United States
Environmental Protection
Office of
Public Awareness (A-1071
Washington DC 20460
Volume 5
Number 6
June 1979
EPA JOURNAL
Recreation and the Environment
• >
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Environmental Rewards
In addition to the many intan-
gible benefits, a clean en-
vironment also offers many
tangible improvements which
are helping to stimulate major
growth in the Nation's recrea-
tion industry.
Administrator Douglas M.
Costle points out in this issue
that the clean water program
has not only created many thou-
sands of jobs in pollution con-
trol, but has also boosted shore-
line real estate values along
rivers and lakes.
The Administrator notes that
the Commission on Water Qual-
ity estimated that meeting the
1983 goals of the Clean Water
Act will bring an added benefit
totaling $3.2 billion annually
to the leisure industry because
of the increased purchase of
sport fishing and other equip-
ment.
At the same time the Admin-
istrator cautions that "we must
be careful that our enthusiasm
for recreation does not damage
or destroy the very environ-
ment that has lured us to the
trails in the first place."
In another article, Costle
explains the impact of the re-
cently issued Federal air pollu-
tion standards for new coal-
burning electric power plants.
One of the goals of these and
other EPA regulations will be
to help preserve visibility in the
West.
In an article written for EPA
Journal, Secretary of the Inte-
rior Cecil Andrus comments
that many of the environmental
problems of our society have
impinged upon the National
Park System.
The Secretary states that the
leadership of the National Park
Service is dedicated to making
the Service "the flagship of the
Federal fleet" in environmental
protection.
Anthony Wayne Smith, presi-
dent of the National Parks and
Conservation Association,
warns that the national parks
are "seated within the entire
national environmental setting
and cannot be protected with-
out attention to that setting."
Two articles review the pros-
pects for major rivers—the
Potomac and the Chatta-
hoochee.
Other articles in this issue
include reports on:
An appeal by Administra-
tor Costle to the 25-nation
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
for careful economic growth;
An analysis by Vernon E.
Jordan, Jr. of the prospects of
the developing coalition of ur-
ban and environmental
activists;
Water quality improvements
in the Great Lakes;
The impact of tourism on
the world environment;
EPA's plans to deal with
the hazardous wastes problem;
Use of abandoned rail
rights-of-way by bikers and
hikers;
How children in New Haven
are learning about ecology. D
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Public Awareness (A-107>
Washington DC 20460
Volume 5
Number 6
June 1979
xvEPA JOURNAL
Douglas M. Costle, Administrator
Joan Martin Nicholson, Director, Office of Public Awareness
Charles D. Pierce, Editor
Truman Temple, Associate Editor
John Heritage, Chris Perham, Assistant Editors
Articles
EPA is charged by Congress to
protect the Nation's land, air and
water systems. Under a mandate
of national environmental laws
focused on air and water quali-
ty, solid waste management and
the control of toxic substances,
pesticides, noise and radiation,
the Agency strives to formulate
and implement actions which
lead to a compatible balance be-
tween human activities and the
ability of natural systems to sup-
port and nurture life.
Recreation, Jobs, and
Good Health 3
Administrator Douglas M. Costle
discusses the dividends that a
cleaner environment brings to
the U.S. economy and the well-
being of Americans.
Recycling the Rails 4
Abandoned railroad rights of
way offer new opportunities for
bikers and hikers.
Preserving the
Potomac °
Congressman Joseph L. Fisher
of Virginia assesses the future of
the river that runs through the
Nation's capital.
A River for the
People 8
Chattahoochee National Rec-
reation Area makes access to
recreation easy for urban resi-
dents in Atlanta.
Front cover This New Mexico vista
of lake, forest and mountains illus-
trates the value of clean air. See p 18.
Opposite: Rider looks back at stone
formation called the Penguins,
which tower above Horse Canyon
Maze in Canyonlands National Park,
Utah. See "Protecting the Crown
Jewels," p 12.
The Urban
Environment 10
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., looks at
the growing cooperation be-
tween civil rights activists and
environmentalists.
Action on
Hazardous Wastes ' '
Deputy Administrator Barbara
Blum outlines the Agency's
plans to counter this environ-
mental health problem.
Protecting the
Crown Jewels 12
Cecil Andrus, Secretary of the
Interior, describes efforts to
safeguard the peace and beauty
of America's National Parks.
Splendor in the
ParUc 16
Departments
Parks
An article by Anthony Wayne
Smith of the National Parks and
Conservation Association on
growing threats to the quality of
the environment on the Nation's
public lands.
New Coal Standards 18
Administrator Costle discusses
rules to control coal burning
emissions.
Clean Water Bonus 21
The Heritage Conservation and
Recreation Service has pro-
grams that expand the benefits
of the water cleanup effort.
The Great Lakes
Revisited 23
A look at how improved water
quality affects the people living
around America's largest lakes.
Environment and
World Tourism 27
The United Nations Environ-
ment Program reviews the inter-
national impact of travel for
pleasure.
Costle Urges
Careful Growth 36
In a Paris speech to the Organi-
zation for Economic Coopera-
tion and Development, the
Administrator supports thought-
ful development to minimize
environmental damage.
Nature In the City 39
Children in New Haven learn the
basics of ecology.
Almanac
Around the Nation 32
Update 34
People 30
News Briefs 38
Photo credits: Wisconsin Natural
Resources Dept., Jack Kightlinger/
The White House, Nick Karanikas,
Ernest Bucci, Hallie Black, Heritage
Conservation and Recreation
Service, Susan Nelson. Chicago
Daily News, Warren Bolster, Sheila
Tryle, Swiss National Tourist Office,
Greek National Tourist Office,
National Park Service Photos by
M, Woodbridge Williams, Fred
Mang, Jr., Cecil W. Stoughton,
Ralph Anderson, Richard Frear,
Robert Beloies, John Kauffman,
and Abbie Rowe.
Design credits: Robert Flanagan,
Donna Kazaniwsky, and Ron Farrah
The EPA Journal is published
monthly, with combined issues
July-August and November-Decem-
ber, by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Use of funds for
printing this periodical has been
approved by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget.
Views expressed by authors do not
necessarily reflect EPA policy. Con-
tributions and inquiries should be
addressed to the Editor (A-107),
Waterside Mall, 401 M St , S.W.
Washington. D.C 20460 No per
mission necessary to reproduce
contents except copyrighted photos
and other materials. Subscription
310.00 a year, SI .00 for single
copy, domestic, S12 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.
Text printed on recycled paper
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Environmentally Speaking
Recreation,
Jobs, and
Good Health
By Douglas M. Costle
EPA Administrator
President Kennedy, who believed whole-
heartedly that Americans should keep
fit, once reminded the National Football
Foundation that Thomas Jefferson had
urged his countrymen to devote at least
two hours a day to exercise.
"If the man who wrote the Declaration of
Independence, was Secretary of State, and
twice President, could give it two hours,"
Kennedy remarked, "our children can give
it ten or fifteen minutes."
That emphasis on healthful exercise has
been continued with President Carter, who
can be seen elsewhere in this issue on a
bike, and who is also a jogger. From the
President to the ordinary citizen we are
exercising with enthusiasm. Never in his-
tory have Americans lavished so much
attention on sports.
Aside from the enjoyment and sense of
well-being that goes with exercise, it pro-
vides important dividends in better health
and increased longevity. We are told by the
medical profession that the number of
deaths from strokes and heart disease has
been declining in recent years. Increased
exercise is an important explanation, along
with improved diet and less smoking.
Physicians have for many years recom-
mended exercise as an important form of
preventive medicine in avoiding these ill-
nesses. EPA's mission to create healthy air
and water reinforces the benefits that peo-
ple are gaining from outdoor sports. Jog-
gers should not have to breathe polluted
air, bikers should be able to experience the
views that their trails offer, and fishermen
should not have to cast their lines in a dead
stream.
What the average citizen may not realize
is that physical activity also represents an
important and very visible factor in the
economy. The leisure industry in all its
aspects is now a major one in terms of
consumer spending, and leisure time to
pursue sports is increasing.
Consider for example these trends:
• A Gallup Poll has found that the num-
ber of Americans who exercise daily has
risen from 24 percent to 47 percent in 16
years. An estimated 19 million jog and
25 million are regular cyclists.
• Attendance at National Parks, recrea-
tion areas, and seashores rose from about
31 million in 1960 to 96 million in 1975.
Attendance at State parks nearly doubled
between 1962 and 1975, from 285 million
to 566 million. {The figures include many
repeat visits by the same individuals.)
• A. C. Nielsen says swimming is now
the most popular sport for Americans, with
104 million swimming at least occasionally
in 1976. Fishing also ranked high, with 64
million active participants. The number of
women who fish increased from 9 million
in 1970to 21 million in 1976. There were
also 58 million campers as well as 43
million involved in boating and sailing.
The Commission on Water Quality esti-
mated that meeting the 1983 goals of the
Clean Water Act will result in nearly 237
million additional days of sports fishing,
thanks to our joint efforts with State and
local governments in cleansing the Nation's
waterways. The Commission projected that.
this will bring an added benefit approach-
ing $3.2 billion annually to the recreation
industry because of the increased pur-
chases of equipment and other outlays
related to this sport.
That underscores another aspect of the
relationship between EPA and the economy.
Protecting the environment has created
many thousands of jobs in pollution control
equipment and construction. It is equally
true that cleaning up our streams and lakes
and open spaces is providing stimulus to
the important economic sector known as
the recreation industry. We cannot put a
precise price tag on a stretch of river so
improved that recreation undergoes a re-
birth there, but we do know that cleaning it
up not only helps to sell more boats and
fishing rods and swim suits but also greatly
enhances real estate values along the shore-
line, since the river basin or lakefront has
become environmentally and aesthetically
desirable and a more pleasant place to live.
Unfortunately some kinds of recreation
can also create environmental problems.
Off-road recreational vehicles in certain
areas have produced undesirable environ-
mental side-effects, either in excessive
noise or in unwitting destruction of wild-
life habitats. Aside from recreational ve-
hicles, just plain population pressure also has
created problems in several National Parks.
Yosemite, for example, has had to limit
access to back country because of the in-
crease in backpackers. So we must be care-
ful that our enthusiasm for recreation does
not damage or destroy the very environ-
ment that has lured us to the trails in the
first place.
The increase in leisure for Americans
and their resulting interest in recreation
holds the promise of a healthier Nation.
It remains the responsibility of the men and
women in this Agency to make sure that
our waterways and open spaces offer them
a clean, inviting outdoor environment
where they can restore their spirits, main-
tain good health, and pursue happiness. D
Pit *ure boat in Kenai Fj ds. Ala i
(tup left)
Visitors descend from tht South Ri
Grand Canyon by mule to xplot this I
canyon, (far left)
Campers line up at entr y gatt to K
National Park. Calif (below)
JUNE 1979
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Recycling
the
Rails
By Truman Temple
Cyclists enter a tunnel on a trail that was
onoe a railroad, (right)
President Jimmy Carter, astride his bike.
confers with visitors at Camp David, (below)
Fifteen years ago the Chicago and North-
western Railroad authority abandoned
service on a branch line between the com-
munities of Elroy and Sparta in Wisconsin.
But rather than let the tracks simply rust
away unnoticed, the railroad wrote a re-
markable letter. "The Northwestern has
long maintained that a railroad has an
obligation to the communities and the peo-
ple it serves," it told the Interstate Com-
merce Commission. "As a Wisconsin rail-
road, we look on this as a wonderful oppor-
tunity to do something for the people of the
State and at the same time preserve a small
slice of railroad lore for future
generations."
The result was the Elroy-Sparta State
Trail, which today permits bikers and hikers
to wind their way on the former rail route
through 32 miles of rustic beauty. With fi-
nancial aid from the Conservation Commis-
sion, the trail is now fenced where neces-
sary and passes across fields of clover and
grain, over rivers on old railroad bridges,
and through 100-year-old tunnels. The
experiment has been so successful that the
State is planning nearly 200 more miles of
similar bike paths on abandoned rail lines.
Wisconsin is an outstanding example
of the national trend in the rail-to-trail
movement. Last year Interior Secretary
Cecil D. Andrus announced the selection of
similar projects in ten States, providing
funds from a $5 million appropriation
under the Railroad Revitalization and Reg-
ulatory Reform Act of 1976. The projects
included a seven-mile bike trail in Pennsyl-
vania along former railroad and trolley line
rights-of-way, four miles along the old
Washington and Old Dominion rail line in
the Virginia suburbs of Washington, and a
two-mile bike/walking/jogging/horseback
trail in Marin County, Calif. In New Jersey,
a section of Penn Central roadbed between
a State park and the Trenton Battle Monu-
ment will be developed for bikes, hikers,
and even wheelchairs.
