SEPTEMBER 1977
VOI..THRKK.NO. HICiH'I
US. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTH 11()\ \(,l NO
EMERGING FROM SUMMER'S SMOG
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Cleaning the Air
The near-record number of air pollution alerts
in Washington and the thick smog blankets
that smothered other cities this summer
graphically reminded us all of the continuing and
pressing need to curb the heavy load of pollutants
being discharged by automobiles.
Dirty air in Washington was cited by one senator
as an example of why Congress should refuse to
buckle under to auto industry lobbying efforts to
push back new and more stringent emission controls
for five years.
The Clean Air Act amendments finally passed by
Congress were hailed by President Carter as "a
sound and comprehensive program for achieving
and preserving healthy air in our Nation."
While the auto industry was given a two-year
grace period before the new and tighter limits
take effect, the President noted that "the automobile
industry now has a firm timetable" for meeting
these standards.
Meanwhile, EPA is continuing with its efforts to
insure that the auto industry complies with whatever
standards are actually set. An article reports that
Detroit has had to recall millions of cars so far
because they did not comply with the required
emission limits.
On the subject of autos, this issue of EPA Journal
also carries an interview with Eric Stork, Deputy
Assistant Administrator for Mobile Source Air Pol-
lution Control, on the meaning of the new car gas
mileage figures which will be released soon. These
figures are a valuable by-product obtained in testing
prototypes of new auto models to make sure they
conform to emission controls.
Another article reports on two cities in which a
new EPA policy was applied to allow the construc-
tion of new auto assembly plants while moving
towards cleaner ai r.
The magazine also takes a look at the Administra-
tive Law Judges who help the Agency make critical
decisions.
A Marine teaching a bird to fly makes for an odd
juxtaposition. But another article's subject is the
extraordinary energy and interest in environmental
programs at a Marine Corps air station in Hawaii,
which is not only helping to preserve the island of
Oahu, but has won the Marines a national award.
The Journal also reports on a new program by
EPA and three other Federal agencies to reduce
duplication and protect public health and the granting
of permission by EPA for use of poisons to kill pred-
ators endangering the survival of rare birds.
(\irpollutiongripsWesl l.os Angeles.
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US. ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
Douglas M. Costle,
Administrator
Joan Martin Nicholson
Director
Office of Public Awareness
Charles D. Pierce,
Editor
Van Trumbull, Ruth Hussey,
David Cohen,
Staff
Cover: Air pollution haze blurs view of
U.S. Capitol. Photo by Bernie Boston of
the Washington Star.
Photo Credits:
Ernest Bucci. Nick Karanikas. Al
Wilson, Chester Higgins, Jr. , Gene
Daniels , Luther C. Goldman, Bureau of
Sport Fisheries and Wildlife; Martin
Levick. Black Star.
Printed on recycled paper.
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.,
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Washington, D.C. 20402.
ARTICLES
THE NEW CLEAN AIR ACT
Congress passes major changes in the law
protecting the Nation's air.
EMERGING FROM SUMMER'S SMOG
A review of conditions around the country
during a hot and often polluted summer.
AUTO RECALLS
Millions of autos have failed to meet air
pollution standards.
YOUR GAS MILEAGE
The meaning of the 1978 gas mileage figures
which will be released this month.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
How getting new industry can force
reductions in air pollution.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES
A look at some attorneys who help make
important EPA rulings.
MARINES PROTECT ENVIRONMENT
A group of Marines in Hawaii honored for
unique environmental program.
REGULATORY REFORM
EPA and three other Federal Agencies join
forces to reduce duplication.
PROTECTING RARE BIRDS
EPA grants permission for poisoning of
predators to save endangered species.
DEPARTMENTS
NATION
PEOPLE
ALMANAC
UPDATE
NEWS BRIEFS
PAGE 2
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
PAGE 8
PAGE 10
PAGE 14
PAGE 16
PAGE 20
BACK COVER
PAGE 12
PAGE 18
PAGE 23
PAGE 24
PAGE 25
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The J$ew Clean Air Act
.
Smug shrouds downtown Chicago.
/ am pleased to sign into lew . . . the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977. This
Act is the culmination of a three-year effort
by the Congress to develop a law which
will continue our progress in meeting our
national clean air goals in all parts of the
country. . .
The automobile industry now has a firm
timetable for meeting strict, but achieva-
ble, emission reductions. That industry
now knows with certainty what is required
and can devote its full-time energies to
designing cars which will further our clean
air goals while continuing to improve fuel
efficiency.
This timetable will be enforced.
-President Jimmv Carter
The Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1977 are now law. Among the
new provisions: A two-year ex-
tension on current standards for tailpipe
emissions on new model automobiles (See
box). Members of both the Senate and
the House had been under intense lobby-
ing pressure to adopt a five-year extension
schedule.
Administrator Costle said. "Senator
Edward S. Muskie and Congressman Paul
G. Rogers and the members and staff of
the Senate Public Works and Environ-
ment Committee and the House Com-
merce Committee deserve the thanks of
the American people for their courage
and persistence in the long legislative ef-
fort to protect the quality of our air.
"I am extremely pleased that the long
struggle over the Clean Ait Act is over.
The legislation enacted by the Congress
will resolve a number of critical issues. It
will permit expanded use of coal while
maintaining protection of the public
health. It will safeguard the air quality in
those areas of the country which are still
pristine. And it will provide an acceptable
schedule for continued future reduction
in emissions from automobiles."
Shortly before Senate-House conferees
approved the compromise version of the
Act, Sen. Wendell Anderson voiced this
sentiment on behalf of the more stringent
cleanup schedule: "Driving in from Vir-
ginia, I cant see the Washington Monu-
ment," adding that in walking from his
office to the Senate he has "a feeling of
nausea ... my eyes hurt. There is a
health problem."
According to wire-service reports, re-
action to the new Act from Detroit—
which had claimed it would be forced to
shut down under the old cleanup sched-
ule—was mixed.
Elliot M. Estes, President of General
Motors, the Nation's largest auto pro-
ducer, expressed relief over the decision.
"Our challenge now," he said, "is to
FPA JOURNAL
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meet the requirements with cars which
serve the wants and needs of our cus-
tomers."
William O. Bourke, Executive Vice
President of North American Operations
for the Ford Motor Company, said, "We
will make every effort to meet them [the
new standards] on schedule and with as
little impact on vehicle and fuel efficiency
as we can."
But an unsigned statement issued by
the Chrysler Corporation stated, "These
standards ... go beyond health needs,
and will unquestionably waste fuel and
will be an additional unnecessary cost
burden to the American consumer."
Other provisions of the new Act include:
Prevention of Significant Deterioration.
Each State is required to classify areas
which are presently cleaner than the
national ambient air quality standards
as Class I, Class II, or Class III. Class I
designations are mandatory for national
parks and national wilderness areas.
Areas where the air is not as pure as the
Class I regions but is still currently cleaner
than national standards will be classified
as Class II. Allowable pollutant levels are
highest in Class III areas. A State may
reclassify any areas other than a manda-
tory Class I area by following a procedure
set out in the new Act.
An "allowable increment" is the per-
missible increase in pollution in any Class
I, II, or III area. The Act provides for
limited allowable increments. The smallest
increments are allowed in Class I, the
next largest in Class II, and the largest
increments are allowed in Class III areas.
However, a variance above the estab-
lished Class I increment can be granted
by a Governor (eight percent above the
allowable increment for low terrain areas
and 15 percent for high terrain areas).
The President of the United States is
made arbitrator regarding approval of a
variance in cases where there is a disa-
greement between the State and the Fed-
eral land manager.
Nonattainment. The new Act endorses
EPA's "offset" policy for new or modified
major sources of air pollution in areas
that do not meet air quality standards.
The offset policy allows new development
if the net effect is an improvement in
over-all air quality due to decreases from
other sources. However, the Act also pro-
vides for waivers of offset requirements
where the State has an adequate program
for incremental reductions in emissions
which will assure attainment of the stand-
ards by the deadlines (1982 for pollutants
other than those which are auto-related;
1987 for auto-related pollutants). In order
to use the waiver provision, a State must
have submitted a revised State Implemen-
tation Plan by 1979, showing attainment
by the '82 or "87 dates.
The Act strongly encourages the adop-
tion of auto inspection and maintenance
programs as a tool for attaining Federal
clean air standards.
Governors can suspend on-street park-
ing restrictions, gas rationing, and non-
commercial vehicle retrofits that are a
part of an existing transportation control
plan in a nonattainment area until submis-
sion of the required new State Implemen-
tation Plan, under certain circumstances.
Coal conversion. The new Act allows for
extensions for compliance with emissions
limitations for power plants ordered to
convert to coal. This extension on meet-
ing standards is effective prior to the date
of the conversion. But sources which are
ordered to convert can only begin to
actually burn coal when they can do so
without causing or contributing to concen-
trations of any pollutant in excess of
primary air quality standards. This latter .
feature of the Act is called the "primary
standard condition."
Also, the Act authorizes the State, EPA,
or the President to require use of local
coal to prevent severe economic disrup-
. tion or unemployment which might be
derived from use of coal, other than that
locally available.
New penalties. Any polluting source which
received an enforcement order but does
not comply by 1979 shall automatically
be subject to a compliance penalty in the
form of monthly payments equal to all
costs that would have been required to
achieve compliance. The effect of this
measure should be that there is no eco-
nomic advantage in delaying installation
of pollution control devices.
Warranties. The duration of the perform-
ance warranty for auto emission control
devices remains five years or 50,000 miles.
However, a general performance war-
ranty, which includes carburetor adjust-
ments, etc., is set at two years or 24.000
miles.
Tampering. The anti-tampering (with auto
emission controls) prohibition is extended
to any person in the automotive repair
business.
Smelters. Through application of an owner
or operator, a delayed compliance order
may be issued to a nonferrous smelter by
the State or the Administrator if the
smelter is unable to comply with an ulti-
mate sulfur dioxide requirement in the
State Implementation Plan. No more than
two such orders may be issued per
smelter, the first effective until Jan. 1,
1983, and the second until Jan. I, 1988.
Best available pollution control technology.
The new Act narrowly redefines the re-
quirement for "best emissions reduction
system" as the best technological system
of continuous emission reduction. This
means that where a control technology
for substantially reducing pollution exists,
no polluting sources may comply simply
by burning untreated fuels. All new
source performance standards must be
revised to reflect this change within the
next year. •
BOX SCORES
in grams per mile
The Old Auto Standards (Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970)
Beginning in ... , Carbon
Model Year Hydrocarbons Monoxjde
1977 1.5 15.0
1978 .41 3.4
The New Auto Standards (Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977)
Beginning in
Model Year
1978-1979
1980
1981
Hydrocarbons
1.5
.41
.41
Carbon
Monoxide
15.0
7.0
3.4*
Nitrogen
Oxides
2.0
.4
Nitrogen
Oxides
2.0
2.0
1.0
' The Administrator may waive the 3.4 requirement for carbon monoxide up to 7.0 upon a finding that the
technology for control is not available, determined by cost, drivability, fuel economy, and other factors.
SEPTEMBER 1977
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Emerging from
Summer's Smog
Despite major gains in reducing
air pollution nationally, an op-
pressive heat wave left many
major cities in the eastern United States
suffering this summer in a foul, gray haze
responsible for numerous air pollution
alerts and advisory warnings.
State air pollution control experts re-
ported unprecedented smog exposure in
such places as Waukegan, 111., Cincinnati,
O., and southern Connecticut.
In Washington D.C., where the record
for total alert days may be broken, bicycle
lockers at government buildings were
stuffed with ads for strap-on respirators
resembling oxygen masks. The hand-outs
proclaimed. "DON'T LET POLLUTED
AIR GET YOU DOWN."
In southern Ohio and in Baltimore se-
lected industries were ordered to cut back
on emissions as part of alert procedures
to relieve air quality problems.
Conditions seemed somewhat better
elsewhere. Spokesmen for States such as
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New
York reported normal or better-than-aver-
age summers with regard to air pollution.
Western cities such as Los Angeles es-
caped July's high pressure system which
created moist, stagnant air over much of
the East, but by the month's end a Califor-
nia heat spell was triggering smog alerts.
