The second-year training offers more advanced courses, such as
one in paints and coatings. The third-year curriculum focuses on
more specialized topics such as asbestos training. The Region expects
to reach over 200 air inspectors in the State of California alone, not to
mention the air supervisors and other air personnel who will be taking
some of the more general training. The ARB arranged with a local
university to have continuing education units attached to these
courses.
The Region is developing a workplan that involves making this
training available to other States in the future. It is willing to share
the tapes with other Regions to distribute to their States. In addition,
the ARB also offers other training courses which it advertises in a
quarterly newsletter. The Region coordinates the training with them,
and Regional staff frequently teach the courses. Call Vickie Boothe,
Air Management Division, at FTS 454-8923 for more information.
Technology Transfer
The Region's technology transfer focal point is working closely
with the Institute to coordinate training efforts. She participates in a
monthly meeting of training coordinators from the various program
offices, and is putting together a summary of technology transfer
activities going on in the Region. Call the technology transfer focal
point, Marsha Harris, at FTS 454-0960 for more information.
Waste Training Initiatives with the States
The Region has trained State and EPA personnel in the past by
conducting seminars to educate them about Federal programs. For
example, the Region launched a RCRA educational campaign in
California in 1987 to explain what hazardous waste is, who needs a
permit, and what some of the more technical permitting;
requirements are.
Over time the Region found it increasingly difficult to offer
sufficient training to keep up with the frequent turnover in both State
and Regional staff. As a result, it is replacing this training with four
training modules using videotapes and text materials which new
employees can use at any time to learn about the hazardous waste
program. The first module, on permitting, will be available this fall.
In addition, the Waste Management Division is asking Headquarters
OSWER to offer its basic courses more frequently so that new
employees can more readily take the training they need. Call Bill
Wilson at FTS 454-8915 for more information on waste training
initiatives with the States.
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REGION X
Institute Activities
The Institute keeps track of the training offered throughout the
Region and publishes a monthly training bulletin listing all courses.
States can take some of these courses, but the Institute does not send
the training bulletin to the States because most courses are targeted to
an EPA audience. However, if a State hears about a course and wants
to participate, it is included. The Institute may modify the bulletin in
the future to list those courses of particular relevance to the States
and send them this abbreviated bulletin. This effort will depend in
part on how much information on States' training needs the Region is
able to learn through its newly established network with State training
contacts. It is currently relying on its program office contacts to learn
what training the States need, and it also gets information from the
Regional management's annual meetings with each State. For more
information, call Micheline Ward or Mike Manner, Regional Institute,
at FTS 399-2955.
Popular Training with States
Much of the Regional training which States participate in is offered
at the Regional operations offices in each state which are housed in
the same building as the State offices. These offices serve as liaisons
with the States to convey the intent of Federal program, understand
State needs, and help States with programs. The States are invited to
take any training that is offered in the operations offices, and it is
much less expensive for them to take training locally than to travel to
the Regional office.
The Region also is developing a negotiation skills course jointly
with the State of Oregon for FY 89 to be a model of a joint State-EPA
training effort. EPA will teach the first course, then train State
instructors to teach it on their own. This demonstration project will
model a process to more effectively transfer training in a State-EPA
partnership. Call Micheline Ward, Regional Institute, at FTS 399-
2955 for more information on these efforts.
Occupational Health and Safety Courses
The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) staff coordinate the
Environmental Response Team courses having to do with protection
and safety. In addition, the staff members travel to the States to teach
a four-hour segment of the OSHA-required annual eight-hour
refresher training for EPA and State employees. There are usually five
to seven EPA employees in a class, and 18 to 20 State employees.
Staff members also loan videotapes to the Region's operations offices
and States to complete the other four hours of their training. They
provide quantitative respirator fit testing in the States as well, since
many States do not have the equipment to test their own employees.
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The OHS staff also train lab workers in lab disposal techniques and
environmental compliance at the Manchester lab. They offer the
training once a year to new EPA and State workers, as well as offering
a refresher course for the rest of the staff. The State employees
usually comprise 50% of these classes.
In addition, the OHS staff offer a one-day field exercise every six
months at the laboratory for ESD and Washington State employees to
keep them familiar with wearing protective clothing and handling
equipment. They also offer safety training for asbestos inspections and
respiratory protection. The staff members are working with
Headquarters to develop a safety and health course on underground
storage tanks to offer to Regional, State and local government
workers.