The rails-to-trails activity comes at a
time when the need for more bike and hik-
ing paths is pressing. Not only has the en-
vironmental movement made the public
aware of the need for such facilities, partic-
ularly in urban settings, but the energy
crises of recent times have also prompted
many persons to demand better considera-
tion of commuters who travel on foot or by
pedal power.
Bikes have been outselling autos in the
United States for some time. Between 1972
and 1978, according to the Bicycle Manu-
facturers Association of America, more
bikes were shipped and imported in this
country than passenger cars. Total bike
shipments in the period were 77.5 million,
compared to 72.5 million autos. Because of
this, bikes are now approaching the total
number of cars in service. Last year there
were about 95 million bicycles in use in the
United States, compared with about 117
million cars. At a time when the cost of
gasoline is steadily rising toward the $ 1 a
gallon level, the bicycle looks more and
more attractive as an alternative to
commuting by car.
Converting an old rail bed to a recrea-
tional trail is not as simple as it sounds.
There must be careful planning and close
cooperation by local jurisdictions and sup-
porters of the project. They must provide
beforehand, for example, for funding to
acquire the abandoned rights-of-way. (A
landmark decision by the Interstate Com-
merce Commission in 1972 involving an
11 -mile trail in Seattle now permits the ICC
to require railroads as a condition of aban-
donment to offer public agencies or civic
groups the first opportunity to acquire the
land if they are seeking to convert it to
park or recreational uses.)
Furthermore, provision must be made for
maintenance services such as litter control
once the trail is opened. Some trails are
patrolled by police on motor scooters to
prevent vandalism, and others also make
use of barriers to prevent use of the paths
by unauthorized motor vehicles. Supporters
may run into difficulty among themselves
deciding among competing uses of the trail,
Conff uec t pagt 40
EPAJOURNAL
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Prese
the
Potomac
By U.S. Rep. Joseph L Fisher
(D-Va.)
***K
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flag
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The owner is moving away. Such land does
not comeon the market very often and
many interests are intrigued by the prospect
of obtaining a choice Potomac River lot.
Who should buy the property? What use
should be made of this site?
A developer wants to build a condomin-
ium high rise and some recreational facil-
ities. The county government would like to
buy the land, but because there is not
enough potential for intensive recreational
use, does not believe the expenditure can
be justified. The regional park authority
could use the land but has no acquisition
funds. The Federal Government is inter-
ested, but because budget and program
planning requires a lead time of eighteen
months, cannot act quickly enough. A local
farmer would be happy to enlarge his hold-
ings but cannot match the price offered by
the developer.
What will happen to this property? What
should happen?
The answer, unfortunately, is that there
is no consensus on what should be done
with the shores of the Potomac River. Much
of the attraction of the shoreline is found
in the diversity of its uses. Farming and
other private land uses contribute greatly
to the character of the area. Boating, hiking,
fishing, and other kinds of recreation are
among the activities the public can enjoy
along the Potomac.
To ensure that this diversity continues
and that both public and private interests
are respected, some kind of forum is
needed to bring these interests together to
formulate goals for the protection and ap-
propriate use of the river area. If a forum
existed and if it had agreed upon goals,
then sellers and purchasers of land along
the river would have guidance. They would
know what land was needed to be kept open
for public access, what land was intended
for private development, and what land was
expected to be maintained as farmland.
The Potomac River is one of the most
interesting and beautiful rivers in the
eastern United States. I have canoed along
much of its upper reaches from West
Virginia to Washington including the ex-
citing white water in the stretch where the
Shenandoah joins the Potomac, at Little
Falls, and many other spots. As the main
stem of the river runs between Maryland
and West Virginia and Virginia, it changes
from a wide and bucolic stretch of water to
dramatic falls channeled through high
palisades. The shores of the river and the
surrounding area are as compellingly
This secluded shoreline, at the dam above
Great Falls on the Potomac, is less than
10 miles from Washington. D.C.
beautiful and beguilingly changeable as
the river itself. The Potomac flows through
territory that changes from rural woodland
to historical Harpers Ferry at the conflu-
ence with that other fabled river, the
Shenandoah, to Great Falls, and finally to
Washington, the Nation's capital.
But this scenic and historic setting is
fragile. The pressures for development and
recreation use of the river shore are coming
to the Potomac as they have come to many
parts of the countryside within reach of
urban areas. The problem inherent in these
pressures is not so much in the changes
they engender as in the possibility that a
lack of forethought and planning will result
in unattractive and inefficient development
and needless loss of access to the river.
What can be done? I think that the first
step must be for landowners and residents
of the river area, outdoor enthusiasts, na-
turalists, and representatives of govern-
ment at all levels to get together to discuss
their common interests. No one group with
an interest in the Potomac, and certainly
not the Federal Government, should dictate
to the others how the river shore should be
used in the future. What is needed and what
will work is a cooperative study and plan-
ning process involving local. State, and
Federal Governments and private interests,
with each contributing equally what it does
best. The result would be a collection of
recommendations on the appropriate use of
each section of the river which would be
supported by all interested parties.
This forum of citizens and governmental
representatives would have an important
agenda. It would identify locations along
the river which are either ecologically
fragile or important because of their po-
tential for wildlife, recreation, and scenic
beauty. Land management techniques such
as easements, public access agreements
with private landowners, and other methods
can be employed to enable the goals of the
area people to be carried out. It should
make plans to provide for the protection
and promotion of such existing uses of the
area as farming and forestry and those
industries and other developments which
are consistent with acceptable goals. The
forum should also provide standards for
recreational use of the river, which will
indicate, for instance, the kinds of uses
that are appropriate for various sections of
the river.
The forum would also have a more
general agenda for planning. Among the
elements to be included in a plan would
be a statement of the values that the plan
would be intended to protect and which
would guide future planning and develop-
ment; a proposed boundary map of the
area to be covered by the plan; a descrip-
tion of the role of local officials and citizens
in the planning and management of the
area; recommendations for land use and
conservation; recommendations for the
coordination of local. State, and Federal
programs and policies with each other and
with private interests; recommendations
for places where public use will be allowed;
recommendations for financing the plan;
and recommendations for the way the plan
for the area should be managed.
This would not be planning imposed by
outsiders, but a cooperative effort by
the people most affected by decisions about
land use along the river and the govern-
mental bodies responsible for enforcing any
legally binding decisions. Furthermore,
none of the recommendations would be
effective unless they were ratified by the
appropriate level of government and the
necessary ordinances and laws adopted.
A whole range of steps to guide future
land use could be recommended, encom-
passing local or county zoning ordinances
for some areas; purchase of easements and
development rights in order to keep certain
lands in their existing use; public purchase
for protection or recreational development
in another type of area; and no change in
other sections of the river. These recom-
mendations would be made only after a
careful study of the needs and character of
the Potomac shore area and after public
hearings. Such a process would result in a
plan that would have local public support
and would assist in decision-making for
land use along the Potomac River.
In the last Congress I introduced a bill
embodying these concepts. It called for the
establishment of a 30-member commission
to prepare the kind of plan I have described.
The majority of members of the commis-
sion were to be residents of the area along
the river. Citizens would be represented
by members with an interest in outdoor
activities and conservation. The com-
mission would also include representatives
from State government and Federal agen-
cies. The recommendation of the commis-
sion would be advisory with no official
standing until the appropriate governing
bodies had acted on the recommendations.
I expect to introduce a bill along these lines
again in the 96th Congress.
But the cooperative effort that I think is
necessary does not have to wait for Federal
legislation to go forward. If the people and
the governments in the Potomac Valley
want to plan ahead for the changes that
inevitably come to any area, then they can
work together voluntarily. Because local
efforts and support are vital to the process
that I have described, I think that a volun-
tary planning group might be successful.
The Interstate Commission on the Potomac
River Basin could be the agency through
which a voluntary effort is begun. The op-
portunity should not be lost to give the
citizens of the Potomac River area a voice
in the future of their land. D
JUNE 1979
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A
River
for the
People
By Robert Humphries
Chattahoochee means "River of
Flowered Stones" in the Creek
Indian tongue. It is a river, yes, but much
more. Poet Sidney Lanier celebrated the
river in Song of the Chattahoochee. "Out of
the hills of Habersham, down the valleys of
Hall, I hurry again to reach the plain." It
was the last barrier for the bluecoats of
Billy Sherman to cross before they burned
Atlanta. The river flowed quietly on as the
South's great metropolis rose like the
phoenix from the ashes of a great civil
conflict.
More recently, the annual Chattahoochee
Raft Race was listed in the 1977 Guinness
Book of World Records as being the world's
largest outdoor participant sport. Some 20-
30,000 people float the river every May in
homemade "floats," inner tubes, rafts, and
canoes while over a quarter-million specta-
tors gather to watch the festivities along
the river bank.
Sound like an interesting place?
It is. It's also one of America's newest
National Recreation Areas.
Its designation as an NRA last August
was the culmination of an eight-year effort
for river protection by citizens, several
Federal agencies—including EPA—the
State of Georgia, and local governments.
Among those chiefly involved was
Barbara Blum, before her appointment as
EPA Deputy Administrator in 1977.
Participants in the annual Chattahoochee Raft race are in a festive mood.
8
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Informed that a sewer was to be con-
structed down the river bank, she took the
lead—in bringing together the varied inter-
ests, the canoers, rafters, fishermen, home-
owners, and water supply interests.
"There were those who said it would
never work—{he coalition on the project,"
Blum said. "They were wrong, very
wrong."
Blum and her "river rats" found a sym-
pathetic ear in both the then—Regional
Administrator of EPA, Jack Ravan, and the
then—Governor Jimmy Carter.
The results?
First, the sewer line was redesigned so
that damage to the riverbank beauty was
minimal, even to thousands of feet of tun-
neling through spectacular cliffs in the
palisades section of the river.
Then, with support from the Governor,
and with the sponsorship of State Repre-
sentative Elliot Levitas, Georgia's first
major land-use law, the River Protection
Act, was passed in 1973, putting develop-
ment controls on a 2,000-foot corridor
a long the river.
Later, as a Georgia Congressman, Levitas
shepherded the NRA bill through the House
of Representatives.
Private donations of land and use of
State and local funds made available almost
1,000 acres of land along the river in
several tracts for public use.
All along, the need for designation na-
tionally was recognized since the project
was of national significance.
In the 1972 election campaign, an aspir-
ing candidate for the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives was approached by the river
protection groups. Once contacted, Andrew
Young agreed to support the effort, probably
a key factor in his election to the Congress.
Shortly afterward. Young, now U.S. Repre-
sentative to the U. N. helped to introduce
the first of a series of bills to establish the
National Recreation Area. On the Senate
side, another Georgia freshman, Sam
Nunn, lent his support, carrying forward
identical legislation.
"Andy and Sam's leadership in Washing-
ton, "Blum said, "made a critical differ-
ence. They gave visibility to our efforts, and
they pressed our case before the
Congress."
Still, there were setbacks.
Finally, in 1979, designation of the
Chattahoochee as a National Recreation
Area became a reality. Established were
14 separate sites varying from 40 to 1,000
acres along a 48-mile stretch of the river
from Atlanta to Lake Sidney Lanier. These
sites will provide for varied riverine recrea-
tional and educational experiences as well
as better control of non-point sources and
unwise development.
Why is all this important? The Chatta-
hoochee feeds water to industry and one-
third of Georgia's population. It also does
much more, fulfilling needs which are per-
haps even more important to modern urban
people. Closely surrounded by high density
urban development, on the river one is not
aware of these everyday scenes. Rather,
vistas ranging from pastoral to rugged
mountain wilderness confront and make
peace with the eye and soul.
While eight out of ten residents of metro
Atlanta depend on the Chattahoochee for
water for home and business, the recrea-
tional and educational opportunities are
equally important. Where else can cheap
mass transit carry inner-city children to
experience and learn the wonders of the
natural world we all depend on? Youngsters
can learn Whitewater techniques. Fly fisher-
men fish the southern-most trout streams in
the Nation. In a metro region of 1.7 million
people, over 2 million a year use the river
for recreation.
