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Inside:
How to Avoid Rape
Fed Applicants Rated Low
OOON88005
VOLUME 5
NUMBER 6
JUNE 1988
EPA Wins Vegas Marathon
The EPA Eagles finessed first place in
the Las Vegas Marathon Relay on March
26, 1988, a competition more and more
dominated by the Environmental
Monitoring Systems Lab in a city
otherwise infamous for its indulgent
lifestyle. The EPA Wrens and the Pet Shop
Boys, also of the lab, placed 12th and 13th
in the 19-team field.
Chuck Costa, John Moore, Pong Lem
and Bob Snelling of the Eagles each ran
five-mile legs in the five-man, 26.2 mile
race, with Don Betowski on the 6.2 mile
anchor leg. The Wrens team comprised
Eric Koglin, Steve Gardner, Chuck
Nauman, Ed Heithmar and Steve Pyle. The
Pet Shop Boys boasted Bob Mosley,
Dennis Farmer, John Akridge, George
Morrison and Scott Faller. Overall times
for the three teams were 3:13:39, 3:21:44,
and 3:25:22.
The Marathon Relay employs a complex
handicapping system, bringing runners of
various levels together in an effort not to
maximize speed, but to approximate a
predeclared pace. That's not easy, because
watches and pacing devices are not
allowed on the course, which includes
both roads and irregular, cross-country
terrain.
In addition to running a leg for the
ninth straight year, John Moore also
served as director for this increasingly
popular event. During its 10-year history,
EPA teams have won three fifth places
and three third places before the present
triumph. Moore says this is just a
beginning, n
Left to right: Vegas Marathoners Bob SnelJing, Pong Lem, Chuck Costa, John Moore,
Don Betowski.
1988 Bond Campaign
Concludes
The 1988 Savings Bond campaign is
over but it is never too late to buy them.
Bonds purchased through a regular payroll
savings plan offer a convenient method of
capital accumulation that provides tax
advantages and market-based interest on
small sums of money. When you join the
payroll savings plan, you select an amount
to be set aside automatically from each
paycheck to buy bonds. You are not
tempted to squander your nest-egg. You
get both safety and security.
The not-too-distant past has proven the
wisdom of purchasing U.S. Savings Bonds.
Held for five years they earn market-based
interest, adjusted every six months. The
current rate is 7.17 percent, but if market
rates go higher, bonds earn even more.
Should rates fall sharply, bonds held a
minimum of five years will not earn less
than the minimum rate at the time of
purchase. That minimum is now 6
percent.
There are other benefits, too—exemption
from state and local income taxes, federal
tax deferral and free replacement of bonds
that are lost, stolen or destroyed. So why
not sign up for the payroll savings plan or
even boost your present allotment? The
road to lifetime financial security and
comfy retirement is just a signature
away, n
Leave Transfer
EPA is one of the first federal agencies
to adopt a Leave Transfer Program
permitting employees to donate annual
leave to colleagues who must be absent for
at least 10 workdays without pay because
they have exhausted their reserves. The
absence must be due to a personal, family
or medical emergency. Staffers who need
help should apply and those wishing to
donate leave should obtain forms at their
personnel offices. Caveats: Once donated,
leave cannot be returned; donations are
limited to one half the amount of leave
earned by the donor in a given year; and
supervisors are not eligible to receive
donations from their subordinates. Unless
extended, this program will expire
September 30, 1988. D
Office Theft
It may surprise you to hear that certain
career criminals spend each day roaming
the corridors of downtown office buildings
looking for things to steal. They make no
distinctions between the public and
private sectors; we too are potential
victims. Some specialize in typewriters;
they usually go to work after employees
have left for the day. Others keep regular
office hours and look for coats, small
machines, coffee-fund collections and any
other targets of opportunity. Some crooks
go high-tech and swipe only xerox paper,
computers and software. A tribe of punk
teeny-boppers concentrated on stealing
purses and wallets on paydays until they
were caught. They knew exactly where
valuables were kept when the office was
unattended.
Remember, smart thieves don't look like
felons. They dress for success and carry
official-looking papers that they grab from
unoccupied desks. They may even sport
attache'cases wherein they hide purloined
items. Some wear uniforms or smocks
with bogus nametags and pretend to be
Pepco repairman or C&P trouble-shooters.
Since federal buildings must be open to
the public, it is not easy to keep these
knaves out. But you can help.
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How to Avoid Rape
The General Services Administration
(GSA) has released a new 16-page booklet,
"What You Should Know About Avoiding
Rape and Sexual Assault in the Federal
Workplace," prepared by GSA's Federal
Protective Service (FPS) as part of that
agency's crime prevention program. The
booklet features a 10-question quiz whose
answers provide practical advice on
avoiding situations where an employee
could become a target for violence in the
workplace, traveling to and from work, or
out of town on official business.
