United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Volume 4
Public Awareness (A-107) Number 4
Washington DC 20460 April 1978
EPA JOURNAL
The
Environmentalists
An Interview
with Rene Dubos
Sun Day
-------
Environmental
Perspectives
In this issue EPA Journal
takes a look at the environ-
mental movement and where
its many components stand in
the "decade of the environment."
Administrator Douglas M
Costle comments on the key-
stone role of public participation
in EPA's decision-making proc-
ess and why the Agency needs
to draw upon the creativity of
outside groups.
Dr. Rene Dubos, Pulitzer-
prize winning author and scien-
tist, discusses both the local and
international aspects of the
environmental movement, in a
wide-ranging interview that
touches on such diverse sub-
jects as bans on autos in Man-
hattan streets and erosion in
Greece
Barbara Blum, EPA Deputy
Administrator, takes a look at
the ways in which the Nation is
turning to before-the-fact re-
source management and public
health protection, rather than
after-the-fact attempts at envi-
ronmental control.
In other articles, Elvis J. Stahr,
President of the National Audu-
bon Society, details the impor-
tant role that conservation or-
ganizations play in our society
Thomas L. Kimbail, Executive
Vice President of the National
Wildlife Federation, explores the
idea of what future archaeolo-
gists may infer about our throw-
away civilization in probing our
city dumps. Thumb-nail portraits
of major environmental groups
in the United States are furnish-
ed in a round-up story by Terry
Fleishman.
Abby Rockefeller, scion of a
famous American family,
describes in an interview with
EPA's John Boykin an alterna-
tive to the conventional toilet
that has been developed in
Sweden.
Other articles deal with envi-
ronmental education and control
of chemical spills D
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Volume 4
Public Awareness (A-1 07) Number 4
Washington DC 20460 ApriM978
&EPA JOURNAL
Douglas M. Costle, Administrator
Joan Martin Nicholson, Director Office of Public Awareness
Charles D. Pierce, Editor
Truman Temple, Associate Editor
Dave Cohen, Chris Perham, Assistant Editors
L'Tanya White, Staff Support
Articles
EPA's Purpose: To formulate
and implement actions which
lead to a compatible balance
between human activities and
the ability of natural systems to
support and nurture life.
The Need for Public
Participation 2
Administrator Douglas M
Costle comments on the ad-
vantages of keeping the public
informed.
Think Globally,
Act Locally 4
An interview with Dr. Rene
Dubos, noted scholar and envi-
ronmentalist, by Truman Temple.
The Role of
Private Conservation
Organizations 12
By Elvis J. Stahr, President,
National Audubon Society.
Major Environmental
Groups 14
Brief profiles by Terry Fleishman
on some of the larger member-
ship environmental organiza-
tions.
Sun Day 18
An article by Tom McMurtrie
on the plans for a national
celebration of Sun Day
on May 3.
Will We Be
Remembered Because of
Our Wastes? 22
By Thomas L Kimball, Execu-
tive Vice President of the
National Wildlife Federation.
Alternative Waste
Disposal 24
An interview with Abby
Rockefeller, an environmental-
ist and proponent of a com-
posting toilet, by John Boykin.
On the Threshold
of a New
Environmental Era 26
A look at the future by Barbara
Blum, EPA's Deputy Administra-
tor.
An Environmental
Accounting 31
The Council on Environmental
Quality issues a new annual
report
The Challenge
of Environmental
Education 32
By Mary F. Berry and George
E. Lowe.
Controlling Chemical
Spills
A report by Dave Cohen on
EPA's program to deal with a
major environmental threat.
How the New Program
Will Work 41
Region 4 Report 42
Departments
Nation 20
Almanac 30
News Briefs 37
People 38
Update 44
Front Cover:
Sun rising through the mist over
the Nitiriat River on Vancouver
Island, British Columbia.
Opposite:
The Androscoggin River at
Berlin, N.H.
Photo credits:
Nick Karanikas, John Boykin,
The Associated Press, The
National Park Service, Docu-
merica.The Bettmann Archive,
Department of Energy, The
National Audubon Society, Joe
Hawkins
Text printed on recycled paper.
The EPA Journal is published
monthly, with combined issues
July-August and November-
December, by the U.S. Environ-
mental 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-1 07).
Waterside Mai!. 401 M St., S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20460. No per-
mission necessary to reproduce
contents except copyrighted photos
and other materials. Subscription:
S 10.00a year, SI .00 for single
copy, domestic; S1 2.50 if mailed to
a foreign address. No charge to
employees. Send check or money
order to Superintendent of Docu-
ments, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
-------
The Need
For Public
Participation
By Douglas M. Costle, Administrator
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Public participation is a controversial issue, but
ironically the debate about it seems to go on mainly
in private. Many public officials oppose it, but you're
unlikely ever to hear them admit their feelings in public.
I am in the opposite corner. I emphatically support
public participation, and I'm doing all I can to make
sure it becomes the keystone of the Environmental
Protection Agency's approach to decision-making.
I'd like to focus here on two aspects of public partic-
ipation: first, what are the benefits that EPA and others
can expect to realize from it? and second, what are the
major obstacles to making it reality? I hope it is clear
what I mean by "public participation." Let me first give
an example of what I don't mean.
A few years ago a group of citizens brought suit
against a major interstate highway project, asserting that
the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was inade-
quate. They charged that alternatives hadn't been
given enough consideration, that various environ-
mental impacts hadn't been considered very well, and
—of course—that they had been shut out of the proc-
ess of drawing it up. As the trial went on, the State's
chief highway engineer eventually came to the stand,
and he was asked how the EIS had been prepared.
In a burst of candor, he admitted that it more or less
came out of his own head.
It is now nearly five years since the suit was brought,
and the decision on that multi-million dollar highway
project is still up in the air. This story illustrates not
only what public participation isn't, but also one of the
major reasons why it's a necessity when significant
governmental decisions are being made.
The need to avoid costly delays is one good reason
to bring the public into the decision-making process,
but there are any number of others. To cite just a few,
it allows an agency like EPA to draw on the creativity
of outside groups and individuals. It protects us from
promulgating rules that don't accomplish what they're
intended to. And it leads to an improved understand-
ing of what we're trying to do, and why we're trying
to do it.
There's another irresistible reason for us to support
public participation: President Carter and the Con-
gress have ordered us to do so.
As Administrator, I'm called upon almost daily to
make decisions that can have far-reaching impacts—
not only on the quality of the physical environment,
but also on the economy, on public health, and on the
shape of the country's future development. For ex-
ample, I have had to act on a proposal for dealing with
the problem of synthetic organic chemicals in drinking
water supplies. For those municipalities where
organics are a serious problem, activated charcoal
filtration systems are going to be required. These are
expensive systems, but the threat to public health
posed by organics is a serious matter.
That is just one major action where I'm required to
judge how competing values should be weighed to
protect the environment. While I certainly don't shrink
from the responsibility—it goes with the job —I believe
it would be arrogant and irresponsible not to let the
people who will be affected by my decision help to
shape it.
The business and industrial communities have some-
times been skeptical about the advantages that public
participation can offer them. I think this skepticism is
misplaced. Business people often have legitimate
gripes about environmental programs, and a full public
airing can expose these problems to a wide audience.
In addition, a public decision-making process defuses
the charge that business and industry influence
government actions behind closed doors. Finally, a
wide open process means participation by what might
be called the "rank-and-file" of an industry rather than
just by trade associations.
EPA's Office of Public Awareness (formerly the
Office of Public Affairs) is making a special effort to
stimulate public participation by developing ties with
various special publics, or constituencies.
EPAJOURNAL
-------
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^•H.
Business and industry constitute one of these
groups with a distinct interest in environmental pro-
tection, since they are the target of many of our laws
and regulations. Labor is another; environment affects
the economy, employment, and the health conditions
of the workplace and community. Women, responsi-
ble for a great share of consumer purchasing in
America, have a definite interest in environmental
matters, likewise public interest groups, environmental
organizations, farm workers and rural dwellers,
members of minorities, the urban population, and
young people.
We in EPA need to be aware of these publics and
how our actions affect them as well as the public in
general. And we feel that these special publics should
be aware of how environmental laws and programs
affect them directly and how they can make their in-
fluence felt, what points of access they have to the
Agency.
State and local officials have a special stake in full
participation. President Carter recognized this last
spring when he directed all Federal agencies to find
better ways to involve such officials. In the area of
environmental protection, the States and regional and
municipal bodies are often asked to take a major share
of the burden. Congress usually puts up some of the
funds to support this work, but as I'm well aware, it's
only enough to ease the pain not to make it go away.
State and local officials should welcome the chance
to let us know early and often how a program is going
to affect them.
EPA has some special projects underway to increase
the involvement of officials at other levels of government.
We are working with the Southern California Association
of Governments in a pilot program to keep such officials
up to date about actions planned by EPA, and to make it
easier for them to register their opinions. We have
given funds to organizations representing State, regional,
and local governments so they can set up briefings and
workshops on the recent Clean Air Act Amendments.
Other groups that clearly have a lot to gain from full
participation include academic leaders, consumer
representatives, members of the scientific community,
and those who have a particular interest in environ-
mental health. Leaders of these groups have already
made the case for full public participation quite elo-
quently. And I have noticed a real effort on their part
to listen to the concerns of other segments of society,
including those for whom protecting the environment
has had a low priority. Our effort to encourage public
participation could further that willingness to listen
to the opposition. It could help disputants see that they
are not as far apart as they thought.
Public participation enables us to receive informa-
tion and to give information through three kinds of
activities, all of them traditional but in need of
expansion and cultivation:
First, public hearings, conferences, workshops,
and other meetings.
Second, advisory and review groups—often but not
always of a scientific and technical nature—to con-
sider proposed actions, to criticize and suggest.
Third, meaningful information mechanisms to help
the members of our various publics relate to our man-
dates. This involves making clear the scientific basis
for what we do, the effects on public health, on the
economy, on society. What does a program do? Why?
What are the benefits? What will it cost?
There are, of course, some serious difficulties in
having the public participate in EPA decisions. The
most common objection is that it introduces more
confusion and delay into a process whose inefficiency
is already legendary. This need not happen, however.
The system won't always look neat. There will be
some shouting, and the rules of etiquette may some-
times fall by the wayside. But this is what public
participation is all about, getting divergent opinions
out into the open, where they can be integrated into a
final decision.
There may be short-term delays. We built a slight
new delay into the process when we decided to extend
the comment period on all proposed Agency actions to
60 days. The point about such delays, and about any
controversies that public participation may involve, is
that we can plan for them, we can find ways to mini-
Continued to page 29
APRIL 1978
-------
Think
Globally,
Act
Locally
An Interview with
Dr. Rene Dubos
By Truman Temple
II
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-------
Dr. Dubos, you have written
and spoken for many years
on the adverse effects of
environmental problems on
mankind. Historically, has
man been able to improve his
environment anywhere?
I have an optimistic attitude
about human intervention into
the environment. I was raised
about 30 miles north of Paris.
This is a country which from the
natural point of view was
completely covered by forest and
marshes until about 4,000 years
ago. At that time Neolithic man
settled in it and began clearing
the land. Since then it has been
under heavy agriculture with a
very high population density.
And yet today, many people
think it is one of the most en-
chanting kinds of European land-
scapes, much like English East
Anglia which also was forest
and marshes before the advent
of man.
Human beings can intervene
into nature and transform it,
provided they do it with eco-
logical wisdom. Ecological wis-
dom in the past was purely
empirical. People did certain
things without knowing why,
but now we have enough know-
ledge that we can change the
landscape without destroying it.
In this country, the Pennsyl-
vania Dutch country is an ex-
ample of that. It was created
only 200 or 300 years ago by
the Amish people and others
who have maintained an extra-
ordinary quality of land and have
made the countryside singu-
larly more interesting than it was
before. I could say much the
same about some of the New
England countryside.
This is the thesis I have de-
fended for four or five years in
articles and books. In fact in one
book, "The God Within," I ex-
press that very strongly but now
I am going to defend it in a much
more scientific way and docu-
Dr. Dubos is Professor Emeritus
at Rockefeller University and
the author of many books and
articles on environment, biology,
and medicine. He has received
numerous awards including the
Pulitizer Prize for his book,
So Human An Animal. Truman
Temple is Associate Editor of EPA
Sailboats plythe sparkling waters
of Lake Washington near Seattle.
ment it a little better. So that
brings me to a fairly elaborate
statement that I presented at the
University of Colorado in
Boulder a year or so ago, which
is going to be published. I call it
the resilience of ecosystems. I
believe that anywhere in the
world, almost, an ecosystem
that has been damaged can be
brought back to a good condi-
tion if you help nature to func-
tion with the natural repair
systems that exist. It is easy
enough to see on the East Coast
where farms have been aban-
doned only 50 or 60 years ago,
that the forest comes back
spontaneously. Forty years ago
I bought an abandoned farm in
the Hudson River Valley and I
know what that means.
We understand that you and
your wife planted many trees
there,
Hundreds of trees, yes. We
spend most of our week-ends
reforesting and taking care of
the trees but also trying to man-
age to keep open views, to keep
the country and that farmland
more interesting. Hemlocks do
wonderfully well so we have
planted a lot of them, and they
are now magnificent. This is in
Garrison, New York, in the Hud-
son highlands. It is a country-
side where most of the farms
were abandoned 100 years ago
when it became much easier to
go and farm in the Midwest and
Far West. But when I speak of
the resilience of natural eco-
systems, of their ability to re-
cover after all sorts of damage,
people say, "Well you are speak-
ing of the East Coast where we
have an abundance of good
water, rainfall, and where things
can recover. But that is not true
for the rest of the world."
Now that is what I used to be-
lieve until I began to look into
it, and to discover that almost
anywhere in the world on the
surface of the Earth, ecosystems
can recover. Let me give you a
few examples. The Mediter-
ranean lands and Greece in
particular, 4,000 years ago were
a heavily forested country.
Plato in one of his most famous
dialogues said that in the old
days all of Greece was forested.
There were beautiful streams
where the temples were erected,
whereas now many of those
streams have dried up and
those slopes are denuded, and
eroded completely. And of
course this is absolutely true.
But then about three years ago
I went through Greece with a
very famous planner, Constan-
tinos Doxiadis He showed me
that if you take any one of those
islands and just prevent goats
and rabbits from browsing,
without your doing anything,
within ten years you have good-
sized trees, and all sorts of
other vegetation. In other words,
even under these conditions,
nature comes back.
Why don't the Greeks stop
using goats? There must be
an economic reason.
They are beginning to stop. As
prosperity comes in, they stop
using them.
Goats can feed almost any-
where whereas of course,
cows won't. A goat will eat
anything, and of course, kills
all vegetation. But, right near
Athens some people I knew have
taken land where their homes
are and they fenced it com-
pletely. This was not only to
keep goats out but also rabbits.
And if you walk through that
area you see the classical Mt.
Hymettus denuded and as de-
scribed by writers, but there is
a whole section of it now which
is reforesting itself. So what I
am saying is that even under
very difficult conditions, nature
can recover. The most extra-
ordinary example was dis-
covered by satellite three years
ago during the famous drought
south of the Sahara in the Sahel
country. People observing maps
saw a big area more than a
quarter million acres that was
green in contrast with all the
rest that was desert. That was
traced to a ranch. This large
acreage was fenced and divided
into sections in which they have
cattle. The cattle graze on one
section a year, then move to the
next section and there is no
browsing by any other animals
because it is fenced And if you
do that even during the drought
the whole thing is green.
If you cannot do
something about
that stream or
park or those
lovely marshlands
in your town, how
do you think you
are going to save
the globe? JJ
-------
This example of goats being
used by low-income farmers
brings up another point. Can
the poor climb the economic
ladder and cope with environ-
mental problems at the same
time?
This is one of the great debates
It is not how can the poor im-
prove their lot, because they are
made poorer by the devastation
of land through the use of goats.
It is a matter of how to convince
them. It is not only an educa-
tional matter but it involves a
program using authority. Ob-
viously I am not competent to
deal with such political and
economic questions. The reason
I mention that ranch in the
south of the Sahara is that it
points to the possibility of using
part of the land in rotation so as
to permit the rest to recover.
We hear attacks being made
on the environmental move-
ment, charging that it series
mainly the affluent and pre-
serves the status quo. such
as the much-publicized Storm
King Mountain controversy.
Do these charges have any
validity?
I am interested that you should
mention Storm King because our
place in Garrison is only a few
miles from it. Anyone, rich or
poor, who lives in the area
where they can look at it or go
fishing in the Hudson is
against using Storm King for a
reservoir, because it would not
only change the appearance of a
most beautiful piece of scenery
but also would decrease enor-
mously the amount of fishing
one could do in the river. Be-
cause if the water is being
pumped when the fish are
breeding, many small fish would
be destroyed. It is not a nuclear
power plant. They would pump
up the water during the night,
creating a reservoir, and then
during the day the water would
come down and generate elec-
tric power. But that enormous
amount of pumping is fantasti-
cally destructive to fish life. So
you do not have to be a wealthy
fisherman to be against it. On
the other hand, if you live in the
village where the Storm King
reservoir is being built, then you
would be in favor of having it
Tf -«w vv^m^mmmm^^^r
-------
rivers that do not compare,
cannot begin to compare, with
what there is in New York, the
waterfronts are enchanting.
There are places where there
are fine restaurants, where
people go walking, where they
are the most romantic parts of
the city. It seems to me that in
this country with the fantastic
diversity and wealth of water-
fronts we have, it is a national
duty to create environments
that are suitable to human life,
for human pleasures. And if we
did that, I think we would de-
crease the need for people to
escape from New York every
week-end. If we were to man-
age our waterfront the way
London, or Paris or Berlin
have managed their miserable
ones. I think instead of driving
50 miles every week-end to go
somewhere, many people would
enjoy the waterfront. I think
from the social, economic and
pollution points of view it
would contribute more to make
poor people able to enjoy this
city than anything else we could
do, and from the energy-con-
servation point of view too.
I have been guiding the de-
velopment of a new program
organized under my name—the
Rene Dubos Forum—that will
explore human activities as they
relate to nature. I am very en-
couraged by the fact that the
National Endowment for the
Humanities under the direction
of Joseph Duffey has chosen to
support these efforts. His
desire to relate the social
utility of the humanities to im-
proving the American environ-
ment bodes well for the future.
I am not speaking of this as a
scientific problem, although it
has scientific ecological com-
ponents, of course. But I am
speaking of using the environ-
ment, rrnproving it as a form of
giving values to humanities in
American life.
There seems to be an echo,
in what you are saying about
waterfronts, from Voltaire's
Candide: "Let us cultivate
our garden."
Yes, that conveys in part what
I believe. When I talk at univer-
sities to students, they always
want to discuss saving the
globe, and I am all in favor of
that of course. But I always
answer, "It's very good to think
about problems in a global way,
I think it is a good intellectual
exercise, but the only way
where you can do something is
in your own locality. So think
globally, but act locally. If you
cannot do something about
that stream or those lovely
marshlands in your town, then
how do you think you are going
to save the globe? That's exactly
"Cultivate your garden." And
then after that, you can perhaps
think on the larger scale about
global problems
Dr. Dubos, you turned 77 in
February. Looking back, what
have been the most dramatic
changes regarding the wel-
fare of the planet and its
inhabitants you have seen in
your lifetime?
There is no doubt that the great
revolution happened in the
1 960's, and was a revolution in
the minds of people. Something
happened then which made
people aware, probably first in
the Anglo-Saxon countries, that
if we were to continue the way
we were going, it would destroy
everything And this revolution
was not only in the mind, it im-
mediately was converted within
a few years into action.
Now that movement has
reached a country like France
in a phenomenal way. I think in
some ways there is more activity
in France towards saving the
environment than there is in this
country. As perhaps you have
seen in the last election, ten
percent of the population voted
the ecological ticket, it's a
political ticket, so influential now
that any political party in France
has to talk ecologically. Obvious-
ly it was first most active in this
country, and also in Great
Britain, Sweden and Scandin-
avia.
What has most impressed me
is how rapidly one can mobilize
public opinion and do things in
a particular place. So I will men-
tion examples of two cities in
which I had some activity. One
is Seattle. As perhaps you know
Lake Washington in Seattle ten
years ago was said to be dead. A
group of citizens began to save
Lake Washington and after two
or three years, they managed
to have bonds floated to stop
domestic as well as industrial
pollution. And within seven
years, without doing anything
else, except to stop pollution,
there was no longer any domes-
tic sewage or industrial effluent
flowing into the lake. Within
seven years. Lake Washington
returned to the state in which
it was before the white man
came in. Now that has had a
fantastic impact in Seattle, be-
cause real estate values all
around Lake Washington in-
creased enormously. All sorts
of pleasurable occasions be-
came possible out on Lake Wash-
ington and the whole city of
Seattle now is really transform-
ing itself into a very pleasant
city.