Perhaps the best comment about
this National Recreational Area is that
of President Carter when he signed the bill
in the White House Rose Garden: "It's a
rare occurrence when within the city limits
of one of our major cities one can find cool
water and trout and free canoeing and
rapids and the seclusion of the earth the
way God made it." Q
Robert Humphries is the Director of the
Office of Congressional and External Affairs
in EPA's A tlanta office.
JUNE 1979
9
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Protecting
the Urban
Environ-
ment
By Vernon E.
Jordan Jr.
Vernon E. Jordan. Jr.
President, National Urban
League
Children race along cluttered
New York City street.
Coalition-building has always
been a prime strategy of
the civil rights movement, and
it is important, in this age of
growing concern about the
environment, that a working
coalition be achieved with
environmentalists.
A key step in building that
coalition was made early in
April at the national conference
on the urban environment, aptly
called City Care. The confer-
ence was co-sponsored by a
number of Federal agencies, the
National Urban League, the
Sierra Club and the Urban En-
vironment Conference and
Foundation.
The meeting's sponsors sym-
bolized the growing concern of
black groups for environmen-
tally-caused health hazards
among minorities, the shifting
focus of environmentalists to
urban problems, and the gov-
ernment's continuing interest in
protecting the environment.
The new negativist mood of
the Nation demands that groups
working for constructive change
join in creative coalition efforts.
Otherwise all would be
swamped by reactionary trends.
But coalition also means that
the partners understand each
other's priorities.
For blacks relegated to the
margins of our society, the pri-
ority has to be jobs. That's why
so few blacks have evidenced
sympathy for proposals to limit
growth. Supporters of slow and
no-growth theories claim that
the real issue isn't economic
growth—making the pie bigger
—but how the wealth we have
is distributed.
But black people know that
our best, perhaps only, chance
to achieve economic parity lies
through expanding the national
economy and getting a bigger
slice of that growth. In a no-
growth economy, the white
majority isn't going to give up
part of its share so that minor-
ities can enjoy economic
equality.
So a major challenge to this
emerging coalition lies in de-
vising policies of environmen-
tally sound economic growth.
Advocates of solar energy have
met this challenge by demon-
strating how widespread use of
solar energy could create many
jobs for the urban poor who
lack skills.
Another area of cooperation
could be in the regulatory
sphere. Cries for ending Fed-
eral regulatory efforts nearly
always center around the very
agencies responsible for clean-
ing up our air and water and
making workplaces safer. Black.
people have a stake in this.
Black neighborhoods are most
affected by pollution while
black workers are often locked
into the most hazardous jobs
that are most liable to result in
health and safety risks.
And environmental concerns
have to be defined broadly. Too
many people think of the envi-
ronment in purely physical
terms. But the "environment"
of human beings refers to all
external factors affecting people
—economic and social, as well
as physical.
So an effective coalition
around the urban environment
has to be concerned with eradi-
cating rats, with improving hous-
ing conditions, and with creat-
ing jobs.
Poverty is itself a major
cause of the degradation of the
black environment. Unemploy-
ment is related to higher inci-
dence of health problems. Slum
living contributes to increased
hazards assumed by the poor.
A recent study found that
children who do poorly in
school may have learning dis-
abilities related to high lead
content in their bodies, lead that
comes from auto exhausts and
polluted air, lead that is more
frequently found in poverty
neighborhoods.
The nuclear incident at the
Three Mile Island plant was in
progress while this urban envi-
ronmental conference was un-
der way. It provided a frighten-
ing example of the importance
of environmental concerns to
poor people.
By throwing the future of
nuclear energy into question,
the incident made energy an
issue of immediate concern.
The Administration promptly
moved to deregulate oil prices,
something that will hit the poor
hardest.
Poor people use less energy
but spend more of their incomes
for it. Although the energy
crisis has been around so long
it's getting gray in the beard, no
plan has ever been devised to
shield the poor from the spiral-
ing cost of energy.
Here's an example of an issue
this emerging coalition can run
with. It can come up with pro-
posals to defend the interests of
poor people in energy matters,
and fight to get them passed. Mo
one else is doing the job. It's a
key test of whether the con-
cerned groups can move beyond
rhetoric to effective advocacy
for the urban poor.D
10
EPAJOURNAL
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Action on
Hazardous
Wastes
CD /V is gearing up to in-
L. I /\ vestigate about
300 hazardous waste dump
sites per year that could pose an
imminent health hazard.
EPA Deputy Administrator
Barbara Blum said that as many
as 50 prosecutions per year
could be expected from the
300 investigations. EPA esti-
mates that as many as 1,200 to
2,000 dump sites around the
country may contain wastes that
could develop into imminent
health hazards.
Blum joined Michael J. Egan,
Associate Attorney General,
U.S. Department of Justice,
in Denver, Colo., to open a
strategy session of EPA and
Justice Department staff con-
sidering the hazardous waste
problem.
The EPA Deputy Administra-
tor announced three key ele-
ments in the new enforcement
. thrust:
• Existing personnel in all ten
EPA Regional Offices will be
diverted from other duties to
concentrate on high priority
cases in the next few months.
This could involve at least 50
staff members in Headquarters
andthe Regions.
• EPA is seeking a supplemen-
tal appropriation in the Fiscal
Year 1980budgetfor $131
million and about 190 positions
to investigate and do legal case
work on dump sites.
• Legislation will be submitted
by the Administration to Con-
gress to set up a national fund
for emergency response and
containment at hazardous waste
sites. A new liability scheme
would be used a long with tradi-
tional injunctive and enforce-
ment relief. The fund also
would apply to oil and haz-
ardous materials spills.
"Beginning in FY '80," Blum
said, "we hope to be able to
refer as many as 50 cases per
year to Justice for prosecution.
In those cases where Federal
legal action is impossible, we
intend to provide legal and tech-
nical support to assist State and
local governments for appropri-
ate cleanup action."
"As money becomes avail-
able for hiring full time staff,"
Blum said, "we can return ex-
isting staff to their present jobs.
In the meantime, everyone must
understand that this problem is
receiving the highest agency
priority. Where imminent health
hazards exist, they must be
dealt with promptly by Federal,
State, or local authorities."
Blum also released a status
report on the 103 dump sites
identified last November as con-
taining hazardous wastes, plus
32 others identified since then.
The new report shows that facts
are being collected and evalu-
'ated at 44 sites for cleanup or
litigation. The summary also
shows that no hazard exists in
nearly half of the sites, but that
monitoring continues to ensure
protection of public health. EPA
declined to identify the spec'fic
cases under intensive investiga-
tion for legal reasons.
"We are encouraging and
assisting States to take lead
responsibilities in all phases of
this effort," Blum said. "We
will support them and take the
lead where necessary. But the
fact is that this problem is so
large, and the potential threat
so compelling, that all available
resources by all agencies at all
levels of government must be
broughtto bearon the problem."
Blum also announced that
EPA is awarding a $4 million
demonstration grant to the New
York State Department of Envi-
ronmental Conservation to help
clean up Love Canal. The Fed-
eral funds will be matched by
$4 million in State money to
complete construction of a
trench and tile chemical collec-
tion system for the remaining
contaminated areas of the
Canal. The funds will also be
used for leachate treatment,
monitoring, and epidemiologN
cal studies and the considera-
tion of land use alternatives and
rehabilitation.
"Nationwide, people are
frightened. Some are outraged.
Others may be entirely unsus-
pecting," Blum said at the Na-
tional Enforcement Investiga-
tions Center in Denver. "Many
are asking if their homes sit
astride a dump, long ago cov-
ered up and abandoned. They
want to know if their drinking
water is contaminated, if the
lives of their children are in
danger. They want to know what
to do, who to hold accountable
and what steps the government
is taking."
''President Carter and the
Congress are asking questions
like these: What needs to be
done to protect the public health
and safety? How do we sort
through the issue of legal liabil-
ity? How should victims be
compensated? What resources
are needed to clean up? The
waste must be stored some-
where—how do companies
properly transport, treat, store,
and dispose of the material?
"Clearly, hazardous wastes
represent one of the most seri-
ous problems the Nation has
ever faced, a problem which
will only be solved by the best
efforts of all levels of govern-
ment, of industry, and of the
public," Blum continued.
Let there be no mistake about
the seriousness of the situation,
Blum warned. She gave these
examples:
• Toxic wastes seeping out of
underground storage units pose
deadly hazards to human health
and the environment.
• EPA estimates that 80 to 90
percent of the hazardous wastes
produced in the U.S. are not
being disposed with adequate
safeguards.
• Seventy-five percent of the
inactive and abandoned sites
may have to be cleaned up at
public expense.
• "Gypsy hauling" and "mid-
night dumping" practices are
widespread.
"We must move—at a speed,
on a scale and with a precision
greater than ever before....
The fact is that the challenge
before us is so large and the
potential danger so deadly that
there is no alternative," the
EPA Deputy Administrator said.
The threat has been labeled
"the sleeping giant of the dec-
ade," Blum added. "I agree,
with one exception. The mon-
ster is not dormant, and it
hasn't been."
"Eight months ago, a tragedy
in Niagara Falls, N.Y., focused
public attention on what already
was a deep and growing con-
cern to the government—the
horrors of toxic chemical
wastes.
Subsequent incidents—in
Kentucky, in Iowa, in North
Carolina and scores of other
States—have confirmed many
of our worst fears, underscoring
and accelerating our commit-
ment to act." D
JUNE 1979
11
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Protecting
the
Crown Jewels
By Cecil Andrus
Secretary of the Interior
12
EPAJOURNAL
-------
In 1916, the Congress established the
National Park Service within the U.S.
Department of the Interior and said that its
purpose was "to conserve the scenery and
the natural and historic objects and the wild
life therein and to provide for the enjoyment
of the same in such manner and by such
means as will leave them unimpaired for
the enjoyment of future generations."
Shortly before that time, the population
of the United States passed the 100 million
mark. Today, that population has more than
doubled, to around 220 million.
The task which the Congress set before
us, therefore, has become much more com-
plex and difficult. Many of the environmen-
tal problems of our society have impinged
upon the National Park System, now grown
to 322 sites in 49 States.
In Alaska, however, we still have a
chance to prevent the mistakes of the past.
We still have a chance to preserve whole
ecosystems. We still have a chance to do it
right the first time. This was the spirit be-
hind President Carter's proclamation of
potential park areas as national monuments
last December, pending final Congressional
action.
Our Alaskan lands proposals fit well into
the overall philosophy of the Department of
the Interior. We are concerned with man-
agement of resources in a manner that
strikes a balance between preservation and
development.
Unless this balance is struck, we are
doomed to lose some of the scientific, cul-
tural, historic, and living resources no
longer available in any other part of the
country. In the lower 48 States, I am sad to
say, we already have lost some important
conservation battles, and we have had to
engage in what I call environmental
"salvage operations."
More battles will be lost, some involving
our superb national park areas, if we are not
vigilant and active. At the present time,
there are threats of remarkable diversity to
the National Park System.
Many of these threats come from activi-
ties on adjacent lands and waters. Raw
sewage discharged by communities or
passing vessels can wash up onto national
seashores, runoff from residential develop-
ments can drain directly onto meadows
and natural wooded areas, and industrial
dyes can change the color of a park creek.
Pesticides used in farming have found
their way to National Park System lands,
and mining is a major polluter near some
units. Developments on adjacent lands
have lowered the water table in some parks,
and others are plagued by the untimely
discharge of water from dams.
Air pollution is a serious problem, and it
has many sources, ranging from heavy
industry to automobile emissions to the
incineration of garbage. Noise from cars,
boats, airplanes, and industry is another
form of pollution, and the location of an
industrial complex near a park can create at
best an eyesore and at worst a potential
public health problem.
The National Park Service, under my
stewardship, is working to alleviate situa-
tions of this nature. Progress has been
made, and it will continue to be made. We
now have the legislative tools to work for
reasonable solutions of many of the
Nation's environmental ills.
One of these tools is the Clean Air Act of
1970, as amended in 1977. In my judg-
Lake surrounded by spruce forest in pro-
posed Gates of the Arctic National Park,
Alaska.
ment, no Federal agency, other than the
Environmental Protection Agency, will be
more involved or have greater responsibil-
ity in the restoration and preservation of
the Nation's air resources than the National
Park Service.
Over the next two years, the 1977 Clean
Air Act amendments, which provide for the
prevention of significant deterioration of air
in clean air areas and for the improvement
of visibility where it has been impaired in
some of the scenic vistas of our Class I
parks, will require the Service to make
specific recommendations to the EPA and
to the States on whether to permit the con-
struction outside park boundaries of new
major pollution-emitting facilities or to
require existing facilities to apply retrofit
pollution control technology.
