W LEADERSHIP'
FOR EPA
I. S. ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
" >'-?>'
W . /
•XC •' '
-------
WASTE
With the passage of landmark legislation, EPA
ms been given important new responsibili-
ties in the solid waste disposal area.
The Agency's plans for carrying out this law and
the impact it may have are discussed in an interview
in this issue of the Journal with Sheldon Meyers,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste.
Other articles on solid wastes include reports on
eight HPA projects to turn trash into useful mate-
rials and energy, a story on a California city whose
buried waste will be converted into gas for heating,
and a preview of a new program starting at Fort
Knox, Ky., to help reduce bottle and can litter at
Federal installations by requiring a nickel deposit
on each beverage container.
A photo essay gives a visual report on what is
being done to reduce the problem of abandoned
automobiles.
Also in this issue is a roundup from leading
environmental organizations of their predictions
and concerns about the future for the environment.
The Environmental Almanac page, where we
take a look at the natural world we are trying to
protect, contains a review of a most welcome
miracle—the arrival of spring.
Also in the Journal is an article on EPA's budget
for Fiscal 1978.
A new department. Update, which replaces In-
quiry, starts with this issue. It will try to keep
readers abreast of new publications and other mate-
rials on the environment.
Another article reports on an effort by the Paris
City Government to avoid major fish kills again this
summer in the Seine River by pumping oxygen into
this famed waterway.
-------
U.S.
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
John R. Quarles. Jr.
Acting Administrator
Marlin Fitzwater, Acting Director of
Public Affairs
Charles I). Pierce, Editor
Staff: Van Trumhull. Ruth Hussey
David Cohen
COVER: Dandelions dot mountain
meadow as spring begins its northward
march. Photo by Black Star.
PHOTO CREDITS: Gary Miller. Gene
Daniels*. Bill Shrout*. Institute of Scrap
Iron and Steel. Inc.. French Cultural
Services. Ernest Bucci. Al Wilson. Jim
Olive . Defense Department.
;i Documerica
Illustrations:
Susan Foster
The EPA Journal is published
monthly, with combined issues
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).
Waterside Mall. 401 M St.. S.W..
Washington. D.C. 20460. No
permission necessary to reproduce
contents except copyrighted photos
and other materials. Subscription:
$8.75 a year. $.75 for single copy.
domestic; $11.00 if mailed to a foreign
address. No charge to employees.
Send check or money order to
Superintendent of Documents. U.S.
Government Printing Office,
Washington. D.C. 20402.
Printed on recycled paper.
ARTICLES
COSTLE. BLUM NAMED TO LEAD EPA PAGE 2
Douglas M. Costle has been appointed by President Carter
as the new Administrator for EPA and Barbara Blum
has been selected as the Agency's new Deputy Administrator.
NEW APPROACHES TO SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL PAGE 4
An interview with Sheldon Meyers.
RECOVERING WASTES
Reports on eight EPA projects to turn trash into useful
materials and energy.
REFUND AT FT. KNOX
Nickels count, as well as gold, at this and other
military bases.
FUEL GAS FROM SOLID WASTE
California city will make use of what is usually a hazard.
JUNK CAR RECYCLING
A photo essay.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE-PROBLEM OR PROFIT?
by Darby Collins
St. Louis Exchange links buyers and sellers of odd kinds of
waste materials.
LOOKING AT THE FUTURE PAGE 18
Environmental groups express concerns and hopes for the
years ahead.
EPA'S BUDGET INCREASED PAGE 22
PARIS TRIES OXYGEN BACK COVER
Pumping oxygen into the Seine is expected to help the fish.
DEPARTMENTS
PAGE 8
PAGE 10
PAGE
PAGE 12
PAGE 15
NATION
ALMANAC
UPDATE
PEOPLE
NEWS BRIEFS
PAGE 16
PAGE 21
PAGE 23
PAGE 24
PAGE 25
-------
COSTLE, BLUM NAMED TO LE\D EPA
Douglas Michael Costle, 37, a
former Congressional Budget
Office official who had served as
head of the Connecticut Department
of Environmental Protection, has
been nominated hy President Carter
to he the new Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Designated as the new Deputy
Administrator for EPA was Barbara
Blum, an environmentalist and busi-
nesswoman.
Mr. Costle, an attorney, served
from 1975 to 1977 as Assistant Di-
rector for Natural Resources and
Commerce of the Congressional
Budget Office.
He was Commissioner of Con-
necticut's Department of Environ-
mental Protection from 1973 to
1975. He administered State envi-
ronmental planning and programs
relating to air pollution, water pollu-
tion, solid waste, radiation and pes-
ticides laws. He also directed natural
resources and recreation programs
dealing with forests, parks, fish and
wildlife protection, wetlands protec-
tion.dam safety and land acquisition.
As the Deputy Commissioner,
from 1972 to 1973, he helped give
PACil- 2
direction to the fledgling State
department.
A Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars in
1971, he conducted independent re-
search regarding environmental pro-
grams and government reorganiza-
tion. His work was highlighted by a
tour of Western Europe, where he
met with cabinet ministers, journal-
ists, and private environmental
groups to discuss the ways that dif-
ferent countries deal with environ-
mental problems.
As a senior staff associate on the
President's Advisory Council on
Executive Reorganization from
1969-70, Mr. Costle headed the
study which recommended creation
of EPA. He also helped to imple-
ment the plan and to set up the
Agency before the appointment of
EPA's first administrator.
Before joining the Council on
Executive Reorganization. Mr. Cos-
tle was in private law practice in
San Erancisco.
From 1964 to 1965. Mr. Costle
was a trial attorney for the Civil
Rights Division of the U.S. Depart-
ment of Justice. He worked as an
attorney for the Economic Develop-
ment Administration of the U.S.
Department of Commerce from
1965 to 1967, and served as deputy
director of a $23 million pilot project
designed to reduce unemployment
in Oakland, California, through cap-
ital investment.
Mr. Costle earned his A.B. at
Harvard University in 1961 and his
law degree from the University of
Chicago in 1964. He is a member of
both the District of Columbia and
State of California Bar Associations.
Mr. Costle was born in Long
Beach, Calif. He and his wife, Eliza-
beth, have two children. Carolyn
Elizabeth, ten, and Douglas Mi-
chael, six.
Ms. Blum. 37, was a deputy cam-
paign director for the Carter-
Mondale presidential campaign.
Chairman of the Georgia Heri-
tage Trust Commission, Ms. Blum
has been a member of the Federal
Reserve Board National Consumer
Advisory Council since 1976. She
continued on ;)age2 2
-------
PROTECTING
THELAND
PA (IK 3
-------
NEW APPROACHES TO
SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
Interview with Sheldon Meyers, Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Solid Waste
Q. Are you satisfied with the new Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act?
A. Yes, indeed. I think it's fair to say that this new Act in the field
of solid waste gives the Agency the kind of authority that it didn't
have in the past and goes a long way to closing that last, unregulated
gap in the pollution control cycle, and that is the land.
Q. Has any section of the Act been given top
priority?
A. There are several sections of the Act that are important and 1
would say are receiving equal priority. These include the work that's
being initiated to develop an inventory of open dumps, the hazardous
waste regulatory program, and the ability to deliver technical
assistance to local communities.
Q. One section requires the EPA Administra-
tor to develop criteria for identifying hazardous
wastes and to publish regulations governing
their disposal. Doesn't this give EPA a blank
check to eventually regulate almost every kind
of waste?
A. That particular section of the Act is an important one. since all
the other parts of the hazardous waste regulatory program flow from
it. In other words, once you've defined hazardous waste, then the
transportation, the storage, the treatment and disposal parts take
effect, so it's critical that the establishment of criteria of hazardous
waste be done properly.
Now that's one of the issues that we will be going out to the public
on. to the local communities, interested citizens, and industry, for
example. We would like to implement the portions of the law on
hazardous waste in a manner intended by Congress. We wan! to get
the help of the public in defining the criteria on hazardous waste.
Clearly, we want to avoid going overboard by making the definition
too broad.
Q. Municipal sludge management and disposal
is a controversial topic inside and outside the
Agency. Is there a possibility that municipal
sludge will be deemed hazardous and its dis-
posal regulated under the hazardous waste
section of the Act?
A. All municipal sludge will not be deemed hazardous.
Q. Do you feel you have enough manpower
and funds to carry out your responsibilities
under the new Act?
A. That's always a tricky question to ask a bureaucrat, since the
answer is generally: Gee, 1 could use more. And it's true, we could
use more. We will do the best we can with the resources we now
have. We certainly can get started. Now my guess is that to fully
PAGE 4
implement (he Act, we're going to have to substantially beef up the
manpower and funds out in our Regions, which are really infinitesi-
mal at this time.
Q. What do you regard as your most success-
ful solid waste management program to date?
A. There have been a number of very successful programs. In the
area of technical assistance we provided decision makers' guides to
local communities that have been well received and widely used.
Others were our programs to help develop resource recovery
plants in St. Louis and in Franklin. Ohio, where we invested only
two or three million dollars of government funds.
These demonstrated technologies then were picked up by the
private sector, using their own money. Industry is spending about
S80 million per plant based on the technologies for waste recovery
which were developed in part with Federal monies.
Q. What is the outlook for the recycled mate-
rials market in 1977? Will they ever compete
with virgin materials?
A. It depends on which recycled material you're talking about.
Fteople recycle paper, and as you probably know, there have been
campaigns in the past about collecting paper and reusing it which
depend for success upon the market price of paper. It's a fluctuating
market.
But today one can very easily recycle aluminum cans. The big can
manufacturing companies have either embarked or will embark upon
a program to pick up aluminum cans for recycling. So it's not a
single market. It varies. It's dependent upon market conditions in
certain areas of the country.
Q. Will the area-wide solid waste management
planning required by the new Act conflict with
area-wide planning, the Section 208 planning
program?
A. No. I think not. The new Act calls for the development of
regional local organizations to manage solid waste plans, and the Act
specifically says that we should look at the existing agencies
operating under the 208 section before we do anything else.
