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4-Corners Plants Must Cut Emissions
Limits on pollutant emissions from
coal-fired electric power plants in the
"Four Comers" area of the Southwest
were set by EPA on March 23.
The regulations apply to four large
power plants in New Mexico, Arizona,
and Utah, and they amend the plans of
those States to achieve the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards by
July 31, 1975, as provided under the
Clean Air Act.
One of the generating stations, the
Four Corners Plant in New Mexico, is
already in operation; three others, San
Juan, N.M.; Navaho, Ariz.; and Hunt-
ington Canyon, Utah; are under con-
struction. They are the vanguard of a
complex of power stations planned for
the area to generate electric power by
burning strip-mined coal and transport
it by high-voltage lines to fast growing
urban areas of the Southwest. Plants
not yet under construction will be
subject to "new source" review pro-
cedures under the Clean Air Act to
assure that they conform co standards
for the Four Comers Air Quality Con-
trol Region.
All four plants are required under
the new regulations to curtail their
sulfur oxide emissions by 70 percent.
In addition, the Utah plant must con-
trol its paniculate emissions to 0.075
pounds per million BTUs of heat in-
put.
Scrubbers Needed
To meet the sulfur oxide limits the
power plant owners will have to install
alkaline scrubbers or equivalent con-
trol apparatus, EPA declared in a pre-
amble to the detailed regulations. Ex-
perience from demonstration testing
and pilot studies indicates that such
scrubbers are capable of providing at
Separate Standards Planned
for Light Duty Trucks
Proposed rules setting emission
standards for light duty trucks were
announced by EPA last month, after a
Federal appeals court ruling that such
trucks should not be included with
passenger cars in the Agency's regula-
tions.
Light duty trucks are defined as
motor vehicles with gross weights of
6,000 pounds or less, designed pri-
marily for transporting property and
capable of seating no more than three
persons.
Such trucks emit significant
amounts of air pollution in urban areas
and constitute about 11 percent of all
light duty vehicles sold nationally, said
William Ruckelshaus, EPA administra-
tor. The agency believes they are gen-
erally as susceptible to emission con-
trols as are passenger cars.
The final standards to be set - after
a 30-day period for public comments
—•will be at least as stringent as the
current 1973-1974 model year emis-
sion standards, which new light duty
trucks already meet, and possibly as
stringent as the 1975 standards for
passenger cars, Ruckelshaus said.
least 70 percent control for plants that
burn relatively low-sulfur coal like that
found in the Four Comers area, the
Agency said.
Plant owners will have to submit,
within 120 days, detailed schedules for
compliance, i.e. a list of steps to be
taken and a time schedule for design-
ing, building, and installing the neces-
sary emission control equipment.
Since such compliance may take
more time than the 27 months from
now to the 1975 deadline set in the
law. Administrator William Ruckel-
shaus granted an extension of seven
and a naif months, that is, until March
15, 1976, for full compliance in all
respects.
This is 16^ months less than the
tentative extension he indicated last
summer he would grant for the Four
Corners Air Quality Control Region.
Calculations Disputed
The regulations were the subject of
public hearings last fall at which sev-
eral utility companies took issue with
EPA's calculations on the effects of
their plant emissions on the region's
ambient air. Ruckelshaus rejected
these arguments, saying the calculation
methods were valid and reasonable and
offe.ed the best available indication of
the emission limits necessary to
achieve the desired air quality.
He agreed, however, that "unavoid-
able malfunctions" of emission control
systems could result in temporary vio-
lations, and he said the Agency was
working on regulations to deal with
equipment breakdowns and malfunc-
tions.
Ruckelshaus said EPA would re-
quire the power companies to install
and operate stack gas monitoring de-
vices and to report periodically to
State and Federal authorities on con-
trol equipment's effectiveness.
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Ely, Minn., Starts Lake Restoration
A new waste water treatment plant
designed to restore a "dying" lake has
started operation at Ely, Minn.
The 52.3-million facility is ex-
pected to remove more than 99 per-
cent of the phosphorus from the city's
waste water before discharging it into
Shagawa Lake.
If the full-scale demonstration plant
works as planned, only 1 SO pounds of
phosphorus will entei the lake each
year, according to Robert M. Bnce,
National Environmental Research Cen-
ter, Corvallis, Ore. the project chief.