The Service manages 48 areas coming
under the mandatory Class I designation by
Congress—areas where only minimal
amounts of deterioration in air quality are
permissible.
Aerial view of the Ten Thousand Island area
of the Florida Everglades.
The park service is taking this responsi-
bility seriously. An Air Quality Program has
been established, and the agency is hiring
the technical experts necessary to get the
job done. Many of these individuals pos-
sess skills that are new to the National
Park Service.
Air quality monitoring is underway in
several Class I western parks. In 1977, the
Department of the Interior helped relocate
a proposed 3,000-megawatt coal-fired,
electric generating plant in south central
Utah because it would have caused air
pollution in Capitol Reef National Park,
only seven miles away. A more suitable
location for the power plant was found by
a Department of the Interior task force,
working closely with the State of Utah.
We will not hesitate, therefore, to take
all actions possible within existing authori-
ties to see that the air quality in our national
JUNE 1979
13
-------
parks, which are the crown jewels of our
Nation, is the best attainable.
Our approach wilt be the same concern-
ing water quality. The Federal Water Pollu-
tion Control Act of 1972 and the 1977
amendments known as the Clean Water Act
call upon us to make our concerns known
and to sss/sf the States in setting standards.
A problem we are studying closely is the
relationship between air pollution and
water pollution. Acid rainfall could damage
the water quality and vegetation of many of
our national parks as well as harm cultural
and geologic structures. In Great Smoky
Mountains National Park in Tennessee and
North Carolina, there is evidence of acid
rainfall in the headwaters of streams. It is
thought that the changes it brings about
disturb lifecycles of stream species, includ-
ing the eastern brook trout. Air pollution
also has caused the tips of white pines on
the Blue Ridge Parkway to turn brown. Sit-
uations such as these are being studied
closely by the National Park Service's new
Air and Water Resources Division.
Within the parks, we are working to up-
grade substandard or out-moded water sys-
tems and eliminate or improve the effluent
discharges. All wells in the National Park
System are monitored periodically for bac-
teriological and chemical contamination.
When problems are found they are
corrected immediately.
In recent years, in response to legisla-
tive requirements, the National Park Serv-
ice has begun a push to update sewage
treatment facilities throughout the System.
In the present fiscal year, 43 parks have
water supply and sewerage improvement
projects underway, at a cost of almost
$19 million.
Noise pollution is another problem af-
fecting our parks. It has received the most
publicity in Jackson Hole, Wyo., but there
the National Park Service, the Federal Avia-
tion Administration, and the Jackson Hole
Airport Board are currently developing a
noise abatement plan which will establish
tolerable decibel levels for aircraft serving
the airport.
We have lost some environmental bat-
tles, but we have won a few, too.
Among the significant successes was the
effort to protect the precious redwood trees,
some of them among the world's tallest and
oldest living beings, by adding 48,000
acres to Redwood National Park in northern
California. At the same time, through grants
from the Economic Development Adminis-
tration, we were able to protect the eco-
nomic well-being of loggers and mill work-
ers whose jobs were displaced by the
expansion of the park.
To protect the Indiana Dunes National
Lakeshore, the Northern Indiana Public
Service Company—which operates two
coal-fired generating plants and is now
building a third, nuclear-powered, unit
nearby—has agreed to sea! its fly-ash set-
tling basins from which an estimated 1 mil-
lion gallons of water seeped onto the lake-
shore each day. Indiana Dunes now has
both air and water quality specialists on
its staff.
Equally important is the review each
year, under the National Environmental
Policy Act, of approximately 1,400 Fed-
eral projects that could have an environ-
mental impact upon a Park System area.
This review results in substantive com-
ments on about 15 percent of the projects.
If an adverse situation is not alleviated to
our satisfaction, we can submit the case to
the Council on Environmental Quality for
mediation. We have done this in two
instances, both with favorable results.
The Corps of Engineers' Fire Island Inlet
to Montauk Point Hurricane Protection and
Erosion Control Project on Long Island
called for dredging 5 million cubic yards of
sand from off shore to nourish the dunes.
Our study revealed that the proposal would
cause environmental damage to the natural
processes of Fire Island National Seashore,
located on the barrier island off the south
shore of Long Island, noted for opportuni-
ties for beach recreation and ecological
observations.
At CEQ's request, the Corps is reform-
ulating its plan, and will work closely with
14
EPAJOURNAL
-------
the Department in analyzing alternatives
and carrying out some landmark environ-
mental studies. This work will greatly in-
crease our knowledge of this important
coastal ecosystem as well as enable us to
protect its ecological, recreational, and
economic value to the Nation. At the same
time, it will minimize the hazards to life and
property associated with coastal flooding
and erosion.
The National Park Service and the Corps
of Engineers also are working to revise the
Corps' Central and Southern Florida Flood
Control Project to provide maximum pro-
tection to the watershed of the Big Cypress
National Preserve and Everglades National
Park.
These are examples of our interest in
protecting park resources from external
threats. Equally important is our concern to
protect the environment of our parks from
internal threats.
It is important that the park visitor have a
pleasing experience. We are working to
reduce traffic and other congestion in our
national parks. This is a goal, for instance,
of the draft master plan for Yosemite Na-
tional Park. It calls for reduction of facili-
ties and traffic in Yosemite Valley and
elsewhere in the park.
We also are moving ahead on environ-
mental education, an idea that has been
around for a long time, but one that now has
added impetus with the creation of a new
division in the National Park Service.
Environmental education wilt be a role
for interpreters at the six parks selected as
demonstration sites for energy conserva-
tion in the System—Independence National
Historic Park in Philadelphia, Grand Can-
yon National Park in Arizona, Colonial
National Historic Park and Shenandoah
National Park in Virginia, Fort Sumter
National Monument in South Carolina, and
Colorado National Monument in Colorado.
The National Park Service hosts almost
300 million visits a year to the Nation's
most magnificent and noteworthy natural
and cultural sites. The leadership of the
agency is dedicated to making it the "flag-
ship of the Federal fleet" in environmental
protection.
In this endeavor, it has my full support.
The American people, and their future gen-
erations, deserve no less. Q
Visitors explore the sunken forest in Fire
Island National Seashore just outside
New York City, (top)
Plane approaches landing strip over Jackson
Hole National Park, Wyo. (far left!
Campers enjoy sweeping view at
Chilkoot Pass, Sitka, Alaska, (left)
JUNE 1979
15
-------
Splendor
in the
Rirks
The great National Primeval Parks of
America are examples of the pristine
beauty of the continent before the white
man came.
They were set up to preserve the most
perfect specimens of the natural environ-
ment for the enjoyment of present and
future generations.
They can be thought of as fragments of
the past, but better as symbols of the future
of a high civilization within which men will
re-establish a fruitful relationship with
nature.
When Yellowstone Park was established
in 1872, the march of European civilization
across North America to the Pacific Coast
had already been completed and the rail-
roads had brought agriculture and then
cities and industrialization into what had
been unbroken wilderness.
More and more units were added to the
National Park System during the next 50
years in an effort to preserve outstanding
examples of untouched wilderness for the
present and future. The National Park
Service was created in 1916, and Stephen
Mather, the founder of the Service, estab-
lished the National Parks Association, later
the National Parks and Conservation Asso-
ciation, as a private monitor organization in
1919, sixty years ago.
The purpose of the Service, as provided
in the Act, was to protect the scenery and
the historic structures and artifacts in the
parks and to preserve their wildlife while
making them available for enjoyment by
compatible methods.
The task of preservation has been a diffi-
cult one all down the years. Private organ-
izations like NPCA have supported the
Service but at the same time served as
constructive critics.
Always there were tendencies to build
too many roads, and to permit excessive
commercial activity by concessioners.
As the Nation grew in numbers of people
and as they acquired greater mobility and
leisure, traffic increased in the parks to the
point where enjoyment of the natural fea-
tures was impaired for visitors.
Protection can be achieved within the
parks by careful planning and management.
16
-------
By Anthony Wayne Smith
ion
Free shuttlebuses are being established
(albeit slowly) to reduce auto traffic. Public
transit can be developed from outlying
communities into the parks, again reducing
traffic.
Facilities can be moved out of the parks
and relocated in surrounding communities.
Visitation can also be redistributed into the
surrounding National Forests, other public
lands, and private lands on the periphery.
An effective interdepartmental planning
system-is needed to accomplish these re-
location and redistribution functions.
Preferably it should be at the Cabinet or
White House level. Operations should turn
around comprehensive outdoor recrea-
tional regional plans of much greater scope
than any plans which can be developed
exclusively inside any park.
But after all is said and done as to man-
agement and planning within the parks and
adjacent public lands, the fact remains that
the National Parks are seated within the
entire national environmental setting, and
cannot be protected without attention to
that setting.
For example, one of the problems in the
wilderness parks is the deterioration of air
quality over the parks. This has been true
quite notably in a number of the southwest-
ern national monuments, affected by coal-
burning power plants fueled from strip-
mining operations on the public domain.
It has been true also in the Boundary
Waters Canoe area, threatened with dan-
gerous air pollution from the proposed
Atikokan power plant in Canada.
Air pollution problems of this kind can
be approached to some extent by raising
the standards for air quality on a regional
basis, and conservationists have done so.
But the great cyclonic storms which move
from west to east across the country really
do not know any regional boundaries. As
air pollution has increased all over North
America, and everywhere else on the
planet, air quality has declined, regardless
of location.
Mule deer at Yosemite with Half Dome rising
in the background.
And so, if the National Wilderness Parks
are to continue as good samples of the
world as it was before the industrial age,
and as examples of what it could be in the
future, conservationists and environmen-
talists must tackle the problem of air quality
all over the country for its'own sake.
The problem of water quality is certainly
no different. There is hardly a National Park
in America which does not include streams
arising from outside its boundaries. As
things were going until the American pgo-
ple became serious about water quality,
these watercourses were tending toward
serious pollution from mining, agriculture,
the clearcutting of timber, and municipal
and industrial wastes.
There is very little that can be done
inside a park about river pollution arising
outside the boundaries. Needless to say,
the National Park Service can and must
control pollution from visitation and facili-
ties inside the park, and where trouble
arises on public lands outside the parks, a
measure of control can be obtained by
interagency planning. But beyond that
point, water pollution inside the parks is
tied inevitably to pollution in the upstream
communities, and the full sweep of the
environmental protection laws must be
brought into play at that point.
Real estate development is another prob-
lem. There have always been inholdings of
private land inside the parks which occa-
sioned a great deal of trouble. Adverse uses
of these holdings were almost inevitable as
efforts to abate them resulted in furious
political controversy. These properties are
now being acquired, and perhaps the diffi-
culties will be eliminated in due course
with fair consideration for the interests of
the people involved.
On the other hand, real estate develop-
ments are creeping up to the edges of the
parks. Long vistas are being destroyed. Air
pollution is a consequence. The glare of
settlements blots out the stars at night. In
many units of the System, particularly
those located close to cities, such as the
Santa Monica Mountains National Recrea-
tion Area near Los Angeles, the pressures
of crowding and traffic are destructive. This
is part of the picture of the urban sprawl
which is destroying farmlands, woodlands,
wetlands, and open space all over America.
Much as they might like to restrict their
focus, conservation organizations are con-
stantly relearning the lesson that they can-
not protect their special concerns, whether
parks, forests, wildlife, wilderness, or
whatever, without attention to the general
environmental situation within which their
peculiar concerns are set.
Wildlife populations, such as, for exam-
ple, the elk in Yellowstone, move outside
the National Parks on a seasonal basis.
Most of the parks were not set up on a
foundation of ecologically intact regions.
And so, when habitat is destroyed by min-
ing, logging, grazing, and agriculture, wild-
life in the parks may suffer serious damage.
The long views from high places in the
National Parks frequently reach out across
the privately owned timbertands. When
these holdings are clearcut. the majestic
outlooks which characterize the parks are
destroyed. Moreover, the secluded nooks
in the forests within which campers might
enjoy the woods are no longer there to help
with the overflow of visitation from the
crowded National Parks. Management
practices in the forests around the parks
affect the parks in both ways.
The silences of wilderness are among
the finest experiences in the parks. Few
people realize how the noise of the cities
has surrounded us in recent generations
and changed the entire quality of our
environment. The agricultural countryside
was a quiet thing, particularly at night, and
the woodlands and wilderness beyond it
were deeply embedded in silence. The roar
of the motors of automobiles, trucks, and
airplanes can shatter silence. Noise carries
a long distance, and can often be heard in
the parks as an intrusion from surrounding
communities.
