JANUARY 1975
VOL. ONE.NO.ONE
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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With this first issue of EPA Journal, your Public Affairs
Dffice launches a new venture designed to help:
Keep employees better informed about EPA's many diverse
programs.
Stimulate at headquarters as well as in regional offices,
laboratories and various other installations scattered around the
Nation a greater sense of esprit de corps in belonging to the EPA
family.
Foster pride and enthusiasm for our role in the enormously
difficult, complex and vital task of protecting the environment.
Support, whenever and however we can, the mission of de-
fending public health and nature.
In the little more than four years since EPA burst upon the
National scene, the agency has undergone major changes in
leadership and organization.
The Normandy Building at 1626 K St., N.W., where EPA
headquarters was formerly located, has been demolished and
replaced with a brand new building.
The disappearance without a trace of the old headquarters
where EPA spent the early days of its often stormy and exciting
career is a symbol of the dramatic and swift changes which have
swept over the agency like ocean waves.
These changes were often caused by external storms, such as
the energy crisis, but they have made it difficult to develop a
sense of tradition and loyalty within the agency.
WE BEGIN
While the numerous reorganizations were upsetting to many
of us, they were usually necessary if the agency was to respond
to the fresh challenges rising to confront it. The Challenge of
1975 is the major theme of this edition of the magazine.
EPA Journal will be an internal magazine for all agency
employees and will not be available for sale to the public. The
magazine intends to operate on the premise that its readers—be
they clerks, bookkeepers, secretaries or program directors—
recognize their stake in the protection of our only livable planet.
The journal will replace the publication, Inside EPA.
The magazine will be an issue-oriented, generalist publica-
tion and we expect it to change and evolve in time even as the
agency it serves. EPA Journal will not be a repository for bowl-
ing scores, social news or arcane technical or academic articles.
In addition to providing information about the agency's di-
verse activities, EPA Journal also plans to supply some human
interest stories, a helping of nostalgia, a dash of inspiration, a
sprinkling of Stardust and even, perhaps inadvertently, an occa-
sional pinch of humour.
We want to make the journal readable and interesting, and a
good magazine, like a symphony orchestra, needs more than
just violins, trumpets and drums. The sound of the harp or the
piccolo will occasionally be heard.
While EPA Journal has no illusions of great importance, we
do want to make some small contribution. We will inevitably
err from time to time, but be patient with us. We hope to prove
useful.
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Russell E. Train
Administrator
Patricia L. Cahn
Director of Public Affairs
Charles D. Pierce
Editor
Staff:
Van Trumbull
Ruth Hussey
PHOTO CREDITS
Cover, David Hiser*
Page 2, Thomas Sennett*
Page 3, Ernest Bucci
Page 4, Bruce McAllister*
Page 5, Gene Daniels*
Page 6, Wil Blanche*
Page 8 and 9, Dan McCoy*
Page 13, Chester Higgins, Jr.*
Page 14, Tomas Sennett*
and Hope Alexander*
Page 15, Arthur Greenberg*
Page 16, Don Moran
Page 17, Ernest Bucci
Page 18 & 19, Ernest Bucci
Page 20, Don Moran
*DOCUMERICA Photos
The Challenge of 1975
by Russell E. Train
Promise
by Donald R. Bliss
Around the Nation
Photo Essay,
Key to Environmental
Issues At A Glance
Profile
Page 17
Inquiry
Page 21
News Briefs
Back Cover
New Drinking Water
Authority
'J'he EPA Journal will be published monthly, with combined issues for July-August and November-
December, for employees of the U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency. It does not alter or supersede
regulations, operating procedures or manual instructions. Contributions and inquiries should be addressed to the
Editor, Room 209, West Tower, Waterside Mail, 401 M St., S.W. Washington. D.C. 20460. No permission
necessary to reproduce contents except copyrighted photos and other materials.
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In September of 1973. in my first
speech as Administrator of EPA, I
told the National Press Club: "I
am convinced that the quality of the
environment—and, in a broader sense,
the quality of life—is emerging as the
issue for the rest of this century. Our
society is at a juncture where traditional
ways of doing things are being con-
fronted with new aspirations, new
priorities and new values. The En-
vironmental Protection Agency—more
than any other institution of
government—stands at the interface of
these forces. Inevitably, we are a center
of controversy—and probably should
be." We were, I went on to say. "enter-
ing a period which will test the com-
mitment of the American people to en-
vironmental goals."
That commitment has withstood more
than a year of severe and sustained test-
ing. It has held firm in the face of seri-
ous energy and economic difficulties,
and of aggressive attempts by some to
turn public concern and confusion over
these difficulties into a full-fledged en-
vironmental retreat.
.Today, I can report that the "envi-
ronment" remains a matter of the high-
est national priority; that EPA has dem-
onstrated its effectiveness as an instru-
ment for the administration of our en-
vironmental laws; that the basic-
strength of those laws remains unim-
paired; and that the commitment of the
American people to environmental pro-
tection and progress remains deep and
enduring.
Last winter, as the gas lines grew
longer and tempers grew shorter, it
seemed almost a foregone conclusion in
some quarters that a strong environmen-
tal "backlash" would occur, and that
crippling changes in the Clean Air Act
were inevitable. Yet as I traveled
around the country, I found that—far
from regarding the environmental effort
as responsible for our energy problems
or supporting any relaxation of our en-
vironmental laws—people were almost
uniformly disturbed and distressed over
reports that those laws might be
weakened. They understood that the
energy crisis was, in a fundamental
sense, an environmental crisis—a crisis
whose root cause lay in excessive and
unsustainable patterns and rates of con-
sumption.
EPA. at the same time, did all that it
reasonably and responsibly could—
through such measures as the clean
fuels policy and the granting of tempor-
ary variances—to help the country
weather the winter. We demonstrated
our willingness to take tangible steps to
ease or offset the impact of fuel short-
ages over the winter while maintaining
our commitment to the protection of the
public health and welfare.