Now let me mention New
York City. Jamaica Bay, adja-
cent to Kennedy Airport, for
several decades had been used
as a place where the city dumped
its garbage. Every day, hun-
dreds of trucks dumped gar-
bage into the bay and there
were 1,600 sewer lines feeding
into it also. A few years ago a
city employee of the Parks De-
If I were Billy
Graham, I would
preach to people
that the best way
to save their souls
is to save the
environment of
cities like
New York.
APRIL 1978
-------
••In San Antonio,
Texas, a miser-
able little river,
it's not even a
river, it essentially
was used as a
sewer line, has
been converted
into an enchanting
area. So it can
be done.
partment decided that he would,
on his own, try to do something
to save Jamaica Bay. He began
planting trees on those garbage
islands. Trees, shrubs, and so
on. He was in the Parks Depart-
ment. His name was Herbert
Johnson. Then the city began to
take an interest in it. It began to
establish water treatment plants
so that the sewers did not go
into it. The bay began immedi-
ately to improve. Water birds
came back. The oyster industry
has started again. And other
shellfish and fin fish, because
rapidly conditions improved.
Something else happened,
however About four or five
years ago, there was a plan to
extend runways of JFK into
Jamaica Bay because they
wanted to enlarge the airport.
The National Academy of
Sciences planned a study of what
would be the ecological conse-
quences of extending the run-
ways into the bay. That irritated
me a great deal I made a public
statement that one did not need
an ecological study which would
take two or three years to knc^v
that extending the runways
would damage Jamaica Bay.
Well, the Village Voice played it
up, then other environmental
groups played it up, and some-
body arranged a big meeting at
Jamaica Bay in which several
persons spoke and I was one of
them. The New York Times sent
people, and managed to take a
photograph of me, saying that, if
wedo respect Jamaica Bay, allow
it to evolve in an ecologically
sound way, what we are going to
have is a marvelous bird sanc-
tuary, which it is now. It has the
largest number of birds and
diversity of birds on the East
Coast, so I said we can have this
and have it compatible with tech-
nological development. You
could have the birds and you
could have the jets on the
other side.
The Times published the
photograph, on the first page,
with a statement. And shortly
afterwards Governor Rocke-
feller decided that the Kennedy
runways would not be extended.
I am sure it was not my speech
that convinced the Governor. It
was just that public opinion
could be aroused against it So
it is possible to sensitize public
opinion provided one finds
issues meaningful to people.
Now this has extended into
something much bigger.
You probably know that Con-
gress established about two
years ago the Gateway National
Recreation Area which has the
largest budget of any National
Park. It includes Jamaica Bay,
the Floyd Bennett airfield,
Breezy Point, then Ft. Hamilton
on Staten Island and Sandy
Hook on the New Jersey coast.
So all this is now a National
Park—the first large urban park
in the world. I have been
involved in trying to formulate
how man could take advantage
of the waterfronts of New York
City and create an urban nation-
al park which has a large psy-
chological significance for the
country, because so many mil-
lions of people, including me,
entered this country through the
Gateway. I helped former Interior
Secretary Stuart Udall to write a
manifesto which is being used
now for the planning. The new
management of Gateway has
raised the potential to
more than $200 million in Fed-
eral money in capital improve-
ments there. Now I understand
that idea is being picked up by
San Francisco to create some-
thing similar. All this demon-
strates that a place like Jamaica
Bay that was just for rats only
1 0 or 1 5 years ago can be con-
verted into the most beautiful
bird sanctuary on the East
Coast. So that shows if we are
willing to do things, we can
save our environment. Even our
urban environment.
Once you get it started, usually
communities will respond.
That's why I'm more optimistic
than many people are. I am told
lots of wonderful things have
happened in Minneapolis, for
example. And in San Antonio,
Texas, where a miserable little
river, it's not even a river, it was
essentially used as a sewer line,
has been converted into an en-
chanting area. So it can be
done. The real problem is how
can one mobilize public opinion
and how can one make poor
people realize that by so doing
one contributes to the quality of
their lives.
An elderly couple stroll down a
tree-lined road in the Cuyahoga
Valley National Recreation
Area.
EPAJOURNAL
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.«*. ••* -
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APRIL 1978
-------
Do we need more environ-
mental protection laws or do
we have enough now?
My feeling is that there are
enough, it is a question of en-
forcing them. One of my other
activities is to serve on the
Board of the Natural Resources
Defense Council, chiefly as a
scientific advisor. Their lawyers
give me the impression that one
does not need more legislation
It does exist. It is just the ques-
tion of a place to apply it, so that
there is a precedent. That's why
Storm King was an extraordin-
ary situation. I was flabbergast-
ed when it happened When
Con-Edison presented their plan
to build a reservoir up there, the
local judge said that you could
not do something that impinged
on the value of the property of
somebody else. The people with
property facing Storm King said
that the value of their property
depended in part upon the sce-
nic beauty of the place and that
the beauty would be damaged
by the reservoir. It is a prece-
dent in the law now that aesthe-
tic quality is a part of the
value of your property
Dr. Dubos, you wrote a
biography of Pasteur that
was republished with new
material a few years ago.
Why does this figure hold
such significance for you?
He helped to create the science
of medical microbiology, of
course. But I became so inter-
ested in the environment during
the past 1 5 years that on re-
reading the documents, I revised
my biography of Pasteur written
30 years ago. I realized there
was in his scientific attitude an
enormous ecological compon-
ent, an enormous interest in the
environment which nobody had
perceived
He worked with the microbes
that cause disease, but he also
stated that the ability of the mic-
robes to cause disease de-
pended on the total environment
in which the person lived. You
take a child who is infected with
tubercle bacilli. If this child lives
under miserable conditions, He
will develop clinical tuberculosis
and many die of it. But another
child who lives in good environ-
mental conditions will also have
the infection but has a better
chance to recover from it.
So Pasteur constantly em-
phasized that the total environ-
ment influences susceptibility
and resistance to disease. And
that had not been recognized.
Having moved from being a
pure bacteriologist myself to a
person concerned with the
effect of environment on people,
I took all of Pasteur's writings
and singled out those statements
that he made, even though he
couldn't do very much about it.
I think that now we are ready
to enter a phase of environment-
al medicine where, yes, we can
recognize the importance of
microbes and that is very im-
portant, but we also can analyze
the effect of the environment on
the susceptibility of people to
infection. So this is why I
decided to republish my Pasteur
book with that new chapter in
the beginning.
By the way, I was sensitized to
the problem for a very personal
reason. I used to be a perfectly
orthodox bacteriologist and in
fact I published several success-
ful text books.
In 1 942, my first wife, who
was French, developed tuber-
culosis. We lived at that time in
Dobbs Ferry, New York, under
very pleasant conditions. There
was no reason that she should
develop tuberculosis. So I
looked into her past. I knew that
she came from a part of France
where Limoges china is made. I
knew that her father, who was a
china painter, had died about
the age of 45, and by that time
knowing what I knew of tuber-
culosis, I recognized that he
had died of silico tuberculosis,
which is a kind very common
among people who inhale silica
in the china industry I recog-
nized that as a young girl, 6 or 7,
my first wife had a long bout of
pulmonary disease which
obviously was tuberculosis, but
from which she recovered be-
cause she was not exposed to
silica. Then she became a very
healthy woman. But then the
war came, with all sorts of
tragedies. Even though she did
not suffer physically from it,
all sorts of tragedies
occurred in her French family
which upset her tremendously.
And what happened I am sure,
even though it is impossible to
prove, is that her old tuber-
culosis had become reactivated,
and one knows that can happen.
So that made me become very
much interested in the effect of
the total environment on sus-
ceptibility of people to tuber-
culosis. And as a matter of fact
I wrote a book called the White
Plague- Tuberculosis—Man —
Society in which I demonstrated
that tuberculosis becomes an
important disease any time a
society is disorganized and
where people are exposed to
bad living conditions. It was a
very common disease in the
1 9th century because of the
industrial revolution and people
moving from the country into
the tenements of industralized
cities. And then as the condi-
tions improved, Europe became
wealthy, then tuberculosis be-
gan to become much less im-
portant. And the same thing is
happening now in all parts of
the world which were poor and
are now becoming industrialized
and where tuberculosis is a
very common disease.
So I became involved in the
effect of the environment upon
tuberculosis, then more gener-
ally of the environment on infec-
tious disease. And then finally
the effect of the environment
on the whole human life, and
that is where 1 am now. That is
why I put so much emphasis on
1 1
EPAJOURNAL
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How
Do You Say
'Dubos'?
the fact that we can improve our
environment, and that a city
like New York could have lots of
wonderful waterfronts and
parks. If we could manage them
properly, people would live
better, and wouldn't have to
travel 50 miles to the country
every week-end in all those
enormous traffic jams, and we
would save energy besides.
People would become more
pleasant. Human relationships
would be improved. I think we
could transform this city and at
not an enormous cost either.
I think if I were Billy Graham,
I would go out and preach to
people that the best way to save
their souls is to save the
environment of cities like
New York. D
Amish families typify the people
who know how to preserve and
improve their environment,
according to Dr. Dubos.
People have trouble pro-
nouncing Dubos, Some give it a
French accent, and others try it
in an English version.
Professor Dubos says ac-
tually both are used in France.
"In southern France, they say
'dew-boss.' But north of Paris
where I came from, they say
'dew-bow,'" he explains So
you can take your pick.
At Rockefeller University,
most people |ust call him
Dr. "doo-bose,"
APRIL 1978
1 I
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i Lm - AJ7^r
// itf
• '
The Role of
Private
Conservation
Organizations
By Elvis J. Stahr
President, National Audubon Society
Anerica's natural heritage is, by any
standard, one of the most important
elements of the total heritage of our people.
Indeed, had our natural heritage been a
much lesser one, we would be a much
lesser Nation today. But we have exploited
that heritage almost wantonly, and days
of reckoning have a way of arriving. Indeed,
they are with us today Yet I submit that
with fresh resolve to preserve, protect and
defend what is left of our natural heritage,
and to restore certain parts of it to the
degree that is within our power, we will
benefit both ourselves and our posterity.
How can this be done? I believe that it
cannot be done without volunteer citizen
action! And I will enlarge on this point.
Despite the importance of the roles of
wildlife in the planet's life support systems,
as Americans we must face up to the prob-
ability that it is going to become harder and
harder to stimulate most of the people of
this world to be concerned about wildlife.
or even about conservation or pollution,
in a serious way. Why? Three things are
happening concurrently: escalating growth
in the total number of people; escalating
growth in the per capita pressures and de-
mands which those people are placing on
the Earth's resources, and, in most parts
of the world, the congregating of the people
in cities, where wildlife and wild places
can or do seem terribly remote.
Urban dwellers forget how much their
own survival depends on what's outside the
city. No urban population could exist more
than a few days on its own resources—of
food, energy, water, materials. Yet most
city dwellers seem to think of the world in
terms of the city. They see many problems
which are difficult and enormous. But these
will not be alleviated, only exacerbated, if
urban people concentrate on urban prob-
lems to the extent that they ignore or make
shortsighted decisions concerning the
natural world on which all life, including
their own, ultimately depends.
No one can offer or promise simple, quick
or cheap solutions. Government alone can-
not develop them. I submit the private sec-
tor must be involved, lest government it-
self pay too little heed to the world out-
side the cities where so many of the voters
are. Involved how? I see that as the role of
private citizens—working through con-
servation organizations.
Ever since they federated loosely but
effectively to throw off British rule,
American citizens have exhibited a gift for
organizing themselves to advance causes
they believe in. Both men and women have
the same proclivity. If conservation laws and
wildlife management programs are stronger
and further advanced in the United States
than in other nations of the world — and
there is considerable evidence that this is
so—our progress can be attributed in
large measure to this peculiar inclination and
ability of the American citizen.
The American revolution was fought and
won by volunteers, and voluntarism has
been a continuing, vitalizing element in
American society. The conservation move-
ment began and has continued because
hundreds of thousands of volunteers in this
country want it and are willing to work for
it extra hours, night-times, and weekends.
Most remain not only unpaid but unsung.
Yet they are the grass-roots and lifeblood
of every private conservation organization
that depends on members.
The combined force and effect of citizen
organizations working to protect, conserve,
and manage wildlife and other natural re-
sources, and to study and understand the
biology and ecology of species, has been
known as the conservation movement
Now, in the popular lexicon, the broader
phrase, environmental movement, has
12
EPAJOURNAL
-------
supplanted conservation—but environment-
alism includes the concepts of conservation.
Movement is a remarkably descriptive
noun. To study the history of citizen wild-
life organizations, their origins, their rise,
and sometimes their fall and disappearance,
their splittings and spin-offs and coalescings,
and the continuing emergence of new
groups, is to perceive a bubbling cauldron
of private endeavor—and a peculiarly
American phenomenon.
Private conservation organizations em-
erge more or less coincidentally with the
crossing of the last frontier in the lower
48 and the yeasty period of Teddy
Roosevelt's presidency. Actually the roots
of the movement go back to 1886 and the
founding of the early Audubon societies in
the East, and the Sierra Club in the West,
and even to the American Forestry Associa-
tion in 1 875 and the American Fisheries
Society in 1870.
Few Americans, however, were very
much concerned right up to the late 1960's.
Numerous other private organizations
sprang up in the meantime and the persis-
tent work of all helped prepare the way so
well that when the general public in increas-
ing ntfmbers began to see and smell the
gross pollution of their air and water and
widening abuses of their land, millions of
people were ready for a genuine turnaround
in attitudes toward pollution, toward natural
resources, and toward the relations between
economics and ecology. Those attitudes
obviously have a bearing on the welfare—
or lack of it—of wildlife.
An early result of the turnaround was the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1 969,
which remains the most significant single
weapon of environmental conservation, in
my opinion. Among other things it includes
an all-important declaration of dependence
—the dependence of man upon nature—and
of the necessity that man learn to live with
nature in productive harmony. And only
a few months after it became law, the vol-
unteers began to muster in new strength.
Like those who mustered on the village
green in Lexington long ago, many were
young and untrained, yet they demanded
and got attention.
But who laid the groundwork and still
carries the brunt of the battle? Who are the
private organizations? Actually there are
five basic types: large membership organ-
izations, institutes, professional and scient-
ific societies, environmental law
organizations, and coalitions formed to
coordinate the efforts of several
organizations.
Among the large membership organiza-
tions are the National Wildlife Federation,
National Audubon Society. Sierra Club,
Izaak Walton League of America, the Wilder-
ness Society, Defenders of Wildlife, the
National Parks and Conservation Associa-
tion and Friends of the Earth. The American
Forestry Association, whose primary thrust
has been toward the conservation and
scientific management of forests, belongs
in this category.
These organizations and their State and
local affiliates deliver political clout from
the grass-roots without which the most
skillful lobbyists in Washington or a State
capital can exercise only limited influence.
On occasions when they deliver their grass-
roots clout in concert, Federal policies or
projects have been stopped, started, or
redirected. They do this very sparingly,
however.
Second, the institutes. Among them are
the Wildlife Management Institute, the Sport
Fishing Institute, and the Conservation
Foundation. Characteristically, institutes
engage highly qualified professionals to
encourage and sometimes to conduct re-
search; to promote the application of
science in fish and wildlife management;
to carry out educational programs beamed
at the public and the profession; and to
help guide and coordinate the membership
organizations.
The third kind of organization is the pro-
fessional or scientific society, in a sense
primal to the whole conservation movement.
Though small in point of numbers of mem-
bers, they have exercised profound influ-
ence on the conservation movement. We're
all familiar with the Wildlife Society and the
American Ornithologists' Union. These
societies have made their contributions
chiefly in the promotion and publication of
research and the dissemination of pro-
fessional knowledge based on experience.
They provide the base of knowledge upon
which the lay organizations build their
organizational and action programs.
Environmental law organizations are a
relatively new phenomenon. Best known
are the Environmental Defense Fund, which
had its birth at a National Audubon Con-
vention in 1967, and the Natural Resources
Defense Council, organized in 1970. EOF
and NRDC were formed to use law and
science to fight environmental battles in
the courts and in administrative proceedings
and have won some spectacular victories
with far-reaching benefits to the environ-
ment. The Center for Law and Social Policy.
the Environmental Law Institute, and a
number of other groups around the country
also fall in the fourth category.
The fifth type is the council or "coalition,"
established on a permanent or ad hoc basis,
to coordinate the work of a number of
organizations. The oldest is the Natural
Resources Council of America, in which 46
national and regional organizations hold
membership. The NRCA has arranged con-
ferences with Presidents, Cabinet members,
and other high administration officials where
each participant spoke the views of his own
organization. Those views generally have
coincided, however, and have influenced
major decisions more than once. Similar
councils have been established in many
States. In addition, ad hoc coalitions for
action on single issues are common, some-
times quite informal but nevertheless
effective.
Let's look a little further at what the pri-
vate organizations do, really, to influence
private actions and public policy in the con-
servation and management of wildlife and
other natural resources. Their major func-
tions fall into several clearly discernible
classes: Private organizations initiate new
government agencies, reform old ones,
and start new programs. They go to court
to secure enforcement of conservation
laws, or to establish new interpretations of
old laws. They have sued to force govern-
ment agencies to implement the law, and
have also intervened in support of agencies
trying to implement it.
They have engaged legal counsel to utilize
all manner of proceedings affecting natural
resources under the Administrative Pro-
cedures Act. and have engaged in similar
quasi-judicial processes at the State level.
These same organizations conduct ed-
ucational programs—ranging from courses
and materials for school children to the
publication of periodicals with large circula-
tions, issue press releases, and hold press
conferences. They also seek exposure via
the air waves, some producing series of
radio and TV "spots" designed to take ad-
vantage of the public service time required
of broadcasting stations. Some produce
television specials and others sponsor wild-
life films.
Some private conservation organizations
raise money to buy land for wildlife. One
organization, the Nature Conservancy, has
specialized in this field since 1950 and has
purchased or had bequeathed to it more
than a million acres, most of which have
wound up as important additions to the
National Wildlife Refuge System, in National
Parks or National Forests, or in preserves
administered by State or local government
agencies.
At least three more deserve mention for
their land acquisitions: The World Wildlife
Fund U.S. Appeal exists primarily to raise
money for important wildlife projects that
governments cannot or will not fund. Ducks
Unlimited secures contributions from in-
dividual hunters and some corporations to
acquire waterfowl habitat here and in
Canada. The National Audubon Society now
protects and manages some 67 wildlife
sanctuaries from Maine to California.
Private organizations conduct or sponsor
research, as has been noted. They also fight
local battles to save habitats. Using any or
al! of the methods and tools employed by the
national organizations, local conservation
clubs or chapters fight battles—against
pollution, drainage, land clearing, and con-
struction projects—all over the United
States that would destroy wildlife habitat
Continued to page 37
APRIL 1978
13
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The National Audubon
Society
(The following article contains
brief profiles on the groups de-
scribed by Elvis Stahr, president
of the Audubon Society, as
being among the major environ-
mental membership organiza-
tions.)
Major
Environmental
Groups
By Terry Fleishman
1
,<
The environmental movement,
like a maturing tree, has
been developing for a long time.
It has strong roots, nurtured by
the philosophy of conservation-
ists who gained prominence in
the 1 9th century. And like a
healthy tree, it continues to
surprise us with vigorous new
branches.
This article is about some of
the men and women and their
contributions, then and now, to
the broad concept known as
environmentalism. The move-
ment cannot be characterized
by a single issue or cause; over
the years it has changed both
its direction and its techniques
for achieving new goals. But
one quality seems to have per-
sisted in its decades of growth:
the movement thrives on con-
troversy. Indeed, its many
battles for a better America
and the protection of both wild-
life and natural resources have
generated publicity, funds and
membership to aid these causes.
Terry Fleishman is a member of
the EPA Office of Public
Awareness Headquarters staff.
One of the earliest struggles
centered nearly a century ago
on the threatened extinction of
many aquatic birds. In the 1880's
hunters, attracted by a profit-
able and hungry market for
bird plumage, were rapidly
exterminating beautiful south-
ern coast wading birds such as
egrets. When the species began
to disappear, the hunters
pointed their guns toward
terns and gulls of the northern
shores, and for another decade
the killing went on. Almost
every fashionable woman of that
period, it seems, liked to wear
the plumes of egrets and terns
in her hats.
