APRIL 1977
voi;. THREE, NO. FOUR
SOIL AND
POLLUTION
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
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SOIL
The Earth is the mother of us all. Everything
our bodies need except air and water comes
from the Earth.
As Administrator Douglas M. Costle points
out in an interview with the Journal "we survive in
a very fragile system. The first few feet of the
Earth, the water on the surface of the Earth, and a
few miles of atmosphere represent a narrow band
containing the requisites for our very survival."
Yet human beings often continue to treat our
environment and the land harshly. This issue of
the Journal examines some of the consequences of
our actions on land and what can be done about it.
One thing we can do very little about is the
drought which has gripped the West. An article
examines the effect of this drought on air and
water pollution problems.
Eckardt C. Beck, Deputy Assistant Admin-
istrator for Water Planning and Standards, dis-
An example of the damage that has been canned bv mistreatment
of the land is this, huge dust storm photographed on the
Colorado plains in 1934.
cusses erosion and what EPA is doing to help deal
with this and other sources of non-point pollution.
Other articles involving the soil give an overall
description of the non-point pollution problem,
review the no-till farming technique, describe the
problems of potato farms in Maine, report on what
is being done to reduce pollution from dredging,
and provide information about a loan program
designed to reduce farm pollution.
John R. Quarles Jr., former Deputy and Act-
ing Administrator, has given the Journal some of
his thoughts about where the environmental move-
ment has been and where it is heading.
A new development in the pesticide field is
reported in our back cover story. Researchers of
the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Serv-
ice report that a chemical has been found that will
protect cherry orchards from hungry birds while
harming neither the fruit nor the birds.•
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Printed on recycled paper.
U.S.
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
Douglas M. Costle,
Administrator
Marlin Fitzwater, Acting Director of
Public Affairs
Charles D. Pierce, Editor
Staff: Van Trumbull, Ruth Hussey
David Cohen
Cover: The bones of a fish are ieft behind
as the water recedes from the dry and
cracked floor of a reservoir in Marin
County. Calif. Photo by Black Star.
PHOTO CREDITS:
USDA-Soil Conservation Service. Bureau
of Reclamation, EPA. Ernest Bucci. Na-
tional Park Service. National Geographic
Society.
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
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Send check or money order to
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ARTICLES
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR EPA
An interview with Douglas M. Costle, the Agency's
new Administrator.
DROUGHT AGGRAVATES POLLUTION
PROBLEMS
A survey of air and water problems caused by the
drought in the West.
SOIL AND POLLUTION
An interview with Eckardt C. Beck, Deputy
Assistant Administrator for Water Planning and
Standards.
NON-POINT POLLUTION
Guidance for curbing erosion at construction sites.
NO-TILL FARMING
A new technique helps protect the land.
HELPING POTATO FARMS
Plans are being developed to reduce the erosion from
potato growing in Maine.
DREDGING
An effort is being made to reduce pollution from
dredging wastes.
LOANS TO REDUCE FARM POLLUTION
Farmers are now eligible for loans to control water
pollution.
THE ETHICS OF WASTE AN D THE ETHICS
OF CARE
Reflections by John R. Quarles Jr. on the future of
the environmental movement.
PROTECTING THE CHERRIES
DEPARTMENTS
ALMANAC
NATION
PEOPLE
UPDATE
NEWS BRIEFS
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PAGE 12
PAGE 14
PAGE 15
PAGE. 22
BACK COVER
PAGE 17
PAGE 18
PAGE 20
PAGE 21
PAGE 25
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NEW DIRECTIONS FOR EPA
An interview with Douglas M. Costle, the Agency's new Administrator.
0: What is the future of HPA?
A: i think, on balance, the future is quite good. We have prob-
lems, to be sure, but the American public's perception of environ-
mental problems has matured. There has been growing, not
diminishing, concern about the impact of the environment on our
daily lives and the fragile nature of the environment which sustains
us There is also growing, nol diminishing, concern about the
human health problems associated with involuntary exposure to
environmental contamination.
FPA is still a very young Agency by anybody's standards. We
have only begun to solve some of the environmental problems and
there are many others thai we're only now becoming aware of. So
I would expect HPA to be around tor quite a while and I think
we're about to move into a period which will present an enormous
opportunity for the agency.
First, our knowledge base is expanding very rapidly. We now
understand a great deal more than we did six veal's ago when this
agency first started. On the one hand, that makes the problems
look more complex and difficult to solve than they did when the
Agency was established six years ago. On the other hand, we have
a better knowledge base from which to address those problems.
Second, certain major legislation that we administer is up for
renewal this year—the Federal Insecticide. Fungicide and Rodenti-
cide Act. the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. and the Clean
Air Act. There are major Congressional oversight reviews going on
right now. So there is an opportunity for midcourse correction. I
think an Agency as young as this one and dealing with as complex
a set of problems as this one does need to make adjustments and
evolve as it goes.
Finally, we don't want to he in a position of not seeing the forest
PAGE 2
for the trees. We have gotten deeply enmeshed into the enor-
mously complex details of carrying out our job. but the reason for
our coming into being six years ago hasn't changed. We still
recognize the limitations on man's ability to alter his environment
without incurring intolerable damage.
Q: What priorities are you going to set for
this Agency1.'
A: ! think the critical nature of the problems we are trying to deal
with determines the priorities of this Agency. And as our knowl-
edge of environmental problems improves, our priorities will
probably change.
In any event, we alone do not set those priorities. Congress has a
major role to play in establishing priorities. As we go through this
year of consultation with Congress, as they look at our major
legislative acts and as we begin to implement the new Toxic
Substances Act we will be resetting priorities.
Q: is the environmental movement fading?
A: It may seem so to people in Washington, but I think that's only
because they feel the pressure of organized groups who in turn are
beginning to feel the direct impact of EPA's actions. When you get
outside of Washington and talk to people, you find their concern
has not diminished.
In Arizona, for example, the State Legislature gave serious
consideration to withdrawing the auto inspection and maintenance
system, but the voters decided in a referendum to leave it in place.
A poll was taken recently in Denver by one of Colorado's
senators on what problem bothered people most, and the response
was: air pollution. As 1 travel around, it seems clear to me that
people's interest in environmental protection hasn't abated one bit.
1 think there is more concern about the impact of our actions in
attempting to deal with these problems, but the average people
outside of Washington have not lost sight of the fact that the
government must take action. This is fortunate because 1 think
broad-based public support for FPA's actions is absolutely essen-
tial. And that places a special burden on us to make clear to the
public what we are doing and why we are doing it.
Environmental issues tend to have very immediate local impact.
The average citizen can see them. They are not something remote
and off somewhere in Washington. Power plant siting, industrial
siting, urban development questions—these are issues that people
arc concerned with and that they want to get involved in helping to
solve.
Q: Will HPA become part of a new or exist-
ing Federal Department?
A: As you may know, when the Ash Council deliberated on
setting up FPA. I was the principal staff advocate for a separate
independent agency. I have not changed my position on that.
President Carter has said that he is going to look at the entire
Federal Government to determine whether reorganization would
improve the way in which the government does its work.
I have been categorically assured, however, that the issue has not
been prejudged. 1 think there are good reasons why EPA was set
up as an independent agency, lls policies and in particular its
standard-setting function intersect with the activities of a wide
variety of departments. At the time the Ash Council made its
decision, i! was clear that you could argue that HPA could be
placed in any of a number of Cabinet departments. For example,
because of the health effects of pollution. HFW might have been a.
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Costle notes that photographs like ihis one
of earth taken from outer space "drove
home the fact that we must live within the
limits of our own life support system ..."
logical place to put it.
Because we are concerned about air and water as natural re-
sources, an argument could be made for putting it with the Interior
Department. Some would argue that, because pollution impacts so
heavily on cities and large urban areas, the Department of Housing
and Urban Development would be a logical place to put EPA.
In fact, virtually every existing cabinet department, perhaps with
the exception of the Treasury and Justice, could argue that there is
a reasonable relationship between what they do and what EPA
does.
It was that very fact which led the Ash Council to decide that
FPA indeed ought to be independent. They judged at the time that
the EPA standard-setting responsibility was the critical function
that EPA would perform—that is, setting the rules of the road.
But that standard-setting function had to be performed in the most
objective way possible, and a variety of perspectives were rele-
vant: The health perspective, the urban perspective, the economic
perspective, the national resource perspective. So the Council
determined that that standard-setting judgment should not be
biased by any one of these perspectives to the disadvantage of
others, and in order to insure that, they concluded that EPA
should be an independent regulatory agency.
And they were concerned that putting EPA into a cabinet
department might result in tilting that standard-setting judgment in
the direction of whatever perspective represented the dominant
theme or mission of that department.
Erankly. I have seen nothing in the past five years that would
change my mind that that original judgment was sound. In fact, 1
(hink the evidence today fends to vindicate that judgment.
Q: What do you think of the record made so
far by EPA in its first six years?
A; 1 think it is a commendable record. Ciiven the size and
complexity of the task and the crisis atmosphere that surrounded
the creation of EPA—the Agency's record and progress today is
exceptional.
I don't think anybody here at EPA that I have talked to has anv
doubts about the magnitude of what remains to be done. While the
progress has been exceptional, it's clear that we have really only
begun the task.
As EPA has sought to enforce the law and apply the law, it is
causing change. And society resists change. So there have been
times in the last six years when it seemed as if everybody was out
gunning for EPA.
EPA has come through that remarkably well. 1 would attribute
that primarily to the fact that it has tried to do its homework and it
has always conducted itself in a professional manner. 1 think all of
this Agency's success or failure will turn on the professionalism of
the staff.
Only by doing our homework and being thoroughly professional
can we cut through a lot of the rhetoric of reaction. Our credibility
must be unassailable if we arc to \vin public support for the very
hard decisions that are required in solving environmental problems.
Q: Are you concerned about morale at EPA'.'
A: Ultimately the morale of the Agency depends on not losing
sight of why we're here, on having a sense of pride that we're
doing the very best job we can. and. finally, on the satisfaction of
knowing that we do our homework better than am one else, and
that what we do counts.
Q: Do you plan to reorgani/e the major
program elements in the Agency?
A: Any institution has to evolve as it grows, and its own concep-
tion of the job changes. Reorganizations are alwavs difficult anil
should only be undertaken when a clear and compelling case for
them can be made. 1 do not expect to be making precipitant
changes, and any changes that are made will be made only after
I'm satisfied that the benefits clearly outweigh the inevitable
turmoil that reorganizations cause. 1 am particularly mindful of the
fact that EPA has been through several internal reorganizations
and that at some point things have to stabili/.e a bit so people aren't
always having to look around to get fresh compass beatings.
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DROUGHT AGGRAVATES
POLLUTION PROBLEMS
Lingering drought in the West is aggravat-
ing both air and water pollution prob-
lems.
One result is that some States are consider-
ing attempting to modify their pollution
standards to permit waivers for violations
during the drought, a survey of HPA Re-
gional Offices disclosed.
Severe dust storms in Oklahoma and other
parched areas have raised fears of the possi-
bility of the recurrence of another [Just
Howl. Many small streams have dried up,
and some rivers are at century-low levels.
The critically important mountain snow
packs which provide the melt-off that would
ordinarily fill streams and replenish reser-
voirs are far below normal levels.
Much of the concern in the arid regions of
the West is over the conditions that may
develop this summer if the dry weather con-
tinues, rather than over what has already
happened.
Nevertheless, highways in several Western
States have been temporarily closed because
the blowing grit has made car travel so risky.
In eastern Oregon and eastern Washington
drivers have had to turn their headlights on
in the middle of the day as they groped
through the dust-filled air.
In western Kansas some farmers have hesi-
tated to go outside at times because the air
was so black with dust, and some farms in
Colorado have lost several tons of precious
topsoil off each acre of their land during
severe storms. Blowing dust has contributed
to a rash of traffic accidents in parts of
California's San Joaquin Valley where inter-
state highways slice through parched farm-
land.
In Nebraska, drought for the third straight
year has disrupted efforts to cleanse the air.