The technical name for smog is photo-
chemical oxidants. Such oxidants are not
emitted directly into the atmosphere, but
are produced by a complex series of
chemical reactions when certain emis-
sions from motor vehicles and other
sources—hydrocarbons and oxides of ni-
trogen—mix in the presence of sunlight.
A chief component of smog is ozone, a
pollutant which is reported frequently by
weathermen giving Air Quality Index
(AQI) readings.
"Emission-related ozone has some
harmful effects on human health of its
own," Dr. Lawrence Plumlee, EPA Medi-
cal Advisor, said. "It is used also as an
indicator of the level of photochemical
oxidants in the ambient air. The ozone
level corresponds to the overall smog
level.
"Not only has ozone reached high lev-
els in Washington, D.C., this summer, but
they have been persistently high. Such
prolonged conditions may reduce our re-
EPA JOURNAL
sistance to disease.
"The effect of these pollutants on the
population varies. Within any group of
people there will be a range of sensitivi-
ties. Most people will experience some
eye irritation. Throat and chest ailments
are more frequent during these periods of
heat and high oxidant levels. And, of
course, persons with existing lung ail-
ments are vulnerable, as are the very old
and the very young. But even the very
hearty will experience quicker fatigue dur-
ing vigorous exercise.
"Due to the effects of a combination of
oxidants, particulates (dust particles, lead,
etc.) and nitrogen oxides, a large propor-
tion of the population will experience dry
throats. For some, this will become a sore
throat. These sore throats can open the
door for virus or bacterial infections in
some people because the defense system
is broken down. Headaches are another
common complaint during inversions,
most likely because of high carbon mon-
oxide levels." •
The National Weather Service reported
that during July a humid, stagnant air
mass was produced by a high pressure
system combined with poor upper air
movement and a general lack of weather
activity. This condition extended from
New England and central New York
through central Michigan and Minnesota,
as far west as Nebraska and south to the
Gulf of Mexico. Temperatures soared well
into the nineties and sometimes higher.
New York City, for example, experienced
the second hottest day in its recorded
history, 104° F. Its all time high is 106° F,
set in 1936.
Dr. Maurice Franks, house physician
for the Hebrew Home of Greater
Washington, Rockville, Md., said that
during the worst pollution period, "We
asked our senior citizens to remain in-
doors most of the time because of the
excessive air pollution and heat. The pol-
lution makes breathing difficult and ag-
gravates many cardio-pulmonary condi-
tions. Fortunately, our facility is air-
conditioned and we have had no serious
problems."
Rose Wimmer, age 84, a retired
nurse living in Arlington, Va.,
stated, "When we do have air pollution.
my legs get weak and I can hardly walk.
It makes my eyes burn and I can't get my
breath. I stay inside as much as I can. I
can hardly make the two block trip to the
store, so sometimes 1 have to get the food
delivered. During air pollution periods 1
have to rest a lot and it's hard to get my
housework done."
Raymond Lewis, 74, while out for a
stroll in Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek
Park, said, "I've always made it a point
these last few years since my stroke to
take a walk in the evening. But this
summer, what with the hot weather and
the pollution and all, there are times when
I just cannot get out."
In a recent letter to the Washington
Post, James L. Fulton of the Potomac
Pedalers Touring Club, a bicycling organi-
zation, wrote, "On any given weekend
our members may be cycling distances of
from eight to over 100 miles. After these
rides there has lately been a disturbing
incidence of headaches, burning eyes,
weakness, nausea, etc."
The Richmond Times Dispatch, Rich-
mond, Va., reported on July 8, during a
period of high ozone readings, that "Area
hospital emergency room staffs are seeing
more patients with cardiac and pulmonary
distress ... In general, these medical
problems are attributable to combinations
of heat, humidity, and increasing pollu-
tion."
Dr. Michael Rolnick, Chief Resident of
the Georgetown Medical Center Emer-
gency Room, Washington, D.C., said that
"based on personal observation and that
of my staff, there seem to be more air-
borne disease problems this summer than
last. Asthmatic patients are being seen
more. In general, there seems to be an
increased number of outpatient respira-
tory problems ..."
Harold Frankford, an environmental
protection specialist for EPA's Region 111
Office, explained that in the National Cap-
ital Interstate Air Quality Region, which
includes the District of Columbia and
parts of Maryland and Virginia, Agency
efforts to curb air pollution have been
limited. For instance, the Clean Air Act
prohibits EPA from implementing such
transportation control measures as park-
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Washington's mall leads to a Capitol wrapped
in summer smog.
ing surcharges designed to reduce auto
traffic in Washington.
Most of the pollution in Washington.
this summer, he noted, has been caused
by the discharge of auto fumes and the
hot, stagnant air.
While noting that nothing can be done
about the weather. Frankford said that a
major effort is being undertaken to de-
velop a comprehensive region-wide plan
to control and abate pollutant levels in the
Washington metropolitan aiva.
One of the strategies being considered
is an auto inspection and maintenance
program. A new amendment to the Clean
Air Act allows for such programs in areas
exceeding the ambient air quality stand-
ards for auto-related pollutants. The D.C.
government is willing to adopt an inspec-
tion and maintenance program, according
to Frankford. but has held off because
the Maryland and Virginia legislatures
have not yet passed laws to permit similar
programs in their jurisdictions.
"Adoption of an inspection and main-
tenance system," he said, "could help
reduce auto fumes from improperly tuned
and maintained cars." He added that
steps are also being taken to require in-
stallation of vapor control devices at serv-
ice stations, another step that should help
reduce pollution.
According to Dr. Plurnlee, ozone can
be windswept to areas other than where
it was formed, creating problems there.
For instance, a spokesman for the Con-
necticut EPA reported, "This summer
may qualify as one of our worst. Some of
our urban areas—specifically Derby, New
Haven, and Danbury—have experienced
their highest ozone levels in the four years
we've been taking readings. Ironically, our
problems are not caused so much by
stagnation, but by extra high levels of
ozone being blown in from other urban
areas. When we're experiencing 10 to 12
mph breezes, our ozone problem is often
at its worst."
Ozone problems in large cities, how-
ever, are usually exacerbated by stagnant
air. Dr. Plumlee explained. Furthermore.
atmospheric conditions called inversions.
when a layer of cool air is trapped against
the Earth by a layer of warm air above,
also tend to prevent pollution from being
dispersed or rising into the upper atmos-
phere.
An Indiana Department of Health offi-
cial reported that "there was a belt of
stagnation this July that ran along the
Ohio River Valley."
The effects of this stagnation were felt
in southern Indiana and Ohio, and north-
ern Kentucky. A spokesman for Ohio
EPA said "This has been a very bad
summer for us. We've already had several
alerts for ozone so far this year in many
of our counties. We've also had some
trouble with particulates in the industrial-
ized Steubenvilie area." An official for
the State of Kentucky stated that "we've
been flooded with phone calls from people
with respiratory problems asking for in-
formation about oxidant levels and advice
about what precautions they should take.
We've had to install a toll-free phone line
with a recorded message giving daily in-
dices and bulletins."
In Los Angeles, the original smog capi-
tal, a member of the California Air Re-
sources Board said, "Our summer was
fairly mild until late July. We had the
usual number of inversions and a continu-
ing smog problem, but then we got into
the period of intense heat, resulting in
alerts. You must keep in mind that the
first stage of our pollution alert scale is at
,2 parts per million of ozone. I understand
that on the average it is much lower on
the East Coast." (In Washington. D.C.
for example, an ozone alert is issued at . 1
parts per million of ozone).
One problem which has led to some
confusion is the lack of a uniform national
index. EPA and the Council on En\iron-
mental Quality have recommended that
agencies which take air pollution readings
voluntarily adopt a proposed uniform sys-
tem called the Pollutant Standards Index.
(See EPA Journal. October 1976).
"EPA and the President's Council on
Environmental Quality advise the States
on how to organize pollution alert sys-
tems," Administrator C'ostle said. "EPA
makes scientific judgments about the
health effects of various levels of pollu-
tants, and publishes criteria and guidelines
accordingly. There is still a great deal we
do not know.
"While there is not enough historical
data to presently determine national
trends for oxidants. there are some clues
to progress: In the mid-1960's, Los Ange-
les residents were exposed to smog levels
violating health standards an average of
176 days a year; but by the mid-1970's
this exposure was down to an annual
average of 105 days.
"Basically, since much smog is auto-
related, society faces a trade-off in its
transportation system. Our romance with
the automobiles has to be weighed against
the desire for better health. Dirty air is
already costing us over $21 billion a year
in medical and property costs.
"This is an important time for citizens
to learn about the issue of clean air, and
to get involved."•
SKPrHMBKR 1977
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Auto Recalls
The auto manufacturers should spend less time and money fighting
future auto emission standards and get around to the business of
the laWS already On the bOOkS. —EPA Deputy Administrator Barbara Blum
Item: Rhiuary 15. 1973. The first recall
older under the Clean Air Act was issued
by then EPA Administrator William D.
Ruckclshaus. It involved 2,290 General
Motors vehicles. In his letter to the car
company. Ruckelshaus stated that engine
modifications were necessary to reduce
excessive emissions.
Item: March 6, 1974. Then EPA Adminis-
trator Russell E. Train ordered what was
termed "the first large-scale recall cam-
paign." It affected 826,(K)() Chrysler vehi-
cles and remains the largest recall issued
by the Agency to date. A defective device,
detected and reported to EPA by the
Chrysler Corporation, required correction
to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions for
compliance with Federal standards.
Item: March 22. 1977. Douglas M. Costle
began his second week as head of EPA
with his first news conference. He made
the following announcement: "I am today
ordering the General Motors Corporation
to recall approximately 135.000 1975 Cad-
illacs for violation of air pollution stand-
ards. The recall is based on a defective
carburetor design which resulted in exces-
sive emissions of carbon monoxide. I do
want to acknowledge GM's agreement to
voluntarily recall these cars."
KPA JOURNAL
Item: July 13, 1977. EPA issued its most
recent recall, involving some 220.000
Fords for violation of the nitrogen oxides
standard. In announcing the recall. EPA
Deputy Administrator Barbara Blum said,
"Today's actions reiterate our commit-
ment to solving such pollution problems
so that we a!! may breathe healthier air."
Beginning with the first such ac-
tion in 1973, about 7.3 million
vehicles have been recalled for
emission problems. Of that total, 5.8 mil-
lion have been voluntarily recalled by the
manufacturer as the result of EPA investi-
gation. About 1.5 million vehicles have
been recalled as a result of a direct order
by the Agency.
"This repeated failure to meet emission
standards has occurred at the expense of
public health," Barbara Blum said. "The
recent air pollution alerts on the East
Coast and elsewhere are graphic examples
of the problem."
EPA is granted authority for this recall
program under Section 207 (c) of the
Clean Air Act. The provision states that
if a substantial number of any class of
vehicles or engines—although properly
maintained and used—do not conform to
the emissions standards when in actual
use. the Administrator shall order the
manufacturer to recall the vehicles to rem-
edy the nonconformity.
According to Dr. Norman Shutler, Dep-
uty Assistant Administrator for Mobile
Source and Noise Enforcement. 11 mil-
lion 1973-77 vehicles are currently being
investigated by EPA for possible emission-
related recalls. "The fact that a class of
vehicles is under investigation does not
necessarily mean that a recall will be
ordered." he explained. "However, it
does indicate that a violation of emissions
standards or some defect related to emis-
sions controls may exist."
A recall investigation may be initiated
as the result of EPA surveillance testing
of in-use vehicles, EPA's assembly line
audit program, the manufacturer's own
assembly line emission testing, or a con-
sumer complaint which might indicate a
potential problem with emissions.
During the second phase of an investi-
gation, EPA tests samples of properly
maintained and used vehicles to deter-
mine their emission levels while being
driven, or to assess the effect of a partic-
ular defect on emissions.
In the final step of the investigation, a
report is prepared which assesses whether
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or not all legal criteria have been fulfilled.
as well as the impact of the excessively
polluting vehicles on the environment and
the economic costs of making corrections.
The EPA Administrator then issues a
recall order to the manufacturer, who has
45 days either to submit a plan for reme-
dying the problem, or to request a hearing
to contest the basis for the recall.
One recall to date has been contested.
On December 10, 1976, former EPA Ad-
ministrator Russell Train ordered Chrys-
ler Corporation to recall 208.(XX) of its '75
cars, including C'ordobas, Newports.