Q. Do you foresee national bottle legislation
in 1977?
A. I would say no. I think the Congress will be looking with interest
on the programs that are under way now. Our guidelines that affect
Federal facilities, the new initiatives in Michigan and Maine and the
progress of the programs in Vermont and Oregon. So I foresee a
period of at least a year while information is being collected about
existing programs before there is any further national action on
beverage container deposits.
-------
Q. What is KPA's position on bottle return
legislation?
A. As you probably know, the management of the Agency—and by
management I mean the Administrator and Deputy Administrator—
have testified in the Congress in favor of national beverage container
deposit legislation, only if it is phased in over a long period of time.
on the order of six. seven, eight, ten years.
Q. Will the Federal Government be more
involved in local solid waste management as a
result of the Act1.'
A. Clearly we're going to have an impact in that we will be working
with various State, county, and local governments in their planning
effort and implementation. We will be providing Federal funds to
assist them in planning and implementation. But I wouldn't say that
we would be involved directly in their activities at the local level.
Q. What does KPA currently recommend as
the most environmentally sound solid waste
disposal method?
A. Well, we try not to recommend anything nationally because of
the enormous variety of local conditions. In some cases a well
designed landfill is the preferred method. In other cases incineration
may be the preferred method. Sometimes a resource recovery plant
may be the best solution.
y. What portion of municipal budgets is gen-
erally devoted to solid waste management'.'
A. 1 can't give you the exact numbers, but as I recall local
governmental budgets, the solid waste program is usually third in the
hierarchy of expenditures after schools and roads.
y. Is Federal aid going to be provided.'
A. The new Act authorizes substantial financial assistance. I don't
know what will be appropriated.
Q. Will State and local taxes rise as States and
municipalities work to meet new Federal solid
waste guidelines and regulations tinder the new
Act?
A. That's difficult to say at this time. Open dumps ha\e generally
been the cheapest form of disposal. If a community develops a well-
engineered sanitary landfill ii generally will be more expensive than
an open dump. However, if the local government \otes for a
resource recovery plan, costs may be reduced because recovered
materials, which were wasted in an open dump, can be sold.
Q. IXiesn't a significant portion of municipal
solid wastes come from wasteful and unneces-
sary packaging, especially convenience foods
and consumer goods'."
A. It's hard to say whether it's wasteful or unnecessary, hut it's
quite clear that a large percentage of the municipal solid waste is
packaging material. I believe it's on the order of 30 or 40 percent.
y. What happens when we run out of acreage
for sanitary landfills1'
A. Large cities that are facing that particular situation, are consider-
ing other options, such as establishing resource recovery plants or
hauling their wastes by rail to other locations, an approach which has
generated a lot of opposition from areas which would receive the
wastes.
y. Does (he Act differentiate between urban
and rural solid waste problems?
A. No. ft talks about solid and hazardous waste in general. There is
a provision in ihe Act for a rural assistance grant program, which is
Continued on page 6
I'ACiF >
-------
C "ontinticti from page 5
authorised at the level of $25 million a year for each of fiscal years
'7H and '79. This program is designed to help rural communities
build sanitary landfills if they have to close open dumps for example.
It is the only provision in the Act which allows the grant money to
he used for construction purposes. l( cannot, however, he used for
purchase of land.
Q. What provision is being made to help the
rural homeowner who lives where there is no
garbage pickup1.1
A. hxccpt tor the rural assistance grant program, there's no specific
provision in the Act to take care of that problem. One thing that can
be done, of course, is that a regional program can be set up under the
Act so that outlying communities can get pickup service.
Q. Will public education and public participa-
tion play a major role in Ihc new Act"'
A. Absolutely.
Q. What's an example of how this will work'.'
A. We've had several extensive public meetings already which were
designed to inform interested groups what the Act said, where we
stand in implementing it. and to obtain comments and suggestions.
As working groups for the various regulations and guidelines are
developed, we will set up lists of interested people who want to work
with the working group, and send to them early drafts of material, so
that they can impact at an early stage the content of the standards,
regulations and guidelines.
Additionally, we plan to set up a formal advisory group to meet
with us regularly and advise us whether we're doing things in a way-
thai makes sense to the outside world.
We're also planning to hold public participation regional meetings
around the country which will be managed by our regional offices.
If interested parties suggest that what we are doing is not right and
can tell us what the right way is in a fashion consistent with the aims
and purposes of the Act, we would be inclined to accept their view.
This is what public participation is all about.
Q. Are requirements that citi/ens separate
household wastes becoming widespread."
A. It does hold promise. There are a number of demonstration
programs around the country that require separating household
wastes. The ones th.it we fund directly are at Somerville and
Marhlehead, Mass, and they seem to be working quite well. Whether
or not it's the kind of thing that can be used by all communities all
the time is not now known, hut it's very clearly one of the options
^V*;fl^^^P
i: 4 Vnt I **"- .^-'"^Pr- W?,*, i v - ' • ^»^- «*• v* -
«r/-_V«*L- Vv v: -^sfcjp ^^j^s*''" -2S5*3*'> -«
f^cr^Pli^ iS^4ijfr3Sj . -sv "v
available to rural communities where the building of a resource
recovery plant might not be economically feasible.
Q. Can all sludge be used as a soil conditioner.
or will some have to be burned'.'
A. I don't think that one can say categorically that all sludge can be
used as a soil conditioner, but much of it that's generated in waste
water treatment plants, for example, can be used for this purpose.
.There are certain cases where you would apply the sludge as a soil
conditioner only to non-edible plants such as grass, for example, if
the sludge has a heavy' metal content.
However, if the sludge is relatively free of noxious materials, it can
be used as a soil conditioner for food crops.
Q. Will the question of the imposition of dis-
posal charges on products receive serious
study under the Act?
A. We intend to give it serious study. There is a mandate in the Act
to study the so-called "product charge" rather thoroughly and report
to the Congress
Q. What kinds of assistance will the resource
recovery and conservation technical assistance
teams offer to State and local governments?
A. We expect that the resource recovery conservation teams will
offer help in the complete range of solid waste problems. We will be
available to State and local governments if they have a particular
problem that they're not sure how to solve—whether or not they
ought to have a resource recovery plant, whether they should be
looking at a sanitary landfill, or go to source separation.
There's an entire range of questions that come up to the community
that wants help. We would try to give them the kind of assistance
that would set them in the right direction, so that they could then
hire their own consultants to expand upon the information that we
have provided to them.
Q. Where are wastes going to be placed when
all open dumps are closed by 19X3 as required
by the Act'.'
A. They will either be put in sanitary landfills or processed through
resource recovery plants. It is also possible that some wastes will he
incinerated if the incinerators meet the air quality standards.
Q. When will the standards for hazardous
wastes go into effect?
A. The Act calls for the hazardous waste program to go into effect
18 months after the enactment of the law. that is. April 1978.
Q. Which is more important in dealing with
the solid waste problem—conservation of re-
sources or recovery?
A. Well. 1 think they're equally important. The ability to conserve
resources is a question the Nation is going to have to face directly
rather than piecemeal through acts such as the new solid waste law.
It involves whether or not the Government ought to mandate that
tires last a certain amount of time and that cars get a certain mileage.
My own feelings arc that if you start talking about conservation of
resources, you're talking about impacting the manner in which the
people of this country live, and those kinds of issues ought to be
settled in the Congress.
Q. What are some examples of what t-'HA is
doing in each field?
A. In the conservation area, we've done a number of studies having
to do w ith packaging, one of which resulted in the reduction of the
standard one-pint milk container—reduction of the material used in
its construction—by some 25 percent. We've done studies mostly in
the conservation area, and have not really gone very far in the arena
of actually implementing conservation of resources. The beverage
container deposit guidelines represent another" area that we have
been very active in.
in resource recovery, we have a number" of demonstration plants
PA ('•!•:
-------
thai have been built, i mentioned the St. Louis and. the Franklin.
Ohio, projects. We also have the San Diego pyrolysis plant and the
Haiti more pyroKsis plant, so we are more active in the recovers area
than the conservation area.
Q. What effect will the new Act have, if any.
on the garbage disposal problem faced by
every homeowner?
A. That's a difficult question to answer at this time. We hope there
will be a beneficial effect, but we couldn't say.
Q. Will costs to the homeowner go up because
of this Act'.'
A. If a community has been throwing its garbage in open dumps and
now has to go to a sanitary landfill, that could he more expensive. It
is possible that the waste disposal cost to the homeowner will go up.
but it's difficult to generalize.
Q. Haven't some pollution problems also been
associated with landfills'."
A. Yes, there has been some evidence that what we considered in
the past to he sanitary landfills have, indeed, caused some environ-
mental problems through the contamination of rain water leaching
through the landfill and contaminating ground water supplies.
Q. What's being done to make landfills envi-
ronmentally safe'.'
A. We're investigating that right now, and to a large degree the siting
of the landfill is important. One should look for a landfill that has
impervious material between it and the ground water supply. One
can also line landfills and then collect the water leaching through and
treat it before it's discharged. Another technique is to cover the
landfill so that the rain doesn't seep through it.
Q. What hazards are posed by open dumping'.'
A. Just about everything you can think of. Open dumps have been
known to catch fire and explode. They can be havens for vermin.
And what we're obviously doing about it is trying to close down the
open dumps. The Act mandates that no new open dumps shall be
created and that all open dumps shall be either closed down or
upgraded to the status of sanitary landfills.
Q. To what extent has the utilization of solid
waste as an energy resource become a reality'.'
A. It is very real. There are a number of communities that already
are using municipal solid waste energy sources, and more and more
are developing and building the kinds of plants that will utilize
municipal solid waste as an energy source.
Q, How effective has the program for bottle
returns at Federal installations been?
A. The guidelines were only put in effect several months ago and the
Federal agencies have a full year to gear up to implement the
guidelines. So in general, the guidelines ha\c not been tested yet on
Federal facilities.