They did not reckon, however,
on a redoubtable lady, Mrs.
Augustus Hemenway of Boston,
who called a meeting of the
new Massachusetts Audubon
Society at her home on Feb-
ruary 10, 1896 The meeting
was not only attended by bird
lovers and cultivated women
who were repelled by the wear-
ing of hats decorated with
plumage but also by men who
liked to hunt.
Despite this odd mixture, the
participants endorsed the
Audubon goal, as stated in its
bylaws: "To discourage the
buying and wearing, for orna-
mental purposes of the feathers
of any wild birds except ducks
and gamebirds and to otherwise
further the protection of native
birds," Later, 'except ducks and
gamebirds' was omitted.
Some of the group's first
officers included William Brew-
ster, a curator at Harvard and
the club's first President, and
the following Vice Presidents:
Charles Francis Adams, Sarah
Orne Jewett and Mrs. Louis
Agassiz. At the end of the club's
first year, its membership
reached almost 1,300, many of
whom were children. The Massa-
chusetts Audubon is still a
separate organization from the
National group.
Battle lines were drawn as
poachers murdered Audubon
wardens. The task of changing
the attitudes of turn-of-the-
century Americans in regard to
terns and egrets created Audu-
bon's framework of member-
ship and club motivation.
After Audubon established
sanctuaries and changed hunt-
ing laws, it was widely regarded
as an upper-middle-class club
functioning in a stylish aris-
tocratic way, and could have
remained simply as a bird-
watcher group. But the environ-
mental problems of the 1 960's
and the public demand for clean
air and water changed all this,
presenting the Society with a
whole new set of challenges it
had not encountered since its
founding. The result was a new
struggle and a dramatic i ise in
membership. Before the 1960's,
Audubon's annual budget was
below S1 million. It now
exceeds S1 0 million with a
membership of 400,000 and
chapter members in 400 cities
and towns.
Since the turn of the century
the Audubon Society has been
attempting to build a public
awareness of the need to con-
serve all our natural resources,
but its conservation priorities
today promote the conservation
of wildlife and the natural
environment, support public
and private measures for abate-
ment and prevention of all
forms of environmental pollu-
tion, encourage a national land-
use policy and land use planning,
protect the public interest in
public lands, recommend re-
form of national water policy,
work for formulation of a na-
tional energy policy, change our
national transportation policy
from emphasis on highways
to mass transit, cooperate with
the United Nations, public and
private agencies on international
conservation and advocate the
stabilization of human popula-
tion—basic to preservation of
environmental quality.
EPAJOURNAL
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The Sierra Club
The American Forestry
Association
Another environmental group
was founded at the end of the
1 9th century after John Muir,
a conservationist and poet,
warned of man's damage to the
Sierras, which he loved. Antici-
pating Barry Commoner by
many decades, he observed:
"When we try to pick out any-
thing by itself we find it hitched
to everything else in the uni-
verse." Around 1 889, Muir and
Robert Underwood Johnson,
associate editor of Century
Magazine, combined efforts to
persuade Congress to form
Yosemite National Park which
would secure the high mountain
region encompassing Yosemite
Valley. As a result, the park was
created in the autumn of 1 890.
Concurrently, a small group of
conservationists lobbied for
the establishment of two other
national parks, Sequoia and
General Grant, to protect
southern Sierra's big trees.
Since the creation of these
parks didn't guarantee their
survival from the threats of
sheep-grazing and forest fires,
Muir concurred with Johnson's
proposal to create a "Yellow-
stone and Yosemite Defense
Association," an idea suggested
by an officer of the Boone and
Crockett Club to protect
California parks. Their concerns,
shared by others, included
forming an organization to
protect mountain wilderness
and make the Sierras better
known and more accessible.
In 1 892, the Sierra Club was
founded by recreationists and
conservationists with Muir as
its first president. The main
goals of the club were: "To
explore, enjoy and render ac-
cessible the mountain regions
of the Pacific Coast; to publish
authentic information concern-
ing them; to enlist the support
and co-operation of the people
and government in preserving
the forests and other natural
features of the Sierra Nevada ...'
The club worked diligently to
achieve its goals of forest and
mountain wilderness preserva-
tion in the west, especially the
Sierra Nevada mountains. Its
membership grew steadily, due
to the popularity of the early
mountain hikes in the Sierras.
The club, however, remained a
small conservation and outing
organization until well after
World War II. After its involve-
ment in the drive to preserve
Dinosaur National Monument,
the Sierra Club joined the ranks
of leaders of American environ-
mental organizations.
This campaign, aimed at
blocking the 1 953 construc-
tion of Echo Park dam in Dino-
saur National Monument on
the Colorado-Utah border, was
one of the most intense pro-
jects the club had ever under-
taken and its victory demon-
strated the nationwide political
power of the conservation
movement. There were raft
trips down the Yampa River to
dramatize the issue, and a flood
of bulletins, films, articles, ads,
and letters to the press. Sierra
Club executive director, David
Brower, coordinated the drive
with citizen groups across the
Nation, including the Wilder-
ness Society. Appearing before
congressional committees, he
exposed erroneous data and
showed that other sites for
dams were available. In addi-
tion, he argued that the Echo
Park dam might never be
necessary and that water
needed downstream would be
lost to evaporation. Eventually,
Dinosaur National Monument
stayed intact.
Although a later battle over a
dam at Glen Canyon was lost,
the Sierra Club had laid the
framework for future campaigns
against dam proposals. Also,
technology provided alternatives
to hydroelectric power to pump
water to the lower Colorado
River States for irrigation and
other uses.
By 1 960, the Sierra Club was
represented in nearly every
State and in 1 5 foreign coun-
tries. Furthermore, it turned to
new directions in environmental
issues such as sonic booms from
airplanes, urban sprawl, exces-
sive use of pesticides, protec-
tion of coastal areas, a national
wilderness bill, and a concern
with the overuse and misuse of
recreational facilities. Yet it still
kept on familiar footing with
opposition to a suggested
trans-Sierra road and dams in
national parks.
As Sierra Club President J.
William Futrell observed last
year, "It is time to rethink the
battle lines of the sixties and
early seventies. Citizens should
now begin to look to the
problems of the decade ahead."
Futrell said the club plans to
center its attentions on the
problems of U.S. cities and the
protection of the typical urban
citizen. "Environmentalists are
going to have to realize that the
future of places like Yellowstone
Park," he declared, "is going to
depend on the future of places
like Watts and Harlem."
The Sierra Club's present
membership is 1 75,000 mem-
bers, representing a growth rate
of about 8 percent a year.
"
One of the oldest conservation
groups in the U.S. is the Amer-
ican Forestry Association, ft was
founded in 1875 by Dr. John
Warder, a physician and horti-
culturist, and aimed for "the
protection of the existing forests
of the country from unnecessary
waste, and the promotion of the
propagation and planting of
useful trees."
The AFA helped popularize
Arbor Day as far back as 1 882
by sponsoring tree plantings. In
its early years the Association
pressed for laws to protect the
forests on public lands, to pre-
vent wasteful forest fires, and
to set aside preserves of forest
lands. Among the areas that
later resulted from its inter-
est were the national forests in
the White Mountains and the
Appalachians. In the 1 920's the
AFA successfully pressed for
enactment of the Clarke-McNary
Law, which promoted Federal
aid to States for forest fire
prevention, provided matching
Federal funds for reforestation
efforts, and allowed for ex-
panded national acquisition of
forest lands.
In 1 933 the Association
inaugurated summer excur-
sions called Trail Riders of the
Wilderness to take small
groups on horseback into road-
less areas. Trail Riders now has
expanded to include canoe trips
to the Allagash and Boundary
Waters Areas as well as horse-
back excursions into the
mountains.
In 1 940 the AFA started the
Social Register of Big Trees to
list the Nation's largest speci-
mens of native trees.
The American Forestry Asso-
ciation today continues its
tradition of forest conserva-
tion and education through its
75,000 members
APRIL 1978
-------
National Parks & Conser-
vation Association
The Wilderness Society
The Izaak Walton League
No account of environmental
groups would be complete for
the United States without
mention of the National Parks
and Conservation Association.
Established in 1919 as the
National Parks Association, it
belongs to the tradition of
conservation-oriented organ-
izations in Washington, D.C.,
and has concentrated most of its
interest and activity on the goal
of protecting and preserving
national parks and monuments.
Its founder was Stephen
Mather, first director of the
National Park Service.
In 1 970 the organization
approved a change to its pre-
sent title, and it has demon-
strated in recent times a
broadened interest in environ-
ment, including wildlife, wilder-
ness, recreation, open spaces,
rivers, oceans, pollution,
energy and related matters.
NPCA's concerns include
assuring that the Nation's
parks "remain open to the
public —well staffed, in good
repair and free of mining,
pollution, commercialization
and overdevelopment."
In addition, the Association's
activities include enforcement of
the Endangered Species Act; pre-
servation of areas such as the
Appalachian Trail and establish-
ment of a Greenline Park
System to protect ecological
and cultural sites via Federal-
State cooperation; better
environmental management of
National Forests; a retreat from
nuclear power and support of
other forms of energy including
solar, geothermal, wind, and
hydrogen; support of public
transit in place of private autos
for downtown areas; and a
changeover from chemical
pesticides to organic and inte-
grated pest control.
NPCA currently has about
45,000 members and its bud-
get last year was approximately
$927,000.
The philosophy of the Wilder-
ness Society was anticipated
well before its founding. Some
of the great thinkers of the mid-
nineteenth century, men of
sensitivity like Thoreau and
Emerson, had expressed the
need to preserve the wilderness.
To them, saving it meant not
only preserving the quality of
life but also the human spirit.
In the 20th century propon-
ents of this philosophy, while
sharing the sentiments of
Thoreau and Emerson, had an
even bigger burden, for the
destruction of wilderness by
man's activities was increasing
at an alarming rate.
Robert Marshall, a 20th
century forester, requested the
immediate establishment of
enough tracts of land "to insure
everyone who hungers for it a
generous opportunity of enjoy-
ing wilderness isolation ..." He
urged the union of all supporters
of this program and stated his
reasons: "There is just one
hope of repulsing the tyrannical
ambition of civilization to
conquer every niche on the
whole earth. That hope is the
organization of spirited people
who will fight for the freedom of
the wilderness."
In January, 1 935, the Wilder-
ness Society was formed to
embrace that proposal.
In subsequent years it became
evident to members of the
Society and other conserva-
tionists that administrative
protection of remaining wilder-
ness areas by Federal agencies
was transitory. Society members
accordingly outlined a model
wilderness law, which eventual-
ly inspired the introduction of
legislation in 1 956. After eight
years of campaigning by con-
servationists, the Wilderness
Act became law on Sept. 3,
1 964, giving immediate pro-
tection to almost 1 0 million
acres of wild country, and pro-
viding for evaluation and enact-
ment of additions.
Today approximately 1 2 mil-
lion acres are included in the
National Wilderness Protection
System and many additional
areas are being studied for in-
clusion. The Society is working
toward this goal, as well as sav-
ing the wild places in Alaska by
the creation of more than 100
million acres of new Alaskan
national parks, wildlife refuges,
protected forests and wild rivers.
In addition, its agenda includes
winning Wilderness System pro-
tection of Federal wildlands now
managed by the Bureau of Land
Management; protecting over
50 million acres of national
forest roadless areas; including
remaining free-flowing wild
rivers in the National Wild and
Scenic River System, and pre-
serving critical wildlife habitat.
The Society has also been in-
volved in some contemporary
environmental issues such as
strip mining legislation.
The Wilderness Society
currently has about 70,000
members.
The Izaak Walton League
adopted its name from a noted
seventeenth century English
philosopher and angler whose
concern stretched beyond
fishing and the quality of water
to all natural resources. On
January 1 4, 1 922, a group of
54 sportsmen and outdoor
writers from both coasts of the
United States convened in the
Chicago Athletic Club to
organize the League. Will H.
Dilg, the organization's first
president, spoke to them about
America's forests, rivers and
waterfowl, which were being
affected by pollution.
The League's history and
interests, which now encom-
pass diverse areas such as wild-
life conservation, land preser-
vation, and clean water, orig-
inally concentrated on the
restoration of fish and wildlife.
In 1 924, the League established
the 300,000-acre Upper
Mississippi River Wildlife and
Fish Refuge. This was followed
by the 1925 purchase of 2,000
acres of critical elk winter range
in Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
which saved a great elk herd and
helped establish the National Elk
Refuge. Later on, the League
worked toward its goals through
such laws as the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act of 1 946 and
the Marine Mammals Act of 1 972.
It was active in the preservation
of wilderness areas in northern
Minnesota —the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area. Along with the IWLA
Endowment Inc., the group set
aside thousands of acres for
present and future generations.
The League's concern with
clean water stemmed from
President Calvin Coolidge's
request for the League to survey
the extent of the Nation's water
pollution problems, the first
study of its kind. This concern
has not dwindled through the
years, and the group's recent
manual entitled, "A Citizen's
Guide to Clean Water", is a
popular handbook for citizens
who want to affect implementa-
tion of the Clean Water Act.
The organization has multi-
plied its original membership
many times since its inception,
reaching a total of 51,000 today.
It endeavors to educate citizens
to conserve the soil, forest,
water and other natural re-
sources, and encourages the
appreciation and proper use
of them.
Hi
EPA JOURNAL
-------
National Wildlife
Federation
Friends of the Earth
Defenders of Wildlife
In the National Wildlife Feder-
ation's founding history, an
American President played a
key role. Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1 936 called a meeting of the
first North American Wildlife
Conference "to bring together
all interested'organizations,
agencies, and individuals in
behalf of restoration of land,
water, forests and wildlife
resources."
The Conference brought
about almost unanimous agree-
ment among 1,500 conserva-
tionists to coordinate the
endeavors of all conservation
organizations and encourage all
levels of government to support
conservation programs. Jay
Norwood "Ding" Darling, a Pulit-
zer Prize-winning cartoonist and
conservationist, stressed the
need not only to have a unified
program but also unified pres-
sure. In this manner, citizens
could effectively bring conser-
vation issues before their
legislators. Eventually, the
group voted on forming an
organization encompassing
these beliefs. Initially the group
was called the General Wildlife
Federation (teter renamed
National Wildlife Federation),
whose proposed constitution
began, "Believing that the
natural resources of this conti-
nent are economic, social,
recreational, and aesthetic
assets which should be restored
and perpetuated for our
posterity, and realizing that this
be achieved only through an
aroused and enlightened opinion
among the people of this Nation,
we dedicate this Federation..."
On March 3, 1 937, during
the Federation's first annual
meeting, the proposed consti-
tution of 1 936 was ratified
and Darling was acclaimed as
the first President.
He recommended that this
group make Wildlife Restor-
ation Week (now known as
National Wildlife Week) its first
priority. The event has been
celebrated annually ever since.
Towards the end of 1 937, he
also initiated the successful
program of selling wildlife
stamps to save the group from
bankruptcy. Today, these stamps
still help to stabilize the Feder-
ation's finances.
In its early years, the Federa-
tion, like the Izaak Walton
League, was involved in the
passage of the Pittman-Robert-
son Act which enabled States
to obtain and develop wild-
life areas by taxing hunters'
guns and ammunition.
Later on, the group shifted its
emphasis to conservation edu-
cation. Currently, the group
distributes literature, conducts
seminars, and maintains nature
centers or "ecology camps" for
children.
Also, IMWF's accomplish-
ments include support of the
Endangered Species Act
passed in 1 966 and strengthen-
ing amendments in 1 969 and
1 973; support of measures to
increase deer, wild turkey, and
whooping crane populations;
establishment of a wildlife
refuge system and support of
the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969.
In its literature, the Federation
recruits members by asking
them to support protection of
wildlife habitat; to join in the
struggle for clean streams, rivers
and oceans; to help save dis-
appearing wetlands; to help rid
the environment of toxic chem-
icals; to help bring back
threatened wildlife; and to
spread the message about the
value of abundant and diverse
wildlife.
The Federation is the largest
of U.S. environmental citizen
groups with a total of 3,500,000
members.
One of the youngest of the
organizations that came into
being as the environmental
movement gained fresh impetus
in the past decade was Friends
of the Earth, Inc., founded in
1969 by David Brower with head-
quarters today in San Francisco,
The organization is dedicated
to "the preservation, restoration
and rational use of the eco-
sphere." One of its officials,
Rafe Pomerance, served as a
legislative coordinator of the
National Clean Air Coalition
that led the campaign for a
strong Clean Air Act. Friends of
the Earth (FOE) played a role in
halting U.S. production of the
supersonic transport aircraft,
and has made a significant
contribution in other issues such
as delaying construction of the
trans-Alaska pipeline; abolition
of the Atomic Energy Commis-
sion and reassignment of its
promotion and regulatory func-
tions to separate agencies; sav-
ing Yosemite from a convention
center and other development;
raising public consciousness
about wearing wild animal fur;
supporting legislation to pre-
serve 80 million acres of Alas-
kan wilderness, and halting the
Cross-Florida Barge Canal and a
jetport in the Everglades.
Recently the organization
has been leading public debate
over the desirability of "soft"
renewable energy sources com-
pared to "hard" nonrenewable
and nuclear technologies.
FOE also has published more
than 40 books on wild areas
and environmental problems.
It currently has about 25,000
members.
Defenders of Wildlife was
founded in 1 925 as the "Anti-
Steel Trap League" by Colonel
Edward Breck, a veteran of
World War I who had wide
interests ranging from amateur
fencing to protection of wild
animals. The organization sub-
sequently was renamed
"Defenders of Furbearers" and
finally assumed its present title
about two decades ago, reflect-
ing its concern with preserving
many forms of wildlife.
Among its major campaigns
has been support in framing
and enactment of the Marine
Mammals Protection Act of
1 972, the Endangered Species
Act of 1 973, and a host of
earlier measures to protect
America's wildlife.
The organization's activities
currently include monitoring
the implementation of these
laws, as well as inspection of
roadside zoos and menageries
to assure humane treatment of
animals. Its stated philosophy
includes opposition to predator
poisoning and trapping on
public lands in the United States;
opposition to imports of exotic
species of animals that could
harm native ecosystems;
preservation of public lands
against domination or abuse by
private economic interests,
proper management and pre-
servation of migratory birds,
and support of the proposed
ten-year moratorium on com-
mercial whaling. It also main-
tains the 25,000 acre George
Whittell Memorial Wildlife
Preserve around the Aravaipa
Canyon Primitive Area in
Arizona.
Defenders of Wildlife has
about 36,000 members and an
annual budget of approximately
$1.5 million. D
APRIL 1978
-------
Sun Day
W \ / T^^\ rv^ i\ /I /-x IV A i t w+ v-1 n
By Tom McMurtrie
Sun Day is May 3rd. Just as Earth Day
in 1970 alerted people to the problems
of environmental pollution, Sun Day hopes
to alert people to the vast potential in solar
energy. Through teach-ins, demonstrations,
exhibitions, and other events around the
country, Sun Day will emphasize that solar
is here today; and that with a trained labor
force and Federal subsidies similar to those
oil and nuclear fuels have received, solar
energy can begin to take a substantial, if
somewhat belated role in the energy market.
ft is with a certain sense of frustration that
solar energy advocates have watched this
country's energy development over the past
few decades. As early as 1952, the Paley
Commission was recommending to Presi-
dent Truman that solar energy could provide
a viable energy alternative; and that, in light
of our limited fossil fuels, a massive effort
should be made to convert up to 1 3 million
homes and commercial buildings to solar
heating by 1975.
As we are well aware, however, this effort
never came about. The primary push has
been in the accelerated consumption of
fossil fuels. Massive depletion allowances
have pumped oil out of the ground at un-
precedented rates. Low interest loans have
laid a vast pipeline network, making possible
the widespread consumption of natural gas.
These actions have encouraged a prodi-
gious national appetite for oil and natural
gas, an appetite which went mostly un-
checked through the 60's and early 70's.
Not until an oil embargo in 1 973 and natural
gas shortages in 1 977 did Americans wake
up to the fact that oil and gas might not be
able to meet all their future growth needs
in energy.
Money talks, and it often has many differ-
ent messages. One of the fortunate conse-
quences of our present energy dilemma is
that people are finally beginning to take a
serious look at solar energy. And most like
what they see. Although the initial instal-
lation costs for solar systems are rather
high, they begin to look reasonable when
spread out over a period of years; especially
in light of the sharp fuel cost rises that will
most likely take place.
Solar energy has always had a core of
believers. The Sun's energy is virtually limit-
less; it is clean, and generally works best
when it's decentralized, thus avoiding trans-
mission lines, pipelines, tankers, and the like
In many ways, solar energy is the ultimate
energy resource, allowing individuals to live
in comfort with minimum disruption to their
environment.