Plymouth Furys and Grand Furys, Dodge
Monacos, Charger SE's, and Coronets.
The recall was based on carburetor mis-
adjustments which resulted in excess
emissions of carbon monoxide. Train la-
beled this "precedent setting" since it
was the first recall based on improper
design and adjustment procedures. Previ-
ously ordered recalls had been based on
manufacturing defects.
According to Matthew Low, EPA's
Chief Counsel for the hearings, the out-
come of this judicial proceeding may be
highly significant. "It could define the
entire course of the recall program," Low
said. "In the Chrysler case, certain facts
indicate that the company designed a ve-
hicle in such a way as to facilitate or
cause misadjustments in use.
"Thus, the ultimate significance of the
Chrysler case may well be that it will
establish a standard for manufacturers to
design maintainable vehicles."
The hearings will commence on Sept.
19 at F,PA headquarters, Washington,
D.C. Low said that he expects them to
last three to four weeks, with a decision
being handed down by an Administrative
Law Judge sometime around the end of
the year.
Since last January. EPA's various inves-
tigation methods for determining if vehi-
cles are in compliance with emissions
standards have included testing selected
samples of new cars as they come off the
assembly line. This is called Selective
Enforcement Auditing (see EPA Journal,
January 1977). On February 8, 1977, the
first enforcement action under the new
assembly line testing regulations was
taken.
As a result, the Ford Motor Company
was cited for failure of certain '77 Grana-
das and Mercury Monarchs to pass the
tests. EPA ordered Ford to recall about
54,000 of the cars already built. John R.
Quarles. then EPA Deputy Administrator,
stated at that time, "It's very disturbing
that in this early testing we find cars with
emission levels ranging as high as four
times the carbon monoxide limit. On the
average, the^ cars emitted about twice the
allowable levels."
The auto recall program also includes
foreign cars produced for sale in the
United States. Some 550.(XX) non-domes-
tic vehicles have been ordered recalled to
date. For example, on April 5. 1976. EPA
and the Department of Transportation
accepted a Volkswagen of America pro-
posal to recall voluntarily 138.(MX) of its
1975 and early 1976 Rabbits and Sciroccos
in order to improve the reliability and
safety of the emission control systems.
EPA and DOT's National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration began investiga-
tions of potential problems in those
models after receiving a number of con-
sumer complaints about overheating of
catalytic converters and malfunctioning
of an evaporative emission control device.
Regarding the auto recall program. Ad-
ministrator Costle has said, "The emis-
sions data and engineering analysis asso-
ciated with the recalls leave no room for
doubt that EPA should order these cars
be cleaned up. I intend to pursue a vigor-
ous enforcement effort toward assuring
that the Nation's automobiles are as clean
as Federal standards dictate." •
SHITKlvim-R 1977
-------
Your Gas Mileage
Interview with Eric O. Stork, Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Mobile Air Pollution Control
(The "1978 Gas Mileage Guide for New Car Buyers," published
jointly by EPA and the Federal Energy Administration, is expected
to be available soon from auto dealers and from the Consumer
Information Center, Pueblo, Colo., 81009. The free booklet gives
the fuel economy results from EPA's testing of 1978 model cars and
light trucks. The following interview explains how the results are
obtained and what they mean.)
Q: Why does the EPA, which is responsible for
environmental protection, get into the business of
telling the public about the fuel economy of cars?
How does that relate to environmental protection?
A: The fuel economy information that EPA has published for a
number of years has been an outgrowth of our environmental
protection work, and has been a vital support to our primary mission.
Here's how it came about. Back in the early seventies, we began to
get complaints about what emission controls were doing to cars.
Now, the auto industry has a long history of building some lemons.
When you build millions of cars there will be some mistakes. Before
the Clean Air Act mechanics and auto 'companies had to take the
blame for their own errors.
But with the coming of emission standards, mechanics and the
industry found a scapegoat—the emission standards. Emission con-
trols began to be blamed for everything wrong about cars.
We started getting all sorts of complaints, including complaints
that emission control caused fuel economy to drop off sharply. So I
asked our staff at our laboratory in Michigan to give me a report on
the effect of emission controls on fuel economy. At first our staff
said that there was no way in which they could do this, because
there was no consistent data base on the fuel economy of cars. While
every auto company and some private organizations all had used
various fuel economy test procedures, none of these were compatible
with the others. To make an analysis of the type we needed we had
to have a data base of fuel economy tests made on a consistent test
procedure.
Then a couple of bright young fellows in our lab realized that we
had in our own files an absolute gold mine of information. You see,
we had been testing auto emissions for some time, and we had saved
the results of those tests in our files. Now, when a car is tested for
emissions, you keep track of the carbon monoxide coming out of the
tail pipe, as well as the unburned hydrocarbons, and the oxides of
nitrogen. And you also keep track, for technical reasons, of carbon
dioxide coming out of the tail pipe.
Hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide. These are all
carbon terms, and are the only forms of carbon that.come out of the
tail pipe when you test a car for emissions. AH that carbon comes
from the fuel that's powering the car during the test, namely gasoline.
Since the amount of carbon in a standard gallon of gasoline is
known, and since we knew how far we drove the car in the emission
test, it was possible to determine the fuel economy of the vehicles
EPA JOURNAL
tested, and to analyze fuel economy effects of things like emission
control.
Q: What did you find from this analysis?
A: The single most important factors determining fuel economy of
cars are vehicle weight and engine size. A car that weighs 5000
pounds takes just about twice as much fuel to drive in urban traffic
as a car that weighs 2500 pounds. Similarly, if two cars weigh the
same the one with the more powerful engine will have significantly
lower fuel economy, especially in city driving.
We also found other ways in which fuel economy is lost. The
automatic transmission is one example. Air conditioning can use a
lot of fuel, depending on how hot it is, the humidity, and the length of
time it's on. Tires make a difference. There are also a number of
other factors.
We also found that emission standards had had an effect on cars.
Up through the 1974 model year, emission controls had reduced fuel
economy for all cars by II or 12 percent on the average. The
reduction was greater than that for larger cars, and for small cars
there was.little or no loss.
Q: What did you do with this information?
A; This information became very important in the debates about
energy conservation and emission control. In the spring of 1973 the
President directed EPA to publish its fuel economy car information,
for the use of car buyers. Nothing we've ever published in the
Federal Register received as much public interest, and so as a follow-
up we developed the Mileage Guide and the voluntary car mileage
labeling program.
Congress, in 1975, wrote into law a requirement that all auto-
companies label their cars with fuel economy information obtained
from EPA into the Energy Policy Conservation Act, so what had
started as a voluntary program became mandatory.
Congress also wrote into the law a requirement that EPA publish
the Mileage Guide. And Congress based the fuel economy standards
for future cars on our mileage estimates.
Q: Why should EPA continue to provide fuel econ-
omy information?
A: There are still people around, including the auto companies at
times, who insist that environmental controls of automobiles must
reduce fuel economy. That claim is just not true. If a manufacturer
elects to use the best available technology, he can meet emission
standards even more stringent than present ones without reducing
fuel economy. It's extremely important for the Federal Government
to remain active in fuel economy to be able to keep that record
straight as the emission standards get tighter. In addition, the Mileage
Guide and car labels provide a useful service to the public by helping
people select from among new cars those that have the better fuel
economies. Since fuel economy is now such a large factor in selling
cars, someone has to keep the industry honest on fuel -economy
claims. The GAO and others have concluded that EPA can do this, in
conjunction with our certification program, at a small fraction of the
cost any other agency would have to incur.
-------
Q: Why doesn't my cur get the gas mileage your
figures say it should'.'
A: This is a question we're often asked. The fuel economy of any
car is dependent on how you drive it—in real life or in a test. There
isn't a car anywhere in the United States on which we could not
demonstrate fuel economy that ranges from zero to better than 100
miles a gallon.
I'd better explain that. We'll measure zero miles per gallon if the
car sits and idles long enough. We'll measure better than 100 mifes
per gallon if the car coasts down a mountain.
Now. neither one of those is a realistic way of testing for fuel
economy. But before EPA standardized fuel economy testing, the
figures used in auto company ads were sometimes not much more
realistic.
The key point is that fuel economy of a car is dependent on how
you drive that car, how long a trip you take it on, the speed at which
you drive, whether you have a heavy or gentle foot on the accelerator,
whether your tires are properly inflated, whether the weather is hot
or cold or moderate when you start. Whether the car is properly
tuned up or not properly tuned up. There are a host of variables.
oon
That is why there is no way to design a test procedure that will
predict with precision the fuel economy that each and every individual
owner will get in his car. because they'll all get different results from
nominally identical cars.
The most that is possible is to develop a test procedure that is
based on average driving, as we have done. One that gives you
reliable figures on the relative fuel economy performance of cars that
are available for purchase.
In using the EPA Mileage Guide, you should not look at an
absolute fuel economy number and say to yourself. I'm going to get
this number. You may get less, you may get more, in your own kind
of driving.
Rather, you should look at those numbers and compare them to
other cars that you're considering for purchase. If the Mileage Guide
rates Car A at having 2Q9r better fuel economy than it rates Car B.
then you can be pretty sure that you'll get about 2W7c better fuel
economy from Car A than from Car R in your own kind of driving.
That's really all the numbers are designed to tell you.
Q: What can I do if I find my car isn't getting the
gas mileage listed by EPA'.'
A: If you find that your car isn't getting anywhere near the ERA's
estimate you can start by comparing your kind of driving to the
driving that's done under ]-.\>\ tests.
The trips you take in your car may be much shorter than the test
cycle used by EPA. Our city trip represents an average urban trip of
about 11 miles, at an average speed of about 22 mph. Your average
trip may be shorter, or you may drive much faster. Also, many
people drive on freeways at substantially higher speeds than used in
our highway tests, which represents an average of ;ill non-urban
driving—not freeway driving alone.
You might also assume that your engine is properly tuned up. If it
isn't, you're going to get poorer fuel economy.
You should also make sure that your tires are properh inflated. If
they're not, you're wasting a lot of energy, (heck to see that your
front end is properly aligned, so that you don't drag your front tires
down the highway sideways to some degree.
Finally, you might be able to change some of your personal driving
habits if you find that your fuel economy is too low.
Q: Htis experience shown that man inspection and
maintenance programs help gtts mileage'.'
A: Yes. Data available on inspection and maintenance programs, as
well as data available from other studies in which fuel economy was
evaluated on cars before and after tune up, consistently show that
the fuel economy of well-tuned cars is better than the fuel economy
of cars in what might be called an average state of repair.
Q: Bused on the information you lure now, are
there any new trends or new information emerging
from the tests'.'
Continued on page 21
9 SEFFEMBER 1977
-------
H'A.IUURN/
-------
A Tale of Two Cities
This is a tale of two cities—Okla-
homa City, Ok la. and New Stan-
ton, Penn.—in which EPA has
given the go ahead for the construction of
new auto assembly plants even though
both cities are already suffering from ex-
tremely dirty air.
Allowing the plants, major contributors
of hydrocarbon pollution, to locate in
these areas may seemingly contradict
EPA's goal of a clean environment. How-
ever, EPA's newly evolved "emissions off-
set" policy is a compromise that allows
industrial growth in polluted areas of the
country if progress is made toward clean-
ing the air.
Under the policy of "emission offset"
new air pollution emissions from new
industrial sources—already minimized by
available technology—must be more than
offset by a reduction in emissions from
already existing facilities. The ratio of the
trade-off must be more than one to one.
If a major, new source wants to locate
in a polluted area, it must meet strict
requirements. A major source is defined
as one with emissions greater than 100
tons per year of major pollutants, or 1,000
tons of carbon monoxide. It must control
its emissions, achieve more than an equiv-
alent offset, and make reasonable prog-
ress towards national air standards. Al-
though the primary responsibility for
finding the offsets rests with the locating
industry, the State still has the option to
find offsets itself, as the State of Pennsyl-
vania chose to do in New Stan ton.
An important aspect of the policy is its
built-in flexibility. Emission offsets may
actually be obtained in a variety of ways—
by cleaning up the emissions of an exist-
ing facility owned by the new company,
• by cleaning up a source belonging to
another company, or by shutting down
facilities.
"The net effect of the new industrial
growth," says EPA Administrator Doug-
las M. Costle, "will be an actual improve-
ment in air quality."