The glare of lights from surrounding
towns and cities, now a constant phenome-
non all night, rises as an urban aurora into
the skies and can destroy the genuine ex-
perience of night in the wilderness. Astron-
omers who struggle to use their big tele-
Contmuedto page 26
JUNE 1979
17
-------
New Coal
Standards
By John Heritage
Clean air over Bryce Canyon, Utah,
enhances vistas.
Tighter Federal air pollution standards
for new coal-burning electric power
plants have been issued, EPA Administrator
Douglas M. Costle has announced. These
final rules are substantially more stringent
than the current standards and will permit
greatly increased coal use without in-
creasing national sulfur oxide and par-
ticulate emissions.
"These new standards," Costle said,
"will help protect air quality by substan-
tially reducing emissions from new coal-
fired plants."
18
EPAJOURNAL
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These rules will, in effect, require sulfur
dioxide removal devices called scrubbers
on all 350 new power plants expected to
be built in the U.S. between now and
1995. Costle said EPA considers scrub-
bers the best technology available today
for controlling sulfur dioxide pollution.
These standards, however, do not pre-
clude the use of emerging technologies,
which may prove viable for controlling
sulfur dioxide in the future.
"Nationally," he said, "sulfur dioxide
emissions from the new plants will be
reduced to half the levels allowed by the
existing standard. Particulate emissions
will be 70 percent lower and nitrogen
dioxide will be 20 percent lower."
Costle said the new standards will
"allow the country to move forward with-
out disruption to fully develop coal re-
sources while supplying energy growth
needs and easing dependence on imported
oil."
"It will preserve our options for future
growth by not allowing our clean air re-
sources to be consumed by power plants,"
he said.
All types of coal (high and low sulfur)
mined in this country can be burned under
the new standards.
In 1975, 647 million tons of U.S. coal
were produced. By 1995, under the new
standards, coal production will nearly triple
the 1975 level. Coal production will in-
crease in all regions of the country com-
pared to 1975 levels.
Under the current standards, utility
annualized costs are expected to be $175
billion per year in 1995; the new stand-
ards will increase this annualized cost by
$3.3—$3.6 billion, or two percent. The
new standards will increase the average
monthly residential electric bill in 1995
by about two percent over the current
standard.
"None of these percentages, of course,
take into account the benefits that the
public will experience, such as cleaner
air, better health, more room for necessary
or desirable growth; and the preservation
of visibility in the West," Costle said.
The standards contain provisions en-
couraging the development of control
technologies other than scrubbers for
power plants. For instance, commercial
demonstration permits can be granted
to allow less stringent pollution require-
ments for initial full-scale demonstration
plants. If it is found that an emerging
technology cannot achieve the applicable
standards, but offers superior environ-
mental performance, alternative standards
could be established by EPA.
On December 23, 1971, EPA issued the
original new source performance stand-
ards to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide,
paniculate matter (dust material) and
nitrogen dioxide from power plants.
Since that time, the technology for
controlling sulfur dioxide and the other
pollutants has improved. Today, emissions
of sulfur dioxide (which can irritate the
upper respiratory tract and cause lung
damage), particulate matter (which can
cause breathing problems and respiratory
illness), and nitrogen dioxide (which can
cause bronchitis and pneumonia) are still
a national problem. In 1976, power plants
contributed 65 percent of all U.S. sulfur
dioxide emissions, 29 percent of all nitro-
gen dioxide emissions, and 24 percent of
all particulate matter.
New Source Performance Standards
are issued under authority of Section 111
of the Clean Air Act. This Section requires
EPA to set direct Federal emission limita-
tions for categories of industries whose
air pollution causes or contributes to the
endangerment of public health or welfare.
Each new power plant also undergoes a
case-by-case review, in which States can
set tougher standards for new power
plants than the Federal nationally appli-
cable standards.
David Hawkins, EPA Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Air, Noise, and Radiation,
said EPA expects that tougher require-
ments may well be imposed in specific
cases to provide added protection for
national parks and other very clean air
areas.
Emissions from major power plants and
copper smelters are already harming the
view in 12 national parks and recreation
areas in the Southwest, says Barbara
Brown, air quality program manager for the
National Park Service. The parks range
from Mesa Verde in Colorado to the Petri-
fied Forest in Arizona.
Visibility in the whole Southwest
dropped 10-30 percent between the early
1950'sand 1970's, according to a study
sponsored by EPA's Environmental Sci-
ences Research Laboratory in Research
Triangle Park, N.C.
In the Northeast visibility dropped 10 to
40 percent at suburban and rural locations
in this same period, according to another
EPA study. The median visual range in the
Northeast is now about 12 mi les, with sum-
mer the worst season for visibility.
In the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments,
Congress designated visibility as one of the
treasures to be protected in the Nation's
pristine. Class I areas, including many na-
tional parks and wilderness areas and some
Indian reservations. (The "Class I" status
was provided in the Clean Air Act.)
Congress noted that the beauty of a
scenic vista can lead to real economic
benefits. Said a House Interstate and For-
eign Commerce Committee report: "Cer-
tain areas of the United States depend
upon their intrinsic beauty and historical
and archaeological treasures as a means of
promoting their economic viability."
"In particular," the report continued,
"areas such as the Grand Canyon and
Yellowstone Park are areas of breathtaking
panorama; millions of tourists each year
are attracted to enjoy the scenic vistas."
Administrator Costle said then:
"We support the concept in the House
bill of controlling emissions from sources
affecting visibility over certain pristine
Federal lands. This is an important
goal.. . ."
The focus is on the West, because it has
75 percent of the Nation's Class I areas.
JUNE 1979
19
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The clean western air is also the most
threatened, due to energy development.
It would be impracticable to revise the
national ambient air quality standards to
adequately protect visibility over the whole
country, the House committee report
added. A clear air standard good enough
to protect the Grand Canyon probably could
not be achieved in New York City.
However, Class I areas in the East are
being included under the protective um-
brella by EPA and Federal land managers,
though the pollution is more complex.
Shenandoah National Park in Virginia prob-
ably is getting haze from Baltimore, Wash-
ington, D.C., and Richmond, says Brown of
the Park Service.
Explaining why visibility has become a
national concern receiving special atten-
tion. Brown says, "Finally everything came
together." Kaiparowits highlighted future
dangers; Congressional staff learned about
existing pollution on their western trip;
present approaches to protect the view were
inadequate, and environmentalism in-
creased the awareness of visibility's value.
With the new national mandate, EPA
will launch the following actions to
protect visibility, according to Hawkins:
• Issue a list of Class I areas where
visibility is an important value. The Admin-
istrator published a proposed list in Febru-
ary, naming 156 of 158 mandatory Class I
areas. Not named were Bradwell Bay, Fla.,
and Rainbow Lake, Wis., national wilder-
ness areas mostly limited to short range
views. (Mandatory areas are those desig-
nated under Federal law.)
• Make a report to Congress spelling out
ways to achieve a national goal of visibility
protection. Expected this summer.
• Give advance notice of proposed reg-
ulations, including public information meet-
ings. Expected this summer.
• Propose regulations. Expected late this
fall. Under the Congressional Act, final
regulations must require State air quality
plans to take two steps: provide for a long-
term strategy for meeting the national goal;
require best available retrofit technology on
sources less than 1 5 years old and which
are or may be expected to damage visibility.
• Publish the results of three technical
support efforts along with the proposed
regulations. Included will be a workbook
for State and Federal land managers in
assessing visibility impact, an analysis of
the effects of the proposed regulations, and
guidance for adopting best available retro-
fit technology on large power plants.
• Issue regulations. Expected in the
summer, 1980.
Also, under the Congressional mandate
Federal land managers have a responsibil-
ity to protect visibility anc} other air quality
related values in Class I areas. For instance,
in its Clean Air Act role the National Park
Service will review the visibility impact of
energy projects now proposed near two
western parks, Zion and Bryce Canyon.
Hawkins foresees two main accomplish-
ments from the Federal-State visibility
protection effort.
"Over the short term," he says, "we can
install very good pollution control tech-
nology on existing sources that are affect-
ing visibility—some large power plants for
example.
"Over the long term we're going to have
to depend on programs to clean up the
copper smelters that are operating in the
southwestern U.S. and on programs that
accommodate growth in a way that mini-
mizes its effect on visibility both by reduc-
ing emissions and by sensible decisions on
siting."
(Congress exempted the copper smelters
from having to install best available control
technology in the near term. But Hawkins
points out the States themselves aren't
precluded from requiring tighter controls
on the smelters.)
As they design controls, regulators need
to know more about visibility pollution. The
physical laws governing the problem are
well known. But the intangibles—like the
rating a park visitor attaches to a view—
aren't, The ability to predict how visibility
will be affected by pollution from a certain
source is also incomplete.
EPA is helping fill the gaps. Plumes from
industry and cities in the Southwest are
being tested by plane. The aim is to learn
the chemical and optical characteristics of
a plume, giving it an identifying signature.
Such details are needed for a model that
will do the job of forecasting visibility pol-
lution. It is a crucial step in regulation.
EPA scientists from Research Triangle Park
are leading the work.
Second, a network of visibility-measur-
ing devices called telephotometers is being
set up in national parks in southern Utah
and northern Arizona. The object is to pro-
vide a yardstick that marks good visibility
now and compares it with changes in the
future. The EPA Environmental Monitoring
and Support Laboratory in Las Vegas is
doing the study with the National Park
Service.
Meanwhile, the Park Service will study
visitor reactions to visibility damage
in the parks to define an "adverse effect"
as seen by the human eye.
One of the toughest questions facing
regulators is how to protect visibility from
the hazes of tiny particles one-fiftieth as
wide as a human hair. Whether EPA can
deal with this problem soon, Hawkins says,
depends on making a convincing case that
connects specific amounts of sulfur dioxide
pollution from a source or collection of
sources with specific effects from fine
particles far downwind.
Visibility can be improved. A copper
smelter strike in the Southwest in 1967-68
showed what could happen. The view im-
proved 5 to 25 percent within 150 miles of
the smelters. Sulfate counts dropped
dramatically in the Grand Canyon and
Mesa Verde national parks 200-300 miles
from the main group of smelters.
The view in the Southwest also improved
from 1972-76, when strides were made
toward the goal of adequate pollution con-
trols on smelters, a preliminary EPA study
shows.
Some other air pollution problems will
benefit as the view clears up. The hazes that
blight visibility can also cause acid rain,
erode cultural treasures, and damage soils
and vegetation. They may even be affecting
global climate.
In high enough concentrations the same
tiny particles dimming the view can also
affect health. They can elude the body's
defense system and penetrate deep into the
lungs. "What we see out there can harm
us," commented one EPA technician.
Hawkins is optimistic that the current
visibility out West can be preserved with
the program now under way. Actually im-
proving it where needed will take longer,
he says.
It's a major responsibility, the Assistant
Administrator adds. "The Federal Govern-
ment is probably the only institution that
the people of this country can rely on to
preserve the good visibility that we have.
If we let the vistas of the West become dis-
colored and blurred and filled with haze,
I don't think that future generations would
forgive us and I don't think they should." n
John Heritage is an A ssistant Editor
of EPA Journal.
20
EPAJOURNAL
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Clean Water
Bonus
By Chris T. Delaporte, Director,
Heritage Conservation and
Recreation Service, U.S.
Department of the Interior
\A/ ill people have access to the Nation's
• • waters as they are restored to fish-
able and swimmable conditions? Will all
Americans be able to realize the outdoor
recreation benefits these waters will
provide?
At the Heritage Conservation and Rec-
reation Service In the Department of the
Interior, we believe that the clean water
effort can help meet public recreation and
open space needs. We are developing
practical programs to include people's
needs for outdoor recreation in the Nation's
water clean-up effort,
Our program is the focal point in the Fed-
eral Government for planning, coordinating,
and financing public recreation. In fulfilling
its Congressional mandate, our agency
helps government and private interests to
conserve and develop outdoor recreation
resources for the benefit of present and
future generations.
'
Garden plots are available at Springbrook,
The treatment center is in the background.
Recreation Opportunities
at Wastewater Treatment Sites
The billions of tax dollars invested in clean-
ing up our Nation's waters can simultane-
ously provide attractive and useful open
spaces and opportunities for recreation.
Wastewater treatment plant sites offer
tremendous potential for public recreation
while fulfilling community sanitation needs.
Recreation at these sites in turn increases
public awareness of and support for water
cleanup efforts.