People unfamiliar with solar technology
often envision it as an exotic and futuristic
solution. In many ways, though, designing
an efficient building that is heated or cooled
by the sun represents a return to an age
when architecture had a more practical
orientation. Before the "cheap energy" era,
buildings always took the environment into
consideration; thick adobe walls helped
keep houses cool in the Southwest, and
wood-heated homes used local fuel in the
Northeast and Midwest.
Today, people are literally going under-
ground, building houses that are buried on
three sides and open to the sun towards the
south. Simple, intelligent designs such as
this represent enormous savings in heating
and cooling. Undoubtedly, as fuel costs rise,
the demand for efficiently designed solar
homes will also go up. Unfortunately, the
housing industry has been reluctant in mak-
ing the necessary changes. More States
need to follow California's example, where
not only is there an enormous effort to
Tom McMurtrie is a public affairs liaison
officer for Solar Action. Inc.
educate the public on the benefits of going
solar; but the State is also giving the effort
substantial support by proposing guarantee
programs, setting standards for the solar
industry, and by providing ample tax credits
for financing solar systems.
Over the years, two basic categories of
direct solar space heating have evolved,
with many variations of each. The passive
system is exemplified by the underground
house described above, where the south
side is simply exposed to absorb sunlight.
Generally, there is some sort of collector to
absorb the heat radiated by the sunlight,
whether it be water-filled drums lying next
to the window or waterbeds lying on the
roof.
The second category of direct solar space
heating is the active system, in which water
or other fluids pass over a surface heated
by the Sun (the active collector); this heat
is then transferred to the home through a
radiator or similar device The active system
has many variations, both in the type of
collector and in the way the heat is retained
and dispersed.
In terms of costs, the average direct solar
heating systems (installed in well-insulated
homes) are found to be competitive with
electrical heat in all parts of the country
except the Northwest, where hydroelectric
power remains cheap. When compared with
conventional gas and oil heating systems,
solar heating comes out costing a little
more, although the gap is fast closing.
The ironic situation here is with electric
heat. Fully 50% of housing starts today are
electrically heated. Nowhere near that num-
ber are solar heated, pointing to a hesitancy
in the housing industry to make the jump
to solar, even when economics support it.
Unfortunately, these short-sighted actions
will lead to further strains in the Nation's
utility systems, forcing them to build expen-
sive new generating capacity that would
otherwise not be needed. The end result of
this folly will be a higher electric bill for all
of us. Sun Day would like to put a damper
on this by pointing to solar heat as a realistic,
economic alternative to electric heat.
Sun Day also hopes to address itself to
indirect solar energy systems. These
systems, such as wind energy, hydroelectric
power, wood burning, and biomass conver-
18
EPAJOURNAL
-------
This eggbeater-shaped wind turbine being
tested by the Department of Energy uses
the same principles as the old-time wi;
mills to derive energy from moving air
currents
sion, represent a tremendous wealth of un-
tapped energy resources. For example, it
has been estimated that the hydroelectric
potential at flood-control dams and aban-
doned hydro sites around the country is as
great as all nuclear energy presently pro-
duced domestically. (Coincidentally, many of
these hydroelectric sites are in New England,
which has relatively high energy costs.)
Many of these sites are small and until re-
cently weren't considered worth bothering
with. The advent of higher utility costs,
however, has shed new economic light on
this very accessible potential.
Wind is also an enormous untapped re-
source. At the beginning of the century,
before the introduction of rural electricity,
most farms were powered by small wind-
mills. Today corporate structures like Rock-
well and National Air and Space Administra-
tion are experimenting on large scale wind-
mills with limited success. As with dams,
however, there is tremendous potential for
the "small" thinker. Small, single-home
windmills are simple, and have been proven
effective. Sun Day will encourage people
to examine these closely.
Like the environment it strives to balance
itself with, the ideal solar system would be
a multiple system, making the most efficient
use of energy potentials that exist around it.
One of the problems with solar energy sys-
tems is that the energy isn't always avail-
able when you want it. Multiples of hybrid
systems would help alleviate that problem.
An example would be the combination of
a windmill with a hydroelectric dam, where
the windmill would generate power when
the wind was blowing, and water would be
let through the dam during calm periods.
Such a solution would solve the frustrating
and often costly problem of energy storage
by using facilities that already exist.
Another area of great interest is that of
photovoltaic cells, or solar cells. These were
originally developed for the space program
on a limited scale and at a very high cost.
Since their introduction, prices have drop-
ped to a fraction of what they used to be.
However, they still average out to being
6 to 1 5 times more expensive than current
utility rates. Much of this has to do with the
fact that the industry is not yet fully auto-
mated and mass producing. A parallel can
be drawn with the situation of the transis-
tor industry in the 1950's. When transistors
were introduced, the costs were prohibitive;
it took a substantial government subsidy to
get them mass produced, which in turn trig-
gered an enormous price drop that made
the transistor economically feasible. Sun
Day will advocate a similar program for
photovoltaic cells to accelerate the price
decreases which are already taking place.
Depending on decisions like these, it is esti-
mated that photovoltaic cells will be compet-
Solar collectors on the roof of an Atlanta.
Ga school are used for heating and et-
as part of a Department of En-
project.
itive with conventional sources of electricity
by 1985 or earlier.
At this time, there remain a lot of specific
unknowns in America's future. But the gen-
eral trend is fairly easy to see. The 1 980's
will be a period of tightening oil and gas
supplies. The resulting price increases will
force Americans to examine alternatives
more closely. Those with the common sense
to accept this eventuality now and plan sen-
sibly for it will be better off in the long run.
Sun Day is meant to help people see these
energy facts more clearly. Given a fair
chance, solar energy can make a difference.
Under the proper incentives and guidance,
the Sun will provide clean, abundant energy
for everyone's benefits. D
Hundreds of activities are currently being
planned across the Nation for Sun Day, May
30. If you are interested in showing your
support for solar energy and would like to
participate in Sun Day, you may contact:
SUN DA Y
1028 Connecticut Ave, NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036
Phone:(202)466-6880
They will put you in touch with other
members in your community who are inter-
ested in Sun Day activities and will help you
in planning your activities.
APRIL 1978
19
-------
Around the Nation
Noise Workshop
The Noise Office recently
conducted a one-day
workshop on noise abate-
ment and control for
high school science teach-
ers of eastern Massa-
chusetts. Topics on the
agenda included major
noise sources and their
control, techniques of
community noise meas-
urement, and physio-
logical effects of noise.
Each participant received
teaching materials deal-
ing with environmental
noise.
Preliminary Permit
The Region has made
a preliminary determin-
ation that the construc-
tion of a proposed
250.000 barrel per day
petroleum refinery in
Eastport, Me. will not
result in significant de-
terioration of air quality.
The Pittston Co., which
proposes to build the
refinery, submitted a re-
vised design to EPA last
November for review in
accordance with the
prevention of significant
deterioration of air qual-
ity regulations. After
reviewing the air quality
data and the projected
impacts of the facility,
the Regional Office made
a preliminary determin-
ation that the facility will
not violate the national
ambient air quality stand-
ards and that the pro-
posed control technology
represents the best avail-
able control technology
for particulates and sulfur
dioxide
PBB Update
Region 2 announced re-
cently that there is no
immediate health risk to
two New Jersey commun-
ities from polybrominated
biphenyls (PBB's), The
announcement was made
at a public meeting held
in New Jersey on the
need to control PBB's, a
toxic flame retardant for
plastics that is suspected
to be a carcinogen. An
EPA preliminary survey
last year found residues
of PBB's in human hair,
fish, plants, soil, and
water near the White
Cnemical Co. in Bayonne,
N.J. and the Hexcel Corp
in Sayreville, N.J. Both
companies voluntarily
stopped production of
PBB's last March and now
manufacture a substitute
compound, which EPA
is studying for health
effects. A follow-up survey
later found only trace
amounts of PBB's in the
soil and water samples
from around the plants.
EPA and the N.J. Depart-
ment of Environmental
Protection have set zero
discharge limits for PBB's
for the plants to ensure
that the compound will
not be manufactured un-
til a control technology
is developed to keep it
out of the environment
Ocean Dumping
Six industries in Region
2 have received interim
and special permits to
transport and dispose of
wastes at two ocean sites.
The Regional Office also
issued interim permit
extensions to 33 New
York and New Jersey
municipalities. The com-
panies all held previously
effective permits from
1 976, and all but one are
on compliance schedules
to phase out ocean dump-
ing on or before Decem-
ber 31, 1978 Employees
of the Dupont Grassielli
Plant are meeting with
EPA technical staff to
study alternative treat-
ment processes for its
plant in Linden, N.J.
Phase-out provisions are
also part of the permits
for the municipal dump-
ers. The alternate disposal
methods planned for
sludge by the communi-
ties include landfill dis-
posal, surface land appli-
cation as a soil condi-
tioner, incineration, and
burning with other wastes
to produce energy.
Enforcement Authority
Delegated
Region 3 has delegated
authority to the State of
Delaware to enforce air
pollution standards for
several categories of new
stationary sources and for
some hazardous air pollu-
tants under the Clean
Air Act. The State will
be responsible for stand-
ards of performance for
new stationary sources
for fossil-fuel fired steam
generators, incinerators,
nitric acid plants, asphalt-
concrete plants, storage
vessels for petroleum
liquids, and sewage treat-
ment plants. The State
will also be responsible
for hazardous air pollu-
tant standards for asbes-
tos, beryllium, and mer-
cury. Jack J. Schramm,
Regional Administrator,
said that the delegation
could never have been
achieved without the co-
operation of Governor
Pierre Dupont and Austin
P. Olney, Secretary of
Delaware's Department
of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control.
Aluminum Plant
Expansion Approved
Region 3 has approved
the Eastalco Aluminum
Company's application to
construct a new produc-
tion unit and modify the
existing facilities at its
aluminum reduction plant
in Frederick County, Md.
Administrator Jack J.
Schramm said that the
approval was based sole-
ly on the requirements of
the prevention of signifi-
cant deterioration pro-
gram, which applies only
to the control of sulfur
dioxide and particulates.
He added that EPA con-
sidered carefully all public
comments about fluoride
emissions from the plant
before making the de-
cision. The company is
required to use best avail-
able control technology
for particulates and sulfur
dioxide. Eastalco is also
required to have a pre-
ventive maintenance and
corrective action program
for its air pollution control
systems. This includes
monitoring of stack emis-
sions to keep a constant
check on particles and
fluoride emissions.
Toxic Spill
The Ohio River has be-
come an environmental
trouble spot for Region
4, especially the stretch
between Cincinnati and
Louisville. Recently a train
derailment spilled four
tank cars of acrylonitrile,
a suspected carcinogen,
from a Chesapeake and
Ohio freight train. The
spill occurred on the Little
Sandy River, an Ohio
tributary. Acrylonitrile
samples were found in
both rivers. Though the
concentrations were not
toxic, officials were
prompted to close down
city water intakes in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and
Maysville, Grayson, and
Greenup, Ky. At Grayson
the National Guard truck-
ed in drinking water and
citizens melted snow for
other uses. Shortly after
the spill EPA personnel
set up filtering equipment
at the wreck to prevent
further drainage into the
river. EPA was assisted in
the response efforts by
the Kentucky Department
of Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection,
the Kentucky National
Guard, the Dupont Co.,
and Ashland Oil Co., and
the Ohio River Sanitation
Commission.
Water Pollution Down
Region 4 has announced
an 81 percent reduction
in pollutants discharged
into Southeast waters
since late 1 972, when
a water pollution program
was implemented. The
findings are based on a
study by the staff admin-
istering the National Pollu-
tant Discharge Elimination
System. The study mea-
sured levels of suspended
solids and the amount of
oxygen required to break
down organic matter,
which encompass the
majority of pollutants.
Under the NPDES system
the discharges are mea-
sured regularly by the per-
mit holder and reported
to EPA. The study com-
pared 1 978 point source
levels to those reported
when the firms first ap-
plied for permits. Non-
point sources such as
construction and farm
runoff were not included
in the study.
Sulphur Dioxide
Standard Upheld
A Federal appeals court
has upheld the sulphur
dioxide control standards
for industrial discharges
in Ohio sej by Region 5.
The petition, which was
brought by 32 companies,
.'(i
EPAJOURNAL
-------
criticized EPA's use of a
formula that considers
the capacity of each plant
in the State on a smoke-
stack-by-smokestack
basis and assumes that
all plants operate at full
capacity round the clock.
The high sulphur content
of coa! mined in the
State could mean that
utilities and large indus-
tries would have to install
smokestack filters or
scrubbers in order to
meet the standards. In
a unanimous decision the
6th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals ruled that
EPA's formula for setting
the emission standard
was a rational choice
within the Agency's dis-
cretion.
New Laboratory Opens
EPA Administrator
Douglas M. Costle and
Region 5 Administrator
George R. Alexander cut
the ribbons at dedication
ceremonies for a new
S3-million environmental
testing laboratory in
Chicago recently. The
new laboratory, to be
called the Central Region-
al Laboratory, will be run
by Region 5. It has a broad
capability to make physi-
cal, chemical, and bio-
logical analyses and evalu-
ations on air, water, and
solid samples from diverse
sources.
Sewage Plants Cited
Regional Administrator
Adlene Harrison has
issued administrative
orders to ensure that
Jefferson Parish, La.,
officials reduce pollution
discharges into Louisiana
streams and rivers by cor-
recting operation and
maintenance deficiencies
at eight of the Parish's
major wastewater treat-
ment facilities, as required
by their Federal discharge
permits. The most serious
deficiencies concern fail-
ure to identify and require
pre-treatment of industrial
wastes contributed to the
plants, discharge of pollu-
tants beyond the limits
set in the permits, inade-
quate operation and main-
tenance of the facilities,
improper monitoring of
plant discharges and im-
proper disposal of sludge
produced in the operation
of the plants. Other de-
ficiencies reported for
some of the plants in-
cluded improper bypass-
ing, failure to file required
reports with EPA, and
failure to control solids
and foaming. The de-
ficiencies were recorded
during plant inspections
and Parish reports to
EPA from 1 974 to the
present.
Public Hearings
EPA held two public hear-
ings in New Orleans last
month. The first centered
on EPA's proposed re-
gulations to allow States
to develop programs for
the management of haz-
ardous wastes under the
Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act. The
second solicited com-
ments on proposed re-
gulations to establish
maximum contaminant
levels for organic pollut-
ants in drinking water
under the Safe Drinking
Water Act.
Learning Session
To improve communica-
tion between EPA and the
farm community. Region
7 held a "listen and learn"
session March 28 and 29.
Agency staff members
met with the four State
public information officers
from the Region and the
State extension informa-
tion specialists to develop
optimum means of
reaching the agricultural
constituency. Dr. Robert
C. Fite, director of the
Oklahoma State University
Extension Service, ad-
dressed the session on
the transfer of environ-
mental information
through the cooperative
extension service. Dr.
Fite directs an EPA-fund-
ed research project that
is studying ways to im-
prove information
dissemination.
Action on Colstrip
Region 8 hopes to reach
a final decision by mid-
April on the application
for an environmental
permit for the construc-
tion of the third and fourth
units of the power plant
at Colstrip, Mont. Region-
al Administrator Alan R.
Merson said that EPA
processed the application
under the old rules for
preventing significant
deterioration of air quality
because the application
process and comment
period was complete be-
fore the March 1 dead-
line set by the Agency
under the 1977 Clean
Air Act Amendments.
However, the Agency did
extend the deadline for
comments until March 1 8.
According to Merson,
"The Colstrip, Northern
Cheyenne situation is uni-
que and of such public
concern that we feel it
would be unfair to penal-
ize Montana Power by
changing the rules in mid-
stream and adding uncon-
scionable delays to the
permit process. The
Northern Cheyenne feel
insufficient time was
provided to review and
comment on the many
issues involved here. We
are re-opening the com-
ment period to consider
their additional com-
ments." Merson met with
Northern Cheyenne tribal
leaders and with power
company officials. In re-
sponse to a request from
the tribe for an independ-
ent review of the Region 8
analysis of Colstrip 3 and
4 Merson has called on
EPA's research facility
in North Carolina for an
evaluation.
New Activities
Region 9 staffer Judy
Swenson appeared on the
NBC "Today Show" in
a videotaped segment
prepared in recognition
of Poison Prevention
Week, March 20-24.
She demonstrated to a
householder the correct
methods for storing and
handling poisons safely.
The Regional Office in
San Francisco has begun
an office paper recycling
program, called "Use It
Again, Sam," which en-
tails collecting used letter-
head and white bond
copy paper, computer
printouts, tab cards,
memoranda, and other
untinted paper for reuse.
The paper is set aside in
special containers on staff
desks. Regular pickups
of this paper are brought
to a central collection
area. When sufficient
quantity is accumulated
the Agency turns it over
to a recycling company
for reformulation.
Copy Lines, a new fea-
ture service, has mailed
a sample story entitled
"Why World Environ-
ment Day Is Different,"
to 650 daily and weekly
newspapers, magazines,
and newsletters in Region
9. A World Environment
Day Spring Festival in
conjunction with environ-
mental groups is planned
for June 3 at Golden Gate
National Recreational
Area.
Aquifer Protected
Region 1 0 has given "sole
source" designation to
the Spokane Valtey-Rath-
drum Prairie Aquifer, the
underground river that
provides drinking water
for 338,000 people on
both sides of the Washing-
ton-Idaho border. The sole
source declaration means
that construction projects
receiving Federal financ-
ial assistance that have
the potential for polluting
the aquifer will be subject
to special EPA review to
make sure such contamin-
ation does not occur.
"Protecting the Nation's
drinking water supplies
is one of EPA's most vital
public health programs,"
said Donald P Dubois,
Region 9 Administrator.
"Designation of the aqui-
fer will provide a system-
atic review process by
which public health prob-
lems can be anticipated
before they occur." The
designation was spurred
by a petition from the
Idaho Coalition for Shore-
lands Preservation, the
Spokane Audubon Soci-
ety, the Spokane Valley
Citizens Committee, and
the Spokane Sierra Club.
Data received by EPA
through public hearings
supports the contention
of the petitioners that
contamination of the
aquifer would be a signifi-
cant hazard to public
health. Projects that carry
a potential for contamina-
tion are highway con-
struction, multi-unit hous-
ing development, and
municipal sewage treat-
ment facilities. EPA is
holding meetings to ac-
quaint local residents with
the project review pro-
cedures that will be used
to protect the water in
the aquifer.
APRIL 1978
21
-------
Will We Be
Remembered
Because of
Our Wastes?
By Thomas L. Kimball
-------
When archaeologists want
to learn about a civiliza-
tion one of their most lucrative
sources is the garbage dump.
What the ancient Egyptians,
Mayans, the inhabitants of
Western Africa and the citizens
of Angkor Wat threw away is
even more revealing about life
in those societies than the rem-
nants of their buildings and
inscriptions on their tombs.
Future archaeologists will
have a field day with mid-twent-
ieth century America.
First, they will certainly have
an abundance of resources for
their work. We are now throw-
ing away municipal garbage at
a rate of 1 50 million tons per
year, and EPA's own Office of
Solid Waste has predicted we
will produce 300 million tons
per year by the year 2,000.
We are making archaeologists
work easy by centralizing much
of our garbage into disposal
sites serving entire communi-
ties. In fact, sanitary landfills,
with their progressive cell struc-
ture, will simplify even further
the archaeologists' process of
calculating the "layers of civil-
izations." Still, lest we make
that process too simple, the
continued proliferation of
promiscuous open dumps that
dot our countryside will provide
them with challenging surprise
discoveries.
Although today's archaeolo-
gists use sophisticated carbon-
Thomas L. Kimba/lis Executive
Vice President of the 3.5-million
member National Wi/d/ife
Federation.
dating and other processes in
their work, their future counter-
parts may not need such tools
for much of our garbage. Large
portions of it will still be intact
because it did not decompose
naturally. Other portions, while
having deteriorated, will reveal
some equally fascinating things
about us.
Obviously we will emerge as
a technologically advanced soc-
iety. However, some of our ad-
vances may prove misleading,
in fact, contradictory to other
records which survive us. How
will the future investigators re-
concile the reports of our oil
shortages with the abundance
of petroleum-based items in our
garbage, much of it disposable
packaging?
Perhaps the most revealing
thing about our garbage will
be our obvious lack of regard
for resources. Found will be
enormous quantities of mater-
ials of a reusable or recoverable
nature which our culture saw
fit to discard. How will a re-
sources-precious future evalu-
ate such findings and what roie
will such evaluations play in their
estimate of their ancestors?
