JULY-AUGUST 1977
VOL. THREE, NO. SEVEN
MEETING
WATER GOALS
- K
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THE WATER MISSION
The continuing struggle to improve the qual-
ity of the Nation s waterways is the main
theme of this issue of EPA Journal.
As the water program passed a major cleanup
deadline on July 1, EPA announced a major
enforcement effort is being launched. This is the
subject of the lead article.
Thomas C. Jorling, Assistant Administrator for
Water and Hazardous Materials, explained in tes-
timony to a Congressional committee and in an
interview with EPA Journal that the existing Fed-
eral Water Pollution Control Act is working well,
but needs some "mid-course corrections."
Stressing the growing importance of water
conservation, Jorling told a Congressional com-
mittee that EPA believes only those communities
which act to reduce water consumption should be
entitled to the full Federal share of construction
grant money for waste treatment plants.
An example of the hard technical choices some-
times necessary in the awesome task of guarding
the quality of the Nation's water is the Seabrook
nuclear power plant case, the subject of another
article in the Journal.
On another front, the Journal reports, EPA has
been directing a major research program to reduce
the worst pollutant in the Colorado River—salt.
The success of the Agency's efforts in reducing
the pollutants going into our streams and lakes
will help achieve the goal of providing good drink-
ing water, another major responsibility discussed
in the Journal which EPA now shares with States
and local jurisdictions.
The magazine's Environmental Almanac takes
a look at some of the problems of pollution and
river swimming.
A new laboratory at Narragansett, R.I., is
expected to help EPA deal more effectively with
pollution problems in ocean waters, an article
reports.
To assist the overall pollution control effort, the
Journal notes that EPA's new leadership is making
a determined effort to stay in touch with various
constituencies around the country.
The magazine's People Department includes an
unusual number of appointments and proposed
selections for high Agency posts as the new
Administration takes firm control of EPA.
Other subjects in this issue of the Journal
include an article about the growing shortage of
firewood in some Third World countries, one of
the lesser known environmental problems dis-
cussed in the UN's first State of the World
Environmental report, and an article on the use
of new equipment in EPA's Region II Office to
help train smoke readers.
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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
Van Trumbull, Ruth Hussey,
David Cohen,
Staff
PHOTO CREDITS: Carol Pesch, Boyd
Norton, Ernest Bucci, Rhoda Baer,
Herman Phillips, Christopher Moffett
Illustration: Peter Sullivan of the London
Sunday Times
COVER: Charles Lurvey, a Colorado State
University researcher, cleans out an
irrigation furrow on a plot where the
university is finding ways to reduce salt
in drainage water returning to the
Colorado River. In the background are
the Bookcliff Mountains bordering
Grand Valley, Colo.
The EPA Journal is published monthly,
with combined issues July-August and
November-December, by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Use
of funds for printing this periodical has
been approved by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget.
Views expressed by authors do not
necessarily reflect EPA policy.
Contributions and inquiries should be
addressed to the Editor (A-107),
Waterside Mall, 401 M St., S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20460. No permission
necessary to reproduce contents except
copyrighted photos and other materials.
Subscription: $8.75 a year, $.9.0 for
single copy, domestic; $11.00 if mailed to
a foreign address. No charge to
employees. Send check or money order
to Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402.
ARTICLES
WATER CLEANUP ENFORCEMENT PAGE 2
EPA to take action against major industrial and
municipal water polluters.
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR WATER PROGRAM PAGE 4
An interview with Thomas C. Jorling, EPA's new
Assistant Administrator for Water and Hazardous
Materials.
THE SEABROOK CASE PAGE 6
The Administrator's ruling on the New Hampshire
nuclear power application.
COLORADO SALT PAGE 8
A report on a major EPA-financed research project
to reduce salt in the Colorado River.
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS TAKE EFFECT PAGE 12
The public is now being protected by the first national
drinking water standards.
LABORATORY DEDICATED AT PAGE 14
NARRAGANSETT
EPA's major marine laboratory opened at
Narragansett.
REACHING OUT TO THE PUBLIC PAGE 18
EPA's leadership holding meetings with wide variety
of groups to get suggestions.
FIREWOOD-THE POOR MAN'S ENERGY CRISIS PAGE 20
The U.N,. reports that among the world's
environmental problems is a growing shortage of
firewood in Third World countries.
READING SMOKE PUFFS BACK COVER
New equipment used in New York-Regional
Office to train smoke readers.
DEPARTMENTS
ALMANAC
NATION
PEOPLE
UPDATE
NEWS BRIEF
PAGE 13
PAGE 16
PAGE 21
PAGE 24
PAGE 2.5
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WATER CLEANUP
EJWORCEMENT
More than 300 industries and 100
cities and towns face enforce-
ment action by EPA for failing to comply
with Federal water pollution control
standards by the July 1, 1977 deadline.
This action is part of an enforcement
policy designed to force polluting indus-
tries and municipalities to comply with
EPA's long term abatement schedules.
Thomas C. Jorling, EPA's Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Water and Hazardous Ma-
terials, said enforcement is necessary not
only to attain EPA's clean water goals but
also to be fair to those industries and
cities which have already spent large sums
of money in meeting Federal water pollu-
tion standards.
He added that EPA will be pressing for
more prosecutions and higher penalties
than ever before. Jorling said EPA plans
to seek 400 lawsuits in the next few
months—more than double the number
of prosecutions for all of 1976.
Last year EPA filed actions against 150
industries and 20 municipalities accused
of failing to meet preliminary deadlines in
water cleanup schedules. Recent settle-
ments in these cases include a $4 million
fine against US. Steel Corporation at
Gary, Ind., and a $1,250,000 penalty
against National Lead Industries in St.
Louis, Mo.
The 1972 Water Pollution Control Act
set July 1, 1977, as the deadline for the
first phase of water pollution abatement.
The Act required cities and towns to
construct secondary sewage treatment
plants and industries to apply the "best
practicable" treatment technology to the
wastes they produce.
"Substantial progress has been made,"
Jorling pointed out. Approximately 85
percent of the major industrial dischargers
complied with the first stage of the water
pollution abatement program on time.
Over 30 percent of America's cities and
towns are on schedule.
In his environmental message to Con-
gress on May 23, 1977, President Carter
directed EPA officials to take vigorous
EPA JOURNAL
action in the administration of existing
environmental programs. In the spirit of
that directive, EPA is demanding civil
penalties that would make it unprofitable
for delinquent industries and municipali-
ties to continue to pollute. Criminal sanc-
tions will be sought in cases where the
neglect has been gross or willful, Jorling
warned.
The 1972 Act requires industries to
install the best practicable clean-up equip-
ment necessary to achieve an 85 percent
reduction of solids and organic matter in
their discharges. Only 600 of the 4,000
major industrial dischargers failed to meet
the July 1 deadline. "This is a spectacular
achievement and one in which the Na-
tion's private industry can justifiably take
pride," Jorling said.
"Although substantial progress has
been made in cleaning up our waters it
would clearly be unfair for us to overlook
those industries and municipalities that,
through their own action or inaction, have
held us back from attaining our clean
water goals. We must not reward the
recalcitrant by failing to take firm and
prompt action against noncompliers," he
said.
In the industrial area EPA has fol-
lowed through on its promise to
move swiftly against the big polluters
whose discharges pose the greatest threat
to water quality. Selection of industrial
targets for prosecution is based on three
factors: potential harm to human health,
extent of cooperation and good faith ef-
forts at compliance, and length of time
required to obtain compliance. Special
consideration is given to industries that
received permission to discharge wastes
into municipal treatment systems that
have not yet been completed.
"The overall goal of this enforcement
effort is to promote the greatest degree of
cleanup possible with available
resources," Jorling said. Consequently
penalties for noncompliance are being set
so as to neutralize any economic advan-
tage which an industry or municipality
may derive from noncompliance. The
maximum civil penalty is $10,000 per day
of noncompliance. Jorling stated that EPA
will support its enforcement policy by
seeking criminal sanctions in cases where
the discharger is willfully ignoring Federal
regulations.
New York, California, and Pennsylva-
nia, with more than 40 industrial violators
each, currently head the list of States
behind in their water pollution abatement
schedules. Michigan, Ohio, and New Jer-
sey each have from 25 to 40 industries
subject to civil fines or criminal prosecu-
tions. Only Wyoming, North Dakota, and
Maine have no industrial violators.
According to recent EPA reports, blast
furnaces are the major water polluting
industry with 46 percent of the facilities
in violation of Federal standards. They
are followed by pulp mills and electric
power plants with 34 percent noncompli-
ance each.
In the cities progress has been slower.
About half of the 4,300 municipal sewage
treatment plants serving populations of
10,000 or more failed to meet the July 1,
deadline. The 1972 Water Pollution Con-
trol Act requires cities and towns to build
secondary sewage treatment plants as
well as more advanced facilities where
necessary to protect water quality.
Congress has allocated more than $18
billion to cities and towns to build these
plants and the President has asked the
Congress for an additional $45 billion over
the next ten years. The construction
grants program is now the largest public
works project ever undertaken by the
Federal government.
Despite this Federal support, the con-
struction of municipal treatment plants
has been subject to delays. "Our experi-
ence," Jorling said, "has disclosed a com-
plexity of problems in operating the multi-
billion dollar Federal grant program.
Such problems include the magnitude of
investment needed from municipalities,
JULY-AUGUST 1977
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Industrial wastes pour from pipes into Kanawha River in West Virginia.
EPA JOURNAL 3
the fact that Federal funding has not been
available in some cases, and the substan-
tial time involved in completing construc-
tion."
These problems have been considered
in deciding which cities to prosecute. The
primary targets of enforcement action are
those large cities that either failed to use
available Federal funds for waste treat-
ment or are not properly operating and
maintaining existing facilities.
The fact that EPA is prosecuting a
higher percentage of the industrial viola-
tors than municipal violators in the courts
reflects a difference in Agency enforce-
ment procedure rather than policy choice.
A much larger proportion of municipal
violations are handled by administrative
law orders than through the courts. Court
action is sought only in cases where ad-
ministrative orders are ignored or prove
ineffective. Since a higher percentage of
the industrial violations are willful, the
more coercive remedies available in court
are necessary.
EPA plans to complement its munici-
pal enforcement policy with several
measures designed to heip make sure
Federal construction grant funds are used
in the most cost effective and environ-
mentally sound ways. EPA is scrutinizing
many pending projects that include con-
struction of costly new collector sewers
(the type used along most city and resi-
dential streets). Jorling said collector
sewers sometimes serve to encourage ex-
cessive suburban development and add to
pollution.
"We believe that funding for some of
this proposed sewer construction could
be spent more effectively in building or
upgrading waste treatment plants," he
explained.
EPA has a program staff of 581 attor-
neys, inspectors, and clerical employees
working on these review and enforcement
actions which will continue to be a top
Agency priority for the next few months. •
JULY-AUGUST 1977
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DIRECTIONS
FOR WATER PROGRAM
An interview with Thomas C.
Jorling, ERYs Assistant
Administrator for Water and
Hazardous Materials
Q: Have we been making progress in
cleaning up America's rivers and lakes?
A: I think the fair answer is yes. The water is getting
cleaner. But we must qualify that by being somewhat precise
in our analysis.
It is clear that our control over the traditional sanitary
pollutants, such as suspended solids, coliform organisms
and oxygen-consuming materials has been effective and
successful.
Where we need now to focus our attention is on the
problems that result from the fact that we live in an industrial-
chemical era. We have to learn how to deal with the chemical
constituents now finding their way into the waste stream. In
addition, we must learn to deal more effectively with non-
point pollution sources such as erosion and agricultural
wastes.
So we have a lot of work left to do.
Q: Has EPA's construction grants pro-
gram been successful? Do you have
enough people to run it properly?
A: The construction grants program has been run remarka-
bly well. However, it is understaffed.
For example, the highway program, which is running at a
level somewhat less than the $4.5 billion per year now
committed to our construction grants program, has a staff of
4,500 at the Federal level and these 4,500 people have to deal
primarily with the State governments.
In contrast, the EPA construction grants program is man-
aged by a staff of 900. We have to deal with applications
from approximately 10,000 cities and other local jurisdictions.
Our problems are much more complex. We have to deal
with the basic mechanics, structure, and function of human
habitations.
