United States Environmental Protection Agency Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory Research Triangle Park NC 27711 Research and Development EPA/600/S9-90/017 July 1990 &EPA Project Summary Control Technology Center, 1989, A Year of Growth and a Promising Future Charles H. Darvin The full report documents the activity of EPA's Control Technology Center (CTC) between October 1988 and September 1989. It discusses the program's history, its growth during fiscal year 1989 (FY89), and its plans for the future. This Project Summary was developed by EPA's Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, to announce key findings of the research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering information at back). Introduction In June 1985, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a strategy to reduce public exposure to toxic air pollutants in the ambient air. The strategy called for state and local authorities to take on additional regulatory roles, with EPA providing technical and financial assistance to their efforts. As a result of this shift in responsibility, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), and Center for Environmental Research Information (CERI) developed and implemented the Control Technology Center {(CTC). The CTC is an innovative technical assistance program for state and local air pollution agencies and EPA's Regional Offices. The program includes not only expertise on air toxics but also assistance in evaluating emission sources and in control technology assessments associated with criteria pollutants, including particulate matter, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, carbon monoxide, lead, PM10, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Even though the CTC is not EPA's only technical assistance effort for state and local agencies, it is unique in its structure which is described in the report. The CTC is designed to be flexible so that it can accommodate identified needs as they arise and respond quickly to those needs and requests for assistance. CTC Program The services provided by the CTC are of three types: telephone HOTLINE calls, direct engineering assistance, and technical guidance. The CTC HOTLINE is a telephone number that state and local agencies can call for easy access to EPA personnel who can provide prompt assistance in a variety of ways including consultations, references to pertinent literature, and access to EPA technical data and analyses. Direct engineering assistance projects are short term (typically 3 months or less), which provide technical assistance to individual state or local agencies without regard to the projects' national utility. They are specific in nature and may not be applicable to problems in other locations. Technical guidance projects are long- term (up to a year), broad in scope, and with national applications and impacts. In FY89 the CTC experienced significant growth. It received over 800 calls for assistance representing a 50% increase in requests over FY88. Over 1000 requests for documents were filled. To further expand the scope of the CTC, outreach activities were also completed ------- at three EPA regional offices and at least two stale agencies. The CTC issues a report at the end of each fiscal year to discuss the CTC's activities for the year. This report documents the activity of the CTC between October 1988 and September 1989. The report discusses the history of the program, its growth during fiscal year 1989 (FY89), and its plans for the future. 7/J9 EPA author, Charles Darvln (also the EPA Project Officer, see below), is with Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. The complete report, entitled "Control Technology Center, 1989, A Year of Growth and a Promising Future," (Order No. PB90 219 4291 AS; Cost: $15.00, subject to change) will be available only from: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield. VA 22161 Telephone: 703-487-4650 The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at: ~~~ ~ Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 United States Environmental Protection Agency Center for Environmental Research Information Cincinnati OH 45268 Official Business Penally for Private Use $300 EPA/800/S9-90/017 ------- |