The construction of a Volkswagen as-
sembly plant in New Stan ton, and a Gen-
eral Motors assembly plant in Oklahoma
City mark two of the first major facilities
to come under the policy. The GM plant
will add more than 3,000 tons of hydrocar-
bons annually to the already polluted
Oklahoma City air. The process of finding
offsets to allow the plant to come in began
with a series of meetings between Region
VI Administrator John White, Governor
of Oklahoma David L. Boren, represen-
tatives of GM, the county Department of
Health, and the city's Chamber of Com-
merce. Further discussions were held
among the city's industries to figure out
where hydrocarbon emissions could be
reduced or eliminated.
It was discovered that many crude oil
storage companies had storage tanks that
were "breathing" hydrocarbon vapors.
These could be eliminated by placing
floating roofs on the tanks. The roof floats
with the liquid level inside and prevents
the escape of vapors. EPA, GM, and the
city then got together to find ways to
further control emissions in the new plant
itself. They found that by using new ab-
sorption systems, and by switching to a
water-based paint in areas of the plant
where the car bodies receive the first
coat of paint, GM could achieve signifi-
cant reductions in its own hydrocarbon
emissions.
According to Costle, "EPA, State, and
local government and business represen-
tatives worked together and persuaded
several oil companies in the area to reduce
their aggregate emissions of hydrocarbons
by 5,280 tons per year. Now GM can
begin building a plant that will provide
new jobs, add to the city's tax base, and
yet not deteriorate air quality." Thus, by
using the policy, the net reduction of
hydrocarbon emissions achieved was over
2,000 tons per year.
In New Stanton, near Pittsburgh, a
proposed Volkswagen auto assembly
plant posed similar problems. It was esti-
mated that the plant would emit 900 tons
of new hydrocarbon emissions into air
already considered by EPA to be polluted.
The state of Pennsylvania, through its
Department of Environmental Resources,
chose to actively assist in providing off-
sets. They first explored traditional
sources, like plants with smokestacks, and
found that, for a variety of reasons, they
would not be appropriate for offsets.
EPA worked with the State to find
ways to reduce hydrocarbon emissions.
As a result, it was found that if the State
started using a low-polluting asphalt in its
road maintenance operations, the neces-
sary reductions could be achieved. The
asphalt uses a water-based solvent and its
use will reduce hydrocarbon emissions by
1,025 tons per year.
The Clean Air Act of 1970 does not
allow the location of new industrial
sources of air pollutants in areas violating
Federal air quality standards if they "in-
terfere" with the eventual attainment of
those standards. The "emission offset"
policy was issued last December as a
further interpretation of this prohibition.
The policy is based on the assumption
that industrial growth is realistically com-
patible with the philosophy of the Act.
Congress originally set 1975-1977 as the
years in which the standards for major
pollutants had to be achieved nationally.
While significant cleanups were made,
most areas of the country failed to meet
their deadlines. The question was raised
as to whether or not new industrial growth
would have to be stopped in these areas.
EPA decided that growth could continue
if it resulted in progress towards cleaner
air.
The success of EPA's emission offset
policy in Oklahoma City and New Stanton
demonstrates that concern for environ-
ment and human health, and the goals of
industry, can be aligned if a mechanism is
provided.
In both cities the technology for resolv-
ing the problem of growth and pollution
was readily available. It is hoped that in
future situations the policy will be "tech-
nology-forcing" by providing industry
with incentives to use all the ingenuity it
can to evolve new methods of pollution
control.
In both cases, industry actually saved
money by changing technologies, and
progress was made toward the goals of
human health. In this tale of two cities, it
can be said that an acceptable balance
was achieved.
The "emission offset" policy is now
being used in a wide variety of cases
throughout the Nation. But New Stanton
and Oklahoma City are significant in an-
other respect—both situations involved
automobile plants.
"It is ironic that the first two compa-
nies to build under our offset policy are
auto manufacturers," commented Costle.
"The purpose of the policy is to allow
economic growth in non-attaining, or pol-
luted, areas, yet auto pollution is the main
reason many areas have not yet achieved
air quality standards. If the auto industry
continues to pollute without using new,
as well as available, technologies to curb
pollution, then controls on industry, espe-
cially new industry, will have to be tough-
ened." •
SEPTEMBER 1977
-------
AROUND
THE
NATION
paper penalty
The Scott Paper Company has paid a total of
$110,000 in civil penalties for air pollution
violations from its Winslow, Maine.mill. A
$10,000 fine was assessed for violation of the
national ambient air quality standard for sul-
phur dioxide plus $1000 for each day in June
that the mil) continued to operate in violation
of applicable sulphur dioxide emission limita-
tions. The mill at Winslow was shut down on
June 19th, and ihis operation transferred to a
new plant at Somerset, Me., which is ex-
pected to meet air quality standards. The
Winslow mill produced wood pulp for mak-
ing paper. Chemicals used in the process
produced sulphur dioxide that can irritate
eyes, nose, throat, and lungs when carried in
the air. The plant had been assessed heavy
penalties for air violations earlier this year.
puerto rican violations
EPA's Region II issued a "show-cause" order
to the Puerto Rican Aqueduct and Sewer
Authority concerning violations at 91 sewage
treatment facilities operating on the island.
On the basis of EPA and Environmental Qual-
ity Board site inspections and the Authority's
monitoring reports. Region II found a contin-
ued pattern of poor maintenance in violation
of provisions of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act of 1972.
Regional officials and the Authority are dis-
cussing measures to bring a!! plants into com-
pliance by means of training programs for
operators, development of a spare parts inven-
tory to assure speedy equipment repairs, and
a program of periodic site inspections.
dusty streets
Region III is using a novel approach to deter-
mine if one of the causes of high paniculate
readings in Philadelphia's air is due to street
dust.
During a three-day period in June, city water
trucks continuously doused a five-block sec-
tion of Broad Street, one of Philadelphia's
major thoroughfares, in order to wash away
dust and other particulate matter. Specially
erected air monitoring equipment was used
to determine what airborne pollution was
eliminated by the street washing.
While such intensive street washing would
not be used as a routine control measure,
other types of control would be considered if
street dust is found to be a significant cause
of city air pollution. A report on the study
should be completed later this month.
annual report
The third Regional Administrator's Annual sludge disposal
Report on Environmental Quality in New
England has been completed by the Region I
Public Affairs Office. Once again automobile-
related pollutants appear to be New England's
most difficult air pollution problem. While
the report indicates that watei quality im-
proved slightly in 1976, with 51 percent of the
major stream-miles meeting the fishable-
swimmable slandards. it also points to the
increasing threat of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB's) to the Region's waterways.
Two recent EPA grants went to projects that
will use sewage sludge for land application.
A $28 million construction grant was awarded
to the Butler (Pa.) Area Sewer Authority for
the expansion of a treatment plant and con-
struction of new sanitary sewers. The sludge
produced at the plant will be transported and
disposed of on a former strip-mine. The
12
reclaimed land will eventually be used for a
public park.
Region III also awarded the first of two
grants totalling more than $5.7 million for the
construction of a sludge composting facility
for Washington, D.C.'s Blue Plains Water
Pollution Control Facility. The composting
process, developed at the Beltsville Agricul-
tural Research Center, will produce a product
that can be sold commercially for soil enrich-
ment.
permits denied
Paul Traina, enforcement director of Region
IV, has announced that EPA will not issue
pollution control permits to 47 east Kentucky
coal mines—a majority of which are strip
mining operations. A large number of these
mines are located in Pike County.
The action follows a determination by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that dis-
charges of pollutants from the mines would
potentially affect navigation in the receiving
streams.
Under the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act, EPA must refuse to issue a permit to an
applicant when the Corps concludes the dis-
charges would adversely affect anchorage
and navigation in receiving streams.
Traina notified each mine operator that "any
discharge into waters of the United States
without a permit is a direct violation of the
law subject to civil and criminal action." Civil
penalties of up to $10,000 per day, and crimi-
nal fines of up to $25,000 per day, could be
assessed.
steel enforcement
Interlake, Inc., an Illinois steel company, has
agreed to reduce particulate emissions from
its coke-making facilities by 90 percent over
the next 30 months. EPA officials and US.
attorneys reached this settlement with the
Illinois steel plant during a lawsuit in which
EPA charged Interlake with violation of the
Clean Air Act for failure to install controls at
its coke batteries. Harmful particulate matter
is emitted during the pushing stage of the
coke making process.
-------
In another action, involving the US. Steel
Corporation, Region V moved to bring about
cleanup of particulate matter from five coke
batteries at Gary, Ind., by issuing a 30-day
notice of violation of federally enforceable
State pollution regulations. The five coke bat-
teries have been emitting more than 2,400
tons of particulate matter a year. Indiana
regulations allow only 1,527 tons a year. Re-
cently, US. Steel was fined $4,250,000 for
violations of air and water regulations.
spot checks
EPA's Region VI Office in Dallas is continu-
ing its random inspections of municipal vehi-
cles and gasoline supplies to determine com-
pliance with unleaded fuel regulations. The
regional office recently received a $28,000
check from the city of Houston for violation
of regulations.
water cleanup
The first significant water cleanup of Morgan
Lake, in the Four Corners, New Mexico area,
is under way. The Arizona Public Service
Company will spend $6 million to bring its
Farmington facility into compliance with Fed-
eral water requirements.
The company, the State, New Mexico Citi-
zens for Clean Air and Water, and EPA
reached a workable solution after two-and-
one-half years of administrative litigation.
The lake cleanup is important because the
lakewater flows into the San Juan River,
which empties into the Colorado River.
Morgan Lake is located on the Navajo Reser-
vation, and the company's efforts will mean
cleaner water for sheep grazing, fishing, and
recreational activities.
prodding the press
EPA has assumed primary responsibility for
the enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water
Act in Missouri. The Missouri General As-
sembly defeated a bill that would have made
Missouri's drinking water regulations at least
as stringent as the Federal law and given the
State the means to enforce the regulations.
With EPA's assumption of primacy for Mis-
souri, the Region VII Water Division and the
Public Affairs Office decided that affected
communities throughout Missouri should be
informed about the change. Three teams,
made up of a water supply specialist and a
public affairs specialist, divided the State into
three areas. The week before EPA assumed
primacy the three teams set out to contact all
media possible. Daily and weekly newspa-
pers were considered the most important
source of getting the information to the peo-
ple. The papers were provided with a press
release, a feature story and pamphlets on the
Safe Drinking Water Act.
A total of 64 weekly and daily newspapers
were contacted throughout the State as well
as several radio and television stations. News
stories appeared on the front pages of the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City
Star.
gift photos
In cooperation with EPA's Region VIII office,
Naval Air Force Reserve units recently took
aerial photographs of selected areas of the
Region as part of their active training pro-
gram in intelligence and reconnaissance mis-
sions. The color photographs were given to
EPA for use in conducting compliance inspec-
tions for spill prevention and control. The
Naval Reserve units got valuable training,
and the Region VIII Emergency Planning
and Response Branch received information
that is ordinarily gained through time-consum-
ing on-ground inspections.
energy tour
Barbara Blum, Deputy Administrator, com-
pleted a tour of energy developments in the
Region, including a prototype oil shale recov-
ery plant at Rifle, Colo., a major coal-fired
13
power plant near Rock Springs, Wyo., and
the Nation's largest operating coal strip mine
operation near Decker, Mont. She met with
environmentalists and industry representa-
tives to hear their views on energy develop-
ment in the West and on environmental prob-
lems. Blum traveled by chartered aircraft,
auto, and helicopter while making the tour.
more jobs
Region IX obligated a record-breaking $22
million in construction grant funds during
June. In addition to being a substantial step
toward achievement of national wastewater
treatment goals, the grants will provide em-
ployment for an estimated 10,000 individuals.
Regional Administrator Paul De Falco Jr.
said, "I don't believe that there is, as yet,
adequate public understanding of the econom-
ically stimulating aspects of our construction
grants program. In a time when we are being
criticized for actions that allegedly have a
negative impact on the job market, it is impor-
tant to recognize the job-creating aspects of
such programs."
unsafe water
EPA officials have notified suppliers of public
drinking water in six small Oregon communi-
ties that tap water in their systems violates
national drinking water standards for bacteri-
ological purity. Operators of five of the sys-
tems were asked by EPA to issue "boil
water" notices to consumers. Although the
six communities have small populations, all
are located in recreational areas—two in
northeastern Oregon and the others on the
Pacific Ocean in Tillamook County—and are
visited by a large number of summer vacation-
ers. There have been no reports so far in any
of the communities of illness that could be
attributed to the water supplies.