We have consistently displayed a
willingness, throughout the past year.
to do everything we legitimately could
to minimize the adverse impacts of our
regulations—on particular industries a.s
on particular cities, on the nation's
economy as on the nation's energy sup-
ply. We have, in so doing, earned the
respect of other agencies and levels of
government and the continued confi-
dence of the American people.
We can be justly proud of our per-
formance.
Since the Environmental Protection
Agency was formed a little more than
four years ago, this Nation has begun a
broad, concerted and conscientious ef-
fort to clean up its environment.
We have moved to reduce air and
water pollution, control pesticides.
abate noise, dispose of solid waste and
regulate ocean dumping. We have given
strong leadership to international coop-
eration in some of these same areas.
EPA action has begun to produce
measurable returns in the form of a
cleaner and healthier environment.
In water, our investments in munici-
By
Russell E. Train
Administrator
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
pal and industrial point source controls
are beginning to pay off in pollution
reduction—in lower counts of bacteria
and biodegradable oxygen demand
(BOD), and in less phenols.
In air, total suspended particulates
(TSP) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) concent-
rations have significantly declined.
In these and other ways, EPA is be-
ginning to make some real headway
against some of our most recalcitrant
environmental problems. With your
good help, we will continue to do so.
The unsettling experiences of the past
year have, I think, helped us all better
understand that we cannot continue to
grow and build and live in the same old
wasteful ways. It has helped us recog-
nize that there are some very difficult,
even painful, choices to be made and
that some cherished patterns of be-
havior may have to be changed. It has
helped us grasp the truth of the basic
ecological teaching that everything is
related to everything else and that every
choice involves a tradeoff.
We at EPA have learned that this
teaching applies to us and our efforts as
well. The nation's energy and economic
difficulties have occurred at precisely
the point when the nature and extent of
the various costs and impacts of carry-
ing out the nations's environmental
laws are really beginning to become
clear. All the available evidence is that
the benefits of our pollution control ex-
penditures are well worth their costs.
Indeed, the environmental effort, and
the kinds of actions and changes it re-
quires, have very constructive implica-
tions for the achievement of real
economic growth over the decades
ahead. The basic economic aim of the
environmental effort is to improve the
quality of growth in this country by en-
couraging the reduction or recovery of
the enormous waste of energy and other
resources within our economy—wastes
that, in large measure, represent
economic a.s well as environmental
costs. To the degree that clean air and
water, and indeed land itself, have be-
come increasingly scarce and costly
goods—and that energy and other re-
sources, whose extraction, production
and consumption generate the pollution
we are trying to clean up, have them-
selves become increasingly scarce and
costly, it makes both environmental and
economic sense to make the conserva-
tion of energy and the reduction or re-
covery of waste a matter of the highest
priority. In this sense, our environmen-
tal, energy and economic interests con-
verge to put a premium upon greater and
greater efficiency in our economy—a
PAGE 3
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"The most immediate and effective way
to reduce our dependence upon that oil is by a substantial
reduction in the consumption of gasoline ..'.'
new efficiency which can, at one and
the same time, cut costs, conserve
energy and curb pollution—a new effi-
ciency which can help reduce inflation.
Once all this is said, however, it be-
comes increasingly imperative—as our
economic difficulties continue and our
environmental programs increasingly
take hold—that we conduct those pro-
grams in the most efficient and cost-
effective manner possible. Environmen-
tal expenditures cannot be justified sim-
ply on the grounds that their goals are
important, even essential. We must, us
an agency, be prepared to demonstrate
that we get what we pay for with the ex-
penditures we make or require, and that
what we get is worth it.
We must, as well, be increasingly
sensitive to the fact that many of our ac-
tions have a very real, sometimes even
wrenching, impact upon our society.
When EPA proposes transportation con-
trol plans for our cities, or rules de-
signed to prevent any significant de-
terioration of air quality in the nation, it
is dealing with very basic economic,
social and institutional factors that af-
fect the entire fabric of our society.
Such proposals have important implica-
tions for the way of life and the patterns
of behavior of individuals, families and
communities across the country, it is
critical that in the development of such
proposals, we involve the public in the
process to the greatest extent possible.
Our ability and willingness to do so will
be a major test of our leadership in the
months and years ahead.
Our strong environmental statutes
were forged in the crucible of the legis-
lative process, after extensive public
hearings, after lengthy debate and dis-
cussion. So much we all understand and
accept. But what is not always so well
understood and accepted is the fact that
the great democratic process of
policy-making does not come to an
abrupt end once a law is enacted and
signed, and an executive agency—such
as EPA—assumes the responsibility for
carrying out the law. This does not
mean that the administrative agency can
recast or reconsider the specific deci-
sons embodied in the legislative lan-
guage or the Congressional intent ex-
pressed in the legislative history of the
statute. The job of the administrative
agency is to carry out the law, not create
it. And EPA's responsiblity is to exe-
cute the clear mandate of Congress.
We must, at the same time, recognize
that administrative implementation it-
selt involves the exercise of broad areas
of discretion. The regulatory and ad-
ministrative function is not merely
mechanical or ministerial. It necessarily
entails significant elements of policy-
making.
Thus, it is vital that EPA, in the exer-
cise of its regulatory function, actively
seek out and encourage the broadest
possible participation in the formulation
of its plans and regulations by all levels
of government and by all affected
groups in the private sector. Our re-
sponsibility in this regard goes far
beyond simply receiving comments and
considering recommendations. Rather,
we must exercise a positive, activist
role in enabling all interested and af-
fected parties outside our agency to be-
come effective participants in our
rule-making process.
1 am firmly convinced that the suc-
cess of our national environmental
programs will depend, deeply and di-
rectly, upon our willingness to work
with the citizens of this country—
primarily through their State and local
governments—not simply in the carry-
ing out but in the actual creation of our
regulations, guidelines and plans. Be-
fore we put together and publish regula-
tions or plans, before we step in and
start telling people where they can or
cannot build, or where they can or can-
not drive, we need—by working closely
with them and with their elected offi-
cials at the State and local level—to
make them a full partner in the process
by which those decisions are made. The
fact that we are not directly accountable
through the elective process to the
people whose lives we affect makes it
all the more important that we talk and
that we listen to those who are thus ac-
countable as well as to those who are
directly affected. Precisely because the
full implementation of our programs
will have an impact upon society that
goes, for example, far beyond the goal
of cleaning up the nation's air and wa-
ter, we must move with all possible sen-
sitivity and skill in recognizing and re-
sponding to the legitimate concerns and
problems of everybody affected and in-
volved.
