EPA's
TECHNICAL W)) ASSISTANCE
^^^^^^^^^^-^^—^^^—^——^^^—^^^^^^^^^^——^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^VrJ. jV ^^^^^^m^^^t^m^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^mm^^f^^__^^^m^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PROGRAM
By RANDOLPH L. CHRISMON
The Resource Conservation and Re-
covery Act (RCRA) of 1976 pro-
vides for ". . . technical and financial
assistance for the development of man-
agement plans and facilities for the re-
covery of energy and other resources
from discarded materials and for the
safe disposal of discarded materials.
. . ."' Section 2003 of Ihc Act requires
that: "The Administrator [of Ihc U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency] shall
provide teams of personnel, including
Federal, State, and local employees or
contractors to provide State and local
governments upon request with techni-
cal assistance on solid waste manage-
ment, resource recovery, and resource
/conservation. Such teams shall include
technical, marketing, financial, and in-
stitutional specialists, and the services
of such teams shall be provided without
charge to States or local governments.'"
Following the RCRA mandate, the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) initiated the Resource Recovery
and Conservation Panels Program-
heller known as the Technical Assist-
ance (TA) Panels Program—to aid state
and local governments with their waste
management and resource recovery
problems. Regional EPA staff, regional
consultants (panels) and "peer
matches" are the mechanisms used to
provide this assistance.
The TA Panels Program defines the
difficulties inherent in implementing ac-
ceptable waste management activities,
suggests and develops a variety of alter-
natives, and advises responsible juris-
Randolph L. Chrismon is an environ-
mental protection specialist in the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Of-
fice of Solid Waste, Washington, D.C.
He was formerly a research anal vat with
the National Center for Resource Re-
covery.
dictions as to the kinds of experiences
and qualifications a contractor or in-
house personnel should bring to the task
of implementation. In addition, TA
Panels of experts in the field can assist
in the preparation of a request for pro-
posals (RFP), assist in evaluation of the
responses to an RFP, review the outputs
of consultants under contract, and help
develop equipment specifications. Thus,
the role of the TA Panels Program is to
provide sound, unbiased advice, and to
act as a catalyst in the development and
implementation of . environmentally
sound waste management practices.
TA Panels Program activities are lim-
ited, however, in that EPA and its con-
tractors are not to participate in the de-
cision-making process of a client com-
munity. Furthermore, the panels should
not act as architects, architectural engi-
neers, design consultants, or financial
consultants. It is not intended that the
program supplant locally available con-
sultants. The program should only fill
the void where consultants lack the re-
quired expertise or are not readily avail-
able.
In Spring 1978, a request for pro-
posals to hire 10 consultants to provide
technical assistance on a regional basis
was issued. The first contract was
awarded in June 1978, with the bulk
awarded in September 1978. The panels
program, therefore, was not fully oper-
ational until the beginning of the 1979
fiscal year. Through September 1978,
however, 172 requests for technical as-
sistance had been answered..'
Current Organization and
Operation
The current organization of the TA
Panels Program reflects EPA's belief
that the program should be flexible, re-
sponsive and timely. In order to meet
the Agency's criteria, it was decided to
organize TA Panels on a regional basis.
The original RFP, issued by EPA in
March 1978, called for 10 consultants
with expertise in technical, financial,
economic, marketing, legal and institu-
tional aspects of waste management.
These primary subject areas include re-
source recovery, hazardous waste man-
"The role of the Technical Assistance Panels
Program is to provide sound, unbiased advice, and
to act as a catalyst in the development and Imple-
mentation of environmentally sound waste manage-
ment practices."
The Technical Assistance Panels Pro-
gram was formally initiated on Jan. I,
1978. Prior to that time, technical as-
sistance was available through EPA
headquarters in Washington, D.C. Be-
tween passage of RCRA and September
1978 three consultants—previously un-
der contract to EPA—were available to
provide technical assistance in resource
recovery only. This interim situation en-
abled assistance to be provided while the
formal organization of the TA Panels
Program was being developed.
agcmcnt, landfilling, waste reduction,
collection and general planning.
Contracts with eight consultants were
issued with two contractors having re-
sponsibility for two regions each. Be-
cause of the very large breadth of expe-
rience and knowledge required, most
consultants have subcontractors with
expertise in specific areas.