No other tertiary treatment plant has
yet attained this level of phosphorus
reduction.
Lake in Jeopardy
Shagawa Lake has deteriorated in
the last 70 years, and scientists believe
that reducing its intake of nutrients,
particularly phosphorus, can help
arrest this eutrophication.
The restoration program is based on
a study begun in 1966 which included
the building of a pilot treatment plant,
with floating test basins in the lake
itself, to learn the effects of different
degrees of nutrient removal on the
lake waters.
The 2,340-acre lake drains north
into Superior National Forest and the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, an un-
spoiled wilderness region. Ely's per-
manent population of 5,000 swells to
more than 20,000 in the summer
months.
The Ely phosphorus removal pro-
ject is believed to be the first attempt
to restore a lake while continuing to
discharge highly-treated waster water
into it. The project will be operated by
EPA for three years, at an annual cost
of about $575,000, as a model that
might be applicable to other lakes with
similar problems.
At the end of the three-year de-
monstration period, the plant will be
turned over to the city.
Related Studies
Meanwhile, EPA scientists at Cor-
vallis and assiciated laboratories are
engaged in studying other possible
ways to prevent or reduce lake deterio-
ration.
At Diamond Lake, Ore., nutrient
diversion will be evaluated, in coopera-
tion with the U.S. Forest Service. This
lake has extensive campgrounds and
much recreational use. As a result, its
algal growth has increased and the lake
has become eutrophic. A sewage inter-
ceptor system is being installed to
convey all waste water from camping
areas away from the lake. This work is
about 50 percent complete. Extensive
physical, chemical and biological anal-
yses of the lake water are under way
to determine the rate and extent of
recovery when all such nutrient dis-
charges are diverted.
Laboratory and pilot scale studies
are also under way on immobilizing
nutrients after they enter lake water.
Called "nutrient inactivation," this
method would employ physical or
chemical means to make the dissolved
nutrients, such as phosphorus, unavail-
able to waterborne plant life. Various
aluminum compounds, clays, and rare
earths have been tested in the labora-
tory for their effectiveness on phos-
phorus and for possible detrimental
side effects. One pilot scale test with
sodium alummate has already been
carried out.
Nutrient inactivation seems promis-
ing for lakes with low flow-through
rates, that is, long residence times and
little incoming water to replace that
which is high in nutrients.
Agency Vows to Preserve
Nation's Unique Wetlands
Preservation of the Nation's wet-
lands was formally established as an
EPA policy last month by Admini-
strator William Ruckelshaus.
In a statement released to the press
and published in the Federal Register,
Ruckelshaus committed the Agency to
apply the policy in all its activities to
the full extent of its legal authority.
"Wetlands represent ecosystems of
unique and major importance and re-
quire extraordinary protection," he
said. He defined wetlands to include
marshes, swamps, bogs, and any low-
lying land subject to daily or seasonal
flooding. They are habitats for fish
and wildlife, high in recreational and
esthetic value, and vital elements in
natural resource conservation, he said.
Fresh-water wetlands help in the
natural purification of streams and
lakes, maintain and recharge ground-
water supplies-, and support adjacent
and downstream ecosystems. Salt-
water wetlands are nurseries for many
species of commercially valuable fish
and shellfish and help protect coastal
areas from storm damage.
Ruckelshaus listed four aspects of
EPA's wetlands policy:
• To minimize alterations in the
natural flow of water in wetlands
and to protect wetlands from
adverse dredging or filling, solid
waste disposal, siltation or the
addition of pesticides, salts or
toxic materials.
• Not to grant Federal funds for
the construction of municipal
waste water treatment facilities
which may interfere with wet-
lands except where no alternative
of lesser environmental damage is
feasible.
• To consult with the Department
of the Interior in determining the
probable impact of pollution
abatement programs on fish and
wildlife in wetlands.
• To recommend public hearings in
the event of projected significant
adverse environmental impacts
on wetlands.
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EPA Dedicates an Artificial River
A laboratory facility to simulate
the complex ecosystem of a river or
lake on a scale never before achieved
was formally dedicated March 7 in
Athens, Ga.
Called "AEcoS" - for Aquatic Eco-
system Simulator - the unique equip-
ment at APA's Southeast Environ-
mental Research Laboratory will be
used to study the changes that take
place in the microscopic plant and
animal communities in water under
widely varying, but carefully con-
trolled conditions, as pollutants are
added to the water and remedial meas-
ures taken.