To the degree that we can thus con-
tinue to demonstrate our confidence in
the American people, and our commit-
ment to the democratic process, we can
be certain of their continued confidence
I'Adl- 4
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"It is your courage,
your competence, and your commitment...
that have enabled us to do so much and so well!
in us and commitment to environmental
progress.
I am convinced that this Agency, and
the environmental effort as a whole,
will play an increasingly important role
in the nation's effort to come to grips
with its economic, energy and other
critical problems. For those problems
are, in many respects, simply part of the
larger and more inclusive environmen-
tal problem. The nation has, I think, in-
creasingly come to recognize that our
energy, environmental and inflationary
ills are, in no small measure, a reflec-
tion of the fact that we are living beyond
our means, of the fact that we can no
longer afford to act—as we have all too
often and all too long—on the assump-
tion that "waste makes wealth."
There is no inherent conflict between
our energy, environmental and
economic goals. We can, ynd must,
achieve them together. We can, and
must, pursue our environmental goals in
the most efficient manner possible—
with the least adverse impact upon our
economy and upon our supply of food
and energy—just as we can, and must,
pursue paths of economic, physical and
energy growth with the least adverse
impact upon our environment.
Indeed, the real challenge of 1975
and succeeding years is to find new and
increasingly effective ways of integrat-
ing our various efforts to reach these
goals.
Last November, in Portland, Oregon,
President Ford declared: "I do not ac-
cept the dismal proposition that pollu-
tion is the inevitable price of prosperity
nor that we must compromise the envi-
ronment to gain economic growth. We
cannot enrich our lives by impoverish-
ing our land. We can raise both the
standard of living and the quality of
life."
There is, indeed, no surer way to sap
the nation's economic strength than by
squandering its energy and environmen-
tal resources.
All too often, the issue of growth is
posed in false terms—as if our only
choice was to grow or not to grow. We
have no choice but to grow, just as we
have no choice but to grow in less
wasteful ways, to follow those patterns
of growth that best enable us to meet the
total needs of our society—economic,
environmental and social.
This kind of growth will enable us to
build a better life without destroying
many of the things that make life worth
living and devouring the precious and
perishable resources that make a better
life possible to begin with. It will per-
mit us to fashion for ourselves and for
our children a way of life that is increas-
ingly worth living and saving.
How well we at EPA do our job will
do much to determine how soon and
how successfully we as a nation achieve
that kind of growth and life.
We can take deep pride in our ac-
complishments thus far—in the fact that
we remain, as we face our fifth year, an
effective and independent agency
whose job is vital to me nation's future.
We are the captive of no group and we
have no special brief to serve any single
sector of our society. This independ-
ence, our reliance upon the democratic
processes, our strong determination to
involve the public in our decisions, our
commitment to carrying out our respon-
siblities fully and fairly—these will
continue to be our strengths over the
next year and the years beyond.
We will need these strengths, and all
the skill and support we can muster. For
while our environmental gains are both
solid and substantial, we have barely
begun to make the fundamental changes
in our accustomed patterns of behavior
that alone will enable us to live in con-
structive and creative harmony with the
natural world. We have barely begun to
comprehend—much less cope with—
the hazards to our lives and health posed
by the hundreds of new chemicals we
introduce into the world every year as
well as by the known pollutants and
poisons. We have barely begun to un-
derstand how seriously our national
security and economic health are en-
dangered as long as our wasteful and
excessive levels of energy consumption
leave us helplessly dependent upon
foreign oil. The most immediate and ef-
fective wav l<> reduce our dependence
upon that nil is hy a substantial reduc-
tion in the consumption of gasoline in
this count/'v. We must take prompt steps
to achieve that reduction.
I am proud of your performance over
the extremely difficult months we have
just been through. It is your courage,
your competence, and your commit-
ment to our aims and efforts that have en-
abled us to do so much and so well. You
have my admiration and my thanks. It
has been a privilege lo work with you,
and I look forward to doing so in the
year ahead.
PAGE 5
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!*MM» '
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uring the past year, the New
V J\ York Times published a pithy
quotation from the president of a suc-
cessful seed company: "My customers
aren't interested in my grass seed," he
said. "They're interested in their
lawns."
The words are worth reprinting to
remind environmentalists and en-
vironmental bureaucrats alike to keep
their eyes on the ball. The American
public in 1975 will be less interested
in problems, regulations, and grants to
sewage treatment plants than in dem-
onstrable progress toward a clean, safe
environment that it can use and enjoy.
This, after all, was the prize they
sought by demanding legislation and
Federal appropriations.
There has been demonstrable prog-
ress in cleaning the environment.
Striped bass fishing is gaining on the
Hudson River as a result of New York
State's aggressive water pollution con-
trol program. Smoke and other visible
pollutants are gone from the air in
many New Jersey communities,
thanks to the State's strong and effec-
tive air pollution control program.
And San Juan's Condado Lagoon is
clean again for local people and
tourists because of decisive action by
the Commonwealth government.
Environmental Protection Agency
funds and staff assistance helped
achieve such visible milestones of en-
vironmental progress. But they are
only a beginning, and much more re-
mains to be done.
By the end of 1975, most of the
major polluters of the Nation's air and
water will have begun work on
specific projects to better control their
emissions and discharges. There is in-
creasing evidence that many owners of
such facilities now accept pollution
control as a responsibility rather than a
burden.
There are few signs that the Gov-
ernment has adequately prepared the
general public for the individual life-
style changes that will be required to
carry the Nation toward clean water,
and, especially, clean air.
Public agencies at all levels in Re-
gion II need to conduct aggressive
programs to emphasize the public and
personal benefits of adopting and im-
plementing a new environmental
ethic.