FPS Director Richard Hankinson said
rape and sexual assault, while of obvious
concern, have not yet become a major
problem in the 6,800 buildings, housing
890,000 federal workers, owned or leased
by GSA nationwide. In Fiscal Year 1987
there were two rapes, but none this year.
The booklet contains two wallet-size
emergency information cards: one
concerning rape or sexual assault and
one telling how to contact FPS for any
workplace emergency. Other titles in the
crime-prevention series include "What
You Should Know About Preventing
Thefts in the Federal Workplace" and
"Security Guidelines for Government
Executives." Copies are available gratis in
the Washington DC area from FPS
(472-1632). n
Kotas and Bailey
You've all heard about the infamous
"pipeline effect" that suddenly transforms
free-flowing traffic into total rush-hour
gridlock. Well, that's what happened
during preparations for our special edition
on Unsung Heroes. The names of Gerald
Kotas and Linda Bailey got stuck in the
Agency pipeline and never reached the
editor's desk. But here at last are their
impressive stories, ones you'll want to
read about.
Linda Bailey is a writer-editor with 11
years of federal service, 10 at EPA, who
carries a heavy load on the technical
information staff in ORD. She was
instrumental in creating the CARA
(Chemical Assessments and Related
Activities) database, a computerized
listing of reports completed by the Office
of Health and Environmental Assessment
(OHEA) since 1980. She processes more
than 200 documents each year through the
review and clearance process. This means
checking the documents to ensure they are
consistent with OHEA policy and reviewer
comments have been addressed. Bailey
also prepares responses to Freedom of
Information Act requests and other public
inquiries. She is uncommonly thorough
and resourceful, and because she is
exceptionally knowledgeable about FOIA
procedures, her advice is highly regarded.
Bailey has been active on behalf of
refugees for the last several years. Initially
a volunteer English tutor for a Cambodian
teenager, she has become a big sister to a
Cambodian family and has devoted much
of her energies to the Cambodian
community in Northern Virginia. To raise
money to send teenagers to summer camp
she organizes a variety of fund-raising
projects, baking cakes to be sold at the
Alexandria Farmers' Market and driving
groups of children to the camp. She
carpools teenagers to and from part-time
jobs at all hours year around. She has
assisted Cambodian family members in a
variety of school activities, including
all-night efforts to complete science
projects. All in all, she has built up an
exemplary record of service that is a credit
to EPA.
Gerald Kotas, Director of the National
Pesticide Survey in the Office of Drinking
Water, is an SES candidate with a growing
reputation as a skilled manager of people
who makes extra efforts to help his staff
fulfill their human and professional
potentials.
As chairman of the social ministries
committee of his church, Kotas has been
active in providing emergency shelter for
the homeless, feeding the displaced and
helping refugees from Viet Nam and
Afghanistan get settled in Northern
Virginia. For the past two summers, Kotas
and his family have hosted a child from
Northern Ireland as part of an
international program aimed at breaking
the vicious cycle of violence in that
troubled land. He has coached Little
League for four seasons and led several
Girl Scout camping trips.
Kotas's outstanding leadership, sacrifice
of time and highly personalized devotion
to the community is symbolic of the
highest ideals of public service, and
enhances perception of federal employees
as magnanimous and public-spirited, n
Fed Applicants Rated Low
More than one-third of federal
supervisors believe that the quality of
applicants for vacancies has declined in
the last four years, according to a survey
by the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Polling 21,620 supervisors, the survey
boasted a 77-percent response rate.
Thirty-five percent of the respondents said
the quality of applicants had dropped.
Some 42 percent said the quality of
clerical applicants was abysmal despite
special pay raises.
"Women are leaving clerical
occupations in droves," said Charles
Levine, distinguished professor of
government and public administration at
American University. However, Ray Kline,
president of the National Academy of
Public Administration, said there are
remote sections of the country "where
managers are very pleased with the quality
of new people. And there are some major
cities where things are really tough."
The Board's report also showed further
evidence of an inexplicable trend that has
begun to appear in other surveys: overall,
federal workers like their jobs somewhat
better than they did earlier in the decade.
Sixty-eight percent say they are satisfied
and 71 percent say they "like working
here." This is about a 10 percent
improvement over a Board survey
conducted in 1983! Satisfaction levels
vary greatly, from high at NASA, the Air
Force, Army, Navy and Small Business
Administration, to low at the Education
Department.
Experts say that people often claim to
like their work but block out their true
feelings because they can't envision any
means of escape. Once given real choices,
their dissatisfaction quickly emerges, n
Management Awards
Lee Thomas recently selected 10 staffers
to receive EPA's Excellence in
Management Award, the highest
recognition the Agency can give to a merit
pay employee. The 10 managers were
chosen from among the 2,300 extremely
talented people who, Thomas said, "in my
opinion, comprise the best merit pay cadre
in the federal government. Invariably
when I am dealing with Members of
Congress, OMB, White House staff and
other agencies, I get repeated compliments
on the professionalism, dedication and
talent of our staff." This year's managers
represent the best of the very best, Thomas
declared. "They were selected not only
because they do an outstanding job, but
because by example and by developing
others they strengthen the entire Agency."