At the dedication ceremony, Dr.
Stanley Greenfield, EPA assistant ad-
ministrator for Research and Moni-
toring, closed a switch that started an
experiment in the growth of algae and
bacteria in the simulator. It was the
first full operation of the complex
equipment after a month of trial runs
and operational tests. The facility cost
$1 million and took nearly two years
to design and build.
Bridging a Gap
AEcoS aims to bridge the gap be-
tween small-scale experiments in labo-
ratory vessels and field studies of natu-
ral rivers and lakes. Laboratory studies
can be closely controlled but are not
realistic in scale and may not be realis-
tic in effects. In field studies the prob-
lems are very real but little experi-
mental control is possible.
The heart of AEcoS is a water-filled
flume 57 m (64 yds.) long, 45 cm (18
in.) wide, and 60 cm (24 in.) deep.
The flume can be supplied with ultra-
pure water at flow rates of up to 7,600
liters per day. As the water moves
down the "artificial river" bacteria or
other organisms can be injected, as
well as physical or chemical pollutants,
and the interactions observed and re-
corded.
The flume is housed in a special
room whose temperature, humidity,
and light intensity and quality can be
controlled to simulate virtually any
combination of naturally occurring
conditions.
Dr. Walter M. Sanders, left, chief of Pollutants' Fate Research, and Bruce
Ferguson, biologist, stand beside the Aquatic Ecosystem Simulator at EPA's
Athens, Ga., laboratory. More than 800 fluorescent lamps overhead, plus 100
infrared lamps can duplicate virtually any intensity and quality of sunlight on
the artificial 57-meter stream beneath. Lighting and other environmental
conditions are computer controlled.
All changes desired in the condition
of the water and its surroundings can
be computer controlled for round-the-
clock experimental operation.
Dr. Walter M. Sanders, chief of
SERL's Pollutants' Fate Research, said
the simulator will be used with mathe-
matical models of ecosystems to study
"the mechanisms and interactions be-
tween the natural biotic communities
and water quality under various envi-
ronmental stresses." The later will in-
clude pesticides, heavy metallic com-
pounds, and other pollutants found in
natural rivers.
Improving the Models
Use of the simulator should help to
validate and improve the theoretical
models that have already been devel-
oped by environmental scientists, he
said, and speed the solution of water
quality control problems.
Dr. David W. Duttweiler, SERL di-
rector, said that although AEcoS can-
not reproduce all conditions found in
the natural environment, "it provides
EPA with an aquatic research capabil-
ity that, to our knowledge, is not
duplicated anywhere in the world."
Dr. A.F. Bartsch, director of EPA's
National Environmental Research Cen-
ter in Corvallis, Ore., also took part in
the dedication ceremonies, after a
luncheon at the University of
Georgia's Center for Continuing Edu-
cation. The Athens laboratory is lo-
cated at the University's Research Park
and is one of nine laboratories associ-
ated with NERC-Corvallis.
-------
Glean Water's Dollar Value Elusive
The people of the United States
will spend about $5 billion this year to
control water pollution. Are we get-
ting our money's worth?
No one knows for sure, according
to Dr. Dennis P. Tihansky, an eco-
nomic analyst for EPA's Office of
Research and Monitoring, because the
benefits of clean water are so hard to
measure in dollars.
But it is probable that future bene-
fits from pollution control will exceed
costs in some parts of the Nation, he
said, although there is likely to be a
level of control beyond which cost
increases overtake corresponding gains
in benefits.
Moreover, the very question of a
cost-benefit analysis will be moot if
pollution goes unchecked and the ecol-
ogical stability of the National water
resources is destroyed.
Tihansky studied the sparse techni-
cal literature on clean water benefits
and found estimates ranging from $2.2
to $12.8 billion for annual damages,
nationwide, from polluted water in
1970 (see table). These estimates ex-
clude the benefits already realized by
abatement efforts. In that year the
total spending for water pollution con-
trol, by government agencies and pri-
vate industry, was $3.6 billion, accord-
ing to EPA estimates.
The highest benefit figure came
from the National Wildlife Federation,
which did not divide its $12.8 billion
estimate into categories. The lowest
figure, from Resources for the Future,
Inc. credited $1.4 billion to increased
recreation and $0.7 billion to increases
in the value of bordering lands, for a
total of $2.2 billion.