The six systems were among 30 Oregon
water supply systems checked out by EPA
field crews Since June 24, the day the national
drinking water standards went into effect.
Oregon did not assume authority for enforc-
ing those standards.
-------
Administrative
Law Judges
Hi i inn ,1 I). U'vinson
Km JOURNAL
Spencer T. Nisstn
Thomas B. Yost
14
-------
In September of 1974, Administrative
Law Judge Herbert L. Perlman handed
down his decision in the now famous
Aldrin-Dieldrin suspension proceedings. In a
109-page opinion, later adopted in substance
by the Administrator and eventually affirmed
by the US. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge
Perlman concluded that the registrations of
the pesticides Aldrin and Dieldrin should be
immediately suspended in order to prevent an
immine'nt hazard to human health.
The dramatic and controversial hearings
probed deeply into the carcinogenic effects
of the pesticides on laboratory animals and
industrial workers. In determining that an
imminent hazard existed, Judge Perlman re-
lied heavily on the testimony of many govern-
ment and industry witnesses. Various envi-
ronmental groups, farm representatives and
government agencies intervened in the pro-
ceedings to present their side of the story
. . . some advocated complete cancellation
or suspension, others favored limited uses,
and still others, challenging the reliability of
the cancer reports, urged full and unrestricted
use.
The tradeoffs involved in the Judge's deci-
sion presented the classical dilemma of envi-
ronmental regulation. Aldrin and Dieldrin
were two widely used agricultural pesticides.
It was predicted that without them, or com-
parable substitutes, a substantial portion of
America's farm harvests would be destroyed
by insects. On the other hand, laboratory
studies consistently indicated that the pesti-
cides caused cancer in test animals.
Ultimately the outcome of such clashes
between the public interest and the private
economy turn on questions of law. And ques-
tions of law require the determination of facts.
Within the Federal regulatory agencies, the
initial determination of facts and the applica-
tion of law to those facts is the responsibility
of Administrative Law Judges.
Many Federal agencies are obligated by
Congress to carry on similar quasi-judicial
functions. Statutes defining an agency's field
of regulation often required the agency head
to conduct formal hearings reviewing the mer-
its of administrative actions. In order to per-
form this judicial role fairly it became neces-
sary to separate the Administrator's function
of prosecutor from that of judge. Further-
more, the heads of these agencies were unable
to conduct the required hearings themselves
because of the substantial amount of time
and expertise required to gather the evidence
and sift through the facts. Thus, in 1946
Congress created the position of Hearing Ex-
aminer, now known as Administrative Law
Judge, to perform the quasi-judicial functions
delegated to the regulatory agencies.
The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946,
by establishing the Administrative Law
Judges, in effect created an independent judi-
cial arm within each agency. In order to
separate the discretionary and judicial func-
tions of the agency head, it set up strict rules
including prohibition against off-the-record
communication between the Judge and inter-
ested parties, including the prosecutor.
EPA Administrative Law Judges are
selected and appointed by EPA's
Chief Judge from a list -of eligibles
furnished by the Civil Service Commission.
While they are paid through agency funds,
the salaries of Administrative Law Judges
within an agency are fixed by the Civil Serv-
ice Commission and range from GS 15 to 17.
They have what are known as "career abso-
lute" appointments. Unless a judge so re-
quests or agrees, he cannot be transferred to
another agency or another position, his deci-
sional functions cannot be regulated and he
cannot be removed or disciplined except for
cause after a formal hearing before the Civil
Service Commission.
"The requirements for appointment as an
Administrative Law Judge are probably more
rigorous than those for any other Civil Service
position," according to Charles Dullea, Direc-
tor of the US. Civil Service Commission's
Office of Administrative Law Judges. The
minimum requirements set by the Civil Serv-
ice Commission call for at least seven years
prior legal experience either as a judge, a trial
lawyer, or as an agency attorney.
When an application is received by the
Civil Service Commission, it is reviewed by
the Director of the Office of Administrative
Law Judges. The applicant's qualifications
are then carefully investigated by the Com-
mission through written and oral interviews
with professionals around the country who
have known the applicant.
The prospective judge is then given a score
from 0 to 100 based upon the Director's
evaluation and the reference investigation. A
score of 80 percent, 10 points higher than the
general Civil Service Exam, is required to
pass.
If the prospective judge passes these pre-
liminary evaluations he is then called in to
write a sample administrative law decision
which is graded by a panel composed of a
Civil Service Commission representative, an
examiner from the local bar association, and
a representative from one of the Federal reg-
ulatory agencies.
A lengthy oral interview is then conducted
and a final rating assigned. In the selection of
candidates special weight is given to the per-
sona! interview results since a judicial temper-
ament, one of the primary qualifications for
appointment, is not easily assessed by test
scores. If the applicant scores above 80 per-
cent on all tests, his or her name is then
placed on a ranked list of eligibles for certifi-
cation to the agencies when requested.
A total of 850 Administrative Law Judges,
are now assigned to 29 Federal agencies.
EPA currently has seven Administrative
Law Judges. Five are located at EPA head-
quarters in Washington, D.C. The two field
judges are stationed in Atlanta and Kansas
City. These judges hold hearings throughout
the country, depending on the type of hearing,
the requirements of the statute, and the con-
venience of the parties.
EPA's Chief Administrative Law Judge is
Herbert L. Perlman. In addition to presiding
over cases of his own. Judge Perlman assigns
cases to the other six judges. Some of these
cases are short, with hearings lasting only a
day or a few days. Others, such as the pesti-
cide cancellation heatings, can take months
or even years to complete.
"The reason some of these cases take so
long is that the factors on which the decision
must be made are so complex." Judge Perl-
man said. "To decide whether the benefits of
some widely used and efficacious pesticide
outweigh the risks to human health and the
environment is no simple task." Much of the
evidence presented in such cases is theoreti-
cal, and in many instances is challenged by
other studies by competent investigators.
The initial decisions of the EPA
Judges are subject to review by the
Administrator on appeal. Using the
record of the administrative hearing and the
judge's written decision the Administrator
makes a final decision which becomes binding
Continued on page 2 2
SEPTEMBER 1977
-------
Marines Protect Environment
On a lava outcrop off the shores
of Oahu, Hawaii, a young
wedge-tailed shearwater waits
in the warm sun. Almost grown, the bird
has been abandoned by its parents. Plen-
tiful fat reserves will keep it from going
hungry for a while. It tries its wings. In a
few flaps it is airborne, but the new and
awkward muscles are no match for the
trade winds. Blown toward shore, it
makes an ungainly landing on the sands
of Mokapu Peninsula. Left on the beach,
the shearwater would not survive, for it is
easily preyed upon by Hawaii's voracious
aliens, cats, dogs, and mongooses. A
young Marine picks up the bird and re-
minds it how to fly by throwing it into
the air. First five feet, then ten, and at
twenty feet the fear of falling triggers an
instinct. The wings flap and the shear-
water takes flight to finally join the rest
of its kind. This rescue is only one that
has helped make the Marine Corps Air
Base at Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, the recipient
of the 1976 Secretary of Defense Environ-
mental Quality Award.
The selection committee, under the
sponsorship of Dr. John White, Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Manpower Re-
serve Affairs and Logistics, met on June
16, 1977 to decide which Defense installa-
tion had the most exemplary environmen-
tal program in 1976. Other members of
the committee were Rebecca Hanmer,
Director of EPA's Office of Federal Activ-
ities; Harold O'Connor, Deputy Associate
Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; and Rob Robson, Budget Exam-
iner of the Environmental Branch of the
Office of Management and Budget. The
Department of Defense began the Awards
program in 1973 to encourage environ-
mental programs on its 243 installations
that embrace more than 19.5 million acres.
Initially, each of the armed services
submitted an area for consideration in the
competition. The nominees were evalu-
ated by the committee using criteria based
upon the successful implementation of
pollution control requirements and -the
National Policy Act (NEPA). Does the
installation's program comply with
NEPA? Was a viable environmental orga-
EPA JOURNAL
nization set up? Are unquantifiable eco-
logical and human values being consid-
ered in the planning process? Has the
public had a chance for input? Is ecologi-
cal diversity being maintained? These
were just a few of the questions each
facility had to answer.
Additionally, the committee had to
weigh in the military mission and con-
straints that go with it.
By a unanimous decision, the winner
of this year's award was the Marine Corps
Air Station at Kaneohe Bay.
"We found it necessary," said the
judges' letter of recommendation, "to
identify the one installation that went the
extra mile to meet the spirit ... of our
national environmental policies. It was
this additional criterion that set the 1976
Kaneohe Bay program apart . . . With
"The goal of our
environmental program
is to give
Nature the freedom
to do its best."
Environmental Quality Report (1976)
Marine Corps Air Station
Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii
very limited resources, the Command at
Kaneohe Bay went the extra mile to
imbue its personnel with a special concern
for the environment and a desire to work
with State and local officials to enhance
and protect it. This special concern and
desire that we found in the program . . .
and its innovative use of limited resources
was unique."
Three other military bases received rec-
ognition for outstanding programs in this
year's competition. Point Mugu Naval
Test Center in California, Vandenberg Air
Force Base, also in California, and Fort
Sill in Oklahoma all had notable environ-
mental programs. "The programs of these
four installations establish a standard of
excellence for other Defense installations
to emulate," the Committee said.
16
The Marine Coips Air Station at Ka-
neohe Bay is situated on 4.6 square miles
of the Mokapu Peninsula on the island of
Oahu. About 16,000 persons either live or
work on the station. Because an island is
relatively small and isolated to begin with,
resources are sharply limited and the en-
vironment far less resilient than on a
mainland. The disposal of solid wastes
and toxic substances, and the pollution of
fresh water can present acute problems
demanding innovative approaches. The
Marine Air Station is faced with problems
common to islands throughout the world,
as well as in cities in general. Bounded
by military constraints and budget limita-
tions, the Marines have managed to gen-
erate an imaginative array of programs
that save resources and encourage on-
base lifestyles to be more ecological.
For instance, the supply of fresh water
on Oahu is limited. Occasionally, there
are times when water hours, or conserva-
tion hours, are mandatory. The use of
water on the base was found to be increas-
ing. In response, the Marines undertook
an extensive conservation project. Loud-
speakers on cars announced the program,
violation notices were issued for misuse,
and wastewater from the on-base sewage
treatment plant was substituted for fresh
water in irrigation. As a result, the
station's overall consumption went down
even though its population had grown.
The recycling of wastes and toxic sub-
stances is an important facet of Kaneohe
environmental activity. Old oil from vehi-
cles is used to power the station's boiler
plants. Plant engines are kept well-tuned
by experts, thus eliminating bad emis-
sions. Waste oil is also used to subdue
dust on roads, and is mixed with jet fuel
for fire-fighting practice.
Asphalt is extremely costly in Hawaii.
When the airfield needed repaving the
Marines decided to try something new,
the heater-scarifier method. A large ma-
chine looking like something out of a
science fiction movie was used to plow
up the old asphalt. This material was then
mixed with a binder and re-used for pav-
ing. According to Tom Cajski, the sta-
tion's environmental affairs officer, the
-------
Tree planting is an important part of the
environmental program sponsored by the
Marines.
materials and energy used were one-third
of those normally used in a repaying
project. Kaneohe Air Base was the first
in the tropics to use this method, he said.
All sewage on the base receives second-
ary treatment. In an experiment at the
digester of the treatment plant, methane
gas is trapped as it's being given off, and
is burned as fuel to heat the digesting
bacteria, which then work faster.
Other environmental quality programs
on the station include the installation of
sound-suppression facilities and a special
test cell that filters emissions from F-4
Phantom jet engines, taking part in a
community-sponsored recycling center,
school tours, plantings by Youth Conser-
vation Corps members, and a joint archae-
ological preservation program with Hon-
olulu's Bishop Museum.
