Clean Water for the 1970's
A STATUS REPORT
U.S.
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CLEAN WATER FOR THE 1970's
A Status Report
June 1970
WALTER J. HICKEL
Secretary of the Interior
CARL L. KLEIN
Assistant Secretary for
Water Quality and Research
DAVID D. DOMINICK
Commissioner,
Federal Water Quality Administration
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR • FEDERAL WATER QUALITY ADMINISTRATION
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, B.C. 20402 - Price $1.60
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FOREWORD
‘ merica, the Beautiful” is not just a song.
It is an ideal that Americans have long
cherished—and taken for granted. During the
1960’s, we realized with growing alarm that
this ideal was being threatened by pollution
from an increasing number of sources. We
began to understand that the benefits of tech-
nology would hold little value unless they could
be enjoyed in decent and healthy surroundings.
President Nixon expressed the national concern
for environmental quality when he declared that
“the 1970’s absolutely must be the years when
America pays its debt to the past by reclaiming
the purity of its air, its waters and our living
environment. It is literally now or never.”
Awareness of the danger to our way of life
has created a climate for constructive action by
all levels of government, industry and private
:itizens. The Department of the Interior is the
agency of the Federal government charged with
the major responsibility for managing and con-
serving our Nation’s natural resources. Depart-
ment programs encompass a wide range of
environmental concerns and directly affect fish
and wildlife, water, minerals, land, parks and
other resources. Increasing population and
growing per capita demands on these natural
resources call for careful and imaginative man-
agement.
Among Interior’s varied missions, water pol-
lution control is one of the most important and
demanding. Over the past year, much of the
Department’s efforts and my own energies have
been devoted to meeting this responsibility. We
have been involved in formulating the Presi-
dent’s legislative program; in working with
student organizations concerned about environ-
mental enhancement; in mapping out protective
programs for the Great Lakes; and in con-
trolling oil spills. We have focussed on im-
portant environmental issues across the Nation
to prevent further damage to our national herit-
age. The Department has had a major role in
reviewing the development of Alaska’s vast
petroleum resources, and in assuring that proper
measures will be taken to protect the sensitive
tundra and other environmental values. At the
other end of the Nation, the Department is
studying ways to protect the South Florida en-
vironment as increasing development occurs
and to preserve the State’s unique Everglades
in the face of construction of a large jetport.
Water quality protection and enhancement has
been of central concern in all these issues.
Even greater challenges for enhancing water
quality will face the Department of the Interior
and the Federal Water Quality Administration
in the years ahead. We must continue to revamp
existing programs to make more effective use
of our present authorities. We must prepare to
implement the Water Quality Improvement Act
of 1970 and to carry out the Department’s
responsibilities under the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969. We must also be
ready to respond to new responsibilities stem-
ming from the President’s legislative proposals.
This status report of the Federal Water
Quality Administration describes the agency’s
past activities and future plans. The entire field
of water pollution control is changing so rapidly
that some aspects of the report may be out-
dated almost before printing is completed. It
is a snapshot of the situation at this point in
time, of a situation which is dynamic and fluid.
Nevertheless, I believe this report will be of
great use to the Congress and the American
people in describing the point of departure
from which we are moving to rescue our water
resources in the decade of the 1970’s.
WALTER J. CKEL.
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iii Foreword
iv Introduction
1 Water Pollution and the Environment
4 Municipal Wastes
5 Industrial Wastes
6 Thermal Pollution
8 Oil and Hazardous Substances
9 Mine Drainage
10 Sedimentation and Erosion
12 Feedlot Pollution
13 Other Agricultural Wastes
13 Wastes from Watercraft
15 A Water Pollution Control Program for the 1970’s
15 Better Financing of Municipal Treatment
16 Better Standards and Enforcement Authority
C 0 NT E NT 16 Better Assistance to the States
17 Better Programs for Pollution from Federal Activities
17 Programs to Deal with Emerging Problems
19 Programs for Water Pollution Control
19 Regulatory Programs
19 Water quality standards and enforcement
24 Control of oil pollution
28 Control of vessel wastes
29 Control of pollution from federal activities
31 Control of pollution from federally licensed and supported activities
34 Assistance Programs
34 Assistance to municipalities
38 Assistance to industry
39 Assistance to state and interstate programs
41 Technical Assistance
43 Planning and Basic Studies
43 Environmental planning
46 Basin and regional planning
49 Estuarine and coastal studies
52 Data and information
54 Economic studies
55 Research, Development, and Demonstration Programs
57 Municipal polution control technology
59 Industrial pollution áontrol technology
60 Agricultural pollution control technology
60 Mining pollution control technology
61 Control of pollution from other sources
62 Water quality control technology
63 Waste treatment and ultimate disposal technology
64 Water quality requirements research
64 The Human Element
65 Informing the American public
66 Working with youth
68 Training and manpower development
72 International Activities
75 Organization, Resources, and Facilities
75 Organization
77 Personnel
77 Facilities
78 Budgetary Resources
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INTRODUCTION
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J\4 any signs point to the 1970’s as the “envi-
ronmental” decade—when the American
people and their institutions begin to take full
stock of the precious environmental resources
of this Nation and to measure some of the cost
of the Nation’s economic and social growth in
terms of the destruction of those resources. The
challenge of the 1970’s will be to demonstrate
that society can have the benefits of urban and
industrial growth without necessarily having to
live with the destruction.
This challenge is one which is uniting in-
creasing numbers of Americans—old and
young, rural and city dwellers. As President
Nixon has said, “The environmental problems
we face are deep-rooted and widespread. They
can be solved only by a full national effort em-
bracing not only sound, coordinated planning,
but also an effective follow-through that reaches
into every community in the land.”
Water pollution control is one of the major
aspects of environmental protection and en-
hancement. Congressional recognition of the
importance of water quality protection was re-
flected in the passage of the first permanent
Federal legislation, the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, in 1956 and the subsequent
strengthening amendments in 1961, 1965 and
1966. Since 1966, the primary responsibility for
carrying out the Federal programs in water pol-
lution has rested with the Federal Water Pollu-
tion Control Administration, operating under
comprehensive legislation embodied in the Fed-
eral Water Pollution Control Act, as amended.
Originally part of the Public Health Service and
subsequently a separate office in the Depart-
ment of Health, Education and Welfare, in
1966 the program was transferred to the De-
partment of the Interior. This added new vital-
ity to the ties of water pollution control with
other resource management programs in the
Department of the Interior and with the effort
to provide greater opportunities for all Ameri-
cans to enjoy outdoor recreation, fishing and
parks. Passage of the Water Quality Improve-
ment Act of 1970 resulted in a new name for
the agency, the Federal Water Quality Adminis-
tration (FWQA), which stresses the more posi-
tive aspects of the program.
Secretary Walter J. Hickel has stressed his
commitment to cleaning up polluted waters and
preventing further pollution as one of the pri-
mary tasks facing the Department of the Inte-
rior. In an appearance before the Committee on
Public Works, House of Representatives, in
March 1969, the Secretary stated that, with
“improved legislation, effective and imaginative
administration, adequate financing and tough
enforcement, the objectives as outlined by Con-
gress (to achieve positive protection and en-
hancement of the Nation’s waters) can and will
be attained.” The Secretary also promised to
the Committee that he would direct FWQA to
prepare a report to be submitted to the Con-
gress each year outlining the progress that had
been made by the Federal government working
in cooperation with its partner agencies in the
States and localities.
The purpose of this first annual progress re-
port is to provide a groundwork for understand-
ing the nature of the Federal and State water
pollution control programs, to detail the prog-
ress which has been made during the first year
of the Nixon Administration, and to assess the
measures which will be required to fulfill the
challenge of the 1970’s.
An important part of this assessment is the
impact of the significant new water pollution
control legislation that has been proposed by
President Nixon, as well as that of the recent
enactment by the Congress of the Water Qual-
ity Improvement Act of 1970. This new and
proposed legislation will greatly increase the ca-
pability and responsibilities of the Federal
water pollution control program.
In many ways, the first year of the Nixon
Administration may be considered a time of
analyzing progress and capabilities—of taking
stock of the Federal water pollution control
program and determining what significant new
measures or legislation would be needed. This
process resulted in several major proposals
aimed at strengthening the Federal program
and improving the quality and scope of Federal
assistance to the States and localities, which
President Nixon described to the Congress in
his 1970 Environmental Message. These pro-
posals reflect the major new thrusts needed in
the Nation’s effort to abate and prevent pollu-
tion in the coming decade.
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A imost any day, in the waters near any large
population center in the United States
and, increasingly, in the countryside, we can see
the signs of water pollution. It comes from many
sources and exists in many forms to assail the
eyes and the nose and the taste buds. Standing
by the banks of an urban river—if one can
actually get past the warehouses and wharfs and
weeds to see the river—pollution may appear
as surface oil slicks, in which old tires and de-
bris and someone’s picnic remnants are trapped
and float sluggishly by, or as the public health
notices warning the citizen not to swim or wade
in the water at his feet. Pollution may be mani-
fested in less obvious ways by masses of aquatic
WA T E R i o L LU TI o N weeds and bad taste in the drinking water sup-
plies. Even more subtle will be the—often un-
seen—changes in the aquatic life of the river,
A N D T H E the loss of sport fish and the ascendence of
sludge worms and other “tolerant” life-forms
such as carp.
E N ‘V I R 0 N IVI E NT This urban example is repeated throughout
the Nation. As our society and economy have
grown, the wastes generated by our population
and our technology have caused staggering
amounts of pollution. Use of our waters to
receive and carry away wastes has seriously
damaged our ability to enjoy other water uses,
such as swimming and boating, sport and com-
mercial fishing. Other water uses, such as do-
mestic, agricultural and industrial water supply,
are possible, but often only after considerable
advance treatment. Growing public awareness
and concern with mounting pollution of the Na-
tion’s streams, lakes and coastal waters have
stimulated a vast and vigorous national effort to
control and abate water pollution.
Water quality problems caused by pollution
are prevalent in every region of the country.
The two areas where water quality and uses
have been most seriously damaged are in the
Northeastern States and the Great Lakes. In the
Northeast, tremendous urban and industrial
growth occurred during the 19th and early 20th
centuries when little or no provision was made
to control municipal or industrial waste flows to
surface waters; the water was expected to “pur-
ify itself” and the wastes would float on down-
stream to become someone else’s problem. The
result was a legacy of pollution. The Northeast-
ern States have the largest amount of untreated
municipal and industrial waste discharges and
the largest backlog of waste treatment facility
needs.
In the Great Lakes, the discharge of large
volumes of wastes, principally from municipal
and industrial sources, has greatly accelerated
the natural aging process of lakes. The most
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seriously affected of the lakes, Lake Erie, is
now in a state of advanced eutrophication or
aging—choked with plants, algae and other or-
ganic material. Although Lake Erie is not, as
some experts have asserted, “dead,” it is certain
that very great expenditures for water pollution
abatement are necessary to restore the fishery
of the lake and reopen beaches closed because
of pollution.
There are a number of other pollution prob-
lems caused by certain industries and sectors of
the economy which have led to serious water
quality damage in other parts of the country.
Animal wastes from feedlots or runoff from irri-
gated and fertilized fields and areas where pesti-
cides are used are an increasing cause of pollu-
tion, particularly in the Midwest and Southwest.
The Colorado River becomes more saline every
year as a result of irrigation return flows full of
salts leached from the fields. The Annual Fed-
eral Water Quality Administration (FWQA)
report on Pollution Caused Fish Kills chronicles
the tremendous aquatic life mortality from agri-
cultural pollution in Kansas and Missouri.
Acid drainage from abandoned mines has de-
stroyed life in many streams in Appalachia and
the Ohio Basin generally. Domestic and vessel
wastes have polluted many coastal waters where
sensitive shellfish were harvested; each year
more areas are closed to private and commer-
cial harvesting. Oil spills from vessels and leaks
from offshore oil drilling facilities have resulted
in several spectacular oil pollution incidents in
the last few years, among them the TORREY
CANYON and OCEAN EAGLE spills, the
Santa Barbara offshore well leaks and the re-
cent fire and oil leaks from drilling in the Gulf
of Mexico. Less spectacular oil spills are occur-
ring almost daily in navigable waters across the
Nation.
How Has Al) This Pollution Happened?
Population growth is one major factor. In
1967, the Nation’s population passed the 200
million mark. This number of people is ex-
pected to double in the next 50 to 60 years.
Staggering demands will be placed on our natu-
ral resources to support this population. Waters
are needed for consumptive purposes, such as
public water supply, food production and proc-
essing, and some industrial uses, as well as for
non-consumptive uses, such as reaction, in-
dustrial cooling, and sport and commercial fish-
ing. At the same time that demands for water
will increase, so will production of wastes that
threaten the environment.
Not only the rate but the pattern of popula-
tion growth concentrates and magnifies pollu-
tion. Urban and suburban sprawl covers green
spaces and reduces clean environment in the
very areas where people most need it. Intensive
development has occurred particularly along
the Nation’s coastline, in the very estuarine
areas that are most sensitive to environmental
degradation.
Higher individual incomes and expectations
have led to increasing demands for food and
consumer goods, for better housing and high-
ways, for a whole range of conveniences. In
most cases, production of wastes is “built in” to
our technology; as industrial production in-
creases, with attendant damands for water, so
does the per capita production of wastes. The
public’s demand for “throw-away” containers
and other convenience items, as well as the
tendency toward planned obsolescence, further
accelerate this trend.
Consumer use and production of goods have
greatly increased the demand for electric pow-
er—power production has doubled every ten
years since World War II and this rate is ex-
pected to increase. Great amounts of water are
used in producing electricity, and waste heat
from both fossil fueled and nuclear generating
plants constitutes a serious, and increasing,
threat to the Nation’s waters. For example, the
famous salmon runs of the Pacific Northwest
are threatened by thermal pollution.
Not only is the volume of industrial produc-
tion increasing, but the very complexity of the
products and wastes creates severe challenges
for waste treatment technology. New chemical
products are coming on the market every day,
most often without sufficient research into the
environmental consequences of using them.
Widespread use of detergents has led to great
increases in the release of phosphate nutrients
to the waters, stimulating tremendous and nox-
ious growths of aquatic weeds which cause se-
vere problems in many areas. Radioactive and
physiologically-active chemicals, which pose
vexing problems, can only increase. Effects
which cannot be predicted may be profound
and irreversible.
Mining and transporting natural resources
also pose increasing dangers for the environ-
ment. Greater use of supertankers and pipelines
to transport oil and other materials, as well as
increasing use of offshore and underwater min-
ing, will greatly increase the dangers of acciden-
tal oil pollution and other hazards.
The growing popularity of deep well disposal
of wastes presents yet another serious threat to
our water resources. Although in some cases
carefully controlled deep well injection may
contribute to groundwater management, im-
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200 MILLION
100
ACTUAL
‘no
940 960
U.S. POPULATION GROWTH 1910-2020
The New York Skyline, viewed across the
polluted Hudson River, exemplifies the
growth and concentration of population and
waste in the Nation’s cities. Huge out-
pourings of wastes must be treated to Im-
prove water quality.
properly carried out, this method of disposal
may result in the contamination of groundwater
or interconnected surface water supplies. The
greatest problem in dealing with subsurface dis-
posal is that the effects of underground pollu-
tion and the fate of the injected materials are
uncertain with the limited knowledge available
today.
Production of greater quantities of better
quality food for American citizens has caused
increasing pollution problems. Higher agricul-
tural productivity has been based on irrigation
and use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Runoff carries salts and chemicals, many of
which are thighly toxic and have long-lasting
environmental effects, into streams. These dif-
fuse waste sources are most difficult to control
or treat. The possibility of irreparable and dis-
astrous ecological consequences, particularly
from persistent pesticides, has led to increasing
demands for controlling or eliminating their
use; no one can predict with certainty the im-
pact of such a move on agricultural productiv-
ity.
Population growth and greater prosperity
have brought a rising demand for beef and
other meats. To increase productivity and prof-
its, the trend has been toward raising heavier
livestock and concentrating animals in large
feedlots, thereby increasing and concentrating
the agricultural waste problems.
In summary, neither the institutions nor the
technology of our society has been effectively
utilized to prevent widespread pollution from
occurring. To provide a better understanding of
the specific challenges that control of pollu-
tion involves, the sources of pollution are dis-
cussed in greater detail in the following sec-
tions. These discussions will provide some indi-
cation of the magnitude of these sources of p 01-
lution and the estimated dimension and costs of
clean-up.
400 MILLION
300 MILLION
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Municipal Wastes
The two largest sources of waste discharges
to the Nation’s waters are sewered municipal
wastes and industrial wastes. Besides being a
large source of organic material, which lowers
the dissolved oxygen content of water and in-
creases the concentration of bacteria, municipal
waste also contains nutrients that fertilize algae
and thus accelerate eutrophication of lakes.
Today, the number of sewered communities
in the United States is just under 13,000; 68%
of the Nation’s population lives in such com-
munities. Raw or inadequately treated sewage
from millions of people still flows into our
streams. Fortunately, we have the technological
knowledge to deal effectively with municipal
wastes. However, this technology has not been
applied to the extent needed to prevent pollu-
tion. Although many communities have been
installing and improving their waste treatment
facilities, over 1000 communities outgrow their
treatment systems every year.
The economic analyses contained in the
FWQA’s annual report to the Congress on the
costs of clean water indicate that only about
40% of the Nation’s treatment systems are
adequate. An estimated 46% of the sewered
population is now served by treatment plants
that are overloaded or in need of major upgrad-
ing. Seven percent of the sewered population
lives in communities which provide no treat-
ment.
Generally speaking, the greatest municipal
waste problems exist in the areas with. the
heaviest concentrations of population. Past neg-
lect, however, has led to a greater backlog of
waste treatment facility needs in the Northeast
than in other parts of the Nation. The six New
England States, New York and Pennsylvania
contain just over 20% of the Nation’s popula-
tion but 52% of the sewered population that is
not provided with waste handling facilities.
The cost studies indicate that a major invest-
ment, totalling about $10 billion, will be neces-
sary over the next five years to overcome this
legacy of neglect and achieve adequate levels of
treatment for the Nation’s municipal wastes.
After that, significant annual investments will
still be necessary to expand and replace plants
as population growth continues. Treatment of
domestic-type wastes from Federal facilities will
also require significant expenditures by Govern-
ment agencies; the waste treatment needs for
sanitary and other wastes generated by Federal
sources have been estimated at $246.5 million.
The waste loads from municipal systems are
expected to increase nearly four times over the
next 50 years. Even if municipal and industrial
Aquatic growths, forming dried cakes
along a lake shore, are caused by
excessive nufrients in wastes and
constitute a major aesthetic nuisance.
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waste loads are substantially reduced through
treatment, pollution problems may continue to
exist in densely populated and highly industrial-
ized areas where the assimilative capacity of
receiving waters is exceeded. In these areas,
higher and higher levels of treatment, ap-
proaching 100%, will probably be necessary,
and water supply demands will lead to ever in-
creasing use of renovated wastewaters.
Other municipal waste problems that will be-
come more apparent as conventional treatment
reduces the load of organic wastes are those
caused by storm or combined sewers and by
nutrients which are not removed by conven-
tional treatment. Many cities have combined
sewers which discharge raw sewage along with
street runoff directly to streams when sewer
overloads occur during storm or thaw periods.
Although combined sewer problems exist to
some extent in most regions of the country, the
distribution of severe problems is heaviest
in the Northeast, Midwest and, to some degree,
in the Far West. In the older cities of the
Northeast and Midwest, principally New York,
Rochester. Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and
Boston. which have high population densities
and are heavily industrialized, the problems are
the most difficult and the most costly to solve.
Even where sewers are separated, pollution may
result from storm sewer discharges carrying a
variety of wastes from the streets.
The most vexing problem in water quality
management is the condition that results from
the addition of excessive amounts of nutrients,
principally nitrogen and phosphorus com-
pounds. Although these elements are needed in
small quanitites to produce food for aquatic an-
imals, excess amounts result in overfertilization
and alteration of the aquatic system. The result-
ing algae blooms are particularly noticeable in
lakes and in streams where water moves slowly.
Although some nutrients reach waters from
agricultural runoff, municipal wastes contribute
the major load. Already nutrient pollution has
led to the imposition of very high treatment
requirements for waste discharges to the Great
Lakes and several other areas: the cost of meet-
ing these requirements is included in the invest-
ment totals noted above. In future years, the
need for nutrient removal at other cities will
greatly increase the costs of waste treatment.
Industrial Wastes
Industries discharge the largest volume and
most toxic of pollutants. Industrial waste dis-
charges are the source of an enormous variety
of materials found in our water. Our 1969
report, The Cost of Clean Water and Its Eco-
nomic impact, listed a total of fifty-one agents
being introduced into our Nation’s waters as a
result of industrial processes—and the list is
known to be partial rather than comprehensive.
For purposes of quantification, the common
substances can be reduced to two general
classes of materials. settleable and suspended
solids and oxygen demanding organic materials.
Major water-using industries are believed to
discharge, on the average, about three times the
amount of each class of waste as is discharged
by all of the sewered persons in the United
States.
There are over 300.000 water-using factories
in the United States. Although there is as yet no
detailed inventory of industrial wastes, general
indications are that over half the volume of the
wastes discharged to water comes from four
major groups of industries—paper manufactur-
ing. petroleum refining, organic chemicals man-
ufacturing and blast furnaces and basic steel
production.
The areas where the greatest quantities of
industrial wastes are discharged to water are the
Northeastern States, the Ohio River Basin, the
Great Lakes States and the Gulf States. Lesser,
but significant. volumes of industrial wastes are
discharged in some areas of the Southeast and
in the Pacific Coast States. Like municipal
wastes, industrial waste sources are concen-
trated in certain areas, for factories, like people,
tend to be found in clusters.
The volume of industrial wastes is growing
several times as fast as that of sanitary sewage
as a result of the growing per capita output of
goods, declining raw materials concentrations
and increasing degrees of processing per unit of
product. Given the necessary expenditures, a
large percentage of this volume can be treated
efficiently. much of it, after pre-treatment in
some cases, in the municipal treatment system.
Whereas factories which used large volumes of
water traditionally discharged wastes directly
back to the stream, more stringent pollution
control requirements and cost factors have led
to increasing use of public treatment systems by
a variety of industries. Most astes from food—
processing industries can be treated in public
plants, and wastes from paper and pulp mills,
chemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, textile and
rubber plants have successfully been treated in
municipal plants. Some combinations of munic-
ipal and industrial wastes actually improve the
treatment process by, for instance, reducing the
nutrients in waste discharges.
Increased use of joint municipal-industrial
treatment systems will facilitate abatement of
industrial pollution, and feasible treatment
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Thermal Pollution
processes have been developed for many types
of industrial wastes. Although the lack of an
industrial waste nventorv makes estimates diffi-
cult, the increasing level of investment in in-
dustrial treatment facilities appears indicative of
progress towards meeting water quality stand-
ards. FWQA s economic studies have estimated
the annual investment need for manufacturing
industries at S650 million for each of the next
five years.
Although, overall, this continued level of in-
vestment for treatment of present industrial pol-
lution is encouraging, certain types of industrial
pollution present much more complex abate-
ment problems. The trends towards increasing
production and use of complex chemical prod-
ucts and radioactive materials have greatly in-
creased the possibility of releasing exceedingly
dangerous wastes to the environment. Many of
the new chemicals are a challenge to detect,
much less control. There is fear that too
little caution and studs’ precede the processing
or marketing of these m iteria1s.
Thk munkipal di cbarge carried domestic sew-
age and Indu iria) Into the Missouri River.
The growing demands for electric power wiU
require a tremendous expansion of power gen-
erating facilities. \Vater is used in the produc-
tion of almost all electric power now generated
—whether by hydroelectric, fossil fueled or nu-
clear power plants. Two of these generating
methods, fossil and nuclear fueled steam elec-
tric plants, produce large amounts of waste
heat.
As the amount of waste heat from steam
electric power plants discharged to water bodies
has increased, concern over thermal pollution
and its effects has increased. As usually defined.
thermal pollution means the addition of heat to
natural waters to such an extent that it creates
adverse conditions for aquatic life; accelerates
biological p cesses in the streams, reducing the
dissolved oxygen content of the water: increases
the growth of aquatic plants. contributing to
taste and odor problems: or otherwise makes
the water less suitable for domestic, industrial.
and recreational uses. Not the least important of
the effects of heated wastewater is the reduced
utility of the water for further cooling. An in-
creasing number of authorities are beginning to
believe that this waste heat may be the most
serious coMempofary source of water pollution.
The electric power industry is one of the
mo .t dynamic industries in the United States.
and it has had a growth rate which has ex-
ceeded that of the gross national product for a
number of years. The technology of electric
power generation and distribution is changing
rapidlY. Lart er-sized units have become eco-
nomically feasible because of load growth and
the increasing inter-connection and coordina-
tion of power systems via extra high voltage
transmission facilities. In recent years. a large
number of nuclear fueled plants have been
planned and put under construction.
The princfpal use of water in steam electric
generating plants is for condenser cooling pur-
poses. The amount of water required for con-
denser flows depends upon the type of plant, its
efficiency. and the designed temperature rise
within the condensers. The temperature rise of
cooling water condensers is usually in the range
of 100 to 20 F. and the average rise is about
13 F. Currently, large nuclear steam electric
plants require about 50 more condenser
water for a given temperature rise than f ssi1
fueled steam electric plants of equal size. It is
estimated that by 1980, the electric power in-
dustry will use the equivalent of one-fifth of the
total fresh water runoff of the United States for
cooling.
Both fresh and saline water are used for
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PROJ ECTED ELECTRIC GENERATION 1965-2020
OPERABLE•
BEING BUILT.
PLANNED 0
LOCATION OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
cooling; in some cases, sewage effluents are
used. Water for condenser use may be with-
drawn from rivers, lakes, reservoirs, canals, tide-
water, or groundwater. When adequate water
supplies are available and allowable discharge
temperatures permit, the water is usually passed
through the condensers once and returned to
the source body of water. The economic desira-
bility of once through cooling has traditionally
been a factor in locating power plants. Sites
have usually been selected where large quanti-
ties of water were available for cooling at all
times. Such sites in inland areas, however, are
limited in number, and the increasing density of
power plants on rivers and estuaries will require
utilities to find effective means of controlling
thermal discharges. Two factors can limit the
adverse environmental effects of new power
plants: better selection of sites and improved
design of plants and equipment to reduce the
discharge of heated wastewaters.
With the tremendous pollution potential of
projected power production, it is exceedingly
fortunate that waste heat from power genera-
tion is amenable to treatment or control at a
reasonable cost. The amount of waste heat dis-
charged to waterways can be reduced by im-
proving the efficiency of the thermal plants, by
making productive use of heat, or by using
cooling towers, cooling ponds or spray ponds.
The impact of thermal pollution control on the
consumer cost of electricity is relatively minor.
The selection of appropriate sites for locating
power plants so as to minimize environmental
damage poses a significant challenge to both the
industry and government. Environmental con-
cerns will necessitate the consideration of many
more factors in the planning of power produc-
tion facilities than has been the practice in the
past. In addition to thermal pollution control, a
number of other critical selection factors make
siting very complicated—aesthetic impact,
availability of water supply, safety (for exam-
ple, potential of earthquakes), air pollution
control, access to transportation and others.
These factors compete in some ways, and the
tendency in the past was to give primary atten-
tion to producing power at low cost to the con-
sumer rather than to environmental considera-
tions. Installation of facilities, such as long dis-
charge lines or cooling towers to control ther-
mal pollution wifi affect cost factors and require
more space for the plant and may make it
more difficult to meet aesthetic goals. The in-
creasing use of nuclear power adds another po-
tential hazard to the environment—radiation.
Siting is likely to become an increasingly diffi-
cult and controversial factor in the continued
growth of power production.
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Oil and Hazardous Substances
Dumping and accidental spilling of oil and
other hazardous materials continue to increase
each year and constitute major pollution threats
to the water resources of the Nation. Pollution
by oil and other hazardous substances may
occur in any of our waterways and coastal areas,
or on the high seas as a result of deliberate
dumping, accidental spills, leaks in pipelines,
drilling rigs and storage facilities, or the
breakup of transportation equipment.
Damages caused by oil pollution are both
significant and diverse. Such pollution can de-
stroy or limit marine life, ruin wildlife habitat,
kill birds, limit or destroy the recreational value
of beach areas, contaminate water supplies, and
create fire hazards. Damages caused by other
hazardous substances can be just as significant
and diverse as those caused by oil pollution.
The sheer volume of oil transported or used,
however, makes oil the largest single source of
pollution of this type.
The majority of oil spills exceeding 100 bar-
rels involve discharge from vessels. Approxi-
mately one-third of the incidents involve pipe-
lines, oil terminals, bulk storage facilities, etc.
Reported Oil Spills in U.S. Waters
(Over 100 barrels)
1968 1969
Vessels 347 532
Shore facilities 295 331
Unidentified 72 144
Total 714 1007
Oil pollution may come from several dif-
ferent sources. Gasoline service stations dispose
annually of 350 million gallons of used oil. Two
hundred thousand miles of pipelines carry more
than a billion tons of oil and hazardous sub-
stances. The pipelines cross waterways and res-
ervoirs and are subject to cracks, punctures, cor-
rosion, and other causes of leakage. Offshore oil
and gas exploration and production occur
mainly in the Gulf of Mexico, Southern Califor-
ma coastal waters, Cook Inlet in Alaska, the
Great Lakes, and the East Coast. The blowout
of wells, the dumping of drilling muds and oil-
soaked wastes, and the demolition of offshore
drilling rigs by storms and vessel collisions are
significant potential pollution sources. In 1969
a massive oil spill occurred off Santa Barbara,
California, with severe damage to the coastline,
waterfowl and beaches. More recently a fire
and subsequent oil blowout on an offshore pro-
duction well in the Louisiana Gulf presented a
serious threat to our marine environment.
Vessel casualties, too, are a prime source of
oil pollution, and the damage can be extensive
when several million gallons of oil enter the
water at one time. The largest spill to date was
over 30 million gallons in 1967 from the TOR-
REY CANYON. England, alone, spent $8 mil-
lion on clean-up following this casualty. In
Tampa Bay on February 13, 1970, the tanker
DELIAN APOLLON ran aground and spilled
over ten thousand gallons of fuel oil into the
bay, and some 100 square miles of area were
contaminated as a result. Discharge of either
oily ballast water or “slop oil” recently cc-
curred offshore of Alaska, causing extensive
Birds suffered most from the more than 200,000
gallons of crude oil that escaped from this
ruptured Santa Barbara well.