There is something that may
save us from such future archae-
ological investigation. Our chil-
dren and grandchildren may
have to disturb the graves of our
waste in search of essential
resources for their society.
In desperation, they may turn
their drills and other mining
equipment on our dumps and
landfills. Unfortunately, they
may find this unsavory process
made dangerous due to the haz-
ardous nature of much of what
we threw away. Whether they
have to mine them or not, the
disposal sites we located and
operated improperly may grab
their attention anyway by con-
laminating their water supplies
or otherwise impacting their
environment.
As the Nation's largest con-
servation organization, the
National Wildlife Federation
is striving to see that our legacy
will not be so negative. We are
pleased to be working in con-
cert with the Environmental
Protection Agency in this effort.
Together we can change our
wasteful society into a society
that minimizes its wastes, re-
covers the resources from the
wastes it produces and properly
disposes of what garbage still
remains. We don't want to be
remembered as the Throwaway
Civilization. D
APRtL 1978
23
-------
Alternative
Waste
Disposal
An interview with
Abby Rockefeller, an
environmentalist and
holder of the U.S.
franchise for the
Swedish Clivus
Multrum, a composting
toilet system.
Do we really need flush
toilets in our society?
Is it wise to discharge our
wastes into waterways? Can
human wastes be used as
manure to help grow crops?
Are centralized waste treatment
systems necessary? Abby
Rockefeller, a member of a
famous American family who
would rather be known for her
commitment to environmental-
ism, offers opinions on these
and other subjects in the follow-
ing interview with John Boykin
of EPA's Public Awareness
Office.
What do you think of con-
ventional systems of treating
sewage?
We feel that central collection
and treatment of sewage wastes
is a dead end and cause of
unending trouble. First, you
don't really clean the waste
water. Second, the better you
clean the water the worse the
sludge problem becomes. Our
interest is to keep organic
materials, heavy metals, and
poisons out of the waterways
and ground water.
How do you favor handling
the problem?
We favor using a system
that can handle both the house-
hold kitchen waste and the
toilet waste These wastes can
be kept separate from the wash
water. We want to press EPA
to take more seriously the
principle of separated treat-
ment of black water (toilet
waste) and gray water (bath
and laundry water waste). If
you don't use water for trans-
portation of toilet waste you
can save as much as 40 per-
cent of your total water demand.
Also treatment of the gray
water should be less difficult
because it is not likely to be
dangerous in the same way that
black water sometimes is.
Why did we begin using
central waste treatment
systems?
One of the reasons we have
gone in this country to central
treatment so widely is that
septic tanks have been polluters
of ground water. People turned
to sewers because septic tanks
caused contamination of ground
water. But sewers have caused
plenty of new problems which
were not anticipated. For ex-
ample, in many areas instead
of polluting the ground water
you deplete the ground water
to transport the wastes. Further-
more, central treatment pro-
duces sludge. This appears to
have been a great surprise and
no one really knows what to
do with sludge. There are efforts
now to use it on land, but we
feel strongly that this is not the
way to go for the future. Land
application may be the best
way to use sludge now, but it
is not a good idea for the long
run. The problem is that a sewer
is an invitation, as everyone
knows, to put poisons into the
water and that cannot go on.
Once you have sewers you are
bound to have a problem, either
because of the quality of the
water or from sludge.
What do you believe Gov-
ernment should be doing in
this area?
We need research in this
field. There has to be serious
work studying gray water and
its characteristics, its con-
stituents and the proper way to
treat it. Also we feel that the
principle of composting human
waste should be given a much
closer look by EPA. We feel it
has many advantages.
What is the treatment
approach you favor?
On-site decomposition. We
believe that the toilet and kit-
chen wastes can be decomposed
aerobically (using oxygen).
You can also decompose them
anaerobically, (with no oxygen),
but that's a more complicated
process and takes much more
maintenance. Whether you do
it aerobically or anaerobically
are questions that have to do
with the size of the structure
you are dealing with. If it's a
large building in a city, you
might want to go to anaerobic
digestion and have a person
who is responsible supervise the
decomposition.
Where did the name Clivus
Multrum for your compost-
ing toilet come from?
The name is a combination
of Latin and Swedish. Clivus
means inclining and Multrum
means, in Swedish, composting
room. The system consists of
a container that sits beneath
the floor that is attached to the
toilet or toilets and to the gar-
bage shute. The tank is on an
angle so that there is a rate of
sliding corresponding to the
rate of decomposition, both very
slow. So the materials collected
in this tank move very slowly
down the inclined surface, and
decompose at the same time.
Eventually after three to five
years you can remove the
finished product—a clean,
odorless compost for lawn or
garden.
What would it cost a home-
owner to buy a Clivus
Multrum and install it?
The whole system without
installation is S1,685, which
would include all the parts such
as the treatment chamber con-
tainer, ventilation system and
the necessary piping. Installation
costs vary depending on
whether the system is being
installed in a new building or an
old structure. If the system is
installed when a new building
is being constructed the cost
of installation would be next
to nothing.
Are there odor problems
with your system?
There is an odor in the con-
tainer which must be carried
away. We think using a small
fan is a good idea. I had a com-
posting toilet in my house for
two years without a fan and it
was excellent. However, I have
put a fan in because some days
in the summer in hot weather
and low air pressure there can
be a problem.
How much energy does
this system use?
No energy is used except for
the small fan. It is the meta-
bolic energy in the waste mater-
ials that does all the conversion
work. The only maintenance
work is the removal of a small
portion of the finished compost
that is produced.
Do you see yourself as an
environmentalist or a busi-
ness person?
I started out with this as an
environmentalist and my envi-
ronmental and business inter-
ests have merged. My interest
in it was primarily environmental,
but I am unavoidably involved in
the business aspect.
EPA JOURNAL
-------
What other environmental
issues are you involved in?
! am interested in solid waste
treatment and the nuclear
power question which also has
its waste problems. I oppose the
resource recovery approach as
much as I oppose the central-
ized collection of treatment of
sewage waste. The idea that
you should allow mixing or
promote mixing and then try
to get the BTU's (the heating
value) back from these wastes
is most unfortunate.
If you centralize sewage and
solid waste treatment you create
a hopeless waste. We make the
solid wastes valueless by
mixing them because they are
so repulsive that they have no
value to anybody. You can't
make anybody interested in
separating food and cans and
glass bottles and wastepaper
that are all mixed together.
Once they're mixed, it costs
too much to separate them.
What should be done with
these wastes?
It's easy for the home owner
to keep them separated from the
start. The same principle also
applies to sewage waste.
Are there legal problems in
some States that could
prevent installation of water-
less toilets?
Many State health codes
require a flush toilet. This
country had just come to the
point where it had finally got
every State to require flush
toilets, roughly speaking. And
now here we come along saying
we should take that provision
out. That's hard for a lot of
people to take. The flush toilet
has been regarded as a symbol
of progress.
Are there any States that
permit waterless toilets?
Some States have fully
approved this approach. Full
approval means not only recog-
nition of the benefits of putting
a composting toilet in the house
but also allowing for the limited
treatment appropriate for gray
water. We need a serious in-
HIGH EXHAUST DUCT
GARBAGE CHUTE
IN CABINET
68"
EARTH BED
OF GRASS,
LEAVES, GARDEN
SOILcS PEATMOSS
AIR
INTAKE
20"
vestigation of gray water treat-
ment so you don't require
people to have two complete
systems, that is a septic tank
and leaching field as well as a
composting toilet.
How do you respond to
charges that the composting
toilet is just an indoor
outhouse?
We reject this. The outhouse
was environmentally and health
wise not a very good system.
It was understandable that
people wanted to get away from
this, and water seemed to them
a wonderful way to solve the
problem. In outhouses the
wastes were just allowed to go
into the ground or into the
water table. The wastes weren't
recovered for use and the out-
house was not good technology.
How many years has the
Clivus Multrum been used in
Sweden?
It has been used by a few
people for 35 years, and by
more than a few people for
about 1 5 years.
What is the degree of
acceptance throughout the
country?
The Swedish National Health
Department has completely
approved it. They have had it
tested for years and years and
it is considered to be a reliable
method of achieving a safe
product. However, it has not
been used very widely because
Sweden preceded the United
States in building a massive
national sewer system. So there
was virtually no money left for
on-site treatment during this
period. They have found now in
Sweden that they don't know
what to do with sludge. The
farmers will not take it.
The farmers found the sludge
had high levels of cadmium and
other toxic materials. Although
concerted efforts were made
in Sweden to control the toxic
materials in industrial discharges,
they found out that this did not
solve the problem. Metallic and
toxic wastes from laboratories.
homes, and drug stores con-
taminated the sludge
How many Clivus Multrum
systems have been installed?
About 800 have been in-
stalled in the United States over
a period of about three years.
How did you first hear
about the Clivus Multrum?
I read about this particular
system in Organic Gardening
and Farming Magazine. They
had an article describing it and
I happened to be interested in
trying to construct something
of the sort myself. I was living
at the time in New Hampshire
and the flush toilet seemed ab-
surd in a rural area So this was
the beginning,
I knew the value of compost-
ing. I was told that animal
manure was gold, but human
manure was bad stuff. I just
couldn't believe that. I think
it gradually occurred to me,
especially when I read about
this system, that human waste
is as valuable as what we eat.D
STORAGE
CHAMBER
APRIL 1978
25
-------
On the
Threshold
of a New
Environmental
Era
By Barbara Blum
Deputy Administrator
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
Prompted by Earth Day celebrations in
1 970, we have come to realize that our
Nation and indeed the world has very
seriously neglected environmental values
since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
It was only a few years ago that we were
all terribly certain that through the random
use of science and technology — through
automation, through nuclear power, and
through chemistry— we were moving auto-
matically toward a better life for everyone.
It was not until 1 970 that any appreciable
number of us really understood that in the
process of achieving wondrous advances
in science, technology, and industrial
growth, we had inadvertently created a
complex fabric of interwoven by-product
problems potentially capable of smothering
all our accomplishments.
We discovered that society has to make
difficult choices that require careful
measurement of public benefit against
public risk—that raise difficult questions
about conflicting private and public rights.
We realized for the first time that we make
decisions every day and every year in the
social and economic spheres of our lives
on the basis of scientific data which at worst
are non-existent and at best, by the very
nature of science, are usually incomplete.
In an unprecedented effort to stem the
tide of environmental ills that we had so
long neglected, Congress passed the
National Environmental Policy Act, which
set forth the remarkable notion that man
and nature must exist in productive
harmony. The few environmental control
laws which already existed were greatly
strengthened and a variety of new environ-
mental and related consumer protection
acts followed. State and local governments
greatly improved their environmental laws
and regulations and there began a growing
acceptance of corporate responsibility with
regard to environmental and related
consumer matters.
The year 1 970, then, in an important
sense, marked the beginning of what can
be called a worldwide revolution in environ-
mental awareness, understanding, and
action.
Perhaps now in 1 978, aware of how com-
plicated and difficult environmental reform
is and having succeeded in erecting new
institutional structures to curb the excesses
of the past, we may flinch at use of the term
"revolution." In our newly acquired sophis-
tication we may even regard Earth Day
celebrations as something less than stylish.
If so, I submit that we must not deny the
roots of our original passionate awareness
and concern. They are just as valid now
when so many strive to be cool about en-
vironmental issues as they were at the
beginning of this decade when we first
discovered them.
Since then the law profession has
assumed a more orominent role in the envi-
ronmental field with each year that has
passed. That is not surprising. After all,
it is the profession that attempts to find the
just and the right amid a confusing and com-
plex array of conflicting claims, facts, ideas,
and attitudes and to integrate the dictates
of science into the social and cultural fabric
of society. We have also witnessed an in-
creasing demand among citizens for the
right to play a part in the decisions which
determine the kind of life and the kind of
world their children will live in. The people
have been saying that the science, industry,
and technology that have given us affluence
in abundance beyond our ancestors' wildest
dreams are surely equal to the task of deal-
26
EPAJOURNAL
-------
ing with the unwelcome by-product prob-
lems that have been created in the process.
They have been saying that the mechanisms
of government —designed perhaps for an
earlier and simpler time —must be made
responsive to the needs of contemporary
life.
It is fashionable in some quarters to
suggest that in our zeal to erase the environ-
mental mistakes of the past, our society has
over-regulated the sources of pollution and
that we must now back off and let nature
take its course. Those who hold this view
miss the point entirely. It is not nature but
man who has been off course.
Historically, we have extracted, process-
ed, and consumed resources as if the sup-
plies were endless and we have discarded
the residual so-called "wastes" into the air
and water and onto the land as if the envi-
ronment's capacity for safely absorbing
them were infinite. The legislation we now
have to cope with the residues must be
employed to the full. What we have learned
about the complexity and pervasive nature
of pollution does not indicate that we
should back off. It indicates, instead, that
placing stoppers on air-polluting stacks
and water-polluting outfall pipes is only part
of what is needed to save us from burgeon-
ing environmental problems we have ne-
glected during two centuries of technological
and economic achievement.
Environmental legislation passed in the
past few years, as well as the most recent
amendments to the original air and water
laws, asks that we now get to the root of
environmental and related public health
problems without diminishing our efforts
to prune the most noxious branches. We are
on the threshold of accepting the fact that
the manner in which our society conducts
its private and its public business has far-
reaching health, economic, and social
implications and bears fundamentally on the
essential integrity of ecological systems
upon which we depend for life itself. We are
beginning to understand that how we do
things is as important as what we do.
We are beginning to acknowledge that it
is environmental and public health folly to
continue to think that we can deal adequate-
ly with toxic substances after they have
been produced, and economic folly to con-
tinue to consign valuable natural resources
to the trash heap of environmental mis-
management while the world's supplies
continue to dwindle.
We are on the threshold of a new era in
environmental protection —an era in which
the after-the-fact economic and environ-
mental folly that has too often character-
ized our handling of environmental prob-
lems until now must give way to an
emerging imperative for before-the-fact
resource management and public health
protection. The times call for new patterns
of interaction among all levels of govern-
ment, the assumption of key responsibilities
by industry, and for meaningful public
awareness and participation in all the major
activities mandated by environmental
legislation.
The times call also for an acceptance of
the truth that machines are as much a part
of our lives as muscles and mountains. We
can no more do away with technology
than we can let it do us in. We have to learn
to live with it —to use it to shape a world
that will sustain us without, at the same
time, threatening life in subtle and insidious
ways.
To do so we have no choice but to make
the best estimates we can on how much
pollution or crowding or noise or chemical
contamination is permissible, or tolerable,
for human health and well-being.
The single major piece of environmental
legislation — what I have called a new era
in environmental protection —is the Toxic
Substances Control Act of 1 976. This Act,
clearly and for the first time, fully and direct-
ly acknowledges that cleaning up environ-
mental residues after they have been pro-
duced is only a part of the job that lies
before us. The other, and in the long run the
most difficult part, is to prevent
harmful residues in the first place. Under
the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA is
required to insure the safe manufacture,
use, and distribution of potentially danger-
ous chemicals. TSCA is the beginning of a
long, difficult journey during which our
society will learn how to prevent the intro-
duction of harmfui substances into our air,
our water, our land, and our bodies. I hope
it does not take too long but it will be
difficult in any case, for we must do it with-
APRIL 1978
27
-------
out sacrificing the enormous benefits that
science and chemistry have given us and
without jeopardizing the creative diversity
of decision-making which has characterized
and enriched our open society.
When we have gone farther down the
road toward the farsighted use of science
and technology, the proliferation of after-
the-fact regulations should begin to
diminish — and none too soon.
The first year that the Federal Register
was published back in 1 936, it consisted
of 2,41 1 pages. By 1 967 it had grown to
21,087 pages, and a mere ten years later,
by 1977, had reached 64,000 pages. Ex-
pressing a popular sentiment about this.
President Carter said in his State Of The
Union Message, "The American people are
still sick and tired of Federal paperwork
and red tape."
EPA takes very seriously the public's and
the President's desire that we "chop down
the thicket of unnecessary regulations and
turn the gobbledygook of Federal regula-
tions into plain English." One measure
we are taking to lighten the burden on those
who must comply with Federal regulations
is a new cooperative interagency approach
under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
EPA, the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration, and the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration all focus on various
aspects of the toxic substances issue. Ob-
viously, the problems of toxic substances,
whether in consumer products, in drugs,
in the work place, or in the environment,
are in many ways similar.
Although each Agency administers differ-
ent statutes and has differing regulatory
objectives, we have many common goals,
and functions under TSCA. We all regulate
chemicals and other toxic substances and
the industries that produce them. We all
collect and store large amounts of data on
chemicals, much of which is similar. We
all do risk assessments on chemicals, and
develop guidelines and standards, and we
all have enforcement staffs to ensure that
our regulations are carried out.
We have recently set up a structure for
real interagency cooperation. Through it
we intend to make headway in eliminating
overlapping or inconsistent regulatory
actions and unnecessary duplication of
paperwork. We will develop compatible
testing standards and toxicity guidelines.
We will develop a common approach to
the problem of assessing health risks posed
by hazardous chemicals, as well as coordi-
nated development of standards and regula-
tions, whenever appropriate. We will be
able to cut down on paperwork and time in
review. We will plan our research efforts
together to ensure that the best use of our
collective research capacity is being made,
to reduce overlap and prevent those "toxic
chemical-of-the-week" crises, which are
so destructive to industry and regulators
alike. And we will coordinate our public
information activities, in recognition of our
joint responsibility to inform and alert the
public to the hazards of health and safety
we find throughout the environment.
In this cooperative effort, we are striving
toward a more consistent regulatory policy,
better sharing of information and resources,
a more coherent approach to the whole
spectrum of problems confronting us, and
the balancing of risks and benefits which
must lead ultimately to improved protection
of public health and safety. I am encouraged
by this cooperation. I hope that we will be
able to learn a great deal from each other in
this effort, not just about toxic substances,
but about improved approaches to regula-
tion, research, and enforcement.
To chop down the thicket throughout
EPA, we recently announced a comprehen
sive 40-point regulatory reform program.
Some of the major initiatives we propose
include:
— Seriously studying a number of
economic incentives that could be used to
encourage and speed up compliance while
removing the competitive advantages that
delays can offer. The incentives include a
mix of carrots and sticks—improvements
in Federal procurement practices, civil
noncompliance penalties, and special
exemptions for technological innovation.
—Strengthening participation by State
and local officials and the general public
in agency decision-making. We are inviting
participation in the Agency work groups
that develop regulations. Three to five
State environmental agencies will also
share in our next zero-base budget cycle
on a test basis. We are jointly looking for
ways to reduce both the number of individ-
ual permits required and the time it takes
to obtain them.
— Revising our adjudicatory procedures
to create a better fit to the nature of the
decision without endangering due process
rights. The system now in use is modeled
after formal court proceedings and has
proved to be too lengthy and expensive for
all concerned.
— Finding a functional method of includ-
ing a "sunset policy" for reporting pro-
visions in all new regulations. Under such
a policy, unless specifically prohibited by
law, regulations requiring record-keeping
or reporting will automatically be reviewed
on a five-year cycle. This will allow a system-
atic rooting out of duplicate or avoidable
information requests.
There are many others, of course, includ-
ing a very serious effort to ensure that
our regulations are written in plain English.
We are not simply locking a group of our
lawyers in a room with a bad regulation
and hiding the key until they come out with
a good one. We are establishing a program
and a structure throughout the Agency to
make it as difficult as possible to produce
regulations which are not clearly and lucidly
written.
Some of the criticism of the way regula-
tions are written is not entirely justified.
There are always competing considerations
in drafting a regulation. While it is essential
to write clear, concise, straightforward
regulations and to avoid jargon, it is also
necessary to prevent unnecessary litigation
and to provide for those contingencies that
might be challenged. There is an unavoid-
able tension between clarity and coverage,
between innovation and security. We are
determined to find the proper point on the
spectrum in full awareness that a rule book
cannot be used as a substitute for common-
sense judgement. At the very least, we hope
that our program will prevent us from re-
sembling the lawyer, about whom Abraham
Lincoln said, "I never met a man who could
compress so many words into such a small
idea."
We believe that the EPA regulatory pack-
age, all 40 initiatives, are very much in
harmony with the President's goal of
making the government workable. It will
open this Agency still further to public
participation—and public accountability.
The principle of allowing the greatest poss-
ible degree of flexibility in environmental
problem-solving is the cornerstone of our
efforts to reshape EPA's regulatory system.
