JULY/AUGUST 1975
VOL. ONE. NO.SEVEN
THE ENDANGERED SEA
THE JOB FUTURE AT EPA
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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Saving
the Seas
Lying awake at night in a seashore resort listen-
ing to the distant booming of the ocean waves,
you realize you are hearing music which the sea
has been playing for millions of years.
Recognizing the power behind this slow muf-
fled drumming, you find it easy to agree with
Byron that the oceans are too mighty to be dam-
aged and that while "man marks the earth with
ruin, his control stops with the shore. ..."
Yet as Administrator Train points out in this
issue of EPA Journal the ocean is indeed en-
dangered as it is increasingly used as a receptacle
for all kinds of wastes.
The ocean is regarded as Lake Erie once was—a
sink where all unwanted things could be conve-
niently disposed of. The vulnerability of Lake
Erie was belatedly recognized only when this
lake had reached an almost irreversible stage of
pollution.
EPA is now playing a vital role in the mounting
drive to protect life's birthplace—the sea—from
a similar fate.
Some of the articles in the Journal report on the
successes and problems of the Agency's pro-
grams to control ocean pollution. One is a first-
hand account of an important and exciting hunt
for radioactive wastes dropped in the ocean many
years ago. Another describes the work of Ken-
neth Biglane, Director of the Oil and Hazardous
Materials Division, in attempting to curb oil
spills, many of them at sea.
The importance to the Nation of the Gulf of
Mexico is described in an article from Region VI
in Dallas. The Gulf area is vital for its growing
industries, transportation, rich fisheries, and rec-
reation value. Measures to protect the Gulf's
teeming estuaries can be models for the preserva-
tion of all waterways where freshwater meets the
ocean.
On a personal level, some EPA employees tell
us what the ocean means to them. Their experi-
ences with the ocean include night sailing off
New York City and walking nets into the surf on
the Georgia coast to catch fish.
The Journal also has another interview with
Alvin L. Aim, Assistant Administrator for Plan-
ning and Management, on subjects of interest to
many EPA employees such as whether
downgradings are imminent, does the Agency
favor the four-day work week and what is EPA
doing to prevent discrimination against women.
The Journal carried an interview with Mr. Aim
in the February issue and hopes to run question
and answer articles with top Agency officials
periodically. If you have queries which you think
would be of general interest, let us know and we
may be able to include them in future interviews.
From Region VIII in Denver we have an intrigu-
ing story about a noise control program which in-
cludes use of a balloon to pick up urban noise
from the sky.
On the international front, the Journal has an ar-
ticle about the role EPA will play in a global sys-
tem to be set up for exchange of environmental
information.
The International Referral System to be estab-
lished and the present UN Global Environmental
Monitoring System will ultimately comprise
"Earthwatch,"a broad UN environmental pro-
gram for protecting both land and ocean.
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Iv
PWgi • • w*^^^^^H^^V?*
• -- - * .T-39B •
COYhK: BRF.F/ING l;P,
Winshm Homer. National Galler\
of Art. Washington. »:il't of the
W.I.. anil Ma> 'I. Mellon
Foundation. (Detail)
A u.s.
\S»7 ENVIRONMENTAL
^[frfr PROTECTION
AGENCY
Russell E. Train
Administrator
Patricia L. Cahn
Director of Public Affairs
Charles D. Pierce
Editor
Staff:
Van Trumbull
Ruth Hussey
PHOTO CREDITS
PAGH 1 Hope Alexander*
PAGH 4 NOAA
PAGF 6 Cecil W. StoiiLihlon.
I'.S. Department ol the Interior
I'ACiF. 1 Hope Alexander
Her Majesu's Stationer) OlTiee
London. Hndand.
PAGH 9 NASA
PAGF 10 John Messina
I'ACiF. I I.I.X Don Moran, F.rncst Hueei
' DOCTMH.KICA Photos
CONTENT
s
THE ENDANGERED SEA
The oceans where life on this earth began are now threatened
man's activities. By Russell E. Train
PAGE 2
by pollution from
OCEAN DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
PAGE 4
Remote-controlled submersible finds and photographs waste drums sunk years
ago. By Robert S. Over
PHOTO ESSAY— OIL SPILLS AT SEA
OIL SPILL FIGHTER— Kenneth Biglane
ADMINISTERING THE OCEAN DUMPING ACT
THE GULF By Betty Williamson
THE JOB FUTURE AT EPA
PAGE 6
PAGE 8
PAGE 9
PAGE 10
PAGE 14
An interview with Assistant Administrator Alvin L. Aim
EPA's ROLE IN A GLOBAL INFORMATION
SYSTEM By Fitzhugh Green
SKY LISTENING By Rich Lathrop
MAYFLIES HELP POLLUTION FIGHTERS
PAGE 16
PAGE 17
BACK PAGE
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PAGE 12
PAGE 21
The EPA Journal is published monthly, with combined issues for July-August and November-December.
for employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It does not alter or supersede regulations.
operating procedures or manual instructions. Contributions and inquiries should be addressed to the Editor.
(A - H)7) Room 209. West Tower. Waterside Mall. 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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THE ENDANGERED SEA
By Russell E. Train
(Excerpted from remarks by Ad-
ministrator Train to the National Au-
dubon Society in New Orleans, La.,
April 19, 1975)
It was in the oceans and the estuaries
of the world that primitive one-celled
life originated. It came from the sea,
not—like Aphrodite in Greek legend—
at a single miraculous instant but over
aeons of time. As the earth cooled,
traces of oxygen were produced. Then
came the photosynthetic cells in water,
creating more oxygen which built up a
shield against the deadly ultraviolet
radiation from outer space. That in turn
made more life possible, until creatures
were able to craw! out onto the land and
evolution began its long upward course
to the creation of man.
Knowing these things, we cannot help
but feel a swirling sense of awe and an-
guish as we stand at the sea's edge. For
this birthplace, this original nursery of
us all is endangered. Dredging and de-
velopment are destroying the marshes.
Filling and dredging have wiped out
some 200,000 acres of shallow coastal
bays in the Gulf of Mexico and south
Atlantic areas over the past two dec-
ades. Chemicals and sewage and oil
spills are slowly and steadily sapping
the oceans' ability to serve as a well of
life. The oceanographer Jacques Cous-
teau tells us that the floor of the
Mediterranean is littered with the debris
and waste of modern technology.
Ecologists warn us that it is a dying sea
and that unless nations act to protect it,
it will soon be a dead one.
All over the world, the seas are .serving
as a receptacle for wastes. They have
become a sink for enormous quantities
of chemicals from fertilizers, herbicides
and pesticides used in agriculture far in-
land. It is this kind of disjointed activity
in our society, this process of action in
one area leading to ecological shock
waves far from the original source of
pollution, that now threatens the sea.
One of our major problems is that we
don't really know what we're doing to
our environment and, ultimately, to
ourselves. Like children with a new toy,
we have believed that just because a
thing is technologically dazzling, it is
good. We have worshiped at the altar of
"cost efficiency" without knowing the
true cost to society of dumping un-
treated pollutants into the air and water.
We have followed a policy of plunder-
now-and-pay-later whose price tag must
all too often be paid by victims far from
the scene of the crime.
Indeed, compared with our skill and
sophistication in creating pollution, our
ability and instruments for comprehend-
ing and controlling it must rank some-
where at the level of the Stone Age.
With each passing year the need to
control the increasing quantity of toxic
substances in our environment inten-
sifies. An estimated 500 to 700 new
chemicals enter commerce in significant
quantities every year. Substances once
considered safe for widespread use are
suddenly suspect and pulled off the
market. In too many cases, the public
and the environment continue to serve
as testing grounds for such products.
The more we learn about the health ef-
fects of pollutants, the worse things
look. Researchers at the National
Cancer Institute are reported to have es-
timated that 60 to 90 percent of all
human cancers are caused by environ-
mental factors—from ultraviolet rays to
pesticides. And while progress has been
made in treating this disease, it is obvi-
ous that the most sensible course lies in
prevention, in controlling carcinogens
before they enter man's environment.
ATTITGDE
One of the things I find most alarming
is that our attitude toward the ocean is a
carry-over from our earlier attitude to-
ward the land. Increasingly the seas are
regarded as a place to put unwanted
things, a place where accidental and de-
liberate spillage doesn't matter because
the ocean is vast and nobody is around
to protest. Having polluted the land, we
are now starting to lavish our attentions
upon the last clean place on the globe,
trusting that the self-cleansing powers
of the oceans will somehow solve mat-
ters. But freedom of the seas does not
mean freedom to pollute. The globe has
become too small and too crowded for
that.
The growing and serious problem of
ocean spills and dumping has become a
matter of special concern. According to
United States Coast Guard figures, the
number of all types of polluting dis-
charges into navigable waters rose from
about 8,700 in 1971 to nearly 14,000 in
1974. By one estimate the amount of oil
moving around the world in lanes of
commerce will double each decade.
This means that by the year 2,000 we
can expect six times as much traffic,
with an obviously greater risk of oil
spills and hazards to the environment.
Supertanker traffic is giving rise to in-
creasing spills of oil in remote areas of
the globe such as off the Cape of Good
Hope and in the Straits of Magellan.
Some of the spills have been catas-
trophic to important seabird popula-
tions. I believe that international action
is urgently needed to find ways to pro-
tect the valuable and highly vulnerable
seabirds of the world from destruction
by oil.
One of the most pressing matters with
respect to the oceans still lies in the fu-
ture. This is the exploitation of mineral
resources on seabeds around the world.
Lying on the floors of many oceans are
some rather odd, black, potato-shaped
lumps known as manganese nodules.
No one really knows how they were
formed, but scientists have found them
rich in useful metals such as copper,
nickel and cobalt. Already several com-
panies are trying to devise ways of min-
ing them, and that's where the environ-
mentalists have begun to worry.
Few companies have any real experi-
ence in deep water mining of this type,
and we can anticipate problems. The
pace of life at profound depths of the sea
is exceedingly slow. The life cycles of
creatures there do not occur at the same
rate as on the surface, and it would re-
quire a long time to restore the ecology
after it has been disturbed by mining.
Very large quantities of seabed mud and
debris would undoubtedly be churned
up to the surface. This sediment could
shut out sunlight and prevent it from
reaching life at lower depths. It could
threaten commercial fishing and recrea-
tion, for the sediment might be carried
by currents to distant beaches. Whether
refining is done at sea or at the coast,
the mine tailings and waste chemicals
could pose another environmental
hazard.
We have seen in the case of strip min-
ing what can happen to the land when
technology outpaces legislation and en-
vironmental controls. The repercussions
PAGE 2
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from undersea mining could resound
throughout the world.
The oceans represent not only a critical
environmental problem area but a major
opportunity for more effective interna-
tional cooperation in the managemeni of
common resources. Beyond the dis-
puted limits of national jurisdiction, the
oceans are not subject to national
sovereignty but are, indeed, part of the
common heritage of all mankind. This
has meant, in practice, that the open
seas are open to unlimited exploitation
on a first-come, first-served basis. It
seems to me that the time has come to
match our assumption of unlimited
rights to the oceans with the assumption
of ditties tuiil obligations also held in
common and enforceable.
