United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Communications And
Public Affairs
(A-107)
21K-1012
October 1991
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Com photo by Nathan faib.
CONTENTS
2 INTRODUCTION
4 New Directions For The 1990s:
Voluntary Action
4 PEOPLE
8 WATER
11 New Directions For The 1990s:
Protecting Natural Resources
14 New Directions for the 1990s:
Economic Incentives
14 AIR
18 New Directions For The 1990s:
Reducing Risks
18 CONTAMINANTS AND
RADIATION
22 New Directions For The 1990s:
Pollution Prevention
22 WASTE
26 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
28 THE ROLE OF SCIENCE
29 ENFORCING THE LAWS
30 LOOKING AHEAD
31 Appendix I
EPA Regional Offices
31 Appendix II
EPA Research Facilities
32 Appendix III
National Hotlines and
Clearinghouses
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PRESERVING
OUR FUTURE
TODAY
EPA's MISSION STATEMENT
The people who work at the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency are dedicated to improving and
preserving the quality of the environment, both
national and global. We work to protect human
health and the productivity of natural resources on
which all human activity depends. Highly skilled
and culturally diverse, we are committed to using
quality management processes that encourage
teamwork and promote innovative solutions to
environmental problems. In particular, we are
committed to ensuring that:
• Federal environmental laws are implemented
and enforced effectively
• U.S. policy, both foreign and domestic, fosters
the integration of economic development and
environmental protection so that economic growth
can be sustained over the long term
• Public and private decisions affecting energy,
transportation, agriculture, industry, international
trade, and natural resources fully integrate
considerations of environmental quality
• National efforts to reduce environmental risk are
based on the best available scientific information
communicated clearly to the public
• Everyone in our society recognizes the value of
preventing pollution before it is created
• People have the information and incentives they
need to make environmentally responsible choices in
their daily lives
• Schools and community institutions promote
environmental stewardship as a national ethic
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National Park Service.
In the past few years there has been a dramatic shift
in the way the people of the world think about their
environment. Publication of the first color photo of
Earth from space brought home the importance of
careful stewardship of this small blue planet's natural
resources. Environmental disasters—the Bhopal gas
leak, the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor,
the discovery of a growing hole in the stratospheric
ozone layer—forced us to recognize some of the ways
human actions threaten ecological systems across vast
stretches of the globe.
More recently, studies of the "greenhouse effect"
have predicted that the byproducts of our industrial
civilization could alter the world's climate within the
next century. World leaders increasingly recognize
that without major changes in human behavior, we
risk doing serious and irreparable harm to our planet.
Stated broadly, the job of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency is to improve and preserve the
quality of the environment, both national and global.
EPA works to protect human health and the natural
resources on which all human activity depends.
America's continuing growth and prosperity depend
on its ability to find effective, creative solutions to
environmental problems. Through teamwork and
scientific discipline, EPA is determined to find those
solutions—and to make them work.
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History: On July 9,1970, amid a growing public
demand for cleaner water, air, and land, President
Nixon submitted to Congress a reorganization plan
proposing the establishment of a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency as an independent agency in the
executive branch of the federal government. The plan
proposed bringing together 15 components from five
executive departments and independent agencies.
On December 2,1970, EPA began its operations,
assuming responsibility for carrying out federal laws
to protect the environment.
Air-pollution control, solid-waste management,
radiation control, and the drinking-water program
were transferred from the Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare (now the Department of
Health and Human Services). The federal program
for controlling water pollution was taken from the
Department of the Interior, as was part of a pesticide
research program. From the Department of
Agriculture, EPA gained authority to register
pesticides and to regulate their use. From the Food
and Drug Administration, the Agency inherited the
responsibility to set tolerances, or legal residue
limits, for pesticides in food. EPA was assigned
some responsibility for setting standards for
environmental radiation from the old Atomic Energy
Commission, and it absorbed the duties of the
Federal Radiation Council.
When formed, EPA employed 5,400 people. It had
a budget of $900 million and was responsible for a
handful of major environmental laws. Today nearly
17,000 highly skilled, culturally diverse people work
for EPA; and the Agency has a budget of more than
$6 billion, parceled out among programs
implementing 14 major laws that Congress has
passed to protect the environment:
• The Clean Air Act
• The Clean Water Act
• The Safe Drinking Water Act
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or
"Superfund")
• The Emergency Planning and Community Right-
To-Know Act
• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
• The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act
• The Toxic Substances Control Act
• The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act
• The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act
• The Indoor Radon Abatement Act
• The Ocean Dumping Ban Act
• The Coastal Zone Management Act
• The Pollution Prevention Act
A few of these programs receive most of the funding.
For instance, $2.1 billion goes to sewage-treatment
construction grants; $1.6 billion goes to the Superfund
hazardous-waste cleanup program.
Many of EPA's responsibilities are part of a new
generation of environmental problems that first
surfaced in the 1980s. Most notable is the whole
range of global environmental concerns: climate
change, stratospheric ozone depletion, rainforest
destruction, acid rain. Also important are such
domestic issues as pollution prevention, radon
contamination of homes, and pollution carried by
run-off from lawns, farms, and highways. In many
ways, these new problems are both more widespread
and more complex than those of the past.
Moving into the 1990s, EPA is grappling with the
new agenda of environmental problems in bold and
creative ways. It is supplementing traditional
regulatory programs with market incentives and
voluntary actions. The Agency's managers are trying
to anticipate the environmental needs of the next
century and to develop new policies and programs
that will meet those needs. At the same time, EPA
continues to improve its time-tested methods for
dealing with older, long-standing environmental
problems, including the all-important tasks of
providing the nation's citizens with clean water and
clean air.
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Directions For The 1990s:
VOLUNTARY ACT/ON
By enforcing regulations based on federal
environmental laws, EPA helps to make sure that
people and institutions behave in ways that do
not harm the environment. Over the past 20
years, however, an ethic of voluntary
environmental stewardship has emerged among
many citizens and business leaders. One
important task EPA has set for itself in the 1990s
is guiding that spirit of environmental
voluntarism into beneficial projects and programs.
For example, at EPA's urging, nine major
petrochemical manufacturers have agreed to
reduce their toxic air emissions voluntarily by
changing procedures and materials used at 40
chemical plants in 14 states. By 1993, this
voluntary effort will cut annual emissions of some
toxic air pollutants by almost 83 percent.
Another EPA-coordinated voluntary initiative—
the "33/50" project—is now under way at nearly
200 companies nationwide. The goal these
companies have embraced is an ambitious one: to
reduce total releases and transfers of 17 high-
priority toxic chemicals by one third by 1992; and
to cut them in half by 1995.
EPA also is reaching out to individual citizens.
Everyone's cooperation is needed to make a
success of complex programs such as recycling.
In conjunction with tlie Environmental Defense
Fund and the Advertising Council, EPA helped
pay for a recycling ad campaign that generated
90,000 public inquiries for recycling information.
The Agency is now working with the U.S.
Consumer Affairs Office and the Federal Trade
Commission to set guidelines for environmental
claims made on product labels. Ttu; goal is to
help consumers make more informed shopping
choices and to give them the assurance that terms
such as "recyclable" and "recycled content" are
being used properly.
Protecting the environment and the public health is
a huge task in which every one of us plays an
important role. People rely on local governments
or organizations to pick up trash, operate sewer
systems, deliver drinking water, maintain roads, and
regulate land use—all of which directly affect the
environment. State governments, in turn, support
such activities through their public health,
agriculture, transportation, and environmental
departments. America's Indian tribes have what is
known as "tribal sovereignty" in dealing with
environmental and other problems. There are also
many private groups that focus on public health,
safety, and the environment. Increasingly, private
businesses are providing products and services that
support environmental protection.
As a result, EPA shares the job of maintaining
environmental quality with a host of varied
organizations and individuals. The list includes other
federal agencies, states, tribes, localities, businesses,
interest groups, and individual citizens. Without the
help of all of these groups, environmental protection
would not be possible.
EPA's Role
Depending on the source of pollution and where it
ends up, EPA's role can vary from setting overall
national goals and guidance (for example, suggesting
safe radon levels in the home) to writing and
enforcing very specific chemical-by-chemical or
industry-by-industry standards. The laws passed by
Congress define the Agency's role. The specific
actions EPA takes to carry out these laws depend on,
among other things, the best available scientific
knowledge and technology.
At EPA headquarters in Washington, DC, 5,700
people work to develop environmental policies, set
national standards, manage a complex research and
development program, and develop regulations for
pesticides, toxic substances, hazardous waste, and
water.
EPA is headed by an Administrator, who is
appointed by the President with the advice and
consent of Congress.
Some of EPA's air pollution control activities are
run out of headquarters, but many are carried out at
EPA facilities in Durham, North Carolina, and Ann
Arbor, Michigan. Enforcement also has a
headquarters component, but EPA's National
Enforcement Investigations Center is located in
Denver, Colorado, where it gathers most of the
evidence needed to enforce environmental laws.
Court cases are handled in cooperation with the U.S.
Department of Justice and, in some cases, with state
agencies.
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Most of EPA's dealings with both the public and
regulated industries are handled by the 11,000 EPA
employees who work at offices in 10 geographic
regions (see the map at the end of this booklet).