8
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waterfowl mortalities and contamination of fur
seals and sea lions.
Hazardous substances can enter our waters
in many of the same ways as oil. Spills caused
by accidents or ruptures of containers are im-
portant sources. For example, a train wreck on
January 2, 1968, at Dunreith, Indiana, spilled a
cyanide compound into Bucks Creek, a tribu-
tary of the Big Blue River. The cyanide moved
with the flow of the stream and an estimated
1,600 pounds passed the town of Carthage on
the Big Blue River, downstream from the site of
the accident. The cyanide caused fish kills in
the affected streams; more than 25 cattle were
reported killed; at least one industrial plant
temporarily ceased operations; and groundwa-
ter supplies were contaminated.
Incidents similar to the cyanide spifi are not
uncommon and can cause serious consequences
in the affected areas. Presently, an estimated
10,000 spills of oil and hazardous materials
occur annually in the navigable waters of the
Nation. With the increasing volumes of these
materials being transported, the number of
spills may grow. Some increase in the number
of spills reported can be expected since discov-
ery and notification systems are improved con-
tinually and spills, that heretofore have gone
unreported, will now be recorded. Unfortun-
ately, the potential magnitude of each individ-
ual spill will increase as the size of the carrier
increases. For instance, the UNIVERSE IRE-
LAND, a ship launched in August, 1968, has a
cargo capacity of over 90 million gallons of oil.
The construction of even larger ships is under
consideration. The potential pollution from a
ship of that capacity is about three times
greater than that resulting from the TORREY
CANYON spill.
Mine Drainage
Mine drainage, one of the most significant
causes of water quality degradation and de-
struction of water uses in Appalachia and the
Ohio Basin States, as well as in some other
mining areas of the United States, degrades
water primarily by chemical pollution and sedi-
mentation. Acid formation occurs when water
and air react with the sulfur-bearing minerals in
the mines or refuse piles to form sulfuric acid
and iron compounds. The acid and iron com-
pounds then drain into ponds and streams.
About 60 percent of the mine drainage pollu-
tion problem is caused by mines which have
been worked and then abandoned. Coal mines
idle for 30 to 50 years may still discharge large
quantities of acid waters.
Although acid pollution is usually limited to
coal field areas, suspended solids and sedimen-
tation damage can extend much further down-
stream. Mine drainage pollution may degrade
municipal and industrial water supplies; reduce
recreational uses of waters; lower the aesthetic
quality of waterbodies and corrode boats, piers
and other structures. During 1967, over a mil-
lion fish were reported killed by mine dis-
charges, ranking mine drainage as one of the
primary causes of fish kills in the United States.
Total unneutralized acid drainage from both
active and unused coal mines in the United
States is estimated to amount to over 4 million
tons of sulfuric acid equivalent annually. Al-
though about twice this amount of acid is ac-
tually produced, roughly one-half is neutralized
by natural alkalinity in mines and streams. In
Appalachia alone, where an estimated 75 per-
cent of the coal mine drainage problem occurs,
approximately 10,500 miles of streams are re-
duced below desirable levels of quality by acid
mine drainage. About 6,700 miles of these
streams are continuously degraded; the remain-
der are degraded some of the time. Acid mine
drainage problems also occur from other types
of mining throughout the Nation, such as
phosphate, sand and gravel, clay, iron, gold,
copper and aluminum mines.
It is estimated that 3.2 million acres of land
in the United States had been disturbed by sur-
face (strip and auger) mine operations prior to
January 1, 1965. Of these 3.2 million acres,
approximately 2 million acres are either unre-
claimed or only partially reclaimed. An addi-
tional 153,000 acres have since been disturbed
each year, only part of which are reclaimed
annually. In addition to contributing to the
acid pollution problem, surface mines also con-
tribute large quantities of sediment to the Na-
tion’s streams.
Sediment yields from strip-mined areas aver-
age nearly 30,000 tons per square mile an-
nually—lO to 60 times the amount of sedimen-
tation from agricultural lands. At this rate, the
2 million acres of strip-mined land in need of
reclamation could be the source of 94 mfflion
tons of sediment a year.
In addition to mine drainage, refuse piles,
tailings ponds and washery preparation residues
are also important indirect sources of pollution
from mining. For many minerals, such as phos-
phate, the pollution from processing operations
exceeds that resulting directly from the mining
operation. The pollution from coal mines in In-
diana and Illinois, for example, stems primarily
from refuse piles, tailings ponds and prepara-
tion plants. No national estimates are available,
however, which show the volume or relative
importance of pollution from these sources.
9
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Prevention of acid and sediment drainage
from surface mines can be accomplished
through renovation of the mined area. Regrad-
ing and revegetation can be very effective
means of mine drainage control, and reclaimed
mining areas can be used for recreation and
other beneficial uses. Other methods of control
may involve sealing mines, diversion and/or
control of underground drainage and use of
chemicals or biological inhibitors to reduce the
formation of acid. Neutralization is the most
common method of treating acid drainage.
Although many methods have been applied
and others are being tested, the problems of
mine drainage have been very difficult to deal
with, largely because of the costs involved in
achieving significant levels of control. Recent
cost estimates for pollution control and land
reclamation in the mining States total as much
as $7 billion. Moreover, the distribution of the
mine pollution problem is such that a large
percentage of this investment would have to be
made in some of the most economically de-
pressed areas in the Nation, involving mines
that are no longer operating or producing any
revenues.
Sedimentation and Erosion
Sediments produced by erosion are the most
extensive pollutants of surface waters. It is esti-
mated that suspended solids loadings reaching
our waters are at least 700 times the loadings
from sewage discharge. The dirty brown or gray
appearance of a river or reservoir after a rain-
storm is due to sediments washed in from crop-
lands, unprotected forest soils, overgrazed pas-
tures or the bulldozed “developments” of urban
areas. The presence of sediment generally in-
creases the cost of water purification and re-
duces the value of water recreation, and nu-
trients adsorbed on sediment particles contrib-
ute to undersirable conditions in lakes.
Sediments adversely affect commercial and
game fish habitats, power turbines, pump-
ing equipment and irrigation distribution sys-
tems. Deposited during floods, sediments dam-
age crops and, if coarse-textured, may reduce
the productivity of the soil. Channels and drain-
age facilities may be impaired, and the clean-up
and removal of sediments from residential and
other developed areas is costly. Sediments are
also depleting the capacity of artifical reservoirs
in this country, and potential storage sites to
replace these depleted reservoirs are limited.
Erosion rates of lands are increased 4 to 9
times by agricultural development, and may be
increased as many as 100 times by construction
activities. Paving and drainage facilitate flush-
ing of urban areas. The 470,000 miles of rural
and secondary roads in the United States also
contribute significantly to sediment pollution.
Erosion is a serious problem on at least 300,000
miles of the Nation’s stream banks and along
many of the 470,000 miles of rural and second-
ary roads. As has been discussed, sedimentation
from stripped mining lands is also considerable.
Construction is a large contributor to the sed-
imentation problem if erosion control is not pro-
vided. According to the 1969 report, The Cost
of Clean Water and Its Economic Impact, the
average sediment yield during a rainstorm at
highway construction sites is about 10 times
greater than that for cultivated land, 200 times
greater than for grass areas, and 2000 times
greater than for forest areas, depending upon
the rainfall, land slope and the exposure of
the bank. Similar rates of sediment produc-
tion occur from commercial and industrial con-
struction in urban areas. The Potomac River
Basin discharges about 2.5 million tons of sedi-
ment a year into the Potomac estuary, a large
share due to disturbance of land surfaces by
construction in urban areas.
Sources of sediment are diffuse and therefore
often difficult or costly to control. Where feasi-
ACREAGE DISTURBED
BY SURFACE MINING
17 \I
H ’Y
10
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ble, erosion prevention provides the most effec-
tive method for sediment control. In certain re-
mote arid areas of United States, however, such
measures would be extremely expensive, and on
certain construction sites, completely impracti-
cal.
With regard to agricultural land, erosion con-
trol by such means as contour cultivation or
crop rotation may achieve many benefits—
reduction of sediment pollution of streams and
damage to water uses, and conservation of pro-
ductive soil and vegetation resources. Gully ero-
sion may require costly measures of filling,
seeding or damming.
Excessive sediment runoff from highway con-
struction can be controlled by reducing the
amount of time ground is exposed and/or using
measures such as grassing or channeling to pre-
vent sediment from reaching streams. Similar
control measures can be used to prevent erosion
at other types of construction sites.
Erosion control practices may add about
$1000 to the cost of each mile of new highway
and $1000 per highway construction project for
overhead. For the 470,000 miles of secondary
and rural roads which need erosion control
measures, costs may range from $275 up to
$15,000 per mile, with an additional $50 per
mile per year required for maintenance. In
total, the initial costs to control erosion from
roads may range from $130 million to $7 bil-
lion, with annual maintenance thereafter costing
$23 million. Much of the construction costs and
all the maintenance costs would be non-Fed-
eral.
Control of erosion at urban construction pro-
jects could cost from $100 to $1000 per project
depending on size and location. Thus prevent-
ing water pollution from construction activities
may add somewhat to the cost of buying a
house.
Control of streambank and streambed ero-
sion may require construction of special stabili-
zation structures, riprap of streambanks and
sloping and vegetating eroded banks. These
measures, however, may not be compatible with
other water uses. Estimates of the cost of reno-
vating the eroded streambanks in the United
States range from $200 million to $3 billion.
In summary, the sources of water pollution
from sedimentation are exceedingly diverse and
diffuse. Much can be done to reduce this cause
of pollution, but control and prevention will be
very costly.
CONCENTRATION OF SEDIMENT IN STREAMS
Erosion confrol reduces sediment pollution. Here an eroded
gully has been transformed Into a productive farm pond.
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Feedlot Pollution
CONCENTRATION OF WASTE PRODUCING
Both the increasing number of animals raised
and the modern methods of raising these ani-
mals contribute to the increased pollution of
waters from animal wastes. Beef cattle, poultry
and swine feeding operations, along with dairy
farms, are the major sources of actual or poten-
tial water pollution from animal wastes.
In the past two decades production of animal
products has been increasing rapidly. The tech-
nology of this increasing production requires
that animals be confined in a minimum space
and fed a concentrated ration, both of which
increase the pollution potential of animal
wastes. The heavy concentration of wastes pre-
cludes their natural decomposition and assimi-
lation on pastures as is the case where animals
are more dispersed. The heavy concentration
also makes it difficult to find nearby farmland
that can use manure as an economical source of
fertilizer. In addition to being heavily concen-
trated in small areas, wastes from concentrated
feeding operations have a high oxygen demand
when they are being degraded, and they may
contain a high proportion of roughages.
When animal wastes find their way into
water, they can contribute to pollution in sev-
eral ways. Heavy concentrations of animal
wastes in water may: add excessive nutrients
that unbalance natural ecological systems, caus-
ing excessive aquatic plant growth and fish kills;
load water filtration systems with solids, com-
plicating water treatment; cause undersirable
tastes and odors in waters; add chemicals that
are detrimental to both man and animals; in-
crease consumption of dissolved oxygen, pro-
ducing stress on aquatic populations and occa-
sionally resulting in septic conditions; and add
microorganisms that are pathogenic to animals
and to man.
The magnitude of the livestock pollution
problem is primarily dependent upon the num-
ber of animals that are needed to meet the de-
mand for their products. The average popula-
tion increase in the United States is about 2.5
million people per year. At 1966 consumption
rates, each additional million people will re-
quire another 172,000 beef cattle, 24,500 dairy
cattle and 433,000 hogs. Thus, it can be seen
that if these consumption rates continue, the
amount of animal wastes will continue to in-
crease significantly. In addition, the trend to-
ward increased use of confined feeding and
concentrated rations will continue to add to the
pollution potential of the animal wastes.
Agricultural waste sources are scattered
across the country, with large amounts of cattle
being produced in the Midwest, West and
FARM ANIMALS
HOGS
12
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Southeast; poultry in the South and some of the
Middle Atlantic States; and hogs in the Midwest
and South. Although there have been few de-
tailed assessments of the distribution of agricul-
tural waste problems, feedlot pollution appears
to be a particularly severe water pollution prob-
lem in certain parts of the States where large
cattle feedlots are located.
A number of waste handling and control
methods are available, which vary widely in
complexity and cost. Many States are just be-
ginning to survey feedlot operations and other
agricultural operations to determine the pollu-
tion potential and necessary measures to deal
with the problem.
Other Agricultural Wastes
Other pollution problems are caused by
farming operations. in addition to those related
to erosion and animal wastes which have been
discussed. There is increasing concern about the
short-and long-term environmental effects of
runoff from farmlands which Contains a variety
of chemicals including pesticides. herbicides, in-
secticides and fertilizers. The soil conservation
methods discussed earlier in relation to sedi-
ment control also help to control runoff. A
number of Federal agencies are cooperating on
research devoted to the search for chemicals.
or biological control methods, which will sus-
tain agricultural productivity while reducing the
possibility of environmental damage and de-
struction of aquatic life and wildlife.
In some areas, serious water quality degrada-
tion has occurred as a result of runoff from
irrigated lands. Water returned from irrigated
areas usually has a much higher concentration
of dissolved solids than does streamfiow. be-
cause the diverted water leaches additional
solids from the canals and fields, and because
evaporation from the soil and transpiration by
the crops concentrates these dissolved solids in-
to a smaller flow of water. Thus. as the concen-
tration of dissolved solids in surface water in-
creases with each irrigation diversion and drain-
age return, the quality of the water deteriorates
and its suitability for further irrigation diversion
or other beneficial uses is impaired. This degra-
dation of water quality is evident in many of
the river basins where irrigation is practiced and
must be taken into account in consideration of
any further development.
Particular problems have been encountered
in the Colorado River Basin. While agricultural
productivity in parts of the Basin has been im-
pressive as a result of irrigation, the Colorado
River is becoming more saline every year. Its
agricultural usefulness in parts of the lower
basin has been seriously impaired.
Some methods to control leaching by irriga-
tion, such as lining canals, are available, and in
some areas the possibility of using desalination
plants is being studied. Overall, however, the
water quality problems caused by irrigation re-
turn flows are difficult and expensive to control.
Degradation by agricultural practices of the
water resource on which that agricultural devel-
opment depends may place previously unconsi-
dered limitations on the extent to which further
massive irrigation schemes are practicable.
Wastes from Watercraft
The problems of water pollution incidents,
often spectacular, caused by vessel accidents
which release oil or other hazardous materials
has been discussed. But vessels (and marinas)
also contribute to pollution of the Nation’s wa-
ters in a number of other ways. It has been
determined that approximately 46,000 Feder-
all registered commercial vessels, 65 .000 unre-
gistered commercial fishing vessels, 1600 Fed-
cmliv owned vessels and 8 million recreational
watercraft use the navigable waters of the
United States. The potential pollution from
sewage from these vessels is estimated to be
equivalent to just over 500.000 persons, com-
parable to a city the size of San Diego. In major
harbors such as the Hamptom Roads, Virginia
area, sewage discharges from vessels contribute
significantly to water pollution, damaging shell-
fish harvesting and recreation.
At the present time, a very small percentage
of watercraft are equipped with sewage treat-
ment devices. Sewage equipment for use aboard
watercraft is available in the form of holding
tanks which collect sewage for disposal on-
shore. incinerators and biological treatment fa-
cilities. Estimates of the costs to install control
devices on vessels to prevent sewage pollution
come to about $660 million.
Other significant pollution from vessels is
often evident where ships discharge bilge and
ballast water containing oils and a variety of
other substances. Poor “housekeeping” practices
may cause a good deal of environmental degra-
dation. Even if vessels go beyond the territorial
waters to discharge bilge and ballast and solid
wastes in the open ocean, aesthetic and other
damages often result, as witnessed by Thor
Heyerdahl and his crew aboard the RA.
13
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!‘ -::-- .:. .4J
• : .
,-, /,
-
1U I
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A WATER
POLLUTION
CONTROL
PROGRAM
FOR THE
197O S
\\IT ater pollution control has traditionally been
a multi-agency. multi-program effort with
the localities and industries having the principal
responsibility for installing and operating pollu-
tion control facilities; the State water pollution
control agencies having the basic regulatory
programs; and the Federal government backing
up the localities with treatment facility grants
and backing up the States with additional en-
forcement authority, technical, financial and
planning assistance, training and research and
development. These basic arrangements have
provided for a valuable division of effort and
responsibility to build on and strengthen for the
future. In looking to the future, it is necessary
to keep in mind this wide basic underpinning of
pollution programs and intergovernmental rela-
tions that has been established over the years.
These ongoing activities, which will be fully de-
scribed in this report, provide the basis and the
background for the areas of acceleration—
those major program thrusts—which are now
necessary to meet the challenge of the 1970’s.
These major program thrusts are aimed at
immediate implementation of the technology
available today to substantially reduce munici-
pal and industrial pollution over the next few
years. While research and technical studies
must continue on methods of dealing with other
complex pollution problems, immediate empha-
sis must be given to the regulatory and financial
assistance programs needed to abate urgent mu-
nicipal and industrial problems without further
delay. Thus, far-reaching proposals to strength-
en both of these basic programs within the con-
text of the existing Federal-State-local partner-
ship represent the keystone of the Nixon Ad-
ministration’s water pollution control program.
Better Financing of Municipal Treatment
The proposed legislative program for the
1970’s calls for strengthening the present con-
struction grants program with a major new in-
vestment in municipal waste treatment facilities,
providing a strong and guaranteed program of
Federal waste treatment works construction
grants. Economic estimates by the Federal
Water Quality Administration (FWQA), have
pointed to a need for at least $10 billion worth
of investment in municipal facilities to achieve
the treatment goals contained in the water qua!-
ity standards all across the Nation. The pro-
posed Federal share would be $4 billion— $1
billion over each of the next four years. The
States would be encouraged to share the total
cost of projects with the Federal government
and the localities in the present grant program,
through continuation of the incentives that
allow projects to receive a larger Federal share
if the States contribute funds, and through new
provisions in the proposed formula for allocat-
ing funds.
In addition to providing for more Federal
funds for waste treatment works construction,
the proposals would also strengthen the capac-
ity of the construction grants program to assure
that facilities are built according to the best
designs and in accordance with basin and re-
gional planning requirements. The formula for
15
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allocating grant funds would be revised to per-
mit more funds to be spent for plant construc-
tion in areas where the need is greatest and
where the greatest improvements in water qual-
ity will be realized.
The Secretary of the Interior has recently
published proposed regulations in the Federal
Register, which will help assure that the treat-
ment plants constructed with Federal assistance
will be well-built and well-maintained through
more stringent requirements for design, opera-
tion and maintenance. Moreover, the regula-
tions will require comprehensive river basin
programs that would relate construction of
treatment facilities to the magnitude and types
of other pollution problems. In other words, the
aim would be to assure that municipal treat-
ment plants are built in areas where there is a
positive program to clean up other kinds of
water pollution. In line with this kind of com-
prehensive approach, the grants program would
encourage development of regional treatment
facilities that handle municipal and other
wastes on an area-wide basis and which provide
for treatment of many kinds of industrial
wastes, as well as municipal sewage.
Better Standards and Enforcement Authority
One of the chief mechanisms for achieving
an accelerated pollution abatement program is
effective use of regulatory powers. The Federal
government has had an enforcement program
since 1956; its accomplishments will be dis-
cussed in this report. The present authority,
however, is limited, and the procedures under
present law are time-consuming. Although Fed-
eral-State water quality standards have been set
which contain abatement requirements for all
municipal and industrial waste sources on inter-
state waters, the Federal government does not
have jurisdiction to enforce standards without
the permission of the Governor if pollution oc-
curs in only one State.
Legislation has been proposed to apply the
regulatory provisions of the Federal Water Pol-
lution Control Act expressly to boundary wa-
ters, as well as to interstate and navigable wa-
ters, the tributaries of these waters, ground-wa-
ters, the waters of the Contiguous Zone and,
under certain circumstances, the high seas.
Water quality standards, which now consist of
water quality criteria and a plan for their imple-
mentation and enforcement, would include a
third element: water quality requirements con-
trolling discharges, or effluent requirements.
The abatement authority would be made di-
rectly applicable to discharges which violate
water quality standards in any or all of their
three elements. A Governor’s consent would no
longer be required in cases of intrastate stand-
ards violations, nor in cases of enforcement
conferences and postconference court action in-
volving intrastate pollution. The court could
impose a penalty on violators in both types of
actions of up to $10,000 a day, and the second
stage in the present three-stage enforcement
process, the public hearing, would be elimi-
nated. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior
could seek an immediate injunction in an emer-
gency situation in which there is an imminent
and substantial danger to the health or welfare
of persons or possible irreparable damage to
water quality or the environment. The Adminis-
tration’s proposal would also provide other new
enforcement tools.
The proposed legislation is not meant to over-
ride the responsibility of the State agencies to
enforce pollution control regulations; rather, it
is intended to provide a backstop to the States’
authorities. The Federal government will con-
tinue to encourage the States to carry out their
responsibilities by providing better financial and
technical assistance to the States, in addition to
the promise of Federal involvement when the
States fail to act.
Better Assistance To The States
The challenge of carrying out an accelerated
pollution control program and implementing
water quality standards has placed increased re-
sponsibilities for monitoring, enforcement and
technical activities on the States, as well as on
the Federal government. The responsibilities of
the States will further be increased by the re-
cently enacted legislation which requires State
certification of Federally-licensed activities; and
acceleration of waste treatment works construc-
tion will place yet another heavy burden on
State pollution control agencies.
For some years, the Federal government has
assisted in supporting the administrative expen-
ses of the State and interstate water pollution
control programs through program grants,
which are now at a $10 million level. To aid the
States in expanding their programs, the pro-
posed legislation would increase the authoriza-
tion for State program grants each year on a
sliding scale from $12.5 million in FY 1971 up
to $30 million in FY 1975. Emphasis for using
the augmented grant funds would be placed on
certain program improvements, such as estab-
lishing effective waste discharge permit systems,
improving sewage treatment facilities programs,
and setting up programs for training and devel-
oping water pollution control personnel.
16
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Besides providing financial assistance, the
Federal government will continue to help the
States through joint water quality monitoring
activities, technical support and training pro-
grams for State personnel.
Better Programs For Prevention and Abate.
rnent Of Pollution From Federal Facilities
One of the primary tasks of the Federal gov-
ernment in pollution control is to assure that
the facilities owned by the government and ac-
tivities carried out or licensed by the govern-
ment do not contribute to water or air pollu-
tion. In a move to strengthen the Federal com-
mitment to pollution control, President Nixon
issued a new Executive Order on pollution con-
trol from Federal facilities on February 4,
1970. This Order requires that all projects or
installations owned or leased by the Federal
government be designed, operated and main-
tained in conformance with present and future
water quality standards. The Executive Order
provides for strict compliance and establishes a
deadline by which existing facilities must com-
ply with environmental standards. This compre-
hensive plan for pollution abatement includes
control, not only of water pollution, but also of
air pollution by Federal facilities.
In a subsequent Executive Order issued on
March 7, implementing the landmark National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969. the Presi-
dent set forth additional procedures to assure
that Federal programs will meet national envi-
ronmental goals. He directed that attention be
given to Federal policies, including administra-
tion of loans, grants, contracts, and licenses, to
minimize their pollution impact.
Enactment by the Congress of the Water
Quality Improvement Act of 1970 adds further
force to this effort by requiring that applicants
for Federal permits, for activities such as con-
struction of nuclear facilities or reservoirs, meet
applicable water quality standards.
Programs To Deal With Emerging Problems
At the same time that a massive effort to
employ present technology to clean up munici-
pal and industrial water pollution is being initi-
ated. the water pollution control program for
the 1970’s looks to expanding its capacity to
deal with other complex pollution problems.
One of the most significant emerging programs
is in oil pollution control, where substantial ex-
pansion of Federal prevention, control and en-
forcement activities is called for under the 1970
Act. In conjunction with development of plans
to prevent and control oil spills, planning has
been undertaken to handle accidents of other
hazardous substances.
Increased attention has been given to meth-
ods of preventing and controlling pollution
caused by vessels. The Water Quality Improve-
ment Act provides for Federal performance
standards for water pollution control equipment
on commercial and private vessels.
With the greatly increased growth of electric
power producing facilities, thermal pollution
control has emerged as a major pollution prob-
lem. The water pollution program for 1970’s
anticipates much more stringent controls on the
discharge of heated effluents, a greater research
effort to improve thermal standards and abate-
ment technology, and an active participation in
planning studies to locate power facilities in
areas where environmental damage would be
minimized.
Another problem which is becoming increas-
ingly significant is that of pollution caused by
persistent pesticides. Under the 1970 Act, the
FWQA will be developing, within the next two
years, the scientific knowledge necessary for the
development of water quality criteria for pesti-
cides. This will require increased research on
the effects of pesticides and the search for less
harmful pesticides, expanded monitoring and
investigation to identify critical areas and closer
interagency coordination .with the Departments
of Agriculture and Health, Education and Wel-
fare to assure full utilization of regulatory au-
thorities to achieve environmental protection.
The expanded use of deep-well and other
subsurface waste disposal practices poses a new
challenge, particularly for protecting the purity
of groundwater supplies. Meeting this challenge
will require increased research on groundwater
quality and movement and on the effects of
wastes, investigations of present disposal sites
and tighter regulation of subsurface waste dis-
posal practices.
The activities and problems just described
will receive increasing emphasis in the coming
months. How these areas fit into the full water
pollution control program will be described in
greater detail below. As noted at the beginning
of this section, the financial assistance and regu-
latory programs must rest upon a broad base of
planning and research, technical studies, man-
power development and other programs. It
must also be clear that the Federal program is
but one aspect of a nationwide network of
State, local and, increasingly, regional activities.
The greatest challenge of the 1970’s may well
be intergrating these programs to form a com-
prehensive nationwide attack on pollution of
our environment.
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REGULATORY PROGRAMS
Strong, effective, and equitable regulatory ac-
tivity is the most essential element in the na-
tionwide pollution control effort. President
Nixon in his environmental message has de-
clared that “strict standards and strict enforce-
ment are necessary—not only to assure compli-
ance, but also in fairness to those who have
voluntarily assumed the often costly burden
while their competitors have not.” Such effec-
tive nationwide enforcement requires a comple-
mentary State-Federal regulatory effort.
P R 0 G R A lvi s F o R From the initiation of the Federal water pol-
lution control program, the Congress has recog-
nized the basic role of the States in implement-
WAT R POLLUTION ing and enforcing water pollution control regu-
lations. The Federal Act, however, asserts
broad jurisdiction for the application of Federal
CONTROL regulatory authority to back up the States and
to assure effective pollution control. Over the
years. this Federal regulatory role has been ex-
panded arid strengthened to include: water poi-
lution enforcement authority on interstate and,
under certain circumstances, navigable waters;
authority to establish and enforce water quality
standards on interstate waters; and administra-
tion of the Oil Pollution Act of 1924. In addi-
tion, there has been a growing emphasis on
control of pollution from Federal facilities.
Through its role in administering or partici-
pating in these programs, the Federal Water
Quality Administration (FWQA) has emerged
as the principal water pollution regulatory
agency in the Federal government. Recently en-
acted and proposed legislative changes will fur-
ther strengthen FWQA’s regulatory authority.
Passage of the Water Quality Improvement Act
of 1970 adds significantly to Federal authority
to control vessel and oil pollution and to re-
quirements for control of water pollution from
Federally licensed activities. Equally significant,
the Administration’s legislative proposal would
result in far-reaching improvements designed to
provide a comprehensive, swift and equitable
regulatory authority. These measures will vastly
strengthen the Federal government’s capacity to
control water pollution.
Water Quality Standards and Enforcement
Federal enforcement authority on interstate
and navigable waters has been strengthened
over the years since initial enactment of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act in 1956.
The most significant increase in these authori-
ties stemmed from the Water Quality Act of
19
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1965, authorizing the establishment and en-
forcement of water quality standards for inter-
state waters, including coastal waters.
Today, action to abate pollution of interstate
or navigable waters which endangers the health
or welfare of persons may be taken at State
request or on Federal initiative. The Governor’s
request is required in cases of intrastate pollu-
tion of such waters. However, action may be
taken on Federal initiative to abate pollution,
whether inter- or intrastate, of such waters
which impairs the marketing in interstate com-
merce of shellfish or shellfish products. Action
to abate international pollution may be taken
under certain circumstances.
Two abatement procedures are provided in
the Act. A three-stage enforcement procedure
is set out in the law—conference, public hear-
ing, court action—the succeeding stage to be
reached only if adequate progress is not made
at the previous stage. In a case of violation of
water quality standards, direct court action may
be sought 180 days from the date of notification
of violation: the 180-day period is to be used
for obtaining voluntary compliance if at all
possible.
The water quality standards authorized by
the 1965 legislation are the keystone of Amen-
ca’s clean water program. The Act called upon
the States to establish standards for their inter-
state waters. These State standards could then
be accepted as Federal standards by the Secre-
tary of the Interior. To set standards, the States
had to make crucial decisions involving the de-
sired uses of their water resources, the quality
of water to support these uses and specific plans
for achieving such levels of quality. The stand-
ards are, in effect, blueprints for the national
program.
Water quality standards are composed of two
parts: the criteria designed to protect present
and future water uses of interstate waters
through establishment of quality levels which
must be maintained, and a plan of implementa-
tion which outlines the pollution abatement
measures which will be required to meet those
criteria. First responsibility for implementing
and enforcing water quality standards rests with
the States. But, once accepted by the Secretary
of the Interior, the standards become Federal
standards and are subject, if necessary, to Fed-
eral enforcement. In the absence of timely and
acceptable action by a State to adopt water
quality standards on interstate streams, the Sec-
retary of the Interior can initiate action to es-
tablish Federal standards.
The standards of all of the States have now
been approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
With the establishment of these standards, there
is for the first time a specified set of conditions
for the enhancement and protection of the
water quality of interstate waters throughout
the country to which waste dischargers must
adhere. The goal of providing nationwide, sys-
tematic and comprehensive water quality stand-
ards, however, which are tailored to the partic-
ular use and quality of the specific waters, is far
from being accomplished.
The Secretary excepted from initial approval
portions of the standards of over half the States,
where certain aspects of the standards were not
stringent enough to assure adequate water qual-
ity protection. For example, the temperature
criteria of a number of States have been ex-
cepted, because they did not provide adequate
_____ safeguards against thermal pollution. In other
cases, implementation plans have not received
approval because the abatement measures re-
quired or schedules established were deemed
inadequate.