The intermediate estimates were de-
rived from regional studies, extra-
polating them to the Nation as a
whole, with corrections for water qual-
ity and consumption, population, and
levels of economic activity. All values
were adjusted to 1970 as a base year.
"The wide range of estimates illus-
trates the complexity of measuring
benefits," Tihansky said. "The Na-
tional Wildlife Federation used sub-
jective ratings by a panel of eco-
nomists. The others were based on
specific calculations. For instance, the
Resources for the Future study used
recreation benefits per capita from a
Federal study of the Delaware River
estuary in 1966, multiplied by the
national population."
Tangible and Intangible
'The difference between tangible
and intangible benefits is still unre-
Water Pollution Damages
Annual Benefits From Water Pollution Control
(dollars in billions)
Adjusted to base year 1970
Category of Damage
Domestic Industrial
Recreation Land Water Water Other* National
Values Supply Supply Total
National Wildlife
Federation, 1970
Derived from Bramer's
Ohio Valley study,
U. of Pittsburgh, 1960
Derived from Barker's
111. Dept of Transp
Study, 1972
Resources for the
Future, Inc., 1966
(Anthony Fisher)
S2.4 - $0.9 $0.5 0.1
1.8 - 0.2 0.3
1.4 $0.7 - - 0.1
$12.8
3.9
2.3
22
•Commercial fisheries, irrigation, health
solved. Many economists believe that
recreation cannot be evaluated, that it
is a public good without a competitive
market price. Others calculate the
amounts spent by fishermen, campers,
and tourists, or they ask people what
they are willing to pay for clean water.
"Wdlingness-to-pay poses special
problems. In an interview or question-
naire, the respondent can exaggerate
the value; if he were actually taxed or
forced to pay this amount, he might
object strenuously. Saying and doing
can have different economic mean-
ings."
Esthetic value is another aspect that
eludes measurement, Tihansky said.
Usually a panel of experts is asked to
rate esthetic values in relation to
other, more tangible benefits. One san-
itary engineering firm, for example,
found esthetic gains from water pollu-
tion control to vary from 60 to 100
percent of more concretely measure-
able benefits. 'To date, no consensus
exists among economists on a better
'guesstimate,' nor is a more rigorous
calculation of regional esthetic values
widely accepted."
Measurable Types
Tihansky said the types of water
pollution most amenable to monetary
measurement of damages (and hence
monetary estimates of control bene-
fits) were: hardness and dissolved
solids (which increase cleaning costs);
turbidity, acidity, and biochemical
oxygen demand (which require treat-
ment before industrial as well as do-
mestic uses); fecal coliform bacteria;'
and floating materials.
Caution must be exercised in inter-
preting benefit estimates, Tihansky
said, because "they are based on gross
assumptions... and they exclude
perhaps the most important benefit
categories - esthetics and ecological
stability."
"As more data are collected and
theory developed to measure benefits,
these estimates will be refined and
accepted with greater confidence. The
Environmental Protection Agency and
many private organizations are cur-
•rently engaged in such research ef-
forts."
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Trash-Fuel Plant Given More Funds
EPA has approved an additional
expenditure of $570,000 to improve a
demonstration plant that burns muni-
cipal waste as an auxiliary fuel for
generating electricity.
The plant in St. Louis, Mo., has
been operating successfully for eight
months as a joint project of the city
government, the Union Electric Co.,
and EPA to show on a full scale how
valuable resources of energy and mate-
rial may be recovered from household „
trash.
The project has attracted nation-
wide attention from electric utility
executives and municipal officials,
some of whom are considering adapt-
ing the St. Louis system to their own
operations.
Correcting 'Bugs'
The additional EPA commitment
announced last month is designed to
correct some of the "bugs" that have
developed in the preparation of trash
for burning and to upgrade the facili-
ties for recovering salable ferrous
metal scrap (principally tin cans) from
the waste fuel stream.
A contract has been awarded to
Rader Pneumatics, Memphis, Term.,
for installing an air classifier to im-
prove the separation of heavy mate-
rials from the ground-up trash. These
materials include glass and other ce-
ramics, large pieces of rubber or
plastic, and chunks of metal that
sometimes escape being crushed and
may jam the pipes through which the
trash is blown into the boiler. They
also cause undue wear of the feeder
lines. The classifier will use a whirlpool
of air to separate the smaller, lighter
particles from the larger, heavier ones.