While we have been doing a good job I do not want to
suggest that the work we have been doing is totally adequate.
We have to stress more consideration of alternatives espe-
cially land treatment. We have to focus more on pretreat-
ment, on user charges, and industrial cost recovery. All
these are the important elements that are going to make
what we build successful into the future.
Q: What specific steps do you plan to
take to deal with the problem of toxics in
our waterways?
A: Under the present law, we are required to establish
effluent limitations set at a level of best available control
technology.
We have embarked on a rather large campaign to establish
those effluent limitations for 65 toxic pollutants. That is the
first and base level of effort.
At the same time, we know that we occasionally run
across new pollutants that are toxic, and we need authority
to regulate pollutant by pollutant. Therefore, we do need the
authority that is represented in Section 307(a) of the Water
Pollution Control Act. We will be seeking some amendments
to improve the efficacy of that authority.
In addition, we have to move aggressively under Section
311 (Oil and Hazardous Substance Liability) to control the
discharge of hazardous pollutants, and we hope to promul-
gate regulations in the near future.
Q: Do you think the area-wide planning
called for by Section 208 will work effec-
tively to curb non-point pollution such as
land erosion?
A: We believe that the 208 vehicle for the control of non-
point sources is the most effective one that anyone has yet
developed.
Erosion and other non-point problems are beyond the
scope of a direct Federal regulatory program such as these
we have for control of industrial and municipal point sources.
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We must urge the States and the area-wide agencies to
move aggressively on non-point pollution. We have to develop
the kinds of techniques and tools that are established by
best management practices and develop strategies necessary
to apply them.
And 1 might add that we are working closely with the
new administrations in the Departments of Agriculture,
Housing and Urban Development, and Interior as well as
with the Corps of Engineers to achieve the non-point source
control objectives as part of 208 implementation.
Q: What major changes, if any, do you
hope to make in EPA's Water Pollution
Control Program?
A: The major changes are basically to accelerate the full
implementation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Law.
We hope particularly to speed our efforts on toxic pollu-
tants.
We also want to move aggressively into the recycling and
reuse of water. We hope to demonstrate in many areas of
the country that there are superior alternatives to convention-
al waste treatment technology, especially in municipal sys-
tems.
We want to integrate our planning.
Q: Do you regard as feasible the re-
quirement in the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act that industries must provide
best available treatment technology by
July 1,1983?
A: The answer is most affirmatively yes for toxic pollutants.
The problem with the 1983 requirement has been that people
have focused on the conventional parameters of waste, and
they have ignored the chemical discharges, especially from
industries, and from municipalities as well.
We are concerned that the application of strict best
available technology requirements for oxygen-consuming
wastes alone may hinder progress towards recycling and
reuse. But that problem is restricted to the conventional
pollutants and we are convinced that the '83 requirement for
toxics must be adhered to.
Q: Do you consider as realistic the goal
of the Act to have no discharges of
pollutants in the Nation's waters by 1985?
A: The goal of no discharge by 1985 has served very
important purposes and it has achieved dramatic results. We
are now beginning to focus on questions of water reuse and
recycling and confining and containing the disposal of pollu-
tants. We have now some industries, such as Dow Chemical
Company, adopting as a corporate policy the elimination of
discharge of pollutants.
The intent of the goal is to achieve closed-cycle produc-
tion. This is an ecologically sound, and I think absolutely
necessary policy for us to achieve if we are to develop
human societies that can flourish in conformity with the
limitations of the biosphere.
The exact date we achieve the goal is less important.
Dates serve to provide benchmarks against which to measure
progress. I think, perhaps, a five-year increment goal would
always be useful. In conjunction with non-deterioration it
serves to force technology.
We are now already aware of many industrial operations
for which we can eliminate waste discharges by 1985. Some
industries are actually implementing such performance levels
now. So I believe the no-discharge goal has been a very
important element of the Act, and I believe it should be
adhered to.
Q: Some industrialists will argue it is
not worth the billions it would cost to
eliminate the final 5 or 10 percent of
pollutants in their discharges. What is
your response to this type of argument?
A: That they are mischaracterizing the issue. The issue is
not simply incremental removal for the sake of incremental
removal. We do not support that, and I don't think it is fair
to characterize the program as one that requires that.
We do believe that the effluent limitations established by
the measure of best available control technology should be
applied to toxic pollutants and other chemicals which are
persistent in the environment.
We believe that only a few industry categories are going
to be subject to incremental removal of all oxygen-consuming
wastes. We feel that the Act, rather than insisting on incre-
mental removal, provides sufficient discretion so that an
industry can satisfy the requirements by moving toward
recycling systems of production.
Q: Is there a particular message you
would like to give EPA employees at this
point?
A: I think the message that 1 would like to carry to the
employees is that the mission of this Agency is an extremely
important one. It deals with the ability of future populations
to live in harmony with the environment.
To carry out that mission, we need dynamic and commit-
ted individuals. EPA should be an exciting place to work.
Our task is important in the scheme of things and one
that I hope people will feel proud of participating in. •
Thomas C. Jorling has
been named EPA's Assistant
Administrator for Water and
Hazardous Materials. He
succeeds Andrew W. Brei-
denbach, now a Special As-
sistant to the Administrator.
Jorling has been director
of the Center for Environ-
mental Studies, Williams
College, Williamstown,
Mass, since 1972.
Previously, Jorling had
served as an attorney-advis-
or in the Solicitor's Office,
Department of the Interior,
assistant general counsel for
the Smithsonian Institution;
and minority counsel for the
Senate Committee on Public
Works.
Jorling is a member of the
American Association for
the Advancement of Science
and the Ecology Society of
America. He has had several
articles published on legal as-
pects of pollution control.
He has a bachelor's de-
gree in biology from the Uni-
versity of Notre Dame, a
master's degree in biology
from Washington State Uni-
versity, and a doctor of law
degree from the Boston Col-
lege Law School. In 1971 he
was a visiting Ford Founda-
tion Fellow at the Yale
School of Forestry.
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THE SEABROOK CASE
"The Seabrook plant has become a major symbol in the debate over
nuclear power. The sit-in last month clearly demonstrated the depth of
feeling of many people about this issue. However, the decision before me
in reviewing this appeal was an extremely narrow one."
—EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle
On Friday, June 17, at 10:15 am
Douglas M. Costle stood before a
packed news conference in Washington,
D.C. to make an announcement: "Today,
I am approving the proposed thermal
discharge system for the nuclear power
plant planned in Seabrook, New Hamp-
shire."
The decision—upon which construction
of the $2 billion, 2,300 megawatt plant
depended—was clearly the most difficult
of Costle's new stewardship at EPA. It
involved countless technical questions
about the environmental effects of dis-
charging billions of gallons of heated water
into the Atlantic Ocean. It involved the
review of reams of documents which com-
prised the official record on Seabrook. It
involved the solicitation and review of
additional information.
And its outcome would affect the most
bitterly contested battle to date between
proponents and opponents of nuclear en-
ergy.
Costle stressed that technically and le-
gally, the scope of his decision was limited
to two narrow factors:
"Was the formal record adequate to
determine whether (a) the proposed
thermal discharge will assure the protec-
tion and propagation of a balanced, indig-
enous population of fish, shellfish, and
wildlife in and on the receiving waters,
and (b) will the proposed intake structures
reflect the best technology available for
minimizing adverse environmental im-
pacts."
A special group of Agency experts had
been assembled by Costle to aid in the
review of the record and the analysis of
its contents. "I concur with their find-
ings," the Administrator stated, "that the
record, although not of high quality, is
sufficient to decide that the proposed
cooling system does meet the test set
forth in the law.
EPA JOURNAL
"I have said that the record was not of
high quality. This judgment led me to
consider another option: remanding the
proceeding to the Regional Administrator
to continue the hearing and improve the
quality of the record.
"I rejected this option when I conclud-
ed that—six months and millions of dol-
lars from now—the final decision would
be the same. In short, while the record
could be better, it is adequate to reach a
decision.
"Having said what my decision is, let
me emphasize what it is not. It is not a
seal of environmental approval on the
Seabrook plant. . . . The decision is not a
finding that construction of the plant is or
is not desirable on other social, economic,
or energy supply grounds.
"Finally, let me state that I am sensitive
to the concerns of the various parties in
this case. I understand the desire of the
utilities to receive a clear red or green
signal from the Government, rather than
a flashing yellow. . . . But I also sympa-
thize with the opponents of the proposal. . .
"Our society must decide what level of
energy supply is necessary and accepta-
ble, how that supply should be generated,
at what level of expense and risk, and
where power plants should be located.
"This appeal proceeding, highly tech-
nical and narrow, did not represent a
forum for resolving those issues."
Seabrook is a small community in the
southeastern corner of the State. If
built, the new plant, which involves the
construction of two nuclear reactors, will
be operated by the Public Service Com-
pany of New Hampshire. It is intended to
provide electricity in New Hampshire and
Massachusetts beginning in the early
1980's. The company filed its application
for construction with the Atomic Energy
Commission (now the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission) in July of 1973.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
has expressly made EPA's approval of
the cooling system a condition of final
approval. Nuclear power plants produce
steam to drive turbines, and constant cool-
ing of the heavy machinery is required.
The cooling system at Seabrook, when
operating at full capacity, will draw 1.2
billion gallons daily of seawater through
an intake tunnel in the ocean floor. This
is the equivalent of about four times the
daily water supply for Metropolitan Bos-
ton. The water is returned to the sea by
another tunnel. Upon return, however, it
is 39° F warmer than the normal ocean
temperatures,whichrangefrom40°to60° F.
In addition, once or twice a month the
cooling system will be cleaned out by
reversing the flow and drawing water in
through the pipe normally used for dis-
charge. This process, called back-flushing,
discharges water at 120° E
In his 48-page formal decision on Sea-
brook, Administrator Costle ruled that the
plant must limit backflushing during ad-
verse meteorological and hydrological
conditions, such as prolonged onshore
winds, to further assure protection of
ocean life.
Costle also affirmed a previous finding
that the plant's intake tunnel be sited
7,000 feet offshore to minimize potential
environmental effects. The company's
original proposal was-for a tunnel only
3,000 feet into the ocean.
EPA originally became involved in the
regulatory process affecting Seabrook in
late 1975 when John McGlennon, then
EPA Region I Administrator, gave prelim-
inary approval to plans for a cooling
system. In June of the following year, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a
permit, and actual construction began the
next month.
However, environmental and other
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
groups requested an adjudicatory hearing
to contest Region I's decision. Hearings
were held, and the Administrative Law
Judge certified the hearing record to the
Regional Administrator.
On November 1976, the Region I Ad-
ministrator ruled that the record was
inadequate for him to determine that the
proposed discharge would meet statutory
requirements. As a result, the preliminary
approval was revoked.
The company appealed that decision to
then EPA Administrator Russell E. Train,
who agreed to hear the appeal on two
issues: the adequacy of the record regard-
ing the thermal discharge, and the location
and design of the intake structures.
Although construction of the plant was
virtually stilled during this period, on May
1, 1977, more than 2,000 demonstrators
protesting the use of nuclear energy
staged a sit-in at the construction site.
The Washington Post termed the event,
which was sponsored by an organization
called the Clamshell Alliance, "the first
massive show of civil disobedience against
a .nuclear power plant in the United
States." Police, under the direction of
New Hampshire Governor Meldrim
Thomson Jr., arrested some 1,400 of the
protesters.
Members of the Clamshell Alliance
were also present at Administrator Cos-
tie's press conference on Seabrook. One
presented him with two dead fish, sym-
bolic of the environmental destruction she
felt the plant would cause.
The company, on the other hand, esti-
mates that it has lost hundreds of millions
of dollars in construction delays brought
on by the seemingly cumbersome regula-
tory process.
When Costle became Administrator in
March, 1977, he assembled the group of
Agency scientists who helped him review
the Seabrook record. He also requested
additional information from the company
about backftushing. Costle s panel and
staff members recommended reversing the
Regional Administrator's decision, and
the Administrator concurred.
Final approval for construction of the
Seabrook plant still rests with the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. Some environ-
mental groups have said they will try to
challenge the construction of the plant by
taking the issue into court.