The need for improved international
cooperation to protect the oceans is in-
creasingly recognized, as evidenced by
the ocean dumping convention adopted
at London in 1972, and the 1973 Lon-
don convention for the prevention of
pollution of the seas by ships, among
other such efforts. At the same time, the
mechanisms for enforcing such agree-
ments are limited, to say the least, de-
pendent in the usual case on the volun-
tary cooperation of individual nations.
We have seen how ineffectual such
agreements can he as in the case of the
international protection of whales. At
a time when the principle of national
sovereignty seems stronger than
ever—among great and small nations
alike—it may be unrealistic to propose
limitations on that principle. But in the
face of growing frustration with existing
procedures and the growing likelihood
that freely competitive exploitation is
simply going to lead to the ultimate
exhaustion of the ocean resource, it
seems to me that the time has eome to
explore the possibility of international
enforcement machinery, such as could
be represented by an international coast
guard or similar capability. 1 know this
is a radical suggestion, but the times
and the problems call for fresh and. if
you will, radical initiatives.
LEASING
Last year the President directed the
Secretary of Interior to undertake a
major expansion of leasing on the Outer
Continental Shelf to help increase oil
supplies because of the energy problem.
This policy involves a number of impor-
tant environmental considerations.
As we move to improve the country's
energy situation, it is important that we
act effectively to reduce our energy de-
mand. A recent study by the Conference
Board showed that the Nation could
make sizeable cutbacks in the growth
rate of energy use without impairing
economic expansion. In this connec-
tion, it is instructive to note that both
West Germany and Sweden have per
capita energy consumption rates about
half that of the United States and both
countries maintain high standards of liv-
ing. The introduction of new plants and
equipment in the U.S. already has re-
duced the growth rate of energy use and
has achieved new economies. However,
a sustained reduction in the energy
growth rate will require a concentrated,
long-term movement to more recycling,
more fuel-efficient autos, more mass
transit, and less waste across-the-board.
Indeed, we need nothing less than a na-
tional War on Waste.
At the same time, we must move with
determination to improve our energy
supply, xvith scrupulous regard for en-
vironmental factors. There must be a
parallel effort to develop clean, renew-
able sources of energy such as solar
power that do not exhaust finite fuel
supplies.
I believe that oil from the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf can be produced in an en-
vironmentally acceptable manner if
done in the right places and under vig-
orous regulation.
One cause for environmental concern
is the very magnitude of the continental
shelf development effort. It would more
than double the total offshore acreage
leased since the program began 22 years
ago. Since drilling rigs necessary for
exploration are already in short supply,
it makes sense to rne that we focus on
areas where the resource potential is
high and where the adverse environmen-
tal effects would be low. The State and
local governments should be informed
well in advance about coastal facilities
likely to be needed. Without careful
planning, new shipyards, platform con-
struction sites, refineries and other de-
velopments at the coast could disrupt
local fishing, recreation and agriculture;
make massive changes in regional, so-
cial, economic and cultural patterns;
and overwhelm the capacity of impacted
areas to provide essential services such
as housing, transportation, education,
waste treatment, health and police pro-
tection. Comprehensive land use
planning—with the neccssar\ authority
to implement and enforce land use con-
trols and carried out in advance of de-
velopment activity—is critically impor-
tant to the wise development of coastal
energy resources.
Before we degrade the seas with our
pollutants, before we lay down any
more new carcinogens or wipe out any
more species, we should remember that
we are connected to all life. Man also is
a fragile, endangered species, still de-
pendent ultimately after millions of
years for the very air he breathes on
simple cellular plant life in the sea. We
must keep in mind what Sir Francis
Bacon said nearly lour centuries ago;
"We cannot command nature except by
obeying her."
The Gulf and the oceans beyond have
enriched our lives by their abundance
and their beauty. May we continue to
respect these vast waters, this vibrant
sea to which al! life on earth is bound.
With care and planning and foresight
we can meet the needs of our society
and still protect the web of life between
sea and land. If nothing else, our in-
stinct for self-preservation commands
us to do so.D
PAGE 3
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Ocean Disposal
of Radioactive Wastes
Robert S. Dyer, 32. is an I.l'A
oceanographer with the Office of Radia-
tion Programs. The accompanying arti-
cle by Mr. Dyer is the jfirst published ac-
count of Ills search last summer for
radioactive wastes dumped in the ocean
some 20 years ago. During the />a\t year
he was chief scientist for two oceano-
graphic expeditions and will continue in
thin role this summer when he again uses
deep submersible^ to investigate radioac-
tive waste disposal sites 6000-9000 feet
below the waves.
I.ust summer Mr. Dyer and his col-
leagues succeeded in finding and photo-
graphing a cache of radioactive waste
drums in tin- Pacific Ocean through use
of a remotely-controlled submersible
with a videotape camera for "eyes" and
sonar for ' 'ears.
Under the Ocean Dumping Act of 1972,
i.l'A's responsibility for regulating
ocean disposal includes radioactive
materials as well as other types of pollut-
ants. i.l'A is interested in determining
what happened to these drums because
interest is mounting in resuming ocean
dumping of radioactive wastes.
Mr. D\er discussed some of the techni-
cal i\\ttc\ involved in these studies at a
meeting of the International Atomic
i.nergy Agency in Vienna. Austria, in
I'ebruarv of this vear and he expects to
present additional findings at their next
meeting.
Mr. Dyer did his graduate work at Ore-
gon Siate University's School oj
Oceanography in the field oj radioecol-
og\. lie invest/gated transport processes
of radionuclides released from the Han-
ford nuclear reactors on the Columbia
River. "We were looking for the three
Rls — the routes, rules. and reservoirs oj
the released radioactive materials. We
spent manv weeks at sea investigating the
dispersion of these radionuclides. My
current work is somewhat similar be-
cause it again involves Irving to deter-
mine what has happened to radioactive
wastes released into the oceans."
In IV74. i.l'A awarded Mr. Dyer the
liroit'e Medal for "establishing and
Strengthening i'.PA's role in the de-
velopment of national and international
controls over the disposal of radioactive
materials in the marine environment."
PAGE 4
The C'URV. an unmanned submersible uilh sonar "ears" and camera "eyes", which was used
last summer to locale drums of radioactive waste on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
The AI.VIN. a submersible which can earn a crew of three, will be used by Robert S. Dyer,
KPA oceanographer. to hunt for drums of radioactive wastes in the Atlantic Ocean this summer.
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Should radioactive wastes he
dumped in the oeean? It'so. what
types of wastes should be included, at
what locutions, and how should they be
packaged'? These are questions being
asked more and more often by scientists
and government officials both here and
abroad. EPA is trying to find some
answers.
With the passage of the Marine Protec-
tion, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of
1972 (commonly known as the Ocean
Dumping Act), the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency was given the mandate to
regulate dumping of all types of pollut-
ants, including radioactive materials.
The Ocean Dumping Act prohibits
ocean dumping of any high-level radioac-
tive wastes or radiological warfare agents
and the Office of Radiation Programs
(ORP) was delegated the responsibility
within EPA to develop criteria and stand-
ards governing ocean disposal of non-
prohibited radioactive materials. As a re-
sult, ORP proposed two initial require-
ments regarding ocean disposal which
were published in the Federal Register,
on October 15, 1973.
These requirements are us follows: (1)
radioactive wastes should be con-
tainerized, and (2) the containerized
radioactive wastes must radiodecay to in-
nocuous levels within the life expectancy
of the containers and/or their inert
matrix.
In order to amplify these requirements
ORP has initiated field studies to find out
what has happened to radioactive wastes
dumped into the oceans in past years.
From 1946 to 1966 some government
agencies and research organizations in
the United States carried out ocean dis-
posal of low-level radioactive wastes.
This practice was gradually discontinued
and supplanted by land burial.
Today, however, some states are be-
coming reluctant to accept any more
radioactive wastes for land burial since
these wastes often contain long-lived
radionuclides. Such wastes require long-
term surveillance at considerable cost to
insure that the radionuclides arc not re-
leased into the environment.
Therefore, many other nuclear waste
disposal options are being investigated,
particularly for the longer-lived mate-
rials.
These options include disposal into
outer space, or emplacement in salt
mines, polar ice caps, and under the
ocean floor. But not all radioactive waste
would require such ultimate disposal. For
certain classes of radioactive waste ocean
dumping onto the ocean floor under care-
fully controlled conditions may offer an
environmentally acceptable technique as
part of an overall waste management pro-
gram.
Nevertheless, ocean dumping must be
viewed as a form of irretrievable storage
and, as such, must be considered with
caution. Any ocean disposal of radioac-
tive materials must aim at containment
over their lifetime so as to prevent en-
vironmental dispersal.
A search of the records of past sea dis-
posal operations indicates that between
1946 and 1966 almost all U.S. disposal
operations consisted of packaging the
radioactive wastes in 55 gallon drums fil-
led with concrete or other experimental
matrices. These drums were then dumped
a! depths ranging from 3,000 to 9.000
feet. But no one had ever determined
what happened to the actual radioactive
materials that were dumped.
Did the containers implode from the
tremendous hydrostatic pressures found
in the ocean deeps? Have the containers
corroded away, releasing the contents?
Are there any fish or invertebrates living
in the disposal areas which could take up
released radioactivity and transmit it
through the food chain to our dinner ta-
ble?
To answer these questions and others
required a unique approach to oceano-
graphic research; an approach which
would allow probing of ocean waters
many thousands of feet deep in search of
small targets such as radioactive waste
containers. Such a task could not be ac-
complished with the usual sampling
By Robert S. Dyer
equipment.
The solution came with the availability
of the deep submersibles CURV 111
(Cable-Controlled Underwater Recovery
Vehicle) and ALVIN. The CURV III is
operated by the Naval Undersea Center,
San Diego. California. It is an unman-
ned, tethered submersible with a depth
capability of 10.000 feet.
The ALVIN is operated by the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods
Hole. Massachusetts. Named after a sci-
entist, Ailyn Vine, at Woods Hole, the
ALVIN has a titanium alloy hut! to with-
stand great pressure, can carry a crew of
three, and has a depth capability of
18.000 feet. Deep submersibles differ
from submarines principally in that they
are much smaller, have more maneu-
verability, and can descend to much greater
depths.
Two deep water dumpsites were
selected for EPA's pilot studies since his-
torical records indicated that they had re-
ceived the majority of radioactive wastes.
One site is located in the Pacific Ocean
near the Farallon Islands. 40 to 50 miles
offshore from San Francisco, and con-
sists of two disposal areas at 3,000 and
6,000 feet respectively.
The other site, designated on naviga-
tional charts as a disused munitions dis-
posal area, is in the Atlantic Ocean ap-
proximatels 120 miles east of the
Maryland-Delaware border at a depth of
8,000-9,000 feet.
The 3,000-foot depth site investigated
by EPA off the West Coast received ap-
proximately 3,600 containers of an unde-
termined radioactivity inventory while
the East coast site received approxi-
mately 30.000 containers with a total ac-
tivity of about 45,000 curies.*
Many government agencies, companies,
and research groups were involved in the
organization and performance of these
unique pilot studies. One comment kept
recurring regarding the proposed project:
"Locating these radioactive waste con-
tainers in thousands of feet of water,
miles out at sea, will be like looking for
the proverbial necdle-in-a-haystack!" II-
the weather holds out and //•' there are no
mechanical or electrical problems in the
complex submersible system, and //•' the
bottom topography is relatively smooth
so that the sonar system can find the
targets, then and only then can you have
the opportunity to search miles of ocean
bottom to locate the containers.