It will cost about $350,000 and will be
installed in about two months.
The additional $220,000 will go for
equipment to improve the efficiency
of ferrous metal recovery: an ad-
ditional magnetic separator, a mill,
conveyors, and other devices. The
American Iron and Steel Institute will
help the City of St. Louis in paying for
this equipment, and a National Steel
Co. subsidiary, the Granite City Steel
Co., Granite City, 111., has tentatively
agreed to buy the ferrous scrap from
the upgraded operation.
Arch G. Scurlock Jr., EPA project
officer, said the St. Louis technique of
mixing municipal solid waste with coal
as a generating plant fuel could be
applied in many cities to reduce the
overall cost of solid waste disposal and
extend the life of sanitary landfill
sites.
Many Visitors
More than 50 utility company engi-
neers from 30 states and Mexico at-
tended a seminar in St. Louis last fall
and inspected the demonstration pro-
ject, and there has been a continuing
stream of individuals and small groups
visiting the city's shredding plant and
the utility's generating station.
The shredding and ferrous scrap
removal takes place at a city plant that
used to be an incinerator. Raw waste is
hauled in by truck, ground up into
small pieces, and passed through a
magnetic separator. The new equip-
ment will be installed here to optimize
these operations.
Then trucks haul the ground-up
waste to Union Electric's Meramec
generating station about 15 miles
away, where it is mixed with pow-
dered coal and blown into a
140-megawatt boiler. The trash-to-coal
ratio may vary from 10-90 to 15-85
percent in heating value.
The processing plant can handle
about 300 tons of waste per eight-
hour day. This capacity represents
about one-fifth of the city's solid
waste (production. The utility so far
has been using the waste as auxiliary
fuel only part-time, burning an average
of 100 tons per day. City officials
hope this total can be raised as more
experience is gained in the operation
of the system.
The mixed fuel produces a fly ash
(fine sand-like particles removed from
the boiler's smoke stack) that is virtu-
ally indistinguishable from pure coal
fly ash and salable as filler material or
concrete aggregate. But the bottom
ash from the mixed fuel is not usable
for spreading on icy roads because it
contains pieces of metal and glass.
States Will Have to Regulate
Complex Air Pollution Sources
Responding to a court order, EPA
will soon require all States to review
the air pollution effects of shopping
centers and other commercial develop-
ments, sports arenas, amusement
parks, and drive-in theaters before issu-
ing construction permits for such facil-
ities.
The Agency said it would propose
regulations for such "complex
sources" by April 15 and would pro-
mulgate them in final form by June
11.
The complex-source regulations
would become part of each State's
formal plans to implement the provi-
sions of the Clean Air Act.
The action followed a ruling Jan.
31 by the District of Columbia Court
of Appeals in a civil suit against the
Agency. This suit challenged the com-
pleteness of air quality protection
plans that regulate the pollutant emis-
sions of stationary sources (power
plants, factories) and mobile sources
(motor vehicles) but fail to regulate
complex sources. Such complex
sources can affect air quality indirect-
ly, principally by attracting vehicle
traffic and congestion and general
urban and commercial development.
Although EPA has not officially
identified the facilites it considers
"complex sources" of possible air pol-
lution, a preliminary list includes, in
addition to those listed above, residen-
tial, industrial, or institutional devel-
opments; recreational areas; highways;
water and sewer lines; and oil, gas, and
power lines.
States will be required to have le-
gally enforceable procedures for re-
viewing the location of such complex
sources before they are built and for
preventing construction if it should
interfere with the attainment or main-
tenance of national air standards.
EPA has asked all States to deter-
mine now whether they have adequate
legal authority, and if not, to take
steps to secure it.
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Sulfur Oxides Linked to Bronchitis
New data showing that sulfur oxide
pollution in city air increases the inci-
dence of chronic respirator disease was
recently revealed in studies made as
part of EPA's Community Health and
Environmental Surveillance System
(CHESS).
"There now exists a body of evi-
dence that oxides of sulfur contribute
to such diseases, said Dr. Robert S.
Chapman, a physician and research
epidemiologist at the National Envir-
onmental Research Center in Research
Triangle Park, N.C.
Chapman spoke at a meeting of the
American Academy of Allergy in
Washington recently. His paper sum-
marized CHESS surveys made in the
New York, Chicago, and Salt Lake
City areas and in smelter communities
in Idaho and Montana.