Costle concluded the prepared remarks
of his press conference on Seabrook by
saying, "The question, I am sure, arises:
How does this decision affect other nucle-
ar power plants? The answer is that it
does not. It is confined to the facts of this
case, on the narrow technical issues raised
to me on this appeal. • "
EPA JOURNAL
Artist's rendering of Seabrook Nuclear power plant being built by Public Sen'ice
Co. of New Hampshire and other joint owners.
Inlet and discharge of condenser cooling water will come from points in
Atlantic Ocean bevond the barrier beach ,
JULY-AUGUST 1977
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COLORADO SAW
By Charles D. Pierce
On the floor of an ancient sea,
which receded millions of years
ago and left behind a desert, lies Grand
Valley, now a prosperous western Colo-
rado farming area because irrigation
waters have helped such crops as corn,
barley, and peach trees to thrive.
The valley, which draws its water from
the Colorado River, is surrounded by such
stunning geologic formations as Grand
Mesa, an enormous flattop mountain, and
the million-year-old canyonlands of the
Colorado National Monument.
Yet to the people living in this valley
and along much of the lower Colorado
River one of the most significant geologi-
cal legacies may be the vast deposits of
salt left underground by the inland sea.
Salt from this and other sources has
destroyed the usefulness of tens of thou-
sands of acres in the Colorado River
Basin and caused millions of dollars of
damage to users of the Colorado waters
in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Cal-
ifornia, and Mexico.
With financial support and program
direction from the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, Colorado State University
has now developed an integrated control
system which could substantially reduce
the amount of salt being discharged into
the river from Grand Valley. It may offer
similar opportunities for other areas in
the basin.
Salinity is the most serious water qual-
ity problem in the Colorado Basin. Of
the 70,000 acres in the Grand Valley area
receiving irrigation waters, 30,000 acres
can be used only for low-value cash crops
such as pasture because of salt pollution
damage to the land.
Some fields in the Grand Valley glisten
in the sun as if they were covered by ice
because underground salts have been car-
ried to the surface by a rising water table.
The rise is caused by excessive saturation
of the heavy clay soils with irrigation
waters.
Over-irrigation can also result in the
leaching of the Mancos shale, the under-
pin irrigation canal brings precious water 10
Grand Valley, Colo.
(Pierce is editor of EPA Journal)
EPA JOURNAL
ground saline formation beneath the sur-
face, into the Colorado River.
In the Grand Valley, large ditches or
canals are used to bring the water from
the river to the farming area. The water
is then distributed to the individual users
through small ditches called laterals. Most
of these laterals are simply dug into the
earth and are unlined. If the ditches are
choked with weeds—as they often are in
midsummer—the water soaks deeply into
the ground.
As a result, the farmer must irrigate a
crop above a subsoil already saturated
with water because of ditch seepage. Fur-
thermore, the root zone where the new
crop obtains its nourishment is laden with
harmful salt.
So the critical problems are over-irriga-
tion by Grand Valley farmers who use to
the fullest their tong-standing rights to
the Colorado River water and the seepage
from the lateral ditches.
The impact of this salt pollution on
individual farmers was explained by
George Bargsten, who said that he has
spent most of his life farming in the
Grand Valley.
"1 can still sense the despair many
families felt as they walked away from
their alkali-covered farms during the early
years of the Great Depression," Bargsten
recalled.
"However, it was not the depression
that drove them from their farms, but the
salt that invades the root zones when the
water table rises."
There were no governmental agencies
in Grand Valley in the 1920's to do
research on these problems and help save
farmers from disaster, Bargsten recalled.
As a result, many owners lost their farms
even though they had been paying on
them for years.
Bargsten said he eagerly sought a job
with the demonstration project being con-
ducted by Colorado State University to
reduce the Grand Valley salinity damage.
Now a research assistant for the uni-
versity project, Bargsten said that many
farmers in the area have become con-
vinced that new irrigation techniques en-
couraged by the university have greatly
improved their land.
"I can still feel the anguish of seeing
good land gradually become useless by
the bitter water from underground,"
Bargsten said.
"However, because knowledge is now
available, we can regain our wasted farm
lands. Whatever programs and money are
needed to restore these lands and prevent
further land destruction will be justified.
Governmental agencies and university re-
searchers can make important contribu-
tions to the farmers.''
The demonstration project, now draw-
ing to a close, has been directed by
Gaylord V. Skogerboe, Professor in the
Department of Agricultural and Chemical
Engineering at Colorado State University.
Fort Collins.
EPA's project officer for the demonstra-
tion work is James P. Law Jr., Chief.
Irrigated Agriculture Section. Robert S.
Keir Environmental Research Labora-
tory, Ada, Okla.
Grand Valley was selected for the field
work because it is the largest contributor
of salt per acre in the Colorado Basin. Of
the total salinity in the Colorado River an
estimated 40 percent is contributed as a
Continued
Robert Evans, a Colorado State University
researcher, explain* the advantages of
sprinkler systems used on the fruit orchard
behind him.
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
Jack Scott, a Grand Valley farmer, checks
his trickier irrigation system while his
hunting dog watches.
result of farming activities and 60 percent
comes from natural sources such as salt
springs and underground salt deposits.
Of the 40 percent of the salt load
coming from agriculture. Grand Valley
contributes about 18 percent, or about
800,000 tons of salt per year.
Another important reason Grand Val-
ley was selected for this work is that
most of the salt contribution was caused
by existing irrigation practices which
farmers could change once they saw the
need for doing so.
To minimize the amount of salt draining
into the Colorado, a basic requirement is
diminishing the amount of deep percola-
tion and underground water return flow
into the River.
A number of techniques for doing this
have been tested by the Colorado State
University researchers partly on farm
property rented in Grand Vailey but most-
ly on farmers' fields. Cooperative efforts
were undertaken with 70 farmers in re-
cent years to provide irrigation improve-
ments and to increase the effectiveness of
water management by those farmers.
The results of this work will be used to
develop best management practices for
salinity control in Grand Valley. One of
the most significant findings from the
study was that no single control measure
will be effective in controlling the salinity
problem of irrigation return flows in all
circumstances.
A combination of improved farm water
management techniques, delivery system
improvements such as lining canals and
lateral ditches and use of more effective
drainage systems will be required, the
Colorado State University researchers
found.
Some of the specific techniques being
encouraged by the university include
use of sprinkler systems and drip or
trickle irrigation mechanisms, which ap-
ply water more effectively and result in
less salt-contaminated drainage.
Robert G. Evans, one of the Colorado
State University researchers, pointed out
that the use of sprinklers in orchards not
only uses less water than furrow irrigation
but also helps prevent freezing of the fruit.
With the help of funds supplied by
EPA an overhead sprinkler system was
installed on part of a 54-acre orchard in
Grand Valley.
"In the spring of 1976, the orchard
owner lost alt of his fruit because of frost
Irrigation waters give life to these fruit trees
in Grand Valley, Colo. In the foreground
and background are the desert conditions
which make irrigation necessary for farming.
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
damage except those on the 13 acres
where sprinklers had been installed," Ev-
ans said. He added that the sprinklers
can also be used to protect the fruit trees
from excessive heat and to apply pesti-
cides and fertilizers.
EPA has provided $972,479 to help
support salt reduction projects in Grand
Valley which cost a totaf of $1,266,939.
Of this total, approximately $750,000 was
spent for improvements on farmers'
fields, such as canal linings.
Thomas Murphy, EPA's Research Pro-
gram Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Air, Land and Water Use. in evaluating
the Grand Valley research, stated:
"Technology is rapidly becoming avail-
able to control pollution from irrigation
crop production. Already a number of
practical control measures, useful in im-
proving the quality of irrigation return
flows, are being demonstrated.
"It must be stressed, however, that no
single technology will cure all the prob-
lems. Typically, a varying combination of
methods will be required to remedy the
situation, for like most non-point source
problems, irrigation return flows are in-
fluenced by a wide range of conditions at
each site."
Dr. Murphy stressed that "the mere
development and demonstration of these
improved techniques is only a first step.
Continued and increased cooperation
from the agricultural community will be
necessary to develop irrigation manage-
ment systems which are acceptable and
tailored to local conditions. A significant
cooperative effort will be necessary to
implement such systems to actually im-
prove water quality. We are striving to
show that this can be accomplished by
best management practices while at the
same time we are maintaining or enhanc-
ing crop production."
In addition to the Grand Valley project,
EPA is also helping to fund irrigation
EPA JOURNAL
studies in several other areas, including
the Upper Rio Grande Basin. San Joaquin
Valley. Snake River Basin, Columbia Riv-
er Basin and the lower Colorado River
Basin.
High salinity in the soil as a result of
unwise irrigation practices has destroyed
ancient civilizations and is still an omi-
nous threat in many areas of the world.
"Fortunately," Dr. Murphy said, "our
technology has provided us with tools to
examine the problem and to find out
what to do about it. Our goal is to use
these tools to minimize pollution from
irrigated crop production in the current
areas and in the areas to be brought
under irrigation in the future."
Irrigation is responsible for a major
share of the increased salt-concentration
in many of the Nations western streams
and rivers.
Charles Lurvey and Jan Gerardo. Colorado
Stale L'niversiiv researchers, check irriga-
tion meter in Grand Valley project.
At present irrigation is the largest single
consumer of water in the United States.
Unlike many other water uses, irrigation
does not return all the water after use to
a river but actually "consumes" over half
of it through seepage, evaporation and
crop use.
Of the 480 million acres used for crop-
land in the United States, about 47 million
are now irrigated. High cash value crops
such as vegetables and-fruits are usually
grown on irrigated land. Approximately
25 percent of the total value of crop
production in the United States is derived
from this irrigated cropland.
In the past 75 years, irrigated land in
the United States increased by more than
1,000 percent. By the end of this century,
according to the Economic Research
Service, approximately 57 million acres
will be irrigated, an increase of nine mil-
lion acres or about 20 percent over the
present irrigated acreage.•
Additional technical information on the
control of irrigation waxtex can he ob-
tained by writing Jamcx P. La\\: Jr.. Chief.
Irrigated Agriculture Section. Robert S.
Kerr Environmental Research Labora-
tory Ada. Okla. 7-4M20
George Bars>xien examines ti sheet of the
underground Muncos shale which is a major
source of salt in irrigation runoff i
1!
-------
DRINKING WATER
STANDARDS TAKE EFFECT
Anew era has .started with the promulga-
tion of the first comprehensive Federal
drinking water standards. These standards
were established by EPA under the Safe
Drinking Water Act of 1974.
Now. the 40,(XX) community drinking water
systems and 2(X),(HK) other public water sys-
tems from Maine to California will have to
sample their water routinely to make sure it
meets the Agency's new standards. Many
systems already meet these requirements as
a result of existing State programs.
Equally important to consumers, persons
using a public water system must be told by
the water supplier if these standards or moni-
toring requirements aren't being met.
"The public notification provision of the
regulations is the most novel feature of the
new drinking water program," Barbara Blum,
F.PA Deputy Administrator explained. "The
notice to consumers will explain any prob-
lems, specify corrective action that is being
taken and, if appropriate, suggest precautions
the consumer can take.
"The written notice—perhaps accompany-
ing the water bills—must be made if any part
of the regulations is violated. In addition,
whenever a specific health standard is not
being attained, notice by newspaper and noti-
fication to radio and television stations is also
required.
"Consumers will now be better able to
keep abreast of events and participate at the
local level in this most basic of health pro-
grams."
Administrator Costle explained that "Both
HPA and the States believe that most water
supplies already meet the standards. Those
that don't, however, will have to take whatever
action is needed to remedy the problem.
"This could include installing more equip-
ment at the treatment plant to either treat or
remove the harmful substances. In severe
cases, it may necessitate the water system
finding a new source of water, or tying into a
nearby water system.
"Congress recognized that the States, due
to their existing expertise, should play the
key role in protecting the healthfulness of
their citizens' drinking water. For a State to
become the central figure in regulating the
quality of drinking water, it must assume
primary enforcement responsibility (or pri-
macy) over a program designed to meet mini-
mum national standards. Should a State be
unwilling to do this, the law requires that
EPA assume responsibility."
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut. Georgia.
Louisiana, Mississippi. Nebraska and Okla-
homa have achieved primacy. Approval of the
State programs of California, Iowa, Maine,
Massachusetts, Minnesota. New Mexico.