The Clean Water Act of 1977 is a break-
through in affirming multiple land-use. Un-
der Sections 201 and 208 of the Act, EPA
grant applicants must analyze and identify
recreation and open space opportunities
that can be expected to result from im-
proved water quality. Grant funds received
from EPA for planning specific projects can
be used for identifying recreation and open
space opportunities at project sites.
EPA and our agency have a program un-
derway to help EPA grant applicants incor-
porate recreation and open space consid-
erations into plans for sewage treatment
plants. A memorandum of understanding
signed by Administrator Costte and Sec-
retary Andrus in November, 1978 coordi-
nates the programs of the two agencies.
Shortly thereafter, we and EPA jointly
sponsored a two-day national workshop in
Chicago entitled "Water Cleanup and
Recreation." A summary report of the
workshop will be available this summer.
Following the November workshop,
several Regional Offices of EPA and our
agency held strategy meetings to determine
how to implement the provisions of the
memorandum in their region. Many of the
Regional Offices have developed plans to
provide technical assistance through re-
gional workshops, training, publications,
and demonstration projects.
One example of significant activity in
this area is the Southeast region, where
we and EPA have generated significant
local interest. For instance, a Council of
Governments workshop on recreation plan-
ning and water quality management was
held in Raleigh, N.C., in April for local
officials and interested groups.
Several instructional materials prepared
by us to supplement this program are now
available. These include a Questions-and-
Answers pamphlet on Water Quality Man-
agement (Section 208) and Construc-
tion Grants (Section 201), a brochure that
describes implementation of the recreation
and open space requirement, and an audio-
visual presentation which focuses on in-
corporating recreation in wastewater
treatment planning.
One of the provisions of the memoran-
dum of understanding is that EPA is to
assure that State and local water quality
agencies consider priorities as stated in
the State's Comprehensive Outdoor Recre-
ation Plan. The Recreation Plan establishes
the State's policies and objectives for
providing recreation resources, and also
identifies funding priorities. Preparation of
a Recreation Plan also allows a State to
receive its apportionment under the Land
and Water Conservation Fund.
Land and Water
Conservation Fund
The Land and Water Conservation Fund
currently apportions about $370 million
annually to the States to acquire land for
recreation uses and to develop recreation
facilities. The total apportionment to the
States will increase to over $500 million
annually from 1980-1989 under recent
amendments.
Land and Water Conservation Fund
grants are matched locally on a 50-50
basis, and can be used to provide for
recreation at a wastewater treatment
facility site by constructing facilities
such as access trails, bicycle paths, boat
launches, etc. The local match can be in
the form of a donation of privately-owned
land. The land would not necessarily have
to be located next to the facility site, but
would have to be located within the munici-
pality's boundaries. Further information
on Land and Water Conservation Fund
grants is available from the State Outdoor
Recreation Liaison Officer or from one of
our Regional Offices.
Multiple Land-Use at
Wastewater Treatment Sites
The multiple land-use of publicly funded
wastewater treatment sites is not new.
Many treatment sites have been success-
fully incorporating recreation and open
space into their land-use plans for years.
Examples of sewage treatment plant
sites that provide for recreation include
facilities in Naperville, 111., New York
City, and Evergreen, Colo. The Springbrook
regional water reclamation center in Naper-
ville provides a canoe launch, access trails,
picnic shelter, play areas, vegetable plots,
and an educational center. New York City's
Coney Island wastewater treatment plant
leases part of its site to the local boys club,
which has installed a football field with
bleachers and a roller hockey rink. Two
heavily-used tennis courts lie on top of the
wastewater treatment plant in Evergreen
as a result of a lease agreement between a
local group and the sanitation board.
Abandoned treatment plants also offer
significant potential for recreation uses.
This has been successfully accomplished in
This football team practices on land leased
by the local boys club from the Coney Island
wastewater treatment plant.
JUNE 1979
21
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Miamisburg, Ohio, where an abandoned
plant was recycled into an innovative play-
ground that provides wading and swimming
pools and sandboxes.
Though there have been many accom-
plishments, relatively few of the 13,000
wastewater treatment plants already con-
structed in this country provide for recre-
ation. Surely many of the sites these plants
occupy, which often involve large parcels
of land, could provide dirt trails, paved
walk/bikeways, and boat launches if
appropriate.
There are another 6,000 wastewater
treatment plants in the U.S. currently under
construction or planned. There is great
potential for these sites to provide needed
recreation and open space. Considering
public recreation and open space opportu-
nities early in the planning or construction
process permits the full exploration of a
site's potential. Construction costs are less
when recreation facilities are completed at
the same time the plant is being built and
the surrounding area is being landscaped.
Clean Water and the National
Rivers System
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,
passed in 1968, affirmed the protection of
river resources and the concept of a na-
tional system of wild, scenic, and recrea-
tion rivers. Four years later, restoring the
Nation's waters to fishable and swimmable
conditions by 1983 wherever attainable
became a national priority through passage
of the Clean Water Act Amendments of
1972. These amendments also required
that programs that are designed to provide
for recreation must be an integral part of
the water cleanup effort.
The massive public investment in im-
proving water quality by necessity will shift
away from structural water pollution con-
trol programs. In the future, water quality
management planning and implementation
programs will involve land-use determina-
tions as a means of controlling sources of
water pollution. Thus, regulating land re-
sources along rivers will be an element of
critical importance in the water quality and
national rivers system efforts. Both of these
efforts will manage virtually the same water
and land resources and will use compat-
ible methods to achieve complementary
benefits.
Coordinating all Federal, federally as-
sisted, State, and local river management
programs represents an exceptional oppor-
tunity to achieve environmental and recrea-
tional goals, and to do so in a cost-effective
manner. We are working on recommenda-
tions to accomplish this marshaling of
government resources. Some of the recom-
mendations will be included in the Nation-
wide Outdoor Recreation Plan, undergoing
final revision in our agency and due to
come out later this year as a Presidential
message to Congress.
Local residents use the boat ramps at the
Springbrook regional water reclamation cen
ter in Naperville. III. to launch their canoes.
Urban Waterfront Study
We recently completed an Urban Water-
front Study, which focuses on the present
and potential role of recreation and heritage
resources in urban waterfronts. The results
of the study will be published soon. We are
developing recommendations for a national
urban policy on these waterfront resources.
There are 415 cities in the U.S. with
populations of 50,000 or more. Seventy
percent of these cities are located on water;
thus the potential for urban waterfronts to
meet America's recreation needs is great.
These recreation activities not only include
water-oriented activities such as boating,
swimming, and fishing, but also water-
enhanced activities such as picnicking,
walking, sunbathing, sightseeing, and
playgrounds for children.
Much has been achieved across the U.S.
in developing urban waterfronts for recrea-
tion uses. In Denver, Colo., the Platte River
Development Project, which includes
parks, boating facilities, and a 10-mile
paved walk/bikeway, is almost complete.
The landscaped "River Walk" in San
Antonio, Tex., has over 40 different sets
of stairs to provide access from street
level.
In Ann Arbor, Mich., the Huron River
Greenway includes a paved walk/bikeway
connecting the central and north campuses
of the University of Michigan plus picnic
areas and a boat launch. The Point State
and Roberto Clemente Parks in downtown
Pittsburgh, Pa., contain a museum and
miles of paved walkways where the Alle-
gheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers meet.
Urban Park and Recreation
Recovery Program
A new Federal program that can offer as-
sistance to urban waterfronts is the Urban
Park and Recreation Recovery program.
This effort is authorized at $150 million an-
nually over the next five years to help cities
rehabilitate their deteriorated parks and
develop innovative recreation programs.
The program is administered by our agency,
and it emphasizes an ongoing commitment
to park and recreation planning as a part of
the grants process. Its impact on urban
waterfronts is likely to be felt for years to
come.
The Urban Park and Recreation Recovery
program is an outgrowth of the National
Urban Recreation Study, conducted by
us and others in the Interior Department
and published in early 1978. The concept
of the new program was included in the
President's March, 1978 urban policy mes-
sage to Congress, and the bill creating it
was introduced in May, passed in October,
and signed into law November 10. This
shows that studying a recognized problem
or need of society can result in a tangible
program to provide solutions.
Children romp in an innovative playground
built on an abandoned sewage treatment
plant at Miamisburg. Ohio.
Conclusion
As the Nation's water quality improves, the
value of land adjacent to our water re-
sources will rise sharply. Unless we act
swiftly, this could result in many of our
waterfronts becoming accessible only to
people who can afford the high costs of
waterfront homes and docking facilities.
If we do not take action now at our
wastewater treatment plant sites, we run
the risk of building large facilities that
represent an intrusion on public land and
provide one singular public benefit. Invest-
ing a little extra money, well below one
percent of the total cost of a treatment
plant, enables these sites to become at-
tractive and useful for other public needs.
Achieving good water quality is essen-
tial for ensuring public health and main-
taining our environment. The national
effort to restore, maintain, and protect our
water resources can at the same time be
harnessed at relatively low cost to meet
our public recreation and open space
needs. Q
22
EPAJOURNAL
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Sailboats on Lake Michigan participate in the annual race from Chicago to Mackinac Island.
The
Great Lakes
Revisited
By Susan Nelson
* * I t's a matter of time—and gasoline—
I for us," says a young Milwaukee at-
torney who takes three children and a dog
along when she and her husband plan week-
end getaways. "Going to one of the Great
Lakes is perfect for four days of camping
and fishing. We can drive, and I don't think
we'll ever run out of new beaches and coves
to explore."
A retired Michigan couple who shud-
dered along with most of the Nation 10
years ago at the thought that Lake Erie, and
perhaps all of the Great Lakes, was about
to die, admit they bought a boat and began
sailing to the tiny fishing villages that
abound along Lakes Michigan and Huron
for just that reason. "We decided we'd
better see these Great Lakes we've always
been so near before they succumbed to
aging ... or we did. And you know what?
The people we've met who live along them
—Swedes, Indians, Germans, Canadians,
even 'old salts' like us—are friendly, and
they always seem genuinely concerned
about cleaning up pollution problems that
remain."
"We give a damn about that lake, I'll tell
you that," says a steelworker in Gary,
Ind. A member of Local 1010, United
Steelworkers of America, he grows passion-
ate when he speaks about Lake Michigan
and the Environmental Committee his un-
ion has formed. In his part of the country at
this time of year, fishing is the chief par-
ticipatory sport, and one of his committee's
activities involves taking members' com-
plaints—perhaps about a steel mill's illegal
outfall—to Region 5 EPA and then follow-
ing up on corrective measures, from the
inside. "So far, so good," he says. "The
cohos and chinooks and lake trout that are
stocked each year are responding to cleaner
waters."
Recreation is booming along the Great
Lakes. It follows on the heels, and perhaps
on the promise, of EPA's efforts to maintain
and restore the U.S. share of the lakes' 65
trifiion gallons of fresh water, a whopping
95 percent of the fresh water in the United
States and the largest reservoir of drink-
able, navigable water in the world. As word
of cleanup efforts and successes spreads,
scientists from governments around the
world are coming to talk about the Great
Lakes and to see for themselves what ad-
vances are being made in controlling pollu-
tion. The visitors say such information is
invaluable for helping" them to go home and
save their own fresh-water lakes.
What, then, about these Great Lakes?
One thing is sure: Even the people who live
along them aren't reeling from an overdose
of knowledge about them. Dr. Wayland R.
Swain, head of EPA's Large Lakes Research
Station on Grosse lie, south of Detroit, tells
a story about an open house he and his staff
held last December.
"Probably a thousand school children
JUNE 1979
23
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Couple strolls the shore at Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore.
Four National Lakeshores of the Depart-
ment of the Interior are located on the Great
Lakes, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
on Lake Superior near the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan; Apostle Islands National Lake-
shore, on Lake Superior near Bayfield,
Wis.; and Sleeping Bear Dunes, on Lake
Michigan along Michigan's lower penin-
sula, all provide thousands of acres for
cnmping, hiking, and exploring.
The fourth and smallest, Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore, however, has one thing
no other place in the country can claim—
service by the Chicago, South Shore &
South Bend Railroad, the very last of the
Nation's all-electric, interurban railways.
Preserving the train, which carries 4,000
commuters each weekday, became a con-
cern of environmentalists within the last
few years because the South Shore's
"parent," the Chessie System, asked per-
mission from the Interstate Commerce
Commission to suspend passenger service.