Knowledgeable citizens must insure
that competent agencies have the tools
and the leadership needed to shape the
kinds of communities that the public
intends to leave for future generations.
Visible public benefits must quickly
follow individual efforts and sacrifices
to restore and protect the environment.
Region II Administrator Gerald M.
Hansler has focused on such benefits
in EPA programs affecting the life-
styles of individual citizens. Two
examples:
o New Jersey's inspection and
maintenance program to ensure that
automobiles meet manufacturers'
tune-up (and emissions) specifica-
tions. This EPA-assisted program al-
ready has produced clean-air benefits
and gasoline savings in excess of its
cost to motorists, state officials report.
By Donald R. Bliss
Director, Public Affairs, EPA Region II
PAGE 7
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o Region IPs requirement that own-
ers of large employee-parking lots in
14 New Jersey counties must provide a
program to encourage employees to
commute to work by mass transit or
carpools in order to reduce daily vehi-
cle miles traveled. This program is
paying off in cash savings to commut-
ers as well as in cleaner air.
For the owners of the large lots,
whose taxes have helped subsidize
mass transit, the EPA program will
produce some return on their invest-
ments and free space for future pro-
ductive development to increase
employment.
In the coming year, the opportunity
to demonstrate public and personal
benefits from environmental action
will nowhere be more challenging than
in New York City. The first major en-
vironmental test for Gov.-elect Hugh
L. Carey will be in the planning and
implementation of transportation con-
trols needed to clean New York City's
air to meet health standards for carbon
monoxide and smog.
If this goal cannot be achieved in
New York City, where can it be done?
Consider New York's advantages:
o The most comprehensive mass-
transit system of any city in the United
States.
o The lowest per-capita ownership
of automobiles (20%) of any major city.
o The existence of a mass-transit
commuting habit. In spite of the di-
lapidation, noise, and discomfort en-
countered in much of the city's transit
system, more New Yorkers (70%)
travel to the central business district
by train, bus, and subway than by any
other method. Off-hours riding is on
the upswing, too, due to recent special
fare plans.
o A new awareness of the real na-
ture of the city's relationship to the car
is developing. Last winter's paralytic
shortage of gasoline had some benefi-
cial effects on the garment and hotel
businesses and was not the expected
catastrophe. The restaurant business
declined only 3 percent on Sundays.
Yet there are many hindrances to
transportation controls. New York
City has an immense investment in the
automobile. Almost a third of
Manhattan—the Nation's most expen-
sive real estate—has been paved to
handle the explosion in the number of
private cars that took place in the 75
years since the first American was
killed by a car near Central Park in
1899.
And 51 percent of New York City
residents in a New York Times poll
(November, 1973) expressed a dis-
taste for restricting cars in the shop-
ping hubs.
The task of cleaning the city's air
also will affect lifestyles in suburbia,
which is not itself free of carbon
monoxide and oxidant problems and
where per-capita use of energy for
transportation is twice the amount
used by New York City residents.
The acceptability of any transporta-
tion control plan in the New York met-
ropolis will depend upon a demonstra-
tion by State and local officials that
life in the city and suburbs will be
more amenable—as well as more
healthful—as a result of individual
changes in lifestyle.
PA (Hi 8
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Longer-range public benefits in the
quality of life are promised, and must
be demonstrated, as a result of the im-
plementation of air, water, and solid
waste management planning require-
ments, the pre-construction review of
large projects that may adversely af-
fect air quality, and the environmental
assessment of sewage treatment plant
projects.
These programs, which some view
as a "backdoor" approach to local
land-use planning by the Federal gov-
ernment, simply require the responsi-
ble local and State authorities to look
before they leap into projects that may
imperil the environment. Region II
expects to rely heavily on local and
State decision makers to evaluate such
projects in advance, since these offi-
cials are at the levels of government
most responsive to local citizens.
EPA already has had success in this
work. In Ocean County, N.J., a local
sewerage authority scaled down its
application for a huge waste water
treatment plant when it was clear that
construction as first planned would
encourage the development of Los
Angeles-type sprawl and air pollution
problems in central New Jersey.
The local authority and the State
both recognized that it would be ab-
surd for EPA to help solve a water pol-
lution problem by creating a future air
pollution problem. The final reso-
lution will not deter future growth in
Ocean County, but will ensure that
environmental considerations are
taken into account as that growth takes
place.
The coming year will bring more
challenges to light. New York, New
Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Is-
lands include the most densely packed
population centers in the United States
and its outlying areas. Environmental
solutions in these jurisdictions are dif-
ficult and complex.
For that reason, it may be that un-
sound projects will have to be prohib-
ited by local or State officials, or
EPA, as completely incompatible with
the public health and welfare in the
most densely populated areas.
Region II will make a major effort
during 1975 to assist local and State
governments, developers, and indus-
try to make sound economic growth
decisons that are compatible with
environmental regulations. And before
any projects are opposed, various al-
ternatives will be explored in an ef-
fort to promote productive capacity as
well as protect the environment.
The year ahead will enhance the
strength and credibility of EPA's
enforcement posture against major
violators and pave the way for smooth
action by local and State agencies to
enforce environmental rules.
Finally, Region II expects to con-
tinue to help States to develop in-
creased competence in and public
support for reasonable environmental
programs, including those relating to
resource utilization and land use. The
direct accountability of State gov-
ernment to its citizens makes it the
most logical level of government to
design and apply the social.
economic, and political solutions that
will correct and prevent environmen-
tal problems.