During the past year, heavy emphasis has
been placed on resolving these exceptions so
that State standards can be fully approved. Ne-
gotiations have been underway with the States
concerned and a number of States have agreed
to improve their standards. In two instances,
EXFORcEMNr
I
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where such agreement could not be reached, the
Secretary has taken initial action toward direct
establishment of Federal standards, under pro-
cedures specified by the Act. A conference to
consider the establishment of water quality
standards for certain interstate waters of Iowa
convened at Davenport on April 8 and at
Council Bluffs on April 15, 1969. Regulations
setting forth the Federal standards have been
published in the Federal Register and will be
adopted if the State does not adopt acceptable
standards within the specified time period. A
conference to consider the establishment of
water quality standards for Virginia’s interstate
waters was called for December 9—11, 1969,
and subsequently postponed when the State
Water Control Board indicated it would act on
the Secretary’s recommendations. During the
year ahead, a principal objective will be elimi-
nation of the exceptions from the standards of
all the States, by agreement or direct Federal
action.
Even where standards have been approved,
there is a need to refine and improve certain of
the water quality criteria to assure that the c i i-
teria applied will adequately protect the in-
tended water uses. Continued emphasis must be
given to improving our knowledge of water
quality characteristics and requirements and
incorporating this information in approved cri-
teria.
Towards this end, FWQA, the Atomic En-
ergy Commission and the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare are working to-
gether to develop standard radiological criteria
for natural waters. The radiological criteria cur-
rently established in water quality standards
possess certain shortcomings insofar as provid-
ing complete coverage of all radioactive pollu-
tants and maximum protection for all water
uses. These established criteria do provide rea-
sonably adequate protection from the sources of
radiological wastes currently in place, but with
the expected growth of the nuclear power in-
dustry, the nuclear fuel reprocessing industry
and other peaceful uses of nuclear materials,
such as those being developed through Opera-
tion Plowshare, much more precise and restric-
tive criteria for water will be required. The ra-
diological criteria being developed are aimed at
this objective. Also, they will complement the
radiological effluent and emission standards
presently set by the Atomic Energy Commis-
sion for nuclear power plants and other users of
nuclear materials.
The increasing impact of pesticides on the
environment has pointed to the need for both
stricter regulation of pesticide uses and the es-
tablishment of specific, quantified pesticide cn-
teria for natural waters. Under the Federal In-
secticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, the
authority to regulate the uses and labeling of
pesticides resides with the Secretary of Agricul-
ture. An interdepartmental agreement has re-
cently been established among the Departments
of Agriculture, Interior and Health, Education
and Welfare through which environmental, fish
and wildlife, and public health interests in pesti-
cide uses are factored into the Department of
Agriculture’s registrations. With respect to pes-
ticide criteria for interstate waters, this respon-
sibility and authority rests with the Secretary of
the Interior under the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act.
General criteria on all toxic materials have
been incorporated in all of the water quality
standards adopted and approved pursuant to
the Act; however, specific quantified criteria for
the various pesticides in current use have not
been made a part of these standards. Under a
provision of the Water Quality Improvement
Act of 1970, FWQA wifi be developing specific
and quantified information on pesticides to be
subsequently incorporated into water quality
standards.
Most important, a vigorous State and Federal
enforcement program is needed to obtain com-
pliance with water quality standards and to as-
sure that treatment schedules are being met.
Development of strengthened and accelerated
enforcement efforts has been a major objective
during the past year. Where the States are pre-
pared to exercise their authorities, FWQA
stands ready to provide any assistance they may
require. A number of States are moving aggres-
sively against polluters. illinois has not hesi-
tated to initiate proceedings against the very
giants of industry. Pennsylvania successfully
Sfricter control of pesficides will
be needed to protect wildlife.
21
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carried through on the first test of its Clean
Stream Law. And, with the passage of the Por-
ter-Cologne Water Quality Act in 1969, Cali-
fornia has vastly strengthened and stepped up
its regulatory activity.
At the Federal level, the record of enforce-
ment activity compiled under the new Admin-
istration reflects a commitment to a vigorous
enforcement program equally and fairly applied.
In this same year, FWQA initiated the first
enforcement actions to abate violations of water
quality standards under procedures provided by
the Water Quality Act of 1965. As mentioned
before, the procedure provided in the law is
direct court action, preceded by a 1 80—day no-
tice to the alleged violator. On August 30,
1969, the Secretary issued such 180—day no-
tices to six alleged violators. The first involved
the Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc., whose mining
operations resulted in discharges violating water
quality standards established for Spring River
in Kansas and Oklahoma. The other five ac-
tions were taken to abate violations of Lake
Erie water quality standards and involved the
City of Toledo and Interlake Steel on the Mau-
mee River and Republic Steel Co., U.S. Steel,
and Jones and Laughlin on the Cuyahoga
River. Hearings were held with all six of the
alleged violators. All six sources have indicated
that they will comply.
FWQA’s enforcement conference activity
under previously established procedures has
also been stepped up. The initiation of the Bis-
cayne Bay conference in February, 1970,
brought to 50 the total of such actions taken
since 1956. Five of these—Lake Superior, Es-
cambia River Basin, Perdido Bay, Mobile Bay,
and Biscayne Bay—have been held since Janu-
ary 1, 1969. In addition, eight conferences were
reconvened and three progress meetings held to
put renewed emphasis on progress in obtaining
compliance.
The enforcement conference has been an
effective mechanism for the solution of complex
and long-standing pollution situations. At the
recently reconvened Potomac River conference,
for example, agreement was reached on cooper-
ative programs of remedial action which include
the most stringent waste treatment requirements
yet fixed for a metropolitan area. The Lake
Michigan conference, reconvened in 1969 and
again in March, 1970, has dealt with control of
the more diffuse wastes, such as nutrients, ther-
mal pollution, and agricultural wastes.
More recently, in February, 1970, a Feder-
al-State enforcement conference was held at
Biscayne Bay. Florida, regarding local damages
to aquatic plant and animal populations of
lower Biscayne Bay attributed to the heated ef-
fluent from the Turkey Point plant of the Flor-
ida Power and Light Company. Because of the
selection of the site of the plant at Turkey
Point, considerable technical difficulties are
being encountered in the disposal of the heated
cooling water. Present and proposed treatment
measures were found to be inadequate and the
conferees have recommended that the excessive
waste heat load being discharged from the Tur-
key Point power plant be reduced to specified
levels so that the quality of the waters, includ-
ing the biological balance of Biscayne Bay, will
not be impaired to the detriment of the full
enjoyment and use of the Bay.
Subsequently, Secretary Hickel requested the
Attorney General to bring suit against the Flor-
ida Power and Light Company on the basis of
Section 13 of the River and Harbor Act of
1899, known as “The Refuse Act,” and other
authorities for injunctions against discharges
contrary to the heat criteria of the applicable
water quality standards, and to restrain con-
struction and operation of power plants which
would cause such di charges.
The character of the pollution situation gov-
erns the application of the Federal Water Pollu-
tion Control Act’s authorities and procedures.
The Mobile Bay conference of December,
1969, was called under the “shellfish” authority
of the Act. Sheilfishing areas at Mobile have
been closed by the State of Alabama for eight
of the past sixteen years. Through this confer-
ence, a specific regulatory program for control
of municipal and industrial wastes polluting the
Bay is being developed.
The Refuse Act, administered by the Secre-
tary of the Army through the Corps of Engi-
neers, extends Federal authority to intermittent
discharges of waste into navigable waters and
provides a valuable additional enforcement
tool. FWQA and the Corps of Engineers coor-
dinate the enforcement of the Refuse Act with
the enforcement of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act. Through this coordination and the
use of the Refuse Act, regulatory authority can
be extended to intrastate waters where no Fed-
eral water quality standards apply, as well as to
interstate standards violations. The Refuse Act
has also been used effectively against “one-
time” dumpings of pollutants.
There are limitations in existing enforcement
authority which prevent the Federal govern-
ment from playing a fully effective role. The
Federal government may act on its own or at
State request to enforce the abatement of pollu-
tion which is interstate. In the case of pollution
of interstate or navigable waters which occurs
22
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only in one State and has its effects only in that
State, however, Federal enforcement assistance
must be requested by that State. This important
distinction results in real complications. En-
forcement action on Lake Superior was initi-
ated by the Secretary on his own authority on
the basis of interstate pollution which was oc-
curring in tributary border streams. The princi-
pal pollution source to Lake Superior, however,
was the Reserve Mining Company taconite op-
erations at Silver Bay, Minnesota. To establish
enforcement conference jurisdiction over this
source, it was necessary to show interstate ef-
fects of the pollution from Reserve’s operations.
If the interstate effect had not been established
through FWQA studies, the enforcement con-
ference would have had no jurisdiction over the
taconite discharges.
The procedures for enforcement actions also
present several limitations on Federal authority.
At the conference stage, no direct Federal rela-
tion is established with individual polluters.
Such parties may not even be compelled to be
present at the conference, as no subpoena au-
thority is provided. The Federal authority deals
directly with the polluter at the public hearing
stage, but, again, there is no subpoena authority
to compel the presence of witnesses.
During the post-conference and post-public
hearing periods, the States are directed to ob-
tain compliance under their own laws and au-
thorities. The Act directs that a reasonable
time, which cannot be less than six months,
must be provided to the States for obtaining
such compliance. This means that in bringing a
recalcitrant polluter to terms, the Federal gov-
ernment’s hands initially are tied for at least a
whole year. This year stretches to a minimum
of 18 months when the time needed to prepare
the filing of court action is taken into account.
Despite the acceleration in Federal enforce-
ment activity, deficiencies in the existing legisla-
tion have become increasingly apparent. To fur-
ther strengthen the Federal regulatory role, the
Secretary of the Interior has proposed legisla-
tive changes in the Act which would provide
substantial new authority for FWQA enforce-
ment activities.
Specificially, water quality standards would
be strengthened by the addition of effluent re-
quirements and by extending the applicability
of these standards to all navigable as well as
interstate and certain other waters. These dis-
charge requirements would be established by
the States as were the original water quality
standards. If the Secretary of the Interior deter-
mined that these requirements met the require-
ments of the Federal Act, they would be en-
forceable as an element of the Federal, as well
as the State standards. The extension of the
water quality standards program in terms of
more specific requirements and in terms of wa-
ters included is a logical progression, building
upon the water quality criteria and plans of
implementation already in force in all fifty
States.
Another significant change would be the ex-
tension of geographic coverage of enforcement
authority to include all navigable and certain
other waters. As has been pointed out, under
existing law an enforcement action may not be
taken in the absence of an interstate pollution
effect without the request of the Governor of
the State. Under these circumstances, the avail-
ability of Federal enforcement authority de-
pends on the geographic accidents of pollution
crossing interstate boundaries. The Administra-
tion’s proposal would remove the distinction
between interstate and intrastate waters and
pollutional effect. Federal enforcement author-
ity would be available in any case where the
Secretary of the Interior believes water quality
standards are being violated or the health or
welfare of persons is being endangered.
In addition, the new proposal would extend
the coverage of the Act to include the authority
to set and enforce standards for groundwaters
and for ocean waters beyond the Territorial
Sea, two important components of the water
environment that need increasing protection.
Furthermore, at the conclusion of an en-
forcement conference, remedial measures could
be required directly of individual polluters. The
hearing board phase of enforcement would be
eliminated and the government could proceed
directly to court enforcement. Fines of up to
$10,000 a day for violation of water quality
standards or enforcement conference require-
ments would be authorized. Substantial investi-
gatory authorities would be provided to permit
the Secretary to subpoena records and wit-’
nesses, to enter and inspect plants and installa-
tions and to require testimony. Further, the
Secretary would be authorized to request the
Attorney General to bring suit under a new
injunctive authority to stop waste discharges
immediately in cases of serious damages, real or
threatened.
Even though the proposed legislation would
increase FWQA’s regulatory authority, it is in-
tended to back up the enforcement activity of
the States, which continue to have primary re-
sponsibility. Though at a much accelerated pace
and with a much larger scope of enforcement
activity, FWQA and the States would continue
to work as partners to obtain cleaner waters.
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Control of Oil Pollution
With the grounding of the TORREY CAN-
YON in 1967, the breakup of the OCEAN
EAGLE in Puerto Rican waters in 1968, and
the Santa Barbara offshore oil well leak in
1969, oil pollution has become recognized as a
serious national and worldwide problem. These
incidents were spectacular in terms of the dam-
ages they caused, the control and clean-up ef-
forts and expenditures they necessitated, and
the public concern they generated. Of even
greater significance, however, is the fact that
these major disasters are matched by the aggre-
gate of large and small incidents that occur ev-
eiy day throughout the Nation’s coastal and in-
land waters.
It is estimated that there are annually over
10,000 spills of polluting materials into our Na-
tion’s waters. About three-fourths of these spills
are oil; the remainder are other hazardous ma-
terials, such as chlorine and anhydrous am-
monia. The sources of these incidents are ves-
sels, pipelines, rail and highway carriers, land-
and water-based storage tanks, refining and
other manufacturing operations, the jettisoning
of fuel tanks by aircraft, on and offshore petro-
leum loading and unloading terminals, on and
offshore petroleum drilling and production op-
erations, and various other facilities and activi-
ties. The problem of accidental spills of oil is
further compounded by discharges of oily bal-
last waters from tankers and other vessels. Pol-
lution from oil and hazardous materials is an
everyday occurrence and affects all our waters.
Of particular significance are the potentially
large and damaging oil spill accidents that
might easily result from the increase in shipping
and pipeline transport of oil. The emergence of
supertanlcers as the prime oceanic movers of
crude oil imports, the construction of a large
pipeline, such as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Sys-
tem from the new Alaska North Slope oil fields,
and the greater development of offshore oil are
all contributing factors to the oil spill problem.
This rapid increase of oil traffic and the expan-
sion of the offshore production of oil only in-
tensifies the possibility of more frequent and
larger accidents and of significantly greater
damage to the environment.
Presently, the technology for coping with oil
and hazardous materials spills is woefully inade-
quate. Prevention of accidents is the only sure
way of protecting the environment. The Santa
Barbara incident and subsequent similar spill
situations have shown conclusively that no com-
pletely effective techniques are available to con-
trol oil spills in the open ocean or lake waters.
Wind and wave actions neutralize the effective-
ness of oil spill containment devices, such as
floating booms. Vacuum or scoop equipment to
remove floating oils from the water does not
accomplish the job, being effective only in
rarely occurring calm seas. Chemical disper-
sants, sinking agents, and other materials are
often ineffective and frequently very toxic to
marine and wildlife. Common straw, which
soaks up oil so that it can be removed, is still
the standard material for fighting and cleaning
up oil spills.
Compounding these technological shortcom-
ings, the legal and institutional devices available
for handling oil and hazardous material spills
have been less than adequate. The Oil Pollution
Act of 1924, as amended—the principal Fed-
eral legislation in this area of pollution control
—prohibited and provided penalties for only
the “grossly negligent and willful” spilling or
discharging of oils and oily materials. This re-
strictive legal language essentially precluded en-
forcement of the Act. This has been rectified by
passsage of the Water Quality Improvement
Act of 1970, which repeals the 1924 Act and
greatly increases the regulatory controls for oil
pollution incidents. Many State and local gov-
ernments, however, are still lacking in oil pollu-
tion control authority.
In addition to lack of adequate legal tools,
well-organized and well-equipped governmental
forces have not always been available to re-
spond in a timely manner to oil pollution inci-
dents. Many of the smaller incidents go undis-
covered or ignored by local, State, and Federal
agencies; only the larger incidents generally re-
ceive the type of response necessary to assure
adequate control and clean-up. The usual pro-
cedure is to encourage or require the party re-
sponsible for the spill to procure the equipment,
materials and personnel and to bear the ex-
pense of control and clean-up. In some cases,
these resources may not be available in the
local area, adding yet another problem.
Since the TORREY CANYON incident, and
particularly during the aftermath of the Santa
Barbara incident, FWQA has played a principal
role in organizing and coordinating the Federal,
State, and local effort in the control of oil and
hazardous materials pollution. This has in-
cluded development of contingency plans and
reporting and response capabilities, pursuit of
research and development of new and improved
technology, study of potential oil pollution
threats—as in the case of proposed exploration
and production of oil in Lake Erie—and partic-
ipating in strengthening of the Federal regula-
tions covering the drilling for and production of
oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf.
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During 1969 and early 1970, the National
Multi-Agency Oil and Hazardous Materials
Contingency Plan was re-assessed and revisions
to strengthen it were undertaken. The first Plan
was prepared in 1968, at the request of the
President by the Departments of the Interior,
Transportation, Defense and Health, Education
and Welfare and by the Office of Emergency
Preparedness. Together with the supplementary
regional contingency plans, the National Plan
provides the organizational and communica-
tions mechanisms for welding Federal, State
and local efforts into a coordinated response to
oil and hazardous materials incidents. The Sec-
retary of the Interior has been responsible for
the preparation and administration of the Na-
tional Plan, and FWQA has acted as the lead
agency in carrying out this responsibility. The
National and regional plans provide for on-
scene commanders, operating teams, communi-
cation centers, lines of responsibility and other
organizational features necessary to bring about
an immediate and effective response to major
pollution disasters and lesser incidents. The Na-
tional and regional plans were put into effect
during the Santa Barbara incident and proved
to be decidedly important in the control and
clean-up of that disaster. FWQA is continuing to
provide guidance in extending the coverage of
contingency plans, particularly in local areas,
such as harbor and oil on-loading/off-loading
areas, where the threat of oil pollution is great-
est. The contingency plans have and are con-
tinuing to overcome the institutional shortcom-
ings for coping with spills; and they are becom-
ing increasingly more effective in ensuring that
the supply of equipment, materials and other
resources, including communications and tech-
nical advice, needed to combat oil and hazard-
ous materials accidents becomes immediately
available.
In the implementation of the contingency
plans in coastal waters, the Great Lakes and the
major inland navigable waters, the Coast Guard
has provided the on-scene commanders and the
principal operating resources, including person-
nel, ships, equipment and communications sys-
tems. FWQA participates by providing advice
on containment and clean-up techniques, in-
cluding the use of dispersants and other chemi-
cals. In other waters of the Nation, FWQA has
the lead operating role.
Another important accomplishment during
1969 was the strengthening of the regulation
covering the exploration and production of oil
and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf. The
Secretary of the Interior is authorized to lease
lands on the Shelf for oil, gas and mineral ex-
traction and is responsible for regulating these
operations, which are in the coastal waters out-
side of State jurisdiction. The Santa Barbara
incident clearly indicated that adequate consid-
eration had not been given to the environmental
impact of offshore oil operations. In recognition
of this, Secretary Hickel ordered the suspension
of pending lease offerings and revisions of the
Federal regulations applicable to offshore leas-
ing.
The revisions made call for, among other
things, the evaluation of potential environmen-
tal effects of offshore oil operations prior to
lease offerings. Under this feature, FWQA and
other Federal agencies concerned with the pro-
tection of marine resources are given the oppor-
tunity to assess the impact of offshore oil and
gas activities. The Secretary of the Interior is
authorized to make appropriate decisions on
leasing and lease requirements based upon
these recommendations. Other revisions of the
regulations pertain to the inclusion of the Na-
tional Contingency Plan and to lessee’s respon-
sibilities for pollution prevention, control and
clean-up, for the reporting of spills and for the
provision of equipment. materials and resources
to cope with pollution incidents. The aim of the
Department of the Interior is to assure ade-
quate water and environmental quality protec-
tion in its management of the Outer Continental
Shelf lands and waters, and the strengthened
regulations promulgated by Secretary Hickel
are directed toward this objective.
The OCEAN EAGLE breaks up on the rocks,
spilling its oily cargo into the sea near Puerto Rico.
25
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With regard to offshore oil and gas regula-
tions, it is also important to note that Secretary
Hickel recently recommended to the Justice De-
partment that a grand jury be convened to in-
vestigate the violations of Federal regulations
by a lessee off the Louisiana coast. The reported
failure to provide storm chokes and other pro-
tective features required by the regulations is
believed to have led to the oil well fires and the
large oil discharge from several wells operated
by the Chevron Oil Company.
In the area of research and development, the
Federal agencies have divided among them-
selves the work necessary to find new and im-
proved technology to deal with oil and hazard-
ous materials pollution. FWQA has taken on
the primary tasks pertaining to prevention, con-
tainment and clean-up in sheltered and inland
waters, the fate and ecological effects in these
waters, and the technology for cleaning oil con-
taminated beaches. The Departments of Trans-
portation, Defense and Health, Education and
Welfare, as well as other agencies of the De-
partment of the Interior, are assuming primary
responsibility for other pertinent areas of re-
search, including the combating of oil pollution
in open waters.
FWQA’s research activities are being carried
out under grants and contracts, as well as
through in-house work centered in its labora-
tory at Edison, New Jersey. One project con-
sists of investigating the use of gelling agents.
These could be released into the oil cargo of a
tanker to form a semi-solid material when an
accident causes a rupture in the vessel. This
material either would not leak out of the rup-
tured tanks or, if released, could more easily be
contained and picked up. Other efforts are
aimed at developing and demonstrating oil con-
tainment and recovery equipment, barrier de-
vices to protect marinas and other water areas
from incoming oil slicks, and techniques for
cleaning oil from beaches and disposing of the
material removed.
In its day-to- day operations, FWQA operates
a teletype communications systems covering the
Headquarters and Regional Offices to handle
reports and information on oil and hazardous
materials spills, as well as other emergency situ-
ations, such as fish kifis. Under the contingency
plan, to the extent possible, personnel in Re-
gional and field offices respond to pollution in-
cidents by inspecting and collecting samples
and information on the situation, by providing
technical advice on control techniques, and by
participating in the direction of control activi-
ties. In these activities, particularly in coastal
waters, FWQA and the Coast Guard and/or
the Corps of Engineers work together—each
agency performing those tasks which it is best
organized and equipped to handle.
Although FWQA has not had the resources
to respond to most spill incidents, it has re-
sponded to all major episodes. Substantial on-
scene effort was put into the Santa Barbara dis-
aster. This was followed by responses to the
many serious pollution problems resulting from
Hurricane Camille; to the large release of oil
from a ruptured storage tank at Seawarren,
New Jersey; to a number of oil spill incidents in
Alaska, including the recent oil disaster affect-
ing 1,000 miles of shoreline along the coast of
Kodiak Island; and to some 130 other inci-
dents, about 40 of which were hazardous mate-
rials situations.
Although a considerable amount of attention
is devoted to reporting and response activities, a
Oil pollution on the Jackson River in Virginia.
-------
significant effort has been and is directed to
other program activities. These include contin-
gency planning; evaluation of potential pollu-
tion situations and impacts, including those as-
sociated with offshore oil drilling and produc-
tion; testing of hazardous materials and the
neutralizing or combating agents needed to deal
with them when a spill occurs; participation in
international meetings on oil spill prevention;
and technical assistance to State and local agen-
cies and other groups.
Along these lines, several significant actions
were undertaken in 1969. The bunker oil from
the grounded motorship, NORDMEER, which
threatened to rupture and spill its contents into
Lake Huron, was removed to prevent a serious
incident. This was the first effort of its kind by
FWQA.
In the case of the Kodiak Island incident,
Secretary Hickel has appealed to ten major oil
companies to enter into a voluntary “no dis-
charge” agreement to halt the oil pollution
caused by vessels pumping their oily ballast wa-
ters into the high seas outside of the 50 mile
limit. These areas are not addressed under in-
ternational controls. Investigations by FWQA
have shown that the oil-contaminated ballast
waters released by commercial tankers enroute
to terminal facilities in Cook Inlet were the
most probable cause of the Kodiak Island disas-
ter, which involved the destruction of an esti-
mated 10,000 waterfowl. The discharge of oily
ballast waters on the high seas is a frequent
source of pollution. Many stretches of shoreline
along both coasts are affected by oil believed to
have drifted in from offshore ballast water
pumping operations and it is the goal of the
Department of the Interior to prevent these in-
cidents by proper handling of ballast waters.
Proposed drilling for oil and gas in Lake Erie
was studied, and, as a result, recommendations
were made to the State of New York and the
International Joint Commission opposing oil
production and encouraging the strictest regula-
tion of gas production in order to protect the
valuable water supply, fishery and other uses of
the Lake. Considerable attention has also been
devoted to a study of the Alaska North Slope
oil development and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
System to assure that adequate consideration
for maximum protection of the unspoiled en-
vironment is taken in the design, construction
and operation of these facilities. Along similar
lines, technical assistance was given to the State
of Maine in its preparation of comprehensive
regulations for the prevention and control of
potential pollution in all types of oil operations.
These activities and others were essentially
wholly aimed at pollution prevention, a goal
which FWQA believes must be ultimately
achieved through fail-safe systems and practices
if real control of oil pollution is to be attained.
The recent passage of the Water Quality Im-
provement Act of 1970 substantially strength-
ens the Federal law and authority to prevent
and control oil pollution. Most importantly, this
new legislation removes the restrictive definition
of illegal spills and discharges and provides no-
tification requirements and substantial penalites
and liabilities for oil spills. These features, in-
cluding the requirement for the showing of fin-
ancial responsibility—or liability insurance—
will promote greater care and effort on the part
of the oil and oil transportation industries in the
prevention of spills. Other provisions authorize
greater effort by the Federal agencies in devel-
oping strengthened contingency plans, direct-
ing or fully undertaking the containment and
clean-up of oil spills and providing a re-
volving fund to cover the costs of the latter.
FWQA recently created the Office of Oil and
Hazardous Materials and is expanding its staff
to handle the increased work load resulting
from the new legislation.
Experts attempt to control one of eight blazing oil
wells off the Louisiana coast with dynamite. Until
these wells were controlled, about 1,000 barrels
of oil a day threatened the Louisiana Coast.
27
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Control of Vessel Wastes
The discharge of wastes from ships, barges,
houseboats, pleasure craft and other types of
watercraft has been receiving increased atten-
tion in the nationwide effort to clean up pol-
luted waterways and preserve clean streams,
lakes and coastal waters. Until recently, the ef-
fect of vessel wastes has been obscured by the
pollution resulting from municipal and in-
dustrial waste discharges and other causes.
With the progress anticipated in abating munic-
ipal and industrial waste discharges, the signifi-
cant increase in the number of toilet and galley
equipped vessels—particularly pleasure craft
—plying the Nation’s waterways and lakes, and
the greater demands for high quality recreation
and sport fishery waters in those areas most
used by both commercial and non-commercial
watercraft, vessel wastes have emerged as sig-
nificant source of water quality impairment.
Accordingly, vessel waste discharges are cur-
rently a concern in the navigable waters of this
country, including even mountain lakes where
the intensity of vessel use is relatively low but
the need for the protection of the high quality
water is great.
In June 1969, FWQA completed a report of
its San Diego Bay Vessel Pollution Study Pro-
ject following intensive field and laboratory ac-
tivity. The purpose of this project was to deter-
mine the magnitude, extent and kinds of pollu-
tional effects to be expected from the discharges
of shipboard sanitary wastes and the pollution
abatement measures required to reduce or elim-
inate these discharges. The findings were illus-
trative of this problem: vessel waste discharges
were found to cause serious bacterial pollution,
to be responsible for bottom sludge deposits
and floating waste material and to cause viola-
tions of the water quality standards established
for San Diego Bay. The pollution was directly
attributable to the high numbers of military,
commercial and pleasure vessels using the Bay.
Investigations by State agencies and FWQA
have discovered similar conditions in other bod-
ies of water across the United States. Bacterial
pollution and the attendant impairment of rec-
reational water uses are the principal adverse
effects of untreated vessel waste discharges, but
the occurrence of aesthetically displeasing float-
ing material follows close behind in pollutional
importance.
It will not be an easy task to remedy vessel
waste pollution. The weight and volume of
waste treatment devices or waste handling tanks
cause considerable installation problems, partic-
ularly on existing vessels, especially if they are
military. The expense of control devices, partic-
ularly to pleasure craft owners, is also a factor.
A considerable amount of research and devel-
opment is underway by Federal agencies in-
cluding FWQA, the Navy and the Coast Guard
to find adequate and adaptable waste control
systems. Consideration is being given to inciner-
ation devices, modified versions of conventional
waste treatment methods, recirculation systems,
chemical-toilets—such as are used on commer-
cial aircraft—and other devices. Good progress
is being made, and there appears to be little
doubt that American ingenuity can and will de-
velop the technology required to adequately
handle vessel waste pollution problems.
Within recent years, many of the States have
enacted or strengthened their legislation or reg-
ulations pertaining to the control of vessel
Sanitary wastes discharged from pleasure craft are a significant source of pollution.
-------
wastes. Unfortunately, the non-uniformity of
the waste treatment and control requirements
imposed by these States has presented some sig-
nificant compliance problems for vessels which
travel between States. Also, in many cases the
State regulations do not apply to or are ineffec-
tive in their coverage of interstate and interna-
tional carriers and Federal vessels. In response
to these basic problems, the Congress recently
enacted comprehensive Federal legislation—the
first legislation of this type—covering the con-
trol of vessel wastes.
The Water Quality Improvement Act of
1970 provides for the establishment of per-
formance or effluent standards for the sanitary
waste discharges from all classes of watercraft.
These standards are to be set by the Secretary
of the Interior. The amendment further pro-
vides for the establishment and enforcement of
regulations to implement these standards by the
Secretary of Transportation, under whose ad-
ministration the Coast Guard comes. This Fed-
eral statute applies to new and existing vessels
and provides for penalties for the failure of ves-
sel owners and manufacturers to provide ade-
quate shipboard treatment or control of sani-
tary wastes. Importantly, this new legislation
provides for uniform, nationwide regulation of
watercraft waste discharges. This will promote a
comprehensive attack on vessel pollution prob-
lems by FWQA and the Coast Guard, who will
join in carrying out this task.
During the past year. FWQA has been pre-
paring for its role under the new legislation.
Research, development and demonstration of
vessel waste treatment devices have been pur-
sued and considerable assistance has been given
to other Federal agencies, including the Navy,
the Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard, in
the development, testing and installation of
treatment and control equipment on Federal
vessels. With the eactment of the new legisla-
tion, FWQA’s activities in the vessel wastes
area will be expanded. FWQA is planning to
consult with the boating industry, the manufac-
turers, and others concerned with treatment de-
vices and will hold public hearings prior to the
establishment of standards. In addition, assist-
ance will be given to the Coast Guard in estab-
lishing both the regulations necessary to imple-
ment the performance standards and an
adequate certification program. Finally, as-
sistance will be provided Federal agencies in
equipping Federal vessels with adequate control
equipment. The new legislation provides the
means to fully abate the pollution arising from
watercraft sanitary wastes, and FWQA plans to
move rapidly forward to meet this objective.
Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
The Federal government is involved in many
activities which have an impact on the quality
of our Nation’s waters. These operations in-
clude the maintenance of Federal facilities, such
as military bases, lighthouses and post offices;
management of Federal lands; and diverse ac-
tivities, such as dredging, nuclear energy devel-
opment, and pest control. Today, in the United
States, there are approximately 20,000 Federal
real properties, many of which have an impact
on the environment. In addition, Federal lands
comprise one-third of the United States, and the
use of these lands has a bearing on progress in
achieving national goals of clean water and a
quality environment.
Abatement and prevention of pollution from
these sources is a major Administration goal.
On February 4, 1970, the President issued Ex-
ecutive Order 11507, establishing a new and
aggressive approach to the problem of keeping
the Federal house clean. The Order superceded
earlier Executive Orders on water and air pollu-
tion control.
In issuing this Order, the President gave
more specific direction to Federal agencies in
the conduct of their activities with regard to
environmental protection than had any previous
Order. To establish the Federal government as
a true leader in the battle to save the environ-
ment, he required that all projects or installa-
tions owned by or leased to the Federal govern-
ment would have to be designed, operated and
maintained so as to conform with water and air
quality standards. For the first time, a conform-
ance date for Federal compliance, December
31, 1972, was established and written into the
Order. The Presidential statement accompany-
ing the Order set forth a $359 million program
for obtaining this objective. To insure that these
funds, once appropriated, were utilized for the
purposes intended, the Order contained a sec-
tion which, in effect, prevented use of the ap-
propriated funds for purposes other than pollu-
tion control.
FWQA has an important role to play in
working with the other Federal agencies con-
cerned to assure that the objectives of the Exec-
utive Order are met. FWQA has primary re-
sponsibility for reviewing and approving per-
missible limits of waste discharges from such
installations and for coordinating the water pol-
lution control activities of Federal, State, and
local programs. The new order contains impor-
tant provisions to insure this role will be an
effective one and to correct some of the admin-
istrative problems brought about by earlier Or-
ders. Rather than have professional staff at all
29
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levels of government review plans and specifi-
cations for improved abatement facilities, the
Order requires that specific performance re-
quirements for each facility be set by the
agency and approved by the Secretary of the
Interior. In evaluating the adequacy of the per-
formance requirements, the Secretary is to take
into consideration water quality standards
where such standards exist. The Secretary is
also given, for the first time, the authority to
issue regulations establishing water quality
standards for the purposes of the Order where
such do not exist. More importantly, the Secre-
tary is also authorized to establish more strin-
gent requirements for Federal facilities than
contained in existing standards. Both of these
actions are to be taken after consultation with
appropriate Federal, State, interstate and local
agencies.
FWQA has taken a number of steps to meet
these and related responsibilities. The staff as-
signed to work with the other Federal agencies
has been restructured and enlarged. Increased
emphasis has been placed on better channels of
communication and cooperative relationships
with the other Federal agencies. Fruitful meet-
ings and seminars have been held at which Fed-
eral programs have been reviewed, information
exchanged, and advice both sought and given.
FWQA conducts on-site inspections of
waste-water treatment and disposal practices at
Federal installations to advise the agencies con-
cerned as to the adequacy and effectiveness of
such measures. This information is used by
agency planners to develop and update plans
for corrective actions. Whenever possible, these
inspections are conducted jointly with State of-
ficials to promote better Federal-State relation-
ships.
From the information collected on such
inspections, a system of recording and reporting
information on Federal installations and their
waste treatment needs and accomplishments
was developed in 1969. This system will be the
basis for a comprehensive inventory of Federal
installations, which will streamline the review
process and provide better information on
which to recommend nationwide priorities to
the Bureau of the Budget and Congress.
To facilitate budgeting for corrective meas-
ures, Federal agencies are required to present to
the Bureau of the Budget a plan for installing
improvements needed to meet the target date.
FWQA reviews the agencies’ plans and recom-
mends priorities for funding to the Bureau of
the Budget. Each project is ranked in the order
of its priority to ensure that the most significant
problems will receive first attention.
Emphasis has been placed on conferences to
ensure that information on improvements in
waste treatment technology would be available
to Federal agencies. In this regard, a seminar
was held for representatives of other agencies
on new advances in waste treatment technology
and was geared to problems routinely faced at
Federal installations. Attendance of agency per-
sonnel at seminars conducted by FWQA’s Re-
search and Development program has been en-
couraged. A field trip was arranged for officials
of the Department of Defense in order to famil-
iarize them with the new treatment technology
being developed at the Blue Plains sewage
treatment plant in Washington. Reports of com-
pleted FWQA research projects are being made
available to the appropriate Federal agencies
for their consideration in the development of
new facilities, and incorporation of these newly
developed techniques in remedial work is being
highly encouraged.
Correction of conventional municipal and in-
dustrial waste problems from Federal facilities
is only a part of the job in ensuring that the
wide-ranging activities of the Federal establish-
ment have a minimum impact on the environ-
ment. New opportunities for pollution abate-
ment are continually being brought to the atten-
tion of other agencies. As the wastes from con-
ventional point sources are brought under con-
trol or eliminated, the wastes from nonpoint
sources come to the forefront as significant
problems.
One such area receiving recent attention was
related to management practices on Federal
lands. In the past year FWQA chaired a De-
partment of the Interior task force established
to assess the effect of Federal land management
practices on water quality. A pilot review study
conducted in Oregon showed a major need and
opportunity to reduce water pollution asso-
ciated with Federal land management practices
and conservation measures. The report, Federal
Land Management Practices and Water Quality
Control, found serious damage to the environ-
ment stemming from long-established practices,
as well as from more recent practices involving
pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemical appli-
cations. The report specifically identified 12
kinds of land management practices and 22
conservation measures having an impact on
water quality. These would be reviewed by
agencies and altered whenever necessary to
conform with national environmental goals.
Operation Plowshare, the Atomic Energy
30
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Commission’s program to develop peaceful uses
of atomic energy, represents another activity
which must be carefully monitored and con-
trolled to avoid unwanted effects on the envi-
ronment. This program has and will involve nu-
clear explosions designed to stimulate gas pro-
duction in oil and gas bearing formations, to
fracture mineral formations to enable extraction
by leaching, to develop storage for water or
other materials. To assure that the program, as
planned, provides adequate safeguards for water
quality, FWQA provides review and advice to
the Commission concerning these experiments.
Careful planning of the program, as well as pre-
and post-detonation surveillance, is essential
because of the potentially great hazards in-
volved.
The Corps of Engineers’ dredging activities
in the Great Lakes and elsewhere are yet an-
other cause for concern. For more than 100
years the Corps of Engineers has been dredging
material from the harbors of the Great Lakes
and depositing most of the dredged material in
designated dumping areas in the open waters.
Growing concern over the resulting effect on
the Lakes led to completion last year of a Corps
of Engineers’ pilot program related to dredging
and water quality problems in the Great Lakes.
Among the conclusions of the Corps’ study
were that heavily polluted sediments when
transported to the open waters must be consid-
ered presumptively undesirable because of their
possible long-term effects on the ecology of the
Great Lakes, as evidenced by bio-assays of the
effects on bottom organisms and plankton, and
that disposal in diked areas would be the least
costly effective method of withholding pollu-
tants associated with dredgings from the Lakes.
On April 15, the President sent a message to
the Congress. proposing legislation to discon-
tinue open water disposal of polluted dredge
spoil in the Great Lakes. The legislation would
authorize the Corps to construct and maintain
contained disposal facilities, in cooperation with
States and other non-Federal interests. Dredge
spoils from Federal and non-Federal operations
would be disposed of in these enclosed areas
under appropriate cost-sharing arrangements.
We also must be increasingly alert to the en-
vironmental impact of such diverse activities as
Forest Service timber sales in Alaska, use of
persistent pesticides for quarantine control at
Federal airports, and proposed development of
oil shale lands in Colorado, Wyoming, and
Utah. FWQA will place increasing emphasis on
working with the agencies concerned to correct
deficiencies and to prevent environmental prob-
lems from arising in the future.
Control of Pollution from Federally Licensed
and Supported Activities
Closely related to pollution resulting from di-
rect Federal activities, is the environmental im-
pact of the various functions conducted under
loans, grants, contracts, leases and permits from
the Federal government. These diverse activi-
ties range from the nuclear power plants receiv-
ing licenses from the Atomic Energy Commis-
sion to urban renewal projects financed by the
Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment. Combined, these Federally supported and
licensed activites constitute a real and potential
threat to the environment, which cuts across the
full spectrum of the Nation’s economic life.
They also reflect an unusual opportunity for the
Federal government to extend the exercise of its
responsibilities for pollution control.
Two landmark pieces of legislation and an
implementing Executive Order promise effec-
tive action. The National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 called for all agencies of the Fed-
eral government to give full attention to envi-
ronmental protection in their planning activities
and decision making. In furtherance of this leg-
islation, the President issued an Executive
Order on March 5, 1970. This Order directed
the heads of all Federal agencies to review their
statutory authority, administrative regulations,
policies and procedures, including those relating
to loans, grants, contracts, leases, licenses or
permits, in order that they might identify defi-
ciencies and inconsistencies which keep each
agency from full compliance with the national
Dredging, often necessary to keep navigation channels
open, is a source of pollution when spoils are dumped
in open waters.
31
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environmental goals established by the Act. The
Order requires a report to the Council on Envi-
ronmental Quality on the results of this review
along with corrective actions taken and
planned.
Recent enactment of the Water Quality Im-
provement Act of 1970 gave further impetus to
this trend. The Act provides that any applicant
for a Federal permit or license to construct or
operate any facility which may result in any
discharge into the navigable waters of the
United States shall provide certification from
the State in which the discharge originates that
such facilities or related activities can be ex-
pected to comply with applicable water quality
standards. The Act further provides that no li-
cense or permit shall be granted without such
certification and such conditions as the State
may reasonably require, including but not lim-
ited to provision for suspension or termination
of any issued license or permit for failure to be
in compliance with applicable water quality
standards. It also provides special conditions
under which the views of an adjacent State will
be obtained; or an interstate agency or the Sec-
retary of the Interior, if appropriate, may pro-
vide the certification.
The legislation is clear in its intent that the
States are to exercise primary responsibility for
the administration of the water quality stand-
ards for their waters and for the assurance that
State-Federal water quality standards are met
by anyone who uses these waters, and that
FWQA is to cooperate with other Federal agen-
cies, with State and interstate agencies, and
with water users in assuring that appropriate
control measures are applied to meet the water
quality standards. The legislation provides that
the Secretary of the Interior shall provide, upon
the request of any Federal department or
agency, or State or interstate agency or appli-
cant, any relevant information on applicable
water quality standards and comment on any
methods of complying with such standards.
The major and most significant activities to
receive immediate attention under this legisla-
tion are those of the Atomic Energy Commis-
sion, which issues construction permits and op-
erating licenses for nuclear power plants; those
of the Federal Power Commission which li-
censes hydroelectric power plants and whose
approval must be secured before changes can
be made in those projects, including use of
project waters and construction across project
lands; and those of the Corps of Engineers
which issue permits for dredging and construc-
tion in the navigable waters of the United
States (except where hydroelectric power pro-
duction is contemplated and licensed by the
Federal Power Commission).
Prior to the enactment of recent legislation
and the issuance of the Executive Order, coop-
erative arrangements had been made with the
Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power
Commission and the Corps of Engineers to re-
view materials submitted in request of Federal
permits or licenses for activities which could
result in water pollution. These reviews have
been conducted in coordination with other De-
partment of the Interior agencies concerned
with environmental protection. FWQA has re-
viewed these applications to determine the pos-
sible effects of the activity, as proposed, upon
water quality. Recommendations have been
I fr !
.
Cooling towers are used to dissipate huge quantities of heat produced by steam electric power plants.
32
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made as to the need for additional control facil-
ities and any provisions which should be in-
cluded in the permit or license to ensure that
water pollution would be controlled. These ac-
tivities have led to an increasingly well-coordi-
nated and cooperative effort to ensure that
water pollution control measures are considered
in connection with the issuance of a Federal
license.
These arrangements have been satisfactory,
however, only in part. For example, there has
been a serious inadequacy in procedures for re-
view of environmental factors in design and site
selection for new fossil fueled or nuclear power
plants.
With respect to nuclear plants, the Atomic
Energy Commission receives comments on en-
vironmental factors from the Department of the
Interior in accordance with established adminis-
trative procedures. These comments are for-
warded to the applicants for consideration. The
Atomic Energy Commission, however, has held
that it lacks regulatory authority to incorporate
in its licenses for nuclear plants requirements
for measures to protect the environment beyond
radiation safety hazards. This position has been
supported by the Department of Justice and
also affirmed in a court decision.
Fossil fueled plants are licensed by State reg-
ulatory authorities and require no Federal li-
cense whatever. With public concern about the
environmental impact of power developments
running high, a number of utilities have entered
into voluntary discussions of projects under
consideration with concerned State and Federal
agencies. There has been, however, little or no
opportunity for the Department of the Interior
to require environmental protection measures in
the plans for power plants, both nuclear and
fossil fueled, unless they used water from the
reservoir of a licensed hydroelectric project.
By contrast, there have been adequate proce-
dures for environmental review in the category
of hydroelectric power plants. Over the years,
the Federal Power Commission prior to issuing
a license for the construction of hydro plants
has increasingly incorporated environmental
protection requirements. These have included,
for example, minimum flows for fisheries and
water quality below licensed dams, fish screens
and spawning channels, and the making availa-
ble of project lands for public recreation.
Many proposals for incorporating these
measures come from Department of the Interior
agencies. FWQA has the opportunity to review
license applications made to the Federal Power
Commission and to propose changes in con-
struction and operation plans on behalf of
water quality improvement. It has received ex-
cellent cooperation from the Federal Power
Commission in incorporating recommended
measures in its licensing procedures.
A prime example of the application of this
policy is the Blue Ridge case on West Virginia’s
Kanawha River. Although this case is still
pending before the Federal Power Commission,
the preliminary finding provided for the devel-
opment of a project which would require the
power company to provide flows for mainte-
nance of water quality in the downstream
reaches of the Kanawha River.
The activities involving dredging and con-
struction in navigable waters of the United
States and requiring permits from the Corps of
Engineers constitute another category of pollu-
tion. The discharge of dredged materials into
the Great Lakes by private dredgers is directly
comparable in effect to the discharge of dredg-
ings from Corps operations. This illustrates the
importance of applying the same stringent envi—
ronmental controls to Federally licensed activi-
ties as to the Federal agencies themselves.
FWQA and the other Interior agencies con-
cerned review thousands of applications for
such permits annually. Comments to the Corps
of Engineers have resulted in inclusion of provi-
sions to protect water quality in some permits
and in the withholding of other permits. How-
ever, major difficulties have remained. The in-
clusion of specific provisions relative to control
of pollution in Corps of Engineers’ permits has
been contested in the courts. A lower court de-
cision that the Corps of Engineers is not au-
thorized to include such restrictions in its per-
mits is being contested by the Corps of En-
gineers.
Enactment of the Water Quality Improve-
ment Act of 1970 represents a major improve-
ment in procedures and methods. The Act’s
emphasis on compliance with water quality
standards as the basic mechanism for ensuring
water quality protection is of great significance.
Nevertheless to adequately ensure the effective-
ness of these new requirements, FWQA must
place continued emphasis on development of
adequate standards. At present, there are no
standards that adequately ensure protection of
water quality from the impacts of dredging, and
the temperature standards of many States re-
main unimproved. In order to provide effective
implementation of the Water Quality Improve-
ment Act, within the concepts outlined by the
Congress, FWQA must and will accelerate its
efforts to obtain adequate water quality stand-
ards.
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ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
From the very start of the water pollution
control program, the Congress has made it clear
that the responsibility for preventing and con-
trolling water pollution begins at the State and
local levels. And, although the Federal govern-
ment has been given an increasingly greater
hand in dealing with the problem, the States and
communities continue to bear a major share of
the responsibility.
The job of controlling pollution, as indicated
earlier, is an enormous one both in terms of
costs and in terms of manpower requirements.
Few, if any, State and local governments have
revenues large enough to meet the many and
increasing demands, including water pollution
control, confronting them. The largest share of
the Federal program’s resources are therefore
spent for direct assistance to States and com-
munities—grants for treatment plant construc-
tion and program development, technical assist-
ance, and manpower development—to help
meet tbe national goal of clean water.
President Nixon has proposed in his program
of “New Federalism” that State and local gov-
ernments play an increasingly important role in
meeting national needs. At the same time, he
has recognized the need for vigorous Federal
leadership, through solid backup of State and
local actions, in restoring the environment.
To ensure more effective working relation-
ships, the President has directed nine Federal
departments and agencies to work together to
modernize the management of their presently
complex systems of providing fiiiancial and
technical assistance to State and local govern-
ments. The Department of the Interior is work-
ing to implement the objectives and goals of the
Federal Assistance Review (FAR) program.
One of the primary objectives sought is the sim-
plification of the Department’s grant programs
—streamlining of the application process and
organizational structure of assistance programs
for efficiency, economy, and responsiveness to
State and local needs. The Federal Water Qual-
ity Administration (FWQA) has responded to
the challenge. A detailed analysis of the admin-
istrative requirements of the Construction
Grants and the State and Interstate Pollution
Control Grants programs is currently under-
way.
Secretary Hickel has also stressed the need to
improve Federal working relationships with the
States. In order to improve communications
with States, FWQA representatives are attend-
ing public meetings of the State water pollution
control boards and other appropriate meetings,
such as those of legislative committees. Techni-
cal assistance is also being increased to make
more of an effort to meet State needs within
available resources. Increasing emphasis will be
placed on coordinating State and Federal pro-
gram planning to ensure the most effective pooi-
ing of resources.
Assistance to Municipalities
Rapid growth of population and its continu-
ous trend toward urban centers has resulted in
a tremendous increase in the volume of munici-
pal wastes and in the need for an enormous
investment in waste treatment facilities. Na-
tional attention was focused on this problem in
1956, when the Congress, in the first permanent
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, initiated
the program to provide Federal grant assistance
to communities to improve or build sewage
treatment facilities. Amendments since that
time have helped step up construction activity
by making more money available and on a
more liberal basis.
Under today’s legislation, a community can
get financial help in the construction of a mu-
nicipal waste treatment plant with a Federal
grant of at least 30 percent of the construction
cost. Under certain conditions, such as match-
ing State financial aid, approved water quality
standards, and a comprehensive plan for ap-
proaching the problem, the Federal share may
be much higher.
Since 1957, the Federal government has pro-
vided nearly $1.5 billion for construction and
expansion of over 10.000 municipally owned
and operated sewage treatment facilities. These
funds have assisted the States and communities
in the construction of $6.4 billion of treatment
works.
In the thirteen years in which such grants
have been available, the population served by
some degree of waste treatment has increased
by more than 51 million persons. More than 92
percent of the population served by sewers is
connected to a waste treatment plant, as con-
trasted with 57 percent in 1956. These repre-
sent significant accomplishments.
Despite this progress, the Nation still lags far
behind in providing modern waste treatment for
its cities. Many of the works constructed were
designed to provide levels of treatment which
subsequently have proved inadequate to protect
receiving waters. Other works have become ov-
erloaded and need major expansion. Improper
operation and maintenance of many of these
plants has resulted in discharge of wastes little
34
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reduced in polluting content and in breakdown
and early obsolescence of facilities. Other
plants have been poorly located and have re-
sulted in fragmented, rather than systematic, re-
gional solutions. Population growth has added
additional needs; during the same years that the
construction grants program was underway, the
population connected to sewers for which treat-
ment must be provided increased by 37.5 mil-
lion persons. Increasing standards of living and
the rising use of household chemicals and appli-
ances, such as garbage grinders, have added an
additional dimension. In many river basins,
progress in treating the wastes from some of the
communities has been offset by failure to deal
with other waste sources.
Construction needs have far outpaced Fed-
eral, State and local funds and there have been
recent efforts to increase available funds. A
number of States have enacted measures to fin-
ancially assist their communities. At the Fed-
eral level, the Congress this year appropriated a
record $800 million to finance the Federal
share of doing the job. It will not be enough,
however, to merely provide additional funds
under existing formulas and methods. A num-
ber of basic improvements are needed.
The FWQA has become increasing aware
that major revisions in this key program—its
legislative structure, funding, regulations, and
administration—are necessary if the nationwide
goals of providing adequate waste treatment
and meeting water quality standards are to be
accomplished efficiently and in the near future.
A major objective over the past year has been
to review the program in depth to determine
what changes were needed. The General Ac-
counting Office has also had the program under
review and has made a number of recommen-
dations for improvement.
Our review contributed to the formulation of
the proposed new legislation and regulations to
administer the program on a more systematic
basis. These are an essential element of the Ad-
ministration’s environmental program. This re-
view clearly indicated that there were three
basic objectives which should be met to achieve
an equitable and fully effective Federal financ-
ing program. First, the level of financing should
be adequate to enable the Nation’s communities
to get abreast of their pollution problems. Sec-
ond, the method of financing should be an as-
sured one, in order to enable State and local
governments and the construction industry to
plan and gear up for the necessary effort. Third,
the program must be designed to ensure that the
funds will be spent efficiently to achieve the
best results in cleaning up our waters.
The legislation proposed to the Congress by
Secretary Hickel is designed to provide funds
adequate to do the job. The legislation calls for
a four-year Federal contribution of $4 billion in
a construction program of $10 billion, the Fed-
eral share to be matched by $6 billion in State
and local funds.
This is based on the determination, through
FWQA’s recently completed cost studies, that a
$10 billion investment in waste treatment facili-
ties is needed to meet the country’s municipal
waste treatment needs in the years immediately
ahead. Although these cost studies, the most
comprehensive ever completed, indicate that
$10 billion will be enough, President Nixon has
said more money would be available if neces-
sary. The proposed legislation provides for a
reassessment in 1974 to evaluate needs for the
following five years. The legislative proposal
would also revise the present method of allocat-
ing grants to permit a higher degree of flexibil-
ity in directing funds to areas where the need is
greatest and where they can be most effectively
used.
The proposed legislation also stresses meas-
ures to provide assurance to States and com-
munities that Federal funding will be forthcom-
ing as planned. The lag between Federal au-
thorization and appropriations in the present
legislation created a condition of confusion and
uncertainty that has hampered the engineering
and construction industry from gearing up for a
sustained level of effort.
Ensured funding is a key component of the
.1
Treatment facilities such as this one are built
with the help of Federal consfruction grants.
35
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Al
Aeration tanks and trickling filters are components
of municipal waste treatment processes which
reduce organic loadings to streams.
proposed legislation; it would enable the Fed-
eral government to enter “grant agreements”
with municipalities at the rate of $1 billion a
year for four years. Pursuant to these agree-
ments, the Federal government would be
obliged to appropriate funds to satisfy obliga-
tions under these grant agreements, just as the
Federal government must satisfy any other of
its debt obligations. This change would assure
communities of full Federal support and allow
planning and construction to proceed without
the traditional gap between funds authorized
and funds appropriated.
The Administration has further emphasized
its intent to provide assurance of funding and to
alleviate State and local uncertainty by resolv-
ing the reimbursement issue. To permit States
and communities to move ahead with construc-
tion of waste treatment works before full
Federal funding became available, the 1966
amendments to the Act provided that the allot-
ments of a State could be used for reimburse-
ment of projects which went ahead with less
than the full Federal share and on which con-
struction was initiated after June 30, 1966,
provided that such projects met all other Fed-
eral requirements. As a result of this provision,
a number of the States went ahead with bond
issues or other provisions for prefinancing the
Federal share on those projects which pro-
ceeded with either no Federal funds or less than
the full Federal share. As of December 31,
1969, a total of 880 such projects had pro-
ceeded. The amounts earned for Federal reim-
bursement were $322 million. When all these
projects are completed, eligible reimbursements
will be about $814 million.
Federal intentions with respect to repayment
of these funds has been one of the vexing prob-
lems facing States and communities which had
moved ahead on their own. In addressing the
State Governors’ Conference in Washington this
February, President Nixon expressed his posi-
tion regarding repayment of these funds. He
stated that, “any State that went forward after
the Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966 rely-
ing on what the Federal government had indi-
cated, went forward in its own program, should
not be penalized because it took that initiative.
As a matter of fact, it should be rewarded.”
Under the proposed legislation, reimburse-
ment would be accomplished through the larger
appropriations; through improvements in the
reallotment procedure which would more
quickly funnel funds to areas of greatest need;
and through use of discretionary authority,
which would permit the Secretary to assign a
p
• -.
- :- • -
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portion of each year’s available funds to such
areas.
An additional element of the Administra-
tion’s program will help assure that State and
local bodies will be able to borrow the neces-
sary funds to do their share. The Department of
the Interior’s proposed legislation would be
supplemented by a Treasury Department pro-
posal to establish an Environmental Financing
Authority (EFA). EFA would have authority
to buy the waste treatment bonds of those mu-
nicipalities who are unable to sell their bonds
on the open market. EFA would ensure the
availability of local financing for construction of
waste treatment plants, so all communities
would be able to participate in the construction
grants program.
Higher appropriations and revised legislation
are only part of the answer in accelerating the
systematic construction of municipal waste
treatment plants to achieve effective results in
cleaning up pollution. Development of meas-
ures to ensure efficient use of funds to achieve
Adequately treated sewage
effluent pours into a river
without harmful effects.
that result has been a key element of FWQA’s
new approach to the administration of the pro-
gram.
Secretary Hickel has said, “The job ahead
will be costly. We want to ensure that the Fed-
eral funds invested in the clean-up will be spent
effectively and fairly.” Towards this end he has
published proposed regulations in the Federal
Register. The proposed new rules are that:
—Comprehensive river basinwide programs
for pollution abatement must be developed, and
new treatment works must fit in with such pro-
grams, as well as with metropolitan and re-
gional plans, to be eligible for Federal aid.
—In evaluating new applications, the FWQA
may demand detailed data on all sources of
pollution in the entire river basin, including the
volume of discharge from each source, charac-
ter of effluent, present treatment, water quality
effect and other items.
—If some industrial wastes are to be treated
as part of a municipal system’s operations, in-
dustry must pretreat those wastes if they would
interfere with efficient operation of the com-
munity system. Further, a system of “cost re-
covery” must be required if some industrial
wastes are to be treated in a new plant built
with Federal aid. Such cost recovery by the mu-
nicipality would assess the industries a share of
the operating costs and costs of amortizing the
debt, in proportion to their contributions to the
cost of waste treatment.
—State water pollution control agencies must
inspect new Federally-aided facilities for
efficiency and economy at least once each year
for the first three years of operation and period-
ically thereafter under standards set by FWQA.
—Design of any new Federally-aided treat-
ment plant would have to be approved in ad-
vance as being economical, efficient, and effec-
tive under FWQA requirements.
In addition to these changes in the substan-
tive elements of the construction grants pro-
gram, FWQA has established a study project to
review grant procedures and to determine any
changes necessary to streamline those proce-
dures to assure efficient and effective grant ad-
ministration. A task force including manage-
ment consultants and FWQA personnel is in
the process of preparing a report concerning
needed improvements.
All together, the proposed legislation, the
amended regulations and the continued efforts
to streamline administrative procedures will re-
sult in an overall improvement of the construc-
tion grants program and will provide financial
assistance to the Nation’s communities, which
wifi be fully adequate to meet the needs of the
years ahead.
37
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Assistance to Industry
With the acceleration of the Nation’s clean-
up program, industries are faced with major
pollution control expenditures. Although there
are no specific Federal assistance programs di-
rectly geared to provide funds for industrial
waste treatment equivalent to the Federal as-
sistance for construction of municipal treatment
plants, there are several Federal incentive pro-
grams which provide encouragement and sup-
port for industries to meet their treatment re-
quirements.
FWQA is encouraging and supporting the
treatment of industrial wastes in municipal
treatment plants; municipal systems designed to
receive industrial wastes are eligible for support
under the construction grants program.
The practice of treating industrial wastes in
municipal treatment plants has a number of ad-
vantages. First and foremost, it provides for
more effective pollution control by encouraging
regionalization of the waste treatment system.
A community that maintains effective treatment
of its sanitary wastes can still be a polluter if
industrial waste discharges from its borders are
Meat packing wastes disc.h ged untreated into a river.
uncontrolled. Joint treatment is effective too be-
cause it locates responsibility for operation and
maintenance within a single authority. In addi-
tion, complementary characteristics of sewage
and industrial wastes, if properly controlled,
can often permit more effective waste reduction
within the plant.
Joint treatment facilities offer significant ad-
vantages to both communities and industries in
terms of lower treatment costs through econo-
mies of scale. The inclusion of industrial wastes
in municipal plants also offers special incentives
to industry, as these joint facilities can be built
with the help of a Federal construction grant.
Industry thus can pay for its waste treatment
through operating costs, rather than having to
make the extensive capital investment involved
in the construction of treatment facilities.
Joint treatment of municipal and industrial
wastes is increasing, as is the development of
technology to handle a variety of complex
wastes. For example, metropolitan Seattle has
adopted an ambitious program to provide treat-
ment for all liquid wastes that occur within its
extended area of jurisdiction. More and more
communities are designing their facilities to ac-
commodate a larger portion of the total waste
load that is produced by factories, with the cost
of construction shared by the community, in-
dustry and the Federal, and sometimes State,
government.
At the same time, as part of the overall re-
form of construction grants requirements,
FWQA is moving to eliminate certain abuses of
joint treatment and to ensure that municipal
and industrial systems will operate effectively.
First, through pretreatment requirements in the
new regulations, the discharge of wastes which
would make municipal systems nonoperative or
reduce their effectiveness will be controlled.
Second, industries are required to reimburse the
municipality concerned for the added cost
which treatment of their wastes imposes; this
will ensure that the municipality will have suffi-
cient revenues to provide adequate waste treat-
ment on a continuing basis.
FWQA also provides assistance to industry
through its research and development program.
Since 1966, the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act, as amended, has authorized grant sup-
port of industrial demonstration projects aimed
at improving waste management. Although not
intended as a direct form of assistance in de-
fraying the costs of constructing waste treat-
ment plants. projects supported by these grants
have demonstrated methods of treating in-
dustrial wastes more economically and of re-
covering certain portions of wastes for reuse.
Other grants have been used to show the feasi-
bility of joint treatment of municipal and in-
dustrial wastes.