New York. Texas, and Virginia are expected
shortly. EPA is hoping over 40 States will
assume primacy by the end of the next Fiscal
Year, and that the rest will follow their lead.
To assist the States in moving toward the
assumption of primacy. EPA has disbursed
$25 million to help set up and maintain ade-
quate State programs. An additional $20.5
million is available for Fiscal Year 1978, which
begins in October of this year.
The new regulations set health standards
for contamination by bacteria, which can
cause waterborne diseases such as typhoid,
cholera, dysentery and hepatitis. They also
regulate ten inorganic chemicals: arsenic,
cadmium, lead, mercury, chromium, fluoride,
barium, silver, selenium, and nitrate. Nitrate,
for instance, has been of concern because it
can cause an anemic condition in very young
children.
The new standards also apply to the pesti-
cides endrin, lindane, methoxychlor, toxa-
phene, 2.4-D, and 2,4,5-TP Silvex. Addition-
ally, there is a maximum level for turbidity, or
murkiness, which can interfere with the dis-
infection of water. Standards have been set
for radiological contamination as well.
Some types of water suppliers have more
12
time than others to start monitoring for cer-
tain contaminants. Monitoring begins imme-
diately for coliform bacteria and turbidity,
both of which relate to the possible transmis-
sion of disease in drinking water. Monitoring
for the chemical contaminants will be phased
in according to a specified schedule.
Furthermore, the Safe Drinking Water Act
provides for a system of variances and ex-
emptions for industrial water supplies. A local
water system, for example, may obtain an
extension in compliance deadlines where se-
rious economic or other problems are encoun-
tered. However, no such variances and ex-
emptions may be granted where there is an
unreasonable risk to public health. The public
must also be notified when they are granted.
Just before the new standards went into
effect, the Agency received the full report of
a "drinking water and health" study prepared
over the last 18 months by the National
Academy of Sciences. It examined all avail-
able data on the health effects of over 150
contaminant compounds. The NAS report
was intended by Congress to advise EPA on
additional regulatory actions. The report will
provide the basis for issuing revised regula-
tions to provide more comprehensive health
protection.
Some chemicals which are currently unre-
gulated are suspected of causing cancer when
taken into the body in large concentrations.
Controlling this type of contamination is now
the subject of an intensive research effort at
EPA.B
-------
ENVIRONMENTAL ALMANAC
A GLIMPSE OF THE NATURAL WORLD WE HELP PROTECT
July-August
RIVER SWIMMING
The National Park Service re-
cently erected signs at its riv-
erfront park area on the Shenan-
doah River at Harpers Ferry
National Historical Park.
The signs state:
"NOTICE
Fast Current
Very Deep Water
Slippery Bottom
Steep Drop Off s
Polluted Water
PARENTS WATCH CHILDREN"
Despite these ominous warnings,
hundreds of visitors to the park on
a recent sultry holiday weekend
were swimming, floating and wad-
ing in the river at this site.
Also in the water were several
barking and tail-waving dogs. Oc-
casionally the dogs would emerge
and shake off their excess water,
often near a group of indignant
picknickers.
Shrieking children splashed
each other. A few adventurous
young swimmers rode head first
and stomach down through the
swift currents where the river
found passage between huge boul-
ders.
Three youngsters perched on a
large rubber inner tube bobbed
over a small rapid. With their arms
tightly wrapped around each other
and giggling uncontrollably, they
rode their slowly revolving craft
until it reached calm water.
Near the middle of the river
men and women sunbathed on
large rocks. A few who had
brought their rods were fishing.
While EPA and the Park Serv-
ice are making major financial
contributions to help build a large
waste treatment plant at Harpers
Ferry, where the Shenandoah joins
the Potomac River, the plant will
not be completed until next year.
Also still the victim of many
pollution problems, despite a mas-
sive cleanup effort by EPA and
State and local governments, is
the Potomac itself. Yet anyone hik-
ing along the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal above Washington will
find trails leading from the green
sanctuary of the tow path to unof-
ficial swimming areas in the Poto-
mac. And across America this
summer, especially in rural areas,
the sound of laughter and splash-
ing can be heard in the country's
rivers, creeks, and lakes.
In addition to such hazards as
pollution, treacherous currents,
and slippery bottoms, there is the
danger of water so murky that
attempts to find an injured and
sinking swimmer are often ex-
tremely difficult.
Despite the obvious dangers, lo-
cal, State and Federal officials are
unable to stop people from swim-
ming in rivers and lakes on a
scorching afternoon. Jumping into
the old swimming hole is a tradi-
tion which continues.
We've talked to many local and
State officials who earnestly ex-
plain how much more sensible and
economical it would he if people
would just accept the idea of using
modern, sanitary, and relatively
safe swimming pools.
However, Congress, recognizing
the great appeal of swimming in
natural waters, set as a goal in the
Federal Water Pollution Control
13
Act the achievement, by July 1983,
of water that is clean enough for
swimming and other recreational
uses wherever possible.
For rivers have an attraction that
no chlorinated artificial pool can
ever match, no matter how safe
and sanitary.
Swimming in a river or creek
you are exposed to constantly
changing sensations. The natural
setting is always varied, never still.
For example, the Cacapon River
in West Virginia, one of the Poto-
mac's most beautiful tributaries,
has banks carpeted with trout lilies
and phlox in the spring while black
eyed susans, the white button
bush and masses of orange day
lilies provide color in summer.
The sunlight reaching the river
is dappled as it filters through
huge elm and sycamore trees that
arch almost across this small
waterway.
Swimming in the Cacapon on a
recent afternoon you could glide
up to within a few feet of turtles
dozing on rocks and floating logs
before they suddenly awakened
and slid into the water.
Floating on your back you could
watch the clouds sailing by over-
head. Darning needles zig-zagged
by on their gossamer wings. A
pileated woodpecker screamed its
wild call as it returned to its nest-
ing hole.
As dusk descended, some boys
in the distance began skipping
rocks across the water. The circu-
lar dimples grew smaller and
smaller until the rock sank. The
river surface then became mirror
calm.
Far away a whippoorwill hidden
behind a wall of green shrubbery
began its insistent call.
It is experiences like these that
help you understand Justice
Holmes' observation that a river is
" a treasure."—C.D.P.
-------
LABORATORY
DEDICATED AX NARRAGANSEXT
By Van Trumbull
EPA's new $4 million Environmental Re-
search Laboratory was dedicated re -
cently at Narragansett, R.I.,,with short talks
by two US. Senators, a week-long open house
for 3,500 visitors, a scientific symposium,
music ranging from classical string trios to
rock-and-roll, several picnics, and a sailing
regatta.
Sitting on a grassy bank overlooking Nar-
ragansett Bay, which sparkled in the morning
sun, more than 300 persons heard Sen. Clai-
borne Pell, Rhode Island's senior Senator,
give the dedicatory address.
Sen. Pell praised EPA's research and devel-
opment work in preserving the natural re-
sources of the biosphere. It is particularly
appropriate, he said, that the Agency's major
laboratory concerned with marine ecology
should be located on Narragansett Bay, in the
"Ocean State." Oceans and estuaries consti-
tute a vital part of the environment that must
be protected to sustain human life.
Pell said he hoped that some kind of inter-
national environmental impact study would
soon be required before any single nation
takes an action that can affect the quality of
ocean waters and their plant and animal life.
Rhode Island's junior Senator and former
Governor, John A. Chaffee, also spoke, as did
Dr. Wilson K. Talley, former EPA Assistant
Administrator for Research and Development,
and Dr. Clarence M. Tarzwell, director of the
laboratory until he retired five years ago.
Dr. Tarzwell recalled the founding of the
laboratory under the Federal Water Quality
Administration, an EPA predecessor agency,
12 years ago in rented quarters at the Univer-
sity of Rhode Island, West Kingston. "We
were nine miles from the bay," Tarzwell said,
"and had to carry the seawater for our exper-
iments in and out in tank trucks."
The laboratory was moved to its shore
location in 1973, and seawater is now piped
to its testing tanks. The new addition more
than doubles the space available for research
work, and many new facilities and improve-
ments have been added. Total cost of the
(Trumbull is a staff writer for EPA Journal)
EPA JOURNAL
expansion was $4 million, and the total new
floor space for wet labs, dry labs, offices,
and support facilities is 51,000 square feet.
About 85 scientists and other professionals
work there, as well as a support staff of 45
persons. Dr. Eric D. Schneider has been Di-
rector of this laboratory since 1972. Dr. Frank
G. Lowman is Deputy Director.
In concluding remarks. Dr. Schneider
praised the people of Rhode Island for their
support of EPA's marine work and their con-
fidence in the ultimate success of protecting
ocean life and resources. The new laboratory
with its fine equipment will help a great deal,
he said, but "the collective energy and enthu-
siasm" of its staff "is still the greatest resource
we have at the Narragansett Laboratory."
A symposium on "The State of Marine
Environmental Research" was held at the
laboratory with 29 technical papers presented
by scientists from EPA, research institutions,
and ten universities ranging as far as Hawaii
and Miami. These papers will be published.
Keynote speaker for the symposium was the
famed ecologist, Dr. Eugene Odum, of the
University of Georgia, who said the three
E's, "environment, energy, and employment
are synergistic," that is, they work together
and reinforce each other.
The laboratory specializes in research
needed to find ways to restore and pro-
tect the quality of coastal and marine water
and to maintain healthful and productive hab-
itats for ocean life. Its principal divisions
include:
* Bioassay. methods—development of test
systems to determine the effects of pollutants
on marine life.
* Ecosystems analysis—simulating ocean en-
vironments in the lab to learn how natural
populations of plants and animals live and
react to environmental changes.
* Oils—a special research effort on the effects
of petroleum products in seawater.
* Response parameters—are there early indi-
cators, short of death, of a pollutant's pres-
ence: changes in behavior, motility, feeding?
* Marine culture—how to grow fish and other
marine animals from eggs and larvae and rear
them successfully for use in laboratory re-
search.
The laboratory at Narragansett is part of
14
what Sen. Pell called a "golden triangle" of
marine science on the Bay. Just south of the •
EPA lab is the Bay Campus of the University
of Rhode Island, with its own marine lab,
pier, research vessels, and Graduate School
of Oceanography. Across the road to the west
is a research station of the National Marine
Fisheries Service of the Commerce Depart-
ment's National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
There is a good deal of formal and informal
information exchange among the three com-
ponents of the triangle, according to Dr.
Schneider. Scientists in each component are
stimulated by the presence of the other two,
and 38 university students are doing research
for their degrees under EPA scientists.
The week-long celebration of the new EPA
laboratory began on Sunday, June 12, with an
open house for all construction workers who
had built the laboratory. All employees of the
Cumberland Construction Co., associated
contractors, and their families, were invited
to visit the lab and bring their lunches. Picnic
tables, chowder, beer and soft drinks were
provided. About 300 persons attended, toured
the facilities and witnessed the exhibits of the
laboratory's work.
From Monday through Thursday that week
four 90-minute lab tours per day were con-
ducted for invited groups of students, senior
citizens' clubs, environmental and public in-
terest groups from all over the State.
A 60-foot tent on the grounds (occupying a
flat clay court usually used for noon-time
volley ball games) housed exhibits by a dozen
public and private organizations concerned
with fisheries, marine resources, and ocean-
ography.
The 1! 0-foot barkentine Barba Negra
(Black Beard) sailed from New London,
Conn., to moor at the University pier for the
week, was open to visitors. Now owned by the
environmental group SOS (for Save Our
Seas), the 81-year-old vessel was once a whale
chaser. Its harpoon cannon are still in place,
but its owners now work to preserve the
whales.
Each day at noon there was a live concert
of folk music, country music, barbershop
singing, chamber music, or hard rock. Friday
night there was a dedication concert by a
jazz group, Roomful of Blues, and a mime
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
performance by Michael Grando.
Throughout the week, Schneider said, more
than 3,500 persons had visited the laboratory
and seen exhibits created by each division to
illustrate current work. These included gear
for taking core samples of mud from the
ocean floor, ingenious dredges and nets for
gathering marine life from any desired depth,
and scores of glass tanks containing lab simu-
lations of various marine environments.