These contingencies loomed very large
and could not be overcome on the East
Continued on Pane 20
* A cunt' isi a special unit used in measuring radioaclivily
and is equal [o 37 billion nuclear disintegrations per sec-
ond.
PAGE 5
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OIL SPILLS AT SEA
While the demand for the production
and transportation of oil is urgent
all over the world, the danger of oil
spills at sea is always present.
The building of supertankers to carry
vast quantities of petroleum has
added to the concern about possible
massive spills. These photographs
illustrate some of the consequences
of accidents involving oil.
This sea gull may never recover from its
dive into oil-covered waters.
Oil bubbles up from massive leak at
drilling rig off Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969.
1'Alih (,
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-
- '^
Beach stained by tanker oil spill in
Narragansett Bay near Providence, R.I.
Tanker Torrey Canyon
breaks in two off coast of England in 1967,
spilling 33 million gallons of crude oil.
PAGE 7
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OIL SPILL
FIGHTER
As the Coast Guard cutter circled the
huge and spreading oil slick bubbling up
from a leaking well in the blue Santa Bar-
bara channel, Kenneth Biglane radioed to
the Coast Guard station at Santa Barbara,
Calif:
"She's coming into the harbor. There's
no way of stopping her now."
The man who sounded this warning
knew that one of the most dramatic and
trying chapters was about to begin in his
long career of oil spill prevention and
control.
At that time, February 4, 1969, Mr. Big-
lane, who is now Director of EPA's Oil
and Special Materials Control Division,
was with the Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration, one of EPA's
predecessor agencies.
For the next several weeks after the vast
carpet of oil smeared the harbor and
shoreline of Santa Barbara, he played a
key role in a tireless struggle by officials
of FWPCA, Coast Guard, other Federal
and local Government agencies and the
Union Oil Co., owner of the leaking well,
to curb the damage from the huge spill.
One of Mr. Biglane's main concerns.
Kenneth Biglane
was to discourage the spraying of deter-
gents, except in cases of fire hazard, to
help clean up the oil smears.
He explained that he had learned as an
observer of the effort to clean up after the
tanker Torrey Canyon was wrecked in
1967 off the coast of England that the use
of detergents greatly increases the harm
to water fowl and sea life.
"The Torrey Canyon was the first major
oil spill and is still the largest because 33
million gallons of Kuwait crude spilled
from this vessel," Mr. Biglane recalled.
"The oil from this spill hit both the Eng-
lish and the French shores. When I was
sent to the scene as an observer I found
that the English were using three million
gallons of detergents in an attempt to get
their beaches cleaned for the tourist sea-
son .
"Oil by itself is toxic. Adding deter-
gents makes it more toxic. The French
started using physical means such as
straw and wood chips to clean up oil on
their shores. As long as they did this the
damage to fish and wild life was minimal,
But then the French hotels got worried
about the tourist season so the French
also began to use detergents."
Mr. Biglane recalled that "the impact of
the Torrey Canyon caused every major
country to consider what it would do if
something like this happened to them."
Since the Torrey Canyon spill Mr. Big-
lane has traveled to countries around the
world as a consultant or observer when
major oil spills have occurred.
Approximately one year after the Torrey
Canyon spill, he flew to Puerto Rico as a
senior advisor to the U.S. Department of
the Interior after the tanker. Ocean Eagle,
broke in two and spilled over three mil-
lion gallons of oil in the San Juan harbor.
"This was a case where we learned the
importance of working with a local De-
partment of Public Works because it
could provide the manpower and equip-
ment we needed — resources a pollution
control agency does not normally have in
any quantity.
"I discouraged the use of detergents be-
cause I fell certain that use of these dis-
persants would have killed tons offish in
the San Juan harbor. Straw was used to
soak up the oil on shore and then we also
got every septic tank truck on the island
to haul oil away to surface pits or an oil
refinery."
lii December, 1968, Mr. Biglane flew to
Panama as a consultant to the Smithso-
nian Institution after the tanker, Whitwa-
ter, broke in two and spilled oil on a coral
reef the Smithsonian's tropical laboratory
had been studying.
"When the oil got to the shoreline we
held it in pools with booms until it could
be pumped out with bilge pumps. It was
pumped into shore pits and then burned.
Again we avoided using detergents."
In October, 1968, Mr. Biglane had
served as a U.S. delegate to the Interna-
tional Conference on Pollution on the Sea
in Rome This meeting led to the Brussels
Intervention Convention in Belgium in
November, 1969, which Mr. Bigtane also
attended as a U.S. delegate.
"It was at the Brussels conference that
agreement was reached that one Nation
could seize another's country's ship if it
was about to pollute by oil the shores of
the first country. In the ease of the Torrey
Canyon, Britain had been reluctant to
seize this vessel because it was flying a
foreign flag."
In 1970-71, Mr. BigJane was an advisor
or observer at three off-shore oil well
fires in the Gulf of Mexico.
"We learned from the Chevron oil well
fire in 1970 that it was better to let the
fire keep burning until a relief well could
be drilled to stop fresh oil from feeding
the bla/.e," Mr. Biglane said. He ex-
plained that as long as the fire was burn-
ing the amount of oil escaping to pollute
the Gulf of Mexico was relatively
small.
In 1971, Mr. Biglane was also a consult-
ant on cleanup efforts after the collision
of two tankers in San Francisco Bay re-
sulted in a large oil spill.
"We learned a great deal in this case
about using aerial surveillance to check
the extent and density of the oil spill." he
recalled.
in the summer of 1971, Mr. BigSane
flew to Australia to testify at hearings on
proposed drilling for oil in the Great Bar-
rier Reef.
"I gave sworn testimony for five days
on oil pollution control and prevention,"
he remembers. "1 was grilled by three
sets of barristers and they dredged up
every bit of experience I ever had. I gave
over 300 pages of testimony. It was
pleasinsz in a way because it indicated that
other countries were beginning to seek
out our technology."
In 1972, Mr. Biglane helped advise on
the cleanup after "one of the largest oil
spills in this country" was caused by
Hurricane Agnes. He said that six million
gallons of waste oil being held in storage
lagoons along the Schuylkill River
(above Philadelphia) were swept away
when the hurricane-lashed river water
rose 20 feet.
"We found oil 20 feet high in trees and
in the second floors of homes," Mr. Big-
lane recalled. "Thousands of barrels of
hazardous chemicals were also carried
away by this storm. We had to find and
dispose of these barrels."
In 1973, Mr. Biglane went back to
Puerto Rico to advise on the cleanup after
-------
another tanker spilled oil on the island's
south eoast. In the same year he traveled
as a consultant to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion to Jakarta, Indonesia, to conduct a
workshop on marine oil pollution.
Last year, Mr. Biglane says, "I had to
stay home and mind the store. We were
working on our oil spill prevention pro-
gram and we inherited the ocean dumping
program. We did work on the granting of
an ocean dumping permit for the burning
of wastes in the incinerator ship Vulcanus
- that was the first."
Earlier this year he went to Hawaii for
an EPA hearing on whether more than
1 1.000 tons of Herbicide Orange, a toxic
plant killer, should be burned in the Vul-
canus in the Pacific Ocean about 1.000
miles west of Hawaii.
Asked how he became involved in the
oil spill cleanup work, Mr. Biglane said,
"At the age of 12 1 worked as a roust-
about in the oil fields of South Arkansas
where an uncle of mine owned some
wells. I became familiar with oil spills
and leaks early."
A native of Shrcveport. La., Mr. Big-
lane received bachelor and master of sci-
ence degrees in aquatic biology from
Louisiana State University. He later he-
came chief of water pollution control,
Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Com-
mission, and executive secretary.
Louisiana Stream Control Commission.
Recalling those days, he said, "Some of
the worst examples of continuous dis-
charges of oil 1 ever saw were on the
coast of Louisiana. It used to be an
ecological pig sty. Certain areas of the
Louisiana coast became a biological des-
ert as a result. The environment can
bounce back from a one-time spill, but a
continual discharge of oil can do great
damage."
He added that he has been pleased to
notice when flying over the Louisiana
coast recently that "it is now well on its
way to being cleaned up. due in part, at
least, to action by EPA and the Coast
Guard."
Reviewing the progress made in this
country in coping with oil spills, Mr. Big-
lane said that all EPA Regional Offices
and all Coast Guard districts now have
contingency plans. There are also a
number of private contractors around the
country now who know how to cope with
oil spills.
"We are a lot more ready than we used
to be. We can minimi/.e damage, but we
can't protect everything. We have the ex-
pertise now, but we need to keep our
forces fine tuned."
Asked when the next major oil spill is
likely to occur, Mr. Biglane smiled and
replied:
"We try to be ready every day."a
ADMINISTERING
THE OCEAN
DUMPING ACT
f~\ .. * :
fi^K --..••'?-•*
This photo, made by the harth Resources
Technology (ERTS) Satellite, shows
S-sliaped pattern resulting from dumping
of sewage sludge outside New York Harbor.
In the more than two years since the
Ocean Dumping Act became effective,
all sea disposal of wastes in the United
States has been brought under full regula-
tory control by EPA and many dumpers
have been required to stop dumping im-
mediately or to prepare for phasing out
these activities.
The Act, formally known as the Marine
Protection, Research and Sanctuaries
Act, gives EPA the responsibility for
regulating the dumping of all materials
except dredged material.
While the Corps of Engineers has the re-
sponsibility for regulating the ocean
dumping of dredgings it must do so using
criteria promulgated by EPA in consulta-
tion with the Corps.
The Act provides for control of both the
transportation of material to be dumped
and the dumping itself. Banned entirely
are the ocean disposal of radiological,
chemical and biological warfare agents
and high-level radioactive wastes.
James L. A gee. Assistant Administrator
for Water and Hazardous Materials, told
the House Committee on Merchant Ma-
rine and Fisheries earlier this year that be-
tween 1973 and 1974 there had been a
total increase in ocean dumping of about
2.1 million tons from 1973 to 1974.
He explained that while there had been
an overall decrease in dumping of indus-
trial wastes during this period, the net in-
crease was caused by a rise in the dump-
ing of sewage sludge and construction
and demolition debris.
The volume of industrial wastes being
discharged at sea is on the decline and
EPA has denied 70 permit applications,
mostly for chemical dumping, since the
Ocean Dumping Act became effective.
Eleven ocean dumping sites in the At-
lantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico are
now used by approximately 100 permit
holders for municipal and industrial
wastes. There is no dumping in the
Pacific, although municipal sewage
sludge is discharged to the ocean through
outfall lines. The outfall discharges of
sludge on the West coast and elsewhere
are controlled under the National Pollut-
ant Discharge Elimination System.
Mr. Agee told the House committee that
"... we have seen a major problem
emerge which may have far-reaching
effects not only on the ocean dumping
permit program, but also on our entire
environmental protection effort."
The problem. Mr. Agee said, is how to
dispose of sewage sludge. As more and
more cities upgrade their sewage treat-
ment facilities from no treatment to pri-
mary, secondary or advanced waste
treatment processes, more and more sew-
age sludge is generated.
The greater degrees of treatment pro-
duce greater quantities of sludge and the
sludge from more advanced waste treat-
ment processes tends to contain large
quantities of trace metals and persistent
organic compounds, which may have ad-
verse environmental consequences
whether they are incinerated, put on the
land or dumped in the ocean.