Tax write-offs provide further assistance to
industry. Although a number of States have en-
acted tax measures designed to encourage in-
dustrial waste treatment facilities, until recently
.‘-
-
-
!li ” • . u . -
:-‘
-
38
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there was no comparable measure in effect at
the Federal level. In enacting the Tax Reform
Act of 1969, however, the Congress included
provisions for accelerated amortization of air
and water pollution control facilities for Federal
income tax purposes.
Under this law, a taxpayer is entitled to a
deduction with respect to the amortization of
certified air and water pollution control facili-
ties. A certified pollution control facility is de-
fined as a new, identifiable treatment facility
which is used, in connection with a plant or
other property in operation before January 1,
1969. to abate or control water or atmospheric
pollution or contamination by removing, alter-
ing. disposing, or storing of pollutants, contami-
nants, wastes, or heat . . . and which, in the
case of water pollution control facilities, is cer-
tified by the State water pollution control
agency as meeting State water pollution control
requirements and by the Secretary of the Inte-
rior as meeting Federal water pollution control
requirements. The Secretary may not certify f a-
cilities to the extent that the cost of such a
facility will be recovered over its useful life.
Regulations are being prepared by the De-
partment of the Interior and the Department of
Health. Education, and Welfare in consultation
with the Treasury Department to implement the
Federal certifying responsibilities.
Assistance to State and Interstate Programs
State agencies are the first line of defense in
the national water pollution control effort.
Many States have been able to strengthen their
pollution control programs to meet the growing
problems thrust on them in the past several
years. Others, however, have not had adequate
laws and resources to do the job. Federal pro-
gram grants are available to State and interstate
agencies to help them bear the costs of needed
preventive and control measures. These grants
are intended as realistic incentives for the State
and interstate agencies to expand and improve
their programs.
The program started in 1957 with an annual
authorization of $2 million. The annual figure
has grown to $10 million today, and the State
and interstate agency expenditures have in-
creased more than six times during that same
timeframe. Many of the States have substan-
tially strengthened their programs. Funds have
been used for employing needed technical per-
sonnel, for purchasing special laboratory and
field equipment, for waste treatment plant
inspection programs, for more aggressive, en-
forcement of State laws, for expanded monitor-
ing and surveillance programs, and for traimng.
Many States improved their programs in the
last year by passing new laws or strengthening
existing authorities to provide for a more vigor-
ous clean-up effort. For example, in Oregon.
water pollution control became part of a newly
created Department of Environmental Quality.
A feature of this new Department is its ability
to conduct an extremely successful enforcement
program. With this new authority. Oregon is
carrying on an aggressive abatement program
for both industrial and municipal waste sources.
Also in the Pacific Northwest. the State of
Washington’s 1969 Legislature inserted a re-
quirement that after July, 1974. no applicant
can receive a Federal construction grant unless
the project conforms to a comprehensive drain-
age basin plan for water pollution control. This
requirement places a burden of urgency upon
the State to give planning a very high priority.
This change is consistent in purpose with the
Secretary’s recent proposals for a more system-
atic and comprehensive administration of the
construction grants program.
In Connecticut. legislation enacted during
FY 1969 furthered the Connecticut Water Re-
sources Commission’s leadership role in several
ways:
1. Bonding authorization for pollution con-
trol facilities, including pre-financing of Fed-
eral grants. was raised from $100 million to
$250 million.
2. To promote regionalization. the Commis-
sion is authorized to issue orders to polluters
jointly after a determination that such pollution
can best be abated by the action of two or mon
adjacent municipalities.
3. New statutes were enacted, covering all
phases of oil pollution removal and prevention
and containing a provision for strict liability on
spillage.
Two other highlights of State accomplish-
ments in recent years are found in New York
and Pennsylvania. New York provides reim-
bursement to municipalities for 1 3 of the cost
of operation and maintenance of sewage treat-
ment plants when they are operated according
to established standards. Every municipal sew-
age treatment plant is comprehensively in-
spected at least once each year by a sanitary
engineer and a chemist to evaluate operation
and maintenance and laboratory work and to
determine quality parameters for raw waste.
treated effluent and receiving waters. In Penn-
sylvania, the Department of Health regulates
and administers annual payments to municipali-
ties of 2% of construction costs toward opera-
39
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tion of sewage treatment facilities. About 685
applications are now being processed for pay-
ment of approximately $8.1 million in 1969.
Payment is toward the operation, maintenance,
repairs, replacements, and other expenses relat-
ing to sewage treatment plants.
New York and Pennsylvania are two of the
States that have been fortunate enough to have
the resources to support their water pollution
control programs. In many States this is not the
case, and it is perhaps here that the impact of
Federal program grants is most significant.
As a basis for receiving a Federal program
grant, each State and eligible interstate agency
must prepare a plan describing how the grant
will be used to strengthen its pollution control
program. To assure the most effective utiliza-
tion of these funds, the Federal Water Quality
Administration (FWQA) has developed guide-
lines which set forth the essential elements of an
effective State and interstate program plan.
In addition to constituting a request for grant
assistance, the Program Plan serves several
other important purposes.
1. It provides the State’s annual report on
progress in implementing water quality stand-
ards.
2. It provides information essential to
FWQA in developing assistance and coordinat-
ing other grants to the State or interstate agency
under other provisions of the Federal Act.
3. It identifies and discusses problems and
issues in extending or improving the State or
interstate agency’s water pollution control pro-
gram and helps in evaluation and program
planning.
The FWQA has worked closely with the
States in this planning process. Several Re-
gional Offices have, in response to State re-
quests, initiated joint review and evaluation
studies of individual State programs. Last year
such studies were completed in South Carolina
and Idaho; additional studies are planned this
year. Through these studies the Federal and
State agencies work together in identifying
problems and needs and in proposing action
programs. As a result of the South Carolina
study, the program was presented to the Gover-
nor and the legislature for consideration by the
General Assembly. It is anticipated that these
recommendations will result in additional staff
and resources for South Carolina’s program and
in general provide an improved program for the
State.
In order to provide maximum assistance to
the States, a new approach for analyzing and
evaluating the effectiveness of State program
performance is being tested in cooperation with
State water pollution control agencies. The pro-
posed new system will be oriented to accommo-
date inclusion of such detailed information as
necessary to permit an objective evaluation of
program performance. The State program ap-
praisal will form the basis for evaluating basic
State program resources, such as State policy,
legislative authority, rules and regulations, or-
ganization, staffing, and budget; performance in
terms of resource utilization; and accomplish-
ments, such as stream miles or estuarine acres
brought into compliance with water quality
standards.
In addition, the system will identify State
program needs and translate those needs into
priorities and objectives in pollution control.
The apppraisal procedure will define and iden-
tify the minimum criteria governing Federal fi-
nancial assistance to State programs. It will pro-
vide for a continuous review of State programs
in order to enhance coordination of State and
Federal activities and will permit relating ac-
complishments to established goals. Finally, the
appraisal system will provide for a meaningful
comparison of State program performance
among States.
The F VQA is also supporting a number of
special activities which demonstrate the utiliza-
tion of advanced techniques by State and inter-
state agencies. For example, the agency is giv-
ing funds to Pennsylvania to help develop a
Statewide pollution information system de-
signed to handle all water quality data. This
system will provide a modern management tool
to help the State systematically administer its
program. A modern, automatic monitoring sys-
tem of water quality parameters and the tele-
communicating of information to a central
processing location have been expanded by the
Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commis-
sion using FWQA support.
The accelerated drive for clean water stem-
ming from strengthened Federal regulatory and
financing programs will also demand an in-
creased capability on the part of the water pol-
lution control agencies of many States.For this
reason, proposed legislation to provide addi-
tional grants to State and interstate agencies is
an important element of the Administration’s
program. The new legislation would increase the
authorization each year on a sliding scale from
$12.5 million for fiscal year 1971 up to $30
million for fiscal year 1975. Emphasis would be
placed on development, performance, and sub-
stantial improvements to State programs. The
basic grant program contained in the present
Act would remain, but three new categories of
grants would be authorized: program develop-
40
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ment grants, program improvement grants, and
special project grants.
The new amendments are essential to in-
crease support to States and interstate agencies
to enable them to carry out and accelerate pro-
grams of water quality standards enforcement
and implementation, the implementation of the
Department’s proposed construction grant re-
quirements, and the accelerated construction of
needed treatment facilities.
From both a long and short-range viewpoint,
the State program grants are a good investment.
National pollution control efforts can move
ahead only as fast as the State and interstate
agencies respond with imaginative and thor-
ough programs to meet their responsibilities.
Technical Assistance
Technical assistance is another key program
available to help States solve pollution prob-
lems. A great many of the water pollution prob-
lems facing the Nation call for technical study
to determine the sources or causes of the pollu-
tion and to find the most appropriate abatement
measures to remedy the situation. Often, the
problem is complex and requires extensive field
and laboratory study. Acid mine drainage,
coastal and estuarine pollution, groundwater
contamination, and pesticide and toxic chemical
pollution are examples of pollution problems
for which the most effective and appropriate
corrective action is frequently unknown and for
which specific technical study is necessary be-
fore abatement action can be pursued.
Federal Water Quality Administration
(FWQA) assists the State and interstate water
pollution control agencies in developing their
technical capabilities and provides financial as-
sistance for this purpose through the program
grants previously described. These agencies
conduct a great many of the technical investiga-
tions required to carry out an effective water
pollution control program, but frequently they
find it necessary to call for outside assistance to
handle problems which exceed their capabili-
ties. To meet these needs FWQA provides tech-
nical assistance of various kinds ranging from
technical advice and consultation to extensive,
long-term field and laboratory studies. Within
the limits of available resources, this assistance
is provided on request, primarily to the State
and interstate water pollution control agencies,
but also to other public agencies, including
other Federal agencies.
During 1969, FWQA responded to over 300
major requests for technical assistance and nu-
merous requests for advice, information, re-
views and comments on technical problems.
The following examples will serve to illustrate
the program:
During the last quarter of 1969, FWQA con-
ducted intensive water quality and waste source
surveys on Perdido and Escambia Bays and
tributary river basins. The study on Perdido
Bay was requested by the State of Alabama to
determine the cause of the declining fishery and
of the occurrence of unsightly brown foam in
many parts of the Bay. The work on Escambia
Bay was made in response to a request by the
State of Florida to determine the cause of the
dozen or more fish kills that occurred in the
Bay during the summer of 1969. Both studies
identified offending waste sources and the reme-
dial measures required. Upon completion of the
two studies, the respective State governors re-
FWQA provides technical assistance to States to help
solve difficult pollution problems, such as fish kills.
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quested Federal enforcement action, and, in re-
sponse, enforcement conferences were held
early this year. These resulted in specific abate-
ment recommendations and time schedules. The
State of Florida has begun implementing these
recommendations through the issuance of
clean-up orders, and FWQA is continuing to
provide technical assistance and support for
these efforts.
In other cases, States have applied the find-
ings of FWQA technical assistance directly
under their own authorities. The water quality
study of Hilisborough Bay, Florida, which was
completed in 1969, is a good example. This
study was addressed to a long-standing obnox-
ious odor problem resulting from the death and
decay of marine algae. Discharges of municipal
wastes from the City of Tampa and industrial
wastes from several chemical and fertilizer
plants were shown to be adding sufficient nu-
trients to the Bay to cause the enhanced growth
of marine algae. The cause of the massive
amounts of dead and decaying algae giving rise
to the odor problem was thus traced back to the
waste discharges. Other aspects of water quality
degradation were also identified together with
their causes. The findings of the study were pre-
sented in a public hearing held by Florida Air
and Water Pollution Control Board in February
of this year. The abatement recommendations
of the study report were adopted, and the State
agency has begun issuing implementation direc-
tives. The affected companies, the City of
Tampa and the other local agencies have initi-
ated the planning of remedial facilities and
practices, thus demonstrating positive follow-
through action based on FWQA’s technical as-
sistance study.
Another recent example of technical assist-
ance is a field investigation of the James River
below Springfield, Missouri, completed last
year. This study was conducted in response to a
request from the State of Missouri and was
aimed at determining the causes of and correc-
tive measures for the severe water pollution and
frequent fish kills occurring in the River below
Springfield. Several waste sources were identi-
fied as the cause of the problem, and abatement
measures to be taken by these sources were
recommended. On the basis of these findings,
the State and the polluters have initiated reme-
dial actions, some of which have been com-
pleted, and significant improvements in water
quality have already been achieved.
To aid the State of Wyoming in assessing the
pollutional impact of a uranium mining opera-
tion on Little Medicine Bow River, FWQA de-
veloped a radiological monitoring network and
schedule for the State and performed the ra-
dio-analysis on the samples collected by the
State during the summer of 1969. Radio-analy-
sis assistance will be given again in 1970. The
State intends to use the data collected to deter-
mine the need for waste treatment or control by
the mining operation. This exemplifies a type of
assistance widely provided by FWQA—the per-
formance of complex analytical and bioassay
tests, such as those for pesticides, organic
chemicals, heavy metals, various toxicants and
radionuclides.
As these examples illustrate, most of
FWQA’s technical assistance is devoted to in-
vestigating specific problems and finding the ap-
propriate available corrective measures. These
studies are not directed to research or develop-
ment of new and improved technology; how-
ever, in some cases these studies indicate that
corrective measures are not apparent. Thus
fruitful topics for research are often identified
and these are referred to FWQA’s research and
development program for follow-up.
To carry out its technical assistance activi-
ties, FWQA relies on the basic staffs of engi-
neering, scientific and technical personnel and
support laboratory facilities and equipment in
each of its nine Regions. Each Region is
equipped to conduct intensive field studies in-
volving chemical, biological, microbiological,
hydrologic and other disciplines. The coastal
Regions are equipped to undertake oceano-
graphic investigations in addition to other types,
and the Great Lakes Region has special capa-
bilities for performing lake investigations.
Requests for technical assistance can be ex-
pected to continue to rise in the future, despite
the expanding capability of many State pollu-
tion agencies. The problem areas of subsurface
and ocean waste disposal; pesticide and radio-
logical pollution; animal feedlot, sediments, sa-
linity and other aspects of agricultural pollution;
and the complex interacting problems of envi-
ronmental quality protection will require much
greater attention than they have had to date.
For many individual States these problems do
not occur frequently enough to justify mainte-
nance of special skills and equipment on a per-
manent basis. However, they arise often enough
across the country to warrant attention at the
national level, and the experience gained in
solving pollution problems in one part of the
country can be useful in dealing with similar
problems elsewhere. FWQA is prepared to give
continuing help to State, interstate, and local
agencies so they can carry out their remedial
programs.
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PLANNING AND BASIC STUDIES
Just as any structure needs a good founda-
tion, the nationwide effort to control pollution
requires a variety of supporting programs to
provide a sound basis for action. These basic
support programs help to ensure that our action
programs are soundly conceived and will yield
clean water results adequate to meet present
and future needs. Planning, data systems, and
economic studies, all play a supporting role in
the battle for clean water.
Need for such basic underpinning is clearly
ifiustrated in the problem of assuring adequate
environmental protection in connection with lo-
cation of major electric power generating facili-
ties. Strengthened procedures authorized by the
Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970 to en-
sure that Federally-licensed power plants will
meet water quality standards have been dis-
cussed. Although these procedures only apply
to one aspect of the environmental impact of
power production, they represent major prog-
ress.
So long as such review takes place relatively
late in the process of designing a plant, how-
ever, it cannot be fully effective. There is still a
major need—recognized both by the Federal
government and by enlightened sectors of the
electric utility industry—to provide for consid-
eration of environmental factors in the early
stages of site selection. More effective means of
planning must be found, which will provide the
public with full assurance of environmental
protection, and which will enable the utility in-
dustry to meet growing power needs without
confusion and serious last-minute delay.
The Federal Water Quality Administration
(FWQA) and other Federal agencies with an
interest in the development or regulation of
electric power have been working with the
Office of Science and Technology on a compre-
hensive study and evaluation of power plant
siting. In December, 1968, a report. Considera-
tions Affecting Steam Power Plant Site Selec-
tion, was published. Since that time, the above
agencies have been giving attention to the ap-
propriate roles of the Federal, State and other
public agencies in the regulation of power plant
site planning.
At the Regional level, FWQA is participating
with the New England River Basins Commis-
sion (NERBC) in developing criteria for siting
power plants for New England. The NERBC
power/environment program got off to a posi-
Flowing past the Nation’s capital, the Potomac River
typifies the need for regional and basinwide planning.
tive start in late 1969 with an in-depth look at
the environmental impact of the proposed Sea-
brook nuclear power plant site in New Hamp-
shire. FWQA assisted in preparing the water
quality impact section of the study. The
Agency is participating in a similar activity in
the Columbia River Basin.
Environmental Planning
Although a major part, water pollution con-
trol is but one facet of the overall program for
preserving and enhancing our environment.
One of the most significant occurrences during
the past year has been the greatly increased
awareness on the part of public officials and
citizens of the interrelationships among pro-
grams to clean up air and water pollution, to
manage solid wastes and conserve natural re-
sources, and to provide parks and increased
recreational opportunities.
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To focus on major environmental issues that
may involve actions of a number of interrelated
Federal, State and local agencies, President
Nixon established on May 29, 1969, a Council
on Environmental Quality comprised of Federal
Cabinet officers and Citizens’ Advisory Com-
mittee. Subsequently, the Congress enacted leg-
islation giving comprehensive expression to
these concerns—the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969. This Act authorized a new
Council on Environmental Quality, whose
members have been recently appointed, and the
former Council has been redesignated the Cabi-
net Committee on the Environment. The Envi-
ronmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970,
just recently enacted, further provides for the
establishment of an Office of Environmental
Quality to serve as staff to the Council.
To strengthen its capability in environmental
planning and to provide a focus for coordina-
tion with the new Council, as well as with other
agencies, the FWQA is establishing an Office of
Environmental and Program Planning.
Environmental planning concepts, with the
emphasis on long-range consideration of the ef-
fects of certain waste disposal practices, and the
realization that site location practices are as
vital as pollution control facilities, are increas-
ingly incorporated in the policies and activities
of a number of FWQA programs. Through
effective participation in environmental plan-
ning, FWQA can best come to grips with such
difficult pollution issues as thermal pollution
Taking a clean environ-
ment for granted has led
to wasteful spoilage. Plan-
rnng helps both to pre-
serve and to recover
our natural resources.
control, including the previously discussed need
for better selection of sites for power generation
facilities to protect environmental values; pro-
tection of groundwaters and control of under-
ground disposal methods; reducing the impact
on waters of salinity resulting from irrigation
practices and water development projects; loca-
tion of oil refineries and future offshore loading
facilities relating to the prevention and control
of oil pollution; and decreased use of phos-
phates in detergents.
Other needs that have been identified include
development of criteria for evaluating potential
airport and highway sites; studying ways in
which FWQA could help improve Federal,
State and local mechanisms for land-use plan-
ning. particularly in critical estuarine areas; and
ways in which marshlands could be protected
from indiscriminate filling and development.
Development of policies on waste handling
and treatment to avoid water pollution must be
44
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carried out with the realization that, ultimately,
effective waste disposal must involve integrated
consideration of air and water pollution control
and solid waste management. Water pollution
control policies must avoid creating air pollu-
tion or solid waste problems and seek, instead,
ways of combining methods for maximum re-
duction of waste loads. Further emphasis must
be placed on effective waste management
through recycling, recovery and reuse of the
by-products of our technology.
Continued thought and effort must be placed
on developing means of making so-called “tech-
nology assessment”—identifying the possible
environmental consequences of new technology
before they become widespread problems to be
cured after the fact. A major challenge is find-
ing the means whereby we will not have to wait
until products, such as the phosphate-based de-
tergents or hard pesticides, become a cause for
major concern before we turn our attention to
safeguards or substitute methods.
To improve the system for identifying poten-
tial or existing environmental problems, Secre-
tary Hickel established an “Environmental
Early Warning System” in the Department,
clarifying the channels through which any
member of the Department can highlight situa-
tions that need attention from government.
FWQA has established coordinating mecha-
nisms to work with this System and thus far has
participated in studies of a number of issues.
FWQA is actively cooperating with the For-
est Service and Bureau of Outdoor Recreation
in evaluating a number of rivers for inclusion in
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
This System affords a mechanism for protecting
waters of unusually high quality or scenic value
from degradation. Some rivers have already
been designated for inclusion in the System, and
measures for protecting the quality of these riv-
ers will involve both FWQA and the State
water pollution control agencies. as well as the
Federal agencies which have been designated to
administer these areas (Bureau of Land Man-
agement, National Park Service. Forest Serv-
ice).
During the past year, FWQA has partici-
pated actively in several interagency planning
efforts aimed at studying the impact of develop-
ment on several areas and seeking measures to
mitigate the effects of that development on the
environment. One of the most significant in-
volved plans for large-scale development of pe-
troleum resources on the North Slope of
Alaska. FWQA made significant input into es-
tablishment of guidelines on practices which the
oil companies would have to use in construction
of facilities, in use of pipelines and other means
for transporting the oil, and in carrying out pro-
duction, so that the resource could be devel-
oped without severely damaging the environ-
ment. particularly the sensitive and complex
tundra areas.
Other issues have involved industrial and
housing development in areas along the Eastern
Coast. There is increasing realization that the
harmful effects of poorly located developments
on the quality of coastal waters; on sensitive
aquatic resources, such as shellfish; and on
marshlands and beaches are too high a price to
pay for short-term economic gains in coastal
areas, and that many of these effects could be
avoided by better consideration of alternative
locations and methods of waste handling, In
one case, serious shortcomings with the location
of an oil refinery near the Chesapeake Bay were
brought to light in FWQA investigations, and
the company subsequently changed its develop-
ment plans.
A case currently being studied involves the
location of a chemical complex on the South
Carolina coast in an area of extremely high
natural and recreational value. A German chem-
ical company, BASF, purchased land near Hil-
ton Head, South Carolina, to construct a large
petrochemical plant; this project has received
nationwide attention and has caused consider-
able concern to environmental agencies. After
reviewing the company’s proposal and the con-
ditions of the area, Secretary Hickel wrote to
BASF on March 24, 1970, to express his con-
cern that waste discharges from such a plant or
transportation of materials might damage the
high quality waters and the shellfishery which
are now protected by Federal-State water qual-
ity standards, and that dredging of any naviga-
tion channels would destroy very valuable
aquatic habitat. He stated that the Department
would oppose any action which would result in
degradation of that water quality and would op-
pose any proposal for channel dredging which
would cause environmental damage. Subse-
quently, on April 7. 1970, BASF announced
suspension of its plans pending further consid-
eration of necessary measures to avoid these
damages.
These and other issues point strongly to the
need for better ways of assessing public values
and of planning development in consonance
with protecting the environment.
The Big Cypress Swamp is another signifi-
cant issue where FWQA resources are being
used in conjunction with those of other agencies
to protect an area faced with development. This
swamp is a vital source of water for the Ever-
45
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Economk de elopment and preservation of natural resources, such as
Si 1 Cypress Swamp. mu 1 be reconciled through environmental planning.
glades National Park. and both the Everglades
and Big cypre form a unique and very valua-
ble natural resource. Proposed construction of a
ietport in the swamp has been halted; however,
the larger challenge of controlling development
in South Florida and providing needed facilities
for a rapidly growing population and economy
while still protecting the Florida environment is
just beginning to be faced by a variety of Fed-
eral. State and local agencies. In a sense. South
Florida is an early and compelling example of
conflicts on the use of resources which we may
face in many parts of the Nation before long.
The beautiful Florida environment has attracted
the very forces that endanger the survival of
that environment, and that survival must de-
pend. it appears. on effective long-range plan-
ning and control of development.
The above examples have concerned areas
where development is threatening a high quality
environment. Some of the greatest challenges
and potential rewards for water pollution con-
trol are also in areas which have been degraded
and where pollution clean-up may bring great
recreational and other opportunities. This is
particularly the case in increasing the opportuni-
ties for inner-city residents to swim, fish, picnic
and enjoy the outdoors in urban areas. For ex-
ample, FWQA assisted the National Park Sen-
ice and Bureau of Outdoor Recreation in plan-
fling for the proposed Gateway National Recre-
ational Area near New York City. Full use and
enjoyment of this area will depend on effective
pollution control.
Other proposals of this kind have been or
will be increasingly explored. One FWQA re-
search plan is to clean up pollution from com-
bined sewers discharging to the Anacostia River
within Washington. D.C.. and develop a large
inner-city swimming and boating area. Yet
another approach—Project Cure, developed
jointly by FWQA and the Bureau of Outdoor
Recreation—is being considered for application
in some areas, based on experience in Santee.
California. with total wastewater renovation
and use of the treated wastewater for recrea-
tion. One of the features of the Santee project is
a series of five lakes which have been created
below the treatment plant and filled with essen-
tially pure effluent. Because of the high quality
of treated wa tewaers. these lakes are used for
a host of recreational activities such as boating.
fishing, and picnicking.
Basin and Regional Planning
Basin and regional planning is an essential
element in pollution control. As President
Nixon has pointed out: “A river cannot be
polluted on its left bank and clean on its right.
In a given waterway. abating some of the pollu-
tion is often little better than doing nothing at
all, and money spent on such partial efforts is
The Santee Project in California renovates
wastewaters and provides reuse through rec-
reational lakes.
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largely wasted.” Clean water results will only be
achieved by systematically controlling pollution
in entire river basins. Further, we must be sure
that these results are lasting ones, that our ac-
lions today are adequate to meet the needs of
the future, and that we make provision for
future growth of waste loads, population, in-
dustry. and water use. Otherwise, these future
developments may more than offset any gains
that our action programs in the years immedi-
ately ahead will achieve.
For these reasons, planning is an important
element of the FWQA program. FWQA is par-
ticipating in basin and regional planning in co-
operation with State and other Federal agencies
and is financially supporting regional planning
activities at the State and local level.
The long-term impact of river basin develop-
ment vill be a major factor in keeping the Na-
lion’s rivers clean and useful. Changes in
stream flows cause temperature increases and
other water quality effects. Sustained stream
flows are essential for maintaining water quality
even where a high degree of treatment is prac-
ticed. Irrigation diversion and other develop-
ments often deplete these needed flows and re-
turn them in lesser quantity and quality.
A major part of the planning responsibility is
to ensure that water pollution control and water
quality are adequately considered in all Federal
water resource development activities, such as
planning or construction of reservoirs or irriga-
lion projects. FWQ-\ is participating in broad-
scale water resource planning in association
with other Federal and State water resources
agencies in basin planning studies coordinated
by the Water Resources Council. These inter-
agency studies result in comprehensive water and
land related resource plans, laying out a future
framework for river basin development. These
plans are presented by the Water Resources
Council to the President and the Congress to be
considered in authorizing Federal water re-
source development projects. FWQA partici-
pates in these framework studies to ensure that
water pollution control is an integral part of the
development and management of the Nation’s
waters.
Last year, for example, a study of the White
River in Arkansas and Missouri completed
under this program provided for an intensive
program of development and management of
water and land resources while emphasizing the
continued protection and enhancement of the
environment. The plan provides for the clean-
up of polluted sections of the River and the
maintenance of other sections at their present
high quality. In addition to specific treatment
facilities at present and anticipated waste
sources, the plan provides for the inclusion of
storage in specific Federal reservoirs to regulate
stream flows to assist in the maintenance of
water quality.
In addition to participation in these frame-
work studies, FW’QA is involved in a number
of more specific water resource planning activi-
ties. In the Central Valley of California, where
agricultural development threatens water qual-
ity in San Francisco Bay and the San Joaquin
Delta, FWQA is participating with the Corps of
Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation in
long-range planning studies to determine the
overall regional impact of continued water de-
velopment on the environment and the neces-
sary measures to ensure protection of future
quality over the long run. In the Delaware
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River Basin. FWQA has participated with the
Delaware River Basin Commission in the devel-
opment of a plan and program for the use and
upgrading of the highly polluted Delaware es-
tuary. This program has involved the develop—
ment and utilization of pioneering systems anal-
ysis techniques to model the Delaware and
show the most effective and systematic ap-
proach to achieving improved water quality.
In addition to its basinwide resources plan-
ning activities, FWQA reviews proposed water
resource projects on an individual basis to en-
sure that these projects do not have an adverse
effect on water quality and that, when it can
contribute to the economical control of pollu-
tion, storage for water quality is included in
Federal reservoirs. As an example, plans for a
Federally-assisted project on the Alcovy River,
Georgia, were changed considerably after it was
shown that the removal of vegetation along the
stream channel would adversely affect water
quality and be detrimental to fish and wildlife.
Revisions made will result in maintaining much
of the stream channel and its present cover.
greatly reducing the amount of dredging and
providing additional safeguards to minimize the
removal of vegetation along the river bank.
FWQA also makes recommendations to Fed-
eral construction agencies for inclusion of stor-
age for water quality management in proposed
projects. Higher sustained streamfiows are
sometimes needed, in addition to adequate
treatment of wastes and other controls, to meet
water quality standards.
River basin planning can yield important re-
suits in developing solutions to complex pollu-
tion problems that must be dealt with along
the lines of entire basins and that cannot be
solved without a coordinated effort by all par-
ties involved. The information collected and the
plans developed under this program have
served as a springboard for a number of State
clean-up programs. For example, a mine drain-
age study conducted as part of a comprehensive
water pollution planning effort in the Pennsyl-
vania portion of the Susquehanna River Basin
has resulted in a substantial State program to
abate mine drainage pollution. The study re-
sulted in the locating of over 1.000 mine drain-
age discharges causing gross water quality deg-
radation in 1,200 miles of stream. It was found
that restoration of streams polluted with mine
drainage could be accomplished through a pro-
gram which included mine sealing, neutraliza-
tion, land treatment, and water regulation and
diversion. Selective implementation of action
called for by the water quality management
study is underway with the aid of a conserva-
tion bond issue adopted by the Pennsylvania
legislature which provides $150,000,000 for the
reclamation of areas disturbed by mining and
the abatement of mine drainage pollution.
In addition to direct planning activities,
FWQA is supporting regional planning through
grants to planning agencies at the State and
local level. These grants are designed to stimu-
late the kind of State and local planning which
is important to the implementation and improve-
ment of water quality standards along river
basin lines. This program was initiated in 1967,
and 12 studies are underway with total Federal
costs of over $2.5 million. The Federal share is
limited to 50 percent of the costs of developing
the plan. These grants afford agencies at the
State and local level a unique opportunity to
participate in solving their pollution problems
on a coordinated, long-range basis.
Under this program, the Santa Anna Wa-
tershed Planning Agency in California is devel-
oping a pollution control plan which will pro-
vide for eventual reuse of the reclaimed water.
