JANUARY 1977
VOL. 3, NO. ONE
WHY OUR WETt A
ErVANISF ING
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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WETLANDS ES JEOPARDY
Why America's valuable wetlands are in jeop-
ardy is analyzed in a new study reported on
in this issue of the HPA Journal.
Titled "Impacts of Construction Activities in
Wetlands of the United States," the study
makes a series of recommendations to help
preserve the swamps, marshes, estuaries and
other wetlands.
Scientists report that marshes and swamps
contain some of the most productive environ-
ments on earth—twice as productive as ordinary
farmland. It has been estimated that estuaries
support two-thirds of the commercially valuable
fisheries of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
coasts.
In another article. HPA Journal gives the views
of President-elect Jimmy Carter on the environ-
ment as outlined in a campaign issue paper.
In an interview with HPA Journal. John R.
Quarles Jr.. Deputy Administrator, explains
why planning under the 208 program has such a
high priority. "This program." he emphasizes,
"gives taxpayers and all citizens a great opportu-
nity to participate directly in important commu-
nity decisions affecting their environmental
needs—decisions which might otherwise have
been made without public input."
The inauguration of a new KPA program to
test the effectiveness of emission controls on
selected automobiles as they come off the
assembly line is discussed in another article.
Stanley Legro. Assistant Administrator for En-
forcement, calls the action "a real milestone for
the enforcement of the Federal clean air
program."
An account is also given in this issue of the
development of pedestrian malls in the centers
of major cities around the world.
One of the biggest municipal construction jobs
in the country involves the building of a huge
system to bottle up Chicago's rainwater until
this storm water, which becomes polluted with
silt and chemicals, can be cleaned at a later
time, an article reports.
An intriguing article by a recent visitor to
Greece reports that air pollution has forced the
Greeks to remove some of the statues from the
famed Acropolis to prevent their destruction. A
U.N. study has concluded that if urgent meas-
ures are not taken to protect the precious
buildings and sculptures "their complete destruc-
tion would be likely within the relatively near
future."
In an attempt to increase awareness of the
outdoor delights we are helping to protect. EPA
Journal has started with this issue an Environ-
mental Almanac which will give glimpses of the
cityside and countryside as the seasons change.
The magazine ends with an article about a new'
study on how to protect airplanes from birds
congregating at garbage dumps near airports.
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U.S.
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
Russell E. Train, Administrator
Marlin Fitzwater, Acting Director of
Public Affairs
Charles D. Pierce, Editor
Staff: VanTrumbull, Ruth Hussey
David Cohen
PHOTO CREDITS
COVER, Black Star-Mike Clemmerand
Roy Zalesky
INSIDE COVER, PAGE 2-Fred Ward*
PAGE4-FlipSchulke*
PAGEf-PaulConklin*
PAGE 7-Black Star, Art Seitz
PAGE 11 -Greek National Tourist Office
PAGE 13-Ford Motor Co., Chrysler
Corp.
PAGE 16, 17-YoichiOkamoto*
PAGE 19-Ernest Bucci
PAGE 20, 21 -Ernest Bucci, Al Wilson
BACK COVER-Gary Miller*
*Documerica
COVER: Sunset at low tide at
Wrightsville Beach, N.C.
The EPA Journal is published
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July-August and November- December,
by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Use of
funds for printing this periodical has
been approved by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget •
Views expressed by authors do not
necessarily reflect EPA policy.
Contributions and inquiries should be
addressed to the Editor (A-107),
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Washington, D.C. 20460. No
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Printed on recycled paper.
ARTICLES
WHY OUR WETLANDS ARE VANISHING PAGE 2
A report on the destruction of a sizable
share of our wetlands and recommendations
to correct the problem.
MY VIEWS ON THE ENVIRONMENT PAGE 6
by Jimmy Carter
The President-elect gives some of his opinions on
the environment and what he wants to do about it.
SHAPING THE FUTURE PAGE 8
An interview with John R. Quarles Jr., Deputy
Administrator, on the role planning can play.
ENVIRONMENTAL ALMANAC PAGE 10
POLLUTION THREATENS GREEK TREASURES PAGE 11
APPOINTMENT IN DETROIT PAGE 12
Under a new program EPA is testing the
emission controls of selected cars as they
come off the assembly line.
STREETS FOR PEOPLE by Truman Temple
EPA EMPLOYEES HONORED
STORING CHICAGO'S RAINWATER
PROTECTING PLANES FROM BIRDS
PAGE 16
PAGE 20
PAGE 22
BACK COVER
DEPARTMENTS
NATION
PEOPLE
INQUIRY
NEWS BRIEF
PAGE 14
PAGE 18
PAGE 24
PAGE 25
PAGE
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"What do you think our reaction would
be if somebody told us that we had—in
our backward—nature's own
enormously productive food factory,
incredibly efficient energy system,
marveloiisly fertile and fecund feeding
and breeding ground, and immensely
effective wastewater treatment system
that—on the side—also helps soften the
flow of storm tides and flood waters
and recharges ground water'.' One
imagines our reaction would be that
anything that great had to be either the
pure invention of P.T. Barnum or the
Eighth Wonder of the World. And if it
did, in fact, turn out to be real—as, in
.fact, it has—we would, one supposes,
count ourselves unusually fortunate to
have such a wonder at our everyday
service without having to lift a finger or
spend a dime.
"If we did so imagine and so suppose,
we would, of course, be wrong. For the
nation's wetlands do, in fact, perform
all the functions I have described. Yet,
in this our Bicentennial year, roughly
half of the original wetlands within the
contiguous States are estimated to have
been lost to dredging, draining, filling
and other instruments of progress. A
sizable share of our wetlands have
vanished in this centur\."
—Administrator Russell H. Train in
remarks al Falmouth. Maine, July 7,
1976.
Heron in the Florida Everglades.
PAGE 2
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wmr OCR
ARE
B
rate.
uman activities are ruining the wet-
lands of America at an alarming
This is the opening sentence of a new
comprehensive report just published by
EPA's Environmental Research Labo-
ratory at Corvallis, Ore.
The 424-page document, entitled "Im-
pacts of Construction Activities in Wet-
lands of the United States," discusses
the effect of such actions as the build-
ing of dams and canals, mining, and
construction on shorelines and flood-
plains.
Reviewing the relative importance of
the causes of wetland deterioration, the
report states the most critical problem
is loss of wetland habitat. "Construc-
tion of=a dam automatically eliminates a
stretch of river habitat upstream for the
length of the reservoir and downstream
to the limit of severe waterflow modifi-
cation." Building of levees destroys the
habitat of the "protected" floodplain,
the report notes. The discharge of
wastes from mining, major increases in
the flow of silt stemming from construc-
tion activities, and excessive saltwater
intrusion through man-made canals into
coastal swamplands are some of the
other factors that ruin the specific envi-
ronment needed by particular species of
birds or fish, for example.
The second most critical cause of
wetland destruction is the damage from
disruption of the flow of water in a
river or stream. These flow changes
caused by dams, dredging, and levee
construction can alter the type of plant
and animal species able to survive in
the affected region.
The third cause listed is the severe
impact of individual construction
projects on local areas. "This type of
problem," the report states, "would be
of little over-all consequence if it were
not for the fact that so many construc-
tion projects are currently in progress.
A bridge, a local highway on a flood-
plain, a dredging project, a drainage
ditch, a pier, a port—on and on. These
little projects all over the country are
pecking away at the Nation's wetlands
and creating a massive cumulative gen-
eral problem."
The fourth cause of wetland deteriora-
tion is pollution from such varying
sources as mine wastes, industrial
chemicals, and city street washings.
The report was written by Rezneat M.
Darnell of the Tereco Corporation,
College Station, Tex., under a contract
with EPA. Dr. Harold V. Kibby, a
research biologist at EPA's Corvallis
Laboratory, was the project officer.
Collaborating with Darnell in prepara-
tion of the report were Willis E. Pe-
quegnat, Bela M. James, Fred J. Ben-
son, and Richard A. Defenbaugh.
Discussing the impact of dams, the
report said that they have drastically
changed the nature of many rivers and
streams.
"For example, over 50 mainstream
and tributary dams have transformed
the mighty Columbia River into a series
of pools. Reservoirs in the Great Plains
and elsewhere are accumulating sedi-
ments at the rate of one million acre
feet per year, and the average life of
such reservoirs is estimated to be less
than 50 years. To prolong the life of
reservoirs and to maintain the depth of
navigation channels about 450 million
cubic yards of bottom materials are
dredged each year, and much of the
spoil is dumped on marshes, swamps
and floodplains."
"... the Mississippi River." the re-
port continues, "daily brings to its
mouth about a million cubic yards of
sediment, and this represents an annual
soil loss of 290 tons for every square
mile of watershed.
"As a result, the 35-foot depth con-
tour at the river's mouth advances
seaward about 100 feet per year. Nor-
mally, much of this sediment would
have been deposited as a thick carpet
over the floodplains. marshes, and
swamps, balancing subsidence tenden-
cies and increasing fertility. Yet. Loui-
siana is now losing coastal wetlands at
the rate of 16.5 square miles per year
(500 square miles during the past 30
years) through shoreline erosion, canal
dredging, and deterioration and breakup
of marshlands."
The report stated that the following
steps could be taken to reverse
"the nationwide trend toward wetland
deterioration and destruction":
Establishment of wetland sanctu-
aries—Some wetlands are more valua-
ble than others as habitat for endan-
gered, economically important, or es-
thetically interesting species. The more
sensitive wetlands in areas undergoing
rapid development cannot be expected
to survive without deliberate protective
intervention.
Curtailment of the most environmen-
tally destructive types of construction
project—"Technology without reason is
a monster. Not everything that is do-
able is worth doing. We are entering an
age when the old cliches about 'prog-
ress,' 'development,' 'growth,' and so
on simply do not hold water. ... It is
an age when individual projects must be
justified on their own merit in light of
the social, economic, and environmen-
tal costs. In such an atmosphere of
public scrutiny it is important to con-
sider all of the alternative means of
achieving desirable social goals and to
refrain from carrying out those con-
struction projects whose environmental
price is too high. It is worth noting here
that the rarer a given type of wetland
ecosystem becomes, the more valuable
it becomes to society as a means of
preserving components of a living sys-
tem which may be of critical impor-
tance in preserving the options of future
generations. Who will decide to destroy
the last riffle (shallow stretch of rippling
water)? "
Amelioration of the effects of neces-
.sary construction—"For those projects
which are judged to be socially desira-
ble, every effort should be made to
ensure that the environmentally least
damaging methods are employed, even
if such methods are not always the
most economical in the short run. A
great deal of the present wetland prob-
lem stems from lack of incentive to
protect the environment, rather than
lack of technological capability. Ade-
quate sedimentation basins (for exam-
ple) should be built into storm sewer
discharge systems."
Adoption of effective environmental
quality criteria—Special criteria must be
developed to assure minimum water
flow rates, adequate peak flows, pre-
vention of saltwater intrusion, and to
Continued on page 4
PAGE 3
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Continued from page -I
provide protection from dumping of
dredged materials. "Protection of water
quality is important, but it should be
coupled with adequate attention to the
other factors which make for favorable
wetland habitats. Environmental protec-
tion involves sophisticated environmen-
tal management, not just pollution con-
trol."
Adoption of a requirement for post-
construction environmental impact
statements—"At the present time, once
a construction project has been ap-
proved, the contractor may or may not
meet the conditions predicted in the
pre-construction environmental impact
statement. Certainly, in many cases
there is far greater environmental dam-
age than originally predicted. In order
to increase the truth of predictions and
to provide a firmer basis for future
predictions, post-construction studies
should be run to determine how accu-
rate the predictions were and how
much the predicted damage has been
exceeded."
l~~\evotion of special attention to sen-
|__Jsitive or endangered habitat or eco-
system types—"As a supplement to
nationwide minimal (water quality)
standards, there should be recognition
of the fact that certain types of wetland
areas are now in trouble and that
special precautions should be taken to
Dredging helps build new land in Florida.
:
Dragline at work at Florida's North Key
PAGE 4
preserve environmental quality in those
wetland types which are in jeopardy."
Examples given of wetlands which re-
quire particular care include shallow
ponds and marshes near urban develop-
ments, estuaries, springs in arid areas
and small streams in general.