The OHS manager serves on an advisory board of experts to the
University of Washington (UW) and helped UW get a grant to develop
training for hazardous materials workers across the country. UW will
offer an annual eight-hour refresher course to meet OSHA
requirements; a three-day safety and health course for new employees;
an eight-hour OSHA-required course for hazardous materials
supervisors; and a correspondence course for industrial hygienists to
maintain their proficiency. Regional staff will help teach some of
these courses. Call Ron Blair, Occupational Health and Safety manager,
at FTS 399-0370 for more information.
Technology Transfer and Training for the States
The Region has trained its staff in the inspector training program
and is now ready to train the States. It will use the course materials
developed in Headquarters and modify them to meet the States'
needs. The States of Oregon and Washington are particularly
interested in this training, and the Region will offer it in conjunction
with the States' own enforcement inspectors. The Region will
incorporate the quality assurance sampling techniques training which
it has offered to the States in the past into the inspector training
program.
The Region has also conducted in-stream biomonitoring training
on-site in the States of Idaho and Washington in the past, and may
expand this training to other States. It is also preparing to take a risk
and decision-making course out to the States. The States have
expressed interest in this course, and some State staff have already
been trained. Call Bob Courson, the technology transfer focal point,
or Bill Schmidt, at FTS 399-1295 for more information on these and
other technology transfer efforts.
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Appendix A
EPA INSTITUTE CONTACTS
Headquarters
Jim Carr, Director
EPA Institute
PM 224
Washington, DC 20460
FTS 475-8047
Region I
Georgie Bishop, Training Officer
John F. Kennedy Building, Rm. 2203
Boston, MA 02203
FTS 835-3393
Region II
Jane Thomas, Training Officer
26 Federal Plaza, Rm. 937C
New York, NY 10278
FTS 264-0593
Reion
Larry Merrill, Chief of Resources Development Section
Eileen Burrows, Training Officer
841 Chestnut Street, 8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
FTS 597-8924
Region IV
Richard Nawyn, Employee Development Officer
345 Courtland Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30365
FTS 257-3486
Region V
Ric Sims, Human Resources Coordinator
Robert Thayer, Training Officer
230 Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604
FTS 886-7535
Region VI
Sally Bela, Human Resources Management Branch Chief
Cynthia Singletary, Personnel Assistant
1201 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75270
FTS 255-6560
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Region VII
Mary Melton, Human Resources Management Officer
Marian Hess, Career Development Analyst
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
FTS 757-2821
Region VIII
Mary Rogers, Training Officer
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202-2413
FTS 564-1498
Region IX
John Duff, Human Resources Development Officer
215 Fremont Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
FTS 454-8016
Region X
Micheline Ward, Training Officer
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
FTS 399-2955
Las Vegas
Art Sandoval, Director of Personnel Management
P.O. Box 98516
Las Vegas, NV 89193-8516
FTS 545-2414
NEIC-Denver
Jane Chadbourne, Personnel Officer
Pam Shank, Personnel Assistant
P.O. Box 25227, Building 53, DFC
Denver, CO 80225
FTS 776-5114
RTF
James McDuffie, Training Officer
Office of Personnel, MD-29
RTF, NC 27711
FTS 629-4393
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Ann Arbor
Carol Mick, Human Resources Assistant
2565 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
FTS 374-8220
Cincinnati
Sandy Bowman, Director, Human Resources Management Division
Bob Schneider, Training Officer
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
FTS 684-7801
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Appendix B
EPA REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOCAL POINTS
Region I
Lester Sutton, Special Assistant to the Regional Administrator
EPA New England Regional Lab
60 Westview Street
Lexington, MA 02173
617-860-4355
Region n
Alice Jenik, Chief
Policy and Program Integration Branch
26 Federal Plaza, Room 930
New York, NY 10278
FTS 264-4296
Region in
Greene Jones, Director
Environmental Services Division
841 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
FTS 597-4532
Region IV
Tom Nessmith, Chief
Policy Planning and Evaluation Branch
345 Courtland Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30365
FTS 257-7109
Region V
Janet Mason, Chief
Planning and Budgeting Branch
230 Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60640
FTS 886-7501
Region VI
Dr. Norman Dyer, Coordinator
Technology Transfer Group
Environmental Services Division
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202
FTS 255-227O
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Region VII
Gene Ramsey, Chief
Program Integration Branch, Office of Policy and Management
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
FTS 757-2819
Region VIII
Jim Lehr, Director
Environmental Services Division
999 18th Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202-2405
FTS 564-1441
Region IX
Marsha Harris, Special Assistant
Office of Assistant Regional Administrator for Policy and Management
215 Fremont Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
FTS 454-0960
Region X
Robert Courson, Director
Environmental Services Division
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
FTS 399-1295
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