These regional offices work directly with state and
local officials, groups, and individuals to carry out
environmental laws and regulations.
The regional offices provide technical help to state,
tribal, and local governments. They also review the
environmental programs of these governments to
make sure the programs are adequate and consistent
with federal laws and regulations.
Shirin Yousuff, a
biological technician,
at EPA's Duluth lab
Roger LePage. AScI Corp.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Ad—ive Law Judges
Executive Secretariat Uv" Hl9hts
Science Advisory Board
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Cooperative Environmental Management
Office of the
Administrator/Deputy Administrator
Associate Administrators for
Regional Operations and State/Local Relations
Congressional and Legislative Affairs
Communications and Public Affairs
Assistant Administrator for
International Activities
International Cooperation
Division
International Issues Division
Program Operations Division
-
Assistant Administrator for
Administration and
Resource Management
Office of Administration
Office of Administration and
Resources Management
Research Triangle Park NC
Office of Administration and
Resources Management
Cincinnati, OH
Office of the Comptroller
Office of Human Resources
Management
Office of Information
Resources Management
Assistant Administrator for
Enforcement
Office of Compliance Analysis
and Program Operations
Office of Criminal Enforcement
Office of Civil Enforcement
Office of Federal Activities
National Enforcement
Investigations Center
(NEC)
Office of Federal Faculties
Enforcement
General Counsel
Air and Radiation Division
Grants, Contract, and General
Law Division
Inspector General Division
International Activities Division
Pesticides and Toxic
Substances Division
Solid Waste and Emergency
Response Division
Water Division
Assistant Administrator for
Policy, Planning and
Evaluation
Office of Pollution Prevention
Office of Policy Analysis
Office of Regulatory
Management and Evaluation
Inspector General
Office of Audits
Office of Investigations
Office of Management and
Technical Assessment
Assistant Administrator for
Water
Policy and Resources
Management Office
Office of Ground Water and
Drinking Water
Office of Science and
Technology
Office of Waste Water
Enforcement and Compliance
Office of Wetlands Oceans
and Watersheds
Assistant Administrator for
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Chemical Emergency
Preparedness and Prevention
Office
Technology Innovation Office
Office of Emergency and
Remedial Response
(Superfund)
Office of Solid Waste
Office of Underground Storage
Tanks
Office of Waste Programs
Enforcement
Assistant Administrator for
Air and Radiation
Office of Program
Management Operations
Office of Policy Analysis and
Review
Office of Atmospheric and
Indoor Air Programs
Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards (Research
Triangle Park, NC)
Office of Mobile Sources
Office of Radiation Programs
Assistant Administrator for
Pesticides and
Toxic Substances
Office of Program
Management Operations
Office of Compliance
Monitoring
Office of Pesticide Programs
Office of Toxic Substances
^__^^^_^Jm^^^g^^^^^^^^^l^^^^^^^^^^^lJlJl^lll^l^lJIIJIJll^lJIJI^
Region 1
Boston
Region 2
New York
Region 3
Philadelphia
Region 4
Atlanta
Region 5
Chicago
Region 6
Dallas
Region 7
Kansas City
Region 8
Denver
Region 9
San Francisco
Region 10
Seattle
Assistant Administrator for
Research and Development
Office of Research Program
Management
Office of Technology Transfer
and Regulatory Support
Office of Exploratory Research
Office of Health Research
Office of Environmental
Processes and Effects
Research
Office of Environmental
Engineering and Technology
Demonstration
Office of Health and
Environmental Assessment
Office of Modeling, Monitoring
Systems, and Quality
Assurance
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How Governments
Cooperate
In general, environmental laws are not implemented
directly by EPA. The Agency sets the standards and
defines what needs to be done to comply with federal
laws. In most cases, state, tribal, and local
governments design and carry out the specific
programs needed to make certain the laws are
enforced.
For example, to control air pollution, Congress
passed a law requiring EPA to set standards for
various air pollutants. EPA requires the states to
create plans to ensure that these levels are achieved
and maintained. EPA reviews and approves (or
requires changes to) the state plans.
EPA also requires state and local governments to
monitor air quality. This ensures that the pollution-
control goals set in the state plans actually are being
met. EPA shares its information through technology-
transfer programs, and provides funds and other
resources to help state, tribal, and local efforts.
Interest Groups
Interest groups of various kinds play several
important roles. They influence national, state,
tribal, and local environmental laws. They help EPA
shape environmental policy, and they help ensure
compliance with the laws. In turn, EPA relies on
these groups to promote compliance among their
own members. They also help inform the public of
Agency activities and actions citizens can take to help
the environment.
One of EPA's chief goals is to make sure its
regulations will work. To this end, representatives of
industrial and environmental interests often are major
players in EPA's process for writing new rules.
For example, when the Agency set air-pollution
emission standards for wood-burning stoves,
representatives of stove manufacturers,
environmental groups, and EPA worked together to
define the strictest standards possible. When all
parties agreed, the standards took effect. As a result,
many new wood-burning stoves on the market today
not only reduce emissions into the air by more than
90 percent compared with older models, but they also
are far more energy-efficient.
Not every EPA "rulemaking" produces consensus;
often affected groups challenge the Agency's actions
in court. This happens when either the regulated
industry, environmental groups, or both object so
strongly to an EPA rule that they prefer to go to
court rather than accept EPA's judgments. In those
cases, the American judicial system either supports
EPA's position, asks for changes to reflect an
opposing position, or works out a compromise
acceptable to all the parties.
i
&
•v .
In addition, some environmental laws allow
citizens or public-interest groups to sue polluters,
either on their own behalf or on behalf of
government agencies. In this way public-interest
groups can enhance the ability of EPA, state, tribal,
and local officials to ensure that environmental laws
are fully enforced. In several cases, lawsuits brought
by outside groups have resulted in substantial fines
and reduced pollution.
Such court rulings also have stimulated insurance
companies to insist that insured industries take steps
to protect the environment. This is one way private
industry can translate court decisions into economic
incentives to reduce pollution.
The Citizen's
Role
Environmental destruction is the sum of millions of
individual actions. Changing the oil in a car, using
pesticides, turning up the thermostat, or throwing out
an empty bottle create ripples in the environment.
Every one of us makes many ripples every day. The
ripples from hundreds of millions of individuals can
add up to a tidal wave of environmental problems.
Each of us can do at least three important things
to help preserve the environment. First, we can learn
how our daily activities, at home, school, or work,
can either harm or help the environment. Second, we
can join local groups working to clean up and protect
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Volunteers plant beach grass on
a Delaware dune.
\
,
Tony Pratt. Delaware DAW.
the environment. And third, we can make our
environmental concerns known to our government
and civic representatives.
If we do all three, we will move a long way
toward achieving a cleaner and healthier
planet—even though many problems still will require
government attention.
One specific area where individuals can make a
big difference is recycling, the conservation-oriented
method of waste disposal that is catching on across
the United States. (See page 23.) Your help is vital
for recycling to succeed. Find out about recycling in
your community, and then become an active
participant. If your community doesn't have a
recycling program, try to get one started.
But don't forget other issues. If you see an
environmental problem of any kind, be sure to report
it. Start with your own town or county authorities.
Then contact your state officials or EPA. Work with
local environmental and public interest groups. If
you need help, call your EPA regional office, which
has exciting new environmental education programs
that may be useful to you.
Remember, nothing will get better unless we all
help make it better. Get involved.
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WATER
SURFACE WATER
America's rivers, lakes, and shorelines are less
polluted now than they were two decades ago.
Rivers no longer catch fire, as one did in
Ohio in the late 1960s. There aren't as
many "DANGER" signs warning people against
contact with water. Foul-smelling algal blooms
are fewer, and fish have returned to many former-
ly lifeless areas. Our past investments in water
pollution controls are starting to pay off, reduc-
ing many kinds of contaminants. But despite this
progress, one of our most significant continuing
problems is the discharge of toxic substances into
water from many different sources.
Keeping It Clean
Most water pollution comes from three sources:
sewage treatment plants, industrial discharges, and
water run-off from urban streets, suburban lawns, or
rural farmland. EPA has long-standing programs to
clean up each of these sources.
Sewage: The first U.S. sewage treatment plant was
built in New York City in 1890. Since then, more
than 15,000 plants have been built, and thousands of
miles of sewer lines have been laid to carry off the
waste from millions of people.
At first, these plants removed only organic solids:
these wastes are called "floatables." Now the plants
must remove at least 85 percent of many of the other
pollutants before the wastewater is discharged. EPA
manages programs that help pay for treatment plant
improvements and provide research and training to
improve plant design and operation. The Agency
also brings legal action against localities that do not
meet wastewater treatment requirements.
Sewage-treatment plants are not designed to treat
all contaminants. Some toxic pollutants sent into the
sewage system by industries and households can
damage the treatment plant or go through the system
untreated. To control these discharges, EPA requires
industries to "pre-treat" the waste before sending it
into sewage systems. Pretreatment of wastewater
helps to ensure that sewage sludge from treatment
facilities can be recycled as fertilizer. This removes
the expense and uncertainty of disposing of sludge as
a hazardous waste.