In an article headlined " Drought Gums Up
Efforts to Cleanse Nebraska Air." the
Omaha World-Herald reported that most of
the State's air sampling stations showed more
paniculate pollution (dust and other fine ma-
terials) on the average in 1976 than in 1975
even though (he State's industries are contin-
uing to reduce their air pollution load.
California has suffered its dries! winter in
history and main counties are already ration-
ing water or asking for voluntary curtail-
ment.
As the flow of fresh water from the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin Rivers into Califor-
nia's rich agricultural Delta lands lessens, salt
water from San Francisco Bay pushes in.
Two-thirds of California's population gets
at least some water from the flow through
the Delta. The importance of this source is
underscored by the statement by a Califor-
nia Department of Water Resources official
that "If you were to take California's water
pulse, you'd put your finger on the Sacra-
mento-San Joaquin Delta."
A Region IX official reports new problems
are developing because the restricted
water use is lessening the flow into water
treatment plants while at the same time
uaste concentrations are higher.
A biologist shows how parched topsoil is
easily gone'with the wind.
Other possible drought impacts being
closely monitored by Region IX are:
Whether the 40 to 60 percent cutbacks in
crop plantings in the San Joaquin and Sacra-
mento Valleys will leave more land with no
cover and therefore a contributor to dust
pollution or will a reduction in plowing ease
the air participate problem?
Whether the substantial reduction in the
planting of rice will have a significant impact
on the amount of participates from the fall
burning of rice stubble in the fields'.'
Whether shutdowns by some industries be-
cause of the shortage of good water will have
an appreciable effect on the Region's air
pollution problems1.'
PACK 4
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MBMfe*?
m-f D^n^.^. ,l_ . i ^T .. , ^^••i
Will the low levels of water in reservoirs
reduce their use for swimming, boating and
other water recreation activities and there-
fore the pollution from automobiles traveling
to these sites'.'
How much of an increase in the air panicu-
late problem will be caused by more forest
fires in the parched forest lands?
In the Pacific Northwest. Region X reports
that if the winter wheat crop doesn't sprout,
there will be increased soil erosion washing
into the Region's waterways.
The Willamette River has reached a 100-
year low and water quality violations are
expected this summer. The Oregon legisla-
ture is considering whether to modify its
pollution standards to provide for drought
violation waivers.
Region X has established a task force to
review options for possible assistance it can
provide to the States in this Region.
In the Middle West, Region VII reports
that approximately half of the air quality
areas in the region show violations of the
paniculate standard caused by wind-blown
dust.
In many areas shelter belts of trees planted
between fields in the I93()'s have died or
been removed. As a result, these lands are
much more exposed to wind erosion.
Some of these shelter trees were ripped out
so more crops could be planted and others
were removed to make room for the long arm
of an irrigation machine which travels in a
circular path around a center pivot.
From Denver, Region VIII reports that the
dry soil conditions are stimulating more inter-
est in a new farming technique called "No-
till." Under this system, the ground is dis-
turbed as little as possible. Violations of
Windbreaks like these on a North Dakota
funii were widely planted after the 1't.Ki'x
Dust Bowl days. .Von1 fields inav
hi- blown away again because some fiiriners
have cut down the shelter trees to increase
their cr<>/> aci'ettjie.
paniculate standards because of dust are also
reported in this region.
Some HPA regions express concern that the
severe financial losses from the drought may
cause State revenue declines, which could in
turn impair funding for pollution control,
particularly in the smaller States.
One positive impact of the drought seen by
F.PA regional officials is that it should lead to
better water quality management systems in
the Wesl.B
PAGH 5
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SOIL AND POLLUTION
Interview with Eckardt C. Beck,
Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Water Planning and Standards.
Q: Why is erosion so harmful?
A: When the soil erodes, it not only reduces the productivity of the
land necessary to feed and clothe our Nation, it results in water
pollution. Sediment from soil erosion is a pollutant itself and
carries with it pesticides, nutrients, pathogens, and other pollutants.
As we do a better job of regulating point sources of discharge from
municipalities and industries, nonpoint sources of pollutants, such
as erosion, will become relatively more important. In fact, unless
we can do a much better job of controlling sediment and other
pollutants that are being washed into our streams and lakes, there
is little likelihood that we can reach the clean water goals which all
of us want.
Q: How much erosion is there in the United
States?
A: About 4 billion tons of sediment reach our streams each year.
About 30% may be from natural causes such as geologic erosion,
50% from agricultural land, another 10% from range and forest land
and the remaining 10% from disturbed areas like roadbanks, con-
struction, and surface mining. The single greatest cause of pollution
remaining after our municipal and industrial sources are cleaned up,
will be this sediment.
Q: What role should soil and water conserva-
tion districts play in the increased efforts to
stop pollution?
A: They should be. and in most cases are, actively involved in
developing a portion of an areawide plan under Section 208 of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act to help prevent soil and other
nonpoint source pollution. One way of viewing the 208 program is
to consider it a funding mechanism to allow organizations with
particular expertise to participate in water quality management. In
fact, the soil and water conservation agencies in 32 States have
specific responsibilities for this effort. In 14 States local conserva-
tion districts have agreements with areawide planning agencies.
With their 40 years of experience in soil and water conservation.
we think they are uniquely qualified. Most important, districts are
managed by local people who understand local problems better
than anyone else. Since districts are also responsible for helping
landowners establish nonpoint source control measures, we believe
their role will continue to be important.
Q: Are land use controls a feasible method of
controlling erosion?
A: Yes. Land use controls are already in effect in many areas
through State, county, and municipal laws. Every coal-producing
State has regulations on how mined land will be reclaimed. In 16
States land use controls have also been established for construction
activities. Many communities and States are considering programs to
control sediment and other pollution in their 208 programs.
Q: Are Federal regulations needed to control
soil and nonpoint source pollution?
A: Yes, in some instances. For example, the solid waste legislation
passed last fall will require that States take action to close down
open dumps. The proposed strip mine reclamation act would have a
strong regulatory program. However, in many situations, local or
State regulation will be the most effective means of controlling
nonpoint source pollution. The idea in 208 water quality manage-
ment is to look at all of the means that exist at the Federal, State,
and local levels of government and to put together the most
effective package of programs required to get the job done.
Q: What level of government is in the best
position to control soil and nonpoint pollution
generally? Federal? States? counties? special
districts?
A: As I indicated previously, the real answer lies in using the best
mix of government required in a particular circumstance. In
certain States where the "Home Rule" concept is strong, local
governments may carry more of the implementation role. In other
situations where State government has historically exercised a
greater responsibility the State will play the lead role. The public
lands, such as the national forests and national parks will of course
require action at the Federal level. In many cases, the job will be a
cooperative one in which the State will share its responsibilities
with local government. For example, in Iowa local soil conserva-
tion districts have the major role in implementing the State sedi-
ment control law. However, when an action is required against a
landowner who violates the law, the State has the enforcement
responsibility.
Q: Do you think that current soil and water
conservation practices result in significant
water quality improvements?
A: Yes. Much has been accomplished by the application of soil and
water conservation measures. The planting of grass on over two
million acres along waterways; construction of 1.5 million miles of
terraces; building of 100,000 disposal lagoons and debris basins; and
a host of farming practices have resulted in improving our water
quality. Much work remains to be done. We believe these land
management and conservation control measures need to be im-
proved to control, not only sediment but also other pollutants such
as nutrients and pesticides. Much of our research activity is con-
cerned with these problems.
Q: Are local government controls now in ef-
fect dealing adequately with erosion problems
from construction?
A: Not in all cases. Maryland is an example of a State where local
governments are doing a good job. The program in Montgomery
County, Maryland, is one that is being used as a model in many
other areas. However, we still have a big task of education in many
areas of the country where the pollution problems resulting from
construction are as severe as in Maryland but State and local
governments are not ready to deal with the issue.
Q: Is erosion from such construction as road
building, new housing developments, and fac-
PAGE6
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tory building a serious problem?
A: Yes. Some of the most glaring examples of serious erosion can
be seen where new construction is under way. While the construc-
tion industry is doing a better job of pollution control, a lot more
must be done. We know how to control erosion. Industry must
recognize that erosion control is as much a cost of doing business
as any other phase of their operation. We have made a lot of
progress in certain areas, such as the examples I have used in
describing the Maryland program. Another area where we have
improved a lot in recent years is the Federal sponsored highway
program. We are happy with the progress being made. And we are
also working hard to see that progress continues and in fact,
improves.
Q: Will steps proposed by EPA require ex-
penditures that will drive small farmers from
agriculture?
A: Farmers are applying many control measures at the present time.
We expect State and areawide agencies to develop programs which
are practical and do not require a heavy investment.
Q: What part does economics play in develop-
ing best management practices for croplands
and open range land?
A: A very important part. Farmers can apply sediment control
measures and adopt management techniques only when they are
within their economic means. In some situations, financial assistance
is^available to help landowners to install these needed measures. This
assistance has been a part of USDA's program for many years. We
believe it can be a useful tool in helping to get better water quality
control measures installed on farm lands.
Q: Will we require practices controlling ero-
sion on Federal lands that are leased by the
U.S. Government for grazing of cattle and
logging?
A: Yes. Control measures that are required must be applied
wheiher the land is under public or private ownership. We have been
especially pleased with the willingness of the Forest Service to
cooperate not only with EPA, but also with State and local
governments in carrying out the water quality goals set forth in the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Q: We have had conservation efforts by the
Department of Agriculture since the 1930's.
Why haven't these efforts been sufficient to
protect water quality?
A: Early conservation-efforts have helped to protect water quality.
However, many of the early efforts in sediment control centered on
protecting the land's productive capability. Now we need to concen-
trate on those measures which will not only prevent erosion but will
also control other pollutants.
Q: Which States have regulations controlling
erosion in order to protect water?
A: Most States have regulations or ordinances that attempt to
control erosion from some types of land use. Most States are trying
to control erosion from surface mining operations and certain
types of construction activities. The States leading the way are
Maryland, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania law provides for
control of sediment from all types of land use. including agriculture.
Beginning in July 1977 farmers in that Slate will develop conserva-
tion plans for their farmlands as required under that State's Clean
Streams Law. Of course our interest is in how well the laws are
implemented. Unfortunately in some States the good intentions of
new legislation have not been fulfilled. Programs are not being
implemented. That is why we are putting so much emphasis on the
management part of the Section 208 program.
Q: In terms of cleaning up the Nation's waste.
EPA placed its first emphasis on controlling
pollution from cities and industries. Why was
this?
A: The Act set a very tight deadline on municipal and industrial
point sources of pollution. We responded to meet that deadline and
have been quite successful. In the nonpoint source area Congress
recognized that the problem was more complex and some time
must be spent to get a better idea of the size of the problem and to
come up with new ideas on how to tackle nonpoint source
pollution. This is being done through the Section 208 water quality
management programs currently under way. State and local govern-
ments have the major responsibility for carrying out a nonpoint
source program. I think States are especially pivotal in this
program and we will do ail we can to assure their success.
Q: What general program is EPA pursuing to
deal with soil and other nonpoint source pollu-
tion?
A: We are working with the States and local governments to help
them determine these controls for themselves. They are to develop
the best management practices appropriate for their situation and
decide how they can best get'these applied. We are working with the
existing organizations and agencies to use delivery systems that are
already in operation as much as possible. We will continue to provide
management assistance to the States and 208 agencies and grant
funds where they are needed to get the job completed. Another
important task that we have is to coordinate activities of other
Federal agencies who can also help us to get the job done.
Q: How serious is the water pollution stem-
ming from range and croplands?
A: Sediment and the related pollutants that come from range and
cropland are very significant. The majority of these pollutants
come from cropland planted to row crops such as cotton, corn and
soybeans. As I stated earlier, our estimate is that as much as 50%
of the 4 billion tons of sediment reaching our streams each year
come from agricultural land. Since the average amount of cropland
in the U.S. is expected to increase in the future, the water quality
problems from sediment and erosion will become greater unless we
take pollution control measures now.
Q: What steps will EPA be fostering to
achieve control of agricultural pollution?