One popular exhibit was the "bugwatch-
er," a system for automatically track-
ing and recording the movement and behavior
of tiny marine creatures. Developed under an
EPA contract by scientists at Southeastern
Massachusetts University, the bug watcher
links a microscope and TV camera to a video
recorder and a computer. Images of the
"bugs"—in this display they were brine
shrimp larvae about one millimeter long—are
shown on a TV monitor screen and also
converted to blips of light that the computer
EPA JOURNAL
EPA 's new marine laboratory al Narragan-
seti. R.I.
can read and trace. The computer then prints
out diagrams that record each larva's motion,
speed, and direction. This technique is ex-
pected to greatly simplify the analysis of
animal behavior, which EPA scientists hope
will provide more discriminating and faster
ctues to the presence of water pollutants.
Some exhibits involved the simple ABC's
of ocean biology, centered on Narragansett
Bay: varieties of clams, scallops, shrimp,
seaweed.
Did you know you can make pudding from
an alga called Irish moss? Cook it with milk
15
in a double boiler, then strain out the seaweed
and chill. A card on the seaweed exhibit gave
the recipe for "New England blancmange."
Especially popular with the younger visi-
tors—and with a lot of the older ones too—
was a shallow "touching tank" filled with
live fish and shellfish. Tickle a lobster, scratch
a shark, grope for a grouper. All very friendly
and safe (the lobster's claws were rubber-
banded). Every specimen in the touching lank
came from the Bay except for one. This ringer
was a large Dungeness crab from Oregon;
EPA's netters just failed to catch a large
enough native crab.
On the Saturday after the dedication, the
laboratory sponsored a sailing race, over a
triangular course that started and ended at
the EPA pier. That afternoon there was a
picnic for laboratory staffers and their fami-
lies, followed by a staff talent show.
Then the outside exhibitors' tent and the
speakers' canopy and bandstand were taken
down and the volley ball net put back up. •
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
AROUND
THE
NATION
teacher training
Fbrty teachers of auto mechanics in Massa-
chusetts vocational high schools are receiving
special training in the repair and maintenance
of emission control equipment. Region I offi-
cials are cooperating in the program, which is
funded by a $5,000 grant from the U.S. Office
of Education. Objective is to create a pool of
qualified instructors for the next school year,
who would be available to support a state-
wide inspection and maintenance program.
environmental poll
New England residents rate water pollution
control as the most important environmental
problem, according to Region I's second an-
nual opinion poll, published in the Regional
newsletter and distributed at several confer-
ences. Second priority was given to drinking
water safety and third to the control of toxic
substances. Land use controls and noise
abatement were the areas of least concern
among the ten items on the questionnaire.
pulp mill fined
The Scott Paper Co. recently paid $52,000 in
penalties for violating sulfur dioxide regula-
tions in April and May at its pulp mill at
Winslow, Maine. The consent decree stipulat-
ed July 1 as the absolute deadline for halting
production at Winslow and opening a new,
less polluting plant at Somerset, the construc-
tion of which has been delayed.
jersey takes over
Region II has delegated authority to the State
of New Jersey to enforce air emission stand-
ards for new stationary sources and for haz-
ardous air pollutants. Some aspects of asbes-
tos and vinyl chloride enforcement are being
retained by the Regional Office.
red hook plant
Region II has awarded New York City $50.3
million in third-phase construction funds for
the big Red Hook sewage treatment plant in
Brooklyn. Work on this phase will start in
October and be completed in three years.
Total cost of the Red Hook project
will be about $500 million.
It must be finished by December 1984.
vw air accord
Region III and Pennsylvania officials have
agreed on specifications for allowing con-
struction of a Volkswagen assembly plant at
New Stanton, near Pittsburgh. The proposed
plant, expected to employ about 5,000 per-
sons, will emit hydrocarbons from paint spray-
ing, and these emissions must be offset by
reductions elsewhere in the area. The State
agreed to switch to low-polluting asphalt for
road repairs, reducing hydrocarbon emissions
about 1,025 tons per year. The auto painting
operation will be allowed only 900 tons per
year of hydrocarbon emissions.
fine
An EPA administrative law judge has recom-
mended that Philadelphia pay a civil penalty
of $225,000 for violating its interim ocean
dumping permit. If upheld on appeal, it will
be the largest penalty ever assessed under the
Ocean Dumping Act. EPA charges the city
with 32 violations, including failure to develop
an on-land disposal system for sewage sludge
and failure to inform EPA of its delinquency.
The judge supported EPA's reporting proce-
dures as reasonable and necessary forcarry-
ingoutthe law.
16
detective work
Investigations by Region IV enforcement of-
ficers and scientists were commended by
Stanley Czarnecki, FBI Special Agent, in
helping solve the case of the poisoned sewage
plant in Louisville, Ky. EB\ people identified
the toxic chemicals that appeared in the plant
in late March, sickening a number of workers
with toxic fumes and putting the plant out of
operation for two months. EPA also helped
trace the chemicals'to their suspected source,
Kentucky Liquid Recycling Inc. Two officers
of the company and one employee are sched-
uled to go on trial Oct. 24 on charges of
violating the Water Pollution Control Act.
Conviction can bring a year in prison and a
$25,000 fine.
detroit sued
At the request of EPA Region V officials, the
Justice Department has started legal action
against the City of Detroit for polluting Lake
Erie with effluent from its sewage treatment
plant. Regional Administrator George R.
Alexander said Detroit is producing exces-
sive amounts of phosphorus—40 percent of
all phosphorus input to the lake—and contrib-
uting to the Nation's inability to meet its
agreement with Canada on the cleanup of the
Great Lakes. The city has passed its dis-
charge permit deadline to give al! its sewage
secondary treatment by July 1. In the last
two years it has violated monthly discharge
limits 182 times and daily monitoring require-
ments 648 times.
erie survey
An extensive survey of phosphorus pollution
in Lake Erie began in May when scientists
from Ohio State University sailed from Cleve-
land in EPA's research vessel Hydra II. The
65-foot ship has been on loan to the Univer-
sity for four years. It will make eight cruises
this year to sample the phosphorus content in
al! parts of the lake, with particular attention
to the area near Sandusky and Lorain, Ohio,
where the lake is shallow and warm and
close by Detroit's pollution. Last year's sur-
veys found the lake water quality "not getting
better, but not getting worse either."
-------
offset troubles
Region VI officials have been actively carry-
ing out EPA's "offset policy" which allows
new industrial plants that will pollute the air
to be built only when counter-balancing reduc-
tions are made in air pollution elsewhere in
the area.
Legal action was started against the Corpus
Christi Petrochemical Co, in Corpus Christi,
to halt construction of an ethylene plant. EPA
alleges that the company cannot demonstrate
that its emissions would not increase pollu-
tion in an area that already exceeds the am-
bient air standards. The construction permit
issued by the Texas Air Control Board is
invalid, EPA says, since it violates the State's
implementation plans.
Similar notices of violation have been served
on Arco/Polymers, Inc., Port Arthur; Mon-
santo Co., Alvin; and Daubert Chemical Co.,
McKinney. The offset policy was tested suc-
cessfully in Region VI earlier this year in
Oklahoma City, Okla., when EPA officials
obtained agreements from several area firms
to reduce their emissions to offset those of a
new General Motors auto assembly plant.
dumping hearing
A public hearing will be held in New Orleans
July 26 on the Ethyl Corporation's request for
a three-year permit to dump sodium-calcium
sludge in the Gulf of Mexico 50 miles south
of the Mississippi River's Southwest Pass.
Industrial waste dumping in the Gulf has
been reduced more than 90 percent in the
past two years. Toxic waste dumping has
been halted entirely, and the disposal of non-
toxic sodium-calcium and biological sludges
is expected to end in the next few years.
environment day
Kansas City celebrated World Environment
Day June 5 with flags, jazz bands, river boats,
and a large blue and white tent filled with
educational exhibits.
Seventeen groups ranging from the Audubon
Society to the Zoo sponsored booths and
displays. EPA's Region VII Office demon-
strated emergency response operations and •
offered free literature, posters, and litter bags.
Two bands provided music for the strollers,
picknickers, and frisbee throwers in the river
side park. Girl Scouts did theirgood turn by
picking up litter and leaving the park clean.
mighty mo
An hour-long documentary, "The Mighty Mis-
souri," had its premiere telecast May 17 over
Station KCPT, Kansas City. Funded by Re-
gion VII, the film covered the 2,500-mile
river through nine States, illustrating the en-
vironmental issues affecting the river, its tri-
butaries, and the Great Plains area it drains.
The program has been made available to
stations and regional networks of the Public
Broadcasting Service.
salt lake forum
Deputy Administrator Barbara Blum
presided at EPA's third Environmental
Forum in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 19.
She had breakfast with community
leaders and meetings with Utah Gover-
nor Scott Matheson, Salt Lake City Mayor
Ted Wilson, and officials of the Utah Health
Department.
Colorado i & m
The Colorado legislature passed a law requir-
ing inspection and maintenance of auto emis-
sion control systems just before ending its
session the first week in June. All 1977 and
later model automobiles registered in nine
Colorado counties will have to be inspected
annually, starting in 1980. The cost will be
$5.20 per car. Many environmental groups
are recommending an amendment to include
1975 and 1976 models. The nine counties are
those of the "front range," covering metro-
politan Denver and a widening area to the
east, where Colorado's air pollution is most
severe.
sewage to land
Region IX has approved a Si .35-million grant
to Brawiey, Calif., for a land disposal system
forits sewage. The city of about 15,000 in the
Imperial Valley, 90 miles east of San Diego,
will buy farm land and irrigate it year-round
with wastewaterfrom a plant that gives the
sewage only primary treatment (gravity set-
tling of solids). This v/astewater is now dis-
charged into the New River in violation of
the Regional Water Quality Control Board's
standards. The city will not have to build a
secondary treatment plant, and the value of
the crops—sugar beets, wheat, and cotton, in
rotation—will help defray operating costs.
"In a time of severe drought," said Sheila
Prindiville, who heads the Region's Water
Division, "any program that fosters water
reuse is valuable." The Brawiey system, she
. said, would save money and break new •
ground in the Nation's approach to wastewa-
ter discharges.
noisy pumps
Many Northwest homeowners, installing
heat pumps to save energy, find themselves in
another environmental bind: too much noise.
The reversi ble energy exchangers that cool a
house in summer and warm it in winter—
often at a net saving of fuel—can produce
more than 70 decibels of sound. State and
local noise ordinances generally limit night-
time noise in residential areas to 45 decibels.
In Seattle EPA regional officials have re-
ceived dozens of heat pump noise complaints
in the last year, and they have no jurisdiction.
Seattle city officials received five complaints
in a recent week. The solution may lie with
manufacturers building quieter products, ac-
cording to Debbie Yamamoto, who heads the
Region X noise control program. An EPA
study of home equipment noise and its effects
is under way, she said. The results will help
determine if EPA will recommend noise
rating labels for such equipment, or noise
emission standards, or both.
17
-------
REACHING OUT
TO THE PUBLIC
"Government officials cant be sensitive to your problems if we are living
like royalty here in Washington . . . My Cabinet members and I will
conduct an open administration, with town hall meetings across the
Nation where you can criticize, make suggestions and ask questions.
—From President Carter's first "fireside
chat"
FredZengel is a resident of Stone County.
Arkansas. He has been working with a
local environmental group to stop airplanes
from spraying a herbicide called 2.4,5-T, used
to turn overgrown land into pasture. Zengel
and his friends. along with many residents of
the county, feel that the use of 2,4,5-T poses
a serious threat to their health. They recently
gathered enough signatures to have the "stop
spray ing" issue placed on a ballot for a refer-
endum, ll lost by only 60 votes, but they
have not abandoned their effort.
In mid-May, a friend of Fred Zengel's re-
ceived an open invitation to attend a meeting
called an American Environmental Forum
sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency. The invitation read, in part,
"This is your opportunity to ... tell our top
people what you think of us, and why. We
guarantee that we will be listening, and that
you will get answers."
The forums are part of a major effort by
EPA's new leadership to solicit opinion from
citizens around the country.
EPA's first American Environmental For-
um in a nationwide series was held in Little
Rock on May 24 in the city's Convention
Center Exhibit Hall. The meeting featured
1-PA JOURNAL
18
Barbara Blum, the Agency's Deputy Admin-
istrator. Nearly three hundred people were in
attendance. The first speaker was Fred Zen-
gel.