Industrial Discharges: EPA and the states use a
water classification and "permitting" system to
control water pollution from industries. When they
are the permitting authority, the states must
designate each of their surface-water resources as
suitable for specific uses. For example, a state could
identify one lake as a source of drinking water, while
designating another as a cold-water fishery. All
states must then adopt water-quality standards for
each water body that protect its designated use.
Once water bodies have been designated for
specific uses, the permitting authority must develop
plans to make sure water-quality standards are met.
Permits are issued to every industry discharging
waste into the water. These permits limit the amount
of pollution that may be discharged into a body of
water, and they require the industry to monitor
discharges to make sure limits are not violated.
Run-off: When rain falls on a city, water rushes into
storm sewers—carrying with it all the oil, dust, and
other wastes that have collected on the streets. In the
same way, run-off from farms carries fertilizer and
pesticides used by farmers.
Pollution from these scattered sources is hard to
control. In cities, for example, one storm can dump
more polluted water into the sewer system than it
can handle. When this happens, the excess flows
directly into nearby rivers and streams with no
treatment. Some of these sources are now being
controlled through permits that specify ways to store
run-off until it can be treated properly.
To manage run-off, some cities are building giant
holding areas to store water for later treatment.
Chicago, for example, spent $4 billion to dig a series
of enormous caverns deep below the city. They store
the water surges from rain storms until they can be
properly treated by the city's treatment plants.
Solutions to run-off problems must be tailored to
individual locations, and they often are expensive.
Solutions that emphasize prevention are better. For
example, forested wetlands can be used as buffer
strips, significantly reducing pollution from storm
run-off.
Water from farmland is another tough challenge.
Some states require farmers to preserve
"greenbelts"—areas of native vegetation—between
their fields and streams or lakes. Scientists think
these areas filter out much of the pollution that can
wash from fields. Other states have aggressive
programs to limit the amount of fertilizers and
pesticides farmers spread on the land. This is the
only sure way to keep these contaminants from
seeping into surface and ground water.
Particles and ash emitted by the smokestacks of
America's factories also introduce pollutants into
rainfall run-off. Run-off often carries these
substances into bodies of water when air currents do
not transport them there on their own. The Clean
Air Act is now trying to curb this water pollution
problem, which is also helped by run-off control
efforts.
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Documerica. National Archives
Sieve Delaney
An oil slick floats on a lake surface.
Sieve Delaney.
—*J«C»
Secondary bacterial treatment underway
at a wastewater treatment plant in the
District of Columbia
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"Fit To Drink"
About half our drinking water comes from surface
sources, such as rivers and lakes. The rest is from
underground sources—wells or springs. Water from
any source, when provided by a public water system,
must meet EPA's standards (called "maximum
contaminant levels") for drinking water. These
standards are based on our best scientific and
technical judgment. Water suppliers must monitor
their water to be sure it meets these standards.
While EPA sets the acceptable water contaminant
levels, the states have primary responsibility for
enforcing them in most cases. States can set
standards more stringent than EPA's, and they can
regulate chemicals that are not regulated by the
federal government.
EPA also provides valuable technical help to water
suppliers, especially the smaller systems. Because of
the increased costs that normally go with tighter
standards and monitoring requirements, small
systems often do not have enough money to pay for
them. EPA provides special workshops, design
manuals, and innovative financing concepts to help
these systems meet their expenses.
Most rivers and lakes assessed
by the states support fishing
and swimming
River miles
Partially supporting-104,632
t supporting - 53,449
Lake acres
Partially supporting - 2,701,577
,Not supporting-1,591,391
The number of regulated drinking water
contaminants is growing dramatically
200
Standards
•150
•« SDWA enacted
•100
-50
1970
1980
1990
2000
10
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New Directions For The 1990s:
PROTECTING NATURAL RESOURCES
Hatjortf Park Service
In the 1970s and 1980s, EPA's primary mission was to
protect human health from the adverse effects of various
types of pollution. That work continues, but in the 1990s,
the Agency is placing a new emphasis on protecting
ecological systems that exist in America's estuaries and
wetlands, forests and soil, rivers and lakes. In recent years
these resources have been threatened by population and
development pressures. The damage has been grave and
sometimes irreversible: one third of the nation's shellfish
beds are now closed due to pollution, and one fourth of our
estuaries contain high levels of toxic substances.
To safeguard these critical ecosystems, EPA has adopted
policies and practices that respect the fragility of
ecosystems everywhere. In particular, the Agency has
targeted several major water bodies for special attention,
including the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and the
Gulf of Mexico. All are plagued by pollution, and all are
extremely important from an economic as well as an
environmental standpoint. In these areas—which may
become models for actions elsewhere—we are working in
partnership with local government officials, business
leaders, and concerned citizens on creative, broadly based
approaches that will get lasting results.
One especially imperiled natural resource is scattered
throughout the United States: our nation's wetlands.
These are swampy areas that help filter pollution and serve
as a vital habitat for many species of birds, fish, and
animals. (See page 12.) In 1991, EPA increased its
spending for wetlands programs by 44 percent; the money
is earmarked for identification of endangered wetlands
areas, for enhancing state and local grassroots programs,
and for developing the knowledge and technical know-how
needed to prevent further deterioration. Under Section
404 of the Clean Water Act, EPA has veto authority to
stop development projects that would endanger wetlands.
The Agency has recently exercised that authority in Rhode
Island, Colorado, and Florida.
11
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Wetlands
Not long ago, people thought wetlands were
wastelands, fit only to be filled in or paved over.
Now we have a better appreciation for the role of
wetlands in the water cycle, as well as for the
importance of all our natural resources. Preserving
these vital resources is a key goal for EPA.
Wetlands are part of nature's water purification
system. Water filters through wetlands into streams
and then into the ground. Wetlands also are valuable
flood- and erosion-control devices; they provide
habitat for migrating birds and other wildlife; they
contribute to food production and commercial
fishing; and they are popular for sport fishing and
other recreation.
The Clean Water Act requires anyone who wants
to dispose of dredged or "fill" material to receive a
permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The
Corps issues more than 8,000 of these permits every
year. Developers and others who want to use
wetlands to dispose of this material must first
consider less environmentally disruptive alternatives.
When disposal practices threaten to cause
significant adverse effects on the environment, EPA
can "veto" the issuance of the Corps' permit.
Very few permits actually reach this stage. When
problems are uncovered early in the review process,
many projects are changed to reduce or eliminate
their detrimental effects.
State, tribal, and local governments, working with
private businesses, can help protect wetlands and
avoid pollution before it occurs. Using their planning
and land-use management roles, these governments
can designate and preserve wetland areas that
combine a variety of benefits to a local community.
Among these benefits are floodplain management,
wildlife habitat, and recreation.
Marine Debris
Plastic debris in oceans and lakes can kill or harm
marine life, damage boats, and mar the beauty and
the economies of beach communities. To deal with
this problem, EPA is developing a national program
Over half of the wetlands acreage has been lost
in the lower 48 states
Remained in the mid 1980's
47% or 104 million acres
to control the release of floating substances into the
marine environment. The program will discover the
sources and effects of marine debris and control it
through education, prevention, and voluntary
compliance, as well as with regulations and
legislation.
This project, like the National Estuary Program
and the Near Coastal Waters Program (see below), is
part of EPA's National Coastal and Marine Policy.
EPA developed this policy to strengthen enforcement
of the laws protecting America's coastal ecosystems.
Where laws limit the Agency's ability to act, the
policy encourages EPA to seek new solutions to
existing problems. It also promotes aggressive
programs to reduce the amount of waste disposed of
in coastal and marine waters.
The National
Estuary Program
An estuary is an arm of the sea that extends inland to
meet the mouth of a river, mingling salt and fresh
water. EPA's National Estuary Program is trying to
protect estuaries where overdevelopment threatens
the environmental balance. The program was set up
to show how comprehensive, aggressive management
programs can enhance the endangered living
resources of estuaries. The program uses existing
regulations, institutions, and financial resources to
correct problems, but it often takes creative new
approaches as well.
There are now 17 estuaries in the National Estuary
Program. Estuaries are chosen based on a state's
ability to show that it can improve water quality in
five years.
12
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The Near Coastal
Waters Program
Pollution of the waters near our coasts, already a
critical national problem, gets worse each year as
growing numbers of Americans move toward the
water. EPA has created a Near Coastal Waters
Program to focus federal and state attention on water
problems along our coasts. As part of the program,
all coastal EPA regions, and the states within those
regions, are carrying out strategies to preserve the
quality of these waters.
Ocean Dumping
The Ocean Dumping Ban Act requires EPA to protect
the oceans from indiscriminate waste dumping. To
do this, the Agency:
• Determines the toxicity of the waste proposed for
dumping
• Designates safe sites for dumping
• Issues dumping permits
• Monitors to ensure the protection of the marine
environment
• Assesses penalties for improper dumping
EPA has been able to stop dumping of industrial
waste, and sewage sludge dumping is being phased
out. The Agency is now looking at alternative ways
to dispose of dredged material, to make sure that
these byproducts of navigation projects are properly
managed.
GROUND WATER
The health of America's ground water is threatened
by run-off and contamination from a variety of other
sources, such as seepage from hazardous-waste
landfills and leaking underground storage tanks.