The Mokapu Peninsula was long the
home of Hawaiian chiefs. It had a reliable
supply of fresh water, suitable farming
land, and access to the sea. The word
"mokapu" actually means 'sacred land'
in Hawaiian. One of the most important
archaeological sites on the Marino station
is the Nuupia Ponds area, man-made
ponds in which the ancient Hawaiians
cultivated food fishes. It is also the place
that the rare and endangered Hawaiian
stilt, a black and white bird with long red
legs, chooses to call home.
Today the ponds are officially the Nu-
upia Ponds Wildlife Refuge Complex.
They illustrate yet another dimension of
the Kaneohe Bay air station environmen-
tal program. The Marines cooperate
closely with the National Fish and Wild-
life Service and the Fish and Game De-
partment of Hawaii to monitor and main-
tain species in this important area.
Amtraks, large amphibious tanks, are run
back and forth across the mud Hats to
help make raised nesting sites for the
stilts. Worn-out tires filled with construc-
tion rubble are then placed on the sites,
creating small, raised islands. The stilts
17
readily occupy these pre-fabricated nests.
The creation of these special nesting areas
is necessary to protect the stilts from
cats, dogs, and mongooses. The station
has an active live trapping program for
mongoose. Once captured, the animals
are donated to the University of Hawaii
for medical research.
Marines are also working with the Fish
and Wildlife Service to maintain two
breeding colonies of red-footed boobies.
teaching stranded young shearwaters to
fly, controlling the growth of the intro-
duced mangrove trees to keep them from
choking the Ponds area, planting rare and
endangered plants, cultivating a garden of
ancient Hawaiian herbs, and placing old
car bodies in Kaneohe Bay to act as
habitat for reef organisms.
All of these programs illustrate the de-
gree to which the Marine Coips Air Sta-
tion at Kaneohe Bay has incorporated
environmental thinking into as many as-
pects of the station's lifestyle as possible.
Moreover, most of the programs have
been voluntary.
Says Col. John H. Miller, commanding
officer of the station. "We like to think
enhancement comes through the attitudes
of the people who live and work on the
Air Station, and not enforced directives."
The Corps has made a sincere effort to
reach into the community. It is active in
several community organizations. Civilian
suggestions are encouraged. "Sure, we're
Marines running a military operation
which can't always be environmentally
kind," said Tom Cajski, "But we're also
a group of citizens equivalent in size to a
city, living on an island, a vulnerable part
of the ecological world. We try to live up
to the Hawaiian tradition of 'aloha aina'
- I guess you could call it an awareness.
a love, of the land."
This fall young wedge-tailed shear-
waters are again launching into the winds
that will carry them toward the beach.
Marines will pick them up and help them
fly. The ancient Hawaiians. now buried
under the Ouhu earth, would be happy to
know that even in the midst of military
maneuvers, the spirit of 'aloha aina' is
still found on the Mokapu Peninsula.•
SEPTEMBER 1977
-------
PEOPLE
Adlene Harrison has been
named Regional Administrator
for EPA's Region VI office.
Harrison was a Dallas City
council member, a post she had
held since 1973. She served as
interim Mayor of Dallas, as
well as Mayor pro tem. She
was on the city council's com-
mittees on community develop-
ment, transportation, utilities,
minority employment, and arts
and beautification.
Harrison supported a stringent
air pollution ordinance for Dal-
las, co-sponsored an ordinance
to establish a city environmental
committee and sponsored local
consumer protection legislation.
She is a member of the National
League of Cities' Steering Com-
mittee for Environmental Qual-
ity. She attended the University
of Mississippi.
Donald P. Dubois has been reap-
pointed Regional Administrator
for EPA's Region X office in Se-
attle. He has held that position
since 1976. Dubois joined the
Agency in 1970 as Interim Re-
gional Coordinator in the Denver
office, and was Deputy Regional
Administrator there from 1971
until his transfer to Seattle, His
previous Government service
was with the Environmental
Health Service from 1957 and
the U.S. Public Health Service
from 1969.
Dubois earned a bachelor's de-
gree in civil engineering in 1957
from Washington State Univer-
sity, and a master's degree from
the California Institute of Tech-
nology in 1961.
New officials stalling their du-
lies in high ranking posts al KPA
headquarters arc (from left): Wil-
liam Dray ton. Jr.. Assistant
Administrator for Running and
'Management: Alice B. Fop kin,
Associate Administrator
for International Activities;
Joan Bernstein, General Coun-
sel: and Joan M. Nicholson,
Directorol Public Awareness.
Alan Merson, a professor at the
University of Denver College of
Law. has been named Regional
Administrator for EPA's Region
VIII office in Denver. Merson
has been Chairman of the Colo-
rado Land Use Commission, a
member of the Governor's Plan-
ning and Coordinating Council.
and a consultant to the Rocky-
Mountain Center on Environ-
ment and the Environmental
Law Institute Solar Energy Proj-
ect. He has taught at the College
since 1969. His prior experience
includes legal consultant serv-
ices toOhio University, Deputy
Director of the Alaska State
Community Action Program, As-
sistant District Attorney for An-
chorage, and private legal prac-
tice.
Merson earned a bachelor's de-
gree with honors from Harvard
College in 1956. did graduate
work in political science at the
University of Chicago, and re-
ceived his law degree from Har-
vard Law School in 1962.
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Mary Leytand, former Executive
Officer in EPA's Office of the
Administrator, has been
appointed by President Carter to
be ACTION'S assistant director
for administration and finance.
ACTION, the Federal agency for
volunteer service, oversees
VISTA and the Peace Corps.
The nomination is subject to
Senate confirmation. She will
direct support services for
ACTION'S domestic and
international programs.
Mrs. Leyland had been with
EPA since 1972. She had served
as a program analyst in Region I
and chief of grants
administration for Region II
before coming to Headquarters.
Her previous experience include
serving as a systems analyst for
the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts and also for IBM
in New Haven, Conn.
She earned a bachelor's degree
in philosophy from Newton
College of the Sacred Heart in
Newton, Mass., and a master's
degree in education from Boston
State College in 1967.
Gene L. Barnhart has been
named Regional Inspector for
EPA's Kansas City office. He
will handle investigations of
unethical conductor
irregularities by EPA employees
or contractors, in order to
maintain the integrity of Agency
programs. His most recent
position was with EPA's Security
and Inspection Division in
Washington, D.C.
Barnhart earned a bachelor's
degree in business from
Oklahoma State University. He
has served with the Marine
Corps and the Naval
Investigative Service.
Deputy Administrator Barbara
Blum is one of five winners of
this year's Feinstone
Environmental Awards. The
citation and a $ 1.000 check will
be presented to her by Georgia
Governor George Busbec in
Atlanta Sept. 23.
Blum is being honored for her
volunteer work—starting 17
years ago—to protect the
Chattahoochie River in Georgia.
She is credited with initiating
and leading local and State
efforts to maintain the
recreational values and water
quality of the river, which flows
through Atlanta and is the city's
main water supply.
The Feinstone Awards were
started last year by the State
University of New York's
College of Environmental
Science and Forestry at
Syracuse, with a $ 100,(XX)
endowment from Sol Feinstone.
a forester and historian who was
graduated from (he college.
Other winners were: Marjorie
Harris Carr, Micanopy. Fla.. a
biologist who led efforts to save
the Oklawaha River from
canalization; Beaula Edmiston,
Los Angeles, Calif., for her work
on protecting desert plants and
animals; Ralph E. Madison.
Louisville, Ky., fora successful
campaign to halt a darn-building
project in the Red River Gorge
in that State; and Jean and
William Siri, Richmond, Calif., a
husband and wife team active in
many conservation efforts in the
San Francisco Bay area.
Jack J. Schramm has been
named Regional Administrator
for EPA's Region III office in
Philadelphia. He was partner in
the law firm of Zimbalist and
Schramrn in Clayton, Mo., and
served in the Missouri House of
Representatives from 1965 to
1972. As a legislator he was ac-
tive in the formulation and pas-
sage of laws relating to air and
water pollution control, solid
waste management, open spaces.
and clean rivers.
Schramm was chosen one of the
outstanding State legislators in
the Nation in 1967 by the Eagle-
ton Institue of Politics of Rutgers
University.
While serving as a special con-
sultant for Arthur 11 Little. Inc..
a major consulting firm.
Schramm played a major role in
the preparation of a land-use
planning and management pro-
gram for Colorado.
Schramm received a bachelor's
degree with honors in political
science from Colgate University
in 1953. He earned a lavs degree
from Washington University
School of Law in 1959.
John C. White, \\ ho has been
Regional Administrator for EPA
Region VI office in Dallas since
1975. has been named to head
the Agency's Region IV office in
Atlanta. He v\as formerK Dep-
uts Regional Administrator, and
enforcement chief in Atlanta.
Whitejoined ERA in 19m He
had been uith the Federal Water
Pollution Control Agency; a pred-
ecessor agency since 1966. His
prior government service in-
cluded four years w ith the IX'-
partment of Housing and Urban
Development. Before lhat he
was an engineer in private busi-
ness.
While earned a bachelor's de-
gree in civil engineering from the
University of Alabama in 1957
and a doctor of law degree from
F.mory University in 1968.
Kenneth A. Konz is the new
director of EPA's Eastern Area
Audit Division, responsible t'oi
audits of Agency grants in
Regions 1 and II. Prior to taking
over the new position. Kon/ was
on a year's Intergovernmental
Personnel Assignment to the
New Jersey Department of
Environmental lYoteetion as
special assistant to the
Commissioner. He reviewed and
drafted guidance, standards, and
regulations.
Before joining EPA in Region III
in 197!, Kon/. had been an
auditor in the Charlottesville and
Denver regional offices ofHEW
and the Denver branch office of
the U.S. Army Audit Agency.
Konz is a 1965 graduate of the
University of Denver.
19
SEPTEMBER 1977
-------
Regulatory Reform
EPA and three other Federal agencies
have joined forces to simplify their
regulations that deal with public
health and safety. Acknowledging that Federal
rules concerning the environment, foods and
drugs, consumer products, and working con-
ditions often overlap to some extent, the
heads of four agencies recently announced
that they will plan jointly and work together
to eliminate duplication and to improve the
protection of public health.
EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle;
Commissioner Donald Kennedy, head of the
Food and Drug Administration in the Depart-
ment of Health, Education, and Welfare;
Chairman S. John Byington of the Consumer
Product Safety Commission; and Eula
Bingham, Assistant Secretary for the Labor
Department's Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, made the announce-
ment.
In a joint statement they noted that Presi-
dent Carter had promised the American peo-
ple during the election campaign that "waste
and duplication in the Federal Government
would be eliminated wherever possible."
"Our agencies," the statement said, "often
deal with many of the same issues and the
same industries, and they often have the same
research, regulatory, and enforcement objec-
tives. It's time we planned and worked to-
gether."
The first step in the simplification and
streamlining process is already under way.
The four agency heads ordered their field
staffs across the country to start work right
away on common action plans.
These plans, to be drafted before the end
of August, will include the sharing, wherever
possible, of facilities, laboratories, libraries
and information systems, vehicles, testing
equipment, and any other resources that
could be used by two or more agencies.
The staff studies are also considering ways
for the four agencies to cooperate in the
setting and enforcement of the regulations
with which industries and businesses have to
comply to protect the health of workers,
consumers, and the public in general.
Possible ways to reduce the burden on
industries of reporting and record-keeping are
also being sought, perhaps by combining the
data required for two or more agencies. This
probably can be done, the four-agency state-
ment implied. "We are particularly sensitive
to the need to minimize duplicative requests
for information from industry" by the Federal
HPA JOURNAL
Government. "Our goal is to make the regu-
latory process more efficient for our agencies.
for industry, and for the public."
In no case, however, would there be any
lowering of the standards of protection re-
quired by law of the four agencies.
The four agency heads said they would
initiate cooperation in seven different areas:
• Testing standards and guidelines that are
compatible among the four agencies. The
study groups will seek to determine what
criteria should be used in deciding whether
tests are needed, what tests should be made,
what amount and type of information is nec-
essary for determining safety, and how the
information should be interpreted.
• Assessments of risk, safety, and hazard
to health. Here the problem is to decide what
data each agency needs to determine the risk
or safety assessments required of it. what
methods will be used, and how the results
will be announced.
• Information sharing. Each agency's cur-
rent systems for storing and retrieving infor-
mation will be studied to determine if a joint
system to be used by all—for instance, a
national information system on toxic sub-
stances—is needed, and, if so, how it can be
developed.