However, this past summer Yosemite National Park encouraged
the reuse and recycling of beverage containers by charging 5 cent
refundable deposits on all beer and soft drinks sold in the park. That
was an extremely successful program. In 1975 over one ton of
aluminum in used beverage containers was collected. Under the new
deposit requirement collections amounted to over a ton a week.
Q. What amount do we as a Nation spend for
solid waste collection and disposal"'
A. I don't have those figures at my fingertips, but as 1 mentioned
earlier, in mam communities the solid waste expenditures are the
second or third highest priority in (heir budgets—after schools and
roads.
Q. How much solid waste do Americans cur-
rently generate per year, and how much of that
can he reclaimed?
A. I he rate is on the order of about 150 million tons a year, and it's
difficult to say how much of it could be reclaimed, but quite clearly, a
relatively insignificant amount is being reclaimed now. In my view a
substantially higher portion can be reclaimed.
Clearly depending on how much you want to spend, most of it can
be reclaimed for something, but you then get into an economic trade-
off of what is the value of the material you're reclaiming, what can
you sell it for. and how much i> it costing you lo reclaim it. It's
something that is being looked at very seriously by main communi-
ties. In one respect one could look at a whole garbage dump as a
resource and a mine. Whether or not you actually mine ii will
depend upon costs.
Q. IXies the new Act completely replace older
Federal legislation affecting solid waste man-
agement?
A. Technically, the new Act is an amendment to the existing
legislation, hut in fact it replaces it completely.
Q. What advice would you give to those who
want to waste less and recycle more'.'
A. He careful in purchasing. Buy materials tlut will last longei and
that can be recycled. Make an effort to find out where the recycling
centers are and bring material to them.
Q. IX>es the average American waste more
now. compared with previous years'.'
A. It depends on what you mean by waste, hut the waste stream
grows on the average of five percent a year, so in that context they're
wasting five percent more each year—either they're using more 01
wasting more.
y. How does America's waste level per capita
compare with that of other countries?
A. It is larger than other countries. The more affluent you are the
more you waste.•
PAGE 7
-------
RECOVERING WASTES
What happens to the nearly 150 million
tons of garbage and trash that Ameri-
cans throw away each year?
Only about 10 million tons—or seven and a
half percent—is recovered and recycled. The
rest is dumped or. at best, buried in sanitary
landfills.
The ISO-million-ton total for 1976, between
3.5 and 4 pounds per person per day, is a
rough extension from careful, detailed esti-
mates made by EPA experts for 1974, the
latest year for which complete production
figures are available.
In that year the total was 143.6 million
tons—3.48 pounds per capita per day— and
about 9 million tons were reclaimed in some
way. About 90 percent of this was paper, and
the rest was iron and steel, nonferrous met-
als, glass, and rubber, in thai order.
These figures are for "post-consumer"
solid waste, or everything discarded by
households and commercial places, and omit-
ting the all-alike or easily sorted scrap mate-
rial from manufacturers and processors. The
statistics are taken from EPA's fourth annual
report on resource recovery and waste re-
duction. The report was in draft form as this
article was written. It is expected to be
completed and submitted to Congress this
month.
Americans are habitually wasteful and pro-
duce more trash per capita than any other
country, according to Sheldon Meyers, Dep-
uty Assistant Administrator and head of
EPA's Office of Solid Waste. "Relatively
abundant and cheap supplies of raw materials
in the past have encouraged us to use things
up and throw them away and discouraged the
use of secondary materials." he said.
But Mr. Meyers believes it will take some
drastic changes in public policies and per-
sonal habits to achieve the maximum poten-
tial waste reduction and recycling. The Na-
tion's annual household-business waste in
1985 is expected to total 200 million tons.
according to the report. EPA believes this
could be reduced about 10 percent fry less
wasteful design of products and packaging
and by building products for longer useful
life.
Roughly half of the waste tonnage could be
recycled, or burned to recover its fuel value,
if efficient large-scale systems can be devel-
oped to process mixed waste and sort out the
savable portions.
About one-fourth of the total could be
reclaimed if Americans would change their
hnhits and sort out savable wastes before
PAGE 8
discarding them. This would require estab-
lishing separate collection systems for pa-
per, tin cans and other iron-containing met-
als, aluminum, glass, etc.
These are potential figures only, the report
said, and are "distinctly beyond" attainment
without "major shifts in public policies."
EPA and its predecessor agencies have been
studying solid waste problems for a dozen
years. A large portion of that work has dealt
with reclaiming materials and energy from
waste, both to conserve resources and to
reduce the amount of waste that is returned
to the environment, often in damaging ways.
Since 1971 approximately $16 million in
EPA funds has been spent on the develop-
ment and demonstration of various tech-
niques for processing wastes, recovering and
reusing materials, and extracting useful en-
ergy from the burnable portions of the gar-
bage and trash stream.
How are these projects succeeding? What
have we learned from them about technical
feasibility and costs? What are the faults and
failures? What do they indicate are the direc-
tions that future projects should take under
the new and expanded solid waste program
mandated by Congress in the Resource Con-
servation and Recovery Act signed into law
last October?
Here are brief status reports on eight major
EPA demonstration projects in the field of
resource recovery from municipal solid
waste:
FRANKLIN, OHIO. This is a system for
pulping the waste with water and processing
the slurry with industrial machinery. It began
with a grant in 1969 from the Bureau of Solid
Waste in the Consumer Protection and En-
vironmental Health Service, an EPA pre-
decessor. The plant has operated continu-
ously since 1971, processing an average of 35
tons per day of Franklin's solid waste. It has
never had to turn away waste because of
overloading or equipment failure.
The waste is mixed with water and ground
in a machine like a huge kitchen blender.
Processing of the resulting slurry uses meth-
ods adapted from the paper and ore-handling
industries: screening, washing, magnetic sep-
aration, flotation, etc. Two products are now
sold: fen-ous metal scrap and a low-grade
fiber that represents about half of the incom-
ing paper waste. This fiber is used to make
roofing felt and is pumped in slurry form
directly to the nearby roofing manufacturer.
Reject fiber is mixed with sewage sludge
from the city's adjoining sewage treatment
plant and incinerated. The plant also takes
and treats all the process water.
An experimental subsystem was added later
to separate aluminum and glass from the
city's waste, and clear glass is automatically
separated from colored glass. These prod-
ucts, however, are not yet of salable quality.
The Franklin wet-processing system has
been adopted by the town of Hempstead,
N. Y., but the recovered fiber will be used as
fuel for electric power generation. Few cities
have a handy market for low-grade fiber.
EPA's support of the Franklin demonstration
ended last March.
ST. LOUIS, MO. The so-called "trash to
kilowatts" project sponsored jointly by EPA,
the City of St. Louis, and the Union Electric
Company was launched seven years ago and
has been operating since May 1972. The
city's regular garbage and trash is first shred-
ded by machine into pieces no bigger than
1.5 inches in diameter and then separated
into light and heavy fractions by a strong
updraft of air. The heavy fraction is proc-
essed to remove iron and steel scrap and the
rest is landfilled. The light fraction (80 to 85
percent of the trash) is trucked to the power
-------
plant and burned as a supplemental fuel in
the coal-fired boiler.
The trash has about half the heating value
of coal, and it burns well in trash/coal mix-
tures ranging from 5 to 27 percent, with no
apparent damage to the boiler and with no
increase in paniculate emissions from the
stack. The latter result was a surprise; parti-
culates were expected to increase with the
percentage of trash burned, and further tests
are under way.
The project's success spurred the develop-
ment of similar commercial plants now oper-
ating in Ames, Iowa; Milwaukee. Wise.; and
Chicago. Plants of this type in Bridgeport,
Conn., and Monroe County, N.Y. are also
being designed.
The principal drawbacks to the St. Louis
experiment are design faults in the trash
processing. There have been frequent break-
downs of the equipment, so the use of trash
for fuel has been intermittent.
BALTIMORE, MD. This full-scale demon-
stration project, started under an EPA grant
in 1972, proposed to use pyrolysis—a heat
treatment—to generate fuel gas from solid
waste. The gas was to be burned to make
steam for the Baltimore Gas and Electric
Company's downtown heating and air condi-
tioning customers. Ferrous metals in the
waste were to be reclaimed for scrap and a
glassy aggregate used for road building. The
charred residue would be buried in a landfill.
The plant was completed early in 1975 by
Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems, Inc.,
which had built a successful small pilot
model. In Monsanto's pyrolysis system
waste is shredded and fed into a kiln, where
heat up to 2,600° F, without enough air for
combustion, decomposes organic com-
pounds in the waste to fuel gas.
After a few months of intermittent opera-
tion, it became apparent that the plant could
not meet two guaranteed conditions: to han-
dle -1,000 tons of waste per day for two
months, and to meet the Maryland standard
for particle emissions from its exhaust stacks.
Both failings appear to be due to problems
of "scaling up" from the pilot plant to full-
size operations. Modifications are being
made to improve the plant's mechanical relia-
bility under an agreement under which Mon-
santo contributed $4 million (equal to the
original performance guarantee) and EPA an
additional grant of $1 million. New air pollu-
tion control devices, to be paid for by the
city, will bring the added cost to $9.6 million
and the total capital cost to about $25 million.
The over-all system is still expected to be
economically sound when the technical prob-
lems are overcome.
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. This is a different
pyrolysis sytem, developed by Occidental
Research Corp. Its primary product is an oil
to be sold to fuel the boilers of the San Diego
Gas and Electric Co. Ground was broken for
the plant in August 1975. but construction
was delayed for a year. It is expected to be
finished this summer at a total cost of $13.6
million.
Incoming wastes will be shredded and
sorted by uprushing air into heavy and light
fractions. Ferrous metals, aluminum, and
glass will be recovered from the heavy frac-
tion. The lighter waste, after being further
shredded to vacuum-cleaner-fluff consistency.
will be heated at relatively low temperature
(about 900° F) in a flash reaction to produce
gases that are quickly condensed to oil. This
oil has a heating value about two-thirds that
of No. 6 fuel oil.