PACK 9
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These reports of news developments in
the environmental field are supplied by
EPA's Regional Public Affairs offices.
transportation
Region I will hold public hearings
Feb.19,20,and 21 at New England Life
Hall in Boston on the transportation
control plan for metropolitan Boston.The
hearings will focus on the data used to
develop the hydrocarbon and carbon
monoxide reductions necessary to meet
national air quality standards. The First
Circuit Court of Appeals handed down
a decision Sept. 27, ordering EPA to
hold a public hearing for informal rule-
making within 90 days. On Nov. 12,
EPA requested the Justice Department
to petition for a 60-day extension for
holding the hearing to allow the Agency
time to gather additional technical data.
harbor
A five-year Fordham University
study on improving water quality in
New York harbor and adjacent coastal
areas will be funded by EPA's Pacific
Northwest Environmental Research
Laboratory in Corvallis, Ore. The
$600,000 study, will determine the best
practicable methods of waste water
treatment for municipal sewage treat-
ment plants. Attempts also will be made
to discover techniques to remove plant
nutrients from sewage. An explosive
growth of algae in New York harbor
could turn it into a gigantic "pea
soup," causing obnoxious odors and
harm to marine organisms.
pesticide
An 11-month, $126,000 contract
went to Cornell University's Coopera-
tive Extension Service in Ithaca, N.Y.,
PAGE 10
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to develop materials to train pesticide
applicators for State certification.
Under the Federal Insecticide, Fun-
gicide and Rodenticide Act, applicators
must be certified before using pesticides
classified for "restricted use." State-
run certification programs approved by
the EPA must be in effect by Oct. 21,
1976. Such programs are intended to
ensure that applicators are competent to
handle restricted-use pesticides, with-
out endangering themselves, the public,
or the environment. EPA recently is-
sued final standards for pesticide
applicator certification. Approximately
90,000 commercial applicators and
more than two million farmers may
wish to use restricted pesticides and will
have to be certified.
rail service
New Yorkers can look forward to im-
proved rail efficiency and better
service. New Yorkers voted an over-
whelming 'yes' on a proposition to
issue $250 million in bonds as part of an
$811 million State and Federal program
to increase rail service and safety. Eric
B.-Cutwater, EPA Deputy Regional
Administrator, earlier emphasized the
need for this kind of increased support
for railroads as a means of achieving
clean air. Cutwater said that using rail-
roads for commuting to work would de-
crease the need for commuters to rely
on cars, thus helping reduce harmful
auto emissions.
PHILADELPHIA
conference
The annual Pennsylvania Environ-
mental Conference will be held in Camp
Hill, Pa., Feb. 19-20. This is a
statewide conference of environmental
groups, business groups, and Federal,
State and local Governmental officials,
sponsored by the Pennsylvania En-
vironmental Council, Inc. Daniel J.
Snyder, III, Regional Administrator,
will address the group, along with other
representatives from Region III. Both
regional and EPA headquarters' per-
sonnel are scheduled to participate in
the two-day workshops. The theme this
year is energy, the economy and the en-
vironment.
escambia bay
There are signs that Pensacola's Es-
cambia Bay, once derogatorily de-
scribed as the South's answer to Lake
Erie, is on the mend. At least there have
been no more than minor fish kills there
in two years—and none big enough to
report in the news media during the past
year. In bygone years, the Bay, rimmed
by chemical plants, frequently was fea-
tured in news photographs across the
Nation when kills would occur and mil-
lions of menhaden and some game fish
would be stretched out for acres. Photo-
graphs of the dead fish resembled snow
scenes. But tough crackdowns by the
State and EPA and its predecessor
agencies apparently have brought re-
sults. A small surveillance team
stationed there two years ago by Re-
gional Administrator Jack Ravan soon
will issue a detailed report on the bay.
Meanwhile, industries and
municipalities on the Bay have moved
to clean up their waste.
meetings
In Kentucky, the Jefferson County
Air Pollution Control District (Louis-
ville) is holding a public hearing on a
proposed indirect source regulation
in mid-February. Also scheduled
in Louisville is the fifth
Annual Environmental Engineering
Science Conference, March 3-4. Con-
tact: Ms. Patricia Bel], Assistant Direc-
tor of Professional Development, Speed
Scientific School, University of Louis-
ville, Operator training workshops,
under the aegis of the Mississippi Air
and Water Pollution Control, will be
held in Mississippi in early 1975. Ses-
sions include: A three-day workshop in
New Albany, Feb. 18-20; another
three-day course in Natchez, March
18-20; and a one-day session in Bel-
zoni, Feb. 1 1. And the title of the an-
nual meeting of the Georgia Conser-
vancy, Jan. 31-Feb. 2, at Callaway
Gardens, reveals the concerns of con-
servation groups. The statewide organi-
zation is meeting under this banner:
"Facing the 'E's—Ecology, Energy,
Economics, Education, Environment,
outhouse
City officials of Helen, a mountain
town in North Georgia, celebrated the
beginning of construction of their new
$500,000 wastewater treatment plant
with a fire. They dismantled.the only
remaining outhouse in the area—a
two-holer—and burned it.
great lakes
The Great Lakes Water Quality
Board of the International Joint Com-
mission will hold a meeting March 5-6
in Toronto, to discuss the status of the
Great Lakes clean-up and problem
areas. Francis T. Mayo, Administrator
of Region V, is Chairman of the U.S.
section of the Board.
etc.
water
A nationwide study to determine the
concentration and potential effects of
certain organic chemicals in drinking
water has been launched by EPA. The
study was announced after EPA re-
leased in New Orleans on Nov. 8 a
study of that city's drinking water
which showed the presence of minute
quantities of 66 organic chemicals,
some of which may be hazardous to
human health. Arthur Busch, Region VI
Regional Administrator, and Dr. Gor-
don Robeck, Director, EPA Water Sup-
ply Research Laboratory, Cincinnati,
conducted a press conference in New
Orleans on the day the study was re-
leased to answer questions from the
news media. New Orleans officials
have asked Busch about procedures
necessary to receive EPA funding to
conduct further in-depth research on the
New Orleans drinking water supply
problem.
PAGE 11
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KANSAS CITY
landmark case
With the recent conviction of Inde-
pendent Stave Company of Lebanon,
Missouri, on Federal criminal charges
of violating the Clean Air Act, EPA
scored a landmark case, the first in the
Nation, according to Jerome H. Svore,
Region VII Administrator. The firm,
which manufactures charcoaled whis-
key barrels, was convicted of failure to
comply with an EPA administrative
order issued over a year ago and now
faces possible fines of $3.9 million.