"You. the EPA, are the Federal Agency
with whom the authority and the responsibil-
ity lies for regulating this herbicide 2.4,5-T."
he told Ms. Blum. "You have done so to
some extent in banning its use around homes,
waterways, and on food crops, excepting rice.
"We want to know when you are going to
finish the job and extend the ban to cover the
use of this herbicide on rangelands, forests,
right-of-ways, and rice crops."
Blum told him that EPA is soon going to
place 2,4,5-T in a special category for review
and reconsideration of its remaining uses. He
thanked her and later remarked to an EPA
Journal reporter, "I think this forum has been
a good thing. I don't know how else ordinary
people could gain access to such a high-rank-
ing official." Before the meeting was over,
Blum would engage 27 other people in face-
to-face discussions about environmental is-
sues.
Barbara Blum arrived in Little Rock at
11:15 a.m. on the day of this town meeting.
The headline of the local morning newspaper
read "President Proposes Steps to Strengthen
Environmental Goals." At an airport press
conference, she answered reporters' ques-
tions about Mr. Carter's freshly announced
Environmental Message, and explained, "The
reason we're here today is because we felt
this city is very much a part of the mainstream
of America. The environmental problems you
have are very similar to the problems that
people have in other places."
At the news conference. Mayor Don Mehl-
berger presented Blum with a key to the city.
Administrator Costle exchanges views with
citizens in Portland, Ore.
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
After the press conference, the Deputy Ad-
ministrator met with Governor David Pryor,
who earlier in the day had issued an official
Proclamation declaring May 24, 1977, as Ar-
kansas Environment Day. The Proclamation
stated, in part. "I hereby proclaim Arkansas
Environment Day in the spirit of the efforts
to achieve and preserve environmental tran-
quility for our State and Nation, and call
upon the people of our State to support the
first American Environmental Forum by their
attendance and participation."
Before the actual Environmental Forum.
Blum held meetings with environmental
leaders and with businessmen.
In remarks made at the outset of the Envi-
ronmental Forum, Blum said, "What we're
doing today is coming out and bringing EPA
to the people. The President feels, as we have
long felt, that the best kind of Government is
the Government that comes from the people.
"We are not here to make speeches to
you. We want to hear from you about how
you feel about the problems in your area,
how you feel about the problems nationally,
and how you feel we can best help you. I
want to know what I can take back to Wash-
ington to help in developing a policy in the
new Administration.
"Much of our responsibility is mandated
by Congress, and we don't have any control
over what Congress tells us, but we can tell
Congress what we bear the people say, just as
you can tell your Congressmen and your
elected representatives."
Three weeks after the town meeting in
Little Rock, Administrator Costle participat-
ed in his first American Environmental For-
um on June 15, before 250 people in Lincoln
Hall Auditorium on the Portland State Uni-
versity Campus, Portland, Oregon.
Costle told the Forum that "Oregon has
been a leader in the Nation in environmental
protection. We know you have the best bas-
ketball team in the Nation, the Trail Blazers,
but we have known for a long time that
Oregon was a trailblazer in environmental
matters.
"We have come to Oregon to conduct a
town hall meeting and we will be back to
hold more of them. It is President Carter's
determination to get his appointees away from
their Washington desks and out to talk to the
people.
"It is important to me not to get trapped in
the Washington, DC. syndrome, separated
from the rest of the country by the Potomac
River."
While in Portland, Costle met with Oregon
Governor Bob Straub to discuss environmen-
tal matters. Like Blum, he also held discus-
sions with area environmentalists and busi-
nessmen.
American Environmental Forums featuring
either Administrator Costie or Deputy Admin-
istrator Blum are scheduled for several cities
around the Country in order to bring people
more into the decision making process of the
Federal government. But EPA is also involved
in other outreach programs.
For example, on June 8 and 9 at the Park
Plaza Hotel in Boston. EPA and the U.S.
Department of Commerce jointly sponsored
an Industry Conference. The meeting attract-
ed about 265 members of the business com-
munity from the New England area.
The Industry Conference focused on how
managerial and technological changes could
be introduced by companies to meet Federal
clean water standards for discharges of
wastes. Among the many participants who
addressed the conference were EPA Admin-
istrator Douglas Costle, Department of Com-
merce Assistant Secretary Jordon Baruch,
and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukak-
is.
A similar Industry Conference in Chicago
preceded the Boston conference, and several
more are being scheduled. The next one will
be in Dallas on September 8 and 9. Along
with Administrator Costle, it will feature De-
partment of Commerce Secretary Juanita M.
Kreps.
In the future, EPA plans to conduct open
meetings with groups from all regions of
America. "I have met with more than 200
groups including manufacturer's associations,
farmers, industries and labor people since I
assumed my post," Administrator Costle
said. "We will be seeing a good cross section
of people. "•
Deputy Administrator Barbara liluin \pi'iik-
iiifi at press conference in I.ink' Rock. Ark.
EPA Administrator Douglass M. Costle
explains an environmental issue at a press
conference' in Portland. Ore.
EPA JOURNAL
19
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
FIREWOOD
THE POOR MAN'S ENERGY CRISIS
A growing shortage of firewood is causing
"a poor man's energy crisis" in the de-
veloping nations where firewood is often the
only available fuel.
This disturbing development is reported in
the "State of the World Environment 1977,"
the first report of the executive director of
the United Nations Environment Program.
Dr. Mostafa Kamal Tolba.
The report recognizes some successful at-
tempts to protect the environment but warns
that in four major areas man's activities are
endangering the environment.
In addition to firewood depletion, other
areas of immediate world concern raised in
the report are reduction of the ozone layer,
soil loss and environmental cancer.
Wood is the fourth most important source
of energy in the world after oil, coal and
natural gas. the report notes.
"In rural areas of the Third World where
wood is readily available, nearly 95 percent
of households use it as a primary source of
energy, according to the report.
"Since the greater part of firewood produc-
tion and usage takes place outside commercial
channels and therefore goes largely unrecord-
ed, as much as substantially over half the
world's wood crop could be burned as fuel.
In developing regions, the proportion is much
higher; according to Food and Agricultural
Organization statistics, 93 percent of wood
cut in Africa south of the Sahara is used as
fuel, and 86 percent is so used over all the
developing world."
The magnitude of firewood consumption
in the world, especially in the developing
countries, as well as its significance in the
everyday life of well over two billion people.
was not realized until recently, the report
states.
Most firewood is for family use. The collec-
tion and transport of wood in rural areas is
mainly by human and animal labor so it is
normally gathered from areas within walking
distance of the consumer. In India and in
Africa south of the Sahara, firewood is in
such short supply that villagers may travel up
to 50 kilometers (more than 30 miles) to
gather it and bring it home.
In some regions the search for firewood is
helping to create new deserts. In much of
EPA JOURNAL
India forests are rapidly declining. "With the
growth of human population, the forests are
being cut down faster than they can grow,
partly to make room for new farmlands, and
partly for use as fuel. As a consequence, the
upland areas—the watersheds for the great
rivers which flow through the plains—are
subjected to destructive erosion, while the
resulting sediments cause rapid filling of res-
ervoirs. Destructive floods downstream se-
verely reduce the cover of cultivable soil and
the food which can be produced from it."
45% of all trees cut down are used for
firewood and half the world's people
still depend on wood for two of their
most basic needs — heating their homes
and cooking their food.
Elsewhere the search for firewood is help-
ing to create new deserts. In some countries
dung is burned because of the shortage of
firewood. Not only does this deprive the land
of essential nutrients which should be re-
turned to the soil, but it causes severe air
pollution which can be grossly harmful to
health.
The Ozone Layer—The UN report also
focuses upon the problem of ozone. Ozone, a
compound of oxygen, is found in naturally
small quantities—usually no greater than one
part per 100.000 parts—in the stratosphere.
Nevertheless, this small amount acts as a
shield to protect the Earth from the sun's
harmful ultra-violet radiation. Without this
protection, life on Earth would not exist. But
the layer is fragile and could be destroyed by
a number of chemicals discharged on Earth.
The UN report stated that chemicals such as
those used for aerosol propellants and refri-
20
gerants are already thought to have reduced
the ozone layer by one percent, and if releases
continue at 1973 rates, they could cause as
much as a three percent reduction in ozone
by the year 2,000 and up to a 10 percent
reduction by 2050. Other threats to the ozone
iayer noted by the report are the accelerating
use of nitrogen fertilizers and the possibility
of a targe-scale nuclear war which could blast
enough nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere
to reduce the ozone layer by as much as 70
percent for a period of from five to 10 years.
Cancer—The report estimates that in devel-
oped countries, cancer is now responsible for
17.29?- of all deaths, and that somewhere
between 60-90% of those cancers may be, in
some way, environmentally linked. Although
it is difficult to establish causal factors, a
number of chemical compounds have been
identified as carcinogens and many more are
suspected as being so. Many thousands of
others are entering the biosphere and may act
in concert with others to increase the inci-
dence of cancer, or susceptibility to it.
Losing ground—The world is literally 'los-
ing ground' through erosion, salinization, de-
sertification, and urbanization. It is estimated
that the present rate of erosion may be as
high as 2500 metric tons per year, or Vz ton
for everyone on the planet. The intensification
of agriculture in marginal lands, overgrazing,
overcuJtivation and policies like slash and
burn in various parts of the world have made
soil erosion and desertification most difficult
and pressing problems facing the world com-
munity. Programs for adding more agricultural
land may not catch up with the degradation
and competing uses. For long-term productiv-
ity the carrying capacity of the land will have
to be ascertained and respected.
The 1977 report concludes:
"In order to create better conditions of life
for a greater proportion of mankind in an
environment which is not being damaged
irreparably, an international collaboration on
a scale not seen so far in the history of
mankind is essential. Planned action towards
integrated environmental management is nec-
essary rather than incremental ad hoc steps
taken for environmental protection."
The UN report was released to the public
on June 1, World Environment Day. a
JULY-AUGUST 1977
-------
Kathleen Quinn Camin will head
EPA's Region VII Office in Kan-
sas City. She succeeds Jerome
Svorein that post.
Camin is currently Associate
Dean, College of Business
Administration Wichita State
University, Wichita, Kansas. She
received a bachelor's degree in
government from Smith College
in 1957, did graduate work in
social sciences at the Institute of
Social Studies, the Hague. Hol-
land, and in economics at the
University of New Mexico. Cam-
in received her Ph.D. in econom-
ics at the University of Missouri
in 1969.
She has done extensive research
into strip mine reclamation in
Kansas, Missouri, and Okla-
homa; directed workshops for
an EPA program, "Citizens'
Role in Water Quality Control";
and completed the first national
study on water pollution gener-
ated by the meat-packing indus-
try,
Carol M. Thomas- Director of
EPA's Office of Civil Rights, has
been named Secretary of the
Federal Trade Commission.
Thomas, who held the Headquar-
ters civil rights post since 1972,
joined the Agency in 1971.
Thomas served previously with
the Peace Corps. His earlier
government experience in-
cludes positions with the Office
of Economic Opportunity and
the Navy Department.
David G. Hawkins has been rec-
ommended for the post of EPA
Assistant Administratorfor Air
and Waste Management. The
recommendation to the White
House was made by EPA Admin-
istrator Douglas M. Costle.
Hawkins has been a staff attor-
ney for the Natural Resources
Defense Council since 1971. He
dealt with a wide range of air
pollution issues including trans-
portation controls, air quality
maintenance, indirect source
controls, .steel industry compli-
ance, hazardous emissions from
smelters, new source review in
non-attainment areas, lead, and
energy. From 1970-1971 Hawk-
ins was an environmental attor-
ney at Stern Community Law
Firm, a foundation-supported
public interest firm in Washing-
ton, DC. He taught school in
New York City from 1967-1969.
Hawkins received a bachelor's
degree in English from Yale Uni-
versity in 1965 and a doctor of
law degree with high honors
from Columbia University Law
School in 1970.
Alice Brandeis Popkin has been
chosen to direct EPA's Office of
International Activities. Mrs.
Popkin is an attorney/professor
at the Antioch School of Law.
She serves on the National As-
sembly of National Voluntary
Health and Social Welfare Orga-
nizations, and is a consultant for
the National Collaboration for
Youth.