EPA's Environmental Impact Statement
found that such a suspension would ad-
versely affect the already poor air qual-
ity along its south Chicago route. A record
number of riders and sympathizers turned
out in subzero January weather for hear-
ings, and the little interurban with its 50-
year old cars won a reprieve.
Last summer, shortly after mass transit
plans to share funds for new rail cars were
announced, environmentalists won another
battle. They were able to convince railroad
officials to permit a gravel-topped fiagstop
for South Shore riders who wanted to head
to ttit National Lakeshore without using
autos that would pollute the dune grasses
and wetlands.
Fiagstop service continues this year,
depositing passengers just across the street
from ttin park's visitors' iter, within
walking distance of several historic farm
uildings and Lake Michigan's shores. O
came through, around 4th grade through
high school. As they started the tour, we
asked them if they could name the lakes.
How many do you think could name all
five?" From his face you know it wasn't
many.
"Three," he says, still a bit taken aback.
He adds, "As a group the kids could name
them all." He doesn't add that surely, after
an hour's tour explaining the Great Lakes
ecosystem and how it works, along with a
bit of history about the lakes, the names
Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and
Ontario will be permanently imprinted.
Sometimes called the world's eighth
sea, they have formed a necklace strung
across the top of North America since the
glaciers receded some 12,000 years ago.
The five lakes work as a system: Whatever
finds its way into Superior, for instance,
slowly but surely finds its way into Lakes
Michigan/Huron and Lake Erie, the Niagara
River and Lake Ontario and, an estimated
six or seven hundred years later, into the
Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence
Seaway.
There is much more to know about
these mighty inland seas:
• Since 1972, when the U.S. and Canada
signed the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement (amended and re-signed In
1978), nearly $4 billion has been spent on
the U.S. side for new and improved munic-
ipal wastewater treatment facilities. U.S.
industry has also spent a substantial, if
undetermined, sum to effect a cleanup as
required by law.
• The eight States located along the
Great Lakes' 4,039 miles of U.S. shore—
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York—
also snare in the cleanup of the Great
Lakes. So do some 80 counties and many
municipalities, as well as a growing
number of universities and a dozen or so
Federal agencies in addition to EPA.
• While Canada shares the Great Lakes,
she may seem to have more reason for
concern about their caretaking: Although
an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. popula-
tion lives along the lakes and in the Great
Lakes Basin, nearly 60 percent of Canada's
population lives on the northern border of
these lakes. Canada also may seem to
respond more quickly to Great Lakes prob-
lems; While the lakes are unevenly divided
between the eight States that border them
(see box), in Canada it is primarily the
Province of Ontario that is concerned with
Great Lakes matters.
• The Great Lakes are the reason the
Midwest became the steely spine of the
United States. Iron ore from the shores of
Lake Superior and limestone and coal from
other lakes' shores were barged to either
the south end of Lake Michigan or to the
eastern shore of Lake Erie. Mining, com-
mercial fishing, paper mills, wineries, and
fruit growing—all furthered settlements
along the Great Lakes, where one-fourth of
U.S. industry now is located.
• The Great Lakes are obviously the
agricultural outlet for America's heartland.
Grain has been a commercial cargo on
the Great Lakes since 1678. And it was
grain shipped across the lakes in 1973
that stimulated trade with the USSR.
• Navigation and commerce on the Great
Lakes are a significant, if little considered,
use of the lakes. The Soo Locks, which
lie between the twin cities of Sault Ste.
Marie, Mich, and Ontario, handle more
tonnage per year than do the Suez and the
Panama canals combined.
• The Great Lakes moderate climate, just
as mountain ranges and oceans do. The
lakes have sudden fogs and 10-foot waves
that can turn uneventful cruises into savage
encounters with unexpected rocks and
sandbars.
Yet, despite their capricious weather,
the Great Lakes are once again growing as
tourist attractions. They used to be popular
vacation spots when people traveled close
to home. Great Lakes passenger ships plied
the waters regularly. But as people's tastes
became more exotic the Great Lakes began
to lose out. Interstate highways cut off the
small, quaint hotels and communities along
the lakes. And, by the late 1940's, sea
lampreys had all but devastated the lake
trout and other sports-ftsh populations. Just
as commercial fishing had nearly wiped out
freshwater sturgeon and considerably
thinned lake whitefish populations.
By 1959, when the St. Lawrence Seaway
opened, silvery alewives were being
noticed in the Great Lakes. Since they no
longer were hunted down by the larger fish
EPA scientist on board EPA research vessel
is drawing water quality samples from the
Great Lakes.
24
EPAJOURNAL
-------
lathers flock to the shore of Lake Michigan from downtown Chicago.
such as lake trout, which had fallen victim
to the rasp-mouthed lampreys, the alewives
were nearly responsible for choking off the
tourist business that remained. During
several summers they clogged water in-
takes of the cities, such as Chicago, that
take drinking water from the lakes. The
stench from the alewives rotting by the
thousands on beaches and in the shallows
made swimming and boating unappealing.
The Great Lakes lifestyle lost its appeal, and
the tourist industry continued its decline.
However, conditions are now improving.
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission,
founded by U.S.-Canadian Convention in
1955, was given the sea tamprey and asso-
ciated problems to solve. After lampricides
were applied to the lakes, salmonids—lake
and other trout and Pacific salmon such
as cohos and chinooks—were planted in
the waters. Alewives became their food.
controlling part of that problem. The States
also began to use the harvest of alewives
for fishmeal and other products.
So, on one level, it is fishing that has
brought about the rebirth of Great Lakes
recreation. Lake Michigan is probably the
best example. In 1966 the State of Michi-
gan first stocked a full range of sport fish,
beginning with 660,000 coho salmon. By
1977 Michigan stocked 2.3 million cohos;
the other Lake Michigan States brought that
year's total of coho fingerlings to 3.087
million.
How many were caught? In 1975, the
last year for which statistics are available.
Lake Michigan yielded close to six million
fish to anglers: nearly one million cohos
(and half a million chinooks), a million
trout of various colors, and three million
yellow perch among them. Lake trout, which
the Fishery Commission hopes to see be-
come the mainstay of the Great Lakes, have
been planted nearly 6.9 million strong since
1976.
And sport fishing, including tackle and
lodging, licenses and boating equipment,
has become what is said to be a $500
million industry along the Great Lakes. It is
growing rapidly, and as new areas of the
lakes or their tributaries become clean
enough to support young fish, the sport ex-
pands again. (Commercial fishing, which
now amounts to an estimated $ 100 million
industry, has taken a back seat to the boom
in fish-stocking programs for sport
fishermen andfisherwomen.)
Something else has been restricting fish-
ing, and that of course is toxic substances.
New York State imposed a ban on fishing
in the Niagara River and Lake Ontario in
1976, after the pesticide mirex was found
to be seriously contaminating those waters.
Coincldentally, the economic impact of
that ban was logged by Tom Brown, a
Cornell University research associate who
had begun a study in 1973 of New York's
stocking program in the Salmftn River,
which flows into Lake Ontario.
Between 1973 and 1975, the study re-
veals, local purchases related to fishing
along the Salmon River jumped from
$ 61,000 to $440,000. In 1976 they
dropped, just as abruptly, when the pollu-
tion-related ban cut in half the number of
fishermen who returned.
Although statistics are not so specific
for other Great Lakes fishing areas, it is
known that PCB's, which continue to be
found in lake trout and larger fish of other
species in the Great Lakes, may be dampen-
ing the enthusiasm of would-be fishermen
and women. PCB's have ravaged the com-
mercial fishing industry; they will very
likely be found to be holding back further
development of the sport fishing industry,
too.
Business Week recently reported that
the FDA's consideration of lowering allow-
able PCB levels in fish from 5 parts per
million to 2 ppm means a "growing threat
to Great Lakes fishing" and predicted $18
million in losses for commercial fishing.
Facts About The Great Lakes
Maximum depth, by lake (in feet)
MFIes of shoreline, by
Superior
397
Huron
281
Michigan Erie
229 64
Ontario
237
Minnesota 180 (Superior)
Wisconsin 785 (Superior, Michigan)
Illinois 63 (Michigan)
Indiana 45 (Michigan)
Michigan 2,232 (Superior, Huron,
Michigan, Erie)
Ohio 312 (Erie)
Pennsylvania 51 (Erie)
New York 371 (Erie, Ontario)
(from New York Tlmts Encyclopfdic Almanac. 1970}
JUNE 1979
25
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The resulting loss in sport fishing could
also be major.
Most of the eight Great Lakes States
issue advisories on the consumption of
fish caught in those lakes. These ad-
visories vary: They are based on each
State's samples and analyses, as well
as on EPA and FDA tests. They also vary
because some States are more cautious
than others, just as some fishing enthusi-
asts are more worried about PCB's than
others. If a general rule emerges, it is to
limit to one meal a week large fish caught
in the Great Lakes, and to trim away the
fat in which PCB's accumulate. In several
States pregnant women and preschool chil-
dren are advised to avoid Great Lakes fish
altogether because of possible PCS
contamination.
Regardless of fears and warnings about
toxic substances in fish, the sport of try-
ing to catch a fish has turned Great Lakes
boating into big business. Having a boat
means being^able to get off shore, bridge, or
pier and onto the waters with the inlets and
rocks that the choicest fish prefer. And
boating is the most lucrative aspect of
recreation on the lakes, with an estimated
rate of growth of 10 percent a year.
For instance, in New Buffalo, Mich.,
not far from Chicago, a marina that accom-
modated 250 boats in 1973 today has twice
that many slips—and a waiting list of 300.
The Buffalo, N.Y. harbormaster has said
that he gets three times as many requests
for moorings as he can provide. In Chicago,
moorings are so highly prized that bribes
to get them {reportedly up to $3,000 a
season) not too long ago landed a string of
park district waterfront employees in jail.
The story is the same all over the Great
Lakes: There are more boats and people
who want to buy boats than the shores of
the lakes can handle.
Shore properties, which were generally
owned by wealthy families, are slowly
coming onto the market. If the buyers are
not real estate developers cashing in on
the market for lakeside condominiums, they
tend to be government agencies, which buy
the land in order to convert it to public-
access use—boat launches, harbors, parks,
beaches, whatever.
The need for marinas is also great.
Marinas offer pump-out sanitation facil-
ities, which several Great Lakes States
now require to protect water quality.
And swimming in the Great Lakes? The
appeal varies. Chicago, whose entire lake-
front is a tawny-sand beach, is packed with
sun-seekers from the earliest warm day of
the year to the last. But many of the areas
along the Great Lakes that are open to the
public have rocky shores or high bluffs—or
beaches that have suffered serious erosion.
The waters themselves not only have under-
tows but also temperatures that are too
chilly most of the summer for any but the
hardiest swimmers.
Pollution gave Great Lakes beaches a
bad reputation. Pollution also probably ex-
plains the number of swimming pools to be
seen in the yards of homes in wealthier
residential areas anywhere on the lakes.
But even the beach situations are chang-
ing. Sterling State Park beach in Monroe
County, Mich, opened again in 1978
for the first time since 1961: Homes in a
nearby township were finally hooked up
with a newly completed sewer system.
Beaches north of Chicago, in some of the
Midwest's wealthiest suburbs, were custom-
arily closed after heavy rains until last
summer, when the North Shore Sanitary
District completed its system to protect
Lake Michigan from pollution. Only the
State of Ohio hasn't acted to ban high-
phosphate detergents from Lake Erie.
There are still a few exceptions to the
rule of improvement, notably in the Mil-
waukee area and in sections of Indiana,
both on Lake Michigan, near Saginaw Bay
on Lake Huron, and along Lake Erie, near
Cleveland and in Dunkirk and Cedar, N.Y.
But the beaches are improving. The
editor of a Chicago publishing company
who grew up near Chautauqua Lake, N.Y.,
tells an experience shared by many. She
begins by remembering family trips to Lake
Erie for several weeks each summer during
the late 1940's and early '50's.
"Suddenly—it must have been around
1956," she says, "the beaches were closed.
The water looked gray. People talked about
unsafe conditions and disease, and even
the fishing boats where we used to buy
smoked fish were abandoned."
Two summers ago she returned home for
a visit and decided to take her two young
nephews swimming to an inland lake near-
by. "My parents asked if I didn't want to
take them instead to Lake Erie. I was
amazed. All this time, I had thought it had
died. But the water looked clear; we could
see bottom. Fish are coming back; we saw
fishermen hauling them in. The beaches are
open again. Even the smoked fish are being
sold again.