As I mentioned earlier, however, the
problem of how to live creatively and freely
and responsibly with the great power for
good or for ill that science and technology
have given us is the basic challenge of this
era and it confronts our whole society.
Meeting this challenge will require a strong
creative effort on the part of every segment
of our Nation. D
28
EPAJOURNAL
-------
The Need for Public Participation
Continued from page 3
mize their disruptive effects. We avoid the spectacular
delays that result when ill-conceived programs are put
into effect without a chance for adequate public
comment.
Let me give you an illustration of how a public par-
ticipation system that is well-designed can work.
In setting out to write rules on hazardous waste,
we decided it didn't make sense to wait until we act-
ually put pen to paper before seeking outside view-
points. Our first move was to hold two-day public
meetings in each of EPA's ten regions to talk about
what strategy we should adopt for implementing the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as a whole.
Then came a series of about 80 smaller workshops
on the hazardous waste segment of it. Thereafter,
as meetings of various kinds continued, the regula-
tions were drafted and sent out to a diverse mailing
list we had developed. In fact, throughout the process
extensive efforts were made to keep anyone who
might have an interest in the subject informed. Be-
sides the direct contacts by mail, we also put notices
in trade journals, and announcements in newspapers
in areas where the meetings were being held.
Now we are close to where public participation
often began in the past—the publication of draft
regulations in the Federal Register. We went through
this whole process without significant slippage in our
timetable. We're a little bit behind, but that's because
of internal delays.
Another serious difficulty in trying to open up the
decision-making process is illustrated by this excerpt
from a draft regulation on pesticides:
"The octanol I water partition coefficient can be
determined simply, quickly, and inexpensively with
good reproducibility, and is now regularly determined
for pesticide chemicals as they enter the market.
Because it is indicative of lipid solubility, it will predict
semi-qualitatively the potential for bio-accumulation
in the lipids of animals for the particular pesticide
under consideration. It will not do the same for
metabolites. . ."
The average person would be hard pressed to make
sense of that. I have a little trouble with it myself.
I offer it as an example of the technical complexity of
many of the issues we deal with. This does not mean
that lay people can't be brought into the decision-
making process because the issues are beyond their
comprehension. That has been the argument offered
by too many public officials who do not want to in-
volve the public. I believe it's a fraudulent one. It
does mean that we have to find ways to present the
choices clearly to people without a technical
background.
We are already taking some steps to accomplish
this. For one thing, we're trying to remind any EPA
employees who might have forgotten that the English
language is supposed to function as a bridge, not a
wall. We're particularly concerned that our rules and
guidelines be written clearly and concisely. In addition,
we've awarded grants to organizations so they can
sponsor educational sessions on environmental issues.
Another problem is what to do when our actions
will have broad public impact but most people aren't
aware of it. Should we assume at some point that
there's no way to get our message through? Or should
we keep trying in the hope that a meaningful pro-
portion of the citizens we reach will then get involved?
There's an old metaphor about public involvement
which says that the average citizen won't get involved
until the bulldozer is outside his front door. I believe
that if the process has gotten anywhere near the
bulldozer stage before a citizen speaks up, it indicates
a failure on the part of government, not the citizen.
EPA is getting ready to test whether I'm right. We're
going to assume that when we are convinced a pro-
posed action will have broad impact, we can persuade
a large percentage of those likely to be affected that
this is the case. We are betting that a significant seg-
ment of them will respond. This is not to say that we
expect our meetings and hearings to draw like the
Superbowl. I believe we can bring about a quantum
jump in public involvement. It's too early yet to know
whether my judgment is correct. But I can assure you
that we are serious. I think we can devise a system that
can succeed. And if we do, we will have gone a long
way toward bridging the dangerous gap that has
grown up between the government and its citizens.D
APRIL 1978
-------
Environmental Almanac: April, 1978
A Glimpse of, the Natural World We Hejp Protect
• • • • '•• .',T • '." , * •.-.'•••' '•;•' -' •>;••<: -'ft''--
"••'•: ; i&^£a£
Beautiful,
The Ugly,
And The Useful
They often appear silently in the sky just before twilight
atthe Harpers Ferry gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Sometimes in early spring as many as 200 of these
turkey vultures wheel in formation above the pass where
the Potomac and the Shenandoah Rivers converge to
begin an often turbulent joint journey down to
Washington.
At first sight these large birds appear ominously like
enemy bombers. Yet as you watch their flawless aerial
maneuvers your feeling of apprehension changes to
admiration.
These are surely some of the ugliest of birds yet they
are magnificent sailers of the skies.
They can float overhead stiff-winged as if painted on
a cloud. Or they can swoop by in graceful circles, riding
rising air currents without ever beating their vast wings.
While a crow lumbers by with labored flapping and
loud caws the vultures soar serenely overhead.
Vultures have roosted near Harpers Ferry for many
years because the mountain gap offers cliffs for safe
nesting places, thermal updrafts, thick woods for roost-
ing and a plentiful supply of fresh water.
Also of great importance is the large amount of carrion
provided primarily because of the slaughter of wild ani-
mals by swiftly moving cars and trucks on the area's
numerous major highways.
For the vulture is one of nature's chief scavengers,
a bird that eats only what is already dead.
Thus in addition to being a thing of beauty in the air,
the vulture performs a useful and vital task in its ecolog-
ical niche, disposing of the dead, whether it be a skunk
that was run over by a car or a deer that strangled in a
barbed wire fence.
While at close range the vulture with its turkey-like
bald red head is ugly, there is a utilitarian reason for the
absence of head feathers.
The turkey vulture can insert its naked head into a
carcass to feed without contaminating its feathers with
disease-infested carrion blood. Incidentally, scientists
report that other members of the vulture family, in for-
eign countries, with feathered heads avoid entering a
carcass.
While the turkey vulture is a fascinating creature, it
is ignored by most people. A flock of turkey vultures
has roosted in Rock Creek Park in Washington for many
years yet few residents of the Capital ever notice them.
Louis Halle, the former State Department official and
gifted naturalist, noted in his classic book, "Spring in
Washington," that he had observed as many as 100
vultures circling low over Connecticut Avenue when it
was crowded with people and yet none took notice. But,
added Halle, many of these people will go to the zoo
to gaze upon the caged turkey vultures.
Halle adds that if a flight of vultures or herons is point-
ed out to people and if the newspapers, for example,
"announce that tonight there will be a flight of herons
over the city: the streets and housetops will be thronged
long before dusk with citizens scanning the sky."
This latent curiosity about nature can be fanned far
more easily than an interest in sewage treatment plants
or government regulations, however important.
An old salesman's adage urges "selling the sizzle rather
than the steak." Stimulating an interest in nature can
help lead to an abiding concern for the environment
which supports it. -C.D.P.
EPAJOURNAL
-------
. Pearl Harbor is open to the
public for swimming, boating,
and fishing for the first time
since Wor/d War II. The dis-
charge of raw sewage into the
harbor has been completely
halted.
• Fish have returned to western
Connecticut's Naugatuck River,
where no aquatic life could
survive in the 1950's. Thanks
to cleanup efforts by cities and
industry, sma/lmouth bass.
bluegills, and other fish now
are flourishing there.
' Most urban regions will a-
chieve the air standard for car-
bon monoxide in J 985, and by
1990 the J 6 cities with the
worst problems should all meet
the standard.
• About 678,000people were
directly employed in pollution
abatement in 1974, and the
number probably has increased
since then because of increased
pollution control expenditures.
Those are some of the en-
ouraging notes in the eighth
annual report of the Council
on Environmental Quality re-
cently submitted by President
Carter to Congress.
"We share a record of solid
accomplishment in the environ-
mental area, and we have set
out worthwhile plans for the
future," declared President
Carter in an accompanying
message. "We have not yet
learned, of course, to balance
all our environmental objectives
against the other social goals
that must concern us. But it
is now clear that the American
people believe our needs for
food, for shelter, and for the
necessities as well as the ameni-
ties of civilization can be met
without continuing the degrada-
tion of our planet."
The 445-page report noted
that while the quality of air and
water is improving, the goal of
making the Nation's waters
"fishable and swimmable" by
1 983 probably cannot be met.
In addition, it warned of emerg-
ing pollution problems that
should receive close study.
One of these problems in-
volves the conversion of numer-
ous oil-burning plants to coal.
Some byproducts of coal com-
An
Environmental
Accounting
bustion including carbon dioxide
could cause global temperature
increases and toxic acid rain
harmful to forests, certain fish
species, and water quality. The
report pointed out that these
chemicals are not removed from
stack emissions by present
scrubber technology.
The report also declared that
more study is needed of an
apparent relationship between
soft drinking water, such as that
found in the Southeastern
United States, and the incidence
of cardiovascular disease in-
cluding heart attacks and stroke.
In the Southwestern United
States, where water tends to
be hard, "cardiovascular mortal-
ity is generally quite low," ac-
cording to CEQ.
As a measure of the con-
tinuing progress in environment-
al cleanup, the Council forecast
that most U.S. cities will be able
to bring the five major air pollut-
ants down to acceptable levels
within the next dozen years.
Particulates and sulfur dioxide
in fact have been reduced to the
point where very few regions
now experience significant
violations of the standards for
them,
The report also listed 50 U.S.
bodies of water that have been
"greatly improved" since the
1 960's. These include the
Savannah River, one of the most
important waterways in the
Southeastern United States,
where a!l major dischargers on
the lower river have buitt treat-
ment facilities. "Aquatic life is
recovering and fish are reap-
pearing in parts of the river
where they have not been found
in years," the Council noted.
Other bodies of water listed
as much improved include
portions of the following rivers:
the Detroit River in Michigan,
the Androscoggin River in
Maine, the Mohawk, Buffalo
and Susquehanna Rivers in New
York, the Willamette in Oregon,
and the Houston Ship Channel.
In the area of solid waste, the
report said that the problem of
hazardous waste has grown to
serious proportions in recent
years. It emphasized that the
technology for environmentally
sound disposal is generally
available, although at higher
cost than present unsatisfactory
methods.
In noise control, the Council
noted that the Federal Aviation
Agency's new aircraft noise
regulations will require all air-
craft regardless of production
date to meet aircraft noise
standards during a phased
schedule of eight years.
The report also devoted ex-
tensive space to describing the
opposing points of view that
have emerged between "hard"
and "soft" energy policies. The
"hard" strategy refers to in-
creasing efforts to develop all
present energy sources, with
a gradual switch to nuclear
power as fossil fuels are ex-
hausted. The "soft" energy
strategy would put more em-
phasis on conservation and
renewable, relatively non-pollut-
ing sources of energy such as
solar power. The Council sug-
gested that the two strategies
could be combined to help meet
the energy problem.
An interesting sidelight was
some critical language the
Council had for off-road ve-
hicles, or ORV's. The report
quoted a Bureau of Land Man-
agement estimate that more
than one half of all ORV use on
U.S. public lands is on 8LM
lands and that use by these
vehicles in 1 972 was estimated
at more than 12 million visitor
days. The Council declared:
"ORV users are a small per-
centage of the total population,
but the resource damage that
they cause is out of proportion
to their numbers. ORV's have
invaded a variety of lands—from
deserts and coastal sand dunes
to forested mountains and fertile
plant and wildlife habitats.
"In addition to causing plant
destruction, soil erosion, and
gullying, ORV's can adversely
affect soil moisture, water qual-
ity, and wildlife habitat. Often
they conflict with other non-
destructive uses. Reclamation
is a very difficult and costly task,
and natural recovery on some
soils is slow."
The report noted that Presi-
dent Carter issued an Executive
Order last year requiring agency
heads to close portions of public
lands to ORV's if they cause or
will cause considerable adverse
effects on soil, vegetation, or
other values.
According to CEQ estimates,
the Nation spent $40.6 billion
for pollution control in 1 977,
approximately $1 87 per capita.
This was equivalent to 2.15
percent of our gross national
product. Approximately half,
however, would have been
spent without environmental
legislation; only $1 8.1 billion,
or less than one percent of our
GNP, was spent in response to
environmental laws. The pro-
portion of total plant and equip-
ment expenditures made for
pollution control has not in-
creased substantially in the last
5 years.
CEQ also projects that the
incremental pollution abatement
costs (the additional costs re-
sulting from Federal environ-
mental regulations beyond
what would have been spent
in the absence of environmental
legislation) will total $289.1
billion for 1 976 through 1 985.
This is essentially the same as
past years' estimates after ad-
justing for inflation and a change
in the period covered. Slightly
over half, $1 53 billion, is for water
pollution control and 40 per-
cent, $1 1 7 biliion is for air
pollution control. Throughout
the report CEQ stressed that
the U.S. has made important
improvements in our environ-
ment and is realizing such
economic benefits as lower
expeditures for health main-
tenance and for protection,
maintenance, and repair of
property.
On the basis of its macro-
economic analyses, the Council
does not expect pollution con-
trol expenditures to have a
major impact, either positive
or negative, on the economy. D
APRIL 1978
31
-------
THE
CHALLENGE
OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION
EPA JOURNAL
-------
By Mary F. Berry and
George E. Lowe
In the early 1960's Adlai
Stevenson reminded us that all
men and women were in reality
brothers and sisters as we trav-
eled together in this fragile, awe-
inspiring space ship called Earth.
But it required the successful
Apollo moon-landing during the
summer of 1 969 —an event wit-
nessed electronically by over a
billion individuals—to perma-
nently modify our species' world
vision of the Planet Earth. It is
now commonplace to visualize
our earthly home as a blue-
green, cloud-flecked oasis whirl-
ing alone in the frigid darkness
of space.
Since the early 1 970's world-
wide concern for the continuing
health of the biosphere and its
interrelated eco-systems has
grown in intensity, propelled by
a belief that the 1 970's may well
be our last chance for a future
that makes ecological sense.
The United States quickly
exerted international leadership
at the beginning of this decade
by the passage of two related
landmark pieces of environ-
mental legislation—the National
Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and the Environmental
Education Act. Soon other na-
tions created their own environ-
mental protection agencies and
passed their own national legisla-
tion to protect the environment.
In June, 1972, this heightened
global concern led to the UN
Conference on Human Environ-
ment in Stockholm, Sweden,
during which thousands of dele-
gates and participants stressed
the important role of education
Mary F. Berry is HEW Assistant
Secretary for Education and
George E. Lowe is a staff official
of the Energy and Education
Action Center, U.S. Office of
Education.
of both the general public and the
specialist in the solution and pre-
vention of the world's environ-
mental problems.
Environmental education was
specifically stressed in Recom-
mendation #96, which called on
"The organization of the UN
systems, especially UNESCO . . .
to take the necessary steps to
establish an international pro-
gram in environmental educa-
tion, interdisciplinary in ap-
proach, in-school and out-of-
school, encompassing all levels
of education and directed
toward the general public . . ."
Beginning in 1974, UNESCO,
with financial and program as-
sistance from the United Nations
Environmental Program (UNEP),
embarked on an International
Environmental Education Pro-
gram, consisting of interna-
tional consultants and surveys
(1 974-75). Trend Papers and
Belgrade Workshop (1975), Re-
gional Seminars (1 976-77), all of
which culminated in the minis-
terial level Intergovernmental
Conference on Environmental
Education at Tbilisi, USSR,
October 1 2-26, 1 977, attended
by 340 delegates.
To prepare for Tbilisi, the
United States established a large
national task force under the
Federal Interagency Committee
on Education (FICE). The 70
members of this group were
drawn from the various sectors
of the Federal and State govern-
ments, industry, higher edu-
cation and nongovernmental
environmental-conservation
organizations. Beginning in late
1976 this group, headed by Dr.
Alex Barton of the National
Science Foundation, reviewed
existing environmental educa-
tion materials and programs,
developed position papers, and
made recommendations to the
State Department on the make-
up of the United States delega-
tion. Largely as the result of
these detailed support efforts,
our delegation arrived in Tbilisi
with a broad array of positions
to present, knowledge of the
diverse views of U.S. groups
and individuals who are con-
cerned with environment and
education, and copies for dis-
tribution of a FICE document,
"The Fundamentals of Environ-
mental Education", and a
sampler of environmental
education activities in the United
States, as well as other Ameri-
can-produced books and
materials on environmental
education.
The purpose of the Tbilisi
conference was "to formulate
recommendations for action
which might be undertaken at
the national, regional, and inter-
national levels for the promotion
and development of environ-
mental education."
Sixty-six member states of
UNESCO sent official govern-
ment delegations to the Tbilisi
conference. Also attending
were observers from two non-
member states, eight other
United Nation organizations.
three intergovernmental organi-
zations and 20 international
non-governmental organizations.
An overview of the agenda
reveals the close association
between environmental prob-
lems and the educational re-
sponse necessary to help miti-
gate or resolve these problems.
This is the approach that the
United States worked out in
NEPA and the Environmental
Education Act — at least in
theory if not in actual practice.
The agenda items for Tbilisi
included:
• major environmental problems
in contemporary society;
• role of education in facing the
challenge of environmental
problems;
• current efforts at the national
and international levels for the
development of environmental
education;
• strategies for the development
of environmental education at
the national level;
a) general environmental edu-
cation of the public through
formal and nonformal education;
b) environmental education
(including in-service education)
APRIL 1978
-------
of particular professional groups
whose actions and decisions
have implications for the envi-
ronmental, regional, and inter-
national cooperation for the
development of environmental
education.
Based on the American expe-
rience and leadership in environ-
mental education (1969-1977),
the results of the Belgrade Work-
shop (1 975) and the worldwide
regional meetings (1976-1977),
The Intergovernmental Confer-
ence on Environmental Educa-
tion unanimously agreed in the
Draft Final Report recommenda-
tion #6, "General Statement on
Goals, Objectives and Guiding
Principles", that environmental
education should:
• consider the environment in
its totality —natural and built,
technological and social aspects
{economic, political, techno-
logical, cultural-historical, moral,
aesthetic);
• be a continuous lifelong proc-
ess; it should begin at the pre-
school level and continue
through all formal and non-
formal stages;
• be interdisciplinary in its
approach, drawing on the spe-
cific content of each discipline in
making possible a holistic and
balanced perspective;
• examine major environmental
issues from local, national,
regional and international points
of view so that students receive
insights into environmental con-
ditions in other geographical
areas;
• focus on current and potential
environmental situations, while
taking into account the historical
perspective;
• promote the value and neces-
sity of local, national, and inter-
national cooperation in the
prevention and solution of envi-
ronmental problems;
• explicitly consider environ-
mental aspects in plans for devel-
opment and growth;
• enable learners to have a role
in planning their learning experi-
ences and provide an oppor-
tunity for making decisions and
accepting their consequences;
• relate environmental sensitiv-
ity, knowledge, problem-solving
skills, and values clarification at
every age, but with special
emphasis on environmental
sensitivity to the learner's own.
community in early years;
• help learners discover the
symptoms and the real causes
of environmental problems;
• emphasize the complexity of
environmental problems and
thus the need to develop critical
thinking and problem-solving
skills;
• utilize diverse learning environ-
ments and a broad array of edu-
cational approaches to teaching
and learning about and from the
environment with due stress on
practical activities and immedi-
ate experience.
The U.S. Delegation's initia-
tive at Tbilisi, and non-govern-
mental environmental education
leadership throughout the past
decade, have provided the con-
ceptual framework for the 41
adopted recommendations and
generally have established guid-
ing principles and goals for
environmental education inter-
nationally. The United States still
has not developed a national
strategy or action plan for envi-
ronmental education.
But we must adopt a national
environmental education policy,
a funding strategy, and program
criteria before the end of this
decade of the environment.
We believe that the key items
of agreement at Tbilisi, which
generally reflected the current
theoretical and actual pattern of
environmental education in the
U.S., could serve, along with the
guiding principles, as the basis
for a national action plan in
environmental education.
These key items of agreement
from Agenda Item ft 1 0 (Strate-
gies for Development of Envi-
ronmental Education at the
National Level) stated that:
• The goals of environmental
education are:
a) to foster clear awareness of
and concern about economic,
social, political, and ecological
interdependence in urban and
rural areas;
b) to provide every person
with opportunities to acquire the
knowledge, attitudes, values,
commitment, and skills needed
to protect and improve the
environment;
c) to create new patterns of
behavior of individuals, groups,
and society as a whole toward
the environment.
• Environmental education is an
integral part of the education
process—centered on problems
of environment—building up a
sense of values contributing to
public well-being.
• Environmental education is a
lifelong process, not confined
to the formal education system,
integrating education concern-
ing the work environment, edu-
cation for the consumer, and
education related to economic
development; its subject mat-
ter should permeate every part
of the formal and non-formal
programs.
• In developing formal environ-
mental education programs at all
levels, attention must be given
to curricula, textbooks, teaching
aids and resources, methods,
and teacher/leader training.