Restoration of degraded environ-
ments—"Many of the Nation's de-
graded wetland environments can be
partially or fully restored through reme-
dial action. Although there is much to
be learned about the technology of
environmental restoration, a great deal
is now known, and this information
should be put to use on a broad scale."
Examples of remedial steps which
might be taken include reestablishment
of damaged marshlands through plant-
ing of marshgrasses, adding lime to
waters damaged by acid wastes, and
creation of new riffles by use of bull-
dozers.
Dissemination of knowledge about the
effects of construction activities in wet-
lands and what can be done about
them—Information must be gathered
from specialists who are knowledgeable
about the problems of wetlands in dif-
ferent regions of the Nation. The infor-
mation could serve as the basis for
effective environmental protection and
restoration policies which can meet lo-
cal requirements and be used by regula-
tory agencies, construction firms, and
local environmental groups.
Discussing the long-range wetlands
prospects, the report said:
"Practically everything that civiliza-
tion does sooner or later affects the
wetlands. Therefore, in the future wet-
land protection must be wedded to a
total national program for environmen-
tal protection which begins in the up-
lands and carries through into the sea.
The grand cycles of nature can help or
defeat us, depending on whether we
work with or against them."*
A limited number of copies of the
report "Impacts of Construction Activi-
ties in Wetlands of the United States"
(EPA-600/3-76-045) will he available
from the Public Affairs Office, EPA
Environmental Research Laboratory,
200 S.W. 35lh St., Corvti/lis, Ore..
97330, while the supply luxrs.
-------
Forest on St. Simon's
Island near
Brunswick, Ga.
PAGE 5
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MY VIEWS ON
THE ENVIRONMENT
By President-elect Jimmy Carter
When I was a boy growing up on the
amily farm in south Georgia, my
friends and I. whenever we could escape
from our chores and our schoolwork. lived
in the woods and swamps. We fished.
hunted, camped on the banks of Chocta-
watchee and Kinchafoonee creeks, gath-
ered wild fruits and nuts, dug honey out of
bee trees, and hunted for arrow heads in
the field. We still do these things, but as
children we took the environment—the
outdoors we called it then—for granted.
By the time I entered public life, how-
ever. I realized that was no longer possi-
ble. When J .served two terms in the
Georgia Senate I learned that powerful
special interests were willing to bulldoze
and pollute and destroy our priceless and
irreplaceable streams and rivers, forests
and fields, marshes and coastlands. for
their own personal gain.
One day in 1970. while I was campaigning
for Governor. I was driving out of one of
our Georgia cities, a city which then had
serious air and water pollution problems.
and I saw a flash of bronze in the air about
twenty yards in front of my automobile. It
was a wild turkey gobbler, and J asked
myself as I watched him sail off into the
swamp if my daughter and her generation
would ever have a chance to see a wild
turkey gobbler in Georgia.
Not, ! knew, unless those of us who care
about the environment are willing to fight
for it against those who would destroy it. I
became Governor, and in the next four
years I had plenty of opportunity to fight
for the environment.
We established the Georgia Heritage
Trust to save our priceless historic sites
from (he bulldozers. We passed tougher
anti-poliution laws. I vetoed, after much
thought and much study and with much
controversy, a major dam that the Corps of
Engineers had for years been planning to
build on the Flint river.
In announcing my veto. I called upon
Congress to examine the Corps of Engi-
neers' obvious bias in favor of dam con-
struction, and to take a hard look at other
Corps of Engineers projects across the
country. As President, I intend to end the
unnecessary construction of dams by the
Corps of Engineers.
Too many Federal agencies are insensitive
lo environmenla) concerns. Agencies which
should be serving the public interest are
instead serving narrow special interests.
They must either be gotten back on the
right track or abolished. We need a Presi-
dent who is sensitive to environmental
concerns and who will work hard for
environmental quality. I intend to do that.
In the years just ahead, we must meet
many chalianges if we are to maintain and
improve the quality of our natural environ-
ment.
One is the control of pollutants. What is
a! stake here is nothing Jess than the health
of our people. We pay a heavy price for
pollution. Health problems, lost work days,
and damage to crops and physical property
are only part of the price.
The other is paid with human lives.
The National Academy of Sciences has
stated that air pollution causes the
death of many thousands of Americans
each year. Medical experts now estimate
that 70% to 90% of human cancer is caused
by environmental factors, and the cancer
rale has been rising each year.
This cannot be allowed to continue.
We must vigorously enforce the pollution
control and occupational health laws al-
ready on the books. We must preserve the
nondegradation standards of the Clean Air
Act. We must require the auto industry to
meet the emission control standards. And
we must enforce the Water Pollution Con-
trol Act. and reach our goal of making our
lakes and streams suitable for swimming
and fishing.
Now thai we have the Toxic Substances
Control Act we must see that it is vigor-
ously implemented and enforced. Premar-
ket screening of new chemicals intended
for commercial use is essential to prevent-
ing human and environmental exposure to
dangerous compounds.
Much of the environmental damage which
now occurs can be prevented. The addi-
tional cost of responsible surface mining, or
preventing oil spills, or cleaning auto and
power plant emissions is low. compared to
Excerpted from a campaign issues paper by
the President-elect.
the costs to society and future generations-
if we fail 10 act.
The greatest pollution threat of all is the
spreading of plutonium among the nations
of the world. Immediate action to stop this
proliferation of atomic wastes should be led
by our own country.
We need far more research to find envi-
ronmentally sound ways to achieve eco-
nomic goals without unacceptable pollution
damage. My administration will support
such research and will encourage a greater
effort by the private sector. We have never
put the best brains in this country to work
in a concerted effort to find ways to live in
greater environmental harmony. 1 intend to
do that.
It is not possible to discuss environmental
pollution without considering energy.
In many cases, pollution is a direct result
of energy production or use. Obviously, we
must use energy, and one of the most
difficult challenges we face is to provide
sufficient energy while maintaining environ-
mental quality.
This task is made more difficult by the
fact that we as a Nation do not have a
comprehensive energy policy. It is time we
had the leadership that will accept the great
challenge of reconciling our energy needs
with our environmental needs.
Several elements of my energy policy
relate directly to the environment.
One is the need for an aggressive program
of energy conservation. We need to make
our automobiles more fuel-efficient, and we
•also need to reduce automobile exhaust
emissions.
We need to make better use of recycled
materials, to better manage our solid
wastes, and to realize the fuel savings
which recycling offers.
We need national leadership in finding
more efficient uses of our conventional
energy resources. It makes environmental
sense and it saves money if we can save oil
and coal in the ground rather than to
extract and waste these valuable energy
sources.
We must do more to find alternative
energy sources. We need to recognize that
our oil supplies are limited, and we need to
rely more on our coal resources. Also.
PAGE 6
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solar energy has already begun to provide
us with new energy at little environmental
costs, and holds the promise of a far
greater contribution in the future.
Promising as it is. solar energy research
and development has received little atten-
tion or money. Excessive emphasis has
been placed on development of atomic
power, and particularly the breeder reactor.
In developing a national energy policy,
the government should not try to do the
job alone. The energy boom-town cycle.
which threatens the quality of life in our
coastal and western states, must be broken
by an adequate program of planning and
Federal assistance to local communities.
With the energy crisis, as with other crises
we have met as a Nation, government.
industry, and the public must all do our
part. And make no mistake about it. it is
still a crisis which threatens our economy.
our national security as well as our envi-
ronment. The gas lines may have disap-
peared. The problems have not.
Another of my top priorities as President
will be to reverse the deterioration and
systematic neglect of parks, refuges, for-
ests, and the public lands.
These areas offer priceless opportunities
for us to refresh ourselves amid the ten-
sions of our fast-paced world.
On weekends when 1 was Governor, my
wife and 1 often rode the wild rivers of
Georgia in rafts, canoes, and kayaks. We
panned successfully for gold in a remote
north Georgia stream. We visited wildlife
programs on isolated game preserves. Our
favorite place was Cumberland Island, off
the southeast Georgia coast, where you
can watch sea turtles coming ashore to lay
their eggs in the early summer. 1 want
future generations to be able to have those
same experiences.
Our public lands, representing an enor-
mous national investment, are being
badly mismanaged. Significant advantages
can accrue to our people, including sub-
stantial employment opportunities simply
by improving, preserving, and enjoying this
great national heritage.
We must maintain and restore the parks,
forests, refuges, wilderness areas, and
other public lands already held in trust for
all of us, and we must step up our
acquisition of other natural and recreational
areas.
Wildlife is a prime indicator of the health
of our environment. We must recognize
that habitat destruction and pollution are
the major threats to wildlife today. Endan-
gered species pose particular problems.
Once they disappear we can never bring
them back. We must deal with all of them,
from the great whales to the most minute
plant, wisely and reverently.
As a former naval officer, and as a
saltwater fisherman, 1 am deeply concerned
about our oceans. The oceans are a major
source of food and recreation. But the
oceans are also the ultimate repository for
most of our pollutants. We do not have
even a basic understanding of their full
impact on ocean life. The ocean floors
offer rich mineral resources, but we do not
know what the environmental problems
are. Our country should take the lead in
international cooperation to preserve the
oceans for future generations.
To maintain environmental quality, and to
improve the quality of life for our people, is
an essential goal,.and in its pursuit we must
act responsibly. The population explosion
around the world must be addressed by
effective family planning programs, to
make every child a wanted child.
It makes little sense, if we are concerned
about the quality of life, to talk about
having to choose between employment and
the environment or between enough energy
and environmental quality.
Pollution control does not prevent eco-
nomic progress. This is a tremendous new
industry which can give us many new jobs
and a better quality of life at the same
time. We must have all three: employment,
energy, and a decent environment.
I will work to achieve this goal. 1 will
direct our Nation's great technological
know-how toward finding solutions to our
urgent problems.
The President has a responsibility to the
people who elect him. But he also has a
responsibility to future generations. The
President is their steward. I intend to be a
worthy steward and to see that we pass on
to our children, and our children's children,
an environment and a country of which we
can be proud.•
PAGE 7
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SHAPING THE FUTURE
An interview with John R. Quarles Jr., Deputy Administrator,
on the planning program authorized by Section 208 of the
Federal water pollution control law.
Q: In laymen's terms, how is 208 planning best described?
A: The 208 planning process helps communities across the
country to develop action programs for dealing with their local
water pollution problems. When Congress passed the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. it recognized
that the talents of both State and local governments would be
needed to deal with water pollution. Section 208 of the Act
provides for areawide planning to control water pollution. The
planning process begins when a State Governor designates a
Statewide or a regional area as a 208 planning area. The
Governor also designates a single agency within that area to
lead in the planning. The regional areas selected are those with
severe or complex water pollution problems. EPA makes grants
available to help offset the costs of the planning bodies.
Although planning is essential to controlling pollution, it is
meaningless unless the plans are carried out. To help implement
the plans the Act calls for broad public participation, as well as
the participation of local governments and, in particular, elected
officials.
Q: Whai do you mean by "public participation"?
A: The Act itself uses that phrase, saying that public participa-
tion must be provided for. encouraged, and assisted.
It's really a question of who will decide the issues. We have all
been to hearings where it seems unlikely that the hearing would
have any effect on the government's actions. The last Presiden-
tial campaign highlighted the fact that the public is concerned
about the bureaucracy, the red tape in regulatory programs.
Almost all of the Presidential candidates expressed concern
about this aspect of our government. Their remarks were a
response to a deep-seated feeling throughout the country. But
despite the criticism, people still regard government as a tool
that must be used to solve problems.
Public participation in the 208 program lets EPA officials and
local officials learn what the public wants, what the public
objects to. and what the public will support.
We in Washington live in a limited world. That is less true for
those who work in the Regions, and thank goodness, EPA is a
highly decentralized organization. But even in the Regions, 'it
may be a long way from the Regional Office to the 208 planning
site. If pollution control programs are to succeed, there has to
be some give and take between government administrators and
the public. That is what the public participation element of 208
planning hopes to accomplish.
Q: What does 208 do for the taxpayers? What's in it for them?