A year-long testing program has begun.
covering all aspects of technical and eco-
nomic feasibility. The plant is not expected to
be economical because it is too small. How-
ever, the San Diego plant's 200-tons-per-day
capacity is a significant scale-up from pilot
plant size, and EPA hopes it will provide
reliable predictions of full-scale plant perfor-
mance that would be economical. Valuable
information may also be gained from the
plant's odor control system and from moni-
toring its nitrogen oxide emissions. Weather
inversions in the area may require periodic
shutdown to avoid increasing local smog.
Because the fuel produced by this process is
storable and transportable, the processing
facility and the user need not be close
together, and their operating schedules need
not be the same.
DELAWARE. Under an EPA grant of four
years ago the State of Delaware has planned
a solid waste treatment plant that would
produce supplemental fuel for an oil-fired
utility boiler and also handle sewage sludge.
Planned plant capacity is 500 tons of munici-
pal solid waste and 230 tons of digested
sludge per day. Byproducts would include
composted humus, ferrous metals, aluminum.
and glass. A call for contractor bidding has
been held up pending approval by the Fed-
eral Energy Administration of the utility
(Delaware Power and Light Co.) converting
its boiler to burn oil instead of coal.
SOMERVILLE AND MARBLEHEAD,
MASS. Under grants by EPA the two cities
have been testing the feasibility of requiring
householders to separate solid waste. Recycl-
able paper, iron, and glass are sold under
contract to commercial processors. Somer-
ville began in December 1975 and Marble-
head in January 1976. Both cities passed laws
under which citizens must separate their
refuse into three categories: paper, glass and
cans, and miscellaneous. The first two types
are collected weekly by city crews with
compartmented trucks. Mixed waste is col-
lected weekly in regular trucks.
Extensive publicity and public education
programs preceded the launching of each
project and are continuing. Marblehead. an
all-residential community, had had some ex-
perience with city waste recycling; Somer-
ville. more densely populated and partly in-
dustrial, had never done it before.
So far Marblehead is recovering about 30
percent by weight of its wastes and is making
a profit. Somerville is recovering about 8
percent and is breaking even.
EPA believes these projects will show the
way for other communities to recycle wastes
without complicated technology and high
capital cost. In the past, the fluctuating mar-
ket for scrap materials and lack of efficient
collection systems have hindered such ef-
forts. This form of resource recovery is
expected to become an attractive alternative,
or a complement to, the high-technology sys-
tems, and it will reduce the need for landfill
space.
LOWELL, MASS. This project was de-
signed to demonstrate the recovery of metals
and glass from incinerator residues, using
industrial processes like those used in sepa-
rating metals from ores. Design work began
under an EPA grant in 1973. and the plant
was to be ready for a year of trial operation
starting in April 1976. In the summer of
1975 the city asked to withdraw from the
project because it had decided to close
down the city incinerator.
EPA hopes that some other city may be
interested enough to cooperate in such a
project in the future. The processes have
been tested on a small scale by the Depart-
ment of the Interior's Bureau of Mines.
which found that the average residues of
municipal incinerators assay higher in metal
content than many workable ores. •
PAGE 9
-------
REFUND AT FT. KNOX
Starling this month at Fort Kno.x. Ky..
and soon at nine other military bases
throughout the country, buyers of beer and
soft drinks will have to pay a nickel extra for
each bottle or can. They'll get their deposit
back when the containers are returned for
recycling.
The ten bases—three each for the Army
the Navy, and the Air Force and one for the
Marine Corps—are the vanguard of the De-
fense Department's effort to comply with
FPA guidelines for all Federal establish-
ments.
The guidelines were announced by FPA last
September, and are to go in to effect at all
Federal facilities by September 1977. '['hey
are designed to encourage the reuse of glass
hottles and the recycling of aluminum and
steel cans. Reduced litter will be a side
benefit.
Although Federal facilities account for only
an estimated four percent of all beverage
container sales in the country, the Govern-
ment's example is expected to persuade oth-
ers to save materials and energy by recycling
hollies anil cans.
"I have been very impressed by the positive
altitude displayed by the Department of De-
fense." said Harry P. Hutler of FPA's Solid
Waste Office. Mr. Hutler is the Agency's
representative on a joint task force that is
deciding how the Defense Department can
best put the EPA guidelines into effect. The
task force is headed by C'ol. Harlov. D. Hart
of the Air Force. A civilian contractor is
helping to set up the ten test systems.
Beverage sales at Defense Department sites
total $300 million a year, or about 95 percent
of all such sales at Federal facilities. Other
affected departments include Interior (Na-
tional Parks) and the General Services Ad-
ministration (Federal buildings).
A container deposit system was tested last
year at Yosemite National Park with encour-
aging results: 70 percent of containers sold
were returned for refund (See Oct. 1976 FPA
Journal).
"But even if sales remain high." Mr. Butler
said, "return rates may be low if consumers
don't cooperate. This is most likely to happen
in office buildings where drinks are pur-
chased at a snack bar and earned to individ-
ual offices for consumption.
"The system may prove to be impractical in
some places, imposing substantial and unre-
coverable costs. The guidelines recognize
this possibility and provide for halting the
program at a particular facility if all reasona-
ble alternatives have been tried.
"We are hoping the trial runs at the military
bases will go smoothly and the Department
will switch to the container deposit system
permanently at all its installations."
Refundable deposit laws are already in ef-
fect in Oregon and Vermont, where there has
been a marked reduction in roadside litter
Similar laws will soon be in effect in Maine
and Michigan, where voters approved them
in referendums last November.
Consumers save money by buying bever-
ages in refillable bottles, according to an
FPA-supported survey by the League of
Women Voters in 2K cities in 1975. The
average saving was 30 cents on a six-pack for
bottles containing 16 ounces or less. 16 cents
for quart bottles.
Beside Fort Knox the other participating
military facilities are: Fort Huachuea. Ariz.;
Fort Riley. Kan.: Naval Support Activity.
Philadelphia: Naval Air Station. Oak Har-
bor. Wash., and Navy Weapons Center.
China Fake. Calif.: the Faughlin. Tex..
Malmstrom. Mont., and Patrick. Fin.. Ait-
Force Bases: and the Marine Corps Air
Station at Yuma. Ari/.B
I'A(,[ ID
-------
FUEL GAS
FROM SOLID WASTE
Garbage and trash from Mountain
View, Calif., will he tapped for heat-
ing gas next month in a two-year experiment
sponsored by the city. Pacific Gas and Elec-
tric Co.. and EPA.
The utility company will drill wells into the
city's sanitary landfill, collect and refine gas
generated in the garbage, and pay the tit)1 a
royalty on the ga.s produced, expected to be a
million cubic feet per day.
The project will cost about $630,000, two-
thirds from the gas company, which designed
and will operate the gas recovery system.
and one-third from an EPA gram.
"Gas from landfills will never be a major
source of energy." said Stephen C. James,
staff engineer with the Land Protection
Branch of EPA's Office of Solid Waste. "But
it tan supplement other fuels, and it's now
going almost completely to waste. Indeed.
the gas is often a problem for landfill opera-
tors and a hazard to nearby residents and
businesses."
Mountain View is a city of 51.(KM) people at
the southern end of San Francisco Bay
whose landfill is one of 14 Bay area sites
that the gas company engineers believe have
"good potential as gas producers."
Gas has been recovered before from mu-
nicipal landfills, but mainly in the Los An-
geles area, where the landfills are usually
located in canyons and are deeper than the
40-foot Ml. View Landfill.
The most valuable part of landfill gas is
methane, a hydrocarbon that is the main
constituent of natural gas and that occurs
also in certain swamps and coal mines.
Methane is produced by anaerobic bacteria
that live without oxygen. When decaying
organic matter is sealed off from air, as in a
covered landfill, these bacteria take over.
Methane is colorless, odorless, lighter than
air, and very flammable. In a landfill about
half the gas formed is methane; the rest is
carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen, and
hydrogen sulfide that must be removed to
get a fuel gas of high heating value.
In the Los Angeles area studies have
shown that each ton of refuse can produce
about 1 ,500 cubic feet of recoverable gas.
Methane production increases, according to
Mr. James, when certain conditions are met:
adequate moisture, sufficient carbon con-
tent in the waste, and the right acidity.
"Another favorable factor." he .said, "is
the landfill's depth, which ranges from 100-
140 feet in some canyon sites at Los Ange-
les.
"We are especially interested in evaluating
the Mountain View projecl because the
landfill is relatively shallow and more repre-
sentative of waste disposal sites in other
areas of the country."
Production wells drilled into the landfill
consist of perforated pipe four or six inches
in diameter, with the pipe sizes alternating
so they can slide like a telescope as the
ground settles.
" Gas must be pumped out at a rate that
closely matches the rate of production."
Mr. James explained. "If pumping is too
slow, the methane may migrate through the
ground and then cannot be recovered. If
pumping is too fast, air may enter the
landfill through the surface as well as the
production wells, and oxygen will halt the
bacterial process. When this happens it ma)
take months for the landfill to recover and
resume methane production."
In the Mountain View project the utility
company will pay the city 7.2 cents per
thousand cubic feet of low-grade gas. The
gas must be refined to remove the impurities
and increase the heat value before it can be
fed into its regular gas mains. At the ex-
pected million cubic feet per day. the city
would get $72 a day. After 18 months the
price will be renegotiated. Company engi-
neers estimate the site will continue to pro-
duce recoverable quantities of gas for at
least 10 years.
In other areas landfill gases are at best
annoying and at worst deadly hazards.
In !%*> an explosion at a National Guard
Armory in Winston-Salem. N.C.. killed
three men and injured 22 when gases seeped
into the building from an adjacent landfill
and exploded. In 1971 two persons were
injured and a building was destroyed in a
similar explosion at Nashville. Tenn. Last
fall two families had to evacuate their house
in Holtsville. I..!., when dangerous levels of
methane were detected in the building.
about 30 feet from the edge of the Brook ha-
ven landfill. The U.S. Postal Service is
spending an additional SI million to ventilate
landfill gases from beneath a new bulk mail
processing plant in Jersey Ciu. N..I.