• The central idea of environ-
mental education is to create
and foster interdisciplinary pro-
grams in practical education
oriented toward solution of
problems of the environment.
(.1
EPAJOURNAL
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• The training of personnel is con-
sidered a priority requirement.
• The variety of aims, institu-
tions, traditions, and manners of
perceiving problems, combined
with frequent vagueness of ter-
minology is such that no attempt
should be made to place envi-
ronmental education for spe-
cialists in a universal mold.
• Great stress was placed on the
development of environmental
education for apprentices and
adults in technical occupations,
particularly agriculture, and on
the need to develop environ-
mental education both for uni-
versity level professions and for
post-secondary technical educa-
tion levels.
• Both legislation and regulation
for the protection of the quality
of the environment and legisla-
tive measures for the provision
of appropriate environmental
education opportunities should
be developed.
• Non-governmental organiza-
tions have crucial roles in non-
formal environmental education
in various types of programs and
activities already under way in
most countries, such as literacy
programs and family education.
• Effective use of the mass
media to provide information to
the general public is important
and can be initiated by coordina-
tion between ministries of edu-
cation and agencies responsible
for communications.
The major conference recom-
mendations could serve as the
basis for specific actions by Fed-
eral, State, and local institutions
in the United States. This could
be achieved by redirecting exist-
ing resources and by a renewed
policy emphasis which would
ensure:
• that teacher college curricula
be revised to incorporate envi-
ronmental subject matter,
• that in-service teacher training
incorporate curriculum material
related to the environment;
• that training for such profes-
sional occupations as econo-
mist, architect, engineer, or
forest manager, incorporate
environmental instruction;
• that model textbooks and
other learning materials reflect-
ing environmental concerns be
developed;
• that research and develop-
ment be focused on learning
methodology in environmental
education;
• that we disseminate informa-
tion on environmental education
to individuals and institutions on
a systematic basis;
• that we move in a systematic
and careful manner to increase
interdepartmental and inter-
agency cooperation.
A recent report on the Inter-
governmental Conference on
Environmental Education,
"Toward An Action Plan" was
prepared for the Federal Inter-
agency Committee on Education
by Dr. James Aldrich, formerly
Executive Director of the Alli-
ance for Environmental Educa-
tion and now Vice President of
the Massachusetts Audubon
Society. It provides recom-
mendations for new interde-
partmental efforts to implement
these commitments.
The Tbilisi Conference recom-
mended that each nation estab-
lishaNational Center on Environ-
mental Education to coordinate
the multidiscipiinary, multi-
agency responsibilities and
focus on the interdependence
and interrelatedness of environ-
mental problems, issues and sys-
tems: (energy, environmental,
ecological, ethical, economic,
political, social, scientific, tech-
nological, and educational.)
Federal agencies have a great
deal of interest in environmental
education and individually have
very significant capabilities and
expertise about it. However, it is
also our view that it is time for
the Federal Government to take
the leadership role in promoting
and coordinating environmental
education efforts so essential to
our Nation's future. All Federal
agencies should better utilize
their resources of land, money,
and personnel in order to shape
a Federal response to the chal-
lenge of environmental educa-
tion. We must develop stronger
cooperative relationships
between Federal and State
agencies and colleges and uni-
versities in devising special
regional emphases.
The following agencies have a
vital interest in establishing
cooperative arrangements with
educational institutions and
organizations for environmental
education purposes:
• Environmental Protection
Agency (environmental impacts
and assessments, information
and training programs on water,
air, solid waste, pesticides, noise,
and radiation pollution.)
• Department of Energy (energy
impacts, assessments, ecologi-
cally and environmentally sound
alternative energy sources,
energy-related environmental
education.)
• Department of Commerce
(National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration's Coastal
Zone Management and Sea
Grant programs for public and
formal education about the
APRIL 1978
35
-------
*
development and pollution
problems of the oceans and
estuaries.)
• Department of Labor (train-
ing, retraining, and careers in
environment-energy related
occupations.)
• Department of Agriculture
{Youth Conservation Corps, Soil
Conservation Service, and For-
est Service programs on land
use and forest use, alternative
farming systems (Integrated
Pest Management, organic farm-
ing, bio-mass, methane digest-
ers, solar drying and heating ))
• Department of the Interior (Fish
and Wildlife Service, National
Park Service and Bureau of Land
Management's people, land,
programs and funds.)
• Housing and Urban Develop-
ment {urban environmental
issues, including ecologically
sound community development,
population dynamics, and envi-
ronmental impact.)
• Department of Transportation
(alternative transportation sys-
tems and impact on land use.)
• ACTION (voluntary programs
by students, youth, and citizens
in the conservation of natural
resources, including energy.)
• Tennessee Valley Authority
(energy-related environmental
education, regional environ-
mental problems unique to
Appalachia.)
• Health. Education and Welfare
(health implications of environ-
mental pollution and human
ecology, health education, edu-
cation for environmental-energy
related occupations )
In addition, we have an over-
riding imperative and obligation
to provide the appropriate edu-
cation for our children, who will
be faced with an increasing
number of vital decisions during
the next century affecting their
world and its ecosystems in the
interrelated areas of energy,
natural resources, pollution con-
trol, environmental health, and
environmental protection. We
must ensure that their educa-
tion prepares them to deal with
these matters wisely; this must
become a basic educational goal
of our Nation and the world.
Nearly 30 years ago Aldo
Leopold, ecologist and natu-
ralist, asked:
"Does the educated citizen
know he is only a cog in an eco-
logical mechanism? That if he
will work with that mechanism
his mental wealth and his mate-
rial wealth can expand indefi-
nitely? But that if he refuses to
work with it, it will ultimately
grind him to dust?"
Every school child in the
United States should be engaged
in both field and classroom study
of the great natural systems on
land and sea that sustain us all
and, hopefully, produce both
ecological balance and produc-
tive harmony. Eventually, we
could seek to develop a broad-
based environmental ethic in our
people that will alter our habits.
President Carter has observed
that "millions of individuals.
throughout the world, have
adopttul an environmental con-
science to test and guide public
and private actions." Our larger
purpose as educators should be
to nurture that environmental
conscience and ultimately to
provide every individual with the
information needed to properly
evaluate the environmental con-
sequences of his actions.
We need a total program of
environmental education that
covers both students currently
in school and adults who have
completed their formal educa-
tion; such a program would pro-
vide an understanding of the
interrelationship of global eco-
logical balance to weapons of
mass destruction, energy, re-
source depletion, environmental
pollution and population density
within the context of a viable
economic system. An integrated
national program of environ-
mental education would involve
a continuing education process
from early childhood to adult-
hood, to be carried out by both
the formal and non-formal edu-
cational institutions in coopera-
tion with the intei national sector,
the Federal, State and local gov-
ernments and the wide variety
of concerned non-governmental
organizations.D
36
EPA JOURNAL
-------
News Briefs
Hearing on
Seabrook Nuclear
Plant
EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle has
announced that he will hold a hearing about
June 5 in New England on environmental issues
involved in the proposed operation of a nuclear
power plant at Seabrook, N.H.
The exact time and place of the hearing to be
held as a result of a court of appeals decision
will be announced later. At the hearing,
members of EPA's technical panel which advised
Costle on the original decision approving the
design of the cooling system will be available
for cross examination. The Administrator also
said that he will open the record to receive
any additional evidence that may be available
now. EPA's role in the Seabrook case concerns
only the environmental acceptability of the
planned cooling system discharges. Several
environmental groups have opposed proposed
discharge of huge amounts of heated water into
the ocean from the plant on the ground that it
would harm sealife.
Conservation Organizations
Continued from page 13
or degrade other natural values. These
struggles are now common, and victories
are not uncommon.
They apply the power of knowledge in
order to influence strong conservation
decisions; they do their homework and don't
espouse the doctrine of "don't confuse me
with the facts." Thus, when responsible
spokesmen for the conservation viewpoint
speak to administrators or to legislators,
they are usually listened to with respect.
Very importantly, a major victory took
place in the Congress late in 1 976 which
substantially benefits most non-profit or-
ganizations. Now they can spend account-
able, definite percentages of income on in-
fluencing legislation, and can communi-
cate with their membership, without fear
of losing deductible donations.
What else does the future hold? I predict
that evolutionary change will continue in
citizen organizations as in other aspects
of a vital human society. Furthermore, I
believe there is an increasing need for great-
er citizen activity. While some organizations
will fail, others will prosper, and organized
citizen efforts in conservation overall will
continue to grow.
Environmental leaders continue to be
concerned about how to coordinate efforts
towards similar goals and how to keep un-
informed or hysterical voices from discredit-
ing the movement. I believe that there are
counterbalancing fringes on the far sides of
almost any controversy that makes the calm
and thoughtful voices more credible by con-
trast. But how do we achieve better, more
effective coordination? Occasionally sincere
observers suggest merging all into one
monolithic organization which, speaking
with a thunderous voice for all conservation-
ists, would surely shake the halls of Con-
gress. History indicates that this will not
happen and, if it did, it would be only a
matter of time until restive groups would
split off or form new groups to express in-
dependent views. After all, we live in a
pluralistic society—and Americans join
organizations which further their very
particular interests— birding, gardening,
backpacking, fishing, or whatever. Their
organizations can and do pursue particular-
ized ends and also collaborate for common
ends.
The most prestigious mechanism for
coordination is the venerable Natural Re-
sources Council of America, already men-
tioned. But ad hoc coalitions are common
and can be organized almost at the drop of
a developer's hat, or at the flaunting of a
dam builder's blueprint.
In conclusion, I believe the American
system works best when the public and
private sectors both work well. Private or-
ganizations do strengthen the work of
public agencies when they act as watch-
dogs, critics goads, and keepers of the
social conscience. The private sector and
its dedicated volunteers do educate the
public by issuing early environmental warn-
ing cries, by pleading with government
agencies, by confronting industry at times.
and generally by prodding and pushing for
constructive change. This need is constantly
growing.
I believe that government would almost
constantly favor narrowly-focused special
interests seeking short-term gain at the
expense of broader, longer-term environ-
mental values, unless volunteer citizen
groups, with knowledge, skills, and exper-
ience, provide strong, unselfish counter-
pressures. In addition, these groups have
the ability to monitor environmental degra-
dation at the grass-roots level —something
the government is poorly equipped to do
and which would cost it huge sums.
Americans organized to defend the inte-
grity of the environment are a force to con-
tend with. Their numbers and commitment
will continue to grow. D
APRIL 1978
37
-------
People
Andrew Breicienbach
The former Assistant Adminis-
trator for Water and Hazardous
Materials is leaving EPA to
accept a high-level position with
the environmental consulting-
design firm of Roy F. Weston,
Inc., of West Chester. Penn.
Since last June. Breidenbach
has been serving as a Special
Assistant to EPA Administrator
Douglas M. Costle.
Doris Thompson
She has been designated to be
the new Director of the Office
of Civil Rights, with responsi-
bilities for implementing pro-
grams for the career advance-
ment of minorities and women
in the Agency, assuring equal
opportunity in employment at
EPA, and prohibiting discrimina-
tion in employment on projects
receiving EPA financial assist-
ance.
Thompson was previously
Federal Women's Program
Coordinator for the Department
of the Army, the top-level posi-
tion there for women's affairs.
Prior to that, she was Federal
Women's Program Coordinator
with the National Security
Agency, where she began her
career in 1 952 as a linguist
and research analyst.
Breidenbach is recognized
authority in a number of en-
vironmental areas including
pollution measurement and solid
waste management. He has
lectured frequently throughout
the United States and abroad.
He serves as Adjunct Professor
of Environmental Health and
Civil and Environmental En-
gineering at the University of
Cincinnati.
Pierre Shostal
The Executive Secretary of the
US-USSR Environmental Agree-
ment recently served on a panel
on U.S.-Soviet Cooperation in
Science and Technology at the
International Studies Associa-
tion convention, held in
Washington, D.C. Shostal
summarized the history of the
Agreement, and outlined activ-
ities planned for 1 978.
During her twenty-three years
with the National Security
Agency, she served in a variety of
staff and supervisory positions
of increasing responsibility,
including that of Director of
Advanced Management Pro-
grams for the National Cryp-
tology School and as project
officer of executive level
seminars.
A native of Washington, D.C.,
Ralph H. Scott
This national authority on pulp
and paper wastes
has retired as Chief of the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency's Wood Products Staff
in Corvallis, Oregon.
Scott's public service career
began in 1 941 as a sanitary
engineer with the Wisconsin
State Board of Health. During
World War II as a commissioned
officer in the U.S. Army Sani-
tation Corps, he continued his
work in the field of environmen-
tal health. At the time of his dis-
charge he was in charge
of water supply and
base sanitation on
Guadalcanal. After the war he
served a year as a chemical
engineering instructor at the
University of Wisconsin, after
which he joined the Wisconsin
Frans J. Kok
He is the new Director of the
Economic Analysis Division,
Office of Planning and Manage-
ment. "In view of the increasing
role of the economic agencies
in reviewing EPA's regulatory
actions," said Assistant Adminis-
trator William Drayton, Jr.,
"I expect Frans to play a key
role in the development and
defense of EPA regulations."
Organizationally, the Eco-
nomic Analysis Division falls
under the Office of Planning and
State Committee on Water
Pollution, where he rose to the
position of Assistant Director.
Moving to Portland in 1 962
as an industrial engineer with
the Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration, an EPA
predecessor agency, he became
intimately familiar with waste
treatment problems facing the
forestry and pulp and paper
industries. Scott transferred to
the FWPCA's Pacific Northwest
Water Lab in 1 966 to take
charge of its national research
program on waste treatment in
the pulp and paper industry.
In 1 973 and 1 975 Scott was
a member of delegations to the
Soviet Union under the U.S.-
U.S.S.R. Environmental Tech-
nology Exchange Program on
the Pulp and Paper Industry.
Evaluation, where the Division's
previous Director, Roy Gamse,
is now Deputy Assistant Admin-
istrator.
Kok comes to EPA from Booz,
Allen & Hamilton, where for the
last three years he managed
international assignments in
the areas of industrial analysis
and organizational development.
Prior to this he worked for two
years in Colombia as a consult-
ant to a number of local com-
panies.
Kok received his undergradu-
38
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Breidenbach has also recently
been nominated for the Ameri-
can University's Roger W. Jones
Award for Executive Leadership
In announcing his nomination,
Costle noted that Breidenbach's
"outstanding career has re-
flected a continual commitment
to managerial excellence in
public service." The award is
made at the university's Spring
honors convocation.
From August 1971 to July
1 975—prior to his service as
an EPA Assistant Administrator
— he was the Director of the
National Environmental Re-
search Center in Cincinnati,
which was the largest of EPA's
major research centers. From
1 967 to 1 971 he was Director
of the Division of Research and
Development for the Solid
Waste Management Office at
HEW. He has held several
other important Federal
positions in the area of environ-
mental protection.
In his position as Executive
Secretary, Shostal works with
EPA Administrator Douglas M.
Costle, who is the U.S. Co-
Chairman of the Environmental
Agreement, which involves
participation by some 1 2 Gov-
ernment departments and
agencies. EPA's role, primarily
in the areas of air and water
quality and the health effects
of pollution, is one of the most
important in the Agreement.
Cooperative work with the
U.S.S.R. is also underway in the
fields of climate, nature pres-
ervation, urban environment,
earthquake prediction, and
marine pollution.
Shostal was born in France in
1937. He received his B.A.
from Yale in 1 956, studied at
the Geneva (Switzerland) Insti-
tute of Higher International
Studies, and received an M.A.
in 1 958 from the Fletcher
School of Law and Diplomacy,
jointly administered by Harvard
and Tufts Universities. He joined
the Department of State as a
Foreign Service Officer in 1 959
and has served in several over-
seas posts. He became Executive
Secretary of the U.S.-U.S.S.R.
Environmental Agreement in
August, 1977.
she attended the University of
Vermont and received her B.A.
from Smith College in North
Hampton, Mass. She has done
graduate work at Harvard
University and the George
Washington University. Her
appointment is subject to Civil
Service approval.
Vencil L. Shively
He has been selected by EPA
Regional Administrator Alan
Merson to be Director of Public
Affairs and Intergovernmental
Relations in Region 8, Denver.
For the past three years,
Shively has been Director of
Community Development and
Technical Assistance for the
Colorado West Area Council
of Governments in Rifle, Colo.,
as well as a rancher.
From 1 969 to 1 975 he was
director of the University of
Colorado's Bureau of Commu-
nity Services and Associate
Director of its Center for Urban
Affairs.
Since 1 965 Shively has served
as a Director, researcher or
consultant for a variety of plan-
ning and development programs
at the neighborhood, commu-
nity, urban, and Statewide levels.
As Director of EPA's Office
of Public Awareness and Inter-
governmental Relations, Shively
will be responsible for informing
and involving citizens in Colora-
do, Montana, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Utah, and Wyo-
ming about the Agency's pro-
grams. He will serve as the chief
liaison between EPA's Regional
Office and Congressional and
other elected officials in those
six States. Shively, 39, is a
native of Snowmass, Colo.
ate degree in Economics from
Occidental College in Los
Angeles and an M.A. in Eco-
nomics from California State
University. In addition, he holds
M.B.A.'sfrom Harvard Business
School and Insead in
Fontainebleau, France. While
at Harvard he worked at the
Harvard Economic Research
Project on the economic impact
of increased recycling of waste
paper in the U.S.
Donald W. Sadler
He has been selected to be the
EPA Headquarters Personnel
Officer. His new responsibilities
will involve directing and admin-
istering a personnel manage-
ment program for all EPA activ-
ities in the Washington, D.C.,
area including employment,
position management, employee
and labor-management relations,
and training.
Sadler came to EPA in 1 974
from the Navy Department
where he was a Personnel
Management Specialist and
Special Assistant to the Per-
sonnel Director of the Washing-
ton Navy Yard. In EPA, he has
served as a Position Classifica-
tion Specialist, Personnel Servic-
ing Team Leader, Assistant
Director of Personnel for Clas-
sification and Training, and
Assistant Director of the
Personnel Operations Branch.
He received his B.A. in Politi-
cal Science from the University
of Connecticut. He has done
graduate work at the University
of Maryland in Political Science
and George Washington Univer-
sity in Personnel Management.
APRIL 1978
39
-------
Controlling
Chemical
Spills
By Dave Cohen
With a clamor of earthquake proportion,
a freight train jumps from the railbed.
One of its tank cars ruptures, and deadly
chemicals escape into the atmosphere. In
the end, some innocent citizens may die,
more may be hospitalized, and sometimes
there is the need for mass evacuation of an
entire community.
With a disturbingly high frequency, acci-
dents of this nature happen to trains, to
trucks, to barges, and to other types of
transport. No one is ever sufficiently pre-
pared for such disasters. Now, through a
new set of regulations EPA is putting into
effect regarding the transport of hazardous
materials, there is hope that ample prepara-
tion can be encouraged through the use of
better management practices designed to
reduce the risk of unnecessary environ-
mental disasters.
"These proposed regulations are designed
to deal with the often tragic destruction of
our environment from toxic chemical spills
in rivers, streams, and other waterways,"
Administrator Douglas M.Costle said in
announcing the new policy
"We know that at least 700 damaging
spills occur each year from tank cars that
break open, from train derailments, from
rusty valves and pipes that won't work, and
from people who deliberately pour chemi-
cals into sewer systems, ditches, and rivers.
The result can be unsafe drinking water,
fish kills, wildlife destruction, evacuation of
communities, and even loss of life
"These incidents often result from an
appalling negligence and lack of good man-
agement practice. In a society that moves
millions of gallons of chemicals a year, it
is, if I may be frank, outrageous that the
best safeguards available aren't always
applied."
The new regulations will protect public
health and the environment from spills
into waterways of 271 hazardous chemicals.
They authorize multi-million dollar fines for
those responsible for chemical spills, but
the primary purpose is to promote safe
storage, handling and transportation.
The program requires immediate notifi-
cation of the Coast Guard when a spill or
other unauthorized discharge occurs. It
permits the government to recover clean-up
costs, and provides for substantial penalties
as an incentive to prevent spills or lessen
their harmful effects
"The high penalties and liabilities in these
Dave Cohen is an Assistant
Ed/tor of EPA Journal,
regulations should serve as an incentive to
apply the appropriate safeguards and pre-
vent accidents," Costle said. "Failure to re-
port an accident could result in criminal
penalties of up to S1 0,000 or a year in jail
or both. The civil penalties resulting from
the spill itself could reach $5 million. And
the government would be able to recover
clean-up costs up to S50 million. In cases of
'willful negligence,' there is no limit to the
dischargers liability for clean-up costs."