All present dumping of municipal sew-
age sludge originates from the highly
congested New York and Philadelphia
metropolitan areas. The total volume of
the sludges from these two metropolitan
areas is almost equal to the volume ot all
other materials discharged under the
ocean dumping program.
Both the New York and Philadelphia
areas are dumping under interim permits
which stipulate that they must seek some
way of reducing concentrations of harm-
ful pollutants and must find alternate
methods of disposal.
In discussing the general question of
sludge dumping, Mr. Agee has said that
"we feel that the ocean disposal of sew-
age sludge, whether by dumping or by
outfall, can be permitted only an interim
basis until it is conclusively demonstrated
that ocean disposal of sewage sludge is
the most acceptable environmental alter-
native available for ultimate disposal
within the limitations of available
technology ."n
PACih 9
-------
THE GULF
By Betty Williamson
Director of Public Affairs, Region VI
BBBBBBBBBI
The unique basin of suit water called the
Gulf of Mexico is a partly enclosed, shal-
low sea bordered by five southern States
from Florida to Texas and by Mexico
from the Rio Grande to the Yucatan
Peninsula.
Because it receives the surface water
runoff from two-thirds of the area of the
conterminous United States and about
one-half of Mexico, it might be called the
Nation's sink.
But, it is also the Nation's fish basket;
32 percent of U.S. commercial fisheries
production comes from the Gulf, al-
though the coastline from the lip of
Florida to Brownsville, Texas, consti-
tutes only 13 percent of the conterminous
Stales' coastline.
The Gulf is the gateway to the mid-
United States. Its waters provide econom-
ical transportation to many inland cities
as well as those on the coast. Houston, 50
miles inland, is now the third U.S. sea-
port in annual tonnage handled.
The Gull covers the most extensive
offshore oil and gas fields in North
America, with thousands of wells already
producing from "Texas towers" strad-
dling waters as deep as several hundred
feet.
The Gull is '•mined" for salt and sulfur
and dredged for shells that are used as
road building material and as a source of
lime.
Last, but far from least, the Gulf and its
coast furnish recreation and enjoyment
for millions of people. No one knows the
total value of the Gulf beaches, boating,
swimming, sport fishing, and hunting.
One recent study estimated that more
than $4 billion was spent each year on re-
creation in the Gull.
Most of man's activities that damage or
threaten to damage the Gulf environment
take place along the narrow coastal strip,
in the shallow waters just offshore, and in
the rivers and bays that bring fresh water
into the Gulf. Here are the industries, the
people, and the pollution.
The immense inflow of fresh water is
what makes the Gulf one of the Nation's
most productive fisheries. Prof. Sewell
H. Hopkins of Texas A.& M. University
estimates that all Gulf rivers discharge
600 million acre-feet of fresh water,
laden with nutrients, each year. The Mis-
sissippi River alone accounts for about 80
percent of this water. This "natural pol-
lutant" of seawater creates the conditions
needed for young fish to survive and
grow. Estuaries where salt and fresh
water meet are "nurseries" for shrimp,
crabs, and most commercial finfish. Oys-
ters, a very valuable Gulf crop, live all
their lives in estuarine waters.
Some damage has already been done to
oyster beds by engineering work, oil con-
tamination, and sewage pollution. The
other fisheries have apparently not yet
been hurt, said Prof. Hopkins, but they
arc in danger. There have been warning
incidents—pollution kills of fish, for in-
stance, and apparent pesticide effects on
sea trout reproduction.
River diversion projects have long been
promoted by agencies at all levels of gov-
ernment, but their potential effects on the
estuaries have only recently become sub-
jects of concern. When water is taken for
irrigation or for industrial uses, there is
less fresh water entering the Gulf, and the
saltier water comes farther up the bays
and rivers.
Attempts by man to control the natural
flooding of the Mississippi have signifi-
cantly changed the ecology of the marsh-
lands. The loss of freshwater has caused
much of the vegetation to die, hastening
erosion.
Canal construction and dredging are
thought to be responsible for much of
Louisiana's land loss, about 16.5 square
miles a year, during the last 40 years, due
to coastal erosion.
The Nation's energy needs have pushed
oil and gas development up to 100 miles
offshore in the constant search for new
supplies. To get maximum benefit from
the known vast Gulf reserves, offshore
drilling has become a 24-hour activity.
While EPA is not opposed to this de-
velopment, it is asking for organized,
systematic planning and tight controls to
protect the aquatic environment. Much
time and effort are spent on the offshore oil
platforms to devise effective spill preven-
tion and control equipment. There are afso
highly developed sewage treatment
facilities for these "mini-cities" at sea.
EPA experts believe that most of the
pollutants discharged into the Gulf sel-
dom leave it. The mixing of Gulf water
with the Atlantic and the Caribbean is
limited and relatively slow.
Direct dumping of industrial waste in
the Gulf has been sharply curtailed since
the Ocean Dumping Law took effect in
the spring of 1973. Before then many mil-
lions of tons were dumped each year,
with no regulation and no records kept. In
1973, under temporary permits issued by
EPA's Region VI. 1.4 million tons were
dumped. In 1974 the total was cut to
950,000 tons, and at-sea incineration was
tried for the first time in the U.S. The
Shell Chemical Co., Deer Park, Texas,
burned 16,800 tons of organochlorides on
the Dutch incinerator ship Vulcanus,
with experts from EPA and other gov-
ernment agencies monitoring the effects
on water and air. This year only 140.000
tons of industrial waste are expected to be
dumped, one-tenth the 1973 amount.
There is still much to be learned about
how the infinitely complex ecosystem of
the Gulf of Mexico works.
The Agency's concern now is to guard
the estuaries and coastal waters from pos-
sible long-term harm from pesticides,
chemicals, and other contaminants that
are washed into the Gulf with the life-
giving fresh water, silt, and nutrients.n
PAGE 10
-------
Kllen Bowie, secretary of the Criteria
and Evaluation Division. Office of Pes-
ticide Programs, was Miss Maryland in
the Miss U.S.A. Beauty Pageant held at
Niagara Falls, N.Y.. recently. Miss
Bowie is 21 years old and has worked for
EPA for a year and a half. She lives in
Oxon Hill, Md. and is a graduate of
Crossland Senior High School, Camp
Springs. She also studied for a year at the
Fashion Institute of Design and Modeling
in Los Angeles, Calif.
Willis E. Greenstreet, Management
Division Director for Region III.
Philadelphia, has been selected for a
two-year mobility assignment under
EPA's Executive and Management De-
velopment Program and assigned to head
the Management Information and Data
Systems Divison in Washington. He suc-
ceeds Michael Springer, who was re-
cently chosen for a year-long executive
training program sponsored by the Civil
Service Commission and the Office of
Management and Budget.
Mr. Greenstreet entered the Federal
service in 1963 as a management intern
with the Federal Aviation Agency. He
later moved to the Post Office Depart-
ment where he designed and implemented
a nationwide personnel data system. With
EPA since 1971, he was Deputy Director
of Administration at the Cincinnati re-
search center before being assigned to
Philadelphia. He is a member of the
Agency's working group on automatic
data processing and an advisor to the
United Nations' International Referral
Service for environmental information.
Mr. Greenstreet was a member of the
Cincinnati management team which re-
cently won a Presidential Management
Improvement Award.
Christopher M. Timm, 34. has been
named Director of Region V's Surveil-
lance and Analysis Division. He had pre-
viously served as Acting Director and
Deputy Director for this Division. He
came to the Chicago office from Denver,
where he was in charge of technical in-
vestigations for Region VIII's Enforce-
PEOPLE
ment Division.
Mr. Timm joined the Federal Water
Quality Administration, an EPA pred-
ecessor agency, in Denver in 1969. His
work included lake eutrophication
studies, checking stream water quality in
mining areas, sewage plant operations,
and the control of radioactive waste piles.
He had previously worked as a hy-
drologist for the Bureau of Reclamation
in Albuquerque, N.M.
A native of Michigan City, Ind., Mr.
Timm earned a B.S. in civil engineering
from Purdue University and an M.S. in
sanitary engineering from the University
of New Mexico. He served three years
with the Army in nuclear weapons and
radiological health.
John C. White, Deputy Regional Ad-
ministrator in the Atlanta office, was re-
cently appointed Region VI Adminis-
trator. Dallas, succeeding Arthur W.
Busch, who resigned in January.
Mr. White, 45, has been with EPA since
its formation and had previously worked
four years with a predecessor agency, the
Federal Water Quality Administration.
and four years with the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. Before
joining the Federal service. Mr. White
had been design engineer with private
firms in Huntsville and Mobile, Ala.
He is a native of Blackshear, Ga., a
Navy veteran, and holder of a civil en-
gineering degree from the University of
Alabama and a law degree from Emory
University.
In announcing the appointment of Mr.
White, Administrator Russell E. Train
said:
"I am delighted that John White is un-
dertaking this critically important job as
Regional Administrator. Region VI is
one of the fastest growing, most challeng-
ing areas of the country.
"John White brings several essential
qualifications to his new job. As Deputy
Administrator in Atlanta, he has demon-
strated outstanding management ability.
He is dedicated to the environmental
goals of the Agency, which he has con-
sistently pursued with firmness, fairness
and balance. A career public servant.
White possesses strong professional qual-
ifications in the areas of EPA's respon-
sibilities, particularly in the field of water
quality. I am confident that John will es-
tablish and maintain effective communi-
cations with State and local officials, in-
dustries, and citizen groups throughout
the Region.
"He shares my belief that our environ-
mental goals can best be achieved by
working together. He is one of EPA's top
career professionals and 1 am confident
that he will do an outstanding job."
Victor J, Kimm has been named Dep-
uty Assistant Administrator for Water
Supply, heading the new Office of Water
Supply, formerly the Water Supply Divi-
sion. He reports to James L. Agee. As-
sistant Administrator for Water and
Hazardous Materials.
Mr. Kimm has been with EPA since
1971 and had been Deputy Director of the
Office of Planning and Evaluation. He
previously worked with the Economic
Development Administration, Depart-
ment of Commerce, and in a development
program operating in 14 Latin American
countries. As a licensed professional en-
gineer in New York and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Kimm worked for >i\ years in the
planning, design, and construction of
water supply, sewerage, and industiial
waste treatment facilities.
He was born in 1934 in Brooklyn, N.Y..
earned a B.S. in civil engineering at
Manhattan College and a master's in the
same field at New York University. He
studied economics and public adminis-
tration at Princeton University in 1 W)
70 on a fellowship from the National In-
stitute of Public Affairs.
He lives in McLean, V'a, with his wife
and their five children.Q
Kllen
Willis K. (irtunstreel
Christopher M. Timm
John (.'. While
Victor ,|. Kimm
PAGE I 1
-------
leaded gas fines
Two oil companies recently paid a total
of $9,250 in fines for selling leaded gas
from pumps labeled "unleaded," in
violation of EPA regulations requiring
stations to provide unleaded gas for new
cars with catalytic converters.
Region 1 Administrator John A.S.