A: This program gives taxpayers and all citizens a great
opportuniiy to participate directly in important community
decisions affecting their environmental needs—decisions which
might otherwise be made without public input. Hearings are held
on proposals as they are developed, and then a network of
advisory committees and other means for public involvement are
created in each of the 208 planning areas, so that the public will
have a full chance to participate in these decisions. And it
should participate, since the decisions will affect the public.
It is important to remember that the environmental movement
PAGE 8
arose out of widespread, spontaneous public demand that the
government do something about pollution. The 208 program
hopes to provide on-the-spot public contributions to the deci-
sion-making process.
Q: If 208 had been in full operation at the time, could you have
avoided the recent controversy about the siting of a new waste
treatment plant in the Washington D.C. area?
A: That's exactly the type of controversy that 208 is designed to
deal with. The problem you mention was that basic questions of
future community growth were not considered in deciding where
to put the treatment plant. 208 is not going to solve all problems
for all times. In each case certain specific problems will be
addressed. The controversy in Washington. D.C. is one exam-
ple of the type of problem which we hope this program will deal
with successfully.
Q: You mentioned "community growth" in your answer. How
will 208 affect growth and land development?
A: As a Nation we have been going through a long and difficult
debate over patterns of growth and whether or not there should
be some direction given to patterns of growth in this country.
The historic approach, of course, is that free enterprise prevails.
People are free to use their property the way they want to. and
growth occurs wherever anyone wants it to grow. Against that
has been a recognition of environmental and other types of
damage that can result from unrestricted growth. In short.
people are grappling for the answers. They are saying, "We've
got a problem here and we really don't know what to do about
it." The 208 program provides a vehicle for solving these real-
world problems through the involvement of the people who are
affected.
In some cases the 208 planning work will come to grips with
questions of future growth, and some of the actions decided
upon will undoubtedly influence pattern of future growth. It may
restrict growth in some cases, encourage it in others.
Q: Since 208 is regarded us a State and regional program, what
is EPA '.v role in it?
A: EPA will constantly be reviewing the technical work, the
public participation'activities, and all other parts of the work of
a 208 planning agency. If that agency is not doing the job right.
we can and will withhold funds for its continued operation. We
are developing a much closer relationship between 208 and 201
planning, and will issue permits in accordance with the approved
208 plans. But I regard these things as our part in participating
in the over-all process rather than our standing up above the
process and exerting sanctions upon it.
EPA's data and analyses of water quality conditions should be
widely used in the 208 planning process. There is a continuity
between previous EPA planning studies and this new program.
Furthermore, all of the other EPA programs—solid waste,
drinking water, air. noise, radiation, pesticides—have a stake in
the 208 process. At headquarters there has been active participa-
tion by program officers other than the water people, and in
most of the Regional Offices there also has been this type of
active participation.
-------
I believe [hat ihe participation should be greater than it has
been because the 208 process can provide a vehicle to achieve
the goals of the solid waste program and those of a number of
other programs, such as the construction grants program. If the
program offices do not use the 208 process as a method of
achieving iheir goals, both ihey and the 208 people will fall short
of their objectives.
Q: What kind of a priority do you give the 208 program in EPA'.'
A: The highest priority. It is important noi only to solve water
pollution problems but also because it represents the interaction
with local community groups which EPA must develop and use
in all our work.
Q: Wliut IMS happened to EPA 's past planning efforts in water
pollution control''
A: I think they are largely useless, largely a waste of money.
Q: Why was this so'.'
A: Earlier planning efforts resulted in studies and reports that
gathered dust on shelves. There was not enough emphasis on
developing the plans within a political process that would
provide support for their implementation.
in many types of planning, the planners do their thing and the
rest of society goes ahead and does its thing, and there is no
connection between the two. In the 208 program, we are
attempting to change that. We are attempting to achieve
planning that will be implemented. If plans aren't implemented.
the whole thing is a waste.
"This program gives citizens
a great opportunity
to participate directly
in important community
decisions affecting their
environmental needs...."
We have some unusual advantages for trying to crack through
this historic problem. We can see the mistakes that have been
made. Our statutory authority places a special emphasis on
implementation. It also authorizes enough money to provide
proper leverage if used wisely. Finally, and perhaps most
significantly, there is EPA itself. We are decentralized. We have
experience in the practical realities. We have a lot of people of
high caliber. And we are a can-do Agency. We have accom-
plished results in a number of areas, and I think we can do it in
this area.
Q: Don'i the permit program and the construction unmix
program adequately address water pollution problems'.'
A: I think we have dealt quite successfully with many types of
water pollution, and we are making impressive progress. Most
of our efforts so far. however, have focused on the big industrial
discharge areas or on municipal sewage treatment plants.
Yet a whole new generation of problems remain. They include
the non-point sources: runoff from farmland, runoff from city
streets, return flows from irrigation projects, runoff from feed
lots. They include the problems of achieving pretreatment of
industrial wastes discharged into municipal systems. Successes
that emerge in the 208 program will help us to develop national
approaches and apply them on a widespread basis.
Q: Why haven't we heard more about the work in 208 agencies
with regard to such dramatic water pollution problems as the
James River, the Chesapeake Bay or the Great Lakes?
A: The reason is timing. Those problems were on the front
pages of the newspapers before the 208 program was up and
running. In fact, we are still in the very early stages of the 208
program. None of the 208 plans are finished; most of them are
only beginning.
Q: Couldn't there he a Catch-22 aspect of the 208 process in
that the involved public might be opposed to certain pollution
control measures and could frustrate achieving the goals of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act?
A: Yes, this is a very real danger. The 208 planning efforts are
certainly going to aitract attention in communities where they
are undertaken and in States where it's being done on a
statewide basis.
We know that industry and others concerned about the cost
will come into the political process and in many cases seek to
hold down the cost or limit the ambitious proposals that may be
required to achieve clean water.
The only hope for this process to work depends on the active
panicipation of citizens, environment groups, and other organi-
zations dedicated to the public interest and sensitive to environ-
mental needs.
In other words, through the 208 program, we at EPA will not
be dictating water pollution control efforts. We are subjecting
these efforts to the democratic process in local communities, to
the local political process. Unless public support is strong in
that process, the effort could fail.
However, several encouraging results have already been ac-
complished by 208 agencies. 1 think there is a clear resurgence
of public support. Once again we're seeing the type of specials
on the networks and speeches in the newspaper's that signify a
rising public interest. This was seen most dramatically in the
growing public understanding of and concern over the toxic
substances control legislation.
Q: What happens after the 208 plans come due in 1978'.'
A: Well, that deadline is to complete the plan itself, but the key.
as ! said earlier, is to implement the plan. We are making every
effort to start the implementation process while the planning is
still going on. Rather than delaying implementation until the plan
is complete, the two should go along together.
Q: What do you sec as the priniaiy harrier to the success of the
208 program'.'
A: The biggest obstacle is the difficulty of obtaining widespread
support in implement the proposals. Implementation can occur
only through actions by city councils, county governments, and
State agencies. Those units of government and the political
leaders who direct them must be brought into the development
of the proposals so that ihey will be willing to implement them.
Q: Do \'ou think people tire ready for total environmental
planning that crosses the lines of conventional jurisdictions'.'
A: I think we're still on the frontier in this regard. There is
growing recognition of the need, but in big metropolitan areas
the units of government are so complex that people in the
system find it difficult to exert their influence. We are making
progress, but we have a long way to go. a
PAGE 9
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ENVIRONMENTAL ALMANAC
JANUARY
One nl ilir occupational hazards ol
working Im the Environmental l'n>-
Icction Agenr\ i- that YOU could gel voin
head -tutted -ii lull lit Kcdcral Hegi-lcr
notice-, regulations, and administrative
memo- thai MIII forget alioiit llir wonders
nt tin- environment we help protect.
liiilrn! ihrrc is a fashionable tendency
now to regard thinking aluml llic outdoors
anil n;it ur r a- |n imitivc. simplistic and old
fashioned.
Mathematical models, milestone reports.
and option paper- an- tlie- eiirrent vogue.
While we cert.link wouldn't dcnv tile
irnpoitaiice of these scientific and manage-
ment tools, we -till feel that an occasional
unabashed look at the outdoors is ii-rtul
and instructive.
With this purpose we conceived the idea
ol an Environmental Mrnanac where we
would take a look at the -ea-on- and
report on our findings while acting as a
self-appointed inspector of tin- environ-
ment.
Ni we begin with a review ol winter, a
sk> an
-------
POLLUTION THREATENS GREEK
TREASURES By David Ryan
Air pollution has caused more dam-
age to the historic Acropolis in
Athens, Greece, in the last 40 years
than has civil war. Turkish invasion.
and the blistering Mediterranean sun
over the centuries.
This is the grim conclusion of a
United Nations report released early
this year on the destruction wrought
by atmospheric contaminants on some
of the greatest treasures of Western
culture—the ancient temples on the
Acropolis of Athens.
The Acropolis, located on a rocky
plateau 260 feet high, was the heart of
ancient Athens. It was surrounded by
walls which were destroyed by invad-
ing Persians in 480 B.C. and later was
rebuilt under the guidance of the Ath-
enian statesman Pericles. The Acro-
polis was the center of religious activ-
ity. Many statues and temples were
located there. One of the most famous
temples is the Parthenon, which was
completed in 438 B.C.
The U.N. study lecommended ur-
gent measures to protect the marble
buildings and sculptures, and pre-
dicted that if these artifacts were
allowed to remain in place "their
complete destruction would be likely
within the relatively near future."
In another report released this fall,
the NATO Committee on the Chal-
lenges of Modern Society says Greece
has no air pollution standards or con-
trols on emissions from power and
industrial plants. Sulfur dioxide levels
in Athens are higher than in any
American and most European cities.
This sulfur dioxide combines with
water vapor to produce a sulfuric acid
mist that literally turns marble into
dust. Although sulfur dioxide is the
prime cause of damage, smog-contrib-
uting emissions from automobile ex-
hausts pose an additional threat.
Experts from 30 countries attending a
recent conference in Athens recom-
mended that to save the Acropolis
Greek authorities ought to ban gaso-
line use in much of that city, and
should also forbid all but electric
heating within a half mile of the site to
avoid pollution from other energy
sources such as oil and natural gas.
Although these suggestions are prob-
.:,;
•
The Parthenon, one of the temples \\iiich ilni\\'s thrones of visitors daily t(> the
Acropolis in Athens.
ably unrealistic, especially in light of
the Greek governmenl's current pol-
icy of promoting industrial expansion.
the Ministry of Industry is planning to
furnish all modem buildings near the
Acropolis area with a fuel oil of lower
sulfur content than that currently in
use; this cleaner fuel will also be
issued to factories whose fumes are
earned by the wind toward the ancient
monuments.
Athenian authorities arc also acting
on the U.N. report's ominous warning
that saving many Acropolis treasures
will be impossible if they are left in
their present locations. Certain statues
and sculptures are being removed
from exposure to the city's polluted
air and placed in indoor museums.
British-made reproductions will re-
place them outdoors.
Some of the more notable artifacts to
be removed, perhaps forever, from the
places they've occupied for more than
David R\an is an lil'A Headquarters Press
Officer who recently returnedfront ti visit to
Athens.
tuo thousand years, are (1) the sculp-
tures on the west side of the Par-
thenon, depicting an epic battle be-
tween the goddess Athena, protecto-
ress of Athens, and Poseidon, god of
the sea. and (2) the famed caryatids.
six giant stone columns in the form of
lovely Grecian maidens, which have
supported the eastern portico of the
Erectheum Temple since the fifth cen-
tury B.C.
The U.N. report praised an Acro-
polis task force of Greek archaeolo-
gists engaged in scientific research on
pollution, but recommended the estab-
lishment of a permanent team of ex-
perts to be stationed there with power
to really do something about air pollu-
tion damage.
In conclusion, the study endorsed a
Greek suggestion for an international
appeal to save the Acropolis: "The
importance of the monuments, which
are among the most precious jewels of
world culture, the expected difficulties
involved, and the high cost of the
project, would amply warrant a re-
course to aid from the international
community."•
PAGE 11
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APPOINTMENT
IN DETROIT
By David Cohen
Rows of car bodies, suspended in mid-
air from huge hangers, inched slowly
forward amid the humming of a Ford
Motor Company assembly plant. At scores
of points along the line, engines, transmis-
sions, wheels, and everything else down to
the painted racing stripes were being added
to the skeleton bodies.