A: EPA will be supporting an agricultural pollution control pro-
gram with several elements. First is the need to have broad farm
community support. A strong information and education program
will be needed. We also have to continue to support management
assistance that farmers are now receiving, such as through their
local soil and water conservation districts. The biggest task is to
assure that State and local agencies developing 208 programs come
up with practical programs we can quickly implement. Where
needed, we will encourage State and local agencies to acquire the
needed regulatory programs to assure that the needed control
measures are established.
Q: With the increased pressure to grow more
food crops isn't there a danger that land with
the most erodable soil will now be farmed?
What can be done about this?
A: Definitely. This has already happened. In the early 1970's,
when demand and price of farm products went up, a lot of land that
was in grass and trees was planted to corn or wheat or soybeans;
land that was very erodable. What can be done about this? We
don't want to restrict the farmer's freedom to respond to the
market demands. We do want the States and areawide 208 agencies
to identify the best management practices that are needed and
develop a program to assure that appropriate control measures are
established. •
PAGE 7
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IWMK-POEST
IHMJATHKV
Most of EPA's actions to control water
pollution have dealt with reducing pol-
lutants at the points where they are dis-
charged: sewer outfalls and factory waste-
pipes.
But waterways are also degraded bj) pollu-
tion from spread-out, diffuse areas that have
no discrete points of discharge. Rainwater
falls on land and drains downward to the
nearest stream, picking up silt and dissolved
material as it goes.
Much of such pollution is natural and ines-
capable. It has been going on for millions of
years, eroding mountains, creating ferule bot-
tom land, and salting the sea. When man
interferes with the natural plant cover on the
land, however, the amount of silt washed into
the rivers increases and new hazardous pollu-
tants are added to the runoff: pesticides and
nutrients from farmland and residential areas,
poisonous heavy metal compounds from city
streets, dily wastes and chemicals -from in-
dustries.
EPA 6fficials estimate that 50 percent of all
water pollution comes generally from such
"non-point" sources. It is harder to control
than that from point sources. We cannot—
and don't want to—stop the rain from fall-
ing. But we can take steps to reduce the
damage from rainwater runoff (and wind-
blown dust) whenever we try to alter the
land.
The first of five guidance documents for
non-point source pollution control was pub-
lished in December by the Office of Water
Planning and Standards. The I !7-page illus-
trated book, compiled by Robert E. Thron-
son. Project Officer, concentrates on con-
struction activities: controlling pollution from
highway and bridge building, real estate de-
velopments, industrial parks, airports, etc.
Similar documents will be published soon
on nonpoint source pollution control for for-
estry, agriculture, mining, and stream altera-
tion.
These guidance documents are not EPA
regulations, Thronson said, but aids to State
and local environmental agencies—especially
the areawide water quality planning bodies
that operate under Section 208 of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act—in identifying
and solving their local problems with non-
point source pollution.
There are now 176 regional agencies in 52
States and territories that are engaged in the
208 planning program, using $217 million in
EPA grants.
Construction activities are a major cause of
runaway runoff, Thronson said, affecting
about 1.6 million acres of land each year. If
no erosion control measures are taken, from
35 to 1,000 tons of soil can wash off in a year
from an acre of land cleared for building
purposes. Sediment from construction sites
contributes an estimated 7 percent of the
annual silt load in American rivers.
The downstream damage from such sedi-
ment includes the filling up of reservoirs,
harm to aquatic life, clogging of navigation
channels, flooding, and increased costs for
treating river water used for drinking.
Other pollutants beside sediment can be
carried by runoff from construction sites:
petroleum compounds improperly stored,
pesticides, and fertilizers used for cover
plantings, and a variety of industrial chemi-
cals associated with construction machinery.
The best control lies in preventive planning
that is tailored to each site, its geography and
contours. Such methods try to: (!) limit the
time that ground is laid bare to rainfall; (2)
cover and hold soii in place by mulches,
mats, or fast growing grasses; (3) construct
drains at shallow angles to slow down run-
off; and (4) create barriers, embankments,
catch basins, and other devices to hold
sediment on the site.
All these methods are good engineering
practices, long known to builders but not
always used to best advantage.
The EPA report summarizes these prac-
tices and illustrates most of them with
photos or drawings. Many different Federal
agencies and private civil engineering groups
have contributed to their development. The
Department of Agriculture's Soil Conserva-
tion Service has developed ways to predict
soil loss for different types of soil, land
grades, and rainfall conditions. The National
Weather Service provides data on the rain or
snow that may be expected in any area, and.
of particular interest, the maximum storms
that can occur. Ground water information is
available from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Other pertinent information is culled from
publications of the Federal Highway Service
and various engineering bodies.
The guidance document is not itself a tech-
nical manual, but for all the pollution control
methods it lists, detailed references are given
where planners can obtain more specific in-
formation.
Good housekeeping and common sense are
the keys to keeping pollution to a minimum
at construction sites, Thronson said.
Oils, chemicals, fertilizers, once they get
dissolved in runoff water or attached to fine-
grained sediments, will pass through all sedi-
ment control barriers and reach the down-
stream waterway. Proper storage and careful
use of these pollutants by the builders is
essential to reduce their potential for envi-
ronmental damage.
Keeping silt and sediment on the site to the
greatest extent possible is simply good engi-
neering. No road builder wants his embank-
ments and supports washed downstream. No
real estate developer wants to lose all his
topsoil.
Only a builder who was very short-sighted
would regard saving the soil as a burdensome
cost, said Thronson. Sediment control costs
vary widely according to the type of land
involved, the kind of construction, and natu-
ral erosion rates. Recent data from devel-
opers and contractors in Maryland and Cali-
fornia indicate that the average cost at
residential sites is 51,125 per acre. Control
actions included here are sediment collection
basins, diversion barriers, sodded ditches,
seeding, and straw mulch. For industrial and
commercial development the cost would tend
to be higher, Thronson said.
But the value can be immense. More than
$125 million is spent each year to dredge
sediment from harbors and waterways. An
unknown but substantial portion of this
dredging could be prevented. Sediment in
reservoirs accounts for about $100 million
worth of lost capacity each year for hydro-
power, water supply, flood control, and rec-
reation.
PAGES
-------
Tractor and equipment partly covered by
drifting soil during the Dust Bowl days
in Oklahoma.
Erosion and flood waters ruin a new high-
wav near Morrison, Colo.
And at the local community level, sediment
deposited on streets from construction proj-
ect runoff costs about $8 per cubic yard to
remove, and 8 to 10 times that much for
sediment removal from sewer pipes and
basements.
Sixteen States have sediment control laws
that apply to construction. Most of them
require prior approval of a control plan for
the work. The guidance document follows
the general format of these State laws.
The document. "Non-point Source Pollu-
tion Control Guidance—Construction Ac-
tivities." may be obtained from the Office
of Water Planning and Standards, Non-
point Sources Branch, WH-554, EPA,
Washington, D.C. 20460. •
PAGE 9
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FARMING
A relatively new farming technique that
reduces the amount of plowing of fields
is saving money for farmers and is helping to
conserve America's soil and reduce water
pollution.
KPA is encouraging use of this approach in
water quality management plans being devel-
oped by State agencies under Section 208 of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
The Agency offers technical assistance to
State and local 208 planners, and grants funds
for the development of plans that will cut
pollution.
"Minimum or no-till farming methods will
certainly be one of the best management
practices adopted at the local level in many
Section 208 water quality programs." said
Joe Krivak, Chief of KPA's Nonpoint
Sources Branch.
To succeed, this method requires a special
planter. The advantages of reduced tillage
can include up to a 95 percent reduction in
soil lost through erosion, according to I,eon
Kimherlin. chief agronomist with the Soil
Conservation Service (SCS). "Reduced til-
lage also otters great benefits in reduction of
energy use." he said. "No-till farming can
save over 50 percent of the fuel used by a
farmer's tractor."
Krivak indicated that many progressive
farmers have been using some form of mini-
mum tillage for a number of years, and there
is ample evidence that the practice has re-
sulted in less erosion and sediment.
Reduced tillage is being used in an Idaho
project that is credited by SCS officials with
cutting erosion by 75 to 90 percent. EPA
has granted $95.000 to the project, through
the State of Idaho, to monitor the effective-
ness of the management practices being
used, '('he project stems, in part, from a
sediment control institute sponsored by
I-.PA. From 1972 to 1974 such institutes
were held in 4(1 States under Water Planning
Division grants to the National Association
of Conservation Districts.
A farmer who practices no-till farming
doesn't plow the fields in the traditional
manner. Instead of plowing, harrowing,
planting, and cultivating, the no-till farmer
j&f/.-f. : i -«A*
•'•*•'' ' ' A'i'- *>~"-'^
uses a machine that plants through existing
plant cover and previous crop residues. The
planter opens a narrow slot, deposits the
seed, and closes the opening in the same
operation. The residue of the previous crop
or cover crop form a protective mulch to
hold the soil in place.
In another variation, called strip tillage, the
farmer uses a machine that tills only the
narrow strips in the rows that are planted.
leaving the areas between the row strips
covered with mulch. Less bare earth is ex-
posed to the ravages of wind and rain, so
erosion is cut by a considerable amount.
Reduced tillage, whether no-till or sirip till.
uses fewer man and machine hours to pro-
duce a crop. It also preserves the soil struc-
ture against compaction that can result from
many trips of heavy machinery traveling
over the fields.
The protective mulch can be cornstalks.
soybean stubble, small grain residues or the
existing sod of grasses and legumes. The
mulch conserves moisture, and keeps the soil
Corn making rapid growth after being
planted in wheat stubble. Competing weeds
were killed with herbicides at planting time.
cool during the summer months. Mulch how-
ever, can be the source of some problems as
well, as it can harbor insect pests.
Farmers who use reduced tillage must rely
on increased amounts of pesticides and herbi-
cides to kill insects and to reduce weed
competition. This results in increased levels
of chemicals in the drainage from these
fields.
Krivak cautioned against considering the
practice as a cure-all. "It is only one of
many practices that can be used, and it does
not work for all soils." he stated. The EPA
official indicated that he also believes more
information is needed on the total environ-
PACil- HI
-------
Soybeans being planted in field which has
not been plowed.
mental effects of minimum tillage, since the
effects of the additional pesticide application
usually required have not been evaluated.
Kimberlin agrees that "we do need to learn
more about the effects of reduced tillage on
the environment, but it is a very promising
practice, if we can work out some of the
minor problems."
Who uses reduced tillage'.' The Coopera-
tive Extension Service of the University
of Maryland at College Park reports that
many Maryland farmers find it beneficial for
their soybean and corn crops. Extension
Agronomist Joseph L. Newcomer cites these
reasons as given most often by farmers using
the no-till practices. I. Yields more income.
1. Makes farming easier. 3. After a heavy
rain or thunderstorm, the streams run clear.
4. In hot. dry summers no-till corn does
better than conventional corn with the same
rainfall. 5. Fewer trips over the field and
reduced fuel costs,
T.H. Secor. an SCS official working with
the Metro-Washington Council of Govern-
ments, says that in the Washington area some
80-90 percent of the farmers are using re-
duced tillage because of the economic incen-
tives it offers. "We like to think it's because
our farmers are more progressive," he said.
"But they also save time and fuel. It helps
them to cope with the shortage of labor and
the high price of land."
Kimberlin estimates that 40 million acres of
farmland in the U.S. now benefit from re-
duced tillage. "No-till is applied in most
States when soybeans, corn, cotton, small
grains, and grain sorghums are grown." It is
especially adapted to well-drained soils and
sloping cropland where erosion presents the
greatest problem.
"There are over 200 million acres of this
kind of land in the U.S.." he continued.
"Some problems with reduced tillage have
developed on wetter sites where poorly
drained soil is slower to warm in spring. This
delays planting. There have been problems
with wheat crops in the Northwest, and corn
on the colder wetter soils."
A windfall of the reduced tillage method is
the energy savings it can produce. In addition
to cutting a large part of farmers' fuel con-
sumption by elimination of additional tractor
runs across fields in plowing, this technique
saves energy on fertilizer production.