Landfill gases can damage nearb) vegeta-
tion. Franklin B. Flower of Rutgers Univer-
sity, who has studied this problem for EPA.
says methane and carbon dioxide can mi-
grate sideways from the landfill, depleting
oxygen in the root /one of adjacent land and
killing trees and other plants. In one in-
stance gases from a landfill migrated 80 feet
into a peach orchard and killed 70 trees. Mr.
Flower reported. A planned park over a
completed landfill at Cherrv Hill. N.J.. has
been plagued by dead and dsing vegetation.
which has also affected grass and shrubs at
nearh) private homes.
Last fall State and local officials on Long
Island called on KPA for help in coping with
landfill gases there. Truett V. DeGeare Jr..
chief of the Land Protection Brunch. Mr.
James, and Michael DeBonis and David
Savetsky of the Region II Office conferred
with representatives of five towns and two
counties to discuss measures to control the
seepage of gas into nearby homes.
(iood landfill design should include the
monitoring of gas formation. Mr. James
said, especially around the perimeter of the
site. In some cases ventilation pipes can be
driven into the fill to vent gases to the
atmosphere, or trenches can be dug around
the site and filled with gravel so the gas can
dissipate upward as it leaves the area. Such
trenches must be as deep as the fill, how-
ever, and their effectiveness can be ruined
when they fill with water after heavy rains.
The best protection. Mr. James said, is to
pump the gases out in much the same way
as in the California experiments.
"The design of many landfills on the East
Coast prevents the recovery of landfill gas."
he .said. "Methane is still produced, but the
depth is too shallow tor sustained produc-
tion: air will get into the fill and stop the
tor niation of methane." •
PAGE II
-------
JUNK CAR RECYCLING
Higher prices for scrap metals
have virtually eliminated the
derelict auto problem of the
1960's. These photos show what
happens to most worn-out cars
today: transformation from
unsightly junk to useful reclaimed
metal in half a dozen mechanized
steps.
Minus engine blocks and chassis, car bodies are stacked for the crushing machine.
PAG!{ 12
-------
Crushed bodies are hauled away
to be shredded
Huge pincers lift car hulk.
PAGK 13
-------
This mountain of steel fragments is the remains of 30,000 old automobiles which have been processed for remelting by
steel mills and foundries.
Among thousands of reclaimed steel products are reinforcing
rods (foreground) for concrete road construction.
Shredded scrap is loaded by electromagnet crane for
rail haul to the steel mill.
PACiK 14
-------
INDUSTRIAL WASTE-
PROBLEM OR PROFIT?
By Darby Collins
After making 100.000 gallons of world
famous Lushous Nail Polish, the Terrifi
Chemical Company found that it had an
excess of 17.(XX) gallons it could not sell.
What can you do with 17.000 gallons of
leftover nail polish? You can't hum it; he-
cause that would pollute the air. You can't
dump it in the rivers: that would pollute the
water. To have it transformed chemically into
something easily disposable is very expen-
sive.
What if you could sell that nail polish to
someone who could use it? Sounds too good
to be true. Well, the Gee Whi/ Toy Company
needs enamel for its products. Nail polish.
with suitable pigments added, could be used
on the toys. Now everybody is happy.
Sound a bit ridiculous? Not really. Today
many, chemical companies have large
amounts of industrial waste. They need a
way to turn expensive waste disposal prob-
lems into profit-makers.
In Europe, waste "bourses" or exchanges
have been doing this for years. Company A
has a certain kind of industrial waste which
Company B can use. The bourse brings the
two together. Money is made, raw materials
are saved, and less waste is fed into the
environment.
Such a program has now been started in the
United States by the St. Louis Waste Ex-
change. The Exchange emerged from a con-
ference sponsored by the Missouri Depart-
ment of Natural Resources on hazardous
waste management methods. After studying
the European waste bourses, the St. Louis
Regional Commerce and Growth Associa-
tion (RCGA) initiated the St. Louis Waste
Exchange as a possible solution to the dis-
posal of industrial wastes. The program is
modeled after the waste exchanges which
have operated successfully in Germany. It-
aly. Switzerland. Belgium. Great Britain.
and the Scandinavian countries for about a
decade. Chet McLaughlin. Sanitary Engi-
neer in the Waste Management Section.
Region VII, served on the task force that
developed this pilot project.
The operation was described by Harry T
Morley Jr.. Executive Vice-President of
RCGA. as an opportunity to help industry
directly in finding viable uses for waste
products and also reduce pollution. It is the
first United States clearinghouse for mate-
rials that pose difficult environmental dis-
posal problems, he said.
Its purpose is to bring buyer and seller
together. When companies find buyers for
their waste products they provide cheaper
sources of raw materials for the buyers.
Wastes that might be a liability because of
high disposal costs or possible damage to the
environment can give the seller additional
income. "Equally important, the operation
will serve to reduce the volume of hazardous
and other wastes which must either he dis-
posed of in local landfills or transported to
destruction or treatment facilities." Mr. Mor-
ley said.
KPA estimates that the United States gener-
ates H) million tons of industrial waste each
Dwhy Collins /.s tin I'.l'A Region VII pi/h/ic
information specialist.
year. If only 10 percent of this waste could
be utilized the project is assured success.
The Exchange is run on a non-profit basis
and charges only $5 a listing. The company's
name is not published, assuring anonymity.
Previously companies have been afraid to
advertise their waste products or raw mate-
rial needs for fear of giving competitors clues
concerning their business problems.
Two listings are published. Type A for av-
ailable waste items and Type W for those
items that are wanted. Each listing includes a
description of the item, composition, quan-
tity, packaging and geographic origin. The
lists include onl> materials for which no
well- established market exists.
Inquiries to I he Exchange are referred to
the listing firm, which then, determines
whether or not it will negotiate. The Ex-
change asks no questions concerning the
dollar volume of exchanges or with whom
the company has done business. Eederal and
State agencies have agreed to respect the
anonymity of the competitors in order to
encourage resource recovery and decrease
the volume of industrial wasie.
The RCGA has been very pleased with the
results of the exchange, ll has progressed
from a year trial basis to permanent status.
Its mailing list has expanded to I.(XX) cover-
ing the entire country. The Exchange, mm in
its fourth publication, has 85 listings repre-
senting fill companies from all over the
United States and overseas.
EPA recently gave the Exchange an Envi-
ronmental Quality Award for its efforts and
cited it as a model for other industrial areas.•
PAGE
-------
potato pollutants
Fines totalling $45,000 were recently levied
against a potato processing firm for polluting
the Aroostook River in Maine with untreated
wastewater in violation of its discharge per-
mit. The company, Potato Service, Inc.,
Presque Isle, and its president, Moe Kim-
mel, were charged with 74 counts of bypass-
ing aerators in the firm's treatment facilities
in February. March, and April last year. Mr.
Kimmel pleaded guilty to one count in U.S.
District Court, and Judge Edward T. Gig-
noux dismissed the other counts. Company
officials said the aerators were bypassed to
cut expenses.
pcb limits set
Region I has set strict limits on the amounts
of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that can
be discharged in wastewater from two New
Bedford. Mass., capacitor manufacturers,
Aerovox Industries, Inc., and Cornell-Dubi-
lier Corp. Similar limits will soon be set in
discharge permits for two other electrical
equipment makers in the State, General
Electric Co., Pittsfield, and Sprague Electric
Co., North Adams.
new york ruling
Reversing a Federal District Court ruling,
the US. Circuit Court of Appeals recently
decreed that New York City must carry out
four aspects of a controversial plan to limit
automotive traffic in Manhattan: 1) levy tolls
on cars and trucks that cross the Harlem and
East Rivers, 2) ban taxi cruising in the mid-
town area, 3) limit truck deliveries to off-peak
hours, and 4) regulate and reduce parking.
Gerald M. Hansler, Regional Administrator,
hailed the ruling as "a significant and neces-
sary milestone in our efforts to reduce auto-
related pollution in New York City."
sludge study
A pilot study of composting sewage sludge
from Camden, N.J., instead of dumping it in
the ocean has been started under an EPA
grant of nearly $1.3 million. The city has
been ordered by EPA to halt its ocean dump-
ing, but is continuing the practice under a
court-ordered extension, pending develop-
ment of an alternate disposal method. The
order requires the city to move its dumping
area to 90, instead of 35, miles offshore.
Deputy Regional Administrator Eric B. Out-
water said the pilot program would be "an
important first step in demonstrating that
technology is available to end the dumping of
sludge in the Atlantic."
clairton agreement
U.S. Steel Corporation has signed a consent
order to control air pollution at its Clairton,
Pa., Works, the largest coke oven plant in the
world. Regional Administrator Daniel J. Sny-
der III said the.agreement culminated more
than a year of negotiations among EPA, the
State, Allegheny County, and U.S. Steel.
The order sets interim and final deadlines to
control paniculate emissions. Final compli-
ance for all operations is to be achieved by
1986.
Florida canal
The 155-year history of the Cross Florida
Barge Canal came to an end—maybe—when
the State Cabinet recently voted 6 to 1 to
oppose further construction of the $325-mil-
lion waterway. The Cabinet's action is a
recommendation; it is up to Congress finally
to halt funds for the on-again, off-again proj-
ect. The canal, about 40 percent complete,
would extend across northern Florida about
110 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the
Atlantic. President Nixon halted work on it
by executive order in 1971. Since then the
Army Corps of Engineers did an economic
and environmental study and found the com-
pleted canal would cost $ 1 for every 66 cents
it would bring in. Many of the study's find-
ings supported the contentions of environ-
mentalists and others, including EPA, that
the project was ecologically damaging and
economically unsound.