Protection of aquifers—natural formations that store
ground water—is one of the biggest environmental
challenges of the 1990s. EPA has developed a
strategy to safeguard ground water and has set up a
separate office within its Office of Water to carry out
this effort.
The 1986 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water
Act also require creative approaches to assessing and
protecting ground-water resources. The Wellhead
Protection Program works to protect "recharge" areas
of wells that supply public water systems. The
program is developed and administered by the states.
EPA issues technical guidance and helps finance state
efforts.
The Wellhead Protection Program is designed to
protect ground water while letting states tailor their
efforts to local conditions and geologic settings. At
the same time, EPA is making every effort to carry
out other programs within the context of federal and
state strategies to protect ground water. For example,
the Agency is working to set up a federal/state
partnership to help prevent pesticide contamination
of ground water.
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New Directions For The 1990s:
ECONOMIC INCENTIVES
EPA's regulations traditionally have followed a
"command-and-control" approach. Polluters were
ordered not to exceed a legally mandated level of
emissions or releases, but they were offered no
incentives to perform better than EPA guidelines
dictated. In many cases, this approach proved to
be rigid, costly, and even counterproductive. In
the 1990s, EPA is working to supplement
traditional "command-and-control" regulations
with flexible, market-based regulations that enlist
the power of the marketplace on behalf of the
environment.
The Clean Air Act of 1990 made maximum use
of market incentives in ways that are expected to
cut compliance costs by $1 billion. For instance,
the Act includes an innovative system of
emissions "allowances" for sulfur dioxide.
Industries that reduce emissions below the sulfur
dioxide standard build up a supply of allowances,
or credits, that they can sell to other companies
that are not doing as well. Thus, all regulated
companies have an incentive to perform at the
best possible level—the level least harmful to the
environment. The Clean Air Act also includes
other market-based innovations, such as tradable
emission credits for manufacturers of clean-fuel
vehicles, and for producers of certain kinds of
clean-burning fuels.
Another example of EPA's new sensitivity to
market forces is the Enterprise-for-the-Americas
initiative, begun in 1990, which is using
economic incentives to help Latin American
countries protect their endangered rainforests and
other natural resources. The United States has
told Latin American governments that their
public debt owed to the U.S. government can now
be renegotiated, at a discounted rate, and
converted into local currency earmarked for
environmental protection and conservation
projects. Such "debt-for-nature" swaps will
finance acquisition of land for parks and nature
preserves. The money also can be used for
pollution prevention or cleanup.
AIR
The nation has had a good deal of success in
curbing air pollution since the original Clean Air
Act took effect in 1970. Emissions of nitrogen
oxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic
compounds from the tailpipes of new cars have been
cut by up to 90 percent. Lead emissions are down 99
percent. Many other improvements have been made.
But we must do more. More than 100 million
people still live in cities where ozone levels are
higher than regulations allow (ozone is a smog
ingredient). Carbon monoxide, mainly from
automobiles, continues to be a problem in many
cities. Many scientists believe that toxic air pollutants
have never adequately been regulated under the
Clean Air Act. Studies show that acid rain continues
to fall over much of the nation.
On September 15, 1990, President Bush signed the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. "Today," he
said, "we add a long-awaited and long-needed
chapter in our environmental history, and we begin a
new era for clean air." This law is the most
significant legislation yet passed to control air
pollution. It directs the United States to carry out
strong environmental policies and regulations that
will guarantee cleaner air for every American.
To achieve this goal, EPA will use traditional
approaches to control air pollution. But it will also
work to harness the power of the marketplace, to
encourage local initiatives, and to emphasize
pollution prevention. EPA will direct its efforts to
achieve cost-effective environmental benefits while
ensuring consistency with national energy and
economic policies.
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 signify a
new era in environmental regulation in this country.
The law offers solutions to some of the nation's most
difficult environmental problems by promoting the
use of creative approaches, both regulatory and non-
regulatory. When fully in place, the new law will:
• Remove 56 billion pounds a year of pollution from
the air (224 pounds a year for every man, woman,
and child in the United States)
• Reduce by 50 percent the emissions causing acid
rain
• Reduce by 75 percent emissions and the resulting
risks from toxic air pollution
• Result in cleaner cars, fuels, factories, and power
plants
• Assure that all areas of the country meet the
national ambient air quality standards
• Reduce damage to lakes, streams, parks, and
forests
14
Reduce oil imports significantly
Reverse the decline in visibility in the country's
most scenic areas
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national Park Service.
A statue stained by acid rain
15
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Smog blankets Denver,
John T. While. EPA,
EPA engineers^John Koupal, Rich Evans, and
Line Wehrly—study vehicle exhaust emissions.
Colorado Oepl. ol Health. Air Pollution Control Division.
"Fit To Breathe"
The goal of the Clean Air Act is to protect public
health and welfare from the harmful effects of air
pollution. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA has set
maximum acceptable levels for pollutants in outdoor
air, called National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
There are two kinds, primary and secondary.
Primary standards set limits that protect human
health, including sensitive populations such as
children, asthmatics, and the elderly. Secondary
standards protect plants, animals, and building
materials from the harmful effects of air pollution.
EPA has set primary and secondary standards for
six so-called "criteria" pollutants: carbon monoxide,
nitrogen dioxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and
particulates (smoke, dust, and other small particles).
These standards are based on medical and scientific
evidence of a pollutant's health and environmental
effects. EPA must review this evidence every five
years and analyze any new data available. If the
review shows that changes are needed, EPA revises
the standard.
The Clean Air Act also requires EPA to set
National Emissions Standards for Hazardous
Pollutants, called "NESHAPS." These control the
emission of substances that cause serious or
irreversible health effects. EPA has established
NESHAPS for asbestos, beryllium, mercury, vinyl
chloride, benzene, arsenic, and radionuclides.
16
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Air pollution comes either from mobile sources,
such as automobiles, buses, trucks, locomotives, and
airplanes, or from stationary sources—factories,
power plants, and smelters.
To control pollution from mobile sources, the
Clean Air Act and supporting regulations provide for
tighter emission controls as technology improves.
EPA also regulates the quality of the fuel used in
these vehicles. One major environmental success has
been the nearly complete elimination of lead from
gasoline.
To help control pollution from stationary sources,
EPA sets New Source Performance Standards. These
limit emissions allowed from new industrial plants
and existing plants that are "substantially modified."
By requiring uniform emission limits on new sources
regardless of where they are located, Congress has
kept air pollution controls from becoming a source of
regional rivalry. National standards are now in effect
for most major industries.
Since national performance standards apply only
to new or modified plants, these controls by
themselves generally do not ensure acceptable air
quality. State governments also must draw up and
enforce state implementation plans, or "SIPs," which
spell out other steps that will be taken to attain
acceptable air quality. Typically, these include
controls on older industrial plants and other
stationary sources of pollution. They also include
measures to cut back on traffic or otherwise reduce
motor vehicle emissions. SIPs are subject to EPA
approval. If a state plan is not acceptable, EPA must
draw up an implementation plan that the state must
then enforce.
Overall, the nation's air quality is considerably
better than it was 20 years ago. Some areas, however,
still fall short of the standards because of
concentrations of pollution sources, geography, or
weather. In these areas, states are working to achieve
additional emission reductions. State programs
include vehicle emission tests, special nozzles at
gasoline stations to collect fumes, systems to reduce
traffic, and reduced use of solvents.
These state efforts will require the understanding
and cooperation of the public. This is especially
important when the plans affect individually small
emission sources: bakeries, wood stoves, dry cleaners,
and homeowners using solvents. Together, these
sources can produce significant amounts of pollution.
In some areas, even more stringent measures may
be needed to achieve healthful air quality. State
plans also must contain provisions to prevent the
"significant deterioration" of air quality. That means
they must limit the worsening of air quality in areas
that are now cleaner than the national standards
require. The plans also must improve visibility
where it has been impaired (and prevent future
impairment) in pristine federal lands, such as
national parks and wildernesses.
Comparison of 1970 and 1989 emissions of
conventional air pollutants
Thousand metric tons/yr
TSP SOx
Total Sulfur
Suspended Oxides
Particulates
CO NOx VOC
Carbon Nitrogen Volatile
Monoxide Oxides Organic
Chemicals
Lead
Acid Rain
Acid rain occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxide change in the atmosphere to form harmful
compounds that fall to earth in rain, fog, and snow.
Acid rain damages lakes and streams, as well as
forests, buildings, and monuments. It affects
visibility and health. About 20 million tons of sulfur
dioxide are emitted every year in the United States.
Three-quarters comes from the burning of fossil fuels
by electric utilities; 20 percent comes from other,
more widely dispersed industrial sources; and 5
percent is from transportation sources.
Since the sources of acid rain often are hundreds
of miles from the affected areas, an aggressive effort
to control acid rain has been difficult to achieve.
Nevertheless, the Clean Air Act amendments recently
passed by Congress propose, by the end of the
century, to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 10
million tons per year from 1980 levels and
significantly to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.
17
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New Directions For The 1990s:
REDUCING RISKS
During its first two decades, EPA's regulatory
agenda was dictated by a series of separate laws,
each dealing with a different pollution problem.