She earned a bachelor of arts
degree. Phi Beta Kappa, with
high honors from Rudcliffe Col-
lege in 1949. She graduated from
Yale Law School in 1953 and was
a Memberofthe Board of the
Yale Law Journal.
Popkin was a member of the
original staff that set up the
Peace Corps. She served as Di-
rector of International Programs
for the Corps from 1961-1963.
From 1964-1966 she was a repre-
sentative of the Experiment in
International Living in Morocco.
From 1967-1972 Popkin co-di-
rected a research project for the
Georgetown Institute of Crimi-
nal Law and Procedure. During
1971-1972 she also worked on
the Youth Involvement Program
of Children's Hospital of Los An-
geles. From 1972-1974 Popkin
was Special Counsel for the Sen-
ate Subcommittee to Investigate
Juvenile Delinquency.
PEOPLE
William Drayton, Jr., has been
nominated for the post of EPA
Assistant Administrator for Plan-
ning and Management. Before
his appointment, Drayton was a
lecturer al Harvard University's
Kennedy School of Government
in the field of public regulation
and management reform. He
was also a management consult-
ant for McKinsey and Company
in New York City.
Drayton had been employed by
McKinsey and Company since
1970. He had been on leave from
the firm since 1975 to serve as a
visiting associate professor at
Stanford Law School in 1975-
1976andjhokl his lecturing post
at Harvard. In 1976 Drayton
worked on the Carter-Mondale
campaign and the transition staff
on regulatory reform and reor-
ganization.
Drayton received his bachelor's
degree from Harvard University,
a master's degree from Balliol
College, Oxford University, and
a doctor of law degree from the
Yale Law School.
Dr. John K. Burchard has been
appointed Senior Research and
Development Official at EPA's
research facility at Research Tri-
angle Park, North Carolina. Bur-
chard, Director of EPA's Indus-
trial Environmental Research
laboratory at Triangle Park, has
been with the Agency since 1970.
Prior to that time, Burchard was
with private industry in Califor-
nia. Burchard received his under-
graduate degree in chemical en-
gineering from Carnegie Institute
of Technology (now Carnegie-
Mellon University) in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. He also received
his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from
that institution.
Eckardt C. Beck has been ap-
pointed Administratorfor EPA's
Region II office in New York
City. He has been Deputy Assist-
ant Administratorfor Water
Planning and Standards, Office
ofWaterand Hazardous Mate-
rials, for the Agency since 1975.
Beck will succeed Gerald M.
Hansler.
Before joining EPA, Beck was
Deputy Commissioner of the
Connecticut Department of En-
vironmental Programs for sev-
eral years, in charge of the State's
air, water, radiation, pesticides,
noise, and solid waste manage-
ment programs. Earlier he
helped to establish the State en-
ergy agency, acted as the
agency's first administrator, and
was chief energy advisor to the
Governor.
Beck graduated from Emerson
College in Boston, did graduate
work there in communications.
and went on to earn a master's
degree in public administration
from New York University in
1972, where he is now a doctoral
candidate. He attended the Yale
University Graduate School of
Epidemiology and Public Health
and holds a Graduate Certificate
in Air Pollution Administration
from the University of Southern
California Graduate School of
Public Administration.
Continued
21
-------
(Jeorge Alexander, Jr., has been
reappointed as Regional Admin-
istrator of the Chicago EPA Of-
fice, a post he has held since
March 1976. He joined the Agen-
cy in 1972 as Deputy Regional
Administrator of the Dallas of-
fice. In 1974 he became Deputy
Di rector of the Office of Region-
al and Intergovernmental Opera-
tions in Washington. Alexander
was awarded a Bronze Medal for
exceptional service to the Agen-
cy in 1974.
He had a private law practice
and held executive positions
with several companies before
entering the government service.
Dr. Oilman Veith. analytical or-
ganic chemist for KPA's Environ-
mental Research laboratory,
Duluth. has been selected to re-
ceive the 1977 Environmental
Chemistry Award of the Synthet-
ic Organic Chemical Manufactur-
ers Association. The award rec-
ognizes outstanding
accomplishments in environmen-
tal organic chemistry "which
contribute in a significant way to
improving the Nation's environ-
ment and the general welfare of
its citizens." Veith's selection
was based upon his explanation
of the role of polychlorinated bi-
phenyls ( PCB's) in environmen-
tal contamination. His work has
been instrumental in the devel-
opment of legislative controls on
the discharge of these chemicals
into the environment. A gold
medal plus a SI .(HH) honorarium.
will be presented at the associa-
tion's September 1977 meeting in
New York City.
Donald B. Mausshardt has been
named Executive Assistant to
the Deputy Administrator, and
Director. Operations Coordina-
tion. He was formerly Deputy
Director of the Office of Inter-
governmental Relations.
Mausshardt has worked for EPA
and predecessor agencies since
1964. His Agency service in-
cludes positions as Chief. Imple-
mentation Branch, Solid Waste
Management Program: Chief.
Technical Support Branch, Re-
gion X; and Chief, Laboratory
Support Branch. Region X.
Marvin B. Durning has been rec-
ommended to President Carter
by the Administrator to head
HPA's Office of Enforcement. If
approved by Congress, Durning
will replace former Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Enforcement
Stanley W. Legro.
Durning. 47, has been in private
law practice in Washington State
for the past IK years. He was
a partner in the Seattle law firm
of Durning. Smith, and Brucker.
After receiving a bachelor's de-
gree with honors from Dart-
mouth College. Durning studied
at Oxford University under a
Rhodes Scholarship for 2 years.
He holds a law degree from Yale
University Law School.
Throughout his career Durning
has been involved in major land
use planning, transportation,
and energy litigation. In 1966. he
received the Conservationist of
the Year award from President
Johnson. Born in New Orleans.
La., Durning is married and has
three children.
Dr. Alphonse F. Forziati has
been appointed Director of the
Stratospheric Modification Re-
search Staff in EPA's Research
and Development Program. He
has been the Executive Secre-
tary of the Environmental Meas-
urements Advisory Committee
since 1974.
Dr. Forziati received his bache-
lor's, master's, and doctorate de-
grees from Harvard University.
He was a research associate for
20 years with the National Bu-
reau of Standards. Forziati also
did research for the Department
of the Army and the Depart-
ment of Defense before joining
the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Administration of the De-
partment of the interior in 1966.
Paul DeFalco, Jr. has been reap-
pointed as Administrator of
EPA's office in San Francisco.
A long-time career official, he
has held that position since
September, 1971. Before his
appointment as Administrator,
DeFalco served as EPA's Interim
Regional Administrator in San
Francisco and Regional Director
for the Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration's Pacific
Southwest Region.
He had previously served as
Director of the Hudson-
Champlain Comprehensive
Water Pollution Control Project
and the Raritan Bay Project.
He was also involved in studies
of the Delaware River,
Narragansett Bay and the
Connecticut River. Before
joining the Federal Government,
he was with the Interstate Sani-
tation Commission, an agency
serving New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut.
Dr. Gunter Zweig of EPA's Cri-
teria and Evaluation Division,
Office of Bssticide Programs,
has won the 1977 Harvey W.
Wiley Award. The award is pre-
sented annually by the Associa-
tion of Official Analytical Chem-
ists. Zweigjoined the Agency in
1973. He received a bachelor's
degree from the University of
Maryland in 1944. and a docto-
rate there in 1952. He will ad-
dress the Association in October
on "A Status Report on the
Technology of Pesticide Residue
Analysis."
Joan Bernstein who has had 25
years experience as an attorney
in government and private prac-
tice, has been appointed EPA's
new General Counsel.
A native of Galesburg, Illinois,
Bernstein was a partner in the
law firm of Baker, Hosteller,
Frost and Towers, Washington,
D.C. before joining the Agency.
From 1970 to mid-1976, she
served in various capacities with
the Bureau of Consumer Protec-
tion of the Federal Trade Com-
mission. In addition to serving
as a trial attorney at the FTC,
she has also held positions as
Assistant to the Director, as well
as Deputy and Acting Director
of the Bureau of Consumer Pro-
tection there. Prior to her govern-
ment service. Bernstein was em-
ployed by various private law
firms in New York. Chicago and
Washington, D.C. Throughout
her legal career, she has been
active in administrative and anti-
trust iaw. A graduate of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, Bernstein
earned a law degree from Yale
University where she was a
member of the Board of Editors
of the Yale Law Journal.
Steven D. Jellinek has been rec-
ommended to the White House
by Administrator Costle for the
position of Assistant Administra-
tor for Toxic Substances. Jellinek
was Staff Director, Coun-
cil on Environmental Quality, a
position he held since 1973.
He had been a staff member at
CEQ since 1971.
He served as Special Assistant
to the Assistant Commissioner
for Compliance, Internal Reve-
nue Service, from 1969-1971. He
had held various personnel man-
agement and administrative posi-
tions with the IRS afterjoining
this Agency in 1961. Jellinek re-
ceived a bachelor's degree in po-
litical science from the Univer-
sity of Rochester in 1960 and a
Master of Public Administration
from the Maxwell School of Citi-
zenship and Public Affairs, Syra-
cuse University in 1961. In 1969-
1970 Jellinek was a Public Af-
fairs Fellow at Stanford Univer-
sity.
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Joan Martin Nicholson, an envi-
ronmentalist, has been named
Director of EPA's Office of Pub-
lic Affairs. In 1971, Nicholson
founded the Bolton Institute, a
non-profit organization dedicat-
ed to helping people find practi-
cal solutions to environmental
problems. She was its President
until 1976.
Nicholson served on President
Carter's Energy Task Force, pre-
paring the paper on Energy Con-
servation. She is a member of
many energy and environmental
organizations, including the
Board of Directors of the Center
for Environmental Education.
As a consultant in 1972-7.1. Ni-
cholson designed and estab-
lished a national dissemination
and information network for the
Office of Environmental Educa-
tion at the Department of Health.
Education, and Welfare. Her ex-
perience includes service with
the Agency for International De-
velopment, and the Office for
Economic Opportunity.
She received a bachelor's degree
from Allegheny College in politi-
cal science/international studies.
Her most recent position has
been as Senior Coordinator for
Public Interest Relations for the
American Petroleum Institute.
where she also served on the
API Energy Conservation
Task Force.
Richard Dowd has been named
Scientific Policy Advisor and.
Staff Director of the Science Ad-
visory Board. This position re-
places the Science Advisor)
Board Executive Secretary post
that was vacated by Dr. Thomas
D. Bath in May.
He was most recently employed
as principal analyst for the
Congressional Budget Office.
From 1972-1975 Dowd worked
for the Connecticut Department
of Environmental Protection.
first as Director of Planning and
Standards, then as Assistant
Commissioner. He was a re-
search scientist for the Center
for Environment and Manage-
ment in Hartford. Conn, from
1970-1972 and taught physics at
Tufts University from 1965-1970.
He has published numerous pa-
pers and articles on physics, and
environmental topics.
Dowd received his bachelor's de-
gree from Yale University in
1960. He earned a master's de-
gree at the University of Wiscon-
sin in 1962 and a doctorate in
1965.
Bernard J. Steigerwald. Director
of the Office of Regional Pro-
grams for EPA's Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards.
Durham. N.C., was the 1977 re-
cipient of the Richard Beatty
Mellon Award. This award.
which was presented in Toronto.
Canada, on June 21, is given to
an individual who has contrib-
uted substantially to the abate-
ment of air pollution. The Air
Pollution Control Association
presented the award to Steiger-
wald in recognition of his "out-
standing leadership and achieve-
ment in initiating and directing
the US. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency's program for the
development and approval of
State implementation plans." as
well as his continued efforts in
revision of these plans to achieve
national ambient air quality
standards.
William R. Adams, Jr. has been
named to replace John Mc-
Glennon as Administrator of the
Boston EPA Office.
Adams was Commissioner of the
Maine Department of Environ-
mental Protection, a post he held
since 1972, and Chairman of the
State Board of Environmental
Protection. He was Director of
Maine's Environmental Improve-
ment Commission from 1969-
1972. Adams was Director of
Public Works in Lewiston, Me.
from 1965-1969, and held munic-
ipal and private engineering
posts there between 1954 and
1965.