• Research planning. This will include a
review of each agency's research needs and
capabilities and an exploration of the cost
and effectiveness of cooperative research pro-
grams.
• Regulation development. This study
aims to improve cooperation among the four
agencies in the drafting and issuance of their
20
regulations. Wherever possible duplication is
to be avoided and compatibility promoted.
• Compliance and enforcement. This in-
cludes the study of how field personnel of
each agency can contribute to the mission of
the other three and whether and how labora-
tory and other field facilities can be efficiently
shared.
• Interagency communication and public
education on toxic substances. All four agen-
cies have a direct concern with toxic sub-
stances. Studies in this area will examine the
possibilities for joint exchange of information
among the agencies and with the regulated
industries and the public through publications.
seminars, conferences, and hearings.
In a letter to President Carter, the four
agency heads explained why they had decided
to act together:
"We have concluded that, within our collec-
tive legislative mandates, there are significant
and exciting opportunities—acting as a
team—to effectively control hazardous mate-
rials for the protection of public health.
"We have agreed to examine, assess, and
redesign, if necessary, the processes by which
we collectively regulate the chemicals which
impact on people and the environment. . ."
Three of the four agencies are already
acting cooperatively in the regulatory process.
EPA, the Food and Drug Administration, and
the Consumer Product Safety Commission
last spring announced a plan to ban most
uses of chlorofluorocarbons as spray-can pro-
pellants. These organic chemicals persist in
the atmosphere and are believed by many
scientists to threaten depletion of the ozone
layer, high in the stratosphere, which protects
animal and plant life from excessive ultra-
violet rays from the sun. Overexposure to
ultraviolet light can cause skin cancer in man.
Other cooperative efforts among the agen-
cies to date include actions to limit the expo-
sure of workers and the public to vinyl chlo-
ride, a chemical that causes high rates of liver
cancer among people exposed to it. and pro-
posals for similar joint actions regulating hu-
man exposure to benzene, another cancer-
causing chemical.
The agencies believe the new effort will
strengthen day-to-day interagency coordina-
tion. "We are confident," the agency heads
said in their joint statement, "that these ef-
forts will result in more consistent regulatory
policy, better sharing of information re-
sources, and improved protection of public
health."•
-------
Your Gas Mileage / Continued from page 9
A: No, nothing new or startling. Fuel economy continues to get
better. That's not surprising. Fuel economy has to continue to get
better. The law requires automobile manufacturers to improve the fuel
economy of their cars each year. For the 1978 model cars, the first
model year of cars subject to the new fuel economy standards, the
average fuel economy for all cars produced for each manufacturer
has to be at least 18 miles per gallon. Any manufacturer violating this
law will be subject to a substantial monetary penalty.
In 1979, it's going to have to be 19 mpg, in 1980 it's going to have
to be 20 mpg. and then from '81 through '84 it continues to go up. In
1985 the average fuel economy for each manufacturer is going to
have to be 27.5 miles per gallon.
We'll be seeing a continuing improvement in fuel economy of cars,
achieved primarily through weight reduction, and through such things
as more efficient combinations of engines and vehicles, lock-up
automatic transmissions, and better aerodynamics.
Q: Do you anticipate any kind of pressure on you
because of the fact that there will be major penalties
for not meeting gas mileage figures?
A: I suppose we'll have pressure. We have pressure on us all the
time. This whole business of testing cars for emissions, as well as for
fuel economy, is a hectic business.
Our staff and I have over the years developed pretty thick hides,
and lots of calluses, so 1 think we're about as pressure-resistant as
anybody around.
Q: Is there any outside check on the accuracy of
figures?
A: Yes, of course there is. The automobile companies have an
enormous interest in the fuel economy data that we report. Each car
that we test for fuel economy has been tested by auto companies
before, and sometimes after, we test it.
So if there's a disagreement, or if there's reason to question the
fuel economy numbers, you can be sure we hear about it. So there is
that outside check; it's built into the system.
Q: There's a general impression that foreign cars
seem to get belter gas mileage than American
cars. Is that true in your experience, and if so, why?
A: There certainly is nothing magic about building fuel-economic
cars, and there is no reason at all to think that American manufactur-
ers are unable to do what foreign manufacturers can do. Foreign cars
generally get better fuel economy than American cars simply because
foreign cars generally are smaller than the average American cars. It
takes less energy to move less mass.
0: Is that the only reason that the foreign cars
often get belter gas mileage—because they're
smaller?
A: Sometimes foreign cars, in addition to being small, have lower
maximum speed. They have a lower horsepower-to-weight ratio. But
even though foreign cars have gained a great deal of acceptance in
this country over the past twenty years, our domestic manufacturers
were not convinced that the public will accept cars that take longer
than 11 or 12 seconds to go from zero to 60. They seemed to see it as
a rather wrenching sacrifice for a car to have lower acceleration. But
that is changing, slowly and surely. American cars are improving
greatly in terms of fuel economy.
Q: Do you think experience has shown that cata-
lysts were a desirable solution in order to meet
emission standards, and also fuel economy?
A: Yes, I think so.
The catalysts are an available, safe, effective, and relatively cheap
way of achieving the national goal of lower emissions and improved
fuel economy.
Q: Do you think the catalyst then will be with us
for the next five years at least?
A: 1 think the catalyst will be with us certainly for at least the next
five years, maybe longer.
The advantage of the catalyst is that it permits the continued use
of plant and machine tools in which our Nation has many, many
billions of dollars invested. That's a large advantage. To throw away
the machine tools that make today's cars and engines would be a
very major cost to the Nation, and not just to Detroit.
After all, we must recognize that the auto business, like every
other business, is a cost plus business. Whatever the companies have
to spend they have to charge for, and they also tack on a percentage
for profit. So we all have a stake in seeing the best, most economical
technology used to achieve the national goals of clean air and good
fuel economy.
Q: What is the optimum fuel economy you foresee
in the next decade?
A: I would say the optimum fuel economy may be in a range from
the 1985 standard of 27 '/a miles per gallon to 30-35 miles per gallon.
It depends on the size of car that Americans are willing to settle on
for most of their driving.
Q: But will people buy such small cars?
A: We are just going to have to change our way of thinking about our
cars. At the present time we sort of have the idea that the car that
sits in our garage should have many different functions. We want the
car to be able to tow a trailer across the country with five or six
passengers, and also to transport one person five or ten miles to his
job. A car like that causes an incredible waste of fuel. One car can
do it, but it cannot do it efficiently. We won't achieve our energy
conservation goals this way.
Q: Wiry do so many of our cars on the road now
fail to meet emission standards?
A: That's a very important problem. Studies by our staff have
shown repeatedly that even relatively new cars with low mileage
don't do well at all when you test them for emissions, even though
they were designed and built properly.
When we borrowed cars from their owners and tested them for
emissions, about 60 percent failed to meet one or more emission
standards. And that's terrible.
But properly adjusted and repaired, 80 percent or more of them
will meet emission standards.
The reason cars don't meet emission standards in the field is that
they're far too often not properly adjusted, and that's where much of
our effort in the future is going to have to go. We need inspection and
maintenance programs so that maladjusted and dirty cars can be
identified and corrected.
Q: Could this type of effort also insure that a new
car with good gas mileage and emission controls
will continue to Ivwe a satisfactory gas mileage
when it is, say. three or four years old?
A: To the degree that the effort to get cars properly maintained is
successful, it will certainly have that effect. The studies we've made.
in what we call our restorative maintenance program, which is the
program in which we test the cars as we receive them and then fix
them up, those studies have shown that proper adjustment and
tuning greatly decreases car emissions and slightly increases fuel
economy.
So certainly keeping cars properly tuned, or conversely getting
them built so they're not so easy to get out of tune, is going to help
our fuel situation. •
21 SEPTEMBER 1977
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ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES
Continued from ptifte //>
*r'
upon the parties unless it is appealed to the
appropriate l-ederal court for judicial review.
Resort to the l-ederal courts is not allowed
undfi iTiosi statutes administered by regula-
tory agencies until all the administrative rem-
edies are exhausted.
By serving as the initial fact-tinder in the
administrative law process, the Administrative
Law Judge takes on a judicial role roughly
equivalent to that of a trial court in the
judicial system. The sworn testimony of wit-
nesses is recorded verbatim. Documentary
evidence, often voluminous, is made part of
the record. When the evidence is completed.
the parties have an opportunity to file briefs.
On the basis of the evidence in the record
and the arguments of counsel the Administra-
tive I .aw Judge issues a written decision in
which the reasons for his conclusions are
fully explained.
Complex technical issues are decided in
proceedings where great weight is given to
expert testimony. As a result, the rules regard-
ing udmissibility of evidence in administrative
healings are much more liberal than those
applied injury trial cases. Relevant and relia-
ble evidence, which might be excluded in
court trials, is often admitted. The objective
is to prepare a clear and complete record
upon which the judge, the Administrator, and
ultimately the courts can base an informed
decision. While the degree of formality in
particular' cases is largely a function of the
judge's style and preference, most administra-
tive law proceedings are far less formal than
courtroom trials.
The powers and functions of Administrative
\.M Judges vary according to the agency
and the particular statute tinder which they
operate. Rules of practice for EPA hearings
are usually issued by the Administrator, with
the advice of the General Counsel, the Office
of Administrative Law Judges and the partic-
ular program staff concerned.
HPA judges have the power, in some cases,
to subpoena witnesses, to assess civil penal-
ties for violation of certain laws enforced by
EPA, and to order the suspension or cancel-
lation of registrations for pesticides found to
pose an unreasonable risk to man or the
environment. The Administrative Rules of
Practice provide for the issuance of acceler-
ated decisions in cases where there is no
legal basis for further proceedings and for
default orders in cases where parties fail to
answer complaints, submit required prehear-
ing materials, or appear when given the oppor-
tun ity to present their case.
Cases arising under three major Federal
laws (the Clean Air Act, the Water Pollution
Control Act. and the Federal Insecticide, Fun-
gicide, and Rodenticide Act) comprise the
bulk of the F.PAjudges' current activities.
The pesticide act brings three principal
types of cases before the EPA Administrative
Law Judges. Under that statute, pesticide
producers and formulators whose registra-
tions are denied, cancelled, or suspended are
given the right,to a full adjudicatory hearing
on the merits of the Agency's action. They
are usually represented by counsel who argue
and present testimony by experts and others
in support of continued production and use.
EPA attorneys offer evidence in support of
and argue the Agency's position.
These hearings are major battlegrounds in
the conflict between human health, environ-
mental protection, and the private economy.
Under the Act. a registration to produce and
distribute a pesticide may be denied or can-
celled whenever it is found to present "any
unreasonable risk to man or the environment.
taking into account the economic, social, and
environmental costs and benefits of the use
of any pesticide." The burden of proof is on
the producers to demonstrate the safety and
efficacy of their products.
"The judge is faced with the difficult task
of weighing the possibility that a particular
insecticide is carcinogenic against the loss of
crops from insects that may result from can-
cellation." As Judge Perlman said, "In almost
every case it is health and environmental risk
versus economic benefit. The factors are not
susceptible of easy classification or quantifi-
cation. Our standards of measurement cannot
be applied with mathematical precision. The
choices are always difficult ones and we must,
to a considerable extent, rely on the opinions
of experts."
Violations of the pesticide act by registrants
and distributors are also handled by EPA
judges. The statute provides for civil penalties
up to $5.000 for each violation. Over 80
percent of these cases are settled during the
pre-hearing process conducted by the Admin-
istrative Law Judges. This process, though
sometimes carried on by correspondence,
usually involves an informal pre-hearing con-
ference in which the parties and the judge
attempt to narrow the issues to be tried and
the evidence to be adduced at the formal
hearings. During these pre-hearing confer-
ences, parties will sometimes reach a settle-
ment agreement without the need for a formal
hearing.
The statute also provides for hearings to
determine what is reasonable compensation
for data submitted by one registrant and relied
upon by others to obtain registrations of simi-
lar pesticides.
Under the Water Pollution C'ontrol Act of
1972, EPA Judges hold hearings concerning
the licensing and modification of permits to
discharge wastes into the navigable waters of
the U.S. Violations of the water permits are
handled in the courts. However, permits may
be terminated or modified for cause after an
opportunity for hearings within the Agency.