No attempt was made to rank those problems in
relative order of importance. The Agency is
committed to enforcing all the laws under its
jurisdiction, but as the 1990s begin, a major effort
is also being made to target more of EPA's funds
and efforts at the most serious environmental
problems facing the nation. The Agency is trying
to identify the most significant environmental
risks through a strategic planning process based
on comparative assessments of relative risk.
Those risk assessments have become a vital
management tool at EPA.
The concept of risk-based management was
strongly endorsed in Reducing Risk, a
September 1990 report by EPA's Science
Advisory Board. (See page 28.) Seeking a better
way of targeting its resources, EPA has begun a
major effort to carry out the report's key
recommendations. EPA program offices have
developed four-year strategic plans that are geared
toward dealing with high-risk problems and
taking actions that contribute most effectively to
reducing risk. In addition, EPA's budget now
reflects the risk-based priorities set in these
strategic plans.
Although many substances are relatively harmless,
several have caused real and continuing damage to
^health and the environment. For example,
asbestos and PCBs, two harmful contaminants that
decompose slowly, were widely used until a decade
or so ago. Although most uses of these substances
have been banned, both will remain in the
environment for years to come. Destroying or
cleaning up their residues costs millions of dollars a
year.
The goals of EPA's toxic substances program are to
keep new chemicals from becoming an environmental
hazard, and to make sure that existing chemicals are
safely used.
Compared with its reliance on state, tribal, and
local governments to carry out water pollution
programs, EPA plays a larger and more direct role in
regulating toxic substances and pesticides. The
Agency works directly with the industries involved,
which report straight to EPA on many matters. (This
does not apply in states that have cooperative
agreements with EPA; those states work directly with
industry.)
18
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AND RADIATION
A helicopter sprays fungicide
over a Florida orange grove.
Fred S. While. USOA
Chemicals
When a manufacturer wants to market a new
chemical, it must first notify EPA. The Agency
reviews both the new substance and its proposed
uses to determine if they present an environmental
hazard. EPA can require the manufacturer to test the
substance for toxicity or other effects before
approving its widespread use. New chemicals found
to be harmful may be regulated in several ways,
ranging from labeling requirements to outright bans.
For existing chemicals, a federal interagency testing
committee of experts advises EPA as to which ones
should be tested.
There are some 68,000 chemicals in commercial use
in this country. As required by the Toxic Substances
Control Act, EPA maintains a comprehensive
inventory of all these chemicals. The inventory,
which is based on information submitted by chemical
manufacturers, processors, and importers, provides
an overview of national commerce in chemicals.
EPA also is using its authority to keep a close
watch on developments in biotechnology.
Biotechnology is the manipulation of biological
processes to produce chemicals or living organisms
for commercial use. The Agency is focusing its
attention on industry plans to use natural organisms
in new ways or in unfamiliar habitats, and on efforts
to manufacture and use genetically altered
microorganisms.
Pesticides
Pesticides are substances that prevent, kill, or
otherwise disable pests. Pests include undesirable
plants, insects, rodents, fungi, and molds. Pesticides,
by definition, are usually toxic. Some can be
extremely toxic to people and to the environment.
Under the authority of the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), last
amended in 1988, EPA registers or licenses pesticide
products; about 20,000 of these products have been
registered so far. "Registration" means that EPA has
examined scientific data about a pesticide's effects,
and has required product labeling. The purpose is to
make sure that the pesticide can be used without
posing unreasonable risks to human health or the
environment.
FIFRA requires the Agency to consider economic,
social, and environmental costs and benefits when
deciding about pesticides. This balancing of risks
and benefits underlies every basic regulatory decision
under this particular law.
Pesticide registration is a pre-market review and
licensing procedure that is required for every
pesticide marketed in the United States, no matter
where it is manufactured. EPA bases registration
decisions for a new pesticides on test data (provided
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by the pesticide registrant) that show whether it can
cause adverse effects on people or the environment.
The potential human health risks of pesticides
range from short-term, reversible effects like skin and
eye irritation to long-term, chronic, irreversible
effects—cancer, birth defects, and reproductive
system disorders. Data on "environmental fate," or
how a pesticide behaves in the environment, also are
required. This information lets EPA determine,
among other things, whether a pesticide poses a
threat to ground water or to "non-target" species
(species other than those it is meant to control).
Through the "reregistration" process, EPA also is
examining pesticides registered before the creation of
current scientific and regulatory standards. This is to
make sure that older chemicals meet the same
standard ("no unreasonable adverse effects") that
applies to new pesticides. Since 1988, the timetable
for these reregistrations has been accelerated.
Whenever new data on an old pesticide suggest that
it may be causing unreasonable risks, EPA can begin
a public "special review" process to determine
whether action is warranted. At the end of a special
review, EPA can decide to continue, to restrict, or to
cancel the pesticide uses under consideration.
EPA can designate certain pesticides for "restricted
use." Restricted-use pesticides are those with
clear-cut economic benefits that pose potentially
serious hazards to the environment or the person
using them. They can be used only by people who
are trained and certified in their proper use. States
usually are responsible for applicator certification and
training as well as pesticide enforcement.
Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
EPA sets "tolerances," or maximum legal limits, for
pesticide residues remaining on food and feed sold in
the United States. The tolerance helps ensure that
U.S. consumers are not exposed to unsafe levels of
pesticides in or on their food.
The Agency sets a tolerance only if chemical and
lexicological data show that there is no unreasonable
risk to consumers from eating food containing low-
level residues of the pesticide—even over an entire
lifetime. The Food and Drug Administration and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture are responsible for
enforcing tolerances for food and feed commodities
in interstate commerce. Any domestic or imported
commodities containing pesticide residues above U.S.
tolerance levels can be seized and destroyed.
A Pennsylvania homeowner inspects an
air pump system that helps eliminate
radon.
NYT Pictures.
Radiation
Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation: Radiation
from radioactive materials (known as "ionizing"
radiation) can be present in air, water, soil, and food.
EPA and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
share responsibility for protecting the public from
harmful exposure to ionizing radiation. Another type
of radiation is an emerging public concern: "non-
ionizing" radiation from electromagnetic fields, which
might also pose a health risk.
EPA has set standards that limit the release of
ionizing radiation into the air by several industrial
and commercial sources. There are also standards for
uranium mining and processing waste, radioactivity
in drinking water, and water contamination from
inactive sites where mill tailings from uranium
mining have been dumped.
EPA is working on setting exposure limits for low-
level and high-level radioactive waste. The Agency
20
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US Dept. at Energy.
also provides federal guidance on permissible levels
of radiation exposure for workers and the public.
EPA has developed guidance on the diagnostic use of
X-rays, another form of ionizing radiation. Work is
now being done to determine the health effects of
non-ionizing radiation, with emphasis on power
transmission lines.
EPA can respond to emergencies involving
ionizing radiation. It has mobile equipment,
laboratory vehicles, and staff trained to monitor
conditions and collect data. EPA publishes Protective
Action Guides on emergency shelters, evacuation,
and techniques for maintaining the safety of water
supplies. The Agency helps other federal and state
agencies clean up contaminated sites and participates
in emergency response planning and exercises.
Radon: The most common source of public exposure
to ionizing radiation is radon, a naturally occurring
gas formed by the decay of certain geological
materials. Radon gas can seep into buildings from
the ground and from running tap water and then
build up to harmful levels. EPA's Radon Program
works to alert the public to the dangers of radon. It
also provides technical assistance and support to
states, distributes information on home testing,
develops guidance for reducing levels in existing
structures, and promotes new construction practices
that diminish the risk from radon.
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New Directions For The 1990s:
POLLUTION PREVENTION
In the past, America's environmental programs have
focused almost exclusively on "end-of-pipe" pollution
control and cleanup. This traditional approach is best
suited to large, easily identifiable sources such as
smokestacks and sewer outlets. It is much less effective
in dealing with scattered sources of pollution such as
run-off from farms and streets. Even more important,
this approach fails to weigh the merits of pollution
prevention as an end in itself, as a means of preserving
resources and improving efficiency.
Congress, by passing the Pollution Prevention Act of
1990, has declared that from now on, America's first
priority should be to prevent or reduce pollution at the
source wherever possible. Pollution that cannot be
prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe
manner. If prevention or recycling is not possible,
pollution should be treated. Disposal or other release
into the environment should be used only as a last
resort.
EPA is now taking steps to incorporate the principles
of pollution prevention in all of its programs. For
example, two percent of every EPA program's budget
for 1991 and 1992 has been set aside to fund pollution-
prevention demonstration projects. EPA's "Agenda for
Action" has set an ambitious national goal for 1992:
the recycling of at least 25 percent of municipal solid
waste. In addition, the Agency's newly created Office of
Pollution Prevention has created an information
clearinghouse that already has handled over 6,000
inquiries from industries, businesses, universities, and
government agencies.
EPA's "Green Lights" program is a classic example
of pollution prevention in action. Since January 1991,
the Agency has been working with major U.S.
corporations to make sure they have the information and
the technical support they need to install energy-
efficient lighting designs and technologies. When a
company joins the Green Lights program, it agrees to
survey all its facilities and install new lighting systems
that save energy, to the extent that the new systems do
not increase costs or compromise lighting quality. As of
August 12, 1991, 93 leading American corporations had
become Green Lights partners. If all U.S. businesses
and industries participated, the program would bring
about a five percent reduction in the air pollution
generated by the plants that power U.S. lighting
systems.