In this watershed, available surface water flows
are almost completely developed and large
quantities of Colorado River water are being
imported. In areas near the coast, because of
heavy pumping, groundwaters are threatened
by salt water intrusion. The plan being devel-
oped will consider both surface and groundwa-
ters and provides for pollution control and
wastewater reclamation and reuse as an inte-
gral part of the water supply program in the
watershed.
The Miami Conservancy District in Ohio is
also conducting a planning study partially
funded by an FWQA planning grant. The study
is utilizing an extremely sophisticated systems
analysis technique to relate water quality, flood
control, and other factors involved in water
quality management decisions in the basin. The
plan will consider the whole range of effects on
water quality of such alternatives as in-stream
aeration, use of abundant groundwater supplies
to augment streamfiow, and the regionalization
of waste treatment facilities.
FWQA is also assisting a planning effort in
Puerto Rico. The Commonwealth planning is
aimed at developing programs to encourage in-
dustrial growth while maintaining and enhanc-
ing water quality. The Island’s development has
centered around the recreation industry for
which water quality is obviously vital. The plan
will provide for the protection of these recrea-
tional amenities in the face of future industrial
development.
48
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The emphasis in the President’s environmen-
tal message and Secretary Hickel’s recently
published regulations on conformance of waste
treatment plant construction with basin pro-
grams and regional planning to ensure speedy
and coordinated pollution abatement will re-
quire increased emphasis on the part of FWQA
on implementing effective short-term planning
and appraisals. The new regulations will require
that, within a river basin, each treatment facility
be part of a basinwide plan for pollution abate-
ment and within a given city, each treatment
plant be included in a metropolitan or regional
waste treatment plan. The Agency’s planners
are developing a procedure to evaluate grant
applications to help the States meet the require-
ments of the regulations and to better integrate
planning and facilities construction, so that in
the near future planning can be used to
efficiently and effectively guide waste treatment
installation. This will place additional and im-
mediate demands on FWQA’s planning capac-
ity.
Towards this end, FWQA is increasing the
emphasis upon quick appraisals of the status of
comprehensive and coordinated programs in
each river basin and preparing to make quick
evaluations of the adequacy of and need for
planning within metropolitan areas. In the latter
regard, FWQA is working with the Department
of Housing and Urban Development. Last year
FWQA’s Northeast Regional office, working
with Housing and Urban Development, devel-
oped a joint set of comprehensive guidelines for
regional sewerage systems. These guidelines can
be used in preparing plans for metropolitan
sewerage systems and are sanctioned by both
Housing and Urban Development and the
FWQA.
To assist in basin and regional planning,
FWQA has developed a highly sophisticated
systems analysis capability. Models have been
developed to show the relationships between
various stream flows, waste loads, water uses,
and other factors that influence water quality.
These models can handle up to fifteen sections
of stream, fifteen reservoirs, ten discharge
points and natural pollutants. Although rela-
tively new, these models have been used suc-
cessfully on the Sabine River, Texas; Skunk
River, Iowa; Scioto River; Ohio; James River,
Virginia; Broud River. South Carolina, and
many others. For a given river basin, the mod-
els can provide information to determine how
management practices influence water quality
and what changes in management could be ex-
pected to provide a certain water quality and
the cost of that quality.
Models have also been developed for the
Delaware Estuary, and these are now being ap-
plied to the Potomac River—Chesapeake Bay
system. These models help to relate tidal effects
to water pollution. The Delaware model has
provided a tool for determining the needed
releases from upstream to protect Philadelphia’s
water intake from excessive salinity intrusion
during periods of drought.
Another systems technique was applied in
the San Joaquin Master Drain study in Califor-
nia. Here the model required inclusion of eco-
nomic information, as well as the waste sources.
The model provided the basis of measuring the
impact of planned water resource development
on an inland agricultural area, as well as on San
Francisco Bay. Of major concern was the im-
pact of pesticides and nutrients resulting from
agricultural drainage. Through the use of this
model, alternative locations of the drain outfall
with consequent economic costs were deter-
mined, as were the costs of alternative treat-
ment measures.
As planning for basinwide pollution abate-
ment and regional waste treatment moves ahead
in the future, the systems capability developed
by FWQA will become increasingly important
in the Nation’s battle to achieve clean water.
Estuarine and Coastal Studies
For well over three and a half centuries, the
estuarine and coastal waters of our Nation were
thought of primarily as conveniences—places
for the conduct of international commerce, lo-
cations for the residential and industrial devel-
opment that resulted in our great cities, sites for
mineral exploitation, and dumps for all kinds of
wastes. Although this thinking is still common-
place, times are changing, and more and more
people are becoming increasingly aware of the
necessity to change our behavior with regard to
these waters. We can no longer afford to treat
our estuaries and the coastal waters over our
Continental Shelf as endless sewers.
Because estuarine and Continental Shelf wa-
ters are so closely interrelated, pollution in one
zone will affect the other. For example, hard
pesticides, which are carried down rivers from
the agricultural uplands and tend to accumulate
in waters near the mouths of rivers, eventually
spread into the surrounding oceanic waters.
Conversely, an oil spill caused by the breakup
of a tanker at sea will ultimately spread to the
coastline, there to foul beaches and kill wildlife
and waterfowl. Modification of the shoreline by
dredging and filling will have an effect on life
far out to sea. Ocean outfalls, while disposing
of wastes at a distance from shore, are fre-
49
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;z
The polluted waters of upper New York Bay form the foreground
for this view of Manhattan. Ocean outfalls and dumping of solid wastes
imperil the fish and bottom fauna of these and other marine waters.
quently responsible for water conditions which
make a shoreline area unfit for swimming or
shelifishing. Sludge and solid wastes that are
barged out to sea for dumping can return to
shore on the currents and tides. Continental
Shelf mineral development—ever increasing in
importance—has the potential for major envi-
ronmental damage.
The condition of the New York Bight area
is a startling illustration of disposal wastes into
coastal and ocean waters. The dumping of
wastes near the New Jersey coast has recently
come to the attention of a shocked public.
Sewage sludge, treated and untreated, and
various industrial wastes are a primary concern.
A dumping area of approximately 14 square
miles has been damaged and its bottom fauna
severely impoverished. Even several species
normally tolerant to pollution are absent from
this area and evidence of pollution has been
found on nearby beaches.
Not far away in the New York Harbor area,
an outbreak of fish diseases has occurred over a
three-year period. Large numbers of fish have
neither tails nor fins, and there is some evidence
that pollution may be at least partially responsi-
ble. Fish kills in the area are numerous, and
there is growing concern about the contamina-
tion of shellfish—a threat both to the harvesting
industry and to public health.
Federal Water Quality Administration
(FWQA) over the last several years has
strengthened its various programs, giving in-
creasing emphasis to estuarine and coastal pol-
lution. Increased enforcement activity along the
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coast—such as the recent conferences in Bis-
cayne and Mobile Bays—has already been
highlighted. Added emphasis is being given to
oil clean-up activities. FWQA is now accelerat-
ing its work with the Coast Guard to prepare
plans for a more speedy reaction to oil pollu-
tion incidents. Research and training programs
that have a relationship to estuarine and coastal
problems have also been increased. More em-
phasis is being given to studying pollution ef-
fects and ecological damages in the estuaries.
More research chemists and marine biologists
are being trained in FWQA-funded programs.
Because of the long-term cumulative im-
pacts on the estuaries and coastal environment
and because of the many interrelated actions
affecting these waters—dredging and filling of
marshes and construction of navigation facili-
ties—considerable emphasis must be given to
the overall planning and management of this
valuable environment. Planning to protect our
estuaries and coastal waters is a clear-cut exam-
ple of the pressing need for environmental plan-
fling described previously.
As a result of increased public awareness of
estuarine and coastal pollution problems, the
Congress directed that a survey of estuarine
pollution be made. FWQA, in November. 1969.
submitted the report of this first comprehensive.
definitive study of estuarine pollution to the
Congress. With this report. the National Es-
tuarine Pollution Study, proposed legislation
for a comprehensive national management pro-
gram for the estuaries and coastal zones, based
on the report’s recommendations, was sub-
mitted to the Congress.
The Study sought to obtain detailed informa-
tion on the biophysicial. socio-economic, and
institutional aspects of estuaries from a variety
of sources. First, a series of 30 public meetings
was held in the various coastal States to obtain
information and opinion from the local citizens
who are most directly affected by estuarine pol-
lution. Second. information was collected from
the coastal States concerning their laws and
programs affecting estuarine uses and manage-
ment. Third. studies were contracted to provide
needed background on certain aspects of spe-
cific estuaries or on a restricted aspect of the
Nation’s estuarine areas. These include studies
on ecology, economic and social values, sedi-
mentation. and law. Reports on some of these
studies are being published as the Estuarine
Pollution Study Series. The first of these is enti-
tled, Legal Perspectives of Chesapeake Bay.
Others to be published will include A Socio-
economic Analysis of Narrangansett Bay, and
The Social and Economic Values of Estuaries.
A major part of the study was the develop-
ment of the National Estuarine inventory, an
automated information system. This massive
compilation of coastal zone information is the
basis for the development of a continuing na-
tional Coastal Zone Management Information
System to satisfy the information requirements
of States, Federal agencies, and other entities
for factual data on which to make decisions.
The recommendations which were presented
in the Study were predicated upon the concept
that the States should have the major responsi-
bility for managing the estuarine and coastal
zones and that the Federal role should be to
provide coordination of the State programs
within the national plan, to provide technical
and financial assistance to the States and their
subdivisions and to arbitrate conflicts between
States.
Legislation to promote these aims is pres-
ently being considered by the Congress. The
bill, if enacted, will provide for Federal grant
support of State management programs. The
prime objective will be the management of the
estuarine zones in such a way as to permit max-
imum beneficial use with minimum damage.
Closely related to the National Estuarine
Pollution Study (NEPS). the Fish and Wildlife
Service has recently completed the National Es-
ruarv Study (N ES). This study involved an in-
tensive look at fish, wildlife, and recreational
values of the coastal zone for the purpose of
recommending a scheme for protection of ex-
tremely valuable areas. FWQA assisted in this
latter study by making the data bank of NEPS
available to the Fish and Wildlife Service as its
base source of information. The NES is a corn-
plementarv effort to FWQA’s broader study of
man’s activities in the coastal zone and how
pollution from these activities causes environ-
mental damage to coastal resources.
FWQA has also sponsored a major study,
conducted by the National Academy of Science
and the National Academy of Engineering, to
determine the state of knowledge on ocean
waste disposal. The findings of the study are
being used to help formulate approaches to the
problem. A report—Wastes Management Con-
cepts for the Coastal Zone—will be published
later this year.
FWQA will continue to conduct and fund
studies to increase our knowledge of the estu-
aries, their resources, the damages done to them
by pollution. and their relationships to the sur-
rounding land. In addition, direct technical and
financial assistance will be provided to States for
management and improvement of their estu-
aries.
51
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Data and Information
Effective implementation and enforcement of
water quality standards, development of re-
gional and basin plans, administration of grants.
and preparation of reports assessing costs of
pollution control and abatement progress re-
quire up-to-date. accurate fact-finding and
readily available data.
Several types of technical information are re-
quired to meet the various needs: specific data
covering the status and effectiveness of munici-
pal, industrial and Federal waste treatment and
control facilities; current economic data asso-
ciated with construction activities; and water
quality data related to the water quality stand-
ards.
Collection, evaluation, and dissemination of
data on chemical, physical, and biological
water quality and other information relating to
water pollution discharges is an essential ele-
ment of the Federal Water Quality Administra-
tion (FWQA) program. Through effective co-
ordination with other Federal and State agen-
cies, such data and information are utilized at
the national, regional and basin levels.
Collection and timely evaluation of reliable
information on water quality is vital to the
effective management of a dynamic national
pollution control program. This has always
been a requirement, but the need has intensified
with the establishment and implementation of
water quality standards and the resulting ne-
cessity of identifying priorities in waste treat-
ment facility construction. Regardless of the
number of treatment facilities constructed or
the number of basin management plans com-
pleted, in the final analysis, program effective-
ness can only be measured in terms of actual
water quality improvements. And, this can be
achieved only through adequate monitoring of
water quality.
Thus, FWQA has been reorienting and ex-
panding its data collection activities to identify
compliance and noncompliance with water
quality standards; improvements in water qual-
ity resulting from pollution abatement meas-
ures, such as waste treatment facility construc-
tion; and emerging water quality problems that
should be corrected before crises arise.
Key steps required in the development of an
adequate nationwide water quality surveillance
system involve planning the system in close co-
ordination with State and other Federal water
data collection agencies and implementing the
system by utilizing existing programs of
FWQA, State pollution control agencies and
other Federal water data collection agencies,
principally the U.S. Geological Survey. During
the past year, plans for integrated State-Federal
water quality monitoring systems have been de-
veloped for six of the nine F\VQA Regions and
are now being implemented.
If a surveillance system is to be fully effec-
tive, thorough attention must be given to its
design as well as its operation. In recognition of
this, a systems analysis approach to the design
of optimum water quality monitoring programs
is under development. This approach will per-
These automatic monitors gather the accurate, up-to-date data required for effective implementation of water quality standards.
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52
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mit the monitoring subsystems, making up the
nationwide integrated State-Federal surveillance
system, to be designed and updated as necessary
on a uniform basis in such a way as to ensure
maximum program effectiveness.
To ensure the reliability of data collected by
the coordinated program, an analytical quality
control program, which is now under develop-
ment, will become an integral part of the over-
all system. All cooperating agencies will be ex-
pected to participate in such a program. Thus
far, a manual entitled, Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration Methods for Chemical
Analysis of Water and Wastes, 1969, has been
published and distributed to all participating
laboratories. Similar manuals covering standard
biological and bacteriological laboratory proce-
dures are under development. Quality control
checks and procedures that will be employed on
a routine basis in participating laboratories are
also being developed.
A portion of the coordinated network is al-
ready in operation. It presently utilizes approxi-
mately 400 FWQA-funded and operated sta-
tions, 260 FWQA-funded and U.S. Geological
Survey-operated stations. 200 stations jointly
funded by the State and Federal agencies and
500 State-funded and operated stations. Ulti-
mately, the network will encompass State and
Federal stations numbering in the thousands.
Network data will be supplemented by the find-
ings of the many short-term intensive field stud-
ies of specific water quality problems that are
conducted by FWQA.
In addition to water quality data, detailed
knowledge of waste sources, treatment and dis-
charges is also necessary to fulfill the needs of
FWQA programs. Municipal sewage and in-
dustrial wastes are the two largest sources of
pollutants. During 1969. the Pollution Surveil-
lance Branch completed the processing and
analysis of data on municipal waste facilities
collected in a cooperative Federal-State inven-
tory. This effort, the first since 1962, reflects
conditions as of January 1. 1968. Because the
need for timely and accurate data in this area is
so critical, procedures have been developed for
bringing the 1968 inventory up to date and for
continually updating it to keep it current. In
addition, data from the implementation plan
portion of the water quality standards have
been correlated to and integrated with the in-
ventory to show schedules for providing addi-
tional municipal waste disposal facilities.
As for industrial wastes, plans have been
made to initiate an inventory of industrial man-
ufacturing and processing plants. Initially, this
will be an in-house effort; eventually, it wifi be
expanded to a joint FWQA-State cooperative
project. Here, again, data from the implementa-
tion plans of the water quality standards will be
valuable in planning and conducting the inven-
tory. Once established, this inventory, like that
of municipal facilities, will be continuously up-
dated.
With the recent publication by the Secretary
of new construction grants regulations, data on
waste sources and discharges have become even
more important. These regulations require the
States to show that a proposed municipal facil-
ity is a part of. and in conformity with, a basin,
regional or metropolitan pollution control plan
before the project is declared eligible for a con-
struction grant. in addition, regulations pre-
scribe as a further condition for eligibility the
provision of data on all waste discharges in the
immediate proximity of a proposed plant which
may affect its design and operation. For these
reasons, additional data will be required on
wastes characteristics and strengths.
In addition to the municipal and industrial
inventories, a new collection effort has been
planned and initiated to provide data on ther-
mal discharges from electric power generating
plants. By agreement with the Federal Power
Commission, data for this inventory will be col-
lected by that agency through a questionnaire
on environmental control information.
To achieve the objectives of the coordinated
data and information program, it is essential
that the data collected be evaluated in an expe-
ditious manner and made readily available to
all users. Only in this way can appropriate fol-
low-up actions be taken. FWQA’s existing com-
puterized data storage and retrieval system
(STORET), coupled with additional com-
puter programs, will meet these requirements.
All data collected by FWQA will be placed in
STORET to be available for analysis and use.
Using the most up-to-date computer technol-
ogy, the data collected are entered in a central
computer on a daily and weekly basis by re-
mote terminals in all FWQA Regions. Simi-
larly. questions can be asked of the central
computer from the remote terminal and receive
timely responses. This application is now being
expanded to include several Federal and State
agencies.
Evaluation and dissemination of the large
amounts of data and information collected is
assisted by the STORET system. Currently, this
system is being expanded to include water qual-
ity standards and uses so that many questions
can be asked, such as what facilities have inade-
quate treatment, what type of treatment is pro-
vided or waste contributed at any source, how
53
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many miles of streams are polluted, how many
miles have been improved, what is the number
of violations of water quality standards and
where, and what uses have been affected and
over how many miles. It will be several years
before all of these questions can be accurately
asked and answered for each individual basin,
or region, or for the Nation as a whole. How-
ever, those questions must be answered to pro-
vide an effective overview of our rate of prog-
ress, and FWQA is beginning to build towards
that capability now.
A quantitative analysis of changing trends in
water quality and of the progress in abating
pollution nationwide will be essential in guiding
the course of the national water pollution con-
trol effort. It will also contribute to the assess-
ment of national environmental conditions and
trends required under the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 by indicating
whether we are gaining ground or falling behind
in pollution control.
Economic Studies
For the first time, the Nation stands on the
threshold of a major effort to reverse the herit-
age of neglect and to face the problems of a
deteriorating environment. Massive investments
will be required for environmental improvement
and the expenditure of these funds will have
major impacts on the economy. Formulation of
sound public policy will require an increasing
understanding of these costs, their distribution
throughout the economy, and their economic
impact, both on individual communities and
firms and on the economy as a whole.
For three years the Federal Water Quality
Administration (FWQA) has been conducting
a series of economic studies aimed at gaining a
deeper understanding of these factors and at
assisting the Executive Branch and the Con-
gress in formulating national policies and legis-
lation. These studies have included: analysis of
the national costs of treating municipal and in-
dustrial wastes and the impact of these costs on
State and local governments; studies of sewer
user charges as a means of financing local ex-
penditures; studies of the neec for economic
incentives for industrial waste control: and
studies to determine the extent of animal feed-
lot pollution and the costs of abating it. Collec-
tively, these studies represent the most intensive
and comprehensive effort ever made to under-
stand the costs of water pollution control.
The findings of FWQA’s economic studies
are submitted to Congress annually. The first
report projected municipal investment require-
ments for the period 1969 to 1973 and assessed
the impact of funding required to meet munici-
pal waste treatment needs on the municipal
governments and bond markets. The second re-
port examined the influences that determine in-
vestment levels and concluded that the critical
factors were to be found in the dynamics of the
situation—in the interaction of investment with
time-conditioned growth, replacement, and de-
mand for higher plant efficiencies. It was also
found that regional cost differences, transmis-
sion costs, and the influence waste loadings
were extremely important factors in analyzing
the economics of water pollution control.
During the past year, these cost studies have
concentrated on information needed to reshape
the funding of the construction grants program
to make it full adequate to meet the Nation’s
needs. The Secretary of the Interior’s legislative
proposal for a Federal, State, and local invest-
ment of SlO billion over the next four years
reflects the findings of these studies. The 1970
report, The Economics of Clean Water, defines
the rate of investment needed to close the gap
for municipal waste treatment in the years im-
mediately ahead. This report provides the most
thorough estimates ever developed for the Na-
tion’s municipal sewage treatment needs and
costs. Detailed studies of the pollutional impact
--
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. - .‘ -: - ‘ ‘- — c -
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:- -•‘ •, . ,;* -: -.. . , . .
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i i . •-“ --- -. --. . : “ —‘ — ‘ -‘ ‘
- ii..’ ,4I ’ !’ - •- ..‘ I
Polluted rivers, such as this, present a challenge to
people and governments at all levels—now is the
time to institute urgently needed action programs.
-------
of the inorganic chemicals industry and concen-
trated animal populations were also completed
as separate sub-reports.
Various aspects of the socio-economic prob-
lems of water pollution are presented in the
latest report. These include discussions and
conclusions about investment trends and needs,
Federal cost sharing, priority systems for grant
funds, public treatment of industrial wastes, and
regional waste handling systems. In addition,
several estimates discussed in earlier reports
were reviewed in view of the latest available
information. These included investment esti-
mates for collecting sewers, separation of storm
sewers, industrial waste treatment and cooling
facilities, and sediment control and acid mine
drainage reduction.
The Water Quality Improvement Act of
1970 requires that a complete investigation and
study of all methods of financing the cost of
water pollution control, other than methods au-
thorized by existing law, be made and the re-
suits submitted to Congress by December 31,
1970. To meet this requirement, FWQA has
structured a study which will deal with pollu-
tion sources of all types including, but not lim-
ited to, municipal, industrial, agricultural, land
and acid mine drainage, oil and accidental spills
and debris. Questions of responsibility, ability
to pay and equity will be addressed in allocat-
ing potential funding requirements among the
private sector and the various levels of govern-
ment. The study will examine the feasibility of a
wide range of financing possibilities in the light
of the analysis outlined above. Potential meth-
ods will include: conventional financing; loan
arrangements; user. influent and effluent
charges; taxation; insurance-type arrangements
and others. In addition, potentials for reducing
financing requirements by means of structural
policy alternatives will be assessed.
Although considerable insight into and un-
derstanding of the economics of water pollution
control has been gained through past studies,
there are still many unanswered questions con-
cerning the costs of pollution abatement and the
impact that efforts to cleanse our environment
will have on the national economy. The chal-
lenge is clear, however: if the Nation’s water
resources are to be enjoyed without the burden
of increasing water pollution, now is the time to
institute prudent action to clean up our streams.
The people and their government have accepted
the challenge. FWQA reflects their determina-
tion and will give continuing emphasis to devis-
ing policies and programs which will create a
cleaner environment in the most expeditious
and economical manner.
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
The search for new answers is an important
part of the Federal pollution control mission.
Federal Water Quality Administration
(FWQA) is conducting a research, develop-
ment, and demonstration program which is a
coordinated, problem-solving program dedi-
cated to exploratory research of new and imagi-
native pollution control methods; the engineer-
ing development of these methods to solve the
practical problems associated with bringing an
“idea” out of the laboratory and into the real
world; and the demonstration of this new tech-
nology to go that extra, normally forgotten step
of showing the decision-makers that new an-
swers, new technology have really arrived and
are available for use.
The program being conducted is highly mis-
sion-oriented. Each project responds to an iden-
tified need for an answer. These needs are spec-
ified and assigned priority primarily through
imput from the non-research elements of
FWQA. In short, responsiveness to the research
needs of the Agency is a prime responsibility of
this program.
There are really only two major categories of
“answers” being sought. First, how are the
water quality goals defined? Second, how are
these goals reached with maximum effectiveness
and at least cost? With regard to quality goals,
research is required on the effects of pollution.
What are they? How is the degree of effect
related to the amount of pollution? And, how
can the level and type of effect be predicted in
advance? With this type of information we can
improve and extend the water quality standards
now being establishe d and implemented for the
Nation’s waters. Simply knowing what water
quality is required is not enough, of course. In
those cases where we already have some ability
to control pollution, new and improved means
for control are needed in order to reduce the
cost of pollution abatement to the very mini-
mum possible. Beyond this, the need to develop
and demonstrate means for controlling that pol-
lution, which today is literally uncontrollable or
untreatable at any cost, is assuming a high prior-
ity. Corollary to and, in fact, inseparable from
this objective is the simultaneous upgrading of
wastewater quality such that used water may be
reused again—a concept of major significance
in extending our relatively dwindling fresh
water supply.
55
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To assist in managing this program and in
setting priorities and resource allocations, a
problem-oriented project categorization is uti-
lized. Eight major categories exist: the first five
relate to single-source-related pollution prob-
lems from municipal, industrial, agricultural,
mining, and from other sources. The last three
categories relate to problems of a multiple-
source nature, where the answers will be ap-
plicable broadly to many different sources of
pollution. In the single-source category FWQA
is working on such pollution problems as com-
bined sewer discharges, pulp and paper wastes,
agricultural runoff, acid mine drainage and oil
pollution. In the multi-source categories FWQA
has programs on eutrophication, thermal pollu-
tion, removal of nutrients and refractory or-
ganics, and effects of pesticides and other
pollutants on fish and aquatic life. The mechan-
isms utilized in carrying out this program are
three-fold:
(1) In-house research and development at
eight laboratory locations and a number of as-
sociated field sites.
(2) Contract projects, primarily with in-
dustry.
(3) Grant projects with universities, in-
dustries, States and municipalities.
Contract projects are funded entirely with Fed-
eral dollars and are utilized primarily for labo-
ratory investigations and pilot-scale research
projects which involve a high degree of uncer-
tainty and which are primarily aimed at deter-
mination of feasibility and development of de-
sign requirements. These are not the types of
projects that municipalities and private corpo-
rations will readily sponsor with matching funds
because of the large degree of risk involved.
The work performed under contracts often re-
quires highly-specialized personnel, equipment
and facilities, having a high value over a short
period of time, but limited value in the long
term.
Grant projects require some level of match-
ing support from the grantee. Grants are em-
ployed in meeting objectives where it is desira-
ble to utilize State, municipal, academic or in-
dustrial talents and expertise in carrying out
research, development and, often, demonstra-
tion efforts on a cost-sharing basis to the mu-
tual benefit of both the Federal government and
the grantee.
F\VQA’s in-house activity forms the real
foundation of an effective overall program. In-
house researchers must establish objectives and
plans of attack; they must review and evaluate
the many, many project proposals received by
this Agency: and they must be the ones to inte-
grate the results of these efforts into a usable
and applicable form. To do this most effec-
tively, in-house staff must be involved in the
work for which they are responsible.
FWQA’s program is predicated on the as-
signment of specific areas of technical responsi-
bility to each of eight laboratories. In this was’,
each laboratory functions as a national focal
point for research on a given set of problems,
and duplication of facilities, staff and effort
among the various laboratories is avoided. Re-
search laboratories are located in Cincinnati,
Ohio; Athens, Gerogia; Ada, Oklahoma; Cor-
vallis, Oregon; College, Alaska; Duluth, Minne-
sota; Narragansett, Rhode Island; and Edison,
New Jersey. These laboratories are also respon-
sible for operating a number of field sites to
carrying out pilot plant work and necessary
Research on advanced waste
treatment technology is carried
out at FWQA laboratories
and through field evaluations.
56
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field studies. FWQA operates such field sites at
Pomona and Firebaugh, California; Ely, Min-
nesota; Lebanon and Newtown, Ohio; Norton,
West Virginia; and Washington, D.C.
In addition to the in-house efforts carried on
at agency laboratories, FWQA is also involved
in a number of joint efforts with the Bureau of
Reclamation, Atomic Energy Commission,
Office of Saline Water, Office of Water Re-
sources Research, Public Health Service, and
Tennessee Valley Authority.
Notable in the research, development and
demonstration program are the special authori-
ties to support both pilot-scale and full-scale
demonstration projects on storm and combined
sewer discharges, advanced waste treatment and
wastewater renovation, and industrial waste
treatment and control. These projects are par-
ticularly significant in permitting FWQA to
carry on research and development findings into
the demonstration phase, thereby literally show-
ing what can be accomplished through the use
of new technology and at what cost.
In order to effectively manage this program,
communicate the results to users, and respond
to special Administration, Congressional and
public requests, a computerized management in-
formation system was instituted. As a result,
up-to-date information is readily available on
nearly 2,000 projects, on future needs, on
priorities, on work plans, and on necessary
planning, programming and budgeting data to
effectively direct future efforts.
A supplementary project reports system has
been established for the acquisition, filing, in-
dexing and, most importantly, dissemination of
research results. The final results in the form of
reports and publications are indexed into a
technical library, distributed, and made known
to a wide range of users both inside and outside
FWQA. In Executive Order 11514, President
Nixon directed that the results of Federal re-
search programs be made available for wide-
spread use. FWQA will continue to emphasize
this important aspect of the research, develop-
ment and demonstration program.
The problems of water pollution, as pre-
viously described in the “Water Pollution and
the Environment” chapter of this report, are so
complex, so varied and so numerous that they
have multiplied faster than solutions. To ensure
that our technology is improving and to make
existing control methods more effective in the
overall effort to make America’s waters clean
and useable, FWQA has intensified its research
programs. The Water Quality Improvement Act
of 1970, enacted and signed into law recently,
added emphasis to research programs in oil pol-
lution, acid mine drainage, vessel pollution, and
pollution in the Great Lakes, and FWQA is
moving to meet these responsibilities.
The eight categories of research being con-
ducted in FWQA’s program are directed at
solving the problems already discussed. These
categories, the problems at which they are fo-
cused, and some of the recent accomplishments
of the research are discussed below.
Municipal Pollution Control Technology
Municipal wastes, as indicated earlier, are a
major source of pollution in the United States.
Although a technology to treat these wastes has
already been developed and is being applied,
FWQA is continuing the search for better and
more efficient ways of treating municipal wastes
in conventional systems. For example, signifi-
cant improvement and upgrading of treatment
in overloaded plants has been demonstrated
using synthetic organic polyelectrolytes.
Another major concern is research on meth-
ods to control the more complex municipal
problems, such as combined sewer and urban
sediment control. Combined sewers carry both
sanitary sewage and urban runoff. During
storms, the volumes in these sewers are often
too much for local treatment plants and wastes
are discharged untreated. Yet control of these
discharges has largely been neglected until re-
cent years because the only method of solving
Improved methods of controlling storm sewers are being developed.
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the problem was separation of combined sew-
ers, a costly and disruptive process. Through
the efforts of FWQA’s research program, a new
technology for control of sewer discharges is
being developed.
One of the alternatives being demonstrated is
storage of excessive flows until they can be re-
leased to the treatment plants. Full-scale stor-
age facilities under construction in Boston,
Massachusetts; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Dallas,
Texas; and Shelbyville, illinois, have deter-
mined the design criteria necessary for such fa-
cilities. Cost-effectiveness evaluation will allow
other communities to economically design simi-
lar combined sewer pollution abatement facili-
ties.