The program is organized to provide
each region with a known consultant
and subcontractors. Flexibility is en-
sured by the broad range of experience
NCRR Bulletin
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Table I
Sequence of Events
in Providing Technical Assistance
A. PrePhasel
1. Prospective client encounters problem in current waste management activity.
2. In searching for information, client learns of TA Panels Program.
3. Client contacts regional office project officer for details.
4. Client sends formal letter of request signed by appropriate authority in community.
B. Phase!
1. Regional project officer establishes priority of request.
2. Project officer issues Task Order initiating Phase I activity.
3. Site is visited by consultant and/or sub-contractor and EPA representative.
4. Phase I trip report issued and Scope of Work for Phase II developed.
5. Project officer forwards Scope of Work and Memorandum of Concurrence to EPA head-
quarters.
C. Phase II
1. Technical Assistance Panels Program staff checks Scope of Work to ensure compliance
with policy.
2. Scope of Work forwarded to Office of Solid Waste for approval of disbursement.
3. Scope of Work forwarded to Contract Management Division where details of work are in-
corporated into Directive of Work (DOW).
4. Consultant undertakes tasks assigned in DOW.
5. Upon completion of assignment, consultant writes final report and sends five copies to
regional off ice.
6. Project officer signs off on DOW and forwards final report to client.
available, including EPA regional and
headquarters staff. Responsiveness and
timeliness are ensured by managing the
program on the regional level rather
than through EPA headquarters, al-
though headquarters does maintain
oversight or supervisory responsibility.
In this way, requests are handled by the
regional project officer who is closer to
the situation, more readily accessible,
and familiar with conditions in the area.
Table I shows a generalized outline of
the procedures and sequence of events in
rendering technical assistance. Phase I
begins when the project officer receives
a formal letter of request, signed by the
"Resource Recovery still
predominates as the area
of technical assistance
most requested."
responsible authority, from the prospec-
tive client. Phase I ends when a trip re-
port is submitted to the Regional Office
and forwarded to the client.
The purpose of the Phase I activities
is to bring together a Technical Assisj-
ance Panel, made up of the regional
consultant or his subcontractor and a
representative of the EPA regional of-
fice. The TA Panel's objective is to de-
fine the parameters of the client's waste
management problem. If the problem is
resolvable within a suggested 40 man-
hour limitation, the TA Panel will make
specific recommendations.
Most problems are of such complex-
ity that effort greater than a Phase I site
visit is required. In these cases, Phase I
allows the panel to gain first-hand
knowledge of the situations and the
principals. With this knowledge, the
project officer and the consultant can
develop a Scope of Work for Phase II
activities.
Phase II activities are designed to pro-
vide the detailed assistance required to
answer the questions developed during
Phase I. Generally, several site visits
and meetings with personnel from the
client community take place. The con-
sultant may undertake various studies
or review studies and proposals made by
private consultants under contract to
the client.
The final output of the Technical As-
sistance Panels Program is a report. For
Phase I efforts that do not go into Phase
II, the final report is the trip report. For
Phase II efforts, the final report is a
summary of the activities that took
place and the findings and recommen-
dations of the TA team. In either case,
the report is sent to the project officer,
who forwards the approved report to
the client. This action closes out the
project.
Peer Match Program
The Peer Match Program is another
aspect of the TA Panels Program. In
some instances, the use of consultants is
not appropriate. A community may face
problems which have been encountered
and resolved elsewhere, or a client may
be interested in a piece of equipment or
a system which is operational in another
community. In such cases, the most ef-
fective form of technical assistance may
be direct communication between
"peers" in the two communities.
The Peer Match Program provides
travel expenses for peers to travel from
one community to the other. Thus, an
experienced official from a community
which has already solved a similar waste
management problem can be funded to
travel to the client community to make a
presentation, or a client interested in a
particular waste management program
or system can obtain funds to travel to a
community where a similar program or
Table II
Sequence of Events
in Providing a
Peer Match
1. Client sends letter of request signed by
appropriate authority.
2. Request specifies peer match, or project
officer decides that peer match is best re-
source.
3. Project officer approves and forwards re-
quest to EPA headquarters.
4. EPA headquarters forwards request to
Solid Waste Interest Group.
5. SWIG makes arrangements for peer
match, travel and accommodations.
6. Peer match takes place.
7. After completion of peer match, peer fills
in evaluation and reimbursement form
and forwards to SWIG.
8. SWIG forwards evaluation to EPA head-
quarters.
December 1979
-------
Technical Assistance
system is in use. The effect of the Peer
Match Program is promotion of inteF-
. % comrmjnjjty communication and avoid-
ance of duplicative efforts.
