United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
Research and Development
EPA/600/SR-92/169 December 1992
Project Summary
Annual Report: Control
Technology Center
FY91 : A Fifth Year of Growth
Beth Crabtree
The Control Technology Center (CTC) has
completed its fifth year of successful opera-
tion In providing technical assistance to
state, local, and federal air pollution control
agencies. In fiscal year 1991 (FY91), tho
Center also began providing limited techni-
cal assistance to the private sector hi com-
pliance with the mandates of the 1990 Clean
Air Act Amendments (CAAA). This report
summarizes the operation of the CTC dur-
ing FY91. It documents the program's tech-
nical and administrative efforts during tho
period to respond to increased demands
from the pollution control community for
technical assistance.
This Project Summary was developed
by ERA'S Air and Energy Engineering Re-
search Laboratory, Research Triangle Paris,
NC, to announce key findings of the re-
search project that is fully documented In
a separate report of the same title (see
Project Report ordering information at
back).
Introduction
This report summarizes the Control
Technology Center's (CTC's) activities and
accomplishments during FY91. It discusses
changes in the Center's scope and growth
resulting from the 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments (CAAA). Program activities
and outreach efforts during FY91 are also
documented. Finally, this report examines
strategies to maintain the CTC's contin-
ued success in providing technical assis-
tance to governmental air pollution control
agencies and the private sector.
Changes in Program Scope
The 1990 CAAA expanded the CTC's
role of providing technical assistance to
the private sector, thus increasing the
CTC's clientele. Titles III and V of the
CAAA require EPA to provide technical
assistance to the new state small busi-
ness technical assistance programs when
they become operational, and to "others,"
which CTC sponsors have interpreted to
mean the private sector. The CTC began
providing limited technical support to non-
governmental clients in January 1991 to
comply with the mandate of the CAAA.
The CTC has thus become a focal point
of EPA's Small Business Assistance Pro-
gram.
Administrative Changes
In mid-FY91, the CTC added four tech-
nical staff members to respond to the grow-
ing number of requests for assistance. In
addition, the CTC advisory organization,
the State and Territorial Air Pollution Pro-
gram Administrators/Association of Local
Air Pollution Control Officials (STAPPA/
ALAPCO), appointed two non-voting mem-
bers to the CTC Steering Committee (SC).
The new members will advise the commit-
tee on the program's effectiveness in pro-
viding technical assistance to state and
local organizations. They will also offer
suggestions for areas in which the CTC
might initiate technical activities to support
state and local air pollution agencies.
Use of CTC Program Services
The CTC operates a telephone
HOTLINE service staffed by technical ex-
perts from the sponsoring organizations.
The HOTLINE permits immediate response
to most simple technical assistance re-
quests. When a more detailed analysis or
evaluation of a request is required, it is
referred to an expert in the particular field.
During FY91, the HOTLINE database re-
Printed on Recycled Paper
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corded 1,296 calls from state and local
agencies, EPA regional offices, and other
foreign and domestic governmental agen-
cies. Those calls represent an 18% in-
crease over governmental calls recorded
in FY90. As required by the CAAA, the
CTC began providing limited technical as-
sistance to private industry in December
1990. Technical assistance is provided to
the private sector in the form of HOTLINE
consultations and other activities requiring
no CTC financial resources. An additional
772 calls were recorded from private sec-
tor clients between December 1990 and
the end of the fiscal year, which resulted
in a total number of FY91 HOTLINE calls
(governmental plus private sector clients)
of 2,068, or an 89% increase over FY90
calls.
An analysis of topics of FY91 HOTLINE
calts shows that painting and coating, in-
cineration, and boilers were the most com-
mon topics. The most frequent pollution
categories of concern among HOTLINE
callers were volatile organic compounds,
air toxics, and particulate matter.
In addition to the HOTLINE, the CTC
initiated an electronic bulletin board sys-
tem (BBS) in August 1991. The BBS may
be accessed 24-hours per day by anyone
with a personal computer equipped with
communication software and a modem.
Users can make HOTLINE-type requests
and access or download CTC-generated
documents and software via the BBS. A
CTC staff member monitors the BBS daily
to ensure quick response to requests re-
ceived via this service. During the first full
month of operation in FY91, the BBS av-
eraged 79 accesses per week.
The CTC initiated nine technical guid-
ance and four engineering assistance
projects. Many of these projects resulted
from HOTLINE and written requests for
technical assistance. Finally, as part of its
technology transfer effort, the Center dis-
tributed more than 4,000 reports docu-
menting the results of CTC projects.
Outreach Activities
The CTC conducted several outreach
activities 'during FY91. More than 2,600
individuals received the CTC News, the
CTC's quarterly bulletin. This publication
informs readers of the assistance, exper-
tise, and technical information available
through the CTC. The CTC News also
solicits input from its audience about their
air pollution control needs.
Other FY91 outreach efforts included:
promotional activities at the CAAA Title III
workshop, an exhibit at the Air and Waste
Management Association (AWMA) annual
meeting, a presentation at the Annual
OAQPS/EPA Regional Office Air Programs
Workshop, a presentation and work group
activities at the National New Source Re-
view Workshop, and a program briefing at
the Department of Defense Joint Depot
Environmental Panel's VOC Workshop.
Other CTC Activities
Also incorporated into the program was
the Reasonably Available Control Tech-
nology/Best Available Control Technology/
Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (RACT/
BACT/LAER) Clearinghouse, formerly the
BACT/LAER Clearinghouse, and its as-
sociated database. The Clearinghouse was
accessed more than 1,400 times during
FY91 by all categories of clientele. This
total represents a 250% increase in ac-
cesses over the FY90 total.
In late FY91, the CTC was chosen to
be a focal point of EPA's Small Business
Assistance Program (SBAP). This pro-
gram, required by Title V of the CAA is
designed to assist the state small busi-
ness assistance programs. The federal
SBAP will draw on several of the existing
EPA technical assistance centers and
hotlines.
CTC Resources
The CTC expended $610,900 on tech-
nical assistance projects during FY91. This
amount is a 9% increase over the
$562,400 the CTC spent in FY90 on tech-
nical assistance projects.
Conclusions
The CTC continues to grow. The 90%
increase in HOTLINE calls resulted from
an increase in calls from governmental
agencies and the additional calls from the
private sector.
In addition, each of the other CTC ser-
vices experienced significant increases.
The RACT/BACT/LAER Clearinghouse
experienced a 250% increase in accesses
for FY91. In its first months of operation,
the BBS averaged 79 accesses per week.
Finally, more than 4,000 CTC documents
were mailed during FY91.
These increases are evidence that the
CTC is providing a valuable service to the
air pollution control community.
•U.S. Government Printing Office: 1992 — 750-071/60154
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Beth Crabtree is with Acurex Corp., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.
Charles H. Darvln is the EPA Project Officer (see below)
The complete report, entitled "Annual Report: Control Technology Center, FY91:A
Fifth Year of Growth," (Order No. PB92-238 468/AS; Cost: $19.50, 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
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