Another major alternative is treatment. Ex-
isting municipal and industrial treatment proc-
esses cannot be utilized for combined sewer ov-
erflow treatment because of the intermittent,
widely fluctuating high-flow rates and the dy-
namic quality changes of combined sewer over-
flows. Screening and dissolved air flotation are
two treatment methods which are amenable to
the above constraints.
The demonstration of a novel, rotating col-
lar, vibratory base screening treatment unit for
combined sewer overflows was carried out in
Portland, Oregon. in 1969. The unit provided
primary treatment to normally bypassed sewage
at a cost only slightly higher than the equivalent
conventional treatment. The space utilization of
the screens is one-tenth that of settling tanks.
Through these studies, a combination of con-
trol methods is being developed which will be
applicable to the different combined and storm-
water sewer problems throughout the country.
Although determinations of the cost of control-
ling these discharges by the new methods being
demonstrated are very preliminary, the total job
may cost only about one-third of the earlier
estimates based on separation.
Erosion and sediment from urban areas
cloud rivers and impair their use. These waters
generally are not confined to sewers, so the
above methods cannot be applied to solve the
problem. The National Association of Counties
Reseach Foundation, in conjunction with
FWQA, has therefore developed a Community
Action Guide for Erosion and Sediment Con-
trol. This document will aid local officials in
developing erosion and sediment control ordi-
nances to control pollution from urban develop-
ment construction projects. The control pro-
grams would be based on the establishment of
control ordinances and on the use of present
technology, such as vegetation control, mulch-
ing, sediment traps and other common erosion
4--
ft
control practices. Adoption of effective control
programs based on this guide will substantially
reduce the silt load to urban waters.
Of great importance is FWQA’s research on
joint treatment of municipal and industrial
wastes. As has been pointed out, the benefits of
joint treatment are considerable. Industry, while
paying operating costs, is spared the burden of
the capital costs; and regionalization of waste
treatment and economies of scale help com-
munities achieve more effective pollution con-
trol.
The benefits of joint treatment are recog-
nized. Certain industrial wastes, however, have
proved difficult to treat effectively in combina-
tion with domestic wastes. In this regard, our
demonstration of the feasibility of joint treat-
ment of domestic sewage and semi-chemical
pulping waste from a paper mill in 1969 at
Erie, Pennsylvania, was an encouraging break-
through.
In addition, a joint municipal-industrial
wastewater treatment engineering study of the
Onondaga Lake watershed was also completed
last year. Approximately 140 industries in the
watershed participated in the study by assisting
in characterizing their wastes, and it was rec-
ommended that a joint treatment system be im-
plemented by Onondaga County during the re-
maining phases of the project.
The successful demonstration of joint treat-
ment of industrial wastes in municipal treat-
ment systems holds great promise for the fu-
ture. FWQA is encouraging such joint treat-
ment and numerous communities with signifi-
cant industry within their jurisdiction are con-
sidering such treatment.
Under water storage facilities for combined sewer over-
flows have been developed with the help of Federal grarts.
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Industrial Pollution Control Technology
Industrial waste discharges, together with
municipal wastes, comprise the two largest
sources of pollution. Industrial wastes are com-
plex—a result of the wide variety of products
manufactured—and are discharged in enor-
mous volumes. In order to effectively control
pollution, industries must often face the heavy
financial burden of installing waste treatment
facilities. Current waste treatment methods,
while sometimes adequate, are expensive and in
many instances offer little hope of providing the
type and degree of treatment which will be re-
quired in the future. Because of the competitive
economic aspects, industries are continually
searching for new means of reducing their
wastes at lower costs.
An effective attack on industrial pollution—
wastes from metal, chemical, petroleum, coal,
paper and other product manufacture—requires
a cooperative industry-government effort to
conceive, develop, demonstrate, and install
treatment processes, process modifications, and
water conservation programs. Already, research
funded by FWQA covers some industrial prob-
lems from almost all major sources of industrial
pollution.
A grant project with the American Oil Com-
pany at its Mandan, North Dakota, refinery has
demonstrated the feasibility of using a commer-
cially available fluidized-bed incinerator for the
disposition of refinery sludges. The project was
initiated in May. 1968, and inquiries to date by
others in the industry show a keen interest in
the utilization of this technique to resolve their
sludge disposal problems. Another oil company
has indicated its desire to apply the method at
its own refinery. The American Oil Company is
presently considering the possible use of a
much larger fluidized-bed unit at the Whiting,
Indiana, refinery in the near future.
The color of pulp and paper mill wastes has
long been an aesthetic nuisance, difficult to con-
trol. Interstate Paper Corporation at Riceboro,
Georgia, has demonstrated the lime coagulation
process for the removal of color from kraft
pulping effluents. This installation is the first
full-scale operation of its type and has obtained
color reductions greater than 90 percent
throughout the experimental program. The re-
suits of this grant have been utilized by both
paper companies and State agencies in selection
of effluent treatment processes to meet receiving
water quality standards.
FWQA and the State of Vermont have
jointly entered into a demonstration project
which provides an excellent illustration of the
side benefits of some industrial pollution con-
trol. A project initiated in late 1968 on the
conversion of cottage cheese whey into an edi-
ble grade material has produced, on a pilot-
scale, a high grade food powder for human
consumption. A plant for the full-scale demon-
stration of the developed process has been com-
pleted and will be operable in 1970. The plant
could ultimately have the capacity to produce
20 million pounds per year of dried edible
whey. Cheese whey produced in this country
represents pollution equivalent to that produced
by a population of 16 million people.
FWQA research and de ’eiupwe t grants have been made to the pulp
and paper industry to develop more effecfive and less costly treatment
processes.
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With the expansion of both the population
and the industrial sector and the corresponding
needs for water, conservation of water is be-
coming increasingly important. Much of today’s
research is directed toward finding easy-to-treat
and re-use water effluents. A project with the
Johns-Manvile Products Corporation in Defi-
ance, Ohio, demonstrates that a wastewater
treatment system using diatomite filtration can
effectively treat a waste stream, containing glass
fibers, caustic and phenols, to a quality suitable
for process reuse. The treatment facilities are
operating on a 72,000 gallon-per-day basis with
effective pollution control a demonstrated suc-
cess.
Agricultural Pollution Control Technology
The most difficult sources of wastes to con-
trot are those that do not come out of pipes.
Agricultural pollution is a good example of
such ‘ diffuse” wastes. Major forms of pollution
associated with agriculture have already been
identified as problems in earlier sections of the
report. They include: nutrients; pesticides; salts
and other materials in irrigation return flows;
animal feedlot wastes; and silt and other solids
from logging operations. Most of these wastes
are not collectible and, therefore, cannot be
treated in a conventional fashion. New and im-
aginative solutions are being sought for these
problems.
Projects with Cornell University. South Car-
olina State, and South Dakota University are
aimed at studying the addition of nutrients to
streams from cropping practices as related to
their respective geoagranomic areas. This is a
precursor to the development of criteria for new
management concepts that include considera-
tions for waste management.
The quality of irrigation return flows is a
major problem in the arid sections of the coun-
try, primarily because of nutrients, silt, and
salts. Treatment of such flows has long been
considered impractical. A development pro-
gram at Firebaugh, California, has developed
two techniques for removing nitrates from irri-
gation return waters. These will be demon-
strated on an engineering scale to obtain more
definitive operating and cost data that will be
applicable to a complete treatment system for
the entire San Luis Drain.
Work is also under way with the Bureau of
Reclamation to demonstrate a technique of
forecasting the effects of irrigation practices on
the quality of underground aquifers and surface
streams before lands are irrigated. This method
will enable us to make better provision for
avoiding water quality damage in planning and
developing new irrigation projects.
The tremendous load of animal wastes dis-
charged from a rapidly growing number of ani-
mal feedlots is an area of particular concern in
FWQAs research program. Projects have been
initiated to demonstrate available techniques for
treating runoff from animal feeding operations
and for preventing its discharge to receiving wa-
ters. These include activated sludge, oxidation
ditch, anaerobic-aerobic lagooning and manage-
ment changes to control and collect the runoff.
Cooperative projects with the Department of
Agriculture have also been initiated to deter-
mine the quantity and pathways of nitrate addi-
tion to surface streams and underground water
formations from excreta in beef feeding opera-
tions.
Mining Pollution Control Technology
Mine drainage, as noted in the discussions in
“Water Pollution and the Environment” is a
major pollution problem, particularly in the
Appalachian Region. Past attempts to prevent
or reduce such drainage have generally failed,
and FWQA is emphasizing research to demon-
strate the technology necessary to control such
wastes.
A new method of preventing the formation
of acid mine drainage has been proven through
laboratory studies which have shown that an
inert gas atmosphere which displaces oxygen
will prevent acid mine drainage formation.
This method is presently being field tested in an
Thousands of beef cattle are concenirated in pens. Drain-
age from nich feedlots Is a major pollution problem.
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abandoned underground mine and is also bein
studied for use in operating underground mines.
When applied to an operating mine this tech-
nique might also reduce the fire and explosion
hazards to gassy mines.
Two methods of hydraulically sealing under-
ground mines have also been demonstrated in
the field. The first method used quick setting
cementation materials placed near the mine
portal; it was, however, relatively expensive.
The second method used lime and limestone to
eventually form an impermeable seal, also
placed near the mine portal. This method was
less expensive than the former.
The passage of the Water Quality Improve-
ment Act of 1970 adds new emphasis to
FWQA’s program to demonstrate abatement
techniques which will contribute substantially to
effective and practical methods of acid or other
mine water pollution control. As a result of the
mandate of the new Act, the Agency will be
stepping up its research in this area.
Control of Pollution from Other Sources
In addition to the pollutants already identi-
fied, there are a number of very significant
waste sources for which improved technology is
needed. These include recreational and com-
mercial vessels, construction projects and im-
poundments, salt water intrusion, dredging, and
oil pollution. Although some work has been
done on all these problems, emphasis was given
to vessel and oil pollution. The Water Quality
Improvement Act of 1970 directs further atten-
tion to these sources of waste.
Increasing amounts of wastes are discharged
from the ever-growing number of recreational
and commercial vessels which use both inland
and coastal waters. Suitable on-board equip-
ment for properly treating or holding vessel
wastes must be developed. In response to a re-
quest for proposals to demonstrate the feasibil-
ity of various control and ‘or treatment con-
cepts for wastes generated on vessels, four proj-
ects were undertaken in 1969. One system
demonstrated holding tanks on pleasure craft
and an underwater storage bag for temporary
storage of the pleasure craft waste prior to dis-
posal by trucking to a sewage treatment plant.
Other concepts are for holding tanks on large
vessels and treatment utilizing an electro-chemi-
cal flocculating concept.
Closely related to vessel waste control, oil
pollution has become a problem of major pro-
portions and of increasing concern. The effects
of drilling and tanker accidents, which release
large quantities of crude oil into our coastal
waters, have been described in detail elsewhere
in the report. But the technology to avoid and
to clean up such “spills” is woefully inadequate.
Primary program emphasis last year was
placed on development of devices and tech-
niques to restore oil contaminated beaches and
to harvest oil from the water surface without
the aid of additives. Fabrication of a unique
centrifugal oil-water separator having high ca-
pacity and efficiency and relatively low power
requirements was recently completed. An oil
harvesting device for oil clean-up is also be-
ing designed and fabricated. The two units will
be combined and tested at sea early in 1970.
Demonstration projects in progress under
the direction of the Maine Port Authority in
Portland, Maine, and the City of Buffalo, New
York, developed valuable practical information
on the effectiveness of a variety of oil contain-
ment and clean-up devices and techniques
which were evaluated under actual conditions.
In-sewer instrumentation for oil detection and
oil traps was developed, demonstrated and eval-
uated. Modification of the inverted siphon is
indicated to be an effective oil trap.
In order to use any of the above methods of
treatment, the oil must be contained in the local
area of the discharge or spill. A system of
booms is generally used for containment, but
the present systems have not been effective.
Model studies were therefore initiated to de-
velop criteria for effective design of booms for
harbors, rivers and estuaries.
An increasing amount of attention is being
given to methods of preventing oil pollution
from tankers. For example, the purpose of one
project started in 1969 was to determine the
A sewage freaünent system is installed aboard a Great Lakes freighter.
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.7,-
Straw and booms are still two of the best methods of
controlling and cleaning up oil spills. Research and
development efforts are aimed at improving tith
technology.
feasibility of transporting oil in the form of a
highly viscous emulsion, created by using ul-
trasonic techniques and certain additives. The
thicker substance of the oil would prevent cargo
loss in event of accidents. The same principle is
being applied in the development of chemicals
to rapidly gel oil within a tanker compartment
after leaks are developed.
A joint American Petroleum Institute-
FWQA Conference on Prevention and Control
of Oil Spills was held in December. 1969. The
meeting attracted over 1,200 registrants and 42
equipment exhibitors. Information developed in
the course of industry and government pro-
grams in this country and the United Kingdom
was exchanged, and reports were made on ex-
perience with the clean-up of recent large spills.
The Conference summary pointed out some ad-
vances in oil pollution control technology but
strongly emphasized the need for much greater
effort in this area.
Water Quality Control Technology
This part of the research program includes
all research, development and demonstration
directed toward: the prevention and control of
accelerated eutrophication and thermal pollu-
tion; the control of pollution by means other
than waste treatment (e.g. industrial manufac-
turing process change to eliminate a waste); the
socio-economic, legal and institutional aspects
of pollution; the assessment and control of pol-
lution in extremely cold climates; and the iden-
tification, source and fate of pollutants in sur-
face, ground and coastal waters.
The accelerated aging (eutrophication) of
our lakes, brought on by the increased dis-
charge of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous)
from municipal and industrial wastes and land
runoff, has become a problem of major propor-
tions. Technology has rapidly developed to
effectively and economically control phosphor-
ous discharges from municipal treatment plants
to alleviate a portion of the problem and hope-
fully retard the aging process. Efforts are being
made toward the replacement of the phosphates
in laundry detergents with environmentally less
harmful materials to eliminate this major source
of nutrients. Many and varied approaches are
being considered and new ideas sought to com-
bat this extremely complex problem.
Another problem facing us results from the
increased demand for electrical energy and the
attendant requirement to dissipate waste heat to
the aquatic environment. Significant effort is
being expended to determine the actual temper-
ature requirements of our surface waters and
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aquatic life and to discover means of preventing
harmful effects of heat.
Development of water quality control tech-
nology will become of major and increasing im-
portance as the pollution control payoff from
waste treatment becomes increasingly marginal.
This involves techniques other than conven-
tional treatment systems, such as industrial
process change or management of water re-
sources to minimize the effect of waste dis-
charges. These techniques are applicable in
concert with or after high levels of waste treat-
ment are provided.
Cold climate research has also proven to be
of significant benefit. Many problems which
have been solved elsewhere have required re-
evaluation and investigation in Alaska because
of the extremes of arctic climate. Efforts are
focused on studying pollution problems specifi-
cally in regard to the arctic environment, such
as determining the impact on Alaskan streams
of sewage and other wastes resulting from a
rapidly expanding population and industrial
growth. An extended aeration system to stabi-
lize astewater has proven effective in arctic
climates, and the use of physical-chemical tech-
niques to provide reusable water for North
Slope development camps offers promise.
The Water Quality Improvement Act of
1970 contains a special provision for demon-
stration of methods to provide central commu-
nity facilities for safe water and pollution control
in Alaskan villages. Today only eight percent of
the native homes in Alaska have adequate sani-
tation facilities. FWQA’s research and develop-
ment staff will be working with the State of
Alaska and the Department of Health, Educa-
tion and Welfare to implement this provision of
the new Act and to provide safe water and
waste treatment for Alaskan natives, using both
conventional and innovative methods.
Waste Treatment and Ultimate Disposal
Technology
Waste treatment and ultimate disposal tech-
nology focuses on the development and demon-
stration of new processes and process modifica-
tions to control pollution from any source.
There are actually two corollary objectives to
be attained through improved waste treatment
technology. The obvious one is the alleviation
of the Nation’s increasing water pollution prob-
lems through removal of pollutants from waste
effluents; the other is the renovation of waste-
waters for deliberate reuse as industrial, agri-
cultural, recreational, or, in some cases, even
municipal supplies. These two objectives cannot
really be separated, for as our ability to cleanse
wastewaters increases, the resulting product
water approaches closer and closer to, and may
even exceed, the quality of a water supply. This
concept, perhaps startling to the average citi-
zen. will nonetheless play a larger and larger
role in water resource management, especially
in water-short areas.
The need for and the degree of advanced
waste treatment will vary with the individual
local needs for control of pollution and/or in-
creased water supplies. To meet the spectrum
of needs, almost 100 different processes and
process variations for treatment and disposal of
waterborne wastes have been considered. Some
85 of these processes are under active study at
this time at almost 150 different locations
throughout the United States. These studies are
aimed at determining the efficacy and the cost
of the various unit processes which may make
up the advanced waste treatment systems of the
future.
The fruits of this program have become ap-
parent with the emergence of several advanced
waste treatment systems into the demonstration
plant phase. The methods being developed
range across the spectrum of physical, chemical
and biological techniques. They range from the
“ordinary,” such as filtration and gravity set-
tling, through the “novel,” such as biological
denitrification, to the “exotic,” such as reverse
osmosis or ultrafiltration.
The government’s investment in this effort
has paid off handsomely. First generation proc-
ess technology, capable of achieving greatly im-
proved pollution control of municipal wastes,
has already been brought to the stage of full-
scale demonstration and is now available for
use under many conditions.
An excellent example of the application of
this technology was announced March 24,
1970. by Secretary Hickel and Mayor Walter
F. Washington of Washington, D.C. The new
process to be installed at the District of Colum-
bia Blue Plains wastewater treatment plant will
substantially reduce the pollution of the Poto-
mac and is applicable to rivers and lakes
throughout the Nation.
The new technique is the result of a series of
research projects conducted jointly by FWQA
and the District at the Blue Plains plant. Pilot
plants have been testing the new system for two
years. The process couples advanced biological
techniques with a new physical-chemical treat-
ment. The precipitation phase of the treatment
process employs a greater use of chemicals than
current processes. and pure oxygen, instead of
air, is used in the biological phase of the treat-
ment. The new process appears capable of re-
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moving nearly 100 percent of the biological im-
purities. 96 percent of the phosphates and 85
percent of the nitrogen in wastewater.
The results of this program have provided
the necessary technology to reduce the pollution
from municipal sources to essentially zero. The
present cost is within economic feasibility, but
further efforts are needed to optimize both
processes and economics. This breakthrough
will mean the development of effective, safe and
economical wastewater systems, which, in ef-
fect, will amount to the same thing as creating a
new water supply.
Water Quality Requirements Research
This program provides information on the
effect of pollution needed to provide an im-
proved scientific basis for determining the water
quality necessary for municipal, industrial, agri-
cultural, and recreational uses and for the prop-
agation of fish and other aquatic life. This in-
formation is essential to the establishment and
refinement of the Nation’s water quality stand-
ards. Because of the tremendous number of
new chemical compounds being synthesized and
finding their way into our environment each
year. intensive research investigations must be
conducted to develop a predictive capability
that will allow us to predict the potential pol-
lutional impact of these compounds in advance.
Far too little is known about the effects of
pollution. The drastic effects, such as the mas-
sive fish kill, can be easily recognized, but quite
often the true cause of such events cannot be de-
fined even with extensive investigation. To look
ahead and to predict the occurrence of such
events is. unfortunately. well beyond our cur-
rent capability for any but the simplest stream
systems under the least complicated set of envi-
ronmental conditions and pollution loads.
There is also the challenge of detecting, under-
standing and preventing the more subtle, long-
term effects of pollution, which could, even
now, be robbing us of valuable water resources.
Such effects, as yet unknown. may be just as
severe as the sudden fish kill, the unpalatable
water supply or the condemned bathing beach.
Because these problems are difficult to solve
and the starting baseline inadequate, a rapidly
accelerated program has been initiated.
Extensive, background data has been ac-
quired and new test methods have been devel-
oped to better and more rapidly define the
requirements for many uses. For example, a
comprehensive research effort to develop sound
information upon which to base temperature
standards is underway. A temporary field site at
a power plant has been established. A standard
testing section to determine safe concentration
of industrial waste in a natural waterway also
continues to show promise. Our research on
water quality requirements will continue its ac-
celerated effort to provide the information nec-
essary for the establishment of scientifically
sound water quality bases.
Although there are monumental problems
still facing the research program, the Agency
and the Nation, there is much that is already
known; there are problems that have economi-
cal solutions. In the future, considerable effort
will be focused on putting the results of the
research, development and demonstration pro-
gram in the hands of those charged with imple-
menting water pollution control in our Nation.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
In the final analysis. success or failure of the
national pollution control effort will depend pri-
marily upon the human element.
It will depend upon an informed public,
which can express its voice intelligently and
effectively in decisions affecting the quality of
its environment. The President’s March 7 Exec-
utive Order, issued in furtherance of the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
placed great emphasis upon the need of the
American people to know. He directed all Fed-
eral agencies to develop procedures for keeping
the public fully informed on the environmental
impact of Federal plans and programs and for
enabling them to express their voice through
public hearings on these issues.
Our success will also depend upon training
and motivating a skilled work force to under-
take the complex and technically demanding
tasks of pollution control. People of many di-
verse skills and backgrounds will be needed to
man the waste treatment plants. the laborato-
ries. the offices of State and Federal regula-
tory agencies, industries, universities and local
governments.
For the long run, the course of pollution con-
trol will be dependent most of all upon the
attitudes and activities of the Nation’s young
people. As a group they have perceived—per-
haps better than anyone else—that the quality
of their lives in future years will depend on
what we do about the environment today.
For all these reasons. FWQA is placing
heavy emphasis upon the human element in
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pollution control—through informing the
American public, through working with youth
and through training and manpower develop-
ment.
Informing the American Public
FWQA’s public information program is
founded on the firm conviction that our agency
has a major responsibility to meet the American
public’s need and right to know.
Public information involves much more than
mere voicing of official policy. It involves pro-
viding the public with full information on efforts
to clean up the Nation’s waterways, even if
such disclosures may sometimes be controver-
sial. This outlook recognizes that public infor-
mation is often in opposition to public relations.
and that its function is to serve the public first.
As Commissioner Dominick recently told a
group of FWQA information officers, they “are
going to have to serve as the innovators, as the
creative force, as the non-bureaucratic force, as
the force in the Agency which gives us stimula-
tion. new blood, new life, new challenges, new
headaches—which gives us all of the things that
a Federal bureaucracy could do without.”
FWQA has received recognition for its infor-
mation efforts. Senate Minority Leader Hugh
Scott said in the Congressional Record of Feb-
ruary 9. 1970: “President Nixon. in his State of
the Union message. termed environment ‘the
great question of the 1970’s.’ It has become a
matter of survival. Yet, despite some encourag-
ing signs, too many Americans are still unaware
of. or refuse to face up to, the danger. Clearly.
there is an informational challenge as well.
‘With this in mind. I was particularly grati-
fied to learn that the \Vashington Chapter of the
Public Relations Society of America has, for
the second consecutive year. presented its Toth
Award for professional excellence to F\VQA’s
Public Information Office. With imagination.
inspiration, and ingenuity. they have been alert-
ing America to the multiplying dangers of pol-
lution. Their message is crucial, and they richly
deserve this recognition.”
The message is being given to the American
public by mail. by telephone, and in many other
ways. Telephone requests from the news media.
students, parents, service and fraternal organi-
zations, and the general public have come from
approximately 250 a week last year to nearly
600 a week at present. Correspondence requir-
ing replies has risen from 4.000 a month last
year to an average of 5.000 a month so far.
Over the past 30 months. the Public Informa-
tion Office has distributed over 2 million bro-
chures, leaflets, and folders dealing with such
subjects as water quality standards, estuaries,
heat pollution, acid mine drainage, a primer on
waste water treatment, fish kills. what citizens
can do about water pollution, vessel pollution.
and manpower and training needs. FWQA ex-
hibits and posters have been used by the United
States Post Office, the Water Pollution Control
Federation, the Izaak Walton League of Amer-
ica. the Audubon Society, the National Rivers
and Harbors Congress. the Boy Scouts of
America and numerous State fairs and schools.
FWQA’s efforts to inform the public have
shown particularly gratifying results in televi-
sion and radio campaigns. Eight film spots have
been distributed to television networks and sta-
tions coast-to-coast. These spots were produced
on what Variety Magazine described as a
“shoestring” budget and were good enough to
“make Madison Avenue shiver and shake.” The
Variety writeup continued: “The chiller is that
the FWPCA (sic) division of the USD of I
(United States Department of the Interior) did
it on a production budget totaling $31,000.
without an ad agency—and with a producer
who had never turned out a blurb before.” The
International Broadcasting Awards and the
American Television Commercial Awards—the
advertising world’s version of the Academy
Awards—cited the “Clean Water” television
spots as outstanding in the Public Service Cate-
gory. Twenty-five radio “Clean Water” spot an-
nouncements were produced by FWQA’s public
information program. Some were interviews
with prominent and average citizens, fishermen,
conservationists and resort owners who had suf-
fered as a result of water pollution. Another
radio series provided a recording of New Orle-
ans jazz by the Chicago Footwarmers. in which
variations of popular songs were adapted to the
theme of water pollution control.
The television and radio campaign has pro-
duced results. Mail addressed to “Clean Water,
Washington. D.C.”, solicited from viewers and
listeners has shown a sharp rise. These letters
are answered with literature which gives the
correspondent an appreciation of the problem
and of means to rectify it through community
action.
Of course there is a temptation, in the midst
of the ecological furor, to be overzealous. As a
prominent columist observed. “The environ-
ment issue lends itself to grandstanding.” It is a
situation in which the fear words and the bright
blue words come too easily. The public must
not only be alerted to hazards, but also ap-
prised of progress—progress being made in re-
search, in clean-up agreements reached with in-
dustry, and in successful new approaches to the
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task at hand. Of the some 200 FWQA press
releases issued since Secretary Hickel took
office, many have dealt with new approaches
for turning wastes into usable products, for
using sludge as a fertilizer for crops, for new
methods for controlling pollution from combined
storm sewers—as well as with the oil disasters,
the dying lakes, and the dangers posed by new
contaminants.
The Water Quality Improvement Act of
1 970 al o points to the importance of ade-
quately recognizing progress in pollution con-
trol. The Act authorized a program of official
recognition by the Federal government to in-
dustrial organizations and local authorities
which have demonstrated outstanding techno-
logical or innovative achievements in their pol-
lution abatement programs.
Looking to the future, the public information
program of FWQ\ has produced a film entitled,
The Gifts, which will be distributed to citizens
groups and television. The movie on water
pollution and its impact on the chain of life
is narrated by Lorne Green, with original
music by Skitch Henderson, and again sounds
the theme that we must act—now.
In the publications field, a new booklet
aimed at grade school children is being
planned. The booklet may use drawings done
by children because of their fresh charm and
appeal.
Working with Youth
The quality of the environment is fast be-
coming the consuming issue on our campuses.
At least 500 colleges and 1,500 high schools
are expected to conduct environmental teach-
ins on April 22, 1970. FWQA has been invited
to participate in many of these events. Over
100 staff members are expected to serve as
speakers and panel members, and a large vol-
ume of literature and other materials is being
made available to individual campus sponsoring
organizations.
As an agency whose mission is environmen-
tal protection and preservation, FWQA since
1969 has been deeply involved with students
seeking to participate more effectively in the
quest for environmental quality improvement.
SCOPE (Student Council on Pollution and
the Environment) was created to serve as a
two-way communication link between students
and government on the issue of environmental
quality. For the students it is an opportunity to
obtain and apply governmental expertise and
information to the process of formulating solu-
tions to environmental problems and a chance
to discuss their proposals for solving environ-
mental problems with top-level government de-
cision-makers. For the government it is a means
of getting fresh viewpoints on environmental
problems and solutions. Government agencies
will be able to request student study and recom-
mendations on specific points or issues.
SCOPE is composed of students at the col-
lege and high school levels interested in the issue
of environmental quality. A SCOPE group was
established in each of FWQA’s nine Regions in
Literature and radio campaigns inform the pub-
lic of water pollution problems and solutions.
for
c’ i”-
IHthDvEft
4 ON v RED MIWON FISH
— SINCE 6O
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December, 1969. The first meeting of national
representatives elected by each Regional organi-
zation was held in Washington on February
20-21, 1970. At the national meeting, Secre-
tary Hickel committed a large amount of his
time to listening to SCOPE representatives’
proposals and answering penetrating questions
that reflected their broad concern for all facets
of the environment.
SCOPE was initiated by FWQA in response
to Secretary Hickel’s belief that improved com-
munications would benefit both the Federal
government and concerned students. SCOPE is
an innovative experiment. Now that its basic
feasibility has been demonstrated, the possibil-
ity of broadening its sponsorship both within
and outside the Department of the Interior is
being explored. Secretary Hickel recently an-
nounced the formation of a “Task Force on
Environmental Education and Youth Activi-
ties” to act as a go-between for the Department
and young people concerned about the environ-
ment. The Task Force’s immediate projects in-
clude being the liaison group for SCOPE and
making recommendations for the creation of a
National Environmental Control Organization
(ECO). proposed by the Secretary and mod-
eled after the Peace Corps. The Task Force is
also programmed to provide the focal point
within the Department of the Interior for its
participation in future national student teach-
ins. Upon request, the group will provide assist-
ance, information, and speakers to colleges,
high schools, and private organizations.
Perhaps the most basic point expressed by
SCOPE members is that mankind will have to
change many of its attitudes and aspects of its
life-styles if we are to live within the earth’s
supply of natural and recreational resources
over the long term. They see the need for gen-
eral recognition that the earth and its inhabit-
ants form a “closed system” and that actions
by any segment of its population generally have
an effect on other groups—or perhaps on the
action-originating group at a later date. Fur-
ther, they believe that remedial steps require
changed attitudes and public acceptance and
support for the expenditure of vast sums to im-
prove the quality of our environment.
Public awareness and attitudes are at the
heart of all of these broad concerns. In order to
improve our understanding of the nature and
magnitude of the public education task that lies
ahead and to understand better what role or-
ganizations such as SCOPE can play, FWQA is
seeking the help of the Institute for Creative
Studies.
A SCOPE meeting is conducted in Richmond, Virginia.