The Florida Cabinet has called for a State-
Federal task force to decide what to do with
land already acquired and a waterway al-
ready dug or dredged, with emphasis on
restoring the Oklawaha River basin.
inland steel pact
An agreement has been reached that will cut
air pollution from Inland Steel's operations in
East Chicago, Ind., by more than two-thirds
in the next four years. Deputy Regional
Administrator Valdas V. Adamkus said six
enforcement orders had been issued, and he
praised the company management and the
United Steel Workers Local 1010 for their
cooperation in the negotiations.
Particulate emissions will be cut from 6,100
to 2,000 tons per year, on compliance sched-
ules that run from six months to four years.
Three new facilities—a boiler house, blast
furnace, and coke battery—will be built,
using the best available pollution control
technology. Inland Steel will close down two
old coke batteries and an open hearth fur-
nace that will more than compensate for the
new facilities' emissions.
PAGE 16
-------
cleanup profits
How to make profits on pollution controls
was the subject of an industry-government
conference in Chicago Jan. 17-18 attended by
some 300 top businessmen from the Mid-
west. The conferees discussed new ways to
reduce pollution and make money through
resource recovery, design changes, and re-
search. The conference was sponsored by
EPA Region V, the Department of Com-
merce, the Chambers of Commerce and
Manufacturers' Associations of the six States
in Region V, and six private corporations.
injection controls
Great interest is being shown in Region VI
in EPA's proposed regulations to control
underground injection practices so that
ground-water supplies can be protected from
contamination, according to Charles Sever,
Chief of the Region's Water Supply Branch.
Injection wells are widely used in Region VI
to spur "secondary recovery" from oil and
gas wells. The technique involves forcing
fluids (water, brine, or sometimes gas) into
the oil- or gas-bearing strata to increase the
flow to the producing wells. The period for
public comments on the proposed regulations
ended Jan. 15. Mr. Sever said the final regu-
lations are expected to be issued by April I.
pollution hearing
Regional Counsel Diana Dutton was sched-
uled to preside at a public hearing March I at
the Baker Hotel in Dallas on the so-called
emission offset regulations. The hearing, one
of four throughout the country, was called to
receive comments on EPA's proposed new
policy to permit major new stationary
sources of air pollution to be built in an area
provided that offsetting reductions in pollu-
tant emissions are made from other sources.
mighty missouri
An hour-long documentary film, "The
Mighty Missouri," has been completed by
KCPT, the public televison station in Kansas
City, Mo. Funded by a grant from Region
VII, the film tells the story of the river from
its source high in the Rocky Mountains to its
confluence with the Mississippi near St.
Louis.
It depicts the pollution problems affecting the
river, including accelerated agricultural, in-
dustrial, and urban development, and the
efforts being made to solve them. The river
forms the spine of the Nation's "breadbas-
ket" area, more than half a million square
miles covering all or parts of 10 States. Strip
mining and coal gasification plants pose new
problems for the Missouri basin, and the film
touches on historic and present struggles
over water rights to the river and its tributar-
ies.
water meetings
Three conferences on water problems took
place last month at the Region VIII office in
Denver. On Feb. 2 and 3 representatives of
the five EPA Regions west of ihe Mississippi
and 23 western States met to discuss imple-
mentation of the Safe Drinking Water Act
and the establishment of national standards
for organic compounds in drinking water
supplies. On Feb. 8 and 9 joint boards repre-
senting United States and Canada met to
discuss pollution control measures on the
Red and Rainy Rjvers, which flow from U.S.
into Canada.
At the end of February the Region's 22
areawide planning agencies. State leaders,
and regional staff members were scheduled
to meet in Salt Lake City, Utah, to review
progress on water quality planning, with spe-
cial attention to the control of non-point
sources of pollution.
non-target species
Do poison baits used to control crop-destroy-
ing rodents also kill other, harmless, animals?
A study of these "non-target" effects for one
pesticide, sodium fluoroacetate. also known
as compound 1080, is under way in Califor-
nia, funded by EPA in cooperation with the
State Department of Food and Agriculture
and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the
Department of the Interior. Before the baits
are placed on various types of rangeland and
cropland, different non-target species—foxes,
coyotes, badgers, etc.—will be trapped, fitted
with tiny battery-powered radios, and re-
leased. After the rodent-baiting, any radio-
tagged animals that die will be located and
their carcasses recovered and analyzed to
determine the cause of death.
Compound 1080 is acutely toxic, and scien-
tists suspect it may be lethal to the larger
animals that prey on the rodents.
mislabeling fine
Region X inspectors spotted a shipment of
pentachlorophenol. a wood preservative and
termite repellant, with labels recommending
application at 10 times the needed strength.
The product was shipped from the Vancou-
ver. Wash., plant of Champion Internationa!
Corp. to California. Because the label in-
structions conflicted with those specified in
the EPA registration. Region X filed suit in
federal court. The Company pleaded no con-
test and paid a $2.500 penalty. The mislabel-
ing has been corrected.
PAGE 17
-------
Looking At The Future
Concerns and hopes for the future of the environment
are expressed in fetters supplied to EPA by seven
environmental groups for use in "Project Futurespect."
As part of this project the letters were recently placed in a
specially prepared container which will he kept by EPA and
opened and examined every five years over the next 50 years.
The project began on EPA Day last July at the Bicentennial
Exposition on Science and Technology at the Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
Excerpts from the letters received from the environmental
groups follow:
NATIONAL AUDUBON
SOCIETY :
* f We of the National Audubon Society do not foresee
• • mankind living under vast plastic domes in artificial
climates and existing on synthetic foods. We foresee peoples
of the world having shed their technological arrogance al-
though not their technologies, having acquired ecological
wisdom, and having regulated their reproduction, living in
harmony with the natural world in which the human animal
evolved, and upon which the human is as utterly dependent
as is the fish, the turtle, the bird, and the bear. We foresee the
farmlands flourishing, the fishermen casting their nets pro-
ductively into the seas, and the cities open to the skies and to
the fresh, clean winds.
And we foresee the wild birds still negotiating their ancient
migration routes from north to south and south to north, the
great whales finding their way through the oceans, and man
still mystified by the sacred nature of life. We foresee these
things because we believe that enough people will use enough
intelligence while there is yet time to make them possible. To
that end, we shall continue and intensify our efforts to
challenge the rest of the American people to revise and
redirect those attitudes and practices of second century
America which today so seriously
threaten our natural heritage.
LEAG UE OF WOMEN
VOTERS OF THE UNITED
STATES:
«It may well be that the last half of the 20th century will be
viewed historically as the period when Americans finally
realized that time was running out on them in seeking solutions
to environmental problems. The decades of the l%()'s and
1970's have been marked by increased public awareness and
political acceptance of the need to halt profligate use of natural
resources and unrestricted pollution of water, atmosphere and
land.
Much has been done; much remains to be done. There can
be little doubt that the country has the technical competence to
solve nearly all of the current ills, but the technology is not
being matched by the will and the commitment to apply it.
Unless the situation changes dramatically in America's third
century conditions will get worse, not better. Future problems
will not be new ones—but the same old ones accelerated by
population growth and concentration, conflict between devel-
opment and preservation, inadequate financial and legal re-
sources. This rather dismal forecast can be reversed if we see
in the next one hundred years changes in human attitudes and
life styles, acceptance of a national sell-discipline, and applica-
tion of the technical and human • •
resources we already have at hand. 77
PAGF. 18
-------
SIERRA CLUB:
f f As we face our third century as a nation, American
• • environmentalists are asking what kind of environment do
we want? What is our ultimate dream? What should the face of
America look like when all is said and done? Can we recapture
some classical notion of the proper appearance of cities and
towns as stable cultural and economic enterprises, and of their
relationship to the countryside, and its to a hinterland and the
wild places within it'.' How can each operate to be a healthful
and humane site for all that lives within it, and each live in
harmony with the other?
Or is there nothing ahead but constant flux—the never-
ending business of tearing down and ripping up, squeezing
resources harder and harder, a restless wandering about the
continent, with us all acting our compulsions of a pioneer
spirit that has lost its point as the centuries pass. We have
proven ourselves as a people who can subdue a new land and
indeed overwhelm nature. But can we subdue a technology
which threatens to get out of control, and. most of all, can we
subdue ourselves? Can we transmute our restless spirit into a
gentle spirit which can give birth to an environment which
can endure as a fit place for all life? If we can, in what better
way could we redeem the ••
vision of our founding fathers? f J
THE WILDERNESS
SOCIETY:
As America balances between its past—the 200 years of
history represented by the Bicentennial—and the future.
the third century of its existence, we have both a promise of
great things to come, and intermingling with it. an uneasy
sense of a world gone awry. The optimistic premise of this past
century that "technology will save us" is only partly true, and
at an inflating price. As people turn nostalgically toward the
past in these bicentennial celebrations, they are also yearning
for a simpler form of existence, even for a more nature-
oriented life style. Our folk-wisdom has always been rooted in
our soil, yet today the majority of Americans are urban
dwellers.
Wilderness preservation is a vital part of the solution of
this dilemma. Wilderness can provide a constant point of
reference for the understanding of the function of natural
systems, as well as furnishing irreplaceable habitat for wildlife.
safeguarding pure water supplies, and giving spiritual solace to
urbanized, overdeveloped
man- and woman -kind.
NATURAL RESOURCES
DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC.:
ff To he concerned with the environment is not to he anti-
• • technology or against social progress. We must he, how-
ever, against the blind acceptance of any new kind of technol-
ogy, or the unthinking continuation of outmoded concepts of
'progress.' We must strive for a future in which man will live
more harmoniously in his natural environment—instead of a
future in which we must constantly take the greatest pains to
avoid destroying or poisoning our habitat.
It is a certainty that increasing world population, with the
accompanying acceleration of demand for new energy sources
and new food supplies and the economic means to provide
them, will place incalculable strain on the world environment.
However, by formulating wise, practical, and forward-looking
policies today, and by carefully monitoring their enforcement.
we can strive to mitigate these inevitable pressures and provide
future generations with the basic necessities of life:
clean air and water, pure food, and open space.