According to Svore, the company failed
to comply with EPA efforts to get them
on a compliance schedule which would
have set dates for certain aspects of
their operation to meet requirements of
the Clean Air Act. 'This is the first
criminal conviction against a stationary
source," Svore said, "and I think it is a
good indication of the teeth we are put-
ting into our environmental laws
through vigorous enforcement." The
fine was to be set following a pre-
sentence investigation ordered by U.S.
District Court Judge William R. Collin-
son, who presided at the trial.
air scrubber
The Kansas City Star, one of the
Midwest's most influential newspapers,
carried an article on Nov. 12 with the
headline "Success at Power Plant With
Air Scrubber System." The article
quoted officials of the Kansas City
Power & Light Co. as stating that the
flue gas desulfurization system at its La
Cygne station is working well. "La
Cygne is the first large generating sta-
tion in the world to have a workable
mechanism for getting sulfur dioxide
out of its emission," the article states.
"Visitors from Germany and the Soviet
Union, as well as from al! over the
United States, have journeyed to La
Cygne to marvel at the plant's stack gas
'scrubber' system."
water permits
As early as February 1975, the
Wyoming Department of Environmen-
tal Quality could take over a program
regulating pollutant discharges into
Wyoming waterways (currently ad-
ministered by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency in Denver).
EPA Regional Administrator John
Green said Gov. Stanley Hathaway had
requested state assumption of the Na-
tional Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES).
One other state in Region 8, Monta-
na, already has assumed responsibility
for this program.
SAN FRANCISCO
oil pollution
San Francisco will host the 1975
Conference on Prevention and Control
of Oil Pollution March 25-27, at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel. EPA is a co-
sponsor of the conference together with
the U.S. Coast Guard and the American
Petroleum Institute.
Previous conferences have been held
in Washington, D.C. About a thousand
delegates attended the most recent
meeting in March, 1973.
The 1975 conference will stress the
development of new techniques for use
in inland and coastal oil spill control
operations.
lead in kellog
The United States Environmental
Protection Agency recently awarded
$130,000 to the Idaho State Department
of Health and Welfare to assist in the
evaluation of lead levels alleged to be a
serious health hazard to children living
in the Kellog, Idaho, area. According to
Clifford V. Smith, Administrator of
Region 10, these funds will produce a
coordinated study, since the State and
EPA are involved in different aspects of
the situation.
"EPA is monitoring fugitive dust
emissions in the air," Smith said,
"while the State of Idaho is sampling
water, soi! and vegetation throughout
the area." It is believed that the data ob-
tained from these studies will facilitate
a comprehensive appraisal of the Kellog
problem.
The Environmental Protection
Agency has been involved since abnor-
mally high lead blood levels were de-
tected by the Idaho Department of
Health and Welfare in children living
near Kellog. Early in October of last
year, Regional Administrator Smith
pledged full support of state and indus-
try efforts to determine the source and
extent of the extensive lead and to as-
sure a prompt and effective resolution
of the health hazard.
PAGE 12
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KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
AT A GLANCE
These photographs depict some of the more
difficult environmental problems confronting the Nation -
the future of the American automobile, strip mining, oil pollution and our
"throw it away philosophy."
An oil slick, the lighter water area in this black
and white reproduction, spreads in New York's Upper Bay past the Statue of Liberty.
Many see a silhouette of George Washington at lower left.
PAGE 13
-------
A striking photograph of storm clouds at sunset near Bodega Bay, Calif.,
symbolizes many environmental problems:
roads and automobiles, fences and land use, and electric
power and communication lines.
Tricycle graveyard
near a playground in Providence, R.I.,
shows how early in life Americans can get the habit of
"use it up and throw it away."
PA (JK 14
-------
•
The tiny figure of a worker
and the huge strip mining machine near St. David,
suggest the colossal scale of
America's energy needs.
PACK 15
-------
I
Jack D. Tarran, who wore the cap of a
Navy Chief Petty Officer as communica-
tion director for three secretaries of the
Navy, now wears at least four hats at EPA.
As manager of the Executive Communi-
cations Unit, Jack maintains an effective
"top-down, bottom-up system" of com-
munications within the agency. As an ex-
pediter, he follows progress on assign-
ments made by the Administrator and other
lop EiPA executives.
Personnel responsibilities involve him in
such matters as average grade and job ceil-
ings for units within the Office of the Ad-
ministrator. And, as allowance holder for
the Administrator's office, he watches over
the purse strings for that office and its five
staff offices—the offices of Federal Ac-
tivities, Civil Rights, Legislation, Interna-
tional Activities and Public Affairs.
Elaborating on his role as expediter, Jack
said: "I work very closely with Bill Dircks
(executive assistant to the Administrator)
and Jack Flynn (assistant to the Deputy
Administrator), making sure that needed
information gets to the Administrator and
Deputy Administrator in a timely fashion. I
attend the Administrator's staff meetings
on Tuesdays and follow up assignments
that are handed out at those meetings. I try
to determine when those assigments can be
completed and if there are any unexpected
problems."
Before joining EPA in September, 1971,
Jack spent 20 years in the Navy. He was
deputy director for administration and cor-
respondence in the Office of the Secretary
of the Navy with Secretaries Paul Nitze,
Paul Ignatius and John Chafee. Before ap-
pointment to his present post at EPA, Jack,
who is 41, was executive assistant to Fitz-
hugh Green, the Associate Administrator
for International Activities.
The Joint Service Commendation Medal
and the Navy Commendation Medal were
among various service medals and letters of
commendation he was awarded in the
Navy.
Jack and his wife, Helen, and their 10-
year-old son, Andy, live in Falls Church,
Va. Jack, who spends much of his spare
time reading history books and detective
yarns and playing golf, is a graduate of
Hillsboro (111.) High School. A native of
Jieseville.Ill.. he attended Bailey Tech. St.
Louis, between tours of duty in the Navy.
One of Tarran's former supervisors at
EPA said: "We were lucky to get Jack for
EPA. For years he had taught Navy Sec-
retaries the ropes on inspecting the U.S.