McGlennon said the Gulf Oil Co. paid a
settlement of $5,250 for a violation at
Nashua, N.H., and a few days later
Texaco, Inc., paid $4,000 fora violation
at Lowell, Mass. Both stations were
owned by the companies and leased to
local operators. The Gulf fine was
believed to be the largest in the country
for this offense.
awards ceremony
Region I held its annual awards ceremony
June 25 on the Discovery, a floating
auditorium at the New England
Aquarium, Boston.
Awards for outstanding individual
accomplishment and long Federal service
were presented to 50 employees by
Regional Administrator McGlennon.
Deputy Regional Administrator Kenneth
Johnson discussed plans for fiscal 1976.
enforcement actions
Five municipalities in Nassau County,
N.Y., were recently cited for violating
State and Federal air pollution standards
in the operation of their incinerators.
They were the villages of Freeport,
Garden City, and Valley Stream; the City
of Long Beach; and Sanitary District No.
1, Lawrence.
Six firms and municipalities in Region
11 were cited for violating water pollution
cleanup permits and ordered to take
corrective measures. They included:
PAGE 12
Hudson Valley Apple Products Co.,
Milton, N.Y., and Capital City Products
Co., West New York, N.J., both ordered
to stop excessive discharges into the
Hudson River; Arrow Group Industries,
Haskell, N.J., Mclntyre Brothers Paper
Co., Fayetteville, N.Y., the Village of
Albion, N.Y., and the City of Perth
Amboy, N.J.
Civil penalties for pesticides law
violations were assessed recently against
Federal Chemical Co., Cranbury, N.J.,
$1,743 for selling a misbranded and
adulterated Federal Lawn Master Crab
Grass Control, and Oil Specialties and
Refining Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., $1,500
for misbranding its Kellco Products Mint
Disinfectant.
statement faulty
Region 11 reviewers recently found
serious deficiencies in a draft
environmental impact statement prepared
by the Army Corps of Engineers for the
proposed New York City Convention and
Exhibition Center in midtown
Manhattan. The proposed 2,000-car
parking garage would contribute to
unhealthful levels of carbon monoxide,
they said, and the plans did not take
sufficient account of mass transit
facilities. Deputy Regional Administrator
Eric S. Cutwater said the Center planners
had agreed to reduce parking spaces and
increase reliance on mass transit.
noise control moves
Interest in controlling noise pollution has
been growing in Region III. Two counties
have adopted noise control ordinances,
and a noise pollution study is under way
in a small city.
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
developed a proposed noise control law
designed to curb major sources of noise
and prevent noise levels from increasing.
The County Board of Health held a series
of public workshops to acquaint citizens
with provisions of the law.
Montgomery County, Md., adopted a
noise control law in April.
A special noise study is under way in
Morgantown, W. Va., to determine the
effect the opening of the Personal Rapid
Transit (PRT) System will have on noise
levels in the city. PRT is designed to
carry students between two campuses of
the University of West Virginia. Students
now drive between these locations,
causing traffic and noise problems.
wastewater planning
Region IV is moving ahead in areawide
wastewater treatment management
planning. The Region expects to have 35
designated areas in July , according to
Regional Administrator Jack E. Ravan,
and 46 areas (98 percent of those eligible)
at the close of Fiscal 1976.
The program in the eight southeastern
States involves more than 50
metropolitan planning organizations and
a total staff commitment of 300 persons.
Between 250 and 300 contractors are
assisting in the program.
More than 70 percent of the Region's
major industrial and municipal
dischargers are in the planning areas, as
well as many non-point sources, major
factors in lake eutrophication.
model company
The Interstate Paper Corp., of Riceboro,
Ga., has received several EPA grants and
has won national awards for
demonstrating that modern industry can
operate successfully without hurting the
environment.
A new illustration of the company's
community betterment work was reported
recently by the Savannah Evening Press.
A front page article asserted:
"A new job opportunity has opened for
some members of the Chatham
(Savannah) Association for Retarded
Citizens: Hand planting of pine
seedlings.
"The baby trees normally are planted by
machine. But the mechanical process is
unsatisfactory in odd-spaced, small
pockets of land.
"Some 15 retardees were hired by
Interstate Paper Corp., of Riceboro
during the 1974-75 planting season to
handle these special sites.
"Interstate Vice President William J.
Verross called the result 'excellent.' "
u.s. steel cited
Region V recently issued a 30-day notice
of violation of federally enforceable State
air pollution regulations to the U.S. Steel
Corp., Gary, Ind. The notice was
directed at four different sources which
-------
emit more than 9,000 tons of particulates
and 3,600 tons of sulfur dioxide per year.
The allowed emissions under the air
pollution regulations are 169 tons of
particulates and 890 tons of sulfur
dioxide.
U.S. Steel will have an opportunity to
meet with Region V officials to discuss
the violation.
midwest water study
Preliminary results of an 83-city study of
drinking water supplies in Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and
Wisconsin have been released by Francis
T. Mayo, Regional Administrator. The
study was designed to detect the presence
of organic material in the Region's
drinking water supplies.
This study, which supplements EPA's
national survey of 80 cities, found that
the highest amounts of chloroform were
in systems with river water sources.
strategy meeting
State public health authorities and EPA
officials from Regions VI through X held
a two-day meeting in Dallas recently to
discuss regulations and strategy for the
enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water
Act of 1974. The Act seeks to assure the
purity of public water supplies without
disturbing the historical relationships of
Federal, State and local governments. It
also would give primary enforcement
responsibility to the states.
The sessions reviewed the water supply
program and discussed State program
regulations.
meet the press
A one-day seminar in dealing with the
news media was held recently for Region
VI! divisional and program chiefs and
persons occupying related positions in
pollution control agencies of Missouri,
Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska.
Taking part were Eliot Porter, St. Louis
Post-Dispatch; Wes Iverson, Sun
Newspapers, Omaha, Neb.; Tom Eblen,
Kansas City Star; Charles Gray, WDAF
Radio, Kansas City; Chris Keller, Taft
Television, Kansas City; and Marlin
Fitzwater, EPA News Services Division,
Washington, D.C.
Randall Jessee, Rowena Michaels, and
Eloise Reed of the regional Public Affairs
Division, organized the seminar, with the
support of Jerome H. Svore, Regional
Administrator, and Charles V. Wright,
Deputy Regional Administrator.
industry waste meeting
Representatives of major industries that
discharge wastewater into the sewer
system of the Metropolitan Kansas City
Area met June 12 in Kansas City to learn
from Region VII officials what
pretreatment of wastewater is required of
them under EPA's discharge permit
system.
"We called this meeting at the request
of the Mid-America Regional Council to
dispel misconceptions by some
industries. . ." said Regional
Administrator Jerome H. Svore. ''If we
instill the fact that the same regulations
for pretreatment apply to them all, we
feel we will have helped the
municipalities in their enforcement
efforts."
More than $4 million in funds for
areawide wastewater management
planning is targeted for energy impact
areas.
lab dedicated
A central laboratory for Region VlII's
Surveillance and Enforcement Division
was formally opened June 13, with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony by Regional
Administrator John A. Green.
The new lab is in the Federal Building in
Denver, adjacent to EPA's National Field
Investigations Center. The facility
replaces laboratory operations that had
been in two widely separated locations.
Eighteen persons are on the laboratory
staff, under the direction of Keith O.
Schwab, Director of Surveillance and
Enforcement for the Region.
energy impacts
Helping the States of Region VIII cope
with burgeoning development of energy
resources, EPA is providing more than
S15 million for a variety of programs
concerned with the impact of energy
development on States and localities.
Some $8 million is going into the
Region for research in pollution control
technology for power plants, health and
ecological effects, mining and
reclamation, and air and water quality
studies.
Regional programs totalling $3 million
are directed toward monitoring, technical
investigations, prediction and evaluation
of impacts, and planning.
California standards
Administrator Russell E. Train has
granted California's request to set for that
State 1977 automobile emission
standards more stringent than will be
required by EPA elsewhere in the
country.
The action allows California's Air
Resources Board to require that 1977
models emit no more than .41 grams per
mile of hydrocarbons, 9.0 gpm of carbon
monoxide, and 1.5 gpm of nitrogen
oxides. Comparable Federal standards for
that year will be 1.5 gpm of
hydrocarbons, 15.0 gpm of carbon
monoxide, and 2.0 gpm of nitrogen
oxides.
The State Board made the formal
request in March. A public hearing was
held in Los Angeles April 29. The waiver
was granted May 20. Administrator Train
ruled that: 1) compelling and
extraordinary air pollution conditions
exist in California, and 2) auto
manufacturers have adequate technology
and lead time to meet the more stringent
standards.
smelter study
Intensive monitoring of air quality and
pollution fallout near a big copper
refining plant at Tacoma, Wash., is under
way this summer, Region X
Administrator Clifford V. Smith Jr. has
announced.
The study seeks to determine the precise
health effects of chronic, low-level
exposure to arsenic and other heavy
metals released into the air at the plant,
owned by American Smelter and
Refining Co. (ASARCO).
The work, to be performed under an
EPA contract by the American Public
Health Association, will focus on how
much arsenic is inhaled from the air or
ingested in drinking water and food
grown in contaminated soil by persons
living near the smelter and downwind
from it. D
PAGE 13
-------
THE
JOBFUTOTIE
AT EPA
AN INTERVIEW
WITH ALVINL. AIM,
ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
How is job classification review proceeding? Where does
EPA stand on the four-day work week? How can the re-
gions handle the increasing workload? What is the average
grade in EPA now? Does EPA want to encourage bike rid-
ing? What is the Agency doing to prevent discrimination
against women?
Q: A Washington newspaper recently carried a front
page story staling that the Civil Service Commission has
started an intensive audit of government jobs designed to
result in massive Federal job downgradings and resultant
cuts in salary. The newspaper article slates that the Civil
Service Commission suspects that perhaps as many as 30
percent of all Federal jobs are classified too high. Do you
have any know/edge of such a plan and, if so, will EPA be
affected?
A: I gather the basis for the article was the study of posi-
tions in 18 agencies completed in May this year. The study
was designed to determine whether jobs were being prop-
erly classified. Incidentally, EPA was not one of the agen-
cies included, possibly because our own review at Head-
quarters had been completed so recently.
1 know of no plan for any massive downgrading of jobs.
As you know, we are reviewing all Headquarters positions
to determine proper classifications. The Commission will
not be reviewing EPA positions at Headquarters.
Q: //) your opinion, are grades too high in some cases in
EPA?
A: In some cases, yes. The Civil Service Commission
evaluations and EPA evaluations have indicated that some
EPA positions are overgraded. We have attempted in the
field and Headquarters to minimize the number of
downgradings by restructuring of the jobs, shifting addi-
tional duties, and organizational changes. In some cases,
downgradings are necessary but we are attempting to keep
these to an absolute minimum.
Q: EPA's Personnel Management Division has been
checking on jobs and grade levels in certain offices of the
Agency since January. Why is this being done?
A: The Civil Service Commission conducted a com-
prehensive review of personnel practices at Headquarters.
In that review, the Commission indicated that we needed
to evaluate all Headquarters position classifications. On
the basis of that directive, we sent the Commission a
schedule for review of all EPA Headquarter positions.
The Commission accepted our schedule and the review is
currently underway.
Q: What has the review found generally so far?
A: In general, we found the majority of the position de-
scriptions in the Office of Enforcement (where the review
began) are up-to-date and accurate. Where we discovered
classification problems, we've worked with the Office of
Enforcement in the restructuring of jobs and organizational
changes. We are working very closely with that Office to
keep the number of downgradings to an absolute
minimum.