All the surveys found sulfur oxide
pollution associated with higher rates
of prevalence of chronic bronchitis, a
typical respiratory ailment. In New
York and Chicago, where sulfur oxide
pollution was accompanied by fairly
high levels of participates, the com-
bined effects of the two pollutants
rivaled those of cigarette smoking, he
said.
Study Methods
The CHESS program is a long-term
series of statistical studies of the inci-
dence .of disease, in areas subject to
certain kinds of air pollutants. Each
area is divided into separate communi-
ties or population groups that vary in
pollution exposure but are matched in
as closely as possible in other respects.
Participants in the studies gave data
on how frequently and severely they
suffered from chronic bronchitis. They
also reported on their smoking habits
and smoking history, age, sex, socio-
economic status, length of residence,
previous residence, and occupational
exposure to respiratory irritants.
EPA scientists combined these data
with air pollutant exposure estimates
from the best available air monitoring
data and industrial emission records
for each community or neighborhood.
The data were analyzed to separate
and measure the influence of air pollu-
tant levels, smoking habits, age, sex,
proximity to pollution sources, and
other relevant factors. Cigarette smok-
ing was the predominant factor every-
where.
In the Utah study, where a single
copper smelter accounted for most of
the sulfur oxide pollution and partic-
ulate levels were low, the bronchitis
prevalence due to pollution alone was
found to be unexpectedly high: for
women, one-tenth as important as
smoking, for men, one-fifth as impor-
tant. This effect, Chapman said, is
much stronger than had been sug-
gested by previous studies.
And for all groups similar in sex,
age, and smoking habits, the bronchitis
prevalence rates were significantly
higher for persons living near the
smelter.
Similar results were found in the
Idaho-Montana survey, Chapman said.
The effects of smoking and of pollu-
tion were "very nearly additive," and
the prevalence due to pollution about
one-fifth that due to smoking, for
both sexes.
Big City Effects
In the New York study, covering
two high-exposure communities in the
city and a low-exposure one on Long
Island, there was a consistent excess of
chronic bronchitis among males and
among smokers. The relative impor-
tance of pollution was much higher
than in the western cities. For women
the relative prevalence due to pollu-
tion was two-fifths of that due to
smoking; for men the ratio was greater-
than one. This suggests, Chapman said,
that the combined effect of sulfur and
partuculate pollution in New York
"may influence the development of
chronic bronchitis nearly as strongly as
moderate cigarette smoking does1'.
The Chicago study dealt with mili-
tary inductees from areas of high,
medium, and low pollution exposure,
and it differentiated between races.
For both blacks and whites, cigarette
smoking and degree of pollution ex-
posure exerted strong effects on respi-
ratory disease symptoms. The two
factors seemed to be additive for
whites but not for blacks, and the
relative prevalence due to pollution
was more than one-third for whites
and greater than one for blacks.
A fifth study in Chattanooga,
Term., attempted to measure the ef-
fect of nitrogen oxide pollution. The
city has a large single source of this
pollutant, a munitions plant, and rela-
tively low levels of other air pollu-
tants. But no significant differences
were found in respiratory illness that
could be attributed to nitrogen oxide
" exposure.
Chapman's paper will be published
by EPA after minor technical revisions
are made.
19 Firms Working
On Effluent Limits
For 27 Industries
The Environmental Protection
Agency last month hired 19 consulting
engineering firms to help it set guide-
lines for liquid waste discharge prac-
tices in 27 high-polluting industries.
Data from the 27 studies are ex-
pected to be ready by early summer.
They will be used by the Agency in
determining — for each industry — the
amounts and the chemical, physical,
and biological characteristics of the
effluents that industry will be per-
mitted to discharge into waterways.
Under the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act Amendments of 1972,
EPA must publish effluent guidelines
for the 27 industries by October 19,
The law requires existing industries
to apply the "best practicable" control
methods by July, 1977 and the "best
available technology economically
achievable" by July, 1981, both to be
defined by EPA.
By next Jan. 14, EPA must set
similar standards for all new industrial
plants in the 27 categories.
Setting the industrial effluent
guidelines is the responsibility of
EPA's Office of Water Planning and
Standards, which plans to consult with
all interested parties in evaluating the
data supplied by the 19 engineering
consultants and the guidelines them-
selves before their final adoption.