Two work shifts, involving a total of
about 2,500 persons, would, on that day
alone, send some 650-800 cars rolling out
of the cavernous plant and on to show-
rooms around the country.
Touring this Detroit assembly line re-
cently were a group of EPA officials,
headed by Stanley W. Legro, EPA Assist-
ant Administrator for Enforcement, and
Dr. Norman Shutler, Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Mobile Source and Noise
Enforcement.
Although many members of this group
had seen such operations previously, they
were especially interested this time because
of a new EPA program called Selective
Enforcement Auditing which will check the
emissions of certain vehicles as they come
off assembly lines.
At the EPA group's next stop, the manu-
facturer's emission test laboratory, a load
of cars shipped from a Kansas City assem-
bly line was undergoing the final stages of a
trial test for the new program.
"This program represents a real milestone
for the enforcement of the Federal clean air
program." Mr. Legro said. "Emission
standards for new automobiles have been
in effect since the 1968 model year. How-
ever, up until the beginning of this year.
testing to make sure those standards are
met has been largely confined to prototype.
not production, vehicles. New cars and
light-duty trucks cannot be sold in the U.S.
unless their prototypes are certified by
EPA to meet standards. The new program
begins the additional step of testing se-
lected samples of actual assembly-line
models to help ensure compliance with
emission standards."
Since July, the auditing program has em-
ployed test trials in which the manufactur-
ers selected the vehicles to be tested. Since
Jan. I. the program has been mandatory
under the Clean Air Act. This means that
EPA now decides which vehicles will be
audited and when. The trial tests were
PAGE 12
conducted at each of the leading domestic
manufacturers' facilities. Each trial run was
open to representatives of other manufac-
turers. All the vehicles tested during the
preliminary and voluntary trials met the
standards.
When the new assembly-line testing pro-
gram was announced in July. EPA Admin-
istrator Russell E. Train said. "The auto
manufacturers' own data indicate that more
than half a million 1976 model cars did not
satisfy the Federal emission requirements
when they came off the assembly line.
EPA data on 1975 vehicles in actual use
suggest even higher noncompliance. As a
result of this new program. American con-
sumers will be better assured that the
benefits of their investment in pollution
control will be realized."
Charles N. Freed, head of EPA's Manu-
facturers Program Branch in the Mobile
Source Enforcement Division, said, "Al-
though we feel that the auto manufacturers
have generally acted in good faith, there
are many difficulties 'in making a prototype
model completely representative of vehicles
coming off the line. We hope that the new
program will remedy this situation. We feel
that it has already begun to do so by
having encouraged the manufacturers to
develop their own assembly-line emission
testing programs."
"In implementing this program." said
Benjamin T. Jackson, Director of the Mo-
bile Source Enforcement Division, " we
have stressed communication with the
companies. It would not be in our interest
to just walk in and start giving orders.
Thus far things are going well. The manu-
facturers have been extremely coopera-
tive."
For instance, on the third trial test EPA
officials met with !8 manufacturers and
trade association members. The give-and-
take discussion included the possibility of
an additional trial test to be held abroad for
the benefit of foreign manufacturers whose
vehicles produced for sale in the U.S. will
also be tested in the audit program.
Under the new regulations. EPA can
conduct one audit for every 300.000 cars
and light-duty trucks in annual production
David Cohen is a staff writer for EPA
Journal.
for sale in the U.S. There are, however.
two exceptions to this rule: I) Should a
manufacturer fail an audit, that audit does
not count against the annual number of
audits EPA may conduct; and 2) even if
EPA has reached its annual limit, it can
still conduct an audit if it has received
information that a violation is probably
occurring.
Under most circumstances, according to
Mr. Jackson, fewer than 20 vehicles need
be tested to determine an audit's "pass" or
"fail" results. Emissions are tested for
levels of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide.
and oxides of nitrogen. Although it is
impossible to know exactly how many cars
will be produced by industry in a year (and
therefore how many audits EPA will be
allowed) 40 audits is a reasonable guess,
according to Mr. Freed. At a maximum of
about 20 vehicles per audit, that would
mean that as many as 800 vehicles may be
tested in 1977 out of an estimated produc-
tion of 12 million cars.
EPA estimates the cost of the program
will require an average increase in the per
car sticker price from 17 to 70 cents.
Administrator Train has said, "The selec-
tive nature of the program requiring testing
of only a small number of vehicles makes it
a highly cost-effective and efficient way to
assure the proper emission performance of
production vehicles."
When EPA does decide to perform an
audit, it must first identify a particular
vehicle category (called a configuration). A
category includes all vehicles produced by
a manufacturer having the same type en-
gine, emission control system, transmis-
sion, and weight range.
The order requiring the test is then signed
by the Assistant Administrator for Enforce-
ment or his designee and delivered to the
manufacturer. It must specify the vehicle
category, the manufacturer's plant or stor-
age facility from which the vehicles must
be selected, the time, .the number of vehi-
cles in the sample, and the manner of
selection.
If a certain percentage of vehicles in the
sample fail the test, certification for the
category may be suspended or revoked at
the Administrator's discretion, thereby
making sale of these cars illegal. The
suspension or revocation will remain in
-------
effect until the manufacturer can demon-
strate to EPA that the problems causing
the emissions failure have been corrected.
The regulations currently state that if 60
percent or better of the vehicles in a given
category pass, vehicles in the category are
considered to be in compliance. "The
Agency had originally proposed to require
a 90 percent success level to determine if a
sample passed the test," Dr. Shutler said.
"but if manufacturers build in the safety
margins we expect in order lo protect
against losing their certificates, a 90 percent
requirement could in fact cause manufac-
turers to build all of their cars to more
stringent standards than the lau presently
intends. Therefore, we are beginning with
60 percent, hoping it will generate compli-
ance in the 90 to 100 percent range. Our
approach is rather like enforcing a new 55
mile-per-hour speed limit where drivers had
been going 65. When 55 initially goes into
effect, tickets probably would not be issued
to drivers who were going 56 miles per
hour. Rather they would be given to those
going 65 and faster, in the hope that the
enforcement activity would cause most
drivers to obey the 55 limit. If the result
were drivers generally going 60, one would
then start ticketing at 60 in order to gain
compliance with the 55 limit. We will pay
close attention to the results the new
program achieves to determine any need
for tightening the pass rate requirement."
During the next few months the manufac-
turers' emission testing facilities will be
used exclusively. However. Frank D.
Slaveter, head of the recently formed Se-
lective Enforcement Auditing Section, said.
"During all testing EPA will haveon-site
supervisors carefully checking the proce-
dures. By spring of this year, we expect to
have our Mobile Enforcement Test Facility
ready. It will be a mobile van ready to go
from plant to plant and conduct emissions
tests.
"The regulations also allow the manufac-
turer to put the amount of mileage on the
test vehicles necessary to stabilize their
emission levels. The law, of course, re-
quires that the cars maintain the standards
for 50.000 miles. The Mobile Source En-
forcement Division is constantly gathering
information about the emisssion levels of
vehicles already out of the factory and on
the road. If there is sufficient information
to believe that a certain vehicle category is
in violation of the standards, a test order is
issued," Mr. Slaveter added.
According to Mr. Freed, decisions about
which vehicle categories to audit will also
depend on data obtained from prototype
testing. State inspection and maintenance
programs, and information learned during
auto recalls. Mr. Freed said that EPA will
also be looking at those vehicle categories
which are produced in the largest volume.
The emission test itself first involves
several pre-test steps, including filling the
vehicles up v\ith a specifically controlled
composition of gasoline, pressure testing
the evaporative emission control system for
possible leaks, a preconditioning run on a
dynamometer (a treadmill device upon
which the vehicle is "driven"), and allow-
ing the vehicle to sit for at least 12 hours
while maintaining a room temperature of no
less than 6K~ F and no more than 86 F.
The car is then placed back on the
dynamometer, and a tube attached to the
exhaust, The emissions are trapped and
analyzed automatically and a computer
records the data.
The driver must maintain a number of
speeds which simulate an average day's
driving in the city. Should the driver de-
viate too much from the acceleration-dece-
leration plan which has been mathemati-
cally determined, the test is voided. At the
Ford Motor Company testing facility, for
example, a teletype terminal next to the
test vehicle continuously prints out emis-
sion-level figures for the various speeds.
These figures are not the average^ that
determine the test result: rather they ana-
lyze changes in emission levels at various
stages of the test. This informal ion will
later he used b> the company to help it
diagnose the reasons for am failures which
ma> occur.
In the future the new audit program will
also apply to motorcycles produced for sale
in the U.S. •
Observing procedures at Ford Motor Co. emission* testint* laboratory {in foreground)
are Stanley I.e\;ro. (left) EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement, and Dr.
Norman Shutler, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mobile Source Enforcement. At
far right is Charles Erecd, chief of the Manufacturers Program Brunch in the Mobile
Source Enforcement Division.
Clirvsler assemhlv line.
PAGE 13
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hot water
Region I Administrator John A. S.
McGlennon recently rejected a power
company plan to pour 1.2 biilion gallons
per day of heated seawater into the ocean
at Seabrook, N.H.
The company appealed this decision to
EPA Administrator Russell Train, who
agreed 10 review it, saying "the case
presents important issues of national
significance." A final decision is not
expected till February or later.
The Public Service Company of New
Hampshire is building a $2-billion nuclear
power plant at Seabrook. it seeks a permit
to discharge the plant's cooling water at 39
degrees hotter than the temperature of the
ocean water at the intake, which usually
ranges from 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
The regional decision was reached after an
intensive review of data presented at a
hearing last year. Opponents believe the
company should revise its plans to provide
better technology to minimize adverse
environmental effects.
mirex in Ontario
Eleven representatives of Region II re-
cently took part in a three-day investigation
at the Hooker Chemical Co. plant at
Niagara Falls, N.Y. to determine if dis-
charges from the plant were responsible for
the presence of the pesticide Mirex in the
Niagara River and Lake Ontario. Seven
members of the State Department of Envi-
ronmental Conservation and seven Hooker
Chemical experts completed the field team.
which was led by John Ciancia of EPA's
Surveillance and Monitoring Division at
Edison. N.J. Mirex is a toxic hydrocarbon
that has been used in the southeastern
States to control fire ants. When data from
plant outfalls and soil 'samplings are ana-
lyzed the investigators hope to have a more
definitive picture of the causes of the
Mirex contamination, which was first dis-
covered by EPA sampling last July.
fish kill follow-up
A public symposium is expected to be held
this month on the causes of a series of fish
kills off the New Jersey coast last summer.
State and Federal agencies have been col-
lecting and evaluating all available informa-
tion and hope to make recommendations to
avoid such fish kills in the future. Prelimi-
nary findings indicate that a "bloom" or
sudden growth of microscopic plant life
occurred in the cold, deep-water layers of
the ocean, and the subsequent death and
decomposition of the plants used up the
water's dissolved oxygen and killed the
fish.
incinerator violators
Formal violation notices have been issued
to six Westchester County communities for
excessive smoke and soot emissions from
their incinerators. They include Eastches-
ter. New Rochelle, Rye. Scarsdale. White
Plains, and Yonkers.
cleanup ordered
The Gloucester Sewerage Authority.
Gloucester City. N.J., has been ordered to
correct numerous violations of its permit to
discharge treated wastewater into Little
Timber Creek, a tributary to the Delaware
River, and to show cause why civil and
criminal penalties should not be imposed.
Regional Administrator Gerald M. Hansler.
said the pollution resulted from neglect and
malfunctions in the sewage treatment plant
and "could have been avoided by simple
maintenance on a day-to-day basis."
kind to be operated by any American city,
the plant can treat 30,000 gallons per day.
It cost about $300.000, none of which was
Federal money. The Philadelphia Water
Department, which has already done much
pioneering work in the detection of trace
contaminants, is using the plant for large-
scale testing and demonstration of various
purification techniques.
city is sued
A $2-million Federal civil suit has been
filed against Erie, Pa., its Sewer Authority.
and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
for continuing violations of the authority's
permit to discharge treated sewage effluent
into Lake Erie. The action was initiated by
Region 111, seeking immediate compliance
with the limitations imposed by the permit.