Continued on puxe2
PA GK
-------
LOOKING AT
THE FUTURE
Continued fr
19
THE IZAAK WALTON
LEAGUE OF AMERICA, INC.:
Like an insatiable swarm of locusts, human beings
seem to be racing to devour every vestige of the
natural environment, even to the point of eliminating the
complex ecosystems upon which we all depend for life. The
nations with plenty continue to expand their resource-deplet-
ing appetites, while the developing nations struggle to survive.
The most difficult problem in the future will be to decide the
fate of our oceans. These great bodies of water with their
relatively untapped mineral reserves and vast potential for
food production are in danger of the same rampant exploita-
tion that has been seen on land. Agreement on a law of the
sea is vital.
To survive, all men and women must unite in a world-effort
to preserve the natural environment. We must all become
evangelists for and living examples of the conservation ethic.
We must become caretakers instead of users, stewards in-
stead of consumers. We must turn off the appliances, air
conditioners, and engines and once again commune with the
land on a one-to-one basis as our forefathers did. Only then
will we have true hope for a
better quality of life for all
55
/•-•
.,
- •^cv.-'"'
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
CENTER:
When fossil fuels began to play an important role in
our economy, coal and oil and gas were so inexpensive
that where they came from, or what had to be done to
process and transport them, didn't matter much. America's
earliest settlements were built without regard to the geog-
raphy of fossil fuel deposits. Harbors and rivers and forest,
wind and water and wood power, determined the location of
our centers of development, and the arrival of fossil fuels
generally reinforced the growth of existing communities.
Now the stakes for those who could control new sources
and systems of energy are so high that working for humane,
equitable, or rational energy policies is like being the chaplain
on a pirate ship. Where energy reserves are located, where
they are processed and converted, and how they are trans-
ported, does make a difference. The future of our cities, of our
transportation networks, of our patterns of industrial and
agricultural development, of the whole fabric of our economy,
will depend on energy production choices that, a few years
ago, were of little interest except to the
companies that dug or drilled and sold the energy.
PAGE 20
-------
ENVIRONMENTAL ALMANAC
A GLIMPSE OF THE NATURAL WORLD WE HELP PROTECT
MARC
SPRING AT LAST!
At dusk near a marsh in tlir \\ash-
ington area countryside you can
hear the piping now ot hundreds ol the
tiny little frogs known as spring peep-
ers.
For some people -.prill" is the return
of the robin, the blooming o! forsythia,
the emergence ol skunk cabbage or
the cavorting ol new lambs. I'or many
ol' us though, the true heralds of spring
are the peepers.
They've spent the harsh winter hiber-
nating in the mud at the bottom ol
some swamp, pond, or ditch. But when
they- sense the warmer temperatures
they begin to emerge from the depths
to celebrate the glories ol a new
season in their brief lives.
They don't give a hoot that spring
officially arrives on March 20. They
are not aware that the northern end ot
our spinning globe is tilting again to-
ward the sun. Their own biological
clock will tell them when it > time to
begin their serenading.
Now the singing males are trilling
frantically to attract a mate. In the
country you can sometimes hear
hundreds ot the little creatures joining
in an ear-splitting chorus. Their shrill
whistling sound can be heard a.-> much
as a mile away, from a distance their
calls sound oddly like muffled sleigh
bells.
Silence drops abruptl) across the
marsh when, flashlight in hand. sou
try to find a peeper. II sou stand >lill
lor a lew minutes a Irog will ultci a
hesitant "peep-peep and then the
others gradually join in.
When you llnalk find one on a tree
pad you see that it's less than an inch
in length and has a bubble-like sac
under its lower jaw which it blows up
to help create Its unique and unforget-
table call. 'I hey can also be identified
as peepers because they carry an "V
or cross on their backs. This gi\es the
frog its scientific name ol Us la cruel-
ler, or cross-bearing Irog.
In the breeding season the males
develop pads on their thumbs that help
-upport the nuptial embrace. The toes
ot both sexes extend into discs which
are used as supports in climbing. In
summer peepers sometimes climb 60
feet or higher into the trees.
Part ol the magnificent mosaic of
nature, the peepers have been an-
nouncing: the end ot winter tor thou-
sands ot years.
As Joseph \\ood Krutch, a noted
writer-naturalist, has pointed out. we
shouldn't take this announcement by
the peepers too casually because it is
indeed a miracle.
"Think ol the enormity ot the an-
nouncement.' he urges, "\\hat would
the world be like it spring didn't
\nd another concern, ol course, is
what would spring he like without the
peeping of Hyla erucifer. What if in-
deed \vc finally do get Rachel Carson's
"silent spring." For peepers are just as
susceptible as birds to the poisons in
carelessly used pesticides.
These small creatures can also be
easily displaced by construction proj-
ects. For example, a scientist told us
recently ol the building ot a new power
plant on the \\isconsin Hiser which
needlessly ruined two small ponds that
sersed as the home ot hundreds ol
peepers. One ol the ponds was used
lor an ash pit and the other was
destroyed bv the posxer plant water
intake pipeline.
So whal? So part of the biological
alarm system that can serve to alert ti>
to environmental damage was de-
stroyed. The peeping provides assur-
ance that all's right svith a small piece
of the environment, So the peepers trill
lor sou and me as well as lor lady
peepers.
One measure ol our success in the
environmental cause will be whether
the peepers are still piping their i-ongs
to announce spring a hundred or a
thousand seal's Irom noss.—C.D.P.
PA OK 21
-------
EPAS BUDGE
INCREASED
President Jimmy Carter has
proposed increasing EPA's
current operating budget by $74
million and raising the Agency's
employment ceiling to 10,150 per-
manent positions, 600 more than the
Fiscal 1976 ceiling of 9,550.
The President said he would ask
Congress for supplemental appro-
priations this year as follows: $69
million for areawide water quality
planning (the Section 208 program);
and $5 million to pay for the new
positions which would be distributed
by the new Administrator among such
high-priority areas as toxic substance
control, resource conservation and
recovery, construction grants, and
enforcement.
For Fiscal 1978, which starts next
Oct. 1, President Carter has pro-
posed increases of $41.6 million
above the budget request submitted
by the Ford Administration shortly
after the new Congress met in January.
These changes would include: $15
million for the new permanent posi-
tions, started in Fiscal 77; $12 mil-
lion in added assistance to States and
communities for pollution control
programs in air, water quality, water
supply, solid waste, and toxic sub-
stances; $10.3 million for loan guar-
antees under a new law permitting
EPA to underwrite Federal lending
to cities and States for their share
of wastewater treatment plant costs,
when they cannot obtain reasonable
interest rates elsewhere; $8 million
to develop effluent guidelines for the
control of toxic material discharges;
and a reduction of $3.7 million for
standard level user charges (Govern-
ment Services Administration rental
costs).
"These budget increases—the
largest since 1970-71—will be of
great significance in protecting our
Nation's environment," said Douglas M.
Costle, EPA Administrator-designate.
"President Carter has been aware
that EPA is underfunded and under-
staffed, and his proposed additions
are a major step toward bringing
EPA's resources into reasonable
balance."
The current year's budget authority
totals $774 million. The Ford Admin-
istration proposed an increase of
$29 million—to $803 million—for
Fiscal 1978.
President Carter's proposals would
provide a current year's budget
authority of $848 million and a Fiscal
1978 total of $845 million.
CONSTRUCTION GRANTS
President Carter has proposed that
$4.5 billion be appropriated by
Congress this year for wastewater
treatment construction grants, the
first step in a ten-year Federal aid
program totalling $45 billion.
The Ford Administration had pro-
posed that the program start in
Fiscal 1978. •
COSTLE, BLUM NAMED
TO LEAD EPA
continued from page 2
has been vice-chairman of the Ful-
ton County Planning Commission
since 1974.
From 1966 to 1974, Ms. Blum
was vice president of Restaurant
Associates of Georgia, Inc., an
Atlanta management and purchasing
company for a wholly-owned chain
of restaurants and a restaurant
equipment company, founded by
Ms. Blum and her husband.
She was a member of Leadership
Atlanta (appointed by the Atlanta
Chamber of Commerce) from 1974
to 1976, and on the Advisory Board
of the Atlanta-Macon Corridor
Study (appointed by the Georgia
Department of Transportation) from
1973 to 1975. In 1973-74 Ms. Blum
served on the Georgia Vital Areas
Council, and from 1972 to 1974 she
was a member of the Health and So-
cial Services Advisory Board and
Governmental Services Advisory
Board of the Atlanta Regional
Commission.
Since 1972, she has been chief
lobbyist in the Georgia General
Assembly and in Washington, D. C.,
for SAVE (Save America's Vital
Environment), and from 1973 to
1976 was president of that organiza-
tion. She was on the board of the
National Committee for an Effec-
tive Congress in 1976, and has been
a trustee of the Georgia Conserv-
ancy since 1973.
From 1960 to 1962, Ms. Blum
was on the faculty of the Pediatric
Psychiatry Clinic at the University
of Kansas Medical Center. She was
acting administrator of the Suffolk
County Mental Health Clinic in
Huntington, L.I., in 1963 and 1964.
In 1964, she was a founder of the
Mid-Suffolk Center for Psychother-
apy in Hauppauge. L.I., and she
served as a partner and center ad-
ministrator there until 1966.
Ms. Blum received a B.S. degree,
in 1958, and an M.S.W. degree in
1959, from Florida State University.
She is married to Donald W.
Blum. They have four children.*
-------
UPDATE
Beginning this month EPA
Journal will list recent Agency
publications, and other items of
use to people interested in the
environment. Each category
carries an address listing where
these materials are available.
GENERAL
PUBLICATIONS
Single copies available from
Chris Per ham, c/o Update
(A-107), U.S. EPA, Washington,
D.C. 20460.
An Environmental Law:
Highlights of the Safe Drinking
Water Act of 1974 (Revised
November 1976) This six-panel
leaflet explains the major
provisions of the Act, the role of
the States, variances and
exemptions, and the need for
protection of underground water
sources.