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EPA Reports on 2 Years
of Enforcement Activity
During its first two years the
Environmental Protection Agency
has tried "to reverse the traditional
orientation of its- precedessor
agencies and to engage, directly and
forcefully, in a full range of en-
forcement actions," according to
John R. Quarles Jr., assistant ad-
ministrator and general counsel of
the Agency.
In "The First Two Years," a
280-page report issued last month,
Quarles cited EPA's "fair but firm"
policy to seek voluntary compli-
ance before resorting to enforce-
ment procedures.
"As the aggressiveness of our
enforcement program has become
widely recognized, these informal
conferences to obtain voluntary
compliance have been increasingly
productive," he said.
From about 100 enforcement
actions taken by EPA's predecessor
agencies up to the end of 1970, the
cumulative total was nearly 1,300
at the end of last year, the report
said. Most of these were water pol-
lution cases, including many under
the Refuse Act of 1899, whose
revival, Quarles said, greatly facili-
tated water pollution enforcement.
The Agency has also initiated a
number of highly important cases
under the Clean Air Act of 1970,
and during the past year has mark-
edly accelerated the enforcement of
the Federal pesticides laws, he said.
The report deals separately with
water, air, and pesticides enforce-
ment. For each area, legal authority
and policies are reviewed and
selected case histories given, as well
as case-by-case tabulations of all
actions taken and their status on
Dec. 31.
In an introduction, Quarles
describes how the Agency has
decentralized its enforcement pro-
gram and personnel.
Each of the 10 regions was
described as fully self-sufficient and
capable of handling technical and
legal aspects of case preparation,
negotiations, and public hearing?.
Recent EPA Publications
Guidelines for Technical Services of
a State Air Pollution Control Agency,
291 + x p, Nov. 1972. Analyzes the
needs of a statewide air pollution con-
trol agency for technical services, par-
ticularly laboratory work, to fulfill its
responsibilities under Federal, and
State law and to support the work of
local agencies. Practical suggestions are
given for air quality monitoring, lab-
oratory methods, data handling, and
the gathering of legal evidence under
various organizational options. Air Pol-
lution Technical Information Center,
EPA, Research Triangle Park, N.C.
27711.
Patent Abstracts, Unites States,
Solid Waste Management, 1945-69,
452 p, 1973. Summarizes 890 domes-
tic patents for solid waste management
machines and devices, arranged by 16
subject categories. Brief descriptions
and representative drawings are given
for each, with the names of inventors
and sponsors (if any). Indexed by as-
signee, inventor, patent number, and
subject. OSWMP Publications, EPA,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268.
Patent Abstracts, International,
Solid Waste Management, 1945-69.
437 p, 1973. Companion volume to
that listed above, gives 1,061 patents
from 20 foreign countries, similarly
organized and indexed. SWMP Publi-
cations, EPA, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268.
Beneficial Use of Storm water, 266
+ xii p, Jan. 1973. Studies the techni-
cal and economic feasibility of using
small storage reservoirs throughout a
community to control strom water
pollution, with various types of treat-
ment to provide sub-potable or
potable water for community use.
Simulation concludes that such treated
water could supply a large portion of
(Continued on backpage)
REGULATIONS
ON OIL SPILLS
COMING SOON
Regulations designed to prevent oil
spills from occurring and to assure that
clean-up 'procedures are ready when
spills do occur will be proposed within
the next few months by EPA.
Henry Van Cleave, chief of the
Agency's Division of Oil and Hazard-
ous Materials, told a govern-
ment-industry conference in Washing-
ton last month the regulations would
apply to all oil storage and handling
facilities unrelated to transportation
that are capable of accidental dis-
charge of oil into U.S. waterways.
Excluded from EPA jurisdiction, he
said, would be transportation-related
facilities, which will be regulated by
the Department of Transportation;
facilities for buried storage of crude oil
of less than 1,000 barrels capacity;
heating oil tanks of less than 500
gallons; and facilities that have been
approved under the waste water dis-
charge permit system.
Van Cleave told the conference his
group estimates that 10,000 oil spills
occurred last year, with a total spillage
of more than 10 million gallons. How
much of this stayed in the environ-
ment is unknown, he said, but "es-
timates based on the state of the art in
cleanup technology" indicate that
only 20 percent was cleaned up.