Navy's vast empire both floating and
land-based. He knew how to operate
worldwide whether he was sending
Senators to the South Pole (Buckley and
Goldwater) or Secretaries to the Far East or
Europe. He is also about the finest com-
municator I've ever worked with on paper,
on his feet—or seat—and in moving infor-
mation up and down the bureaucratic
rungs—a vital element in any organization.
"Our international office became a 'dis-
aster area' when he was promoted—but he
certainly earned the boost. Sailors, with
their built-in sense of order, service and
discipline, should really be running the
world."
JACK D. TARRAN
PAGE 16
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GONC-BLT NOT rORQOTTEN
Who among those present at the creation
of EPA can ever forget the wild, wonder-
ful days when headquarters was located in
the now demolished old Normandy Build-
ing at 1626 K Street, N.W.? Watching the
birth of a new Federal agency created to
deal with a major national issue was a
memorable experience. We've asked
some of the EPA employes who worked
for the agency then: Whal do yOU
remember about the begin-
ning days of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency ?
PAGE 17
-------
Mary Blakeslee
Program Analyst
Office of Air and Waste
Management
X* X* At the time EPA was formed I
•fc ffe held a very low-ranking job in
the lower levels of NAPCA.
We were working on the Clean Air Act
implementation. It was a very exciting
time. I was in the Parklawn Building and
never was stationed at the K Street build-
ing. I came directly from Parklawn to
Waterside Mall.
It was nice to have a new agency
created to serve the environmental cause. I
feel our program has advanced because of
the creation of EPA. In the early days we
felt that the new leadership was doubtful
about some of the people they had inher-
ited from other agencies. We felt that they
were more impressed by the new people
coming into government for the first time.
There was a lot of confusion, but eventu-
ally real talent was finally rec-
ognized. Things sort of sorted
themselves out.
55
Gwendolyn Brown
Secretary
Press Service Division
Office of Public Affairs
U Total chaos—but it was fun.
Everyone was a little more re-
laxed then, or so it seemed. We
started with a two-person press office. I
still can remember the enthusi-
asm created when Mr. Ruckelshaus
was named Administrator of the Agency.
The Press Office has grown considerably
since the old days. I think I am the only
one here now who was a
member of the original press of-
fice staff.
55
Joan Holden
Administrative Assistant
Office of Federal Activities
X X* The Environmental Impact
£^ M| Statement Office (the pred-
ecessor of the Office of Federal
Activities) originally was housed in the
Normandy Building. Thoughts of our be-
ginning bring back memories of one
room, six people, two telephones and a six
foot stack of overdue environmental im-
pact statements—topped by Chuck Fabri-
kant's pet turtle. We often wondered if in
the promised shining new building in
Southwest there would be any "Out"
boxes, an item for which we had no need
in the beginning of OFA because we had
such a huge volume of overdue work.
Tom Carroll's constant question, "Where
are the comments on the Alaska Pipeline
Environmental Impact Statement,"
echoed down the halls. There may be a
message in the fact that four years later,
we find that the Alaskan Pipeline is just
under construction while the former K
Street building is no more. Of course,
there was always the prevailing
office gossip of who will be the
Acting Director next week.
PAGE 18
-------
V /
Rosanne Light
Enforcement
Office Analyst
X1 f The thing I remember best
••> ft^ about the creation of EPA was
the three enforcement actions
against the cities of Atlanta, Detroit and
Cleveland shortly after EPA was formed. I
remember all the furious activity in pre-
paring these actions. I thought this was
very good because it showed that the gov-
ernment meant business in dealing with
water pollution and showed the
commitment of EPA to being a
regulatory agency.
55
Fred Lovelace
Facilities and Support Services
Division
Space Management Specialist
UI was stationed in Crystal Mall
with the water program. We
were kept very busy with mov-
ing people from Crystal Mall and within
the Crystal Mall complex. We got a lot of
complaints about people not satisfied with
space, but we expect that. 1 am proud of
the fact that I was one of five professionals
in the Real Property and Space Manage-
ment Office who got Gold Medals for our
competence in acquiring over 1 million
square feet of office and laboratory
facilities for the rapidly expand-
ing headquarters and regional
offices.
55
Alice White
Legislative Specialist
Office of Legislation
UAH the hectic changes. The dis-
tribution list for Congressional
materials just changed all the
time. As soon as I got one list they had
another reorganization. 1 had been getting
Congressional materials for just the water
program in the Department of the Interior.
Then when EPA came in 1 had to order for
all elements of the Agency across the
board. It put a heavier load on me. We
had some fun moments though.
'The demand for Congressional
materials never has slowed
down.
55
PAGI-;
-------
EPA OPENS
NEW TRAINING CENTER
Mrs. Gloria Woodard, one of the
Center's instructors, explains a typing
chart to trainees-
I
Kathie Libby (left) coordinator.
Headquarters' Training Center
Operations, discusses a teaching
program with Joan Bullough, instruc-
tor in reading development.
Advancement opportunities for all
EPA employees will be offered
by the EPA National Employee Training
Center recently opened at the Agency's
Washington headquarters. Established by
the Personnel Management Division and
headed by Joseph Sullivan, the Center
goes beyond the usual courses in clerical
skills to include training useful to the
professional and administrative staffs as
well.
The prestigious Brookings Institution
arranged a seminar on the economy and
the environment held last October for
EPA's top management, including Ad-
ministrator Train, his immediate staff,
and some Assistant and Regional Ad-
ministrators. The Center now envisions
the periodic scheduling of similar semi-
nars on policy issues for top and middle
management.
Although the curriculum still is in the
formative stage, courses are being of-
fered in the fields of management, per-
sonnel, contracts and grants, and in read-
ing for speed and comprehension.
Another aspect of the Center's work will
be the development of pilot programs in
personnel management for use by field
personnel officers.
Other courses will be designed to an-
swer the special needs of the technical
and program offices. In May there will be
a three-week course in the monitoring of
toxic substances in water conducted by
American University. An environmental
studies program, staffed jointly by the
Agency and Northern Virginia Commu-
nity College, is projected for this Spring.
This would be open to all personnel and
would involve an hour of instruction
weekly.