Fertilizer accounts for 23 percent of farm-
related energy consumption. It takes 33,000
cubic feet of natural gas to make one ton of
ammonia for nitrogen fertilizer. Agronomists
estimate that approximately 10 pounds of
nitrogen are lost in every ton of soil that
washes away from farmland. By cutting soil
losses, farmers are also saving energy for
other needs. •
PAGE 11
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HELPING
POTATO FARMS
by Al Heier
The highway sign, "Aroostook County,"
brings the early summer visitor to a
gently rolling countyside alive with tiny white
blooms on plants carefully placed in row
upon row and acre after acre of roadside
fields, in this far northern county of Maine,
the visitor has come upon a "Potato Em-
pire" of the East. Here, in a small river basin
are produced approximately 90— 95 percent of
all potatoes grown in the State. Here too is
found one of the most serious soil erosion
problems in Maine. Some of this fertile po-
tato-producing soil loses up to 85 tons of soil
per acre per year.
The effects of heavy rill and sheet erosion
are evidenced by the turbidity in the Aroos-
took River which flows through the "Garden
of Maine." To help deal with this problem,
the Governor has designated an area in East
Central Aroostook County for a special
water quality planning and management pro-
gram. Funded by a U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency grant, the Northern Maine
Regional Planning Commission was selected
in 1975 to carry out a comprehensive plan-
ning effort to find a solution to the erosion
problem.
Called a "208 Area," so named after Sec-
tion 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act, the Aroostook County program is
under "one of the most dynamic, aggressive
and innovative 208 agencies in the country,"
said Don Smith, EPA's Region 1 project
officer for this planning effort.
Located in the most densely populated por-
tion of the county, the designated 208 area
includes two cities. Caribou and Presque
Isle, plus seven towns and farms in the
281,000 acre-study areas. Of these 103,000
acres are intensely farmed cropland, with
most of the remainder in a natural wooded
state. Seven potato processing plants provide
industrial employment for a major part of the
population. Total urban and rural population
in the 1970 census was 34,842.
Heier is a Headquarters Public Affairs
Officer.
The cropland runoff has numerous conse-
quences: roads and roadside ditches have
occasional maintenance problems from the
eroded silt; the Aroostook River collects
much of the sediment which destroys aquatic
bottom habitats; the downstream drinking
water supplies for the city of Caribou need
additional water treatment facilities to clean
up turbid waters; silt destroys the trout
spawning beds and reduces the number of
trout that thrive further up stream in less
turbid waters.
The economy of the community is predomi-
nately dependent upon potato production and
processing. The average per acre production
is approximately 240 one hundred pound bags
of potatoes. A more competitive and fluctuat-
ing market together with rapidly increasing
farm costs have forced more intensified farm-
ing in the basin.
Due to the short growing season, 115— 120
days, the soil is left barren during the winter
months, increasing the possibility of excessive
erosion during heavy spring rains. Potatoes
are a row crop, which is also conducive to
erosion.
"Conservation practices of farming in this
area are not widely implemented," said
Karen Cathey, a planner working with the
208 Agency. "A large number of farmers are
living hand to mouth," she continued, "mak-
ing it very difficult in the short run for the
tanner to adopt crop rotation practices which
would solve some of the problems."
The number of farms within the 208 area
have decreased from 1,900 farms in 1954
to 500 larger consolidated farms today. The
introduction of bigger farm machinery re-
quires planting in longer straight rows, not
conducive to reducing runoff. "They try to
get every ounce of production out of the
land," remarked Cathey. Because of the im-
mediate economics of potato growing,
"farmers take a short view" of some of the
effective conservation methods such as more
rotation cropping, diversion ditches, and
planting grass on waterway banks, she stated.
Such practices often take land out of row
crop production and this is regarded as being
economically unfavorable. Approximately
two-thirds of the farmland is planted an-
nually in row crops for raising potatoes as
well as some sugarbeets.
The Northern Maine Regional Planning
Commission has conducted a detailed soil
loss study by making field surveys on each of
the farms in the 208 area. Soil loss was
determined by the slope, amount of rainfall,
soil type, and methods of cultivation. This
study showed an average annual soil loss of
7.56 tons per acre of cropland. Two percent
of the land showed a loss of between 50 and
100 tons per acre; 1.6 percent is in the 25— 50
ton category; 17.5 percent in the 10 to 25 ton
range; 57.9 percent in the 3 to 10 ton figure;
and approximately one fifth or 22.7 percent is
in the more acceptable 0-3 ton category.
"The real danger lies in allowing these condi-
tions to persist, causing not only water degra-
dation but also a reduction in the economic
base for viable economic commodity," noted
a report from the Commission.
The soil ioss study will assist the 208 plan-
ning agency to make a determination of
future land treatment necessary to reduce
soil erosion.
Presently, the rates of eroded sediments
entering into the two major waterways, the
Aroostook River and the Prestile Stream
have not been determined. A Commission
study on the Libby Brook watersheds in the
town of Fort Fairfield, located on the East-
ern side of the 208 area bordering New
Brunswick, showed that 17 percent of the
soil loss entered the Brook. Much of the
.eroded soil ends up covering adjacent land or
in nearby wooded areas. While the study on
Libby Brook, a tributary of the Aroostook
River, cannot be generalized for the entire
208 planning area, it is conservatively esti-
mated that over 117,000 tons of soil annually
reach the brooks, streams and River in Cen-
tral Aroostook County.
Another study of the Commission substanti-
ates the economic dangers of continued soil
loss. Aerial photographs taken over a period
of years show that bedrock outcrops in the
tilled soils are enlarging. A significant part of
a decrease in potato production in the area is
due to loss of critical top soil. Since the '50's,
Maine has ranked second to Idaho in total
PAGE 12
-------
Ditch carries soil-laden drainage from Maine potato field.
potato production.
A land use study conducted by the North-
ern Maine Regional Planning Commission in
1975 showed an estimated 29,400 acres of
farmland in the 20X area have become idle in
the past seven to 10 years. The predominant
reason lor this land becoming idle is ihe lack
of fertile soil for growing cultivated crops,
particularly potatoes. Other reasons tor aban-
donment include: small tracts of once pro-
ductive soils are now uneconomical to man-
age with todays larger equipment; land held
for speculation or sold to non-farmers; soils
on steep slopes difficult to farm with the
larger machinery; the shallow to bedrock
conditions which are not suited to heavy
farm equipment, and soils with poor drain-
age. It is estimated that 6,000 acres of this
land could be brought back into production
quite easily. Much of the remaining produc-
tive acreage would be difficult to bring back
into cultivation with today's economic condi-
tions and the tanner's reluctance to manage
small tracts.
The two-year study of the Aroostook River
20S area began in late 1975. A continuous
effort is being made to get farmers involved.
and several farmers are included in all the
20S planning committees. Farm organi/a-
tions, county, and State agricultural agencies
are all engaged in selecting the Best Manage-
ment Practices necessary for controlling the
erosion.
Since the planning effort of the Commission
is not complete final proposals are not
known. However, to maintain a \iable ami-
cultural economy and clean up Ihe waters.
the need for increased use oi cultural and
structural conservation practices is evident.
One such practice, crop rotation, includes
potato production for two years, a grain crop
the third year, a hay or legume the fourth
year, followed by potatoes. This program
provides some winter and early spring mulch
cover, replaces needed nutrients and adds
liber to alleviate some of the erosion. Con-
trol ol erosion to a tolerable level in the
Aroostook County 20S area will depend upon
many factors including economic resources
and incentives as well as possible soil loss
restrictions. •
PAGK 13
-------
DREDGING
Each year millions of tons of dredged and
fill materials are disposed of in U.S.
waters. These materials usually consist of
sediment, clay, rock, and other earthen .sub-
stances. When carelessly discharged they can
destroy productive, natural systems like tidal
salt marshes; block migratory paths of fish
like salmon: suffocate small organisms which
dwell on the soft sea bottom, or carry toxic
substances into the surrounding waters.
To help deal with this problem, EPA and
the Army Corps of Engineers have formed
a joint committee—the Technical Commit-
tee on Criteria for Dredged and Fill Mate-
rial—to develop improved methods for eval-
uating the environmental impact of the
disposal of dredged materials.
Dr. Frank G. Wilkes. Chief of the Process
and Effects Branch at EPA's Environmental
Research Laboratory, Gulf Breeze. Fla.. is
its co-chairman, along with Dr. Robert M.
Engler of the Corps' Waterways Experiment
Station. Vicksburg, Miss.
Last month, the Technical Committee re-
leased iis firs! annual report, documenting its
uork toward the development of an "Imple-
mentation Manual." The Manual will revise
and update interim guidance promulgated by
the Corps in May. 1976. entitled "Ecological
Evaluation of Proposed Discharge of
Dredged or Fill Materials into Navigable
Waters." l! will provide improved methods
lo the Corps' District Engineers for making
environmentally sound decisions about the
A dredge, rlcai'iiifi u channel lo keep il
na\'ifitihli>. sends sediment pushing from a
[lipt'Hnt' iiniu a litinl di.i/)osal urea.
disposal of dredged and fill material.
To bring the Implementation Manual into
circulation as quickly as possible, sections of
it will be released as completed, after appro-
priate EPA and Corps review. The first such
release is expected to be in July.
The annual report designates the following
sections of the Manual as the three highest
priorities for immediate development:
1A method for predicting the effect of
dredged material on sea-bottom life. An-
imals that dwell on the sea bottom, called
benthic organisms, often play a vital role in
aquatic ecosystems. The Committee's annual
report stales, "perhaps the single largest
unanswered concern about dredged material
disposal is the effect over many months on
animals living in or on the deposited mate-
rials." A variety of tests, called benthic orga-
nism bioassays, will be included in the final
manual. Each test will be designed to esti-
mate effects under various circumstances.
2 A method for analyzing dredged mate-
rial for contaminants. Sediment may
contain such contaminants as heavy metals,
pesticides, and other harmful substances.
Through dredging and dumping activities,
these pollutants may be released into the
water. Currently, there are no manuals with
detailed procedures for analyzing dredged
materials for contaminants. According to
the annual report, the Committee is there-
fore developing such procedures to be incor-
porated in the final Manual.
3 A method for identifying the boundaries
of wetlands. In order to learn the limits
of the Government's authority in regulating
the disposal of dredged material, the Com-
mittee is attempting to determine the bounda-
ries of all wetlands in the United States.
Wetlands are often surrounded by geographi-
cal areas which, like wetlands, support dis-
tinctive plant life. Such areas are called tran-
sition zones. The report states'that "these
zones . . . are poorly defined and are likely
to be the areas most contested as to their
identity as wetlands or non-wetlands. Criteria
are needed to describe and determine the
extent of transition zones around each type
of wetland."
Federal authority for regulating dredging
activities is contained in the provisions of
two Acts. Section 404 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act establishes a permit
system for the discharge of dredged or fill
materials into navigable waters. The permits
are issued by the Secretary of the Army,
acting through the Chief of Engineers. The
EPA Administrator is charged with the de-
velopment of guidelines for specifying the
disposal sites of such materials.
Similarly, Section 103 of the Marine Protec-
tion, Research, and Sanctuaries Act estab-
lishes a Corps-administered permit system
for ocean dumping of dredged and fill mate-
rials. The Secretary of the Army must deter-
mine that such dumping will not "unreasona-
bly degrade or endanger human health.
welfare, or amenities, or the marine environ-
ment, ecological systems, or economic poten-
tialities." The EPA Administrator must con-
cur in this conclusion.
"The Technical Committee was formed as
it became evident that there was a need to
coordinate the research being conducted by
EPA and the Corps on the environmental
impact of dredged material disposal," Dr.
Wilkes said. "The Committee serves as a
focal point for coordinating and disseminating
such research required by Federal law."
Other personnel on the Technical Commit-
tee include Drs. Paul Lefcourt and Donald
Phelps, Environmental Research Laboratory,
Narragansett, R.I.; Dr. William Brungs. En-
vironmental Research Laboratory. Duiuth,
Minn.; Dr. Michael D. Mullin, Large Lake
Field Station, Grosse He, Mich.; Dr. Harold
V. Kibby, Environmental Research Labora-
tory. Corvallis, Ore.; Dr. Mark Carter, Re-
gion V, and Mr. William S. Davis, headquar-
ters.