WASTE
Recycling at the University of Wisconsin/Stevens Point
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Two decades ago, there were more than 10,000
municipal waste dumps in this country, and tens
of thousands of other places where industry also
dumped its waste. Many of these were near
surface water or above aquifers. Very few had
adequate controls to ensure that the contaminants in
the waste did not seep into the soil or water.
Today, landfills are more carefully controlled to
reduce the chances of environmental contamination.
The disposal of a wide range of hazardous substances
on the land has been outlawed. The problems caused
by yesterday's poor waste-disposal practices are
being dealt with. Even more importantly, Americans
are beginning to cut back on the amount of waste
they throw away.
Recycling
Proper disposal of waste is becoming increasingly
expensive. Citizen opposition to new waste-handling
facilities has caused many cities and industries to cart
their waste hundreds of miles for disposal. Costs
probably will continue to rise as existing landfills run
out of room.
What's the alternative? Create less waste. Prevent
pollution before it occurs. One way municipalities can
do this is through recycling. Recycling is a program
in which every individual counts, because successful
recycling depends on the participation of most of the
population. See page 7.
There is ample reason for all of us to participate.
Cost-effective recycling not only protects the
environment; it can also save money by salvaging
valuable materials such as aluminum, glass, paper,
and plastic. As a result, recycling makes good
business sense to industry.
Unfortunately, in some cases the growing public
enthusiasm for recycling has outpaced the ability of
industry to use some types of recycled materials. For
a while, some areas will find themselves with too
little demand for the collected material. But as
disposal costs rise and consumer demand for recycled
products increases, a healthy market should develop
for many substances that were once considered
waste.
Waste Reduction
It can cost more than $1,200 to dispose safely of a
single drum of some hazardous wastes. That may
seem like a lot—until you realize it can cost ten to a
hundred times that much to clean up the same waste
after it has been disposed of improperly.
Responding to these growing costs, many
companies are taking a hard look at both their
products and their processes to find ways to reduce
the amount of waste they produce. Several firms
already have discovered that changes in products or
processes not only reduce waste, but they also can
save money. (See page 22.)
EPA supports an information exchange program to
help firms develop pollution prevention programs.
The Agency also holds workshops and training
sessions for state inspectors and industry
representatives to help them find new ways to ease
the waste-disposal burden.
Abandoned Waste
Superfund: Cleaning up hazardous waste dumps
created by the careless practices of the past will cost
billions of dollars and take several decades. Much of
the money will come from private firms. The federal
government, however, will have to clean up military
waste sites as well as the worst sites where the
responsible parties can't pay the bill. The high cost
of future cleanups is a strong incentive for proper
waste management and pollution prevention today.
Launched in 1980, EPA's Superfund
program—with help from the states—already has
evaluated almost 32,000 potential waste sites. From
among those sites, EPA has identified about 1,200
that need Superfund action, and the Agency has
started cleanup efforts at most of these sites. EPA
expects to have completed cleanups at several
hundred sites by the year 2000.
Waste sites requiring Superfund action are
identified on the National Priorities List (NPL). This
is EPA's list of hazardous-waste sites that warrant
federally sponsored long-term cleanup, known as
"remedial action." Under the Superfund remedial
action program, EPA's long-term cleanup actions are
geared toward eliminating or subtantially reducing
releases of hazardous substances.
In addition, EPA performs emergency "removal
actions" at NPL sites when necessary to control an
immediate threat. The Agency also takes emergency
actions at non-NPL sites where there have been spills
or accidental releases of hazardous substances.
Potential NPL sites are discovered through,
among other ways, routine site inspections and
citizens' reports. Once a potential site is identified,
EPA or state officials conduct a preliminary
assessment by reviewing available documents about
the site.
Then they conduct a site inspection to gather
additional evidence of any potential problems. Using
information from the site inspection, EPA estimates
the potential risk posed by the site to identify those
that may pose the highest risk. These are added to
the National Priorities List.
Once a site is on the NPL, EPA or the state can
conduct a more thorough site investigation. A
"remedial investigation and feasibility study"
pinpoints the nature of the problem and weighs
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different cleanup methods. During the study, EPA or
the state collects and analyzes additional information
to learn the extent and nature of contamination.
Then comes the "feasibility study"; this identifies
several possible remedies which are evaluated by
EPA, responsible parties, and interested citizens.
With concurrence of the state and after considering
public comment, EPA chooses a remedy that meets
the requirements of the Superfund law and the
National Contingency Plan (the federal regulation
that guides the Superfund program). Design of the
remedial action, as well as on-site construction, are
supervised by EPA and the Army Corps of
Engineers. Or, a state can manage all site activities
on its own if it chooses.
EPA encourages private parties who are
responsible for dangerous hazardous waste sites to
clean them up voluntarily. The government will
monitor the cleanup. If the responsible parties aren't
willing or able to do this, EPA will issue an
administrative order or take them to court Jo require
them to clean up the site. If the responsible parties
ignore an EPA cleanup order, and EPA must conduct
the cleanup, the responsible parties can be liable for
punitive damages up to triple the costs of federal
cleanup work. If the responsible parties are insolvent
or unknown, EPA and the states will pay for the
work.
States play many key roles in toxic waste
management. When EPA and a state work together
on a cleanup, the state contributes 10 percent of the
costs for work at privately owned facilities. The state
contribution is 50 percent if the facility is operated
either by the state itself or by one of its political
subdivisions, such as a city or county. Along with
cost-sharing, states help pick sites, set cleanup
priorities, and choose cleanup methods. Remedies
must meet any state requirements that are stricter
than federal standards. States also must show that
they can manage hazardous waste generated within
their boundaries.
MEIMT
EPA's waste management system, created by the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),
includes five separate but related programs. They are
designed to protect human health and the
environment; reduce waste and conserve energy; and
reduce or end hazardous waste generation. The
programs set requirements for managing municipal
solid waste (garbage); managing hazardous waste;
storing petroleum products and hazardous substances
in underground tanks; managing medical waste; and
dealing with accidental releases of hazardous
substances.
Municipal Solid Waste
A principal goal of EPA's municipal solid waste
program is to help the states carry out comprehensive
management plans to handle garbage. The plans
should include reducing and recycling solid waste
and upgrading—or closing—all environmentally
unsound dumps. Because the volume of solid waste
is growing, solid-waste management has become a
key issue for many localities and states.
To help these officials, EPA issued new standards
that apply to municipal solid-waste landfills and to
municipal solid waste incinerators. The Agency also
has an extensive program to assist state and local
government in identifying ways to reduce solid waste
at its source and to implement recycling programs.
These efforts will lay the foundation for better control
of municipal solid waste in the future.
Hazardous Waste
EPA's goal in managing hazardous waste is to make
sure it's handled in a way that protects human health
and the environment. EPA regulates hazardous
waste from "cradle to grave" (from production to
disposal). This involves regulating more than 4,400
Most sites in Superfund inventory
have been assessed or inspected
Work is under way at most priority sites
Awaiting initial assessment - 2,684
National Priorities
List Sites -1,222
Sites evaluated;
no further federal action -
18,337
Site inspection complete;
awaiting decision
- 7,228^
awaiting inspection
5,181
Remedies selected or
under design - 282
Detailed studies of
contamination and remedies
under way - 487
Clean up work completed - 63
Jmmediate threat evaluated;
.awaiting investigation and
engineering studies - 88
Abandoned drums of
hazardous waste
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treatment, storage, and disposal facilities; 20,000
transporters; and about 240,000 generators. EPA, as
well as the states and the tribes, can issue permits
through which standards are set for the safe design
and operation of these facilities.
Underground Storage Tanks
This program works to prevent leaks and to clean up
past releases of petroleum products or hazardous
substances from underground storage tanks, such as
those found at gas stations. EPA has developed
standards for new tanks that protect against corrosion
and other causes of leaks and also include systems to
monitor leaks. These standards also define financial
responsibility in case of leaks as well as grounds for
corrective action on the 1.8 million tanks across the
country.
Medical Waste
During the summer of 1988, medical waste washed
up on Atlantic beaches. The resulting outcry called
attention to the need for better management of
medical waste. Congress passed the Medical Waste
Tracking Act to deal with the problem. Under its
provisions, EPA is putting together a demonstration
program to track medical waste from creation to
disposal. EPA will report its findings to Congress,
which will then consider the merits of national
medical-waste regulation.
Chemical Accidents
And Releases
EPA's Chemical Emergency Preparedness Program
provides guidance, training, and technical help to
states, tribes, and communities. Its goal is to help
them identify chemical hazards and meet their
responsibilities in preparing for, and responding to,
chemical emergencies.
When Superfund was reauthorized in 1986,
Congress passed the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) as part of
the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act.
EPCRA—also known as "Title III"—requires industry
and federal, state, tribal, and local governments to
plan for chemical emergencies and provide for
emergency notification. It also expands the rights of
citizens to get information about the presence and
release of hazardous chemicals ir: their communities.
Data on the kinds and amounts of chemicals being
released into the air, water, and soil throughout the
nation are now available from EPA and most states
in both printed and electronic form. EPA also
publishes yearly reports analyzing these releases.