Under section 307 of the Water Act, EPA
Judges conduct format hearings to obtain a
record of testimony for use by the Administra-
tor in setting effluent standards for toxic
substances.
Some cases arising under the Clean Air
Act involve alleged violation of automobile
emission standards. If the evidence presented
at a hearing discloses that cars on the road or
on the production line are not meeting Federal
emission standards, the judge can order either
a halt to production or recall of all vehicles in
violation.
The Noise Control Act, the Ocean Dump-
ing Act, the recently enacted Toxic Sub-
stances Control Act and the Solid Waste
Recovery Act, all include provisions for for-
mal administrative hearings. It is anticipated
that an increasing number of hearings will be
called as Agency enforcement activities accel-
erate in these areas. In fact, a recent case
under the Ocean Dumping Act resulted in an
initial decision by the Administrative Law
Judge recommending a $225,000 fine ($5.000
to $10.000 per violation) against the City of
Philadelphia, Pa. for violating Federal laws
regulating the disposal of city wastes in the
Atlantic Ocean.
In some types of cases that come before an
Administrative I .aw Judge, a number of inter-
ested parties called intervenors present evi-
dence and submit briefs to the judge. Other
Federal agencies, such as the Departments of
Agriculture and Transportation, trade associ-
ations, public interest and environmental
groups, as well as various State governments.
are participants.
According to Chief Judge Perlman. "These
inputs from all interested parties are vital to
the quality and effectiveness of our decisions.
In order to balance the alternatives properly.
one must have a complete and accurate under-
standing of the components on each side of
the scale." •
EPA JOURNAL
22
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ENVIRONMENTAL ALMANAC
A GLIMPSE OF THE NATURAL WORLD WE HELP PROTECT
SEPTEMBER
SPRINGS
Our favorite spring, which in
the wet season burbles like a
bathtub faucet, has been reduced to
a silent pool of water by summer's
drought.
Instead ot the usual splashing you
hear only the buzzing of (lies and the
chirping of crickets. The stream of
water which once led from the spring
to a nearby creek is completely dry.
The first scarlet leaves of fall have
started to collect in the small spring
opening in a wooded hillside. The
leaves are from a nearby sour gum
tree which races the Virginia creeper
vine and the sumac to provide the
first red of autumn.
No attempt has been made to
cover this spring. We use its waters
only to cool bottled beverages rather
than ibr drinking. The spring also
serves as a home for frogs. We don't
know what kind of frogs they are but
their hearing is excellent. No matter
how quietly you try to approach on
the path to the spring, the frogs hear
you and there are a series of quick
plopping sounds as they jump from
their mossy perching places into the
water. Once submerged, they swim
down and bury themselves in the
bottom mud.
The mud left when the spring pool
recedes reveals the identity of ani-
mals who visit to take a drink under
a star-studded night sky or in the
murky mists of early morning.
We have been able to identify the
tracks of deer, possum and racoons.
Other visitors did not leave prints we
could decipher.
The water flow in the spring is
quixotic. Sometimes it falls in sheets
and then again it shrinks to a trickle.
It emerges from red-brown shale that
has been exposed by erosion.
It is difficult to tell how many
years the spring has been splashing.
However, its waters have been flow-
ing long enough to expose the roots
of a large maple tree which grasp
the spring hillside. Its arm-thick roots
criss-cross the face of the spring.
A friend of ours once spent most
of an afternoon cleaning out our
spring with a gasoline-driven pump.
That was a time when we bad
thought about constructing a spring
house to keep out the leaves and
debris. Subsequently our ambition
faded.
But many of the hundreds of thou-
sands of springs in the I nited States
are used for drinking water and some
small cities depend on strong springs
as their only sources of water.
Usually disinfectants are added to
these waters, however, and all spring
owners are advised to check with
their local health officials before
drinking from these sources.
A common misconception is that
since spring water is often apparently
clear, cold and tasty, it is better than
tap water for drinking.
However, even spring water which
is bottled and sold in grocery stores
is not always safe, an EPA survey a
few years ago discovered.
Any spring water should be
checked for possible bacterial or
2?
chemical pollution. And just because
spring water has been found safe
once does not mean you can always
count on it.
As more people mo\e into rural
areas the countryside becomes in-
creasingly contaminated. Wastes
from septic tanks, industrial disposal
wells, and sanitary landfills can
sometimes travel miles to pollute a
previously good source of spring
water.
\11 springs are led In underground
reservoirs that are so lull they over-
How through a spring or l>\ discharg-
ing into a stream or river.
Elaborate and decorative build-
ings were once constructed on
main American farms to protect
the springs serving us the families
water suppl\ and cooling rooms lor
milk and other dairy products.
\\lnle some spring houses are still
used, (lie discovery of high bacteria
counts from farm animal waste drain-
age and the arrival of piped water
from the city has left many of these
structures as memorials to an earlier.
simpler, and less polluted age.
—C. I). }>.
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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
PUBLICATIONS
Single copies available from the
Printing-Public Information Cen-
ter (PM-215), US EPA, Washing-
ton, D.C. 20460.(202-755-0890)
Standards for Certification of
Pesticide Applicators (Reprinted
May, 1977) A 16-page booklet re-
printing the certification guide-
lines that appeared in the Fed-
eral Register. The booklet
includes definitions, commercial
applicator categories, private
applicator standards, and super-
vision of non-certified applica-
tors.
Safe Pesticide Use Around the
Home (Revised June, 1977) An 8-
page guide to the hazards of pes-
ticides commonly found in and
around our homes. This pam-
phlet tells how to choose the
right pesticide to fill your needs,
how to apply it properly, and
store it safely after use.
Farmers' Responsibilities Un-
der the Federal Pesticide Law
(Revised August, 1977) An 8-
panel folder that outlines precau-
tions farmers must take to pro-
tect their workers when using
pesticides.
The Public Benefits of Cleaned
Water: Emerging Greenway Op-
portunities (September, 1977)
This 36-page pamphlet de-
scribes a combined Federal initi-
ative by EPA and the Depart-
ment of the Interior to show
communities how they can de-
velop open space and recrea-
tional opportunities along water
bodies that are improving due to
water pollution cleanup. It tells
how communities have success-
fully used this concept in San
Antonio, Tex.; Ann Arbor, Mich.;
and along the Saco River in
Maine.
FEDERAL
REGISTER
NOTICES
Copies of Federal Register no-
tices are available at a cost of
$.20 per page. Write Office of
the Federal Register, National
Archives and Records Service,
Washington, D.C. 20408.
New Motor Vehicles and En-
gines. EPA adopts emission de-
fect reporting regulations; effec-
tive 7-5^77. pp. 28130-131. June
2.
Clean Air Act. EPA identifies
benzene as a hazardous air pol-
lutant, effective 6-8-77. pp.
29332-333. June 8.
24
Water Pollution. EPA allocates
one billion dollars to States for
carrying out the requirements of
the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act; effective 6-3-77. pp.
29481-482. June 9.
Pesticide Programs. EPA deter-
mines registration and claims
procedures for pesticides, p.
31283. June 20.
Air Pollution. EPA suspends
standards for new and rnodified
grain elevators; effective 6-24-
77. p. 32264. June 24.
Transportation and Construc-
tion Equipment. EPA proposes
noise emission standards, pp.*
27618-620. June 31.
Motor Vehicles. EPA publishes
1977-79 model year certification
regulations, p. 32905. June 28.
COMING EVENTS
Administrator Douglas M. Costle
will be the keynote speaker at
the 50th annual meeting of the
Water Pollution Control Federa-
tion in Philadelphia, on October
3.
-------
news "briefs
uuiiiiiiiiiimid
iit.iiiiiiiin
FLAWS FOUND IN SOME PESTICIDE SAFETY TESTS, AUDIT ORDERED
Deficiencies in the testing of pesticides for such harmful health
effects as cancer, birth defects, and nerve damage have been found
in work of one firm that has done thousands of studies supporting,
at least in part, EPA approval of many widely used products. The
Agency has ordered more than 30 pesticide manufacturers to review
and certify the accuracy of all testing by the Industrial Biotest
Laboratory, Northbrook, 111. The firm's questionable practices
.were revealed by investigators from the Food and Drug Administration,
working with EPA in a joint program to inspect all labs involved
in the safety testing of drugs, pesticides, and other regulated
chemicals.
OCEAN DUMPING DECLINES FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
The amount of waste dumped off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts declined
again last year to 24 percent below the figure for 1973, when
EPA's ocean protection program started. In its annual report to
Congress the Agency gave these totals: 10.9 million tons in '73,
10.3 million tons in '74, 8.8 million tons in '75, and 8.3
million tons in '76. Sewage sludge dumping in the Atlantic has
increased slightly, but industrial and construction waste dumping
has declined. Industrial dumping in the Gulf of Mexico has been
cut 93 percent.
NOISE LIMITS PROPOSED FOR GARBAGE TRUCKS
The noise made by truck-mounted solid-waste compactors would have
to be reduced, starting in 1979, under rules proposed by EPA-
Such trucks now average 81 to 83 decibels. The proposed limit
for all new compactors would be 78 decibels in 1979 and 75
decibels starting in 1982. Administrator Douglas Costle said
this would cut the sound energy of the vehicles by more than
50 percent. The reductions are technically possible and costs
would be reasonable, he said. Two public hearings were held on
these proposals last month.
25
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AWARENESS (A-107)
WASHINGTON. [1C. 20460
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Protecting Rare Birds
EPA has approved the emergency
use of a highly toxic pesticide to
help protect two endangered
species—the whooping crane and the
Aleutian Canada goose—from predators.
At the request of the Department of
the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service
will he permitted to use sodium cyanide
to control coyotes near a wildlife refuge
in Idaho and blue foxes on an Alaskan
island.
Only 65 wild whooping cranes, a bird
victimized by destruction of its habitat,
are now surviving, according to the De-
partment of the Interior.
Attempts to restore the crane to the
Grays Ixike National Wildlife Refuge in
eastern Idaho have been frustrated be-
cause an estimated 113 crane eggs have
been eaten by coyotes.
On Agattu, one of the western islands in
the Aleutian chain off Alaska's coast, a
handful of blue foxes are preventing the
reestablishment of Aleutian Canada geese,
a native species. The foxes are "foreign-
ers" on Agattu. placed there to be raised
for their valuable fur. perhaps as long ago
as when the 49th State was Russian prop-
erty.
Attempts to destroy the predators by
shooting, trapping or aerial hunting have
failed, according to Interior.
As a result. Fish and Wildlife agents
were granted the permits by EPA to use
the lethal, fast-acting sodium cyanide.
Agattu is usually uninhabited by peo-
ple, but a team of four or five Fish and
Wildlife agents is now camped on the
island to release additional Aleutian geese
and to place and monitor M-44 tubes
which discharge the cyanide.
The tubes are metal containers, roughly
six inches in length, that are placed in the
ground and baited with a piece of scented
material attractive to canine-type animals.
When the bait is tugged by the animal, a
puff of deadly cyanide powder is propel-
led by a spring into its mouth. The animal
dies in a few seconds.
Interior acknowledges that on Agattu
some birds, a few sea gulls and ravens,
for example, may also be killed by the
cyanide tubes. But the Department ex-
pects no serious damage to these abun-
dant species.
Adverse effects from use of the M^M's
at Grays Lake in Idaho arc considered
"highly unlikely."
The permission to use the sodium cya-
nide was granted by EPA under the emer-
gency use provisions of the 1972 Federal
pesticide law. Permits were needed be-
cause a 1972 executive order prohibits
the use of chemical predator poisons in
Federal wildlife and recreation areas. But
exceptions allowed under this ban include
efforts to protect species threatened with
extinction.
In 1972, EPA issued an order banning
the use of these poisons on private lands.
In 1975, EPA modified this ban to allow
government trappers and State-trained
ranchers and farmers to use sodium cya-
nide in the M-44 tubes to halt serious
sheep and cattle losses because of coy-
otes.
The EPA authorization limits the Fish
and Wildlife Service to 75 sodium cyanide
capsules on 500 acres of the Idaho wildlife
refuge and to 50 capsules on Agattu. The
Idaho program must end on October 31
and the Agattu program was to end Aug.
30..
An Aleutian goose.
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