The winners: William Hathaway, Stephen
Johnson, Dale Bryson, Bruce Jordan, Lee
Stevens, Bob Goetzl, Joellen Lewtas
Jungers, Rich Lemley, Michael Flynn,
Stephen Tuber, a
The EPA Times is published monthly for
EPA employees. Readers are encouraged
to submit news about themselves or
fellow employees, letters of opinion,
questions, comments and suggestions to
the editor, The EPA Times, Office of
Public Affairs (A-107). Telephone:
475-6643. Items selected for publication
may be edited to accommodate space
available.
Editor: Don Bronkema
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Blueprint for Reform
Constance Homer, head of the Office of Personnel
Management, will spend most of her remaining months in
office deregulating procedures used to hire, pay, reward,
discipline and fire the nation's 1.2 million white-collar
civil servants. Most such recent reform attempts to alter
federal personnel policies—from raising the retirement age
to devaluing seniority for pay, promotion and job security
purposes—have been rejected by Congress. But Homer
plans to streamline bureaucratic procedures where
possible through rule changes and deregulation. She
would give .private-sector-style controls over personnel to
federal managers like those being tested by the Navy on
the West Coast. The National Bureau of Standards is
considering similar experiments here and Defense may
also seek partial exemption from certain civil service rules'.
Among the problems Homer cites:
• Federal managers have little discretion to use salary to
reward and retain good employees. Superior performance
is not generally rewarded with better pay, and promotion
does not come more swiftly to those with superior
commitment and talent. Status based on seniority is the
prevailing ethos.
• Starting salaries offered to outstanding graduates of the
best colleges cannot be any higher than those to average
students from Podunk U. Managers are not permitted to
decide how many people to hire, for what jobs, at what
salary levels. The Office of Management and Budget
decides how many people an agency needs and sometimes
where to put them. Occasionally, OMB sets a maximum
and Congress a minimum.
• Federal managers waste a lot of time negotiating with
personnel specialists over the proper placement of jobs
and employees in a system that has more than 700
occupations. There are 74 pages of rules on how to pay a
secretary.
• Disciplinary action means coping with complex,
protracted appeals procedures. In one typical case, the
process took more than five years, n
Midyear Review
Lee Thqmas commended managers and supervisors for
the energy and creativity of their special efforts over the
past year in the realm of people management. "We have
made a good beginning, but I want to ensure that good
human resources management becomes a part of the
day-to-day worklife of every employee and supervisor in
this Agency," he said.
Thomas observed that EPA is a fast-paced organization
and managers are faced with many competing demands,
but basic human resources responsibilities must never
come last in the competition for supervisory time and
attention. Instead, "performance in this area should figure
prominently in the appraisal and reward process of
everyone who supervises others. It's not an option."
The Administrator encouraged managers to use midyear
progress reviews to "reaffirm a sense of purpose, direction
and teamwork in your organization. Confirm your
priorities, goali, and expectations with your employees,
and make sure they have a clear sense of how well they
have done so far and what needs to be done by year's
end."
It is essential for the Agency's long-range vitality,
Thomas declared, that employees realistically evaluate
their career options and seek opportunities to learn and
grow in new directions. EPA's Career Management
Planning Guide can help employees focus on short-term
development needs and longer-term career decisions. He
said he expects managers to make similar investments in
planning their own careers. The Managerial Discussion
Guide describes the characteristics and skills shared by
successful EPA managers and will serve as the framework
for management development activities, a
Risk Assessment
Council
Lee Thomas is pleased to announce that the following
will serve on the EPA Risk Assessment Council (RAG) for
three-year terms ending June 30, 1990:
• Michael D. Cook, Director, Office of Drinking
Water
• Dan Beardsley, Director, Regulatory Integration
Division, Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation
• Victor J. Kimm, Deputy Assistant Administrator,
Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances
• Peter Preuss, Director, Office of Technology
Transfer and Regulatory Support, Office of Research
and Development
• Renate Kimbrough, M.D., Director for Health and
Risk Capabilities, Office of Regional Operations
• Donald Barnes, Director, Science Advisory Board n
Asian-Pacific
Employment
The second federal Asian-Pacific-American training
conference held in Crystal City from May 4-6 was a
resounding success, and the Office of Civil Rights is now
recruiting headquarters employees to serve on an
Asian-Pacific Advisory Council. The Council will serve as
a catalyst to ensure equitable treatment of Asian Pacific
applicants and employees who desire to move into upper
management, and to encourage representation of this
group in the panoply of occupations within our workforce.