' " Table II is a generalized outline of ac-
tivities in obtaining a Peer Match. As
part of the TA Panels Program, grants
are awarded to' several nonprofit Solid
Waste Interest Groups (SWIGS). These
groups manage the Peer Match Pro-
gram by selecting (he communities and
the peers which seem most appropriate.
The SWIG then disburses the funds for
travel and expenses. The SWIGS
managing, ihe Peer Match Program are
listed in Table III.
A peer match begins in the same man-
ner as other requests for technical as-
sistance. The client can request a peer
match, or the, EPA project officer may
decide trial a peer match is the most ap-
' propriate resource to bring to the client.
In either case, the project officer must
approve the itinerary. The project offi-
cer then approves and forwards the re-
quest to EPA headquarters.
The headquarters staff passes the re-
quest along to the appropriate SWIG.
The SWIG is responsible for contacting
the peers involved, making the travel
arrangements, and disbursing the neces-
sary funds from their grant.
Fiscal Year 1979 Activities
Table IV presents a breakdown of TA
activities for the first nine months of
Fiscal Year 1979. Resource Recovery
still predominates as the area of techni-
cal assistance most-requested. The X.I re-
quests for resource recovery represent
41 percent of'all the requests for techni-
cal assistance. Requests for assistance
wiilvlancl disposal constitute 19 percent
of I he total; ha/ardous waste. 15 per-
cent; general planning. 12 percent: col-
lection. 8 p.erccnt; and "other," 5 per-
cent. Of Ihc total requests accepted, 29
percent resulted in peer matches.
"All levels of. govern-
ment, from small rural
towns to state and fed-
eral agencies, are eligi-
ble for technical assist-
ance."
Eighty-three percent of the requests
were accepted, 15 ptrcen't were still
pending, and approximately 2 -'percent
were rejected. These figures do not rep-
resent the total for FYr1979, since an ac-
counting of the last three months of the
fiscal-year has not yet been made.
Table V'is presented for the conve-
nience of those communities interested
in obtaining technical assistance from
Table 111
Solid Waste Interest Groups
Managing Peer Match Program
American Public Works Assn.
1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202)833-1494
Government Refuse Collection and
Disposal Assn.
Public Works Solid Waste Division
Portsmouth, Va. 23704
(804)393-8663
International City Management Assn.
1140 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202)828-3615
National Assn. of Counties
1735 New York Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 785-9577
National Assn. of Regional Councils
1700 K St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
. (202)457-0710
National'Council of State Legislatures
1405 Curtis St.
23rd Floor
Denver, Colo. 80202
(303)623-6600
National Governors' Assn.
444 N. Capitol St.
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 624-5375
National League of Cities
1620 Eye St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202)293-7175
Table IV
Breakdown of Requests by Regions FY 79
Region Requests Accepted Rejected Pending. PM* HAZ LD RR COL GP O
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
27
20
10
13
29
21
10
43
15
15
18
9
13
25
18
9
40
10
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
11
2
1
0
3
2
1
3
4
6
4
1
6
10
4
1
5
5
5
5
1
2
4
2
0
7
3
5
5
2
0
8
3
3
7
2
13
7
3
6
14
10
5
12
6
1
1
4
3
2
1
1
2
0
3
2
0
0
1
5
1
7
3
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
8
1
10
Totals
14
202
10
167
30
48 .29 38 83 16 . 25 11
•Abbreviations: PM Peer Match
HAZ Hazardous
LD Land Disposal
RR Resource Recovery (incl. source separation)
COL Collection
GP General Planning
O Other
NCftR Bulletin
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the U.S. EPA. The table lists each EPA
Region, the states included in each indi-
vidual region, and the regional project
officer responsible for technical as-
sjstance activity.
All levels of government, from small
rural towns to state and federal agen-
cies, are eligible for technical assistance.
In order to obtain assistance, the re-
sponsible authority must make a formal
request in writing to the EPA regional
project officer. Either the project offi-
cer or a member of his staff is also avail-
able by phone to answer questions
about the program.
Due to budgetary constraints, not all
requests for technical assistance can be
accepted. Where there are serious solid
waste management problems, however,
such as hazardous waste, efforts will be
made to hold the request until funds are
available, or arrange priorities so that
"ft la estimated that the Technical Assistance Panels
Program can significantly reduce the time usually re-
quired to Implement sound waste management pro-
grams."
the most serious problems can be
handled first.