Q: Then some downgradings have been recommended?
A: No decisions have been made as to whether
downgradings will occur. As I indicated, some positions
are over-graded and management actions will be neces-
sary. I assume that in some cases, downgradings will be
required. Even where this occurs, employees' salaries are
protected for a two-year period.
Q: What about job cutbacks? Are any being considered?
A: Our 1976 Budget would provide a 97 position in-
crease for EPA. Within the total budgetary ceiling there
are a number of major programatic shifts, the biggest one
being the shift of permit positions to construction grant
activities. With the magnitude of the shifts, some job re-
ductions may be necessary, but they will be small and iso-
lated.
Q: Have downgrades been recommended in the field and
regional offices?
A: Yes. Based on Civil Service requirements, both EPA
and CSC reviews have recommended downgradings. As
with the Headquarters review, we have attempted to keep
downgradings to a minimum.
Q: Is the harm done to morale worth the savings that
may be achieved by downgrading?
A: One has to remember the purpose of classification re-
views is to be consistent with a number of Civil Service
requirements that are a matter of law. The dollar savings
from downgradings are minimal, if any. Clearly, any
downgradings cause significant morale problems. For this
reason, we attempt to work closely with EPA offices to
minimize or completely prevent downgradings or
reductions-in-force. There are limitations and some ad-
verse actions will be necessary. We do, however, attempt
to keep these to an absolute minimum.
Q: Do you think the new R&D reorganization is going to
help EPA , and if so, why do you think so?
A: I believe the new organization will help in a number
of ways. It will eliminate a level of overhead that occurred
in the past and will place more of the research management
responsibilities in the field. These changes should result in
more efficient use of ORD resources.
Q: What reactions have you heard about the R&D reor-
ganization?
A: Any reorganization results in mixed reactions. Some
employees feel that the reorganization will hurt them per-
sonally, and some even feel that the research program will
be adversely affected. It is important to recognize that the
reorganization has been designed so that only a relative
handful of people, fewer than 80, will have to move to new
areas.
PAGE 14
-------
'OVERALL, I THINK THAT OUR
RELATIONSHIP WITH
THE COMMITTEES
WILL BE EXCELLENT..."
Q: Doesn't this reorganization tend to centralize control
in Washington at a rime when other EPA activities, en-
forcement and grants administration and perhaps others,
are being shifted to regional offices?
A: There will be a net reduction in Headquarters person-
nel from the reorganization, although admittedly, it is
small. The previous organization and planning system ves-
ted very detailed headquarters controls over research proj-
ects, even though Headquarters offices were supposed to
be staff offices. These functions are now being decen-
tralized to the laboratory level.
Q: What position has EPA taken on legislation proposed
by the Civil Service Commission which would provide for
flexible working hours within certain limits and a possible
four-day week?
A: We have generally supported the legislation. In addi-
tion, we have asked the Civil Service Commission to allow
EPA to participate as a pilot agency in the Commission's
study of the compressed work week and flexible work
hours when the legislation is enacted.
Q: What do you think of the prospects of Congressional
approval of EPA's budget requests for Fiscal 1976?
A: I believe they are excellent. I was extremely pleased
by the reaction of our new Appropriations Committees.
Both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees
were impressed with the magnitude of EPA's task and the
ability of EPA witnesses to respond to questions. Overall,
1 think that our relationship with the Committees will be
excellent and that they are sympathetic to our budget
needs.
Q: Some regional personnel are wondering how they are
going to handle the additional responsibilities being given
to them with no increase of personnel. Will more people be
sent to the regions from Headquarters?
A: The 1976 Budget projects a net of 74 additional posi-
tions in the field. There is no doubt that our regional of-
fices are strapped in terms of resources and that EPA can-
not do everything required of it within the current level of
resources. As part of the 1976 regional guidance, we pre-
pared an intermediary priority ranking of all EPA's pro-
grams. I think it will be incumbent upon us to carefully
choose our priorities and concentrate on those activities
with the highest payoff.
Q: You have visited all the regions now. What is your
impression of their operations?
A: My general impression is extremely favorable. 1 have
been a strong proponent of decentralization as a manage-
ment principle, and believe that it is working well in EPA.
I believe that the quality of personnel is extremely high
and the executive development program has been success-
ful in assuring that top management jobs are filled on the
basis of merit. The regions obviously have problems,
many of them related to resources. Some of the major
problems are getting the construction grant funds obligated
and dealing with some of the complexity of the air quality
program. Certainly the issuance of most major permits is a
very significant accomplishment. I think the progress the
regions have made has been impressive and something that
EPA can be very proud of.
Q: Is it true that EPA's top leadership is pushing to get
supervisors to try to fill job vacancies at lower grade
levels? Why has this been done, if this is correct?
A: The average grade constraints have required EPA top
management to encourage filling jobs at a lower level than
the previous incumbent. Beyond the average grade con-
trol, there are other good reasons for filling jobs at lower
grades. Since employees are likely to stay a number of
years when there are promotion possibilities, the agency
can create a more stable atmosphere by bringing in people
at lower grades and providing them with promotional op-
portunities. By doing this, we can reduce the turnover rate
which has historically been relatively high in EPA.
Q: What is the average grade level now in EPA ?
A: The average grade level right now is 9.39.
Q: Is this too high?
A: No, I don't believe so. Because of strong manage-
ment action, the grade level has been relatively constant
for the last six months.
Q: Why did management officials recently instruct the
building guards at Headquarters to stop the practice of
letting some bicyclists bring their bikes into their offices
for security reasons?
A: The General Services Administration put out a direc-
tive that precluded this practice.
Q: Why was this action taken before adequate bike racks
and security arrangements were made for the protection of
these bicycles?
A: In terms of spaces, we have adequate facilities. We
have spaces for 64 bicycles with only 30 bicyclists actually
using the facilities. There have been thefts of bicycles in
certain areas, which has probably resulted in overcrowding
of the bicycle racks next to the front of the West Tower.
We will shortly be providing 30 units of secure facilities.
If these facilities are fully used, we will provide secure
facilities for any additional bicyclists.
Q: Is EPA going to take any other action to encourage
more of its employees to ride bikes to work? For example,
are additional showers and lockers to be provided?
A: Yes. We are contracting for additional shower
facilities. Currently, the stress lab is open for this purpose,
although there are scheduling problems that prevent this
from being anything but a makeshift, temporary situation.
Q: Is it true that an effort will be made to replace all
Regional Administrators who are career employees with
political appointees?
A: Absolutely not. On February 15th, the President
signed an Executive Order shifting the Regional Adminis-
trators of all Federal agencies into non-career job classifi-
cations. Prior to that action, our Regional Administrators
were in a category called Limited Executive Appoint-
ments. Since we have administratively given our career
Regional Administrators re-entry rights into the career
service, the President's action does not change the status
of EPA's Regional Administrators. We have continued the
practice of using merit procedures to select Regional Ad-
ministrator candidates. I do not foresee any change in
EPA's policies for choosing Regional Administrators nor
in their rights for future career opportunities.
Continued on Page 19
PAGE 15
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EPAS ROLE IN A
GLOBAL INFORMATION SYSTEM
BY FITZHUGH GREEN
Associate Administrator, Office of International Activities
United Nations
Environment
Program headquarters
in Nairobi, Kenya.
A computerized data center is scheduled
to begin operating at EPA headquarters in
September as part of the United Nations
-sponsored global environmental exchange
system.
The concept, known officially as the In-
ternational Referral System for Sources
of Environmental Information, was pro-
posed by the British delegation at the
1972 U.N. Conference on the Human
Environment in Stockholm.
The State Department recently designated
EPA as the United States center in the sys-
tem designed for the speedy distribution of
environmental information around the
world.
In acknowledging this designation. Ad-
ministrator Russell E. Train said, "I wel-
come the opportunity for EPA to play a
leadership role in the development of an in-
ternational information system which will
serve the needs of this country as well as
provide assistance to other nations within
the UN."
Working in collaboration with informa-
tion specialists from the UN and abroad,
Dolores Gregory, head of the Visitors and
Information Exchange Division, Office of
International Activities, and Sarah
Thomas, chief of the Library Systems
Branch, have brought the International
Referral System concept to the brink of
operating reality.
Last year Ms. Gregory served for several
weeks in Nairobi on a six-person interna-
tional task force to iron out details of or-
ganization and implementation. Also act-
ing as UN consultants at that time were
EPA Systems Analysis Specialists Philip
Arberg and Lester Needle. Willis
Greenstreet who was then in Region III
also participated the previous year.
What does the system do? First, it re-
quires that all UN member nations desig-
nate "National Focal Points," and since
the Stockholm conference some 90 na-
tions have done so. Each Focal Point is to
develop an inventory of sources of en-
vironmental information - - scientific,
technical, organizational, legislative and
general. These national inventories are
then submitted to the International Refer-
ral System unit in Nairobi which codes
them and sends them to the International
Computer Center in Geneva for "proc-
essing" i.e. being entered into the com-
puter and becoming available for use.
From then on questions on any phase of
environmental activity can be referred to
Nairobi from anywhere. The questioner
will receive the name and addresses of
environmental sources that can supply the
needed answer.
A committee, established by the De-
partment of State and including repre-
sentatives from several Federal agencies.
is to provide policy guidance for the U.S.
Focal Point within EPA. Currently, EPA
is assembling a management unit which
\villconsist of a director and a staff of five.
Incidentally, sophisticated systems in-
volving computers are not necessary to
operate a focal point. This is a break for
the developing nations whose modest
communication systems would otherwise
be unable to coordinate with the focal
points of industrialized giants like the
United States or the Soviet Union.
The International Referral System, to-
gether with GEMS (the Global Environ-
mental Monitoring System) will ulti-
mately comprise a broad UN environmen-
tal program, "Earthwatch." This is the
logical first step for a world environment
control program, because it will provide a
combination of sources of information
and sources of observed data on the state
of the world environment.
Now I'll admit this description of the
Referral System sounds a bit bureaucratic
and theoretic. Let's examine a concrete
example of how it might help a country in
trouble: Suppose the little kingdom of
Poltrunia discovers that some of its citi-
zens who reside along a river are begin-
ning to die mysteriously and in great
pain. Autopsies reveal no infectious
micro-organisms but some traces of cad-
mium in the victims' bodies.
Although Poltrunia is an under-
developed nation, it has recently named
its own Focal Point. So the Poltruman
environment director immediately wires
Nairobi for information on how this
tragedy can be stopped.
The referral system then responds
promptly to the emergency — i.e. that the
Japanese National Focal Point can offer
information on this subject because its
citizens had also suffered horribly from
what they called I tut I tat disease (Itui Itui
means "ouch ouch").
The Japanese dispatch full data on their
experience. Whereupon the Poltrunians
quickly deduce that fish caught in the
river have been exposed to the cadmium
accumulations from the agricultural run-
off from nearby farms. With no EPA to
stop them the farmers have been using
excessive amounts of cadmium-
containing pesticides. Cadmium can
cause a toxicity build-up ultimately lethal
to humans. So prompt measures are taken
to avoid the no-longer mysterious deaths.