Adams is Vice Chairman of the
New England Interstate Water
Pollution Control Commission
and is a member of the U.S.-
Canada Committee on Water
Quality in the St. John River.
He received his bachelor's de-
gree in civil engineering from the
University of South Carolina in
1951. then served as an Ensign'
I.t. Junior Grade with the U.S.
Navy from 1951-1954.
Sheldon Meyers has resigned
from EPA to take a position
with the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission as Director of the
Division of Fuel Cycling and
Material Safety. Meyers had been
Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Solid Waste Management
since 1975. He was Director of
the Office of Federal Activities
from 1972-1975.
Meyers joined EPA when it was
formed in 1970. He previously
served with the National Air
Pollution Control Administra-
tion and the Atomic Energy
Commission,
John H. DeFord has been named
Director of the EPA Office of
Administration in Research Tri-
angle Park. N.C. Previously he
was Director of the Contracts
Management Division there. His
earlier government service in-
cludes positions with the Nation-
al Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration and the IX-pai tment of
Health. Education and Welfare.
He joined the National Air Pol-
lution Control Agency, an EPA
predecessor agency, in 1970.
DeFord received a Bronze Med-
al for commendable service in
1976.
David R. Tripp has been appoint
ed Chief of the Legal Branch for
EPA's Region VII Office. Tripp
has been with EPA since 1971.
He has served as an Attorney-
Advisor in the Enforcement Di-
vision and Assistant Regional
Counsel. He earned his H.A.
and J.D. degrees from Washbuni
University. Ibpeka. Kansas and
a I.I..M. degree from the Univer-
sity of Missouri at Kansas City.
Ralph N. Langemek'r. Region
VII Enforcement Division, has
been selected to participate in
the Education for Public Man-
agement Program at the Univer-
sity of Washington at Seattle.
The program provides training
and development to employees
who have the potential to take
increasing responsibility in direc-
tion of agency programs and pol-
icies. Candidates study manage-
ment methods and subjects
related to the mission of the
agency at one of eight participat-
ing universities for nine months.
Langemeier has worked for the
Agency for five years. He has a
bachelor's degree from the Uni-
versity of Missouri.
23
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UPDATE
A listing of recent Agency publi-
cations, and other items of use to
people interested in the environ-
ment.
GENERAL PUBLICA-
TIONS
Single copies available from the
Printing-Public Information Center
(PM-215), US EPA, Washington, D.C.
20460. (202-755-0890)
Air Pollution Literature (June 1977)
This 8-panel leaflet explains what air
pollution literature search services
are available from EPA, to whom,
and at what cost. It also lists sources
for computerized literature searches
and places to write for copies of arti-
cles and publications.
Clean Water and the Cane Sugar
Industry (July 1977) Another in the
water effluent guidelines series. This
16-page booklet examines what ef-
fect compliance with the Federal
Water Pollution Control law will
have on the cane sugar industry.
Films From EPA (Revised May 1977)
An updated listing of films provided
by the Agency, some on a free-loan
basis, others for rent. The 12-page
booklet gives several sources for
films about the environment and tells
how some can be purchased.
Fun With the Environment (Reprint-
ed May 1977) A booklet that stimu-
lates the interest of grade school chil-
dren in ecology and the environment.
The 16-page booklet encourages
young people and their teachers to
get involved in the President's Envi-
ronmental Youth Awards Program.
Preparing for a New Coal Age (July
1977) A reprint of articles that ap-
peared in the June issue of EPA Jour-
nal about the Nation's switch to coal
in anticipation of the growing scarc-
ity of oil. The stories look at the his-
tory of coal, new developments in
cleaning the pollutants out of coal,
reclamation of stripmined lands, and
include an interview with Stephen J.
Gage, Deputy Assistant Administra-
tor for Energy, Minerals, and Indus-
try.
Suspended and Cancelled Pesti-
cides List (June 1977) This 16-page
booklet alphabetically lists Agency
actions on pesticides that have been
suspended, cancelled, or otherwise
restricted. It will serve as a handy
reference for people involved in pes-
ticide regulatory work.
Where Do We Go From Here? (July
1977) A 10-page leaflet to inform
elected officials about the water qual-
ity management program. It discuss-
es the significance of Section 208
planning to communities and local
decision-makers.
FEDERAL REGISTER NO-
TICES
Copies of Federal Register notices
are available at a cost of $. 20 per
page. Write Office of the Federal Reg-
ister, National Archives and Records
Service, Washington, D.C. 20408.
Solid Waste Management EPA is-
sues interim guidelines to assist State
and local governments in identifying
and aiding problem regions; effective
5-15-77. May 16, pp.24925-930.
Pesticide Products Containing Pron-
amide EPA issues notice of rebutta-
ble presumption against registration
and continued registration. May 20,
pp.25906-911.
New Motor Vehicle Certification
EPA issues notice of intent to amend
regulations for light-duty vehicles
and trucks. May 31, p.27669.
Pesticide Products EPA determines
rebuttable presumption against reg-
istration of products containing dial-
late. May 31, p.27669-674.
Textile Industry Point Source Cate-
gory EPA adopts final pretreatment
standards for existing sources in sev-
en subcategories; effective 6-30-77.
May 26, pp.26979-984.
Registration of Pesticide Products
EPA publishes national list of priority
needs for minor use. May 27,
pp.27479-505.
New Motor Vehicles and Engines
EPA adopts emission defect reporting
regulations; effective 7-5-77. June 2,
pp.28130-131.
24
Vinyl Chloride EPA clarifies and cor-
rects-emission standard; effective 6-
7-77. June 7, pp.29005-29009.
New Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehi-
cle Engines EPA announces results
of Federal certification tests for 1977
Model Year to determine conformity
with air pollution control standards.
June 8, pp.29439-469.
Clean Air Act EPA identifies benzene
as hazardous air pollutant; effective
6-8-77. JuneS, pp.20332-333.
Water Pollution EPA allocates $1 bil-
lion to States for carrying out the re-
quirements of the Federal Water Pol-
lution Control Act; effective 6-3-77.
June 9, pp.29481-482.
COMING EVENTS
More information about these events
and EPA participation in them is
available from Walt Johnson (202)
426-8703.
EPA Seminars on the Expanding
Role of the Consulting Engineer in
Wastewater Treatment Plant Opera-
tions, Chicago, August 23-24; New
York, September 13-14.
MOVIES
This film is available on a free loan
basis from the EPA Office of Public
Affairs, Region VII, Room 279, 1735
Baltimore Avenue, Kansas City, MO.
64108. (816)374-5894;:
A Matter of Understanding This 28-
minute color film is about the coyote,
the most numerous large wild canine
predator in North America. The mov-
ie looks at how the coyote has pitted
cunning, intelligence, and endur-
ance against guns, traps, and poi-
sons to adapt and survive.
Correction
Because of a typographical error the word
"tanneries" was printed as "canneries" in
the June 1977 issue of EPA Journal in a
listing of industries discharging heavy metals
into waterways. Canneries are not a signifi-
cant discharger of heavy metals.
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news "briefs
EPA ORDERS MAJOR AUTO RECALL
EPA has ordered the recall of 220,000 Fords for failure to meet
air pollution standards, and issued a report on 11 million other
cars that are under investigation for possible recall. Deputy
Administrator Barbara Blum said that "this recall is the latest
in a series since 1973 in which approximately 7.3 million vehicles
have been recalled for failure to meet air pollution standards.
This repeated failure has occurred at the expense of public
health. The recent air pollution alerts on the East Coast and
elsewhere are graphic examples of the problem."
EPA JOINING SUIT AGAINST TVA
EPA has joined five citizen suits and one State suit charging 10
Tennessee Valley Authority electric power plants with violating
Federal-State air pollution standards. "EPA has spent months
trying to get TVA to comply with provisions of the Clean Air
Act," Deputy Administrator Barbara Blum said, "yet the violations
continue with little effort to achieve air pollution reductions.
As the Nation's largest electric utility, TVA should be a showcase
for energy and environmental coexistence." The Department of
Justice on behalf of EPA will file intervening motions in the
suits now before six U.S. District Courts in Tennessee, Kentucky,
and Alabama.
NEW REPORT SUPPORTS SCRUBBERS
A new report on flue gas desulfurization (scrubbers) states that
the only process with high sulfur dioxide removal efficiency widely
available now is scrubbers. The report, titled "Flue Gas
Desulfurization in Power Plants, Status Report" (April, 1977),
summarizes the worldwide progress of scrubber technology in
controlling sulfur dioxide pollution from power plants. Copies
of the report are available from Jim Herlihy, Division of Stationary
Source Enforcement, (EN-341), U. S. Environmental Protection Agency,
401 M St., S.W., Washington, D. C., 20460.
-------
US. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A-107)
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA-335
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Relurn this page if you do NOT wish to receive this publiction ( ), or if change of address is needed; ). list change, including zip code.
READING SMOKE PUFFS
A machine that can puff all kinds and hues
of smoke is now being used by EPA's
Region II Office in New York City to help
train smoke readers.
The trailer-mounted device can help EPA
officials determine when a smokestack is
violating air pollution regulations.
EPA's Region II Office in New York City
has been using the machine since last Novem-
ber to train neophytes in the skill of smoke
reading and to test veteran smoke readers to
make sure thei r eyes are still accurate.
Robert Knox, Chief of the Region's Envi-
ronmental Workforce Development Branch,
says the machine is a great training device
and will make a big difference in developing
sound offense citations which can hold up in
court.
John Accardi, Environmental Protection
Specialist who conducts the classes, says the
smoke generator "is not only the best way,
it's the only way to train for 'method 9' in the
Clean Air Regulations." Method 9 specifies
that smoke or other emissions from a chimney
or stack be judged by "a trained observer"
for percent of opacity, the proportion of light
that is cut off by the smoke plume.
About 50 persons have been trained and
certified as smoke readers in Accardi's class-
es since November. The smoke generator
has been lent several times to New York City
for training its smoke readers.
The generator makes two kinds of smoke,
black and white. Black smoke is made by
burning toluene—a volatile hydrocarbon. At
first Accardi used benzene for this purpose,
but that fuel was discontinued this spring
when it became known that benzene was a
potential carcinogen. White smoke is made
by vaporizing kerosene, producing a plume
that looks like steam but lasts much longer
than steam. The vapor is produced by drip-
ping the kerosene on a heated plate.
The ability to read opacity of white and
black plumes—as well as intermediate com-
binations—is necessary because particulates
in the plumes are responsible for the viola-
tions and may be of any color. Sooty black
smoke is no longer the only bugaboo; pretty
white smoke can have just as many tiny
submicroscopic particles, and the emission
standards limit the mass of particles released
per volume of air. The best quick gauge of
particulate mass is opacity, not color.
Two days of classes in meteorology and
law are followed by smoke reading classes
and tests held in open country, away from
other smoke sources. Trainees observe at
least two stack heights from the machine.
Each has a clipboard and tally sheet.
The trainees glance quickly at the plume
just above the top of the stack, and mark
down their estimates, from zero (completely
clear) to 100 percent (completely opaque).
Each test puff of white or black smoke is
measured by an electronic instrument called
a transmissometer inside the stack near the
top. This instrument has a light at one end
and a photocell at the other. It gives exact
readings of the plume's opacity, the percent
of light cut off. These readings are automati-
cally recorded on a strip chart.
For certification tests, the trainees must
read 25 black and 25 white smoke samples
that vary randomly over the full range, con-
trolled by Accardi and recorded on the strip
chart. The candidate's estimates cannot de-
viate from the true values by more than an
average of 7.5 percent, with no single reading
more than 15 percent off.
The reader's certification must be renewed
every six months. When it was pointed out
that this requirement seems more stringent
than for airline pilots, whose physical exams
are usually good for a year, Accardi replied:
"We're not testing any knowledge when
we give a recertification test. "The human
being is like a piece of equipment here. We're
recalibrating eyes."
The smoke generator, its instrumentation,
and the trailer were built to EPA specifications
by Environmental Industries, Gary, N.C. The
stack is 16 feet high, but can be folded down
for high way travel. Total cost was about $10,000.
EPA scientists are working on automatic
smoke reading devices that do not require
any human judgment. Some industries have
installed transmissometers in their stacks, but
no device has yet been built that can read
smoke opacity at a distance outside the stack.
OU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1977 720-136/7 1-3
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