Conclusion
The Technical Assistance Panels Pro-
gram is performing a useful and needed
service. Based on an inhouse evaluation,
it is estimated that the TA Panels Pro-
gram can significantly reduce the time
usually required to implement sound
waste management programs. This is
particularly true in those communities
where solid waste planning has been
done on an ad hoc basis. In such cases,
the TA project pulls together all the in-
formation in the community, fills in the
significant available gaps and delivers a
complete and concise report to the deci-
sion-maker. Thus, the TA report serves
as a focal point upon which further
planning and activitiy can be coordi-
nated.
Adams County, Colo., and Auburn,
Maine, are examples of the benefits to
be derived from technical assistance.
Adams County was experiencing an ex-
tremely dangerous landfill methane gas
migration problem. Two men had.died
due to an explosion caused by an ac-
Table V
EPA Regions and Technical Assistance Panels Project Officers
Region/States
Region 1
Connecticut, Maine, Massa-
chusetts, New Hampshire.
Rhode Island, Vermont
Region 2
New Jersey, New York,
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
ort 3
Delaware, Maryland,
Pennsylvania. Virginia,
West Virginia
Region 4
Alabama, Florida. Georgia,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee
Region 5
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Project Officer
Conrad Desrosiers
EPA - Region 1
John F. Kennedy Building
Boston, MA 02203
Tel: (FTS) 223-5775
(617) 223-5775
Garrett Smith
EPA - Region 2
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10007
Tel: (FTSI 264-0503
(212) 264-0503
Bill Schremp
EPA - Region 3
6th & Walnut Sts.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (FTS) 597-0982
(215) 597-0982
Elmer Cleveland
EPA - Region 4
345 Courtland St., N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30308
Tel: (FTS) 257-3016
(404)257-3016
Art Kawatachi
EPA - Region 5
230 S. Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL 60604
Tel: (FTS) 353-2197
(312) 353-2197
Region 6
Arkansas, Louisiana, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Region?
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska
Regions
Colorado, Montana, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming
Region 9
Arizona, California, Guam,
Hawaii, Nevada
Region 10
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,
Washington
Tom Clark
EPA - Region 6
1201 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75270
Tel: (FTS) 729-2645
(214)767-2645
Tom Buechler
EPA - Region 7
324 E. 11th St.
Kansas City, MO 64106
Tel: (FTS) 758-3307
(816) 374-3307
Gary Morgan
EPA - Region 8
1860 Lincoln St.
Denver, CO 80203
Tel: (FTS) 327-2221
(303) 837-2221
Davis Bernstein
EPA - Region 9
215 Fremont St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: (FTS) 566-4606
1415)556-4606
Dave Hanline
EPA - Region 10
1200 6th Ave.
Seattle. WA 98101
Tel: (FTS) 399-1260
(206)442-1260
December 1979
X
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Technical Assistance
cumulation of methane gas in a sewage
tunnel. After obtaining technical assist-
ance in the form of several peer
matches, the County not only solved its
problem, but won an award from the
National Association of Counties for
the development of an innovative land
use planning tool.'
Auburn, Maine, had very little re-
maining capacity in iis- landfill and
faced severe siting problems. With the
aid of a TA Panels effort, the city has
begun construction of a modular incin-
eration system with waste heat recov-
ery.' Roth communities would be still
facing great difficulties if technical as-
sistance had not been available to them.
RCRA created a national policy that
solid waste management should be un-
dertaken in an environmentally sound
manner. The Technical Assistance
Panels Program has helped, and con-
tinues to help, state and local govern-
ments meet those goals. Among several
other federal programs aimed at im-
proving solid waste management prac-
tices, the TA Panels Program is unique
in its flexibility, wide availability and
timeliness of response. Without- this
program, many communities now im-
plementing resource recovery would still
be faced with severe solid waste disposal
problems. •»
References
1. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of
1976, PL 95-480. 90 Slat. 2795.
2. I'.tid.. 90Slat. 2804-05.
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Tech-
nical Assistance and the Panels Program: Re-
view of fiscal Yevr I97H Activity (Washington.
D.C.: U S- Environmental Protection Agency.
1979), p. .1.
4. Jim ('oMMjinc. l-'vcanivc Director, ItHcrt'ov-
cinmciiial Met tune Task Force. Adams
('(itiniy. Cnli'.: pcisonal communication. July
1979. '
5. I ci< la Knchcltc. Director of 1'nlilii \\oiks.
C'ity of Auburn. Maine: personal comiminica-
lion. .lulv 1979.
Reprinted, from NCRR
Bulletin 9(4), with
permission of National
Center for Resource
Recovery, Inc.
U.S. EPA, 1980
SW-838
NCRRButotto • Owewnter ff79
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