Right now, as the U.S. Focal Point,
EPA is fanning out thousands of input
forms to describe and compile our own
inventory of sources of environmental in-
formation. Also, we are looking for a
good name for the "U.S. Focal Point"
and employees are invited to submit
suggestions to EPA's Management and
Organization Division at Headquarters in
Washington. If one of these suggestions
is selected, the proposer will be awarded
a small prize.a
PACiK 16
-------
SKY LISTENING
By Rich Lathrop
Public Affairs Officer. Region VIII
Balloon is raised to
help monitor urban noise.
When the 12-foot long balloon was floated over Boulder.
Colo., in a unique attempt (o measure city noise through a
monitor in the sky it marked a beginning and an end.
It was the beginning of aerial monitoring of noise in EPA's
Rocky Mountain-Prairie Region and the end of a year of planning
and scrounging for parts to build the balloon system.
Moments after the launch last year two men at the end of the
balloon's tether congratulated each other as the transmitter in the
sky began to send information to instruments on the ground.
Bob Simmons and Bob Chanaud had stood near the same site a
year earlier looking up at the Flatirons, a large rock outcrop that
looms behind the city of Boulder.
Chanaud. an acoustician and noise consultant to Region VIII
was also a rock climber, a combination which sparked an idea.
"It we could put instruments on top of the Flatiron." he said.
"we could measure a whole segment of Boulder's noise with one
shot."
"But we can't move the Flatirons," replied Mr. Simmons, Re-
gional Noise Control Officer. "We could move a balloon and
using a balloon in just a few locations a community could
monitor its entire noise at a price it could afford."
The result of this conversation was a remote sensing system
designed and built with second-hand, surplus and borrowed
equipment at a total cost of less than $400. The balloon was
bought from the National Center for Atmospheric Research at
Boulder. It is much more stable than the usual weather balloon.
and was flown from a borrowed winch to heights up to 1,600
feet. The balloon can remain stationary even in a 20-mile wind.
Its instrument payload weighed two kilograms (about 5 pounds)
and contained electronic monitoring equipment and a small
battery-powered transmitter. The noise level signals were re-
ceived and recorded on Army surplus equipment.
This prototype balloon system was used to demonstrate the
feasibility of the method. Mr. Simmons said. He hopes to have
an improved system available soon for use throughout the region.
Already, he said, two Federal agencies have expressed interest
in the balloon monitoring techniques. The Forest Service is in-
terested in measuring the noise made by snowmobiles and
motorcycles on its lands and the Army wants to check noise made
by its vehicles during maneuvers and by construction equipment.
Total community noise levels can now only be estimated from
many ground-level measurements. An easy and much cheaper
method such as the balloon system to gauge total noise could
provide baseline levels against which to measure future change-..
David A. Wagoner. Director of the Air and Hazardous Mate
rials Division, said that balloon monitoring activity is only one
aspect of the Region's support for vigorous local community ef-
forts to deal with noise pollution.
"In 1972." Mr. Wagoner said, "there was no noise control
program in the Region with a lull-time enforcement officer.
Today there are 16 community programs with 25 employees and
more interest is being generated every da\. These programs arc
totally paid for by the communities, a good measure of commu-
mt\ concern about the effects of noise.'"
Alvin F. Meyer Jr., Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Noise Abatement, said that Region V'lll's work in this field has
been "excellent."
Discussing community noise programs. Mr. Simmons said that
the) need an enforcement officer and three knuls of well-defined
standards: use zones or noise limits for residential, industrial and
commercial areas; noise limits tor vehicles and inclusion of noise
considerations in all decisions kin land use.
Use /ones involve decibel limits to protect individuals from
their neighbors' noise. Frequently, 55 decibels is used lor a day-
time maximum in residential areas and 50 decibels for nighlime.
If noise from even a distant source is sufficient!) annoying, an
individual can call the local environmental officer.
If these sound levels are exceeded, the officer who is called
should use diplomacy, Mr. Simmons stressed. The goal is to
achieve quiet without harassment or economic hardship
Control of vehicle noise is usually established with a noise trap.
With a microphone and recording equipment set up a short dis-
tance from a highway, the environmental officer monitors pas-
sing traffic.
When cars or motorcycles exceed HO decibels, a police officer
in a chase car stationed up the road is notified by walkie-talkie
that "a customer for quiet" is on the way, and the offending
vehicle is described.
Chase officers who stop such cars should be picked tor their
ability to talk to people. Again, the soft approach is preferred.
The officer explains the violation, the city's program, and the
motorist's options. The motorist is issued a summons, which will
be waived by the city if the noisy vehicle is quieted and tested
Continued on Page 19
PAGE 17
-------
•
EflN IMPORTANT TO YOU
Harry F. Smith Jr., Water Supply En-
gineer, Region II, New York: "It's primar-
ily u form of recreation for me. I go sailing
in the ocean and it gives me a lot of peace
and contentment to be out there with the
wind and a full sail. It's a great way to un-
wind. I particularly enjoy sailing at night
when there are very few boats out. You
don't feel like you're in a metropolitan area
when you're more than half a mile off
shore. It is really beautiful on some nights
when the moon is shining over the water
and the whole city of New York is lit up
like a gorgeous backdrop."
Edward F. Wong, Natural Resource Offi-
cer, Region I Laboratory, Ncedham,
Mass.: "The ocean is a dynamic force,
forming embayments where nutrients from
the wetlands combine with minute marine
organisms of the sea to form a reservoir of
food that supplies oysters and other mem-
bers of the shellfish community. This
community, lying on the ocean floor, is a
vivid social order inhabited not by shellfish
alone but by other sea animals. These
neighbors consist of crabs, sponges, barna-
cles, flatworms, starfish and a host of as-
sorted fishes, either friend or foe. The
ocean is everything to the marine commu-
nity. It provides a place to propagate, a
place for the young to grow and to sustain
THE MUCH RESOUNDING SEA,
Thomas Mnrun. National Gallery of Art.
Washington, gift of the Avalon Foundation.
life in a wet and crowded manner. The
ocean is more than water to me. It is teem-
ing with life and a culture of its own."
Debbie Schmitt, Library Technician, Re-
gion III, Philadelphia: "One of my favorite
places is the ocean. It's full of good
memories and when I am there with
friends, we always have great times. It's
also a source of personal comfort and inspi-
ration. 1 can really relax there—problems
don't seem as bad by the sea. We often tend
to think of the ocean as infinite and self-
renewing, when it is actually a living thing.
We can't continually dump waste and trash
in it without some consequences. Although
sludge disappears from sight, the effect
may not show up for years. However, with
careful planning the pollution results could
minimally affect the sea life and shore
life."
John Wise, Environmental Impact State-
ment Coordinator, Region IX, San Fran-
cisco: "The ocean, or more specifically the
coastal marine environment, is important
from two perspectives. First, from an
ecological perspective, the natural prod-
uctivity of the marine organisms in the
coastal waters, estuaries, and wetlands is of
immeasurable value as the basis for food
for this and future generations. Second.
from a personal perspective of recreational
needs, the coastal marine-land environment
offers opportunity for wilderness, solitude
and renewal."
Tony da Silva, Sanitary Engineer, Region
IV, Atlanta: "I do a lot of fishing in the
ocean with nets which I can't do any place
else. I learned from my father how to make
seine nets of nylon webbing, lead weights,
ropes and styrofoam floats. I am working
on a net now which will be 220 feet long.
On weekends I drive to the ocean beaches.
usually off Brunswick. Ga. I take at least
four people with me. When we get to the
beach two of us walk with one end of the
net as far out in the ocean as possible with-
out going over our heads. We then pull the
net horizontally and swing in toward shore
again, bringing with us all the fish which
had been swimming in this loop. Pulling in
the loaded nets takes a lot of muscle. We
have caught as many as 100 fish in one
sweep of the net. We catch mostly mullet
and other bottom fish. We cook some of
these fish right on the beach and have a
good time. The net fishing is best in the
evening or at dawn."o
J .
lhirr> K. Smith Jr.
Kdward K. Won;;
John Wise
Tonv da Silva
PAGI-: is
-------
JOB FUTURE Continued from Page 15
Q: UVi_v didn't the Agency implement its 1^74 gouts for
improving the grade structure far women in EPA?
A: Frankly, the goals were set without serious considera-
tion of how they could be implemented. Guidelines are
now being prepared by the Personnel Management Divi-
sion on how to set goals and realistically implement them.
We are trying a number of approaches to improving the
grade structure of women. Obviously, the Executive De-
velopment Program provides one ladder to improve their
grade structure. The new Upward Mobility, in which 1
percent of all Agency positions are designated for this pur-
pose, should result in many women moving from non-
professional or subprofessional jobs to professional jobs.
In 1975 three women were selected for long-term
graduate training. Although not a large number, this is a
very significant increase for EPA. One of the Agency's
three nominees for the one-year Congressional operations
fellowship is a woman. We've also nominated the first
woman recently for a one year assignment with industry
under the President's Executive Interchange Program.
While there is a great deal to be done, this is a positive
start. It is critically important that all Agency managers
give a great deal more attention to considering women and
minorities for higher level jobs. Although we have de-
veloped special programs, which will help, we need the
support of line managers at every level in the Agency if we
are to achieve our objectives.
'WE SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD
TO MISUSE THE TALENT
WITHIN EPA."
Q: Is // true that mule veterans were, or are, given dou-
ble preference when applying for EPA positions'.'
A: It was true. We had previously inadvertently given
preference to veterans for the management intern program
on top of the extra scores inundated by law. When we
realized that this was providing double preference, we dis-
continued the practice. We currently do not give double
preference to male veterans.
Q: What is being done lo improve the situation of the
high percentage of women college graduates in clerical
positions?
A: We are taking a number of steps to improve this situa-
tion. The Upward Mobility Program will move employees
from non-professional to professional job categories.
Since women represent a disproportionate amount of lower
grade positions, this program will be of special benefit to
them. Secondly, where we find qualified people in non-
professional jobs, we are working to build them into pro-
fessional jobs. We simply cannot afford lo misuse the ta-
lent within EPA.
Q: What is being done to stop the practice oj using the
pronoun "she" in the standard job position description
for secretaries'.'
A: The position description for secretaries has been
completely revised to remove any reference to sex.n
noise Continued from Pace 17
within a prescribed time. Most factory-equipped and well main-
tained cars and motorcycles can meet the SO decibel limit.
High-performance and modified vehicles are the most frequent
offenders. Trucks and buses are allowed somewhat higher levels.
"The diplomatic approach brings about 95 percent \oluni,ir\
compliance," said Mr, Simmons. "It is rare to have to fine
someone to achieve the desired results."
Use /.ones and vehicle traps help eliminate noise, [.and use con-
trols can help protect a city's noise goals, he explained. Adminis-
tratively or by law . local governments can control issuance of
building permits, /oning changes, even highway construction in
a manner that can solve noise problems before they become prob-
lems.
Developers are routinely required to demonstrate impacts of
their proposals on traffic patterns, sewage s\ stems, water sup-
ply, etc. More communities arc now asking for similar informa-
tion on noise effects.
And more communities are asking more questions about noise
programs. How can we slarl one? What kind of monitoring is
necessary'.' How do we sell the city council on the program?
What constitutes a good ordinance'.'
To answer those and many other questions, Mr. Simmons and
Mr. Chanaud have written a 350-page Community Noise Ordi-
nance Workbook that can be used by communities lo develop an
effective, enforceable noise ordinance.