About 64 million gallons of wastewater are
discharged daily.
county noise law
Montgomery County. Maryland, recently
put into effect a noise control law setting
maximum permissible noise levels for in-
dustrial, commercial, and residential zones
and for areas where different zones meet.
The ordinance also sets noise levels for
construction, repair, and demolition of
structures and roads.
pilot plant
Philadelphia has built a pilot plant to
remove very low levels of organic com-
pounds from drinking water. First of its
air pollution fine
The Allied Chemical Corporation was re-
cently fined $925,000 after it pleaded no
contest to Federal charges of violating air
pollution control standards at its Semet-
Solvay Plant in East Ashland. Ky. U.S.
'District Judge David Hermansdorfer sus-
pended $800.000 of the total fine, contin-
gent upon the company's meeting a rigid
compliance schedule over the next five
years. The plant's emissions will be meas-
ured every 60 days. Compliance failure will
bring an additional $100,000 fine, which, if
not paid promptly will reinstate the sus-
pended $800,000 levy. The court order
stipulated that a new criminal action may
be taken if at any time EPA is not satisfied
with the company's rate of compliance.
Regional Administrator Jack Ravan initi-
ated the complaint against Allied Chemical
last June. It charged 83 violations of emis-
sion standards by the firm's coke ovens
over a 37-day period.
PAGE 14
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big interceptor
A seven-mile-long interceptor sewer seven
and a half feet in diameter has been chosen
as the best option to meet the needs of
Cuyahoga and Summit Counties, Ohio, in
the Cleveland Regional Sewer District.
Region V recently completed the final
environmental impact statement on the
project, which will carry wastewater to the
Cleveland Southerly Sewage Treatment
Plant near Garfteld Heights. Several out-
dated treatment plants will be abandoned
as well as thousands of septic tank filter
fields. Eleven trunk sewers will connect
with the big interceptor, which will be
tunneled below the Cuyahoga Valley Na-
tional Recreation Area to avoid damaging
it.
coke oven suit
A suit has been filed in U.S. District Court
in Chicago against Interlake, Inc., seeking
to halt the steel company's operation of
two batteries of coke ovens in South
Chicago. Since December 1974, the suit
charges, Interlake has operated the ovens
without, the required air pollution controls,
producing levels of particulates (smoke and
soot) that exceed national air quality stand-
ards by almost 40 percent. Extended nego-
tiations by Region V officials failed to
produce an administrative settlement.
oxidant strategy
Amended regulations aimed at controlling
oxidant air pollution in Texas were the
subject of public hearings last month in
Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio and are
expected to be formally approved soon.
The new rules will affect six metropolitan
areas in the State where oxidant pollution
now exceeds the national standards: Beau-
mont-Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, Dallas-
Fort Worth. El Paso, Houston-Galveston,
and San Antonio.
joint planning
Region VI officials have invited representa-
tives of State agriculture and water man-
agement agencies to participate in and
make suggestions concerning EPA planning
for Fiscal 1978. The'meeting, to be held
this month, will cover all EPA programs in
the Region.
college advisor
Carl V. Blomgren, Director of the Water
Division for Region VII, has been named
to the advisory council of Iowa State
University's Civil Engineering Department.
The council represents industry, consulting
and construction firms, and government
agencies and provides guidance to the
university in its policies for engineering
education. Mr. Blomgren's primary interest
is in environmental engineering, and partic-
ularly in Iowa State's Civil Engineering
Cooperative Education Program that com-
bines classroom studies with on-the-job
experience. "I hope to become acquainted
with minority and women engineering stu-
dents at the university and encourage em-
ployment with EPA,'.' he said.
twelve in one
An unusual, perhaps unique, environmental
planning project is under way in the Den-
ver metropolitan area: an impact study of
12 proposed sewage treatment facilities at
.once. Completion of the 12-in-one environ-
mental impact statement is expected at the
end of April. It will include all problem
areas—air quality, conversion of agricul-
tural lands, social and economic effects—as
well as water quality considerations. Rob-
ert Doyle of EPA's Region VIII staff is
project officer. The EIS is being coordi-
nated, through the Mountain Plains Federal
Regional Council, with other studies being
undertaken by the Departments of Interior,
Transportation, and Housing and Urban
Development.
citizens' forums
A program of Citizens' Forums (also
known as Town Meetings) is under way in
Region IX, led by the League of Women
Voters under contract to EPA. During this
month and next, forums on "208 Planning,"
"Regional Growth and Resource Manage-
ment," and "Agricultural Preservation in
Urban Areas" will be held in Riverside,
San Diego, and Orange and Los Angeles
Counties. Forums have already been held
at Fremont, San Dieguito. and Lake
Tahoe. Senior Staff members of Region IX
take part in the .discussions. The meetings
seek to "start a meaningful dialogue on
environmental issues at the grass roots
level," said Regional Administrator Paul
DeFalco Jr.," and to bring the public into
the decision-making process."
ketchikan dispute
Tentative settlement of a three-year dispute
over water pollution cleanup at the Ketchi-
kan Pulp Co., Ketchikan. Alaska, was
announced recently by Region X Adminis-
trator Donald P. Dubois. The company
will move as fast as possible to give
secondary treatment to all wastewater from
its sulphite pulp mill, following the compli-
ance schedule specified in its discharge
permit. The company will install equipment
and modify its plant to reduce organic
wastes (biological oxygen demand) to 75
pounds per ton of pulp produced, about
one-third of its present pollution output. If
it is unable to meet the statutory limit by
next July, while proceeding with due dili-
gence, the company will pay a penalty of
$250 for each day through 1980 on which
its discharge exceeds the limit.
The settlement will enable Ketchikan Pulp
to continue operations while installing pol-
lution controls. Last summer the firm said
it would close down rather than spend
about $30 million to comply with EPA
requirements.
PAGE 15
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STREETS FOR PEOPLE
By Truman Temple
The Nation's capital has opened two
pedestrian malls in ihe heart of the
city. One of them runs along the front of
the National Portrait Gallery on F Street
N.W. and the other, known as "Library
Place." is a nearly block-long square for
strollers fronting the Martin Luthei King
Library.
'['he projects, built at a cost of S6.3 million
with Federal urban renewal funds, make
downtown Washington more inviting, excit-
ing and fun.
Hy opening the malls. Washington has
joined a world-wide movement limiting the
use of auios and trucks in downtown areas.
The mall concept not only is aimed at
enhancing the esthetic and commercial ap-
peal of inner cities with quiet, traffic-free
/ones hut also at protecting public health
by curbing air pollution.
Banning vehicles to improve the quality of
urban life is not a new idea. Some 20
centuries ago Julius Caesar prohibited char-
iots from running along Rome's narrow
streets dining evening hours because their
noise disturbed people. Leonardo da Vinci
drew up a city plan in the 15th century to
put vehicles and pedestrians on different
levels so that people could shop and chat in
Ihe open air without being distracted by
traffic.
But today the pedestrian mall is a concept
whose time has come. According to the
Organization for Heonomic Cooperation
and Development, more than HK) cities in
Kurope now have pedestrian malls, and the
total grows every year. Some are simple.
block-long auto-free corridors in small vil-
lages, created by painting lines or putting
up a modest wooden sawhorse or two.
Others are the result of seal's of planning
and large reconstruction programs.
"I'he movement also is well under way in
the United States. The firs! American city
to close off downtown streets permanently
to motor vehicles and reserve them tor
I "icir from the Rutluiits (C'ity thill) 'I'ttwcr
at the edMt'i'ii end of Munich's large a.id
beautiful Fussgangerzone (pedestrian zone).
shoppers on foot was Kalumazoo. Mich.,
in 1959. Since then the mall idea has spread
rapidly. Three years ago. the Downtown
Research and Development Center in New
York reported that 34 downtown malls
were under construction or completed
around the country. By last March, the
total had reached SI in cities ranging from
Lebanon. N.H. to Honolulu, from Win-
chester. Va.. to Dallas. Tex. Officials note
there are a number of additional cities with
malls that aren't on their list yet.
How much does a pedestrian mall cost
to build1' That depends on the plan. A
relatively simple one in Jackson. Mich..
was built at a cost of S75.(XX). At the other
end of the scale, a very ambitious project
in Memphis. Term., covering more than
ten acres cost approximately $6.7 million.
One of the most important arguments for
creating auto-free /ones within a city is the
effect this has in curbing air and noise
pollution. In one experiment in New York
C'ily in 1970. closing Fifth Asenue to
traffic resulted in a reduction of carbon
monoxide levels from 30 to five pails per
million. At the same time, noise levels
dropped from 7S to 5S decibels.
To be sure, there is a right way and a
wrong way to go about creating a mall.
The process requires some forethought not
only by city planners hut by area mer-
chants, police, firemen, transit officials.
traffic managers, and just ordinary rest-
dents. Unless the project is looked over
carefully by everybody affected, trouble is
bound to occur.
Consider the case of Frankfurt. Germany,
where officials some years ago closed off a
large thoroughfare of department stores and
shops known as the "/eil" or lane. In
theory this should have led to a quieter and
more environmentally desirable city. In-
stead, it caused riots. According to De;
Spiegel magazine, banning vehicles simply
caused the traffic to shift a few blocks
awa\. The result was disastrous. Two
parallel residential streets found themselves
swamped with trucks and cars. A protest
movement erupted, and police finally had
to move in to restore calm. 'I'he city fathers
were obliged to restudy the whole project.
On the other hand, where adequate plan-
ning precedes construction of a pedestrian
mall, the results can be happy indeed. In
Norwich, a 1.200-year-old city in northeast-
PAC.H 16
-------
ern England, the city council adopted a
careful plan in cooperation with retailers.
including temporary street closings to test
the idea. Now the plan is permanent, and
virtually all the store owners report in-
creased business from shoppers who have
time to window-gaze under pleasant condi-
tions. In a month-long survey of pedestrian
malls in six European countries two years
ago, this writer found the experience wide-
spread. Despite early fears by merchants
that banning cars would hurt business, the
opposite proved to be true.
Some auto-free areas in cities like Munich
and Vienna are the result of large recon-
struction programs involving new subways.
escalators, public fountains, and extensive
repaving, all carefully integrated with outer
ring highways to assure that traffic patterns
make sense. Others, like Murren and Zer-
matt in the Swiss Alps, started out as
remote mountain villages and have banned
autos entirely to preserve their special
appeal to skiers and mountain climbers.
The mall with perhaps the greatest
charm that this writer visited was in
Rouen. This ancient French city in Nor-
mandy was enjoying a September after-
noon. I stood on cobblestones next to the
great cathedral where the heart of William
the Conqueror is buried. Around me
swirled shoppers, businessmen, and tour-
ists. A blessed quiet reigned along narrow
streets once trod by Joan of Arc.
Rouen like many other cities in America
and Europe understands the principle of
restoring peace to the heart of a city, but
with the peculiar genius of its people has
endowed its old sector with Gallic charm.
The city's auto-free area is disorderly,
winding, ungeometric, and imperfect.
That's what I liked about it. Secluded
courtyards beckoned off the streets, where
the workshops of artisans echoed with
pleasant sounds of activity. A tub of flow-
ers barred autos while decorating an inter-
section. One could shop at modern bou-
tiques near a public square dedicated to the
19th century author of Madame Bovury,
Truman Temple ix a Headquarters Public
Affairs Officer who has seen a number of
pedestrian malls.
Gustave Flaubert. His statue benignK
overlooked a group of office workers on
their lunch hour playing petanques. an
outdoor variation on howling. Unlike so
many sterile, stark, downtown office neigh-
borhoods in other cities. Rouen flows with
life after hours. Its inhabitants obviously
share a love and pride for their ro/cs
fwttmm-x. their pedestrian streets.
in a broader sense, it seems to this
observer that the movement to create pe-
destrian malls goes beyond a simple desire
to ban autos. It is a spontaneous "streets
for people" idea, in the happy phrase of
one early prophet and historian, Bernard
Rudolfsky. whose book on this subject has
become a standard reference for environ-
mentalists. The movement not only envi-
sions inner-city sanctuaries where pedes-
trians are free from vehicles, but where
they can once again find the communion of
the marketplace and the village fountain
and the park bench and the sycamore's
shade—in the same city w'here they live.