Copies of the Technical Committee's first
annual report can be obtained by writing Dr.
Frank G. Wilkes. Environmental Research
Laboratory, Gulf Breeze, Fla. 32561 •
PAGE 14
-------
LOANS TO REDUCE
FARM POUJCWOST
Farmers throughout the Nation are now
eligible to receive water pollution control
loans. These loans will help farmers to meet
nonpoint pollution control requirements es-
tablished by State water quality planning and
management programs established under
Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act of 1972.
These requirements may be met by employ-
ing a variety of conservation measures, such
as the planting of grass along waterways and
construction of irrigation ditches and debris
basins.
Non-point sources of pollution are caused
by rainfall runoff from farms and forests and
erosion at construction sites and mines. The
six general types of non-point source pollu-
tion associated with farming are sediments,
nutrients, pesticides, organic materials, sa-
linity, and microorganisms.
Prior to June 4, 1976, when amendments to
the Small Business Investment Act were
passed by Congress, farmers could not ob-
tain these loans. These amendments also
permit water pollution facilities, such as la-
goons and equipment necessary for no-till
farming, to be financed through the issuance
of industrial revenue bonds.
These bonds, which may be issued by a
State or other political subdivision, are ex-
empt from Federal income tax. Furthermore,
these loans may be guaranteed by the Small
Business Administration.
The water pollution control loan program
was established on August 16. 1974. This
program, a joint venture of EPA and the
Small Business Administration, allows for
loans to be made to "any small business
concern" which is "likely to suffer substan-
tial economic injury" in meeting water pol-
lution control requirements without Federal
assistance. Loans may be made for "addi-
tions to or alterations of the equipment,
facilities or methods of operation . . . neces-
sary and adequate to comply" with the Act.
Under the current provisions of the Act.
farmers, including corporate and partner-
ship farms, are eligible for loans if their
gross annual sales do not exceed S275.000.
The loans, at 6Vn percent, may be paid back
over a maximum of 30 years. Funds come
from the Small Business Administration
after FPA certifies the projects' environ-
mental values.
Each EPA regional office distributes in-
*>r»'irif! run-oft on a plowed field on a
Wisconsin farm.
formation on the loan program to permit
applicants. Materials are also distributed by
county agricultural agents. More than 65
trade, professional, and farm journals have
featured material concerning the loan pro-
gram. Speaking engagements have also been
extensively used.
Sheldon Sacks, EPA coordinator of the
program, tries to find those individuals spe-
cifically affected by pollution control require-
ments. Television programs, such as " Down
to Earth." sponsored by the Department of
Agriculture, and various radio spots also
publicize the program.
Other Federal agencies also make loans to
farmers to meet pollution abatement re-
quirements. The Agricultural Stabilization
and Conservation Service's cost sharing
program provides funds to fanners for con-
trolling animal waste pollution and for land
conservation operations.
These practices utilize the engineering
plans developed by the Soil Conservation
Service. The Federal share of this program
may vary from 50 to 75 percent of the cost,
up to a limit of $2,500 in a given year.
Pollution abatement practices have to meet
appropriate State pollution control require-
ments. •
PAGE 15
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Continued from page 3
Q: What is your view on how EPA's en-
forcement program should be conducted?
A: 3 believe in vigorous but fair enforcement. 3 ran a very tough
enforcement program in Connecticut, but we were never open to
the charge that we had failed to do our homework or that we had
been arbitrary or unfair. 1 think our credibility turns in large
measure on the people whom we regulaie knowing thai we mean
business. I think we will also increasingly see an equity issue. An
increasing number of companies that are subject to our regulations
have been making good faith efforts to comply with very tough
standards. As the number of these companies grows, the unfair
advantage which the recalcitrant few enjoy gets harder to justify
under even ordinary principles of administrative justice.
I would hope that this Agency always will have the reputation of
being tough but fair enforcers of the law, and of knowing what
we're doing before we do it.
Q: Does EPA need more regulations?
A: I don't think that EPA's work ought to be measured in terms of
the number of regulations we issue. Our organic legislation deter-
mines the number and kind of regulations we promulgate. Ulti-
mately we're going to be judged on whether our regulations make
any sense, and whether they deal fairly and effectively with the
problems they're intended to address. We have an overriding
responsibility to be clear, concise, and straightforward in our
regulations. And we need to bear in mind that you cannot fashion a
set of rules that will anticipate every situation that will arise, and
that a "rule book" cannot be used as a ritual substitute for
common sense judgment.
"... environmental protection is . . .
a necessary precondition for energy
development."
Q: Do you believe ciiizen involvement in
EPA activity is desirable?
A: 1 believe citizen involvement is an enormous source of creative
energy, which this Agency cannot afford to neglect. To gain citizen
support 1 would like to see EPA have the reputation for being the
most fonhright and candid of Government agencies.
I'll go back to what 1 said before. If the average citizen of this
country doesn't understand what we're doing, why we're doing it,
we will not long have their consent to act in their behalf. Only by
actively involving citizens in what we do can we hope to have the
necessary public support.
Q: How do you perceive EPA's role in the
President's energy program?
A: I believe that for too long environmental concern has been
portrayed as an obstacle to energy development. This Administra-
tion, in contrast, believes that environmental protection is not an
obstacle but merely a necessary precondition for energy develop-
ment.
EPA has the responsibility to speak for the environmental side
within the councils of government. At the same time, to the extent
that we are perceived as always coming to the debate carrying a
narrow advocacy brief, our advice will be discounted.
I will not hesitate to be an advocate, but 1 think the strength and
persuasiveness of our advocacy rests on a broad perspective that is
inherent in the environmental movement. The environmental
movement cannot afford to be perceived as just another special
interest group. Environmentalists have succeeded to date where
(hey have been able lo show that the real nature of their concern is
how everything is related to everything else. I think it's important
that we keep that in mind.
Q: Will EPA be different under the Carter
administration?
A: For the first time since this Agency was created, we now have
a President who cares deeply about this issue. I think the White
House will come to be perceived as the hill up which those who
resist environmental considerations must, like Sisyphus, roll the
rock.
I think the President understands very deeply, appreciates very
deeply, the need to preserve and protect the environment. When
you think about it, we survive in a very fragile system. The first
few feet of the crust of the Earth, the water on the surface of the
Earth and a few miles of atmosphere represent a narrow band
containing the requisites for our very survival.
I think the first photographs that were taken from manned space
flight showing the globe against the black void of space have left an
indelible impression on everyone and will for future generations.
Those photographs just drove home the fact that we must live
within the limits of our own life support system, and that ecological
foresight is imperative if we're to guarantee survival of our species.
Q: At present staffing and budget levels, will
EPA be able to meet its responsibilities?
A: EPA has been working under severe resource constraints.
President Carter recognized that and gave us some relief in the '78
budget. That relief included 600 new positions and authority to
begin staffing in advance of the start of the fiscal year.
He also left the door open for us to come back if we are able to
demonstrate that our needs are critical.
The burden of persuasion is clearly on us, but I feel the President
will be a fair and sensitive judge of our needs. I might point out
that we were given very generous relief, when measured against
that given to other agencies, which also have real and legitimate
needs.
Q: What new Federal legislation, if any. do
you feel is needed to ensure proper environ-
mental protection of our Nation?
A: I'm not in a position to say right now that we need new Federal
legislation. 1 will not hesitate to ask for it if 1 perceive a need in the
future, but I am impressed with the fact that we have an enor-
mously wide-ranging legislative authority. 1 think that we have an
urgent need to consolidate that authority, employ it. and seek
refinements when experience suggests they're needed.
Q: What role should EPA play in the global
pollution control effort now being made by
the UN and other international organiza-
tions?
A: EPA has a vital .role to play in the international arena. This
country has stepped out ahead on environmental protection issues.
Other industrialized nations are looking to us for guidance. They
see us as an example and are eager to profit from our experience.
Pollution problems are not limited to national boundaries. We
cannot effectively deal with the fluorocarbon issue, for example,
without effective international agreements. I think we're obliged to
seek those agreements.
Q: In addition to its statutory responsibili-
ties, does EPA, in your judgment, have a
broader responsibility to help give leadership
to the environmental aspirations of our soci-
ety?
A: I can't emphasize enough the importance of EPA's role in
educating the public. Public support turns on our credibility, and
our credibility in large measure turns on how effective we are at
educating the public in language that they can understand. •
PAGE 16
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ENVIRONMENTAL ALMANAC
A GLIMPSE OF THE NATURAL WORLD WE HELP PROTECT
APRIL
HOLDING THE EARTH
TOGETHER
A golf ball rolls along the lush,
^*-clipped putting green and
drops into the 18th hole at a Pebble
Beach, Calif., country club as the
winning tournament golfer turns to
receive the cheers of thousands of
spectators.
A nimble goat bounds up a rock
and nibbles at the tuft of green
growing in a crevice far above the
timber line of the snowcapped
Himalaya mountains.
A huge reaping machine moves
ponderously through the seemingly
endless Kansas wheat field stretch-
ing to the horizon in one windswept
wave after another.
A python slithers down -a giant
bamboo tree in Southeast Asia and
wraps itself around an unsuspect-
ing fawn grazing below.
All these diverse settings have in
common the most wildly distrib-
uted plant family in the world—the
grasses. They occupy all parts of
the earth and far exceed any other
plant in the number of individuals.
While bamboo, the largest of the
grasses, forms extensive forests
and jungles, grasses are generally
low and relatively inconspicuous
such as the plants growing on the
lawns of most houses.
The primary form of food is
grass. Wheat, corn, oats, rye, bar-
ley, rice, and sugarcane are some
of the food-producing grasses
which make this plant family the
most important to man. Grasses
also provide the fodder for our
livestock.
Yet often overlooked is the serv-
ice grass provides by holding the
earth together with its tenacious
root system. Strip the land of its
grasses and erosion would choke all
our rivers with silt.
The following assessment of the
role of grass was made by the late
Agnes Chase, custodian of grasses
in the Smithsonian's National Mu-
seum and a famed authority in her
field:
"Grass made it possible for the
human race to abandon cave life
and follow herds. Civilization was
based on grass, everywhere in the
world."
Grasses have achieved their suc-
cess because of their ability to
thrive under almost all conditions
and to their usually abundant seed
crop and its wide dispersal.
The flowers of most grasses are
minute and borne on tiny bran-
chlets. If insects were necessary to
pollinate these flowers and produce
fertile seeds, the grasses would
require showy or fragrant blossoms
to attract the bees and other polli-
nators. However, these grasses
have no need for attractive flowers
since they are pollinated by the
blind wind.
Their seeds are also carried
widely by the wind and have been
collected by planes thousands of
feet in the sky as they are swept to
new locations. Still other grass
seeds have needlelike points which
attach themselves to the clothing of
man or the hair of animals. Man
unknowingly has transported some
grasses to new territories.
Bermuda-grass, for example, is
one of the African grasses that
were used for bedding for slaves or
as feed for animals carried in the
slave ships. Grasses have often
spread along trade routes and
sometimes enter new countries
when their seed is inadvertently
mixed with imported seeds of an-
other plant.
One of the many valuable func-
tions performed by grass is the
converting of stretches of marsh-
land into fertile farmland. Cord-
grass has built meadowland on
many mud flats and estuaries.
Much of tidewater Virginia was
built up by cordgrass.
Grasses also help to keep in
place the sand dunes along the
north Atlantic coast and the south-
ern end of Lake Michigan.
If unchecked, the upper and
driest sand on the windward side
of the dune blows over the leeward
side. As a result, (lie dune could
be moved a few inches to a few
feet in a year.
However, beach grasses can
check the wind and catch the
windborne sand before it travels
farther.
When a man dies, his grave is
covered by a blanket of grass. His
remains then help nourish grass,
man's primary form of food. So in
the endless and circling tide of
nature,all flesh is indeed grass.-C.D.P.
