United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
Research and Development
EPA/600/SR-93/090 July 1993
EPA Project Summary
Control Technology Center,
FY92: A Summary of
Program Accomplishments
Kim Thompson
Control Technology Center (CTC) ser-
vices were accessed over 15,000 times
in FY92. This includes HOTLINE calls,
access to computer bulletin boards and
databases, and requests for CTC prod-
ucts. Overall use of CTC services in-
creased 80% over FY91.
The report summarizes the CTC's ac-
tivities and accomplishments during
FY92. It discusses program activities
and outreach efforts during FY92 to
provide services to its growing client
list. Finally, the report examines strate-
gies to maintain the CTC's continued
success in providing technical assis-
tance to governmental air pollution con-
trol agencies and the private sector.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory, Research Tri-
angle Park, NC, to announce key find-
ings of the research project that is fully
documented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Introduction
Table 1 indicates CTC activity in FY92
and the increase in activity from FY91.
Brief descriptions of CTC services and
activities are provided later in this Sum-
mary. More detailed information is pro-
vided in the full report.
Changes in Program Scope
The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments
(CAAA) expanded the CTC's role of pro-
viding technical assistance to the private
sector, thus increasing the CTC's clien-
tele. Titles III and V of the CAAA require
the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to provide technical assistance to
the new State Small Business 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-govern-
mental clients in January 1991 to comply
with the CAAA mandate. The CTC was
also selected at that time to become the
focal point of the Federal Small Business
Assistance Program (SBAP).
CTC Program Services
The CTC operates a telephone
HOTLINE service staffed by technical ex-
perts from the sponsoring organizations.
EPA's Air and Energy Engineering Re-
search Laboratory and the Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, both in
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
The HOTLINE permits immediate response
to most simple technical assistance re-
quests, in most cases, within 3 hours.
When a more detailed analysis or evalua-
tion of a request is required, it is referred
to an expert in the particular field.
The CTC Bulletin Board System (BBS)
completed its first full year of service. The
BBS may be accessed 24 hours per day
by anyone with a personal computer
equipped with a modem and appropriate
software. Users can make HOTLINE re-
quests and access or download CTC-gen-
erated documents and software via the
BBS. A CTC staff member monitors the
BBS daily to ensure quick response to
requests received via this service-
The RACT/BACT/LAER Clearinghouse
is a repository of state and local control
technology determinations that allows any-
•/) Printed on Recycled Paper
-------
-------
Table 1. Summary of FY92 Activity
Activity
FY91
FY92
Increase (%)
Hotline calls, government 1,296
Hotline calls, non-governmnet 772
Total hotline calls 2,068
1,309
1,441
2,750
1
87
33
RACT/BACT/LAER Clearinhouse
Information System (BUS) •
CTC BBS"
Numaber of CTC documents
requested
Total CTC Accessess
1,400
866
4,000
8,334
1,917
4,440
5,899
15,006
37
413
47
80
(a) PACT = Reasonably Available Control Technology, BACT = Best Achievable Control Technology, and
LAER = Lowest Achievable Control Technology.
(b) BBS = Bulletin Board System.
one with a computer, modem, and com-
munications software to review, browse,
and print examples of the types of con-
trols required or used on similar sources.
In addition, the Clearinghouse also con-
tains the name, agency, and telephone
number of a contact to obtain additional
in-depth information on those sources.
The Federal SBAP has also completed
its first year of operation. The CTC is the
focal point of coordination for the existing
EPA Technical Assistance Centers par-
ticipating in this program. The other cen-
ters include the Emission Measurement
Technical Information Center (EMTIC), the
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and
Prevention Office (CEPPO), the Pollution
Prevention Information Center (PPIC), and
the EPA Small Business Ombudsman's
Office. In FY92, the Federal SBAP distrib-
uted more than 600 copies of two publica-
tions prepared specifically for small
businesses. The Federal SBAP also initi-
ated a technical guidance project through
the CTC to assist in preparing materials
for small businesses.
The CTC initiated 12 technical guid-
ance or engineering assistance projects
during FY92. Many of these projects re-
sulted from HOTLINE and written requests
for technical assistance. Finally, as part of
its technology transfer effort, the Center
distributed more than 5,899 reports docu-
menting the results of CTC projects.
Outreach Activities
The CTC conducted several outreach
activities during FY92. More than 3,800
copies of CTC's quarterly bulletin, "CTC
News," were mailed to CTC clients each
quarter in FY92. This publication informs
readers of the assistance, expertise, and
technical information available through the
CTC. The CTC newsletter also solicits
input from its audience about their par-
ticular air pollution control needs.
New CTC Programs
The newly created Global Greenhouse
Gases Technology Transfer Center was
incorporated into the CTC. The scope of
this clearinghouse is to provide technol-
ogy transfer concerning greenhouse gas
emissions. This assistance includes char-
acterizations of global emissions from an-
thropogenic sources, as well as available
prevention, mitigation, and control tech-
nologies/strategies for major sources of
greenhouse gases. Information is avail-
able for methane emissions from landfills
and other waste management facilities,
the natural gas industry, and coal mining.
Also, materials are available on biomass
utilization for energy generation, liquid fuel
production, and pollution prevention tech-
nologies.
Finally, the CTC has established an in-
formal agreement with the National Tech-
nology Transfer Center (NTTC), a
technology transfer program operated by
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to
exchange technology transfer data when
the need arises. The NTTC directed a
number of support inquiries concerning air
pollution to the CTC during FY92 as did
the CTC to the NTTC on issues involving
energy concerns.
CTC Resources
The CTC expended $592,000 on tech-
nical assistance projects during FY92. This
amount is a 3% decrease from the
$610,900 the CTC expended in FY91 on
technical assistance projects. Although
this includes funding for the Small Busi-
ness Assistance Program, it does not
include fund expenditures for the RACT/
BACT/LAER Clearinghouse program which
was funded under program allotments not
associated with CTC funding.
Summary
The CTC continues to grow. The 33%
increase in HOTLINE calls resulted prima-
rily from an increase in calls from non-
governmental entities rather than from
governmental organizations, the original
CTC clients. Other CTC services experi-
enced significant increases. The PACT/
BACT/LAER Clearinghouse experienced
a 37% increase in accesses for FY92
over FY91. The BBS averaged 85 ac-
cesses per week for a total of 4,440 dur-
ing FY92. Finally, more than 5,890 CTC
documents were mailed during FY92. This
growth in services activity is evidence of
the success of the new CTC programs
and support activities.
•&U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: IW3 - 750-071/80032
-------
K. Thompson is with Acurex Environmental Corp., Research Triangle Park, NC
27709.
Charles H. Darvin is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Control Technology Center, FY92: A Summary of
Program Accomplishments," (Order No. PB93-199230AS; Cost: $17.50;
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
Penalty for Private Use
$300
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
EPA/600/SR-93/090
------- |