In a way it is a rediscovery of values still
lingering in our collective memory of the
village commons. There was a time in
history, lasting for centuries, where down-
town was neither sterile nor fraught with
danger, where housewives could gossip and
buy thread, where business could be con-
ducted in peace. There are still enough
references to this era in our literature to
stir men's minds, to make us wonder how
we lost our innocence, and how the city
was destroyed by technology. By means of
the pedestrian mall, we are finding our way
back to that era and renewing a tradition.
In the process, we are also protecting our
health. •
This man is walking his hicyclc through the Fussgangerzone because not even
bicycle ridinK is permitted in this pedestrian mall in Munich, (lermany.
PA(,1- 17
-------
PEOPLE
Jerome H. Svore, Region V11
Administrator in Kansas City,
Mo., since 1971, retired Dec.
31 itfter a 30-year career in the
environmental field. As a
Public Health Service officer,
Mi. Svore retired with the rank
of Assistant Surgeon General.
He and his wife will make their
home in Austin. Texas.
Mr. Svore was Regional
Administrator in Kansas City
for HPA's predecessor agency,
the Environmental Health
Service. Department of Health.
Education, and Welfare, when
HP A was organized. He had
previously served in various
executive posts in the Public
Health Service's environmental
programs in Washington. D.C.,
and Cincinnati. Ohio, and as a
director of Federal water
pollution control programs in
the Dallas, Texas, Federal
regional office. He had also
been Executive Secretary of
the Columbia Basin
Interagency Commission,
Portland, Ore.
Benton M. Wilmoth, a
specialist in ground water
quality control in the Wheeling,
W. Va.. office of Region Ill's
Surveillance and Analysis
Division, was recently honored
by the American Institute of
Professional Geologists. Mr.
Wilmoth received the
Institute's Distinguished
Service Award for his work as
Chairman of its National
Committee on Geology in the
[Environment. The committee,
the citation said, has helped
call public attention to the need
for geological study as a base
for environmental planning and
for land and water
development and use.
Joseph A. Krivak has been
named Chief, Non-Point
Sources Branch, Office of
Water Planning and Standards.
He is returning to EPA after
three years of working on land
use policy in the office of the
Secretary of the Interior.
Mr. Krivak. 50. had previously
served in water planning posi-
tions in EPA and its predeces-
sor agency, the Federal Water
Quality Administration, since
1967. Before that he was with
the Department of Agticul
lure's Soil Conservation Serv-
ice for 16 years.
A native of Wilkes-Barre. Pa..
Mr. Krivak is a graduate of
Pennsylvania State Univer-
sity's School of Forestry. He
is married to the former Rita
Riefski. of Wilkes-Barre. They
have three grown children.
Patricia L. Cahn, EPA's
Director of Public Affairs for
two years, has resigned
and Marlin Fitzwater, head of
the News Services Division,
was named Acting Director.
Mrs. Cahn is now a free-lance
writer and consultant.
specializing in environmental
matters and education and
working out of her country
home in Loudoun County,
Virginia.
She headed the Office of
Public Affairs since Jan. 6,
1975.
Before coming to EPA, she
had served with the U.S.
Office of Education in the
Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare for
nine years, including five years
as editor of the Office's
monthly magazine, "American
Education," and three years as
Assistant Commissioner of
Education for Public Affairs.
Francis W. Giaccone has been
appointed Chief of the Region
II Air Facilities Branch after
serving as a Section Chief for
three years. In his new role,
Mr. Giaccone is responsible
for the technical direction of
Region II activities regarding
the air pollution control of
stationary sources and the
actions necessary to establish
stationary source compliance.
He received EPA's Special
Achievement Award for
continuous superior
performance in 1973 and was
nominated for the EPA
Executive Development
Program this year. He is a
graduate in mechanical
engineering from Stevens
Institute of Technology.
PACiH 18
-------
Managers of the United
Nations Environment
Program's information referral
centers in Jamaica. Israel, and
Ghana, attended a three-week
training program recently at the
United Stales referral center at
EPA Headquarters,
Washington. They were Lynda
P. Quamina, (left above).
Information Officer. National
Resources Conservation
Department. Kingston.
Jamaica: Samuel A. Winful,
Senior Assistant Secretary.
Environmental Protection
Council, Accra. Ghana: and
Dr. Devorah Ziv,
Dr. H. Page Nicholson, who
retired last June as Acting
Associate Director for Rural
Lands Research at the
Environmental Research
Laboratory at Athens. Ga..
was presented with EPA's
Gold Medal for Distinguished
Service at a testimonial dinner
last month in Athens.
An internationally recognized
authority on the environmental
effects of pesticides. Dr.
Nicholson is continuing to
serve the Athens laboratory as
scientific advisor to Dr. David
W. Duttw.eiler. Director.
Dr. Nicholson's government
career spans 34 years in
research assignments with the
Public Health Service, the
Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration, and
EPA.
Environmental Protection
Service. Jerusalem, Israel.
The U.S. center, established 15
months ago, now serves as a
model and training point for
UNEP centers in other
nations. At a welcoming
ceremony for the first three
trainees. Assistant
Administrator Alvin Aim said.
"We are pleased with the
direction and progress" of
international exchange of
information on environmental
problems. "This training
program is an element of the
international effort that we are
committed to support."
Frank D. Slaveter, Chief of the
Selective Enforcement Audit-
ing Section, has headed that
unit since its creation last sum-
mer. Mr. Slaveter's primary
responsibility is to supervise
emission testing of new pro-
duction motor vehicles at as-
sembly plants. This key pro-
gram began full operation on
January I (see related story on
page 12 ). Mr. Slaveter's Sec-
tion is under the Mobile
Source Enforcement Division.
Mr. Slaveter, 30, came to EPA
m 1973. He has a U.S. in
mechanical engineering from
the University of Maryland.
and a M.S. in environmental
engineering from Johns Hop-
kins University. Before assum-
ing his present post, he was a
project leader in the develop-
ment of the Selective Enforce-
ment Auditing Program.
Claire Stern has joined Region
II as its Public Participation
Specialist. She will assist in
development of citizen
involvement in the Region's 14
areawide and four state 208
agencies. Ms. Stern's
credentials include her previous
position as Executive Director
of the Long Island
Environmental Council, a
coalition of over 100
organizations, where she
lobbied in Albany (NY) and
Washington for legislation. She
was instrumental in bringing
New York State's Wetlands
Act into being, created and
taught university environmental
courses, assisted in land use
planning, and has held a
variety of public interest
positions throughout her
career. She was a first recipient
of Region H's Special Award of
Merit in 197?.
Readers can find out the
Agency's top news story of
the day by picking up a tele-
phone and dialing 755-931W
{ ETS callers out of town use
the prefix number 8. Callers
on regular commercial lines
use the area code 202.) The
story they will hear is pre-
pared anil taped b\ EPA's
Radio News Service in the
News Services Division. Of-
fice of Public Affairs. It nor-
mally consists of a brief intro-
duction of a news item, fol-
lowed b> a quotation from an
EPA official. The central pur-
pose of the tape is to permit
radio stations across the
countrv to call in and tape the
story over the telephone line.
I hen it is included as part of
their local broadcasts. But the
telephone tape service also
serves as a convenient \sa>
for >ou to keep up with
Agency activities.
PACiK 19
-------
EPA EMPLOYEES HONORED
EPA honored 32 individuals and two
groups at the Agency's sixth annual
Awards Day ceremony m Washington Dec.
13
Their efforts "reflect the highest standards
and goals to which we all are pledged."
said Administrator Russeil E Tram "To
each . I extend my sincere thanks and
appreciation for their superior achieve-
ments . . . they serve to inspire and affirm
for us all our own resolve . . in bettering
this Nation's environment."
/Mr. Train told the employees
"We have gone through some tough times
together, you and I, over the past few
years So. indeed, has the country
"We can, then, take great pride on the
fact
—That the environment remains a matter of
the highest national priority;
—That EPA has demonstrated its effective-
ness as an instrument for the administration
of our national environmental laws;
•-That the basic strength of those laws
remains unimpaired;
- That EPA has consistently pursued a
vigorous and courageous enforcement pol-
icy.
—That the nation's air and water are be-
coming measurably cleaner,
—And that the commitment of the Ameri-
can people to environmental progress re-
mains deep and enduring."
Mr. Train said in this past year, "at a time
when environmental priorities were thought
to be weakening, we saw enactment at
long last of the Toxic Substances Control
Act and the Resource Recovery and Con-
servation Act, essentially completing the
structure of our pollution regulatory authori-
ties
"The environmental effort has, from the
very start, represented much that is best in
this country And this Agency represents,
m my judgmeni, much that is best m
government
"There have been those who cheerfully
predicted that environmental programs
generally and the Environmental Protection
Agency m particular would be derailed by
the counterpressures generated by energy
shortages and economic recession. That
this has not happened is to the everlasting
credit of the good sense of the American
people, and also in large measure to the
courage and steadfast determination of the
women and men of EPA. The battle has
often been a lonely one. More often than
not, powerful forces both in and out of
government have been arrayed against us.
I can remember many meetings over re-
cent years when it seemed that our's was
the only voice to speak up on the side of
environmental values Ail the more impor-
tant, therefore, that we have not hesitated
to speak up and speak out clearly and
forcefully. We can be proud that EPA has
maintained both its institutional integrity
and the fundamental integrity of its pro-
grams. We can be proud as well that EPA
has established a strong tradition of inde-
pendence. That is a tradition that the
agency must particularly guard and cherish
m the future. I hasten to add that it is also
a tradition which should not be abused.
We must learn to be sensitive to the
programmatic needs and concerns of oth-
ers and be supportive of these when we
appropriately can But when fundamental
principle is involved, there must be no
compromise "
In speaking of achievements, Mr Train
said "I do not mean to leave the impres-
sion that we have only ourselves to thank
Administrator Russell E. Train addresses
employees at EPA Awards Day ceremony.
We owe much to many—to environmental
and other public interest groups, to far-
sighted leaders in industry and labor, to
the courts which have given strong support
to environmental laws, to many State and
locai agencies and officials, to Federal
officials, to members of Congress and their
staffs, to the media which has continued to
provide extensive coverage to environmen-
tal issues, and, finally, to the American
public which has never wavered in its
strong support for environmental protec-
tion We must be grateful to all of those
who have made our success possible Nor
can we take their support for granted We
must continue to deserve it. and we must
nurture it. We must work not only to
strengthen our existing sources of support
but we must actively reach out to broaden
our base of support. This will not be done
simply by rhetorical appeal but by estab-
lishing a clear basis of mutual benefit.
"Thus, as we implement our new toxic
substances control authority, we must give
special attention to the crucial relationship
with the occupational health and safety
laws. Our new information gathering and
reporting requirements under TOSCA can
provide an enormously valuable tool in
alerting OSHA and the public to workplace
dangers. Conversely. OSHA can help alert
EPA to potential problems falling under our
jurisdiction In all of this, there is a natural
community of interest between EPA and
labor unions That community of interest
was evident during the Congressional con-
sideration of the Toxic Substances Control
Act. We now have the opportunity to
strengthen and build on that relationship
to our mutual benefit."
The Administrator said that "Everything
we have learned since EPA was estab-
lished in 1970 has simply confirmed this
original, essential insight: that the 'environ-
ment' is not simply a side issue or second-
ary concern it is a fundamental fact of hie
a concern that is central to all others •
central, indeed, to life itself it is, as one
observer has written, the overall and under-
lying 'context within which we mus! weigh
and deal with the various energy, eco-
nomic and other 'crises' that confront us
"So it our efforts at EPA seem to reach
out and touch the lives ol every American,
that is because the health.and well-being
of every American is directly affected by
the condition and quality of his or her
PAGE 20
-------
environment. We have, as our constituency,
no) a single, separate segment oi our
society actively involved in environmental
'causes.' but every American who lives and
brealhes as well as millions upon millions
more who have yet to take their lirst breath.
We must have no narrow constituency. We
have as our constituency the entire society
and the environment thai sustains n.