PAGE 17
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AROUND
THE
NATION
smoke crackdown
Region 1 has started enforcement actions
against the Boston Edison Co. for air pollu-
tion violations at three of its generating plants
in [he metropolitan area: the Mystic Station
in Everett, and the New Boston and L Street
Stations in South Boston.
An administrative order concerning two gen-
erating units of the Mystic Station, which has
a long history of visible smoke violations.
listed three options Boston Edison might take
to achieve compliance. Further violations
could lead to Federal court action, a Re-
gional Office spokesman said.
The Region has also directed the company to
upgrade or replace smoke monitoring devices
at all three stations. The three sources emit
more than 4,000 tons of particulates per year
and are among the largest sources of panicu-
late pollution in Metropolitan Boston.
radioactive waste
Although there are no immediate hazards to
health or the environment at a disused burial
site for radioactive wastes in upstate New
York, remedial action will be needed in the
future to forestall such hazards.
This was the conclusion of recent studies by
Region II officials and State authorities at
the site near West Valley, about 30 miles
south of Buffalo.
About 1.8 million cubic feet of waste material
containing more than 300,000 curies of low-
level radioactivity were buried at West Valley
from 1963 to 1975. The privately owned
facility was closed in 1975 by New York
officials after it was found that some radioac-
tive materials had seeped into a nearby
stream.
The report recommends that methods be
devised to keep water out of the burial
trenches and to prevent the migration of
radioactive wastes by leaching or erosion.
State officials are now studying the best
methods of doing this. "If the goal of low-
level nuclear waste disposal is 100 percent
retention of the waste for the duration of its
hazardous lifetime—300 to 1.000 years—then
in 14 years West Valley has failed . . ." said
Gerald M. Hansler, Regional Administrator.
grants management
Region HI and the State of Maryland have
agreed "in principle" to a program under
which some of the administrative responsibil-
ities of the construction grants program will
be turned over to the State.
DanielJ. Snyder 111. Regional Administra-
tor, said the move would eliminate some
duplication and improve operating efficiency.
The State would charge municipalities fees
for processing grant applications. The State
would also review facility plans, construction
contracts payment requests, user charges,
and engineering subagreements and conduct
inspections of construction.
These authorities will not be finally delegated
until EPA has determined the State's capabil-
ity to carry out the specific responsibilities.
$70,000 water fine
The Elk Refining Co., Falling Rock, W. Va.,
a division of Ftennzoil Company, has been
fined $70,000 for violating the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act.
Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr., of the South-
ern District of West Virginia, levied the
penalty after the company pleaded guilty to
16 to 17 criminal counts brought against it in
Federal Court. The firm was accused of
discharging wastewater without a permit into
the Elk River and Falling Rock Creek from
five outfalls on Feb. 24 and 25, 1975. It was
also charged with failing to notify EPA of
permit violations and to submit progress
reports.
penalty in question
A $321,000 water pollution penalty, imposed
by the Georgia Department of Natural Re-
sources last year, was appealed by the
chemical manufacturer involved, and a de-
partmental appeals committee has recom-
mended lifting the fine.
Spokesmen for EPA Region IV, Atlanta.
have protested the committee's move and
said the Agency may look into the possibility
of removing the State's discharge permit
authority. Environmentalist groups have
also protested the lifting of the fine.
The fine was levied against the American
Cyanamid Co. at Savannah. A State hearing
officerin March 1976 found thai the
company had been dumping chemical
wastes, including sulfuric acid, into the Sa-
vannah River over a three-year period. The
plant manufactures titanium dioxide, a pig-
ment used in paints.
The company appealed the fine, contending
that there was no technology available to
control the pollution. The three-member ap-
peals committee held that the Georgia de-
partment could not fine industrial polluters.
power plant ok'd
Region V has given preliminary approval to
the Wisconsin Public Service Corp. to build
PAGE 18
-------
a new generating unit at its Weston Station in
Marathon County, Wise. Regional officials
said air pollution from the station's two exist-
ing units will be reduced before the new unit
starts production in 1980. The new unit will
generate 321 megawatts, more than double
the existing capacity.
rail line defended
EPA strongly opposes a plan to abandon the
South Shore Railroad, a commuter line serv-
ing Chicago and nearby counties in Illinois
and Indiana. Regional Counsel Thomas F.
Harrison said closing passenger service on
the railroad would jeopardize Federal, State,
and local plans to control air pollution in the
Chicago metropolitan area. The area's al-
ready severe problems with air pollution
from automobiles would be increased if the
commuter line is abandoned, Harrison told a
recent hearing held by the Interstate Com-
merce Commission. Two counties in Illinois
and six in Indiana are exceeding EPA limits
for photochemical oxidants in the ambient
air, and six Illinois counties are exceeding the
Jimit for carbon monoxide, he said. "Even
the level of improvement now expected by
1980 assumes both continued operation of
the South Shore Railroad and greater control
of auto emissions than can probably be
achieved," Harrison told the hearing.
"Failure of State and local governments to
assure continued operation of the railroad
could jeopardize certification of State imple-
mentation plans (for air pollution control)
and lead to questioning of consistencies in
transportation planning by the Federal
Highway Administration."
involvement day
More than 11,000 persons attended the Citi-
zen Involvement Day program in Houston
Feb. 12 sponsored by the Jacques Cousteau
Society and the Houston Citizens' Environ-
mental Coalition.
Cousteau himself, the undersea explorer,
filmmaker, and conservationist, was the host
fora question period in the morning, in-
tended primarily for children. Other speakers
included U.S. Rep. Bob Eckhardt, State Sen.
A.R. Schwartz, and Edward H. Harte,
chairman of the board of the National Audu-
bon Society. Kyle Rote was master of
ceremonies.
Citizen Involvement Days were held lasl
year in California, Florida, and Wisconsin,
and two more are planned this year: Boston
in May and Seattle in October.
The days are non-profit events, designed to
bring concerned citizens together to learn
about the environment, discuss major issues,
and see educational exhibits. The Houston
meeting had an EPA exhibit, "Environmen-
tal Health Effects of Air Pollution," supplied
by the Agency's laboratories at Research
Triangle Park, N.C.
foreign visitors
Delegates from several western European
countries will visit St. Louis May 16 to learn
about the industrial waste exchange operated
by the St. Louis Regional Commerce and
Growth Association. The group will include
scientists and engineers participating in a
pilot study of hazardous waste management
for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's
Committee on the Challenges of Modern
Society. Waste transfer schemes for industrial
wastes have been operating for several years
in Europe, and the visitors are interested in
seeing how the St. Louis Waste Exchange,
started last year, is doing. The Exchange
links buyers and sellers of waste materials for
which no regular market exists by publishing
lists of available and wanted waste and sur-
plus material.
bike commuting
Enhancing the role of the bicycle as a com-
muting alternative is the goal of a statewide
conference scheduled for April 4 and 5 in
Denver, Colo.
Under contract with the Region VIII Office,
the Mountain Bicyclists Corp. will stage the
conference for decision makers concerned
with identifying and removing hindrances to
bicycle commuting in Colorado.
The EPA "seed money" has helped attract
additional funding and in-kind services from
a variety of groups and from local and State
government agencies.
Mountain Bicyclists is a non-profit umbrella
group. President Tom O'Hara said, "A ma-
jor thrust of the conference will be to get all
these people into one room and figure out
how we can all work together to achieve the
energy, exercise, and clean-air benefits cy-
cling can provide."
bay improving
San Francisco Bay water has improved in
quality from five- to 16-fold since 1973. ac-
cording to a recent bacteriological survey
made by the Bay Area Regional Water Qual-
ity Control Board. Except in some shallow
areas, all parts of the Bay meet bacteria
standards for water-contact sports, even dur-
ing the summer months, the report found.
Coliform counts were said to be below State
Health Department standards. The improve-
ment was attributed to "the universal prac-
tice of sewage disinfection" now required by
the board and to improved reliability of disin-
fection practices".
minority workers
The hiring of minority workers under Fed-
eral "affirmative action" requirements, even
when this conflicts with union contracts, was
upheld in Federal Court in Region X re-
cently.
The U.S. District Court judge enjoined Local
701 of the Operating Engineers Union in
Portland, Ore., from stopping work on two
sewer const ruction projects in Washington
and Oregon. The union pulled its workers off
the jobs when the contractors—unable to
obtain black workers through the union hir-
ing hall—employed non-union blacks as op-
erating engineers. The court ruled that the
Presidential Executive Order requiring af-
firmative action on federally funded con-
struction jobs superseded any conflicting pro-
visions of collective bargaining agreements.
The action was filed by the Justice Depart-
ment on a referral by the Region X Office of
Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
PAGE 19
-------
PEOPLE
I)r, Thomas D. Bath, Staff
Director ot the Science
Advisory Board, Office of
Research and Development, has
left EPA to start a private
consultancy primarily to aid
universities and other research
institutions in finding financial
support.
Dr. Hath joined EPA in 1972. In
December. 1974, he became
Staff Di rector of the Science
Advisory Board, which he
helped develop into its present
form. The Board's mission is to
bring to Agency programs useful
advice from eminent scientists
outside of the EPA.
Dr. Bath is trained in chemical
engineering and received his B.S,
from the University of Kansas.
and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the
l'ni\ersiu of Michigan.
Lloyd T. Taylor is serving a>
Acting Staff Director.
Leonard Mangiaradna has been
appointed the first Director of
EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program
hy Region III Administrator
Daniel J. Snyder III.
The program, announced last
May . coordinates a
number of Federal, State, and
local projects aimed at
maintaining and improving water
quality in the Chesapeake.
Mangiaracina, who came to
EPA in 1971 after 10 years of
experience as a chemical
engineer with private industries,
has been Chief of the Industrial
Permits Branch, I-'cderal
Regional Council liaison officer,
and administrative assistant to
the Regional Administrator.
He holds bachelor's and
master's degrees in chemical
engineering from the
Polytechnic Institute ot
Brooklyn and New York
University, respectively. He and
his wife, the former (Catherine
Strynkowski of Merrick, N.Y.,
have three children.
Charles H. Sutfin has been
appointed Director of the Water
Division, Region V, Chicago,
succeeding 1 lenry Longest, who
was transferred last fall to the
headquarters staff.
Sutfin joined EPA in 1971 in
Washington, D.C., as a design
engineer in the Municipal
Wastevvater Systems Division
and later became a branch chief
and deputy director in the
Municipal Construction
Division. In 1975 he was
awarded EPA's Bronxe Medal
for commendable sen ice.
He is a civil engineering
graduate of Purdue University,
Lafayette, Ind., and earned an
M.S. in sanitary engineering
from the University of
California at Berkeley. He is a
registered professional engineer
in California and a member of
the Water Pollution Control
Federation and the Pennsylvania
Water Pollution Control
Association.
Max J. Wilcomb Jr., former
Chiefof Program Support,
Pesticides Branch, Region VII,
Kansas City, has been named
Toxic Substances Coordinator
for that Region.
Dr. Wilcomb has a B.A. in
/oology from Montana State
University. Missoula: an M.S. in
wildlife management from
Oregon State University,
Eugene; and a master's degree
in public health and a Ph.D. in
animal ecology from the
University of Oklahoma,
Norman.
George B. Morgan has been
named Director of EPA's envi-
ronmental Monitoring and Sup-
port Laboratory in Las Vegas,
Nevada. Morgan has been direc-
tor of the Laboratory's Monitor-
ing Systems Research and De-
velopment Division since
March, 1973. He has held re-
search positions with E PA and
its predecessors since June.
1%5. He is a member of the
US. Delegation to the United
Nations Environmental Program
Working Group, and of a joint
US/ USSR working group on co-
operation in air pollution moni-
toring methodology. He holds a
B.S. in Chemistry from Valdosta
State College (Georgia), and a
M.S. in bio-analytical chemistry
from the University of Florida.