The lag in technology can be over-
come through better planning, faster
response, and more effective use of
cleanup methods now available, he
said.
Key provisions of the regulations
now under study include:
• Facility owners must submit
SPCC plans (for spill prevention con-
trol and countermeasures) through
State officials to EPA regional admin-
istrators for certification.
• Plan guidelines require the use of
accepted engineering practices, opera-
tional procedures, and personnel train-
ing.
• Plans must be certified by a regis-
te.3d professional engineer.
•Violators are liable to civil penal-
ties up to 5,000 for each violation.
The conference was sponsored by the
American Petroleum Institute, the
U.S. Coast Guard, and EPA.
-------
Recent EPA Publications
(Continued from page 7)
the community's fresh water needs.
Government Printing Office Washing-
ton, D.C. 20402, $2.85.
Treatment of Ferrous Acid Mine
Drainage with Activated Carbon, 123
+ ix, Jan. 1973. A laboratory study of
a method of removing iron from acid
drain water to permit cheaper neutral-
ization of the water with limestone.
Passage through a column of activated
carbon (made from bituminous coal)
remove the iron, but the cost of the
catalyst-adsorber appears to be prohib-
itive. Government Printing Office
Washing, D.C. 20402, S2.10 postpaid,
$$1.75 at GPO Bookstore.
Toxicology of Atmospheric Sulfur
Dioxide Decay Products, 42 + vi p,
July 1972. A review paper on the
health effects on animals and men of
the principal decay products of air-
borne sulfur dioxide: sulfuric acid
mists and sulfate particulates. Conclu-
sions: (1) irritation potency depends
on particle size as well as on the
amounts of particulates in air, and
(2) sulfur dioxide oxidation products
are generally more potent irritants
than the gas itself. Air Pollution Tech-
nical Information Center, EPA, Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C. 27711.
The Challenge of the Environment:
a Primer on EPA's Statutory Author-
ity, 43 p, Dec. 1972. Briefly describes
the Federal laws on which the agency's
programs are based, and the goals,
policies, and features of each program
area. Prepared by the Office of Legisla-
tion. Public Inquiries, EPA, Washing-
ton D.C. 20460.
Don't Leave It All to the Experts,
20 p, Nov. 1972. A pamphlet on the
citizen's role in environmental decision
making. Public Inquiries, EPA, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20460
Improving Water Quality Manage-
ment in Nonmetropolitan Areas, 75 +
iv p, Jan. 1973. Findings and recom-
mendations for small city water man-
agement policy, based on a survey of
small urban areas in Oregon, Wiscon-
sin, and South Carolina. Cooperating
with EPA in the study were the De-
partment of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, the Economic De-
velopment Administration (Co-
mmerce), and the*'Farmers Home
Administration (Agriculture). Office
of Air and Water Programs, EPA, or
from Government Printing Office,
Washington D.C. 20402, 95 cents post-
paid, 70 cents from GPO Bookstore.
Development and Demonstration of
Nutrient Removal from Animal
Wastes, 340 + xvii p, Jan. 1973. Re-
ports on laboratory and pilot plant
evaluation of three kinds of processes:
chemical precipitation of phosphorus,
ammonia removal by aeration, and ni-
trification (of ammonia) followed by
de nitrification by microorganisms.
Cost data and projections are given for
many of the processes cited. Govern-
ment Printing Office, Washington,
D.C. 20402, $3.45 postpaid, at GPO
Bookstore.
Disposal of Cattle Feedlot Wastes
by Pyrolysis, 99 + v p, Jan. 1973.
Thermal decomposition of dried steer
manure produced a mixture of organic
compounds and burnable char, but
cost projections show the process
would be uneconomical. Fuel for the
pryolytic reactor is almost twice the
value of the recoverable tars and oils.
Government Printing Office, Washing-
ton, D.C. 20402, $1.25 postpaid, $1 at
GPO Bookstore.
Guide to Research in Air Pollution,
386 p, Dec. 1972. A listing of nearly
2,500 research projects known to have
been active in 1972, arranged by State
and nation and indexed by 14 subject
categories and by names of principal
investigators. This guide is the eighth
in a series that began under the Public
Health Service and ,the second under
the auspices of EPA. Air Pollution
Technical information Center, EPA,
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711.
LKe of funds for printing this publication approved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Dec 6, 1971).
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