"It is. I think, thai sense lhai 'the environ-
ment' is something really worth caring and
doing something about—that sense that,
behind and beyond all the thousand and
one frustrations we encounter, behind and
beyond all Ihe deadlines and the regula-
tions and the guidelines that make our
hours long and. at limes, our tempers
short, we are dealing with some ol our
society's basic concerns—that has seen us
through some rather rough and wrenching
experiences."
Distinguished career awards were given
to Louis E. Decamp, Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Water Program Opera-
tions, who is retiring, and Thomas P. Harri-
sonJEnforcement Division Director. Region
VI. Mrs. Harrison accepted the posthumous
award (or her husband, who died in Au-
gust.
The Agency's highest award, the Gold
Medal for Exceptional Service was given to
five persons and one group: Carol R.
Foglesong, Chief. Compliance Unit, Region
V. Chicago; for her work in administering
the discharge permit system in that Region;
Stephen Heller, Management Information
and Data Systems Division, for designing a
computer system that links.EPA's chemical
files with those of other agencies; Kenneth
L. Johnson, (now Acting Assistant Adminis-
trator for Toxic Substances) for his creative
leadership while serving as Deputy Re-
gional Administrator, Region I, Boston;
Sheila Prindiville, Director, Water Division,
Region IX, San Francisco, for improving
water quality management in that Region;
John T. Rhett, Deputy Assistant Administra-
tor for Water Program Operations, tor his
work on the Construction Grants program;
and the Supersaturation Research Project
team in the Corvallis, Ore., Environmental
Research Laboratory. The 14 team mem-
bers are James. A. Andros, Deidra Bo-
czkiewicz, Gerald R. Bouck, Michael A.
Cairns, Gary A. Chapman, Ronald R. Gar-
ton, Martin K. Knittel, Richard E. Lewis,
Joel K. McCrady, Alan V. Nebeker, Donald
Samuelson, Donald G. Stevens, Robert C.
Trippel, and Gwen B. White. Their work is •
helping to reduce a threat to Pacific
salmon, endangered by too much air dis-
solved in the waters of the Columbia and
other northwestern rivers.
Silver Medals for Superior Service were
presented to 12 individuals and one group:
Thomas A.'Bellar. Research Chemist, Envi-
ronmental Monitoring and Support Labora-
tory. Cincinnati, for developing a new lest
procedure lor public water supplies; Marlin
Fitzwater, Assistant Director for News Serv-
ices, Office of Public Affairs, for exceptional
dedication and service in running EPA's
news dissemination program; .Thomas Gal-
lagher, Director; National Enforcement In-
vestigations Center, Denver, for superior
technical support of EPA's enforcement
program in all areas; Willis E. Greenstreet.
Director, Management Information and
Data Systems Division, for his work in
setting up automated data processing for
the Agency; Edward T. Heinen, Chief,
Ecological Review Branch, Region IV, At-
lanta, for developing regional programs to
protect wetlands; David Kee, Chief, Air
Enforcement Branch. Region V, Chicago,
for superior leadership and performance;
Frederick Kutz. Project Officer, Office of
Pesticide Programs, for initiative'and
achievement in the monitoring of people for
pesticide exposure and health effects;
John Brian Molloy, Director, Water Enforce-
ment Division, for successful work with
major industrial discharge permits; Elbert
Moore, Water Planning Branch, Region X,
Seattle; for his work in controlling water
pollution from farm and forest lands; Dr.
Alvin R. Morris, Deputy Regional Adminis-
trator, Region III, Philadelphia, for "creative
management" that has increased the Re-
gion's productivity and morale; William T.
Sayers, Office of Research and Develop-
ment, for exceptional leadership in admin-
istering water quality management re-
search; Leonidas B. Tebo Jr., Surveillance
and Analysis Division, Region IV, Athens,
Ga., for directing the Region's biology
program that has contributed to wetland
preservation; and the Toxics Strategy Task
Force for "developing the Agency's first
• comprehensive strategy to control danger-
ous toxic substances in water." The 17
persons on the task force represent various
Headquarters offices and include Charles
Cook, Harold Coughlin. Swep Davis, Vin-
cent J. DeCarlo, Bruce Diamond, Louis W.
Dupuis. Leonard J. Guarraia, Ernest Hall,
Ridgway M. Hall Jr., Michael J. Higgins,
Richard C. Insinga, John C. Kolojeski,
Peter Lederman, Carl J. Schafer, Irving
Susel, Peggy E. Travers, and Ruth A.
Wilbur.
Four Public Health Service Officers as-
signed to EPA received the PHS Merito-
rious Service Medal: Jack Farmer. Office of
Air Quality'Planning and Standards, Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C.: Tobias A. Heg-
dahl, Air and Hazardous Materials Division,
Region X, Seattle; Louis W. Johnson. Air
and Hazardous Materials Division, Region
VIII, Denver; and Floyd B. Taylor. Water
Supply Branch, Region I, Boston.
Certificates for Outstanding Youth
Achievement—awards limited to persons
under 31 years old—went to David H.
Critchfield, Environmentalist, Office of
Water and Hazardous Materials; Carol S.
Doherty. Assistant Regional Counsel, Re-
gion X, Seattle; Beverly Greanya and Alex-
ander Hernandez. Word Processing Opera-
tors. Region IX. San Francisco: Phillip Hut-
ton, Entomologist, Office of Pesticide Pro-
grams; Carol Joy Kilgore, Clerk Stenogra-
pher,.Office of Water and Hazardous Mate-
rials; Nina Dougherty Rowe, Program Ana-
lyst, Office of Research and Development;
Irving Susel, Economic Analysis Division,
Office of Planning and Evaluation: and
Paula C. Wallace. Secretary, Region I,
PROTECTING FISH
Most of EPA's efforts to improve river
quality try to increase the water's
dissolved oxygen so that fish can thrive.
But at Corvallis, Ore., a team of EPA
people won a Gold Medal last month (see
adjoining story) for their woik on the prob-
lem of top much oxygen.
The "supersaturation" of water with oxy-
gen is caused when water flows over a
high dam, picking up and dissolving more
air than it would normally hold. It can also
occur in heated water discharged by an
electric power plant: the warmer water can
hold less dissolved gas (as can be seen
when air bubbles form in a teakettle long
before the water boils) and temporarily
becomes supersaturated.
This condition is dangerous to fish and
other aquatic animals. They can sicken or
die when they take in supersaturated water
and air bubbles form in their blood and
tissues.
For five years the Corvallis team has been
researching this problem, a vital one in the
Northwest because of the threat to spawn-
ing salmon and game fish like the steel-
head trout.
They are experts on supersaturation: how
much of it different kinds of fish can stand,
how to measure it in the laboratory and the
field. Their work is helping other Federal
and State agencies to control supersatura-
tion in such many-dammed rivers as the
Columbia and the Snake by altering the
design of spillways and gates and by more
careful operation of hydroelectric plants.
All fish need oxygen, but they can get too
much of a good thing. •
PAGE 21
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STORING CHICAGO'S
RAINWATER
With help from F.PA. Chicago has be-
un building a huge underground sys-
tem to collect and hold storm runoff water
and sanitary sewer overflows so they can
he purified in sewage treatment plants after
the storm has passed.
Storm water, itself highly polluted with
silt and chemicals, now overloads the city's
combined sewer system whenever there's a
heavy rain, causing treatment plants to be
bypassed. At such times mixtures of run-
off water and untreated sewage overflow
into waterways and sometimes even into
Lake Michigan, the city's drinking water
source.
RPA has approved construction grants
totaling more than S29X million for work on
the first portion of what is expected to be
the largest municipal public works project
in the Nation's history. It wil! take at least
11 years to complete and is expected to
cost nearly $3 billion. The State of Illinois
is also contributing funds.
The grants, announced in July, go to the
Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater
Chicago for the District's Tunnel and Res-
ervoir Plan (TARP). They cover about 75
percent of the cost of one segment of
TARP, the Mainstream Tunnel System.
which will collect combined sewer over-
flows from the centra] part of the city in a
tunnel about 40 miles long extending from
Wilmette, on the Lake Michigan shore
Tunnel machine bores a section for
Chicago's massive underground storage
system for storm water.
north of the city, to Summit, a southwest-
ern suburb near Midway Airport.
The tunnel's path roughly follows the
course of the Chicago River south through
i the business district then west along the
C'hicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The
tunnel will be cut in solid rock. 2(X) to 300
feet below ground level. Its diameter will
. increase in stages from 10 feet at the
I northern end to 35 feet at Summit, where
j the collected storm water will he pumped
to a wastewater treatment plant.
R
egion V Administrator George R.
Alexander Jr.. noting previous HPA
grants of about SI 10 million for planning
and engineering work, said the Agency's
contribution to the funding of the total
TARP program now exceeds S38K million.
PAGE 22
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"The District has now received basically
at! funding for the water quality aspects of
the Mainstream system." he said.
Mr. Alexander said the system would not
only reduce water pollution and flood dam-
age but would also stimulate the area's
economy and provide jobs for area resi-
dents.
Studies have shown that in the construc-
tion of water pollution control facilities, he
said, each billion dollars spent generates
about 20.000 man-years of direct employ-
ment and at least an equal amount of
employment for suppliers, transport serv-
ices, and other industries. "Cleaning up the
environment is not only good for America.
it is also good for business".
For nearly a hundred years Chicago has
had gigantic problems with water: for
drinking, for sewers, for transportation.
and for storm drainage. The city is on
essentially flat land, straddling the low
divide between the Great Lakes and Mis-
sissippi basins. Natural drainage is slug-
gish. Two small rivers, the Chicago and the
Calumet, drained the older sections of the
city into Lake Michigan, but the city soon
spread westward across the divide, where
the land drains into the Mississippi via the
Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers.
In the 1880's typhoid fever, cholera, and
dysentery were widespread, due to pollu-
tion of the Lake Michigan water supply. In
1889 the Illinois legislature formed the
Metropolitan Sanitary District, one of the
first and still one of the largest intergovern-
mental authorities, to deal with Chicago's
water problems.
The District covered all of Chicago
proper and most of Cook County. Over the
next 30 years it undertook a series of large
engineering projects in which:
The Mainstream Tunnel System now un-
der way is one of four TARP subsystems,
each a self-contained scheme for collecting
overflow water via underground tunnels,
storing it in reservoirs, and releasing it to
treatment plants during subsequent dry pe-
riods when the plants can handle it. Each
of the four subsystems will be operable by
itself. Each includes new or expanded
treatment plants large enough to handle the
increased volume of wastewater.
The Mainstream system will serve cen-
tral Chicago. The other systems in-
clude Calumet in the southern part of the
city, Des Plaines along that river in the
western suburbs, and O'Hare in northwest-
ern Cook County near Chicago's main
airport.
Storm water will reach the Mainstream
tunnel through 134 drop shafts and 220
"collecting structures"—catch basins lo-
cated at curbs or low points near major
thoroughfares and connected by pipes to
the drop shafts.
Hard rock mining methods will be used to
build both drop shafts and the tunnel itself.
Round sections will employ "moles" or
boring machines with circular cutting teeth
to chew up the rock as the machine
advances. Portions of the tunnel and all
adjacent rooms for pumps and other equip-
ment will be rectangular in cross-section
and built by the drill-and-blast method.
Many tunnels, shafts, and rooms will be
lined with concrete to keep wastewater
from filtering into natural groundwater in
the surrounding limestone.
The Mainstream system's reservoir, for
which money has not yet been appropri-
ated, will be constructed at the site of a
stone quarry. Its capacity will be 84,000
acre-feet of water, the equivalent of an 840-
acre lake 100 feet deep. This storage
capacity is augmented by the volume of the
tunnel itself, 3,180 acre-feet.
About 4.5 million cubic yards of rock
spoil will be removed in building the Main-
stream tunnel and will have to be disposed
of. The project's impact statement pro-
poses that this rock be dumped in landfills
or in an abandoned quarry. Rock from the
reservoir construction is expected to be
salable.
Financing of the remaining portions of
TARP is still in doubt. EPA funds can be
expected only for the water quality im-
provement aspects of the work, and the
share may change in the next few years.
• The rivers draining into Lake Michigan
were diverted via canals to the Des Plaines
watershed.
• Sanitary and storm sewers were built,
draining into the canals. Sixty years ago
the District sewage system was regarded as
a civil engineering wonder of the world.