From an introduction and justification lor noise control based
on noise effects on health and welfare, the workbook lakes die
reader through a suggested procedure designed to help the com-
munity create a comprehensive program tailored to its ow n noise
problems and taking into account the community's economic and
administrative capabilities.
In draft form, the workbook has been used in Region VIII.
Formal publication by the Agency is planned after an inira-
agency review is completed.
In Region VIII, noise control is usualU the lust environmental
program to he initiated at the local level and this helps stimulate
concern for other EPA programs. Regional Administrator John
A. Green stated.
"Successful programs tend to proliferate." Mr. Cirecn noted.
We like to think we've hit upon a successful combination with
the community approach, the aerial monitoring and the work-
book. For community noise control programs there's nowhere to
go but up."
With or without a balloon.D
PAGE 19
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RADIOACTIVE
Continued from Page 5
coast operations of May and
September-October, 1974, where both
mechanical and weather difficulties
forced cancellation of the ALVJN dives.
However, with the cooperation and sup-
port of EPA's Marine Protection Branch
of the Office of Water Program Opera-
tions, the Manned Underseas Science and
Technology Program and the Marine En-
vironmental Protection Office of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration (NOAA), the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, and the Vir-
ginia Institute of Marine Science, much
oceanographic data in this Atlantic region
was collected by the research vessels Del-
aware and Albatross, Also, the existence
of large populations of the potentially
commercially exploitable large red crab,
Gervon quinquedens, was verified in the
Hudson Canyon approximately 90 miles
north of the radioactive waste dumpsite.
In addition, some munitions containers
were found in the trawls near the
dumpsite area confirming the relative ac-
curacy of Ihe published coordinates for
past munitions dumping operations and
providing support for the supposition that
the radioactive wastes will also be found
in this dumpsite area as reported.
The West coast operation near the Faral-
lons met with remarkable success. This
pilot study was a coordinated effort of
EPA's Office of Radiation Programs and
Water Program Operations, the Navy's
Undersea Center at San Diego, and In-
terstate Electronics Corporation. The op-
eration budget permitted only five days to
be spent in running station lines in search
of the radioactive waste containers. After-
two and one-half days of searching the
ocean bottom the first cluster of targets
was located consisting of about 150
fifiy-five gallon drums nestled in a small
valley between 300 foot embankments at
a depth of 2,800 feet. In the subsequent
two and one-half days, two more target
clusters were found. After five days this
mission had succeeded in: (1) taking the
first videotape and 35 mm coverage
documenting the conditions of the
radioactive waste barrels, (2) taking the
first precision-located sediment core
samples in a radioactive waste disposal
area using a specially-devised rosette
corcr attached to the CURV Ill's man-
ipulating arm. (3) finding large sponges
up to four feet high, (possibly a new
genus) attached to the radioactive waste
containers; these sponges were, in at least
one case, partly responsible for
biodeterioration of a metal container, and
(4) documenting edible species of fish in
the immediate vicinity of the con-
tainerised radioactive wastes.
We have obtained much preliminary in-
formation on container integrity and de-
sign. Through existing records and corre-
spondence pertaining to past disposal op-
erations in the region of the Farallon Is-
lands, we have been able to determine the
age of the photographed containers as be-
tween 20 and 22 years old. Those
radioactive wastes packaged in an inner
matrix of concrete have maintained rela-
tively good integrity while those pack-
aged in a gel matrix with a bitumen (tar)
liner did not stand up as well. Radionu-
clide analyses for strontium, cesium,
uranium, thorium, radium, plutonium,
and gross gamma activity are currently
being completed, and an operations re-
port on the Farallon Islands pilot study is
soon to be published. Preliminary results
of radiochemical analyses of samples has
detected some levels of plutonium above
background in sediment at the site. The
implications of these findings are under
investigation and the results will be the
included in a forthcoming technical re-
port.
Since the studies conducted in 1974
were primarily pilot studies to determine
the feasibility of this unique approach
using deep submersibles, the Office of
Radiation Programs has organized two
follow-up studies for this summer to pro-
vide more specific answers to continuing
questions such as:
(1) What are the hydrostatic pressure ef-
fects on containers dumped at 6,000-
9,000 feet as opposed to now-
documented effects at 3.000 feet? (The
present internationally-recommended
minimum disposal depth is 6,000 feet.)
(2) What is the speed and direction of
dispersion forces in the disposal areas?
(3) What is the sediment sorption or ca-
tion exchange capacity for released
radionuclides?
(4) Are the past packaging and container
design specifications adequate to assure
that no radioactive materials will be re-
leased when dumped in waters greater
than 6,000 feet deep? If not, can these
specifications be attained with current
technology?
(5) What should be the design and extent
of a monitoring program around any fu-
ture radioactive waste dumpsites?
Only after the successful completion of
the 1975 studies may enough information
be available to begin answering some of
these questions.D
NOTE: The International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. Austria, is
developing international recommenda-
tions for ocean dumping of radioactive
wastes pursuant to its responsibility as
stated in the International Ocean Dump-
ing Convention of 1972. To fulfill its re-
sponsibility the IAEA has established an
international panel of experts to assist in
the development of specific recommenda-
tions. EPA (Office of Radiation Pro-
grams) will present its findings to the
IAEA panel of experts in its role as the
United States representative to this panel.
A deep scu l'ish. a Thonn head (Scbaslolohus). sv.ims pas! drum of
i;ulnucli\c wastes photographed by the C'l'RV in the Pacific.
Thi.' dcnl in the middle of this drum is believed lo he llie result
of underwater pressure.
PAGH 20
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"briefs
PRESIDENT DEDICATES CINCINNATI LABORATORY
President Ford dedicated the new $28 million Environmental Research
Center in Cincinnati on July 3. The new structure will accommodate
several laboratories and administrative offices. The new EPA
research center will be occupied in late September, or early October.
CALIFORNIAN CHOSEN AS EPA ENFORCEMENT CHIEF
Stanley W. Legro, San Diego, Calif., attorney, has been nominated by
President Ford to be Assistant Administrator for Enforcement,
succeeding Alan G. Kirk II, who resigned in January. A founding
partner in the San Diego law firm of Legro and Rentto, Mr. Legro, 39,
was born in Muskogee, Okla., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy,
served in the Marine Corps, and won his law degree cum laude from
Harvard. He is married and the father of two children.
MESSNER, GREENSTONE, AND HARDEN RESIGN
Howard M. Messner, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Administration;
Seymour D. Greenstone, Director of the Management and Organization
Division; and Charles S. Harden Jr., Director of the Personnel
Management Division, resigned June 20 to join the newly formed
Congressional Budget Office. Their acting replacements, respectively,
are Alexander J. Greene, Director of the Grants Administration
Division; Edward Chase, Deputy Director, Management and Organization
Division; and Stanley R. Williams, Director for Evaluation and
Executive Manpower. At the Congressional Budget Office, Mr. Messner
is Assistant Director for Management, Mr. Greenstone is Deputy
Assistant Director for General Government Mangement, and Mr. Harden
is Deputy Assistant Director for Personnel and Administration.
GERBER APPOINTED TO A TOP R & D POST
Carl Read Gerber, 39, has been named Associate Assistant Administrator
of the Office of Research and Development. In his new post, Mr.
Gerber shares fully with Dr. Wilson Talley, Assistant Administrator
for R & D, major responsibilities for EPA' s research program. A
former Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Mr. Gerber served
as an AEC official from 1960 to 1972 and is co-author of "Plowshare,"
a book about peaceful uses for nuclear explosions.
(,i :i
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OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A 107)
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460
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MAYFLIES HELP POLLUTION FIGHTERS
Every trout fisherman hopes to arrive
at his favorite stream when the mayflies
are "hatching" because then the trout
bite madly and will rise to any lure.
But Philip A. Lewis roams the rivers
and streams of a dozen eastern States to
catch mayflies, not trout.
Mayflies are good indicators of water
pollution, says Mr. Lewis, an aquatic
biologist at EPA's Environmental and
Support Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Certain species tolerate moderate
amounts of pollution, others can live
under a range of water conditions, and
still others are found only in clean
water.
If you know exactly what mayfly
species predominates in a stream or
lake, you have a good fix on the degree
of pollution in that aquatic ecosystem.
An 88-page monograph by Mr. Lewis,
recently published as part of the En-
vironmental Monitoring Series of the
Office of Research and Development,
describes 31 species of the mayfly
genus Stenonema (Heptageniidae) and
tabulates their relative tolerance for
water pollution.
Three of the species are new ones,
never before described, and many other
species descriptions are revised in the
monograph, which has many enlarged
photos of mayfly markings and parts
and which tabulates key features to as-
sist biologists in accurate identification.
The presence (or absence) of different
species offish and invertebrates is often
cited as an indication of water quality.
But aquatic biologists have tended to
neglect using Stenonema mayflies for
the same purpose, said Mr. Lewis, be-
cause they are harder to identify by
species, and the pollution tolerance of
each has either been unknown or men-
tioned only in scattered technical pa-
pers.
To gather data for the study, Mr.
Lewis and his colleagues collected more
than 1,500 specimens of Stenonema
With high hoots and two nets Philip Leu is
collects mayflies.
from throughout the Ohio River Basin.
carefully noting the pollution levels of
the waterways where they were taken.'
He also gathered more than 300 live.
immature insects, took them back to
Cincinnati, and raised them to maturity
in plastic shoeboxes. Mayflies reared in
the laboratory are often in better condi-
tion than those caught in the wild, and
the adult forms can be more certainly
identified by species and positively
linked with their immature forms. He
also examined specimens in various
university and museum collections.
Mayflies constitute an "order" of in-
sects, having more than 1.500 different
species. In North America alone there
are about 500 species in 15 families and
53 genera. The order's name is
Ephcmeroptera, a Greek-rooted word
meaning, roughly, "having \\ings for
only a day."
In spite of their name, mayflies can
emerge into their brief adult lives in
other months than May. Some species
emerge the year round, said Mr. Lewis.
If they are not eaten by a leaping trout or
a swooping bird, they usually live for
several days to mate and lay their eggs
in the water. Nymphs emerge from the
eggs, sexually immature but fully
adapted to aquatic life. The nymphs
have gills for breathing, six legs, anten-
nae, and complicated mouth and tail
parts. They can cling to rocks in the
swiftest water. After six months to a
year of growing in the water environ-
ment, the nymphs are ready to emerge.
They rise to the water surface, shed
their last nymphal skin, open their new
uings, and fly.
Thousands and thousands ot a particu-
lar species may emerge at the same
time, in dancing swarms that can im-
pede auto traffic on bridges or high-
ways.
The Stenonema mayflies ot Mr.
Lewis's study have body lengths of
about 10 millimeters (less than half an
inch). Extended forelegs, wings, and
long tail parts make them seem bigger.
Other genera can have body lengths of
35 mm (1.4 inches) or more.
Mr. Lewis is continuing work on the
classification and ecology of Stenonema
mayflies, and he believes he has discov-
ered four new species. The genus ranges
over most of North and Central Ameri-
ca. He is also starting work on another
mayfly genus, Baetis, which inhabits
nearly every continent. In this country
there are about 60 species, but the im-
mature stages are known for only 10.
Mr. Lewis believes that the species of
this genus will show marked differences
in tolerance to water pollution.D
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