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The Institute for Creative Studies is a pri-
vate, nonprofit, educational corporation which
attempts to use bright, imaginative, innovative
high school and college students to apply mod-
em research techniques and scientific methods
to the resolution of policy problems. The insti-
tute began as a pilot project in the summer of
1967. The research projects are funded by gov-
ernment contracts and the Eugene and Agnes
E. Meyer Foundation.
The only controls on the individual students’
research projects are regular quality control re-
view sessions, a formal interim report, and a
thorough review of each project by a panel of
experts at the end of the project period.
The Institute for Creative Studies will inves-
tigate in depth the role and nature of public
attitudes on water pollution control problems.
Additional topics may also be considered by the
Institute for Creative Studies in connection with
their work for FWQA.
Young men pick up debris along the banks of the
Potomac River as part of “Operation Clean Waters.”
FWQA has been involved in other work with
young people. For example, a program called
“Operation Clean Waters” has been conceived
and organized by FWQA to involve youth di-
rectly in the clean-up of water. Pilot projects
have demonstrated that teams of young men
aged 16 to 21 can remove tremendous amounts
of debris from waterways, thereby improving
their aesthetic appearance and value for recrea-
tional use. These pilot projects have been car-
ried out in the District of Columbia, Chicago,
and Puerto Rico. This program will be ex-
panded to a number of other cities. The new
projects will be supervised entirely by local gov-
ernments, with FWQA staff serving as advisors.
In another approach to young people,
FWQA is developing a project with the Boy
Scouts of America that will be known as “Con-
servation Good Turn.” A Boy Scout Leader’s
Guide has been prepared outlining various proj-
ects which the Scouts can undertake, such as
checking to see whether their community has a
waste treatment plant; if the sources of pollu-
tion from industry are under control; and where
other trouble spots are developing. The Guide
gives directions for checking the quality of
water in a stream or lake. We are anxious to
enlist the support of the five million Boy Scouts
in this country as another volunteer cadre for
protecting the environment.
In addition to the involvement with these
special youth programs, FWQA has a number
of on-going programs which involve youth par-
ticipation and offer young people an opportu-
nity to work or study in the field of water pollu-
tion control. These programs—to be discussed
in the following section on training and man-
power—include traineeships and fellowships,
grants to technical, professional, and secondary
schools, in-house short-term training, and part-
time or summer jobs.
Training and Manpower Development
Substantial expenditures for construction
grants, research and development, technical as-
sistance, and similar endeavors are outlined in
various sections of this report. Effective utiliza-
tion of these funds and achievement of clean
water results will basically depend on adequate
staffs of skilled and motivated people, from
treatment plant operators to research scientists.
We must very substantially increase both the
number and proficiency of those employed in
the water pollution control effort and, accord-
ingly, manpower development has become a
major program thrust within FWQA.
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The objectives of manpower development
programs are to assist in attracting and prepar-
ing new professionals, technicians and operators
and to help prepare existing personnel to do a
more effective job. To meet these objectives,
FWQA is pursuing a number of approaches.
These include support of and work with the
universities to assure an adequate flow of engi-
neers, scientists, and other professionals into
the field; conduct of short-term training by
FWQA staff, designed to upgrade the skills of
those already in the field; and a variety of ap-
proaches to the training of sewage treatment
plant operators.
FWQA is working to increase the flow of
highly trained professionals through training
grants awarded to academic institutions to es-
tablish or extend the scope of advanced training
in water pollution control in their engineering,
biological, physical and social science depart-
ments. Under this program, institutions are en-
couraged to develop the specialized and multi-
disciplinary training of scientists, engineers and
administrators in water quality management.
These grants support expansion and improve-
ment of facilities and equipment, provide par-
tial support of faculty salaries and offer sti-
pends, dependency allowances and tuition to
trainees. In 1969 training grants were awarded
to 61 institutions. This type of grant will sup-
port 693 trainees in 1970, most of whom are
working toward master’s degrees.
Research fellowships are also awarded to in-
dividuals for specialized graduate and postgrad-
uate research training involving investigations
particularly related to FWQA’s mission. These
awards provide funds for institutional costs of
education, stipends for the fellow and allow-
ances for supplies. Fellowships are generally
awarded to persons working towards the Ph.D.
degree, the objective being to maintain the fu-
ture supply of research scientists and engineers
and university professors. A long training pe-
riod is required to produce researchers and
teachers, generally at least three years of full-
time study after the bachelor’s degree has been
obtained. It is extremely important to maintain
a steady flow of persons under training so that
there are no major gaps in the supply of trained
persons available to begin research and teach-
ing careers. About three-quarters of the Ph.D.
recipients who have received FWQA support
through a fellowship or training grant embark
on research and university teaching careers.
In 1969, approximately 300 students sup-
ported by FWQA training grants or fellowships
received advanced degrees. They will make a
significant contribution towards filling the de-
mand for new professional talent in the field.
Other steps are being taken to increase this
flow of talent. FWQA will be participating in
intensified Federal efforts to improve the qual-
ity of education available at black institutions in
accordance with declared Presidential support
for a Black College improvement program.
FWQA training grants have already been
awarded to two such institutions. Predomi-
nantly Negro Delaware State College received
support for development of an undergraduate
water chemistry course to train baccalaureate
candidates for pollution control-oriented jobs in
industry. More recently, a grant was awarded to
Howard University to support a Master of Sci-
ence in Sanitary Engineering program. In 1970,
we expect to consider a proposal for training
pollution control microbiologists and biochem-
ists at Tuskegee Institute. In the coming year,
other black institutions will be investigated to
determine opportunities for and means of devel-
oping professional training programs in water
pollution control.
We are also exploring the need to encourage
pollution control training at an earlier stage
through increased emphasis in junior and senior
high school science curricula. As a start in this
direction, the Tilton School in New Hampshire
was recently awarded a grant to provide for the
modification and re-writing of a previously de-
veloped teacher’s guide. The guide provides
objectives, procedures and teacher’s plans for
scientific analysis of water pollution problems
and consideration of social, legislative and his-
torical factors. The revision will be performed
in the summer of 1970 by a group of teams
composed of a high school science or biology
teacher and a student from each of forty dif-
ferent schools. These teams, during the regular
school year, have gained experience in field and
water laboratory testing techniques and will
base their revisions on this experience. The
teacher’s guide is expected to become basic ma-
terial for initiating secondary school courses
emphasizing water pollution control at schools
across the country.
We must not only attract and train new peo-
ple for careers in pollution control; we must
turn our attention to those already in the field.
Water pollution control technology and tech-
niques are developing rapidly. To be effective,
pollution control personnel must be kept up-
to-date on the latest developments. One of the
best means of obtaining such updating is
through attendance at short-term training
courses. This type of training is also needed by
the ever-increasing numbers of trained people
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shifting from related fields to water pollution
control. They need to be acquainted rapidly
with current knowledge and methods.
To meet these needs, specialized and ad-
vanced technical training is offered at FWQA
laboratories to government employees and oth-
ers working in pollution control. Special em-
phasis is given to training courses or programs
which assist the State and local agencies in
training their personnel, thus strengthening
State and local effectiveness in the water pollu-
tion control effort.
Trainees are drawn from the professional,
technical and treatment plant operator ranks
across the Nation. In fiscal year 1969, more
than 50 of these short-term courses were pre-
sented to approximately 1,300 persons at
FWQA training facilities. The curricula in-
cluded a variety of technical courses in water
quality management of one or two weeks’ dura-
tion. Also offered are orientation courses and
short technical seminars to meet the special
needs of particular Federal. State and local
agencies or academic institutions. For example.
in 1969 FWQA presented a two-week “Water
Quality Studies” course in Harrisburg, Penn-
sylvania, to meet the needs of that State’s em-
ployees. Also, two courses were offered to assist
Federal agencies in meeting their increased re-
sponsibility to prevent water pollution: “Design
and Management of Sewage Treatment and
Disposal for Federal Installation,” and “Water
Pollution Control for Federal Installations.” A
special course was conducted for U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey personnel to enable them to partici-
pate fully in the accelerated water quality moni-
toring program described elsewhere in the re-
port.
Training of sewage treatment plant operators
has been an area of special and increasing em-
phasis in the FWQA training program. The
fastest and cheapest way to significantly im-
prove water quality in the short run would be to
operate existing treatment plants at reasonably
efficient levels. Too often today, multi-million
dollar plants produce unsatisfactory effluents
which deny desired and obtainable water uses.
Usually the reason is that these expensive plants
are turned over to poorly trained personnel for
operation and maintenance. Poor plant opera-
tion can result in undue pollution of the receiv-
ing waters with the resulting loss of water uses,
such as closed swimming beaches. Poor plant
maintenance can be extremely costly in yet an-
other way. Most waste treatment plants are de-
signed and constructed so as to have a useful
life of at least twenty years. Improper plant
maintenance can actually reduce that useful
plant life to one or two years in extreme cases.
The need for competent, well-trained opera-
tors in the Nation’s treatment plants is obvious.
Traditionally, this has been viewed as a respon-
sibility of State and local governments. The
Federal government, and FWQA in particular,
has taken a more active role in the past few
years for very basic reasons. The job was not
being adequately done at the State and local
level: a large portion of existing treatment
plants were, and are, being poorly operated and
maintained. State and local governments often
have had difficulty marshalling the financial and
staff resources needed to conduct adequate
training programs on their own. Therefore,
FWQA has worked to provide advice, consulta-
tion and financial assistance to State and local
governments to carry out operator training.
Recently, improved operation and mainte-
nance of treatment plants has become more
than a matter of Federal encouragement and
assistance; it will be required in order for States
and communities to receive construction grant
assistance. It would make little sense for the
Federal government to embark upon a major
program to assist construction of treatment
works without assuring that, once built, they
will be adequately operated and maintained.
Secretary Hickel’s recently published regula-
tions to this effect have been described else-
where in this report.
FWQA is supporting operator training in
several ways. First, and foremost, FWQA has
assisted State and local governments in qualify-
ing for funding for operator training under a
variety of existing programs administered by
other Federal agencies. This involves working
with State and local governments to identify
training needs, to formulate training programs
to meet those needs, including assistance in such
areas as curriculum development and instructor
training, and to obtain Federal financial assist-
ance. FWQA then works with Federal agencies
to gain acceptance for Federal support of this
training and to develop procedures to make
funds available. Utilizing principally Manpower
Development and Training Act (MDTA) funds
which are administered by the Departments of
Labor and Health, Education and Welfare,
FWQA assisted projects that accomplished the
training of 981 operators in fifteen States and in
Puerto Rico in 1969. The number of operators
trained under this mechanism in 1970 will total
approximately 2,800 in 30 States.
The present use of MDTA funds illustrates
the successful application of a multiple-purpose
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governmental program. FWQA-assisted proj-
ects utilizing Manpower Development and
Training Act funds not only produce trained
operators but also serve to enable persons clas-
sified as unemployed or under-employed to ob-
tain better jobs and participate more fully in the
economic life of the Nation. FWQA is further
developing this approach through the Depart-
ment of Defense’s “Project Transition” which
affords an opportunity to attract returning serv-
icemen into the pollution control field. The
“Project Transition” program provides enlisted
military personnel with training for civilian jobs
during their last six months of duty. Training is
funded by the Manpower Development and
Training Act and is administered by the De-
partments of Defense, Labor, and Health, Edu-
cation and Welfare. FWQA is currently devel-
oping a pilot program to provide entry-level
training in wastewater treatment plant opera-
tions for approximately 300 servicemen at
Forts Belvoir, Virginia; Bragg, South Carolina;
Hood and Bliss, Texas; and at the El Toro
Marine Air Base in California. FWQA will use
information gathered through a variety of pro-
grams to assist successful trainees in obtaining
jobs across the country in waste treatment
plants seeking qualified personnel.
We are moving forward in a number of other
ways to upgrade operator training. Corre-
spondence courses may prove the most practi-
cal method of reaching many operators of one-
man plants—of which there are thousands. By
late 1970 or early 1971 FWQA expects to have
three correspondence courses available to help
meet this need. The University of Michigan,
under an FWQA grant, has developed a course
utilizing programmed learning on chemistry of
water and wastes for operators and technicians.
Within FWQA s own short-term training teach-
ing staff, a course on membrane filter methods
in water microbiology has been developed. It
will be aimed at operators. Under another
grant, Sacramento State College has developed
a course for improving the skills of operators in
small and remote plants.
Efforts are also underway to better prepare
those who will be responsible for training oper-
ators. FWQA developed and first offered a
short-term training course for instructor devel-
opment in April 1969. We co-sponsored with
Clemson University the first large-scale national
conference on operator training in Atlanta in
November, 1969. This first-of-its kind meeting
provided a forum for operator-trainers to meet
together and listen to and discuss presentations
on the latest instructional methods and teaching
The President’s February 4 Executive Order
on control of Federally-caused pollution has es-
tablished a vastly increased responsibility for
FWQA to assist other Federal agencies in train-
ing operators of plants at Federal installations.
The order requires Federal operators to meet
levels of proficiency consistent with those being
required of operators at the community level.
To assist the Federal agencies, we will provide
increased training opportunities, using FWQA
training facilities and staff to present selective
offerings of practical courses in waste treatment
plant operation, methods and procedure—both
for Federal operators and for personnel en-
gaged in training Federal operators. This pro-
gram will also provide FWQA with an oppor-
tunity to develop and test training techniques
and materials which will ultimately be passed
on to State and local governments for use in
training large numbers of operators.
Enactment of the Water Quality Improve-
ment Act of 1970 will further strengthen
FWQA’s activities and programs in training
treatment plant operators. The new legislation
authorizes a combination of grant, contract,
and scholarship programs to attract and pre-
pare students for careers in the design, opera-
tion and maintenance of waste treatment plants.
Planning for implementation of new activities
and approaches under this legislation is now
underway.
In summary, FWQA is very substantially ac-
celerating its training efforts, in concert with
State, local and Federal agencies, with universi-
ties, and with others concerned. More effective
manpower planning is needed to guide these
efforts.
Trained operators are needed to assure more efficient waste freatment.
aids.
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FWQA’s last overall study of manpower
needs. Manpower and Training Needs in Water
Pollution Control, was submitted to the Con-
gress in 1967. A much more specific appraisal
of where and when job vacancies will occur and
how they may best be met is now required. In
1969, FWQA initiated development of a man-
power planning system which, when imple-
mented. will define manpower demands, man-
power supplies, and criteria for judging whether
manpower resources are being effectively uti-
lized. The system will provide carefully devel-
oped estimates of the total manpower needs in
the water pollution control field and improve
the identification of particularly severe man-
power shortages. The system will also include
more precise definition of occupations, man-
power staffing guides, work force profiles. and
industrial planners.
This manpower planning system will enable
FWQA to formulate better action plans.
through understanding the timing and nature of
State. local, industrial and academic training
needs. Rapid and effective implementation of
this system will be needed to help us meet the
training provisions of the Water Quality Im-
provement Act of 1970.
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Public concern for environmental quality has
reached international proportions in the last few
years, and President Nixon has advanced the
participation of the United States in efforts to
solve global pollution problems.
The Federal Water Quality Administration
(FWQA) is active on several major fronts of
international activity in the environmental field.
Efforts are moving ahead to meet the increasing
pressures for an international leadership role in
the environmental quality area.
The United States shares the North Ameri-
can continent with Canada and Mexico. A sig-
nificant part of the water resources of the conti-
nent crosses or forms a part of the political
boundaries between the United States and its
two neighbors. This is especially true along the
Canadian boundary where the Great Lakes sys-
tem, constituting the largest source of fresh
water in the world, is shared equally.
An important part of FWQA’s involvement in
international activities is the provision of tech-
nical support to the International Joint Commis-
sion (IJC). The latter was established pursuant
to the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 be-
tween the United States and Canada. This ac-
tivity includes membership on a number of in-
ternational technical advisory boards which
have been established by the IJC to investigate
and report on specific boundary water problems
referred to the Commission by the Govern-
ments of the two countries. At the present time,
there are seven technical advisory boards work-
ing on the pollution problems of Lake Erie,
Lake Ontario, the international section of the
St. Lawrence River, St. Croix River (Maine),
Niagara River, Detroit River, St. Clair River,
St. Marys River, and Rainy River of the North.
Because of the serious acceleration of pollu-
tion in the highly industrialized areas of the
Great Lakes. the work of the IJC and its advi-
sory boards has assumed an increasingly impor-
tant role in coordinating the remedial programs
being carried on in the two countries to abate
pollution. This coordination has resulted in sig-
nificant agreement on the present levels of pol-
lution in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the
sources and amounts of pollutants reaching the
Lakes and recommendations for an abatement
program. In recent weeks, a comprehensive re-
port on these agreements has been submitted to
the IJC by its technical advisory board.
Other programs being coordinated through
the IJC are oil contingency planning for bound-
ary waters, vessel pollution control and review
J of off-shore drilling practices. In addition, the
meeting of water pollution control technicians
of the United States and Canada on boundary
water problems has resulted in increasing coop-
eration in several areas which have not been
referred to the IJC for consideration, such as
Arctic pollution, exchange of scientific informa-
tion, participation in pollution seminars and
consultation on handling of oil spills.
Within the last year, meetings between higher
levels of administrative personnel on matters of
policy have developed as a result of the com-
plexity of the pollution problems of the Great
Lakes. Meetings were held between Secretary
Hickel and Assistant Secretary Klein and their
counterparts from Canada. As a result, the
governments of both countries are moving
closer together in a coordinated approach to
pollution abatement in the Great Lakes. Addi-
tional meetings are being planned for FY
1970—71 involving White House level officials
of the United States Government.
Although a Water and Boundary Treaty was
established between the United States and Mex-
ico in 1944, it contains no provision for formal
institutions for dealing with pollution problems
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as is contained in the treaty with Canada. How-
ever, informal arrangements are established
with the Water and Boundary Commission, and
the FWQA does provide consultative services
on border pollution problems when requested.
Consultative services have been provided on
border pollution problems stemming from do-
mestic wastes in the Brownsville-Matamoros, El
Paso-Juarez, Nogales, Yuma-Mexicali and Ti-
juana areas.
As the world’s technicians turn to the task of
controlling pollution of global waters, the devel-
opment of a reliable mechanism for the ex-
change of existing and developing scientific in-
formation becomes increasingly necessary. As a
result of this need the United States has estab-
lished or explored bilateral agreements with
other countries to exchange technical knowl-
edge on water pollution control and research.
Such agreements have been in operation with
Germany and Japan for several years. Agree-
ments to develop bilateral exchanges are pres-
ently being negotiated with the Soviet Union.
France and Czechoslovakia. Requests for such
agreements have been received from Sweden,
the United Kingdom, Iceland. Poland and Ro-
mania. In negotiating these agreements. consid-
eration is being given to including cooperation
in specific research projects in problem areas of
mutual interest, such as sludge disposal. the ef-
fects of pollution on fish and aquatic life, eutro-
phication of lakes, effluent standards and user
charges.
The effect of detergent phosphate on the en-
vironment has been a matter of public and sci-
entific discussion for several years and has re-
cently come to the front as a major issue in the
problem of accelerating lake eutrophication. As
a result of the shared concern over the nutrient
enrichment of Lake Erie. a joint United States-
Canada team of scientists undertook a mission
to Sweden in January. 1970, to investigate and
study the use of low phosphate-content deter-
gents in that country. Their findings will con-
tribute to the development of policies for
phosphate reduction in both nations.
During the past year, over 100 foreign water
pollution technicians and scientists have visted
the United States to study control programs and
techniques which have been instituted in this
country. A number of these visitors have partic-
ipated in the short technical training courses
offered in the FWQA Regional laboratories on
various aspects of water pollution control tech-
nology. This represents a sharp increase over
previous years and indications are that the
number can be expected to double in the next
12 to 24 months. This increased number of
foreign visitors is also expected to include
higher-level government administrative officials
than in past years.
\Vith the establishment by President Nixon of
the Environmental Quality Council and the
concurrent structuring within the Department
of State of an Office of Environmental Affairs,
the Administration is gearing to meet increasing
responsibilities in the international area. Most,
if not all, of the international, multi-lateral or-
ganizations in the free world today are in some
way engaged in carrying out programs in envi-
ronmental protection. These programs consist
mainly of establishing procedures and organiza-
tional arrangements for the exchange of techni-
cal and scientific information and of providing a
platform for the discussion between government
officials of member countries on environmental
problems of general concern.
In recent months, however, increasing atten-
tion has been given to the development of inter-
national policies for environmental protection.
Many international conferences and sympo-
siums are scheduled for the next 12 to 24
months, including the international Water Pol-
lution Control Research Conference in San
Francisco in September 1970; the Environmen-
tal Safety Conference in 1971 in Prague,
Czechoslovakia, sponsored by the Economic
Commission for Europe: and the UN’s major
effort in this field in 1972 in Sweden. The con-
ference will bring together the world’s leading
scientists and political leaders to discuss the en-
vironmental problems that beset the world.
FWQA has provided an increasing number of
its technical and top administrative personnel to
support these developing activities. This in-
cludes the appointment of agency representa-
tives to environmental technical and planning
panels which have been established in the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization framework,
the Economic Commission for Europe. the Or-
ganization for Economic and Cultural Develop-
ment. and others. Co-sponsorship of the
biennial International Congress on Water Pollu-
tion Research is a major undertaking of
FWQA. and the Agency will be active in the
planning and conduct of the next conference to
be held in San Francisco in September, 1970.
The involvement of FWQA in the interna-
tibnal field has been relatively small in the past
and restricted to specialized technical fields. But
sudden world concern for protection of the en-
vironment will thrust upon us an increasing
pressure to share our knowledge, progress and
technical capability with all Nations. This is es-
pecially true if the United States is to continue
its present role as a leader in the free world.
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T he capability of any agency to accomplish its
mission is dependent upon its resources—
budget, staff, and facilities—and upon how
effectively those resources are organized and
managed. During the past year, substantial ef-
forts have been directed towards the improved
organization and management of Federal Water
Quality Administration (FWQA).
Major improvements have been made in
FWQA’s personnel systems and organization
structure. Added emphasis is being given to sys-
tematic work planning—competing demands on
the Agency’s resources have made of prime im-
portance the identification and maintenance of
priorities, schedules, and objectives to guide our
work. An Agency-wide accounting and man-
0 RGAN IZAl 10 J agement information system will be operational
by July 1, 1970. This system will generate elec-
tronic data programs and develop reports which
RE SO U R C E 5, will aid top management in their decision-mak-
ing process.
A N D F A C i LI 1 I E A formal directives system has been estab-
lished to assure rapid and accurate communica-
tion of policy and instructions throughout the
Agency. Better systems of delegation of author-
ity and other management improvements are
currently underway.
FWQA’s mission is an increasingly complex
one, and constant attention to modern manage-
ment methods is an essential part of its overall
job.
Organization
FWQA is organized along functional lines, as
outlined on the attached organization chart.
During the past years, there have been a
number of changes in FWQA’s organizational
structure, at both Headquarters and field levels,
designed to marshall the Agency’s resources
most effectively to meet its changing mission.
With increasing emphasis placed on securing
compliance with established water quality
standards, the standards function has been
transferred from the jurisdiction of the Assist-
ant Commissioner for Operations to the juris-
diction of the Assistant Commissioner for En-
forcement. The current emphasis on the envi-
ronment as a whole is reflected by the proposed
creation of the position of Assistant Commis-
sioner for Environmental and Program Plan-
ning. The passage of the Water Quality Im-
provement Act of 1970 prompted the creation
and staffing of an Office of Oil and Hazardous
Materials.
The bulk of FWQA’s activities is in the field.
Of a present staff of 2,538 permanent and tem-
porary employees, 592 are located in Head-
quarters, and 1,946 are assigned to the nine
75
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FEDERAL WATER QUALITY ADMINISTRATION
T
I I I
ASST. COMM.
ENFORCEMENT AND
STANDARDS COMPLIANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL AND
PROGRAM PLANNING
OFFICE OF
MANAGEMENT
OFFICE OF
PURUC INFORMATION
COMMISSIONER
ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO
THE COMMISSIONER
SCIENTiFIC AND TECHNICAL
ADVISOR TO THE
COMMISSIONER
CONGRESSIONAL
LIAISON OFFICE
ASBT. COMM.
ADMINISTRATION
ABET. COMM.
RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
ABET. COMM.
REGIONAL DIRECTOR
NORTHEAST OHIO BASIN SOUTH CENTRAL
MIDDLE ATLANTIC GREAT LAKES SOUTHWEST
SOUTHEAST MISSDURI BASIN NORTHWEST
FEDERAL WATER QUALITY ADMINISTRATION REGIONS
76
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Regions. Regional boundaries are outlined on
the attached map.
FWQA’s Regions are organized along hy-
drologic lines to facilitate the planning and im-
plementation of the clean-up of entire river ba-
sins and to aid our work with related water re-
source agencies. This method of organization is
considered most effective in terms of the Agen-
cy’s current program operations. It sometimes
creates difficulties, however, for States whose
boundaries fall within more than one Region.
With the increased emphasis on effective work-
ing relationships with the States, major atten-
tion is being given to adjustments in responsi-
bilities and lines of communication which will
ease these problems.
The Department of the Interior’s participa-
tion in the President’s Federal Activities Re-
view Program, which is designed to assure that
services to State and local government are of
maximum effectiveness, may lead to further ad-
justments in our Regional structure.
Personnel
FWQA’s most valuable resource is its staff
—a staff comprised of dedicated and experi-
enced professionals, with backgrounds repre-
senting the many disciplines needed to operate
an effective governmental agency. Heavily rep-
resented on the staff, because of the nature of
the Agency’s mission, are scientists and engi-
neers with specialized experience in water pol-
lution control, oceanography, and related fields.
Lawyers, economists, public administrators, re-
gional planners, and others provide the needed
balance of skills.
A major management improvement during
the past year has been initiation of an Agency
career development system, designed to provide
for planned intake of college graduates in en-
trance level positions; training and development
for each careerist; a career counseling and ap-
praisal system; and a centralized bank of data
on all employees in an occupational field. This
system will cover all scientific and engineering,
technical support and administrative personnel
by June 30, 1970. The Career Planning System
will enable management to obtain, develop and
retain a highly qualified workforce to meet mis-
sion goals and objectives in a timely and eco-
nomical manner.
In addition to this system, a Graduate Fel-
lowship Program was developed to provide a
system to hire top quality graduate students
who have completed all requirements for their
advance degree but the thesis. They are hired
on temporary appointments for one year and
work on a special project selected by FWQA
which can serve as the basis for their thesis.
These employees form a pool of outstanding
candidates for future employment with FWQA
on a permanent basis.
Further in-house personnel management im-
provements were made by the implementation
of a personnel program evaluation and manage-
ment advisory service designed to measure the
effectiveness of personnel management policies,
practices and procedures. Lengthy interviews
with managers at all levels, non-supervisory at-
titude questionnaire sessions, and discussions
with Personnel Office staff members have pro-
vided the data for evaluation. At the conclu-
sions of each survey, a report is made to man-
agement containing action items or recommen-
dations for improving working conditions, em-
ployee morale, and supervisory performance.
Another innovation is the automated person-
nel system which results in statistical reports
prepared by computer which greatly reduces
the amount of time spent on this function at all
levels of management. It also provides manage-
ment with instant feedback of data needed for
planning and other purposes. By the end of FY
1971, it is anticipated that all employee training
records including FWQA-wide training needs
will be fully automated. Also, the skills inven-
tory file will be converted to an automated data
bank to enable the instantaneous referral of
outstanding candidates for vacant positions and
to provide data needed for the manpower plan-
ning function.
Facilities
In addition to its Headquarters and Regional
Office locations, FWQA conducts its work at
46 field stations and laboratories located in the
field. These facilities range from complex labora-
tories, designed and operated to conduct sophis-
ticated research, to small field stations, study-
ing special problems. A variety of physical fa-
cilities is needed. At the Southeast Water Labo-
ratory on the University of Georgia campus at
Athens, controlled environmental chambers,
designed to simulate varying conditions in the
natural environment, have been constructed.
Work with these chambers is shedding new light
on basic pollution relationships in streams. In
Newtown, Ohio, an entire tributary has been
protected and controlled with weirs and other
devices to test the long-term effects of low level
toxic wastes on biota under natural conditions.
This unique facility has already attracted the
attention of scientists across the Nation. A
small laboratory on a floating barge provides a
77
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4 Scientists in FWQA lab-
orakwiea conduct it-
• .• aerb on pollution and
lb efecte on aquatic life.
“
base for a team of investigators studying pollu-
tion along the florida coast. The National
Water Quality Laboratory at Duluth, Minne-
sota. provides special facilities to conduct a
wide range of studies designed to determine en-S
vironmental requirements of fresh water Orga-
nisms.
During the past year, the Bears Bluff Labo-
ratory on the South Carolina coast was leased
to FWQA by a non-profit educational institu-
tion. This facility will provide an invaluable op..
portunity to conduct work on environmental re-
quirements of southern waters marine life—an
important need in the establishment of im-
proved water quality criteria.
Currently. FWQA is completing a compre-
hensive review of the need for additional facili-
ties. A 5-year proposed facilities program has
been developed. It is designed to provide neces-
sary facilities and laboratory space for the fu-
ture.
Budgetary Resources
FWQA’s budgetary resources for the past,
current and coming fiscal years are shown
below. These figures show a significant increase
for water pollution control, reflecting the high
priority this program is receiving from the Pres-
ident and Congress during a period of overall
budgetary stringency.
Appropriations to Federal Water Quality Administration
(in thousands of dollars)
1911 Presi-
FY1969 FYlSlOdent’sBudget
ResearcI , development demonstrauon $43,611 $37,260 $44,092
Comprehensive ptarming
Feder ;,a tnj studies 4,936 5,214 5,143
Planning grants 1,250 1,782 2900
Control of Pollution from Federal activities . ....... 858 1,031 1,158
Technic& support 5 .732 6,181 6,188
Pollution S r e an . 2,690 4,012 4,286
Training
Federal activities 1,274 1,573 1801
Training grants 4,000 4,620 5,250
State and interstate progran grants
Grants ... io,ooo io,ooo io,00o
Grants adesln ration 329 344 394
Construction giants fcr waste treatment works
Grants 214.000 800,000
Grants administration 2,674 4,198 5,883
Enforcement 4,042 4,381 5,256
Executive direction and support 5.279 5,528 5,667
Tstat, W obligational autbsrity 300,675 886 124 *a98 018
Foc 2971. 5,4 Is provided Proposed egislatton Which would provide cor.tr :t authorit 1 ’
fr r var tow yea’s for fralts to locahties for construction of waste t e at works. 0
tcfl 51 b3llioii will be allocated in 1971 and n each of the next three fiscal years.
wwn sxctuee any -s:eret: for Water Quality Improvement Act of 1.970.
78
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