• Canals for commercial vessels linked
Lake Michigan to the Illinois River and the
Mississippi. They were constructed so that
no polluted canal water could flow into the
Lake. Lake water was withdrawn to main-
tain canal levels and westward flow.
As Chicago's population and industry
grew, increasing withdrawals of water from
Lake Michigan led to law suits by other
cities. Great Lakes States, and Canada. In
1930 a Supreme Court ruling set limits on
the amount of Lake water that could be
used for the canals, and the District began
building more and bigger sewage treatment
plants to reduce pollution in the water-
ways.
These plants treated only the wastewa-
ter generated during dry weather and
minor rains. Heavier storms caused flows
that exceeded the capacity of the intercep-
tor lines, or the treatment plants, or both.
According to the TARP environmental
impact statement, such storms occur about
100 times a year. Though many are of only
local effect the overflow has to be dis-
charged directly into the waterways.
Careful operation of locks and gates in the
waterway system can minimize these dis-
charges, the statement said, by drawing
down the canal water levels before the
storm hits. But this was not enough. "In
the past 21 years the locks which separate
the waterway system from Lake Michigan
were opened 30 times, discharging oxygen-
demanding substances, sediment, phospho-
rus, and other chemical pollutants into
Lake Michigan. When this occurred during
the summer months, beaches were closed
to swimming until the coliform count . . .
showed that conditions were safe."
Rooding is also a problem, the statement
said, because the flat terrain limits the
practical slopes of sewers, and it is too
expensive to build them big enough to
drain storm runoff as fast as it is produced.
As a result, during heavy storms sewers
frequently back up and flood basements,
highway underpasses, and low-lying areas.
The basement flooding problem, although
substantially reduced within the city by
auxiliary sewers built in the last 20 years,
is becoming severe again, according to the
statement. "The area of turf, trees, and
earth which formerly absorbed large vol-
umes of rain is no longer present, so that
the fraction of a given rainfall that results
in runoff is steadily increasing."
Estimated cost of the Mainstream Tunnel
System is $508 million, and its annual
maintenance cost $2.3 million. Maintenance
costs can be met either by a property tax
or a user-charge system. EPA favors the
latter approach and has awarded the Dis-
trict two grants to develop such a user-
charge system, m
PAGE 23
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INQUIRY
What EPA programs should be given priority in 1977?
Daniel Kraft, Chief. Planning and Evalua-
tion Branch. Region II, New York City:
"Highest priority should be given to imple-
menting the five programs identified in the
FY'77 Operating Guidance that is devel-
oped by the major program offices at
Headquarters and then coordinated with
the Regions. These are:
• achieving compliance with State plans to
attain and maintain National Ambient Air
Quality Standards.
• maximizing water pollution abatement
through effective management of the Con-
struction Grants Program,
• assuring compliance by major dischargers
with national water permit conditions.
• helping States assume primary enforce-
ment responsibility for the Safe Drinking
Water Act.
• helping States and 208 agencies in the
timely development of State and areawide
water quality management plans.
"In addition, major attention must be
directed to implementing the new toxic
substances control legislation that had not
become law when the above program ob-
jectives were set."
Lawrence A. Plumlee, M.D., Medical Sci-
ence Adviser. Headquarters: "The devel-
opment and promulgation by the Agency of
practical, meaningful tests for evaluating
environmental chemicals is an urgent mat-
ter for our pesticides, toxic substances, and
hazardous wastes programs, and important
for our air pollution, drinking water and
water quality criteria programs as well.
Criticisms of test procedures must be
countered by knowledge that will enable
the public to be justly confident of EPA's
efforts to control pollution.
"Hut no amount of information can quiet all
industry criticism, so better efforts must be
made to educate the public about the reasons
underlying HPA decisions. The Agency
should spend more time briefing groups
committed to environmental quality and pub-
lic health, so that they will help us in educat-
ing the public."
David Ullrich, Chief. Case Development
Section. Enforcement Division. Region V.
Chicago: "The most important task facing
the Agency in 1977 is. I think, the imple-
mentation of programs lo cope with new
sources of pollution. This presents us with
a difficult challenge, for we must determine
how much industrial growth we can accom-
modate in a time of serious environmental
concern and economic uncertainty.
"To address new sources of air pollution
we have developed several procedures.
Among them is the new source perfor-
mance standards program that sets the
minimum level of pollution reduction re-
quired for new plants. Then, in the siting of
facilities in places where air quality stand-
ards are not being met. we must ensure
that there will be a sufficient reduction of
pollution from existing industry so that the
addition to a new plant or factory will not
impede the achievement of air quality
standards. Finally, we are concerned with
industry locating in areas of very clean air.
where no significant deterioration of air
quality is desirable; in these instances we
must make the decision of how much—if
any—deterioration of pristine air can be
allowed."
Kerrigan Clough, Special Assistant to the
Administrator, Headquarters: "My choice
for highest priority in 1977 is that the
Agency make public participation its num-
ber one purpose. Public participation is not
something to do in place of program func-
tions but. instead, is an integral part of
program development.
"EPA began to move to heavy public
participation a couple of years ago—before
it was a popular thing to do—simply
because without it our regulations and
decisions were pretty poorly received.
EPA has gotten up the steam to use public
participation. Maybe if we designated it as
number one priority for 1977 it would be
considered as necessary as the proper
management of public funds is, in our
pursuit of various goals."
Vivian Malone Jones, Director. Office of
Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. Region IV;
now on special assignment with Office of
Planning and Management. Headquarters:
"Our most pressing need is for a philo-
sophical change in how we perceive our
mission of cleaning up the environment.
We need to adopt a more humanistic
approach and remind ourselves that our
work is really about people and the real
world in which they live. There are excel-
lent laws on the books and we've had a
good record, I think, in administering
them, but in our preoccupation with regula-
tions, we have sometimes lost sight of the
fact that we are trying to improve the
quality of people's lives. That's where
progress must be measured—not in the
number of permits issued, impact state-
ments made, sewage plants built, or plant
clean-up orders issued.
"This may be a non-technician's view,
but most of my work with the Agency has
been in dealing with the realities of human
relations, so I am always conscious that in
the end our work is about people and how
they live.
"Another urgency facing us in 1977 is
how to better communicate with the public.
I doubt that the average citizen has much
knowledge of EPA or what it is doing, and
even sadder, I think is that most Agency
people would have difficulty in explaining
their role to the public. "
4»At
Daniel Kraft
PAGE 24
Lawrence A.Plumlee
David Ullrich
Kerrigan Clough
Vivian Malone Jones
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briefs
TRAIN INSPECTS NANTUCKET OIL SPILL
After being helicoptered over the recent giant oil spill near Cape
Cod, Mass., Administrator Russell E. Train described the situation
as the biggest oil spill disaster in U.S. history. The accident
occurred after a Liberian tanker carrying 7.6 million gallons of
industrial oil ran aground on shallow shoals 25 miles off the coast
of Nantucket Island. The spill threatened the Georges Bank—one of
the world's richest fishing grounds. It was also near the only
U.S. breeding ground for gray seals, and in the middle of a
migratory path for humpback whales.
EPA CHECKS TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT
EPA, along with a number of agencies of the Texas State government,
has taken air and water samples in the vicinity of the Velsicol
Chemical Company's plant at Bayport, Tex. The investigation was
designed to determine if the company's manufacture of two chemicals
— one suspected of causing nerve disorders among plant employees
— could have created broader environmental contamination.
According to Region VI officials, preliminary results have shown some
residues of leptophos and EPN in samples, but not in amounts likely
to be hazardous to public health or the environment.
NEW INDUSTRIAL GROWTH POLICY
EPA has announced a policy which would allow new industrial growth
in polluted areas only when the net effect is air quality improvement
Properly controlled emissions from a new source must be more than
offset by emission reductions from existing facilities. The
Agency is holding informal public hearings on the new policy in
several cities and is also requesting written comment by February 15.
CHRYSLER ORDERED TO RECALL CARS
In a precedent-setting decision, Administrator Train has ordered the
Chrysler Corporation to recall 208,000 of its 1975 model cars. The
recall is based on carburetor misadjustments which have resulted in
excessive emissions of carbon monoxide. Past recalls have been
based on manufacturing defects, rather than design and adjustment
features. Chrysler has said it will appeal the decision.
PAGE 25
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A-107)
WASHINGTON. D.C 20460
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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PROTECTING PLANES FROM BIRDS
A DC-10 carrying 139 people sucked
one or more gulls into a jet engine
opening during take-off from John F.
Kennedy International Airport on No-
vember 12, 1975. The engine exploded,
flames spread, and the plane crashed and
was destroyed. The passengers, fortu-
nately all airline employees trained in
escape procedures, survived the accident.
However, if the plane had traveled an-
other 150 feet it would have crashed on
the Belt Parkway, a major traffic artery
on Long Island, and probably killed doz-
ens of people.
As a result of this crash and many bird
strikes by airplanes at JFK and other
airports around the country, EPA has
been directed by Congress to make a
study of methods to reduce the hazard to
airplanes from gulls and other birds con-
gregating and feeding on landfills near
airports.
The worldwide average for bird strike
encounters is now as high as 30 a day,
according to an Airport Safety Bulletin
put out in April, 1976 by the Flight Safety
Foundation, Inc. of Arlington, Va. The
section of the new Solid Waste Act on
the bird problem was introduced by U.S.
Rep. James Scheuer of New York, a
member of the Environmental and At-
mospheric Subcommittee of the House
Science and Technology Committee. His
district includes John F. Kennedy Inter-
national Airport, as well as four of New
York City's nine landfills. There were 31
bird strikes at JFK in 1975.
Many airports are located in areas con-
sidered unsuitable for housing and often
used for solid waste disposal.
Land disposal sites are ideal havens for
many species of birds. Household gar-
bage provides food; abandoned furniture
and cars serve as roosting sites, and
puddling on poorly drained sites provides
water for the birds. Some species prefer
to roost on the cleared open areas pro-
vided by disposal sites and agricultural
lands.
A Department of the Interior study
found gulls a major hazard to aircraft at
JFK. The Fish and Wildlife Service esti-
mated that 500,000 gulls migrate through
the New York area every fall, and up to
200,000 may spend the winter there.
"These large gull populations occur and
thrive, to a great degree," said the report.
"because of the abundance of food in the
form of garbage in the New York area.
The bird problem at J FK is maximized by
the close proximity of two large garbage
landfills where thousands of gulls feed."
In 1971, Dr. John L. Seubert of the
Department of the Interior, a member of
the Interagency Bird Hazard Committee,
noted how gulls thrive on our garbage.
"Herring gulls along the Atlantic coast
numbered only several thousand in 1930,
but today they number about 600,000,"
he said. "There is also a ring-billed gull
Gulls swarming to a garbage dump in
New Jersey.
population of about 400.000 birds."
EPA's Office of Solid Waste already has
some background on the bird hazard
problem to work from. In 1969 when the
Office was part of the Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, they
began a study at the request of the
Interagency Bird Hazard Committee.
BinllAircrafl Hazards, a report of their
findings, was published in 1971. The
report was written by George R. David-
son. Jr., Truett V. Degeare. Jr.. Thomas
J. Sorg, and Robert M. Clark.
Even the sanitary landfills surveyed by
the study reported occasional flocks of
birds, depending on season, climate, and
location. Some landfill^operators said the
problem was mainly during the winter
months when birds, especially gulis,
throng to disposal sites.
The study found that some airports had
programs to discourage the birds. Chemi-
cal deterrents.noise devices, recordings of
birds in distress, insect and weed control.
and vehicle patrols by men carrying shot-
guns are all measures that have had sonic
success in keeping birds away from air-
ports and landfills. These methods art-
used in various combinations and to vary-
ing degrees depending on the locations of
the airports and the intensity of the
problem. A few airports reported that use
of one or more of the techniques elimi-
nated their bird hazard.
The Office of Solid Waste survey report
quoted Federal Aviation Agency statistics
that listed 2,1% bird/aircraft strikes from
April 1961 to June 1967. The report also
noted that the U.S. Air Force reported
1.192 bird collisions with their aircraft in
1968.
The staff of the Office of Solid Waste.
with the support and authorization from
the new Act, will continue to work
toward peaceful coexistence in the air for
all fliers, feathered and otherwise. •
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