Donald P. Mausshardt has been
selected as Deputy Director of
the Office of Regional and Inter-
governmental Operations. He
has been Chief ot'the Implemen-
tation Branch, Hazardous Waste
Management Division, Office of
Solid Waste, since 1975. Maus-
shardt has worked with EPA
and its predecessor agencies
since 1964. He directed techni-
cal investigations of pollution
problems in the Southwest, and
served as Pacific Islands Direc-
tor developing pollution control
plans for Guam, American Sa-
moa, and the Pacific Trust Terri-
tories. Named in 1973 as a Presi-
dential Executive Interchange
from EPA to Bechtel Corpora-
tion, he remained with Bechtel
until 1975 serving as Group
Manager for the Industrial De-
velopment of Saudi Arabia, and
was responsible for developing a
pollution control plan there.
Mausshardt holds a B.S. in Civil
Engineering and a M.S. in Sani-
tary Hydraulics from Oregon
State University, and is a regis-
tered professional engineer. _
Stanley Laskowski has been
named Chiefof the Industrial
Permits Branch. Region III.
Philadelphia.
Laskowski has served in the
Regional Office since 1972, as
an engineer in the Water
Planning Section and later in the
Municipal Permits Branch,
where he was Pennsylvania
Section Chief.
A native of Philadelphia, lie
earned a B.S. in civil engineering
and a master's degree in
business administration from
Drexel University. Philadelphia,
and has taken graduate courses
in civil engineering at Villanova
University, Villanova. Pa.
He was a field engineer for the
U.S. Geological Survey at
Trenton, N.J., before joining
EPA. He and his wife, the
former Patricia Kelly of
Springfield. Pa., and one child
live in Collegeville. Pa.
PAGE 20
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UPDATE
A listing of recent Agency publica-
tions, and other items of use to
people interested in the environment
GENERAL
PUBLICATIONS
Single copies available from the
Public Information Center (PM 215).
US EPA, Washington, D.C. 20460
Buying a Car Overseas (Revised
March 1977) A six-panel leaflet
informing motorists buying cars
outside of the United States about
emissions standards the cars must
meet before they can come into this
country. It discusses certification
labels, U.S. Customs procedures,
rules for catalyst-equipped vehicles,
penalties, and further sources of
information.
Smog, Health, and You (February
1977) An eight-panel leaflet that
explains how smog is formed and
what effects it has on human health.
It discusses ways to cut hydro-
carbon production in both urban
and rural areas.
Noise and Its Measurement
(February 1977) An eight-panel
leaflet that discusses the sound
levels of noises we hear every day.
It explains how noise is measured
and what effect different sound
levels have on the people exposed
to them.
Noise at Work (February 1977)
An eight-panel leaflet that looks at
industrial noise. It discusses the im-
pact of noise on workers and com-
munities, and tells what steps can be
taken to prevent hearing injuries.
Noise on Wheels (February 1977)
A 12-page booklet covering the
noise caused by transportation
vehicles and the steps EPA is taking
to diminish these sound levels.
Keep Poison Baits Out of
Children's Reach (February 1977)
A six-panel leaflet alerting people
to the dangers of household rodent,
ant, and roach baits. It suggests
locations for bait placement and
storage, and gives emergency
instructions.
A Drop to Drink (Reprinted March
1977) A 10-page booklet that looks
at the quality of our drinking water.
It describes water-supply research,
current treatment processes, and
legislation to protect public health.
Is Your Drinking Water Safe?
(March 1977) A 16-page booklet
that explains the Safe Drinking
Water Act and tells how the Act
provides for the protection of
drinking water sources.
How to Obtain Federal Grants to
Build Municipal Wastewater
Treatment Works (Reprinted
February 1977) A 34-page hand-
book that outlines the steps required
for a community to apply for con-
struction grants funds under the
Federal Water Pollution Control
Act.
Research on the Plains (March
1977) A five-page reprint from EPA
Journal that looks at Agency studies
of the environmental impact of coal
burning power plants on wildlife
and vegetation.
Application of Sewage Sludge to
Croplands MCD 33 (February
1977) An appraisal of the-potential
hazards of heavy metal to plants
and animals.
LEGISLATIVE
REPRINTS
Single copies available from the
Public Information Center (PM 215).
US EPA, Washington, D.C. 20460
The Safe Drinking Water Act.
Public Law 93-523
The Federal Water Pollution
Control Act. Public Law 92-500.
FEDERAL REGISTER
NOTICES
For copies of Federal Register
notices, write Office of the Federal
Register, National Archives and
Records Service, Washington, D.C.
20408
Polychlorinated Biphenyls. EPA
adopts toxic pollutant effluent
standards. Wednesday, February 2.
Resource Conservation and Re-
covery Act. Intent to develop rule-
making. List of contact persons.
Thursday, February 17.
Pesticides Containing Lindane.
EPA notice of rebuttable presump-
tion against registration and con-
tinued registration. Thursday,
February 17.
Pesticide Products Containing
Nitrosamines. EPA announces
public hearings on pesticide
products containing nitrosamines.
Thursday, February 24.
COMING EVENTS
More information about these events
and EPA participation in them is
available from Sue Sladek (202)
426-4188.
Conference on Federal Regulation
of Environmental Carcinogens,
Washington, D.C. April 12, 13.
EPA National Conference on 208
Planning and Implementation,
Denver, Colorado, April 19, 21; St.
Louis, Missouri, May 24, 26.
International Symposium on
Remote Sensing of the Environ-
ment, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, Michigan, April 25, 29.
MOVIES
(For more information contact Chris
Perham (A-107), EPA, Washington,
D.C. 20460. Phone 202 755-2840).
Battle of the Bugs. EPA is making
this 10 minute full-color filmstrip
available (in limited quantity) to
schools across the country through
State departments of environmental
education. The film which has an
accompanying cassette soundtrack
and information leaflets, tells elemen-
tary school children about pesticides
in general, and about pesticide
safety in particular
PAGE 21
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THE ETHICS OF WASTE
AND THE ETHICS OF CARE
Reflections by John R. Quarles Jr. on the future of the environmental movement.
The City of Washington is a city of monuments. From the
majesty of the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials to the
statues that dot the centers of bustling traffic circles and
line the halls of Congress to the rows of simple white markers
spreading across the hills of Arlington Cemetery, the Capitol city is
filled with reminders of men who have served their country with a
devotion never forgotten. These monuments are part of our
heritage, symbolizing the spirit and the glory of our great country.
They stand as both a challenge and an invitation to each of us.
They call out to us to pick up that spirit and carry it forward as we
face the trials of each succeeding generation.
It was the late afternoon of a summer day when I pulled into the
parking lot to visit one of the finest of these memorials, Theodore
Roosevelt Island. A troop of Girl Scouts were leaving the island as
1 arrived, their young faces bright and cheerful as they ran and
skipped and laughed and shouted to clamber aboard the large orange
bus waiting for them. Their voices faded quickly into the back-
ground roar of rush hour traffic along the George Washington
Parkway, and 1 headed out'across the narrow footpath leading over
to the island. A lone young man stood on the bank casting a fishing
line across toward the shore, the warm sun pouring a golden glow
over his bare shoulders. I paused for a moment to watch his line
settle on the muddy brown water and then moved on. When I
reached the island 1 passed three adults and two children intently
watching a wild rabbit nibbling the grass. Then 1 entered the woods,
and 1 was alone. The foliage closed out the sounds of traffic, which
were replaced almost magically by the chirping and singing of birds.
High above me the tree tops created a canopy of green foliage, and
in the shade around me the air was refreshingly cool. The ground,
covered with ivy, was soft and iovely. I walked along slowly, savoring
each footstep. After a few minutes the pathway branched. The main
path seemed to go to the right, but 1 turned to the left toward a
clearing I could see through the woods. 1 guessed it to be the
memorial.
The opening was like a large circular outdoor room, a few
hundred feet across, ringed by a moat filled with water and bordered
by the luxuriant growth of the surrounding forest. At the center on
the far side, immediately catching my attention, stood the huge dark
bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt, his figure stepping forward
with commanding force, its outline bold against the light gray tones
of the thirty-foot granite shaft behind him. His right arm was raised
upward in a gesture that captured the character and the spirit that
Theodore Roosevelt has stood for—hope, strength, courage, and
vision. I walked quietly between the sparkling fountains and stood at
the foot of the towering figure, a great person speaking to us still
down the corridors of time.
Spaced out under the trees behind the statue were four tall granite
Quarles, author of "Cleaning Up America," made this article
available to EPA Journal as he left the Agency after nearly seven
years of senice as Assistant Administrator for Enforcement, Deputy
Administrator and Acting Administrator.
tablets. I had been there once several years beforef and by some
subconscious impulse I went to the left hand tablet to find the
inscription I was seeking. The shadows fell softly on the solid gray
stone, and as I looked upward my eyes had to adjust before I could
read the letters. At the top of the tablet was the single word,
"Nature." With a quick expectancy I scanned the lines and found
the inscription I was looking for:
"The Nation behaves well if it
treats the natural resources as
assets which it must turn over
to the next generation increased
and not impaired in value."
Yes, Roosevelt had understood the importance of natural resources.
He had battled to save them for succeeding generations. 1 lingered
over the meaning of his words and then read on. 1 was struck by the
inscription that followed:
"Conservation means development
as much as it does protection."
Slowly considering the meaning of those words, 1 wandered over
to one of the fountains. Streams of water glistened brilliantly,
catching the sunlight and reflecting it with splendor. At the Base of
the fountain was the seal of the American eagle. I stared at it in
solitude and thought of all it stood for—all the people who had
struggled to build our democracy, all their hardships and their
sacrifices, and all the ideals and principles that they had worked and
fought for.
After several years in the government 1 found its democracy
meant more to me than ever before. Through the environmental
movement I had seen democracy in action. From the very outset
the environmental movement had been entirely a force of citizens.
Its whole strength had grown out of their spontaneous efforts at
the grass roots level of political protest. Those grass roots efforts
had caused a groundswell of pressure that shook the halls of
Congress. It forced the adoption of strong new laws, and it had
caused profound changes in industrial practices, in government
programs, and in individual patterns of behavior. I had had a
ringside seat for the show. I had seen the forces of public opinion
produce impressive results, and in the process 1 had learned that
political leaders and government programs actually are responsive
to public opinion. In a fundamental sense that is what democracy
is all about. Through my own eyes i had seen that our democracy
works.
1 turned away from the fountain and walked back to the tall
granite tablet on Nature. 1 pondered the problem of our natural
resources. Certainly it was not a new problem. Seventy years ago
Theodore Roosevelt had seen the problem of protecting our natural
resources, and he had faced it squarely. He established the U.S.
Forest Service and called the first White House Conference ever
PAGE 22
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:
held to emphasize the need for conservation. But those early efforts
had only dealt with some of the needs. Thirty years later another
Roosevelt had also confronted this problem. The disaster of the
Dustbowl had shown the damage of resource abuse, and the Civilian
Conservation Corps embarked on a nationwide program of conser-
vation efforts. Yet those efforts had also been insufficient, and in the
1%0's the Nation had rediscovered the price we pay for our abuse
of nature. We had launched a high-powered attack on the problems
of pollution, and we were correcting many of those problems. Once
again, however, the movement of reform had fallen short of address-
ing all of our needs. Several pollution problems were still far from
solution. The need to control the use and development of land also
had been clearly spotted during the environmental crisis, but the
steam had gone out of the movement before that need had been met.
Most serious of all. we had developed no systems to guide our
patterns of economic growth, to protect and preserve an essential
care of natural resources. Never before had we been so close to the
prospect that those resources actually might run out.
I looked up at the colossal figure of Theodore Roosevelt and
wondered how he would act if faced by our modern dilemma.
"Conservation means development as much as it does protec-
tion"— 1 reflected on that phrase. Roosevelt had understood that
natural resources must be used to meet the needs of people. It made
me think of Wally Hickel. shouting. "You can't take man out of the
environment. You can't just take all thai oil and lock it up forever.
There has to be a way—a way to use it and still protect the environ-
ment." Surely our development had brought us many blessings—
housing, medical care, educational facilities, physical comforts, a
massive rollback of poverty. No one could dispute that our economic
growth had been good. That was not the question. The question was
how to preserve a balance for the future. I concluded that Theodore
Roosevelt would not leave that to chance or to the free economy
alone. He had been a rugged individual. He had believed in
competition and free enterprise. Yet even then, decades before the
Roosevelt Island
New Deal, he had known that some controls had to be imposed. He
had been the famed trust buster and had pushed successfully for
other regulatory reforms, the Pure Food and Drug Act for example.