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Pollution that crosses political boundaries, such
as acid rain, has caused friction between
countries for at least a decade. Now, however,
we are beginning to recognize a class of pollu-
tion problems that can affect not just one region,
but the entire planet.
Dealing with global pollution problems requires a
great deal of international cooperation. All nations
share the responsibility to protect our biosphere.
The Marine Environment
Some pollution is found throughout the world's
oceans, which cover about two-thirds of the planet's
surface. Marine debris, farm run-off, industrial waste,
sewage, dredge material, stormwater run-off, and
atmospheric deposition (acid rain) all contribute to
ocean pollution. Litter and chemical contamination
occur across the globe, including such remote places
as Antarctica and the Bering Sea. But the level of
pollution varies a good deal from region to region
and from one locality to another.
The open ocean is generally healthy, especially in
comparison to coastal waters and semi-enclosed seas
that are most directly affected by human activities.
The pressures from those activities are immense:
Some 50 to 75 percent of the world's population
probably will live within 50 miles of a coastline
within the next 10 years. (See National Estuary
Program and Near Coastal Waters Program, pages
12-13.)
EPA is working through various federal laws and
international agreements to reduce marine pollution.
For example, EPA is helping to carry out the London
Dumping Convention, MARPOL (the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships), the Great Lakes Agreement, the Caribbean
Regional Sea Program, and other marine multilateral
and bilateral agreements. The Agency also is helping
develop regional and international programs to
control discharges to the oceans from the land. In a
major domestic initiative, the Agency is working to
clean up major estuaries and coastal areas that have
suffered the most from pollution.
Tractor at a staging area for trees felled in an Ivory Coast rainforest
Rainloresl Alliance
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The Ozone Layer
A major global problem, depletion of the ozone layer,
is linked to a group of chemicals called
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These chemicals are
used widely by industry as refrigerants and by
consumers in polystyrene products. Once released
into the air, they rise into the stratosphere and eat
away at the Earth's protective ozone layer. The
ozone layer shields all life on the planet from the
sun's hazardous ultraviolet radiation, a leading cause
of skin cancer.
The United States, which has been in the forefront
of efforts to reduce CFC emissions, outlawed the use
of CFCs in aerosol spray products more than a
decade ago. We also have joined other nations, in a
treaty called the Montreal Protocol, in pledging to
eliminate the use of CFCs by the year 2000. Equally
important is the commitment by industry to develop
products and processes that don't use CFCs, and to
share these substitutes with other countries. EPA
evaluates all possible substitutes to make sure they
do not present new health or environmental
problems.
The threat to the ozone layer illustrates an
important principle: It is not enough simply to
outlaw an environmental problem. We also must
work toward a comprehensive and economically
acceptable solution.
Global Climate Change
Except for solar, nuclear, and geothermal power, the
production of energy requires that something be
burned. That something is usually a fossil fuel such
as oil, gasoline, natural gas, or coal. But it also can
be other fuels—for example, wood or municipal
waste.
Burning any of these substances uses up oxygen
and creates carbon dioxide gas. Our bodies also
create and exhale carbon dioxide. Plants, algae, and
plankton, on the other hand, take in carbon dioxide
and produce oxygen.
Our modern industrial society and its need for
power create far more carbon dioxide than the
planet's vegetation can consume. As this excess
carbon dioxide rises into the atmosphere, it acts as a
kind of one-way mirror, trapping the heat reflected
from the Earth's surface. Many leading scientists
expect that this "greenhouse" effect from increased
levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping
gases eventually will cause an increase in global
temperatures. Some predict that temperatures will
rise significantly within the next century, and that
global climate patterns could be dramatically
disrupted.
The growing ozone hole over Antarctica
If these experts are correct, areas in this country
that are now cropland could become desert, and
ocean levels could rise by three feet or more. EPA is
working with other federal agencies to improve our
understanding of the likely amount and possible
effects of global climate change. We also are looking
at ways to reduce carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gas emissions. This effort, like the
agreement to eliminate CFCs, will require a major
commitment to international cooperation by all the
countries of the world.
Vanishing Rainforests
Tropical rainforests, by absorbing large quantities of
carbon dioxide, help to retard global warming. The
rapid depletion of these tropical forests—as well as
those in the temperate zone—has become a pressing
global concern in recent years.
New data suggest that tropical forests are being
lost twice as fast as previously believed; at present
rates of destruction, many forests will disappear
within 10 to 15 years. In July 1990, concern for the
rapid loss of the great forest systems worldwide led
the United States to propose a global forest
convention at an economic summit attended by most
industrialized nations. The agreement would address
all forests—north temperate, temperate, and
tropical—as well as mapping and monitoring
research, training, and technical assistance.
EPA is working with the State Department, the
Department of Agriculture, the Agency for
International Development, and other agencies to
carry the proposal forward with the goal that the
agreement be signed at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development, to be
held in Brazil in 1992.
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EPA scientists study the effects of ozone air pollution
on pine seedlings.
cience and technology are becoming
increasingly important factors in EPA decisions,
especially as we become more aware of global
environmental problems. A science agency as
well as a regulatory agency, EPA has a responsibility
to conduct needed environmental research. Most of
the nation's environmental laws require the Agency
to decide what course of action is scientifically and
technically valid, and then to act on that decision.
For example, the Clean Water Act says EPA must
try to determine what levels of various water
pollutants could harm people exposed to them. The
Agency then sets water-quality standards based on
the best available scientific evidence. In the same
way, to protect the public from harmful pesticides,
EPA requires pesticide manufacturers to conduct
research into the health and environmental effects of
their chemicals. EPA reviews the results of that
research and then develops label directions for
pesticide use.
EPA relies on its research and development office
to develop, integrate, and assess scientific and
technical information. This effort involves six major
activities:
• Research in environmental engineering and
technology looks at pollution from industrial and
municipal sources, and examines technologies to
reduce or prevent such pollution.
• Environmental processes and effects research
develops information to predict and manage the
movement of pollutants through the environment,
and to determine their effects on ecosystems, plants,
and animals.
• Through its research in monitoring systems and
quality assurance, EPA develops procedures to
describe, monitor, and predict the levels of
pollutants in the environment. This program also
makes sure that our environmental measurements are
precise enough to support sound scientific decisions.
• Health effects research provides the information we
need to estimate human mortality and illness caused
by pollutants. Playing an important role in this
research effort is EPA's Health Effects Research
Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina—one of the nation's few facilities capable of
testing actual human exposure to environmental
contaminants.
• EPA's regulatory decisions are greatly influenced
by what we know about the hazards posed by
various pollutants. EPA's health and environment
assessment research provides a scientific basis for
judging the health and environmental effects of
exposure to a substance. It also helps in determining
the comparative risks of such exposures. Risk
assessments are vital to Agency managers as they set
management priorities and allocate EPA's resources
where they are most needed and effective.
• The Agency's exploratory grants programs fund
strategic environmental research in universities to
support much larger, EPA-directed environmental
research programs. These programs also train the
scientists and technicians who will carry out
environmental management and research in the
future.
EPA's research and development efforts are
handled by 12 scientific research laboratories located
from Narragansett, Rhode Island, to Corvallis,
Oregon; and through contracts, grants, and
cooperative agreements with universities and private
companies.
Along with this almost $500-million-a-year
research program, the Agency has a Science Advisory
Board (SAB) composed of independent experts in a
large number of fields associated with the
environmental sciences. The EPA Administrator calls
on this Board, or one of its various committees, to
review the scientific evidence presented to support a
proposed EPA action. The SAB also advises the
Agency as to the quality and adequacy of that
evidence.
For example, in September 1990,
the SAB, at the request of EPA's Administrator,
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issued a ground-breaking report called Reducing Risk: priorities—a course of action that the Agency is now
Setting Priorities and Strategies for Environmental pursuing (see page 18).
Protection. The report's first and most basic Through the guidance of the Science Advisory
recommendation was that EPA use comparative risk Board and the Agency's own experts, EPA is doing
assessment to do a better job of setting everything possible to make sure that its decisions
are supported by sound science.
ENFO
One way that EPA pursues its mission of protect- -
ing human health and the environment is to
issue regulations and to see that they are en-
forced. In most cases, there is widespread
compliance with these rules. But when a company or
other party doesn't comply voluntarily, EPA has a
wide range of tools that it vigorously uses to make
them do so. EPA is committed to aggressive
enforcement of the nation's environmental laws; and
the Agency's enforcement program has been
operating at record levels over the past several years.
Under its civil enforcement authority, EPA can
issue its own administrative orders or file a lawsuit
in federal court to force a violator to comply with the
law. EPA follows two principles when settling a
case. First, the violation must be corrected as
quickly as possible; and, second, the violator must
pay a substantial penalty.
Penalties are an important part of EPA's
enforcement program. By assessing large penalties,
the Agency aims to overcome any economic
incentives for non-compliance. EPA generally seeks
penalties at least as large as the economic gain
realized by violating the law in the first place. By
eliminating this so-called "competitive advantage" for
non-compliance, EPA makes sure that would-be
violators do not think of penalties as nothing more
than "the cost of doing business." The level of
penalties assessed by EPA has mounted dramatically
over the last five years.
Along with its civil enforcement authority, EPA
also can take criminal enforcement actions in federal
court against violators of environmental laws.