Highlights of the Toxic
Substances Control Act
(December 1976) This four-panel
leaflet covers the scope of the
new law. Agency responsibilities,
and steps required of
manufacturers.
What You Should Know About
the Pesticide Law (Revised 1976)
This illustrated 12-page pamphlet
explains the enforcement
provisions of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and
RodenticideAct
Clean Water and Agriculture
(January 1977) This eight-panel
leaflet gives the agricultural
community an outline of the
impact of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, especially
Subsection 208, on the farmer.
Career Choices (Revised 1977)
This 16-page pamphlet describes
careers in the environment field,
listing careers in environment
technology and education,
equipment operation, science,
and research. It includes a
compilation of institutions
offering environmental education
courses.
Noise Around Our Homes
(February 1977) This eight-panel
leaflet discusses the problem of
increasing levels of noise from
household sources and outlines
ways to reduce and prevent
them.
Noise and Recreational Vehicles
(December 1976) This 12-page
booklet discusses the major
recreational noise sources, their
impact on users and bystanders,
and ways that noise levels can
be reduced.
The United States
Environmental Protection
Agency; Legislation, Programs,
and Organization This 64-page
book outlines the history and
organization of EPA. It gives the
legislative authority for the
pollution control programs and
covers the appropriations
structure and history of the EPA
budget.
LEGISLATIVE REPRINTS
Single copies available from the
Public Information Center
(PM-215), U.S. EPA, Washington,
D.C. 20460.
The Toxic Substances Control
Act. Public Law 94-469.
The Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act. Public Law 94-580.
FEDERAL REGISTER
NOTICES
Reprints available from the
Office of Radiation (AW-460),
U.S. EPA, Washington, D.C.
20460.
Standards for Nuclear Power
Operations. Thursday, January
13, 1977.
MOVIES
The Great Cleanup-A 16mm.,
53-minute color film about the
joint effort of EPA and
Environment Canada to clean up
the Great Lakes.
Films can be borrowed at no
charge from Modern Talking
Picture Service, 2323 New Hyde
Park Road, New Hyde Park, New
York 11040. Requests should be
made well before showing date.
The Mighty Missouri—A 16mm.,
58-minute color film, shows the
pollution problems affecting the
river and its tributaries. It shows
the current pollution control
efforts and future problems that
are anticipated. "The Mighty
Missouri" will be shown on
public television in Kansas City,
Mo. in March and will be
available for public distribution
in the future.
Is Your Drinking Water Safe?—A
half-hour television program
produced by Connecticut Public
Television under an EPA grant.
The film discusses the
problems of drinking water
supplies and possible solutions
to those problems. It will be
shown over the Eastern
Educational Network early in
March and will be available to
public television stations
nationwide. •
PAGE 23
-------
PEOPLE
Richard Field, C'hief of the Storm
and Combined Sewer Section
at Edison. N.J.. a component
of the Municipal Environmental
Research laboratory
at Cincinnati. Ohio, was recently
honored by the New York Water
Pollution Control Association at
its annual meeting in New York
City. Mr. Field received the
Association's Kenneth Allen
Award for an outstanding paper
oil wastewater treatment. I-ast
year Mr. Field was given a
State-of-the-Art Award of the
American Society of Civil
Engineers.
Howard (>. Bergman has been
named Director of the
Enforcement Division in Region
VI, Dallas. For the last three
and a half years he has been on
a special intergovernmental
assignment as Air Pollution
Control Commissioner in
Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Bergman. 39. is a native of
New York and earned a B.S. in
chemical engineering from New
York University and an M.S. in
engineering administration from
George Washington University.
Washington. D.C. He was a
physical science administrator in
EPA headquarters. Washington.
from 1971 to 1973. He and his
wife. Roberta have four
children.
Bruce W. Ingalls. library
technician at EPA's
Headquarters library in
Washington, will start next
month on a two-year assignment
at the University of Montana.
Missoula. There he will help set
up a model microform library of
environmental and energy
information. This largely
technical collection on microfilm
rolls and microfiche cards will
be available also to Montana
State University at Bozeman.
and Montana Technical College
at Billings. The collection will
have a close working
relationship with EPA's Region
VIII Office in Denver. Colo.
Mr. Ingalls's appointment is
under the Interdepartmental
Personnel Act. which provides
for the short-term exchange of
workers among Federal, State.
and local governments.
A native of Montana. Mr.
Ingalts came to Washington 26
years ago. Since 1966 he has
worked for the Federal Water
Pollution Control
Administration (later the Federal
Water Quality Administration)
and EPA.
Stanley J. Pac was recently
appointed Commissioner of the
Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection by
Gov. Ella Grasso. Mr. Pac had
headed the State's Department
of Motor Vehicles for two years.
Before that he had served one
term in the State Senate, two
terms in the General Assembly.
and as Mayor of New Britain. In
the Assembly, Mr. Pac was
chairman of the Public Health
and Safety Committee and of
the Environment Committee
and was instrumental in writing
the legislation that created the
Department of Environmental
Protection.
Henry Bunozewski of the Water
Supply Division of Region VII.
Kansas City, recently received
his B. A. degree in biology after
studying at four colleges and
several correspondence schools
over an eight-year period.
Mr. Bunczewski received his
diploma from Park College.
Parkville. Mo. He also studied
at the University of Missouri at
Kansas City; the Water and
Wastewater Technical Training
School. Neosho. Mo.; and
Orange Junior College. Costa
Mesa. Calif. He has been with
EPA five years, four of which
were in the Surveillance and
Analysis Division doing
microbiat and chemical analyses
of water samples in the field and
in the regional laboratory.
Alex Young has been named
Chief, Personal Management
Branch, in Region IX. San
Francisco, succeeding George
A. Lawton, now Deputy
Director of the Personnel
Management Division in E-^PA's
Washington headquarters.
Mr. Young. 32, has been in the
Federal service nine years, three
of which have been with EPA.
He previously worked in
staffing, job classification, and
employee relations at the U.S.
Nava! Shipyards at Pearl
Harbor. Hawaii, and Hunters
Point. Calif. He earned a degree
in business administration from
Oregon State University in 1966
and is a member of the
International Personnel
Management Association and
the Classification and
Compensation Society. He
received a Sustained Superior
Performance Award in 1973.
PAGE 24
-------
news briefs
SUPREME COURT ISSUES MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 8 to 0 that EPA- has autho-
rity to impose uniform regulations to control factory wastes
discharged into the Nation's waterways. The court rejected
the argument of eight chemical companies that the Agency
could only set general guidelines and permit variances for
individual plants. Acting Administrator John R. Quarles
termed the decision "a very important victory. This . . .
provides critical support for the strategy used in requiring
the cleanup of literally thousands of water pollution sources
in this country."
GUIDELINES PROPOSED TO HELP CUT SEWAGE PLANT COSTS
New guidelines have been proposed by EPA which could mean
large savings at all levels of government on sewage treat-
ment plant costs. The proposals include guidance in planning
the optimum size for such plants, the types of upkeep required
during the plant's lifetime, and procedures for population
forecasts and wastewater flow projections. The new propo-
sals should especially ease the burden of taxpayers in small
communities.
BREAKTHROUGH IN ENVIRONMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY
At the request of EPA, the U.S. Air Force has developed a com-
pact, low-cost unit called an Enviro-Pod which may provide
the best means to date for photographing environmental disas-
ters such as oil spills. The Enviro-Pod is small enough to
be treated as hand luggage and can be easily installed on
light aircraft. It allows officials to take pictures from
rented planes and have processed photos within 24 hours. A
decision on whether or not to contract for production of the
Pod is expected by mid-1977.
PAGH 25
-------
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC' AFFAIRS (A 107)
WASHINGTON. D.C 20460
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
'"^MMPNTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Return this page if you do NOT wish to receive this publication ( ), or if change of address is needed ( ), list change, including zip code.
PARIS TRIES OXYGEN
Plans are being made to pump oxygen
into the Seine River in Paris to help
prevent recurrence of the fish kills which
plagued the French capital last summer.
The Paris City Council is considering hav-
ing a contractor lay a plastic tube pierced
with tiny holes under the Seine as it flows
by Notre Dame Cathedral. Compressed air
would then be bubbled into the river to
revive the fish.
Thousands of dead fish floated to the
surface of the Seine last July when a heat
wave boosted water temperatures and
lobbed the river of oxygen.
C'ost of the project has been estimated at
500.000 francs (approximately S100.000).
One problem foreseen is that the bubble
machine might stir up too much mud on the
river bottom.
The use of aeration techniques to help
increase the amount of o\\uen in rivers and
lakes in this country has been tried from
time to time.
HPA's General Counsel's Office now has
under study a request for an opinion from
Region V on whether in-stream mechanical
aerators can be used to help meet water
quality standards in the lower Fox River in
Wisconsin.
In response to a request for comment
from the General Counsel's office. Hckardt
C. Heck. Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Water Planning and Standards, noted
that the numerous dams on the Fox River
have reduced the opportunity for natural
aeration of this stream into which a number
of pulp and papermaking industries dis-
charge their wastes.
He noted that in the I930's before the
increasing load of industrial wastes the Fox
River was so full of rnayfU insects, usually
an indication of clean water, that the
Notre Dame Cathedra] on the Seine River.
bridges across this stream sometimes be-
came impassable and that road graders had
to be used to clean the bridges of the
slippery mass of insects. However, the
mayfly population was drastically reduced
after industry began depositing its wastes in
the river.
In his memo. Mr. Beck noted that while
F. PA has not categorically forbidden the use
of in-stream aeration to meet water quality
standards. F.PA has discouraged the use of
this technique as an alternative to meet
water quality standards.
"The use of in-stream aeration." Mr.
Beck recommended, "should only be as a
supplement to the application of the best
available pollution control technology eco-
nomically achievable and it should be in
consonance w ith water quality management
plans developed" under the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act.
OU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1977 720-136/1003 1-3
------- |