This aerial photo of a derailed train shows
the jumble of freight cars, including some
tankers containing deadly gases.
The regulations were established under
authority of Section 311 of the 1 972 Water
Pollution Control Act, as amended, which
recognizes the environmental and health
dangers associated with unauthorized
chemical discharges into the Nation's
waterways
The new program applies to all potential
discharge sources, including trucks, trains,
ships, and fixed facilities like industrial and
storage plants.
In most cases, the substances covered by
the new program are commonly produced,
and include nitric and sulfuric acids, caustic
soda, benzene, ammonia, chloroform.
40
EPAJOURNAL
-------
certain compounds of arsenic, antimony
and mercury, and many pesticides
EPA is further proposing a supplementary
list of 28 chemicals to be added to the initial
list of 271 substances now covered by the
regulations, which were proposed in 1 975.
The new list proposed includes Kepone and
carbon tetrachloride, discharges of which
have caused serious environmental and
public health problems within the past two
years. EPA plans to expand the iist when
needed, as information on the hazards
associated with other chemicals is devel-
oped and analyzed.
The regulations were issued in four parts,
which cover:
1. The initial list of hazardous substances.
The list was developed through toxicity
tests on fish and shellfish and analysis of
data on production, distribution, and use.
All substances on the list are hazardous and
have a reasonable chance for spillage due to
wide-spread use. EPA may add to the list as
the need develops.
2. Determination of which substances are
"removable"once spii/ed. Whether or not
a substance can be physically removed from
waterways is one factor that may affect the
size of penalties imposed. Almost all the
substances were determined to be "non-
removable" due to their chemical and physi-
cal properties. Even so, the discharger is
encouraged to take prompt action to mini-
mize the damage resulting from a spill.
Doing this may reduce some of the penalties
imposed.
3. Determination of what amount is a
"harmful quantity" when spilled. The law
requires that this be defined for purposes of
spill reporting and enforcement action.
Based on their relative potential hazard, the
substances were divided into five groups.
A relative "harmful quantity" was then
assigned to each group; for the most toxic
group, that amount was determined to be
one pound. The remaining four less toxic
categories were assigned proportionally
larger harmful quantities.
4. Establishment of appropriate penalties.
The Water Act authorizes civil fines up to
S5 million for vessels and $500,000 for
other facilities for each discharge or spill
in excess of the established harmful amount.
This is intended to promote the develop-
ment and use of preventive measures. Any
fine over $5,000 will be determined by the
gravity of the offense. This is calculated
using such factors as the size of the spill,
the degree to which the responsible party
is at fault, the degree to which the chemical
dilutes and degrades in water, and the
nature and success of efforts taken to lessen
the spill's harmful effects. Penalties must
How the New Program
Will Work
A Procedural Case History
A tank truck carrying a hazardous sub-
stance overturns, and the contents
drain into a river. Based on procedures
established by the regulations, the
following actions would then take place:
• The trucking firm immediately notifies
the Coast Guard's National Response
Center at (800) 424-8802 and appro-
priate State authorities, if required by
State law, to report the spill.
• The Response Center alerts a specially
trained response team from either
EPA or the Coast Guard. EPA provides
the response team for spills in inland
waters; the Coast Guard is responsible
for coastal waters and the Great Lakes.
• The response team is led by an expert
On-scene Coordinator, who notifies
State authorities and any downstream
water users (such as water utilities)
that might be affected by the incident.
• The On-scene Coordinator then goes
to the scene of the spill. He collects
information on the incident, including
whether or not a "harmful quantity"
of the substance has been released.
If the discharger is taking adequate
steps to clean up the spill and keep
its harmful effects to a minimum, the
On-scene Coordinator merely keeps
track of clean-up progress. If adequate
steps aren't being taken, he may take
over clean-up, employing whatever
means are needed to solve the problem.
He may seek assistance from private
firms specializing in clean-up opera-
tions. Depending on the chemical in-
volved and the particular situation,
actions can include the addition of
by law be imposed for failure to notify the
Coast Guard immediately when a spill
occurs.
The new program complements the exist-
ing oil spill control program which EPA
conducts in conjunction with the Coast
Guard. Under that program, EPA has re-
sponsibility for the control and clean-up
of oil spills in inland waters; the Coast
Guard has authority to deal with oil spills
in coastal waters and on the Great Lakes.
The two agencies will have the same rela-
tive responsibilities under the new program.
Spills should be reported to the Coast
Guard by calling toll-free (800) 424-8802;
in the Washington, D.C. area, call (202)
426-1830.
"I want to make it clear," Costle said,
"that our purpose is to promote the great-
chemicals to neutralize the spill, the
evacuation of people nearby, the re-
lease of water upstream to increase
dilution, removal of the substance, the
installation of water filters, or contain-
ment of the substance spilled.
• Following the spill, EPA's Regional
Administrator assesses an appropriate
penalty, based on the gravity of the
offense. He then sends a Notice of
Violation to the alleged violator, which
contains the amount of the assessed
penalty and describes actions the
violator may take.
• The violator, within 30 days of receipt
of the Notice, may present explanatory
information to the Regional Administra-
tor; he may also request a hearing
within 45 days.
• If a hearing is requested, the Regional
Administrator appoints a Presiding
Officer, who conducts the hearing and
prepares a recommended decision.
He gives his recommendations to the
Regional Administrator, including a
recommendation as to the civil penalty,
within 30 days of the hearing. He must
clearly state the basis for his recom-
mendations.
• The Regional Administrator acts on
the recommendations within 1 5 days.
His decision is final, unless the violator
appeals to the Administrator within
1 5 days. (The Administrator may also
stay the effectiveness of the Regional
Administrator's decision on his own
motion.)
• The Administrator's action can be re-
viewed in District Court.
• All penalties and clean-up costs are
placed in a revolving fund used to pay
the costs of government clean-up
actions. Congress has authorized this
fund tobe maintained at $35 million. D
est possible protection of our health and
that of our environment by encouraging
responsible management in the storage,
handling, transportation, and use of hazard-
ous materials. The high penalties that can
be imposed should serve as an incentive to
industry to use greater care in these activ-
ities. For example, the use of safer and more
efficient containers could by itself accom-
plish much in reducing accidental discharges.
"A great deal more care and better man-
agement is needed if we, as an industrial-
ized Nation, are to be truly responsible in
our handling of such substances as they are
used, stored, and moved in daily commerce.
Our experience has proved this." D
APRIL 1978
-------
Report
By John C. White
Administrator,
United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 4
"What's happened to the en-
vironmental movement?" a
Louisville newspaper asked
recently. An editorial asserted
that now one seldom sees
environmental protest marches
and sign-waving.
Well, as any of us on the
government side of the action
can report, the movement is
quite alive — and still1 kicking,
when the need for it is there
The answer to the question.
in part, is that government, now
armed with legal tools, is much
more responsive. No longer is
fiery exhortation necessary.
Overall, what I think is happen-
ing here in the upper half of the
seventies is that both the en-
vironmental movement and the
environmental bureaucracy have
come a long way. An observable
professionalism is apparent in
both.
I thought the old enforcement
conferences were great tools
for the environmentalists and
the environmental bureaucracy
in the late 1960's and early
1 970's. The environmentalists
could shout, and we would point
fingers, then we all would do
some bluffing — and quite a few
people were shamed into doing
right. In fact, some of our big-
gest success stories of today
had their genesis in the old
enforcement conferences.
Escambia Bay in Pensacola is
one that comes to mind. I can
still see some of those ladies
waving pictures of the menhaden
fish kills. The bay surface was
so white with the bodies of dead
fish that it looked like Buffalo
in February.
If some of the flash fire of the
early days is missing, I believe
it has been replaced by profess-
ionalism. I could see results of
EPA's new "constituency"
approach as we stepped up our
efforts at educating everybody
to the perils of unbridled use
of the automobile. In the Region,
perhaps our biggest push during
this year will be for our cities,
where air quality standards have
not been met. At this writing,
we are informing the city coun-
cil of one large southern city
about the air quality problem and
are counting heavily on help
here and elsewhere from our
friends in the volunteer environ-
mental army.
Meanwhile, we are concern-
ed about the menace of new
toxic substances. But we are
learning how to meet this chall-
enge An outstanding example
of this came in late spring of
1977 when 32 employees
of a Louisville, Ky., municipal
treatment system suddenly were
made ill by a noxious substance
obviously within the plant. But
what? How could it be contain-
ed? And who was the offender?
One of the answers to these
questions awaits court disposi-
tion, but teams of scientists
from EPA and other Federal
agencies, plus State and local
authorities, aided and spurred
on by aroused citizens and news
media, discovered much of the
cause, effect, and remedy.
The cause, the Region's sur-
veillance and analysis division
determined, was two chemicals
with the jawbreaker names of
hexachlorocyclopentadiene and
octachlorocyclopentene, which
had been surreptitiously dis-
charged into the sewers leading
into the plant. By June the plant,
which had been shut down
while the investigation and tests
were under way, was returned
to 90 percent operating ca-
pacity. During the interim,
wastes were discharged directly
into the Ohio River, requiring a
large amount of testing at water
intake locations south of Louis-
ville, since many cities use the
river as a water supply. By the
fall of the year, the cleanup oper-
ations were well under way in
the plant and in the interceptor
sewer.
Another example comes to
mind of the growing profession-
alism of the environmental move-
ment at all levels. The goal of
Public Law 92-500—that all
discharges of pollutants into the
Nation's waterways cease by
1 985 — is accompanied by grow-
ing concern over the shortage of
clean recreational and drinking
water. Thus it is the policy of
EPA that where sufficient land is
available, and the hydrological
conditions are favorable, con-
struction grant applicants give
particular attention to waste-
water treatment processes
which renovate and reuse waste-
water as well as recycle the or-
ganic matter and nutrients in a
beneficial manner. The agency
requires that wastewater reno-
vation by methods such as
spraying on land be evaluated in
wastewater treatment planning.
All of the above factors, and
more, came into play in a recent
S22,000,000 award by EPA
for a 20-million-gallon land
application project in Clayton
County, Georgia. In Georgia
as in other States in this region,
there are many rural commun-
ities and there is an abundance
of agricultural and forest land
which can be used for land
treatment of wastewater.In
addition, sophisticated research
facilities and the necessary
technology for treating waste-
water by new methods have
been developed.
Groundwater in the land treat-
ment sites in Clayton County is
currently a source of drinking
water. It is anticipated that about
85-90 percent of wastewater
applied on land will be recycled
for drinking water.
Meanwhile, since secondary
treatment does not eliminate the
nitrogen and phosphorus from
wastewater, the 3,000 acres
of the county's open land where
the wastewater effluent will be
sprayed will be greatly enriched
for farm crop use. Land applica-
tion treatment might generate
new agricultural industry
growth in the county.
During the past year in region-
al enforcement activities, some
large civil penalties again were
collected for water permit
violations, most of them agreed
to in consent decrees. They in-
clude: $200,000, Beau Knit II,
Elizabethton, Tenn.; $30,000,
Ralston Purina, Trussville, Ala.;
$25,000, Tennessee Electro-
plating, Ripley, Tenn.; and
$21,000, The Carr Company,
Knoxville, Tenn. But another
attention-getter for enforcement
personnel was the mammoth
chore of processing permits
for the numerous coal mine and
coal preparation plants within
the region. More than 900
applications for permits were on
file when the push to service the
mines began. A minority con-
tractor assisted in the prepara-
tion of public notices to reduce
42
EPAJOURNAL
-------
the paperwork workload for the
mines. Soon after the public
received the notices in the coal-
mining States of Tennessee,
Alabama, and Kentucky, com-
ments and requests for hearings
began arriving. Five public
hearings were held, and it was
determined that some 300 min-
ing operations had either been
completed or did not require
permits. Yet, each hearing pro-
duced lists of mines which
might require permits. In order
to insure compliance with per-
mit limitations, a regional mine
water enforcement team was
organized to make field inspec-
tions, review discharge moni-
toring reports, and issue permits
to new applicants
A major and continuing pollu-
tion problem in the region is
phosphate mining. Huge mining
reserves are located in Florida,
North Carolina, and Tennessee.
North Carolina has one mining
site now operating and another
about to begin. In Tennessee,
nearly 30,000 acres of land
have been disturbed by phos-
phate mining. Florida is the
major phosphate producer in
the United States, Polk County,
in central Florida, contains the
largest deposit and is the center
of production. Approximately
1 1 0,000 acres of phosphate-
mined land in the State is being
worked and about 300,000
acres have been reclaimed.
Some 80,000 to 90,000 acres
of unreclaimed land have return-
ed to a natural state and may
not need further reclamation.
However, one major concern
with phosphate mining is the
release of phosphate into near-
by bodies of water. The mineral
is one of two nutrients needed
by algae, and over-abundant
supplies of phosphate may
cause nuisance growths of algae.
Phosphate also contains uran-
ium, radium, and other radio-
nuclides. These present a pot-
ential radiological contamina-
tion problem as a result of gas-
eous and liquid discharges.
Land disturbed during stripmin-
ing and subsequently reclaimed
also presents a potential radia-
tion problem.
This clear mountain lake is
located in Unicoi State Park
near Robertstown in north-
east Georgia.
John C, White
In an effort to find answers to
these and other problems, a
31 million study was begun in
1 976. Before its release date,
tentatively set for early June,
there already are indications the
survey may not please every-
body. It wonl stop stripmining,
which has given a moon-sur-
face look to thousands of acres
in Polk and Hillsborough Coun-
ties in Florida. It may not even
slow down the industry's cur-
rent massive expansion into
Manatee, Hardee, and DeSoto
Counties in the same State
But it will consolidate, for the
first time, a wide variety of
scientific evidence to guide
governmental decisions on the
"trade-off" between environ-
mental desecration and econo-
mic vitality.
The final report is eagerly
awaited by conservationists,
who hope that the report will
spur strong mining controls —
and dreaded by an industry that
fears a slash in the big, fast
profits on phosphate fertilizers.
A survey prepared by Region
4 for consideration in the en-
vironmental impact study (EIS)
of the Central Florida phosphate
industry suggests that conven-
tional slime ponds and the dry-
ing of phosphate rock be eli-
minated, thereby defusing
the potential environmental
problems of radiation.
This paper was prepared by
Region 4's Phosphate Study
Unit as a basis for writing the
draft EIS. Incidentally, on the
subject of impact statements,
it is anticipated that 1 978 will
be a busy year. As a further
footnote, I was pleased to hear
recently that EPA's Washington
headquarters has been very
complimentary of the work of
our EIS office since its beginning
in 1971
All in all, it was a very good
year, with statistics, dates and
figures telling part of the story.
Some notable successes oc-
curred. So did a few non-suc-
cesses. Deadlines for water
clean-up and air improvement
rolled around, and were in some
instances extended. Three-
quarters of a billion dollars in
wastewater treatment plant
funds were obligated during
the year in the eight States of
Region 4. Almost everywhere
progress, aided by professional-
ism, could be noted. D
APRIL 1978
43
-------
States Served by
EPP Regions
Region 1 (Boston)
Connecticut. Maine
Massachusetts. Mew
Hampshire, Rhode Island
Vermont
617-223-7210
Region 2 (New York
City)
New Jersey. New York.
Puerto Rico. Virgin
212 264 2525
Region 3
(Philadelphia)
Delaware Maryland.
Pennsylvania. Virginia.
West Virginia. District of
Columbia
215-5979814
Region 4 (Atlanta)
Alabama. Georgia.
Florida. Mississippi.
North Carolina. South
Carolina Tennessee
Kentucky
404 881 4727
Region 5 (Chicago)
Illinois. Indiana. Ohio.
Michigan. Wisconsin.
Minnesota
312-353 2000
Region 6 (Dallas)
Arkansas. Louisiana.
Oklahoma. Texas. New
Mexico
214767-2600
Region 7 (Kansas
City]
ska
RegionS (Denver)
Colorado. Utah
Wyoming. Montana.
North Dakota. South
Dakota
303-837 3895
Region 9 (San
Francisco)
Arizona, California.
Nevada. Hawaii
4155562320
Region 10 (Seattle)
Alaska. Idaho. Oregon.
206442 5810
Update
A listing of recent Agency pub-
lications, and other items of
use to people interested in the
environment.
General Publications
Environmental Quality, 1977.
The eighth annual report of the
Council on Environmental
Quality.
This 445-page book is the de-
finitive statement about the
condition of the environment in
America during 1 977. The
major environmental events of
the year are covered, including
actions related to pollution,
energy, natural resources,
human settlements, and the
National Environmental Policy
Act. The report also looks at
conditions and trends, in air
quality, water quality, environ-
mental health, energy, nonre-
newable resources, population,
and economics
Single copies of the report can
be obtained by sending a self-
addressed mailing label to
Publications, Council on En-
vironmental Quality, 722 Jack-
son Place N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20006, (202) 633-7005.
Federal Register
Notices
Copies of Federal Register
notices are available at a cost
of 20 cents per page. Write
Office of the Federal Register,
National Archives and Records
Service, Washington, D.C.
20408.
Toxic Substances Control
EPA prescribes disposal and
marking requirements for
polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB's); effective 4/10/78.
In the Feb. 1 7 issue. Pp 7150-
64
Air
EPA adopts standards of per-
formance for kraft pulp mills;
2/24/78. Feb. 23 issue. Pp.
7568-97.
EPA announces availability of
draft guideline document for
control of total reduced sulfur
emissions from existing kraft
pulp mills; comments by
4/25/78. Feb. 23 issue. Pp.
7597-98.
Regulations Under
Consideration
The following rules are being
developed by EPA. The Agency
encourages public comment.
EPA contacts and proposed
issuing dates are listed so that
interested persons can make
their views known. These rules
will be issued in May, 1978:
Pesticide Registration Guide-
lines, to detail the information
needed about label development
for the registration process,
write or phone Bill Preston,
(WH-558) EPA, Washington,
D.C. 20460 (202) 557-7351;
and guidelines for acceptable
methods of municipal disposal
of sludge, required by Section
1 008 of the Resource Conser-
vation and Recovery Act, write
or phone Bruce Weddle,
(AW-464), EPA, Washington,
DC. 20460 (202) 755-91 20.
Films
"Runoff: Land Use and Water
Quality" is a 21 -minute color
film that describes how non-
point sources such as storm-
water runoff, construction
erosion, and farm field drain-
age contribute to the pollution
of the Nation's waters. The film
shows how sediment can de-
stroy fish habitat and carry
nutrients that contribute to ex-
cessive plant growth in bodies
of water. The EPA-sponsored
film was prepared by the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin. It is available
from the Office of Public Aware-
ness (A-1 07) EPA, Washington,
D.C. 20460, EPA Regional
Off ices, or can be rented
from the University of
Wisconsin — Extension, Bureau
of Audio Visual Instruction,
1 327 University Avenue, P.O.
Box 2093, Madison, Wis.
53701 for S5 by referring to
film #1765.
Conferences
More information on these EPA
Office of Research and Develop-
ment Conferences is available
from Larry Dempsey, Confer-
ence Coordinator, Environmen-
tal Research Information Center.
26 W. St Clair, Cincinnati,
Ohio 45268 (513) 684-7394
National Conference on Con-
cepts in Microbial Degradation,
Pensacola, Fla. April 10-14.
Petroleum Refineries Sympo-
sium, Jekyll Island, Ga., April
26-28.
Sludge Treatment and Disposal
Seminar, Portland, Ore., May
3-4.
USA-USSR Symposium on
Advanced Equipment and
Facilities for Wastewater Treat-
ment, Cincinnati, Ohio, May
9-10.
Coal Cleaning Symposium,
Hollywood, Fla., May 14-17.
Advances in Particle Sampling
and Measurement Symposium,
Asheville, N.C.. May 15-17.
Management of Nitrogen in
Irrigated Agriculture Seminar,
Sacramento, Ca , May 15-18
Opposite:
Sailboats in Alaska's Juneau
Harbor
Back Cover: This detail is from
one of a set of posters produced
by EPA on air and water. Single
copies of the posters are available
from EPA Printing Management
(PM-21 5), Washington, D.C.
20460 Quantities may be
purchased from the Govern-
ment Printing Office, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20402
44
EPAJOURNAL
-------
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"A river is more
than an amenity,
it is a treasure.
It offers
a necessity of life
that
must be rationed
among those who have
power over it."
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
States
Environmental Protection
Agency
,.-
Off ice of
Public Awareness (A-1071
Washington D C 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
Postage and
Fees Paid
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Protection
Agency
EPA 335
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