In addition, the Council will serve as a forum for the
exchange and discussion of employment issues.
Interested employees should submit a self-nomination
form to serve as an Asian-Pacific employment program
manager and secure supervisory support of this
collateral-duty assignment. Those who cannot serve as
managers for their AA-ships may wish to become members
of the Advisory Council, which will meet four to six times
a year to plan career development activities for the
community. Call Gideon Ferebee, 475-7457, for an
application or information, n
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Onboard Controls
A great deal of debate has surrounded EPA's proposal to
require that all new gasoline-powered vehicles install
systems to capture vapors currently escaping into the
atmosphere during refueling. The public has been
concerned about the safety implications of these systems.
EPA has long been aware of the safety aspect and has
attempted to study it in a straightforward manner. When
announcing the details of its onboard proposal (July 1987),
the agency made available to interested parties its
technical report on the safety of onboard systems and
requested comments as well as additional information. We
subsequently received many comments from motor vehicle
manufacturers and others during public hearings in
October 1987, and in written comments submitted to the
public docket before the February 11 cutoff. EPA will
re-open the proposed rule for public comment when the
Agency receives the comments of the Secretary of
Transportation with respect to motor vehicle safety. This
process will provide EPA the necessary information to
address current uncertainties.
We have underway a staff project to design and
assemble a prototype onboard system which is simple
compared to current fuel evaporative control systems, and
uses current production parts with very few modifications.
Tests show the prototype could improve the safety of
refueling operations at the pump. Because of the proposed
dispensing rate limit and conditions specified in the draft
refueling-test procedure, premature automatic-nozzle
shut-offs and spillage should drop substantially. Staff are
in process of presenting the hardware to interested parties
for comment, a
Transboundary and
Ozone Pollution
Certain questions have been raised by Congress
regarding the proposed NOx Protocol to the 1979
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
(LRTAP) and the Montreal Protocol on Substances That
Deplete the Ozone Layer. Managers may be interested in
Lee Thomas's responses to some of them.
Question
Identify all nations included in the transboundary
discussions. Is NOx Just a European, Canadian and U.S.
problem?
Response
The countries participating in the discussions are
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia,
Denmark, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany,
German Democratic Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, USSR, United Kingdom, the U.S.
and Yugoslavia. The European Economic Community is
also a participant. No developing countries take part
because the ECE, under whose auspices LRTAP was
negotiated, does not embrace them. One of five regional
U.N. bodies, it includes Canada, the U.S. and the
European countries. NOx emissions pose problems for
many states, not solely those in ECE.
Question
To what extent are NOx emissions from the negotiating
countries a threat to Canada, the U.S. and Mexico?
Response
With the exception of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse
gas contributing to global warming, most nitrogen
compounds enjoy a relatively short life in the atmosphere
(as compared to sulfur compounds, for example). As a
result, nitrogen oxide (NOx) originating in Europe should
not be a major concern to the U.S., Canada or Mexico.
Likewise, because most major sources of NOx in Mexico
are situated far from the border, the U.S. and Canada
should not be particularly concerned about NOx
originating there. Because of the heavy concentration of
population and industry along the U.S. -Canadian border,
emissions from these two countries could be a source of
transboundary air pollution, both as potential sources of
acidic deposition and as precursors to tropospheric ozone.
Accordingly, environmental advantages to the U.S. of a
NOx Protocol would depend on the extent to which it
would reduce the transboundary flow to the U.S. of NOx
emissions originating in Canada and global emissions of
the greenhouse gas NaO. Sad to say, transboundary flows
of NOx are not directly quantifiable at this time.
Question
Explain the environmental advantages and
disadvantages to the U.S. of negotiating any agreement,
particularly with the European states.
Response
While a Protocol to control NOx emissions from
participating nations may not generate direct
environmental benefits for the U.S. beyond those
described, we believe our participation in the negotiating
process, begun in 1979 when the ECE adopted LRTAP, is
important to demonstrate our continued support for the
Convention and our determination to safeguard the
ecosphere.
Question
Explain the trade and economic advantages and
disadvantages to the U.S. of agreements on NOx emissions.
Response
There should be no economic or trade disadvantages in
becoming party to any protocol consistent with the U.S.
negotiating position. U.S. NOx emissions have been slowly
declining since 1978 and are expected to be relatively
stable for at least a decade, even without further regulatory
action. Our position is not to concur in any protocol
requiring NOx controls inconsistent with domestic
legislation and regulation. Consequently, there would be
no additional costs for the U.S. in complying with a
protocol consistent with that position. On the contrary,
there should be a small but probably immeasurable trade
advantage to the U.S. due to higher production costs in
countries adopting new control measures. Such costs
would tend to level the trade playing field, n
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