The Center has published a descriptive
catalog "Audio-Visual Aids for Execu-
tive and Management Training'.' From
this listing of films and tape cassettes,
Agency offices can select material to
meet particular staff needs. The Center
also has learning machines which permit
each individual to choose his or her own
program.
A major focus of the Center's work,
however, is still on the up-grading of the
Agency's non-professional staff. There
are four of these programs in operation:
1 Clerical and Office Skills Training
(COST) provides opportunities for
the sharpening of existing skills and the
acquisition of new ones. To date, approx-
imately 500 employees have benefited
from this instruction.
2 Aid to Competent Employees in
Need of Training (ACCENT) is a
channel for the promotion of clerical
people to "targeted" technical and ad-
ministrative positions. Training is geared
to individual need and includes on-the-
job direction, counselling, and formal in-
struction. This is a program of national
scope.
3 Academic Career Advancement
Program (ACAP) offers financial
assistance for higher education in any
field pertinent to EPA's diverse needs.
Now 51 people are attending Southeast-
ern University, adjacent to Waterside
Mall, but courses may be taken at any
college in the Washington metropolitan
area.
4 Insight Into Career Advancement
(1 CAN) is a less structured pro-
gram than the others, and is primarily a
vocational counseling service to help
employees develop realistic career plans.
These programs to prepare employees
for higher grades and pay are staffed by
Gloria Woodard, Jean Brown, and Donna
Weiner, under the general direction of
Kathie Libby, coordinator. Headquar-
ters" Training Center Operations.
"We like to think of ourselves as 'hu-
man resource developers'," said Ms.
Libby. "The existence of untapped or
wasted skills is intolerable. Some
employees will come to our classes to
learn, some to refresh and up-date their
skills, others to be stimulated. And
perhaps most importantly, the develop-
ment of staff potential is a necessity if the
program goals of the Agency are to be
accomplished.
For more information on training op-
portunities write to the EPA National
Training Center, Room 2821 (PM212)
EPA Washington. D.C. 20460.
PAGK 20
-------
news briefs
CALIFORNIAN NOMINATED FOR TOP RESEARCH POST
Wilson K. Talley of Oakland, Calif., has been nominated as Assistant
Administrator for Research and Development by President Ford. He will
succeed Dr. Stanley M. Greenfield, who resigned last May. Dr. Talley,
39, had been serving as study director of the Commission on Critical
Choices for Americans when he was selected for the EPA position. From
1971 to 1974, Dr. Talley was assistant vice president in the office of
the president of the University of California. He formerly was a
professor in the Department of Applied Science at the University.
NOISE LIMITS SET FOR INTERSTATE CARRIERS
The noisiest big tractor-trailers that pass you on the highway will
have to be made quieter by next October when EPA's first regulations
under the Noise Control Act of 1972 take effect. The rules set sound
limits, as measured with instruments, which interstate trucks cannot
exceed at either of two different speeds or in stationary revving of
motors. They provide for inspection of exhaust systems and tires, two
main sources of truck noise.
"SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION" REGULATIONS ISSUED
Final regulations for preventing "significant deterioration" of air
quality in areas where the air already is cleaner than required by
Federal standards have been announced by Administrator Russell E. Train,
The regulations provide for a three fold classification plan which
will be put into effect by the states, subject to EPA review.
FUEL ECONOMY TO BE CONSIDERED IN AUTO HEARINGS
Fuel economy will be considered at hearings auto manufacturers may
request early this year. The hearings will be held if applications
are received for a one-year suspension of the stricter pollution
standards required for 1977. In addition to the question of the
feasibility of meeting the 1977 standards, the hearings will consider
the auto industry's "ability to achieve a 40 percent fuel economy
improvement by 1980, as called for by President Ford," Administrator
Train said.
PAGK 2\
-------
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A-107)
WASHINGTON. DC. 20460
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA-335
THIRD CLASS BULK RATE
The Environmental Protection
Agency will be charged with im-
portant new responsibilities under drink-
ing water legislation passed by Congress
last month after four years of considera-
tion. This legislation gives EPA authority
to set minimum national standards for
drinking water.
In the past EPA merely shared author-
ity with the Department of Health, Edu-
cation, and Welfare to enforce regula-
tions to prevent interstate carrier.- frum
using water f jm systems that do not
comply with Federal standards. These
standards apply to •.•;i!v "I!P rsf
loughly 40.0v>> (jubiic \va:.T . ^;p!v sys-
tems. Further, the act adds chemical
standards to the existing Fcdeial b:::-
NEW DRINKING WATER
AUTHORITY
teriological ones. These strengthened
standards apply to community systems
serving some .70 million Americans.
EPA also is required to conduct a survey
of suspected cancer-cau-iing chemicals in
lV~ ... .... -,-!.:, - -,-!:.,,.
< ;
Major provisions of ie legislation in-
clude: hPA must promulgate primary and
secondary drinking water regulations.
The primary standards would limit the
amount of contaminants that affect
human health, to the extent feasible,
using the treatment technology deemed
generally available by the Administrator.
Secondary regulations would protect pub-
lic welfare and govern such problems as
odor, taste, and other esthetic considera-
tions. In applying the new regulations
costs would be taken into consideration
and an exemption procedure would be
provided tor communities with limited
financial capability with which to com-
ply.
The States would have primary respon-
sibility for monitoring and enforcing the
Federal standards. The water system
operators would be required to notify
consumers of any violations of standards
or delay in complying with them.
States would be required to regulate
underground drinking water and the un-
derground injection of wastes, including
waste brine from oil and gas production.
The legislation also would authorize
EPA to guarantee loans of up to $50.000
per drinking water system in order to
bring them into compliance with the
proposed standards. The legislation pro-
vides for civil action by citizens against
any Federal or other governmental
agency which fails to comply with the
proposed law.
At present, a minimum of 4,000 cases
of waterborne communicable illnesses
occur each year nationally and the actual
total may be 10 times greater. The inci-
dence of chemical disease is unknown.
EPA is now conducting a nationwide
study to determine the concentration and
possible effects of certain organic chemi-
cals in drinking water.
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