"We have admitted the right of the individual to injure the future of
the Republic for his present profit. The time has come for a
change." he said. He also put it more bluntly: "1 hate a man who
would skin the land."
Overhead a large jet airplane flew across the island on its flight
path after take-off from National Airport two miles down the
Potomac. The roar of its engines drowned out the sounds of nature.
I looked up to watch it pass, at first annoyed by the intrusion, hut
then as 1 watched it was a lovely sight to view. The long sleek silver
body of the plane gleamed in the sun against the rich blue of the sky.
i looked at it closely and wondered where it might he headed. That
made me think of other big cities scattered around the country and
all the airports ! had walked through. 1 was glad to he on the
ground, going nowhere, but the fast climbing plane reminded me that
time was flying too. 1 looked at my watch and thought that 1 could
not stay much longer.
That was the problem—time. It always seemed to be a problem.
but now it had an urgency like never before. We were moving fast.
consuming our resources, crowding our landscape, gathering people
and things into cities that were growing totally out of control. We
were confronting new problems, and their solutions migh! be years—
or decades—away. As the stakes rise higher and higher and the
speed of our growth keeps increasing, will we be able to afford thai
delay?
There is another vital dimension to our current situation. The
questions of managing our threatened natural resources involve
much more than merely calculations of how fast and how far we
can keep our economic machine running. They also pose questions
of what kind of a world we really want to live in. Throughout
history our most basic national goal has been maximum economic
growth to raise the standards of living for people. With the
Continued on page 24
PAGK23
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continued from page<23
fulfillment of affluence that basic goal is shifting, People have seen
the danger that the trappings of progress are beginning to under-
mine the quality of human life. Indeed, the emotional wallop of the
environmental movement came largely out of protest against the
extent that economic goals and commercial values dominated life
in modern America.
As people have crowded into cities and suburbs which increas-
ingly become a world of concrete and glass and noise and neon
lights, we have been losing something precious despite our eco-
nomic progress. The quiet and the beauty of the countryside
become more remote and more treasured, but we continue to
squeeze the last vestige of nature out of our daily lives. We have
shattered the primordial connection between man and mother
earth. Overwhelmed by the outpourings of conveniences and
contrivances of modern technology, we look about us at our rising
crime rate, our rising divorce rate, and our rising use of drugs, and
we must wonder where all our fast progress has brought us. For all
its comforts and conveniences, there is something vital in life that
is difficult to find in a world encased in plastic.
In our frenzied chase after material progress, we have somehow
lost sight of the axiom that things should serve people, rather than
people serving things. We have gone at life with haste, rather than
with care. We have not taken the time to be certain what our true
values are. Our lifestyles are dominated by compulsions to consume.
In our hurry we have also failed to look ahead and safeguard our
resources for the future. We have used modern technology with
reckless abandon to exploit our finite resources. In the process we
have developed the throwaway society. We have built a whole culture
on the ethics of waste.
Our profligate use of resources no doubt can be traced, at-least in
part, to the abundance which our country has always enjoyed.
Frugality, however, was one of the dominant values of our early
national heritage. With rising prosperity that virtue gently slipped
away. In our affluence since World War II it has almost disap-
peared. The gas-guzzling, luxury dream cars of the 1960's stand as
symbols of our new national fashion of extravagance.
Conditions of the future may force a return to earlier
values and attitudes. As scarcities show up in higher
prices, people may be led back to prudence. The public
may also recover its respect for nature as people discover how
great our dependence on it really is and how sorely we have abased
it. Just as the ethics of waste grew out of our abundance, future
conditions of scarcity may breed a new ethic of care.
It is hard to believe that the challenge of protecting our environ-
ment can be solved in separation from these deeper concerns of
national ethics. Government action is controlled by public thought.
Individual cases are always handled in a broader policy framework.
Beneath the complex technical or legal questions-of any problem
there is always the political question of what the public pressures
are. And beneath those political questions there is always the
question of ethics, of what our values really are.
National ethics become manifest in the formulations of public
policy. If we are to have any hope of preserving the natural
resources on which the future depends we are going to have to
recover our respect for the larger natural order within which human
beings, like all others, are subordinate creatures. We are going to
have to return to the ethics of prudence and care.
Meditating uneasily on these questions of ethics and values. 1
looked up once again at the tall granite tablet standing before me. 1
tried to think through the values of our heritage. 1 reread all the
inscriptions and focused on one that 1 had passed over lightly before:
"There are no words that can tell
the hidden spirit of the wilderness,
that can reveal its mystery, its
melancholy, and its charm."
I knew that Theodore Roosevelt had loved nature, had revelled in
the out-of-doors. Yes, I thought, conservation means development,
but there has to be a balance. The first duty has to be to turn over
the natural resources to the next generation not impaired in value.
And those resources surely include the natural world of the
wilderness.
I took a long, thoughtful look at the statue of the fighter,
Theodore Roosevelt, and turned to leave. 1 walked slowly across
the memorial, past the fountains and the boxwood and over one of
the footbridges across the water-filled moat. I glanced back for a
final look at the statue, hopeful and strong, and reentered the
forest. Theodore Roosevelt was right. There simply were no words
that could describe its hidden spirit. I thought of all he would have
to say to our present generation. But it wasn't just Roosevelt. I
thought of Thoreau, leaving Boston even back in the I840's to live
for two years in the wildness of Walden Pond. I thought of Ralph
Waldo Emerson—"In the woods, we return to reason and faith." I
thought of others—Longfellow, Whittier, Whitman, and Frost.
How deeply rooted Nature was in the values of our heritage. How
were we slipping so far away from it? What could we gain from
more affluence that could compensate for its destruction? What in
the world are we after?
1 thought in sadness of the speed with which construction and
development are driving the grace of nature out of our modern
world. I wondered how long it would be before people rise up again
in protest. That will not happen soon because public opinion is
nowhere close to facing these problems squarely. Public opinion is
still digesting the changes required to control basic pollution. It is
still feeling the backlash from some of those costs and difficulties.
The environmental movement is still caught in the crunch. It is not
yet ready to tackle the more baffling problems of guiding future
growth and protecting essential resources.
And yet, I thought, there is hope. Many people do see these
needs. Many people are deeply concerned. It will take time for a
full resurgence of the values of our heritage, but those values are so
fundamental that that resurgence is bound to come. It will require
basic shifts of attitude at the grassroots level of public opinion,
which can only come through public education. It will require
active.citizen involvement—with all the hearings, the meetings, the
telegrams, and the postcards—the same spontaneous efforts that
brought the environmental movement its power to change govern-
ment policy in the first place. Only then will it be possible for
government to tackle -these problems with any real hope of
success. It would take a whole new generation of environmental
activists, 1 thought to myself, to alert the public and rally broad
support, but surely there are citizens ready to take up the struggle
and fight for the cause until it prevails. And surely it will prevail.
The only real question is how much we lose in the meantime.
When I reached the footpath leaving the island the lone fisherman
was still there, having caught no fish but seemingly fully content.
The roar of the traffic grew louder as I approached the parking lot.
Rush-hour traffic was in full crush—two lanes of bumper-to-bumper
cars moving impatiently along the George Washington Parkway. In
the parking space next to my car a young family was just arriving.
They had a small boy, perhaps three or four years old, and an infant
they were placing in a stroller. I wondered what sort of a world our
children and grandchildren would have to live in, and 1 thought of the
awesome trust we all hold to protect and preserve it for them. •
PAGE 24
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news briefs
RECALL ORDERED FOR 135,000 CADILLACS
EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle has ordered the General
Motors Corporation to recall and repair about 135,000 Cadillac
automobiles that are emitting excessive amounts of carbon
monoxide. Agency experts found that most 1975 model Cadillacs
with 500 cubic-inch-displacement engines have defective
carburetors that must be repaired if the cars are to meet
emission standards.
WILDLIFE FEDERATION HONORS BARBARA. BLUM
Deputy Administrator Barbara Blum recently received the
National Wildlife Federation's 1976 Special Conservation Award
for her "outstanding individual contribution to conservation,
particularly in the effort to save the Chattahoochee River in
Georgia." Nine other persons and two organizations also received
awards from the federation.
WORKSHOP PLANNED ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROTECTION
EPA will hold its second workshop on environmental protection
standards for radioactive wastes at Albuquerque, N.M., April
12-14. Dr. William D. Rowe, Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Radiation Programs, said the meeting will discuss policy
and techniques for the handling and disposal of all types of
radioactive waste and the public acceptance of the associated
risks. The first workshop session was held in Reston, Va.,
in February.
RESOURCE RECOVERY SEMINAR TO BE HELD APRIL 28-29
Methods of recovering materials and energy from solid waste will
be reviewed by EPA specialists at a seminar in Washington, D.C.,
April 28 and 29. Attendance will be limited to 250 persons.
Resource Recovery Division staffers will give the latest informa-
tion on EPA-funded demonstration projects and other new recovery
systems, covering both technical data and costs.
-------
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A 107)
WASH1NGTON.D.C. 20460
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA-335
THIRD CLASS BULK RATE
Return this page if you do NOT wish to receive this publication ( ), or if change
PROTECTING THE CHERRIES
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency is reviewing an applica-
tion for the general use of a pesticide
which the manufacturer claims will
protect cherry orchards from hungry
birds, while harming neither the fruit
nor the fowl.
The new bird repellent is a chemical
called methiocarb which researchers of
the Interior Department's U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service helped field test.
The Fish and Wildlife Service reported
that the product allows cherry growers
to raise their crop successfully and
have birds in their orchards too by
acting as a potent emetic. After eating
only a few cherries, the birds soon
learn to associate the taste with the
effects, which are temporary. The birds
then recover completely. In 10 years of
field testing, according to the Fish and
Wildlife Service, the repellent was not
found to be responsible for the death of
a single bird. Additionally, no chronic-
effects or cases of abnormal reproduc-
tion were observed. Methiocarb is also
shortlived and breaks down quickly in
sunlight.
Over $70 million worth of sweet
cherries are grown annually in the
United States. The orchards are easy
targets for birds, which can and do
inflict considerable damage on the rip-
ening fruit.
"An experimental permit was
granted for testing methiocarb in Cali-
fornia, Michigan and Washington,"
said Douglas D. Campt. Acting Direc-
tor for Registration. "That permit will
expire on April 13. Meanwhile, the
manufacturer, Chemagro Corp. of
Kansas City. Mo., has applied for a full
registration as required under the Fed-
eral Insecticide. Fungicide, and Koden-
ticide Act.
"Methiocarb has been registered
previously for control of insects on
Cherrv trees in bloom in a western orchard.
peaches and cherries, as snail and slug
bait on flowers and shrubs, and for
other uses.
"The experimental use permit was
issued to permit data to be collected on
the effectiveness of this use. If the
review of this data supports the pesti-
cide use in the protection of cherries
from birds, we will issue a registration
for the use. All registrations require
data to demonstrate the safety of the
use to humans and the environment
when the pesticide is used in accord-
ance with the label directions," Mr.
Campt said.
Damage in some cherry orchards is
presently controlled by scaring the
birds with gunfire, exploding devices.
or broadcasts of the recorded distress
calls of the birds. Trapping may be
used if starlings are causing damage.
Such methods can be time consuming
and therefore costly. Local residents
sometimes complain about the noise.
In the most recent tests conducted
by biologists from the Fish and Wild-
life Service's Denver Wildlife Research
Center, methiocarb was sprayed on
sweet cherry orchards in California
and Washington. In California, un-
treated orchards received 3.2 times the
amount of damage to fruit as did
treated orchards, and in Washington,
this figure was 7.5 times as much,
according to the Service biologists.
House finches seemed to be the most
common cherry nibbler in both States.
In the future, methiocarb may also
be used as a bird repellent on blueber-
ries, grapes, grain, sorghum, and
sprouting rice, if approved by EPA. •
. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1977 720-136/^ 1-5
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