Criminal enforcement sanctions include both fines
and jail sentences if the violator is convicted or
pleads guilty. These penalties are used to punish
"willful" or "deliberate" violations that may have
especially adverse impacts on human health or the
environment. Examples include illegal "midnight
dumping" of toxic chemicals and destroying or
falsifying environmental reports or vital test results.
Over the past few years, judges have become
increasingly willing to punish willful violators with
large fines and prison sentences. Criminal
enforcement, EPA's most powerful enforcement tool,
has the greatest deterrent effect on potential violators.
To support its civil and criminal enforcement
efforts, EPA has a staff of lawyers, technical
enforcement experts, and investigators in Washington
and throughout its 10 regional offices. To uncover
and develop criminal enforcement cases, EPA has
more than 55 special investigators who specialize in
environmental law enforcement. The National
Enforcement Investigations Center in Denver,
Colorado, is another important part of the Agency's
enforcement effort. The Center's combination of
laboratory, investigative, and engineering skills often
is instrumental in developing the solid evidence that
lets the Agency successfully prosecute its cases.
Enforcing environmental laws and regulations calls
for close cooperation between EPA Headquarters and
its regional offices, and also among EPA as a whole
and the U.S. Department of Justice, other federal
regulatory agencies, the states, tribal governments,
and local agencies. All play an important role in
achieving significant improvements in environmental
quality—especially the states, which in many cases
have the primary responsibility for enforcing
environmental laws.
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As you've seen, EPA's role today is different in
both scope and character from the past. EPA
has broadened its view to encompass global
environmental concerns. At home and abroad,
the Agency is embracing creative new approaches to
environmental protection.
We are elevating the role of science in EPA
decision-making, acting on the recognition that good
science is the basis of sound environmental policy.
We are taking steps to evaluate the relative severity
of environmental threats, and to set priorities based
on the greatest opportunities to reduce risk.
We're designing new regulations and programs
that meet the requirements of the law while blending
traditional and non-traditional tools, such as market
incentives and voluntary action, to accomplish
ambitious environmental goals. We're strengthening
our ability to evaluate progress, to integrate and
focus our activities for greater efficiency and
effectiveness, and to adapt to changing conditions.
And as we pursue these new directions, we also
are working to strengthen existing environmental
programs and to make sure that all our
environmental laws and requirements are vigorously
enforced.
Obviously, EPA cannot fulfill this ambitious
environmental agenda by itself. All levels of
government and all sectors of society, other countries,
and every citizen must help. All of us must share in
the responsibility for harmonizing human activities
with the needs and constraints of nature. EPA
invites everyone who has not yet done so to join us
in the zestful and challenging quest for a safe, secure,
and healthy environment.
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Appendix I: EPA Regional Offices
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 1
JFK Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203
(617) 565-3424
Office of External Programs
US EPA Region 2
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
(212) 264-2515
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 3
841 Chestnut Street
PhJladelphia, PA 19107
(215) 597-9370
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 4
345 Courtland Street NE
Atlanta GA 30365
(404) 347-3004
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 5
230 S. Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 353-2072
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 6
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 655-2200
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 7
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
(913) 551-7003
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 8
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 293-1692
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 744-1020
Office of Public Affairs
US EPA Region 10
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(415) 744-1020
1-800-424-4EPA
Appendix II: EPA Research Facilities
Research Facilities Operated by
EPA's Office of Research
and Development:
Environmental Research Laboratory
27 Tarzwell Drive
Narragansett, RI 02882
(401) 782-3000
Pacific Ecosystems Branch
Hatfield Marine Science Center
Newport, OR 97365-5260
(503) 867-5000
Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory
Mail Drop 60
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
(919) 541-2821
Atmospheric Research and Exposure
Assessment Laboratory
Mail Drop 75
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
(919) 541-2106
Health Effects Research Laboratory
Mail Drop 51
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
(919) 541-2281
Environmental Research Laboratory
College Station Road
Athens, GA 30613
(404) 546-3500
Environmental Research Laboratory
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, FL 32561-5299
(904) 934-9200
Center for Environmental Research
Information
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
(513) 569-7391
Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
(513) 569-7301
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
(RREL)
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
(513) 569-7418
Releases Control Branch/RREL
Bldg. 10, MS-104
2890 Woodbridge Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
(908) 321-6674
Storm and Combined Sewer Pollution
Control and Technology Program/ RREL
Bldg. 10, MS-104
2890 Woodbridge Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
(908) 321-6674
SITE Technical Support Branch/RREL
Bldg. 10, MS-104
2890 Woodbridge Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
(908) 321-6632
Robert S. Kerr Environmental
Research Laboratory
P. O. Box 1198
Ada, OK 74820
(405) 332-8800
Environmental Research Laboratory
6201 Congdon Boulevard
Duluth, MN 55804
(218) 720-5500
Large Lakes Research Station
9311 Groh Road
Grosse He, MI 48138-1697
(313) 692-7600
Monticello Ecological Research Station
P. O. Box 500
Monticello, MN 55362
(612) 295-5145
Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory
P. O. Box 93478
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3748
(702) 798-2100
Environmental Photographic
Interpretation Center
Vint Hill Farms Station
P. O. Box 1587, Bldg. 166
Warrenton, VA 22186
(703) 349-8970
Environmental Research Laboratory
200 S.W. 35th Street
Corvallis, OR 97333
(503) 757-4601
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Other EPA Research Facilities:
Analytical Chemistry Laboratories/
Office of Pesticides and Toxic
Substances
Building 306, BARC East
Beltsville, MD 20705
(301) 344-2178
National Air and Radiation
Environmental Laboratory
1504 Avenue A, Gunter Air Force Base
Montgomery, AL 36115-2601
(205) 270-3400
Environmental Chemistry Laboratory/
Office of Pesticides and Toxic
Substances
Building 1105
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
(601) 688-3212
Motor Vehicle Emissions Laboratory/
Office of Air and Radiation
2565 Plymouth Rod
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(313) 688-4200
National Enforcement Investigations
Center/Office of Enforcement
Building 53, Box 25227
Denver, CO 80225
(303) 236-5100
Appendix III: National Hotlines and Clearinghouses
Center for Environmental Research Information -
Central point of distribution for EPA results and reports:
(513) 569-7391
Asbestos Ombudsman - Responds to questions and
concerns about asbestos-in-schools issues - Operates
Monday through Friday, 8:00-4:30 p.m. Eastern Time:
(800) 368-5888; (202) 557-1938 in the Washington, DC,
area
Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know
Information Hotline - Provides communities and
individuals with help in preparing for accidental releases
of toxic chemicals. This hotline, which complements the
RCRA/Superfund Hotline, is maintained as as information
resource rather than an emergency number - Operates
Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Eastern
Time: (800) 535-0202; (202) 479-2449 in the
Washington, DC, area
EPA National Recruitment Program - Enables potential
hirees to contact the Agency for employment information
and assists EPA managers in locating and hiring qualified
employees to fill vacant positions - Operates Monday
through Friday from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Eastern Time:
(202) 260-3305
Hazardous Waste Ombudsman - Assists citizens and the
regulated community who have had problems voicing a
complaint or getting a problem resolved about hazardous
waste issues. There is a Hazardous Waste Ombudsman at
EPA headquarters and one in each of EPA's Regional
Offices (see Appendix I): (202) 260-9361 in
Washington, DC
National Pesticides Telecommunications Network
Hotline - Provides information on pesticide-related
health, toxicity, and minor cleanup concerns - Also
provides impartial information on pesticide products and
basic safety practices - Operates 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year: (800) 858-7378
National Poison Control Center Hotline - Provides
information on accidental ingestion of chemicals, poisons,
or drugs: (202) 625-3333
National Response Center Hotline - Used to report spills
of oil and other hazardous materials - Available 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year: (800) 424-8802; in the
Washington, DC, area, call (202) 267-2675
National Small Flows Clearinghouse - Provides
information on wastewater treatment technologies for
small communities: (800) 624-8301
Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse -
Provides information on reducing waste through source
reduction and recycling: (703) 821-4800
Radon Information - For information about radon, you
should call the Radon Office in your individual state. In
the Washington, DC, area, the numbers are:
Maryland (800) 872-3666; Virginia (800) 468-0138; and
Washington, DC, (202) 727-5728. The Radon Office at
EPA headquarters also responds to requests for
information: (202) 260-9605.
RCRA/CERCLA (Superfund) Hotline - Responds to
questions from the public and the regulated community
on the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act (Superfund) - Operates Monday through
Friday from 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Eastern Time:
(800) 424-9346; in the Washington, DC, area, (703) 920-9810
Safe Drinking Water Hotline - Provides information on
EPA's drinking water regulations - Operates Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Eastern Time:
(800) 426-4791; in the Washington, DC, area, (202) 260-5534
Small Business Ombudsman Hotline - Assists small
businesses in complying with EPA regulations - Operates
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Eastern Time:
(800) 368-5888; in the Washington, DC, area, (703) 557-1938.
There are also Small Business Ombudsmen in each of
EPA's 10 Regional Offices (see Appendix I).
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Assistance
Information Service - Provides information about toxic
substances and TSCA regulations - Operates Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Eastern Time: (202)
554-1401
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