Meanwhile, findings of the Great Lakes
National Program Office, located in Chi-
cago, suggest that some of the efforts to
stop and to contain Great Lakes pollution
seem to be working. Q
Susan Nelson is a writer-editor with the
Great Lakes National Program in EPA's
Chicago Regional Office.
Splendor
In the Parks
Continued from page 1 7
scopes in the vicinity of cities like Los
Angeles understand the problem. Conser-
vationists should get together with astron-
omers to focus all this light on the ground,
not the sky. In any case, it shows how the
parks are seated within the entire
environment.
The Historic Parks, including the battle-
fields, are in many ways the greatest suf-
ferers from the advances of traffic, sprawl,
and industrialization all around them.
Established as rural areas where historic
events occurred, they once looked out upon
rolling countryside with a background of
wooded hills or snowy mountains. Now all
too often the view is one of city streets and
tall buildings, and at night the vista is
ablaze with glare.
In brief, the present problems of the
National Park System arise not so much
from difficulties of internal management,
nor the management of the public lands
around the parks, but from the deterioration
of the natural environment everywhere in
the Nation. This comes down to the need
for strict regulations and strict enforcement
in respect to air pollution. Environmental-
ists are not likely to stand still very long for
any substantial retreat from high national
standards. You could say that people are
not about to go on being poisoned by dirty
water or smothered by foul air. This is
probably going to be a fundamental atti-
tude, and one not likely to be softened very
much by p|eas for compromise.
It also means that we have to get urban
sprawl under control. The protection of all
our farmlands, not merely prime lands, will
be imperative as food shortages develop at
home and abroad as a result of prolifera-
tion. The policies of EPA looking toward
restrictions on sewage facility grants,
which merely lead the way toward sprawl,
will help to get scatterization under control.
Another approach could be a restraint on
subdivisions by limitations on on-lot dis-
posal systems, to prevent build-ups result-
ing later in the need for costly sewers and
treatment plants. Federal assistance of
many kinds could be conditioned on the
enactment of suitable local ordinances. We
might save a bit of the countryside that
way; a buffer zone could be established
between the cities and the wilderness
parks.
Assuredly, the parks are set within the
entire national and continental environ-
ment. Only when Americans resolve to
restore a natural setting for their lives in
every respect, will primeval conditions be
restored and protected permanently in the
National Parks. Q
26
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Environment
and World Tourism
By Dominique Larre
Teams of mountaineers climbing Anna-
purna or Mount Everest, visitors to the
Pyramids in Egypt, pilgrims to Lourdes and
Mecca, and yearly participants in Ger-
many's Wagner Festival are examples of
the variety of reasons that people travel.
Increasing numbers of citizens from the
richer countries use part of their income
and leisure to escape polluted cities and
seek better climates, clean beaches, beau-
JUNE 1979
Many tourists travel to Switzerland tor mountain views such as this, at the village ofMurren.
27
-------
tiful landscapes, historic sites, and differ-
ent people. These tourists benefit from
cheaper, faster, and safer transportation,
and a growing variety of accommodations,
managed by the tourism industry.
Pleasure travelers fall into two catego-
ries: "sunlust" and "wanderlust." The
"sunlust" tourists are stay-at-homes at
heart and seek lodgings as close to their
environment as possible. The "wanderlust"
tourist is more likely to hop around in
search of extraordinary experiences. The
tourism industry can satisfy both custom-
ers, but the "sunlust" type is more easily
pleased in large numbers.
There are two types of regions where
tourism can have an adverse impact: areas
where facilities are satisfactory for the
local population, but insufficient for large
numbers of visitors, and places that lack the
bare necessities.
Priorities'for environmental concern also
vary greatly from country to country. In
heavily industrialized countries, visitors
worry about the potential long-term health
risk of toxic substances in otherwise safe
drinking water. In some less-developed
countries, the most urgent environmental
concerns are the basic sanitation problems
that Europe and North America solved dur-
ing the nineteenth century. Recently, en-
vironmental protection as it relates to
development has expanded from the simple
idea of industrial pollution control to a
broader concept that includes natural and
social issues.
Because of the many forms of tourism,
and of priorities for environmental concern,
the relationship between tourism and en-
vironment is complex and still far from fully
understood. Several individuals and institu-
tions have analyzed the relationship be-
tween tourism and environment. Professor
Jost Krippendorf, Director of the Swiss
Tourism Federation, has written a book on
tourism that parallels the role of Rachel
Carson's "Silent Spring" in environmentaf
matters. In 1975, the Economic Commis-
sion for Europe convened a symposium on
the relationship of the environment and
tourism.
In 1976, the International Office for
Social Tourism held a seminar on tourism
and environment in Tunis. Mohamed Tangi,
a planning officer for the United Nations
Environment Program, reported on tourism
aspects in Ambio, the Swedish environ-
mental magazine.
Development Forum published two ar-
ticles by Jacques Buguicourt, Director of
Environmental and National Development
in Africa, Dakar. The Centre for Trans-
national Corporations has launched major
studies on the subject. The Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development
Council may soon consider a recommenda-
tion on environment and tourism. The fol-
lowing briefly summarizes the major issues
and recommendations.
Issues
First, a sound environment is necessary to
attract tourists. In spite of their enormous
potential, developing countries still attract
relatively few tourists. Studies have shown
that likely visitors may be put off by the
feeling that environmenta! sanitation is in-
sufficient. They have a particular fear of
intestinal diseases, and of the common
diarrhea complaint called "turista," a term
reflecting insufficient medical understand-
ing by natives of the problem.
Excellent guidelines on sanitation for
tourism are available from the World Health
Organization, but implementation is hardly
possible in many countries, without overall
improvement in the quality of life for the
whole population.
Second, tourism is based on enjoyment of
a clean environment, where it is still avail-
able, by people from urban areas whose en-
vironment has been degraded. But the in-
dustry that attracts these tourists is self-
defeating, since itbuilds, for example, cities
on the beach to accommodate them. While
tourists help give a monetary value to the
conservation of rare wild species or historic
monuments, too many hordes of them visit-
ing national parks or famous sites can en-
danger protected areas. Some 1,500,000
visitors—i.e., 3 million feet—were tramp-
ing around the Parthenon in Greece every
year before protection measures had to
be taken.
Third, the tourist industry is accused of
ignoring the fragility of the local social
structure that must adjust to tourists. Social
relations are less resilient than natural eco-
systems. As major economic benefits of
tourism escape the poorer, local population,
the people can become hostile or servile to
visitors. In developing countries, though
tourism helps transmit modern ideas, the
tourist's idleness and extravagance may
well lure natives away from their tradi-
tional, hard-working lifestyles, which are
needed for future development.
Recommendations
The first environmental concern for tour-
ism is space. Any sound tourism policy
starts with land use planning. Classification
is the tool. Some part of a country or a
region should be set aside for relaxation
and recreation.
Once primary recreation areas are set,
they can be preserved by prudent and bal-
anced management of other development
which could encroach on them. Each coun-
try should choose legal and institutional
patterns to achieve this effect.
Actual siting of tourist facilities should
not be decided without careful considera-
tion of environmental criteria. Water re-
sources are particularly sensitive to tourist
activities.
The local population must have a major
role in decision-making on tourism-related
issues: Where should facilities be located?
How big should they be? Well-planned
tourism also requires a careful evaluation of
costs and benefits.
Governments must coordinate invest-
ments in facilities for tourism with major
development plans, particularly with road-
building and sanitation.
Developers must create a careful bal-
ance between excessive concentration of
tourist housing, which can create sky-
scrapers in formerly pristine areas, and
excessive dispersion, which leads to
suburban sprawl. The protection of wooded
areas is particularly important.
The automobile is a friend of the tourist
when properly controlled. Regulation is
only one of the available tools to prevent
environmentally harmful auto use that can
result in air pollution, noise, and road acci-
dents. In the most important historic sites,
a combination of investments in good
approach and bypass roads will be
necessary.
Concern about the social dangers of
tourism does not mean opposition to real
intercultural contact. Countries such as
Canada, Tunisia, and Turkey have made
sophisticated attempts to develop tourism
without destruction of the social
environment.
It is unsound to develop tourism to the
point where the local population has be-
come too busy to be hospitable. When
tourists spend vacations with local families,
the presence of foreigners can change life-
styles without a brutal breakdown in the
local social fabric, but this is difficult to do
with an entire industry.
One of the greatest risks to the environ-
ment where tourism develops is the spiral
of real estate speculation. The establish-
ment of a public agency to control the pur-
chase and sale of land can do much for
environmental protection. So can efforts to
guide architectural designs, using local
materials and designs which blend in with
the surroundings.
The United Nations works toward defin-
ing and implementing environmentally
sound tourism by publishing various docu-
ments (listed below) and through training
seminars, institutions, and agencies.
The World Health Organization has been
most active in the sanitation field, and the
U.N. Education, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization for the social aspects. The
28
EPAJOURNAL
-------
U.N. Environmental Program has concen-
trated on introducing tourism elements
into environ mental management in its
regional seas programs, and particularly in
action plans for the Mediterranean and the
Caribbean. UNEP and the World Tourism
Organization (WTO) have taken steps to
formalize their understanding and agree on
common goals regarding environment and
tourism. UNEP plans to support WTO con-
cerning environmental matters at the 1980
World Tourism Conference.
The most farsighted elements of the
tourist industry have been closely associ-
ated with these environmental efforts. The
industry is attempting to reassess the posi-
tive as well as the potentially harmful en-
vironmental and social impact of its activi-
ties. No industry can expect a sotid
economic foundation unless it serves the
social aim of improving the quality of life
of all the population.
Henewed local hospitality is a healthy
sign to look for in areas where the tourist
industry dominates It is not likely to be
found unless the values, policies, objec-
tives and programs of the industry incorpo-
rate environmental considerations in the
planning stage, n
Dominique Larre is Director of the Industry
and Environment Office of the United
Nations Environment Program in Paris.
Additional information on tourism and
the environment is available from the
following sources:
United Nations
Public Inquiries
United Nations, N.Y. 10017
(1) The Hole of Transnational Corporations
in international Tourism, a preliminary
survey, by John A. Dunning and Matthew
M. McQueen, draft report for the Center for
Transnational Corporations.
(2) Economic Commission for Europe.
Planning and development of the tourist
industry in the ECE Region, United Nations,
New York, 1976.
(3) Development Forum, June-July, 1977
and August-September, 1977 issues.
United Nations Environmental Program
Information Office
United Nations, N.Y. 1001 7
(1) United Nations Environment Program.
Review of the areas of environment and
development, and environmental manage-
ment. Document UNEP Report No. 3
(1978)
(2) Mohamed Tangi: Tourism and the
Environment, AMBIO, Vol. 6, No, 6,
pp 336-341. n
June 5 was World Environment Day.
Many countries held ceremonies
to commemorate the occasion, in
cooperation with environmental
organizations, conservation soci-
eties, and public interest groups.
The day was highlighted by an
official State observance in Califor-
nia, activities planned by the United
Nations Association in Chicago,
•• 4 by a formal statement from the
United Nations in New York City.
Thfl wtifltf famous Parthennn has bffti
attracting visitors in Greece fitr centum
UNL:
-------
opU
Of iht 27 new appointments to
(tivision director posts in EPA's
I 0 Regional Offices, two-thirds
were promoted from within EPA.
William Drayton, EPA Assist-
;nt Administrator for Planning
and Management, said that the
appointments were made after
examining applications from
2,000 men and women within
and outside the Federal govern-
ment. The number of promo-
tions from within the Agency,
Orayton said, "reflects the
exceptionat quality of EPA's
professional staff."
He added that of the 27 ap-
pointments, six are women and
three are minorities. "These
appointments," Drayton said.
"represent a strong commitment
to equal opportunity employ-
ment as well as our intent to
employ the highest caliber per-
sonnel we can find, both in and
out of government. The fact that
so many existing EPA managers
competed for, and were selected
for, these positions is trufy
impressive."
The new directors are:
Region 1
Charles W. Murray
Water Div.
Merrill Hohmart
Air and Hazardous Materials
Div.
Leslie A. Carothers
Enforcement Div.
Region 2
Barbara Metzger
Surveillance and Analysis Div.
Conrad Simon
Water Div.
Region 3
Greene Jones
Water Div.
Stephen Wassersug
Air and Hazardous Materials Div.
R. Sarah Compton
Enforcement Div.
Region 4
Paul Traina
Water Div.
Sanford Harvey
Enforcement Div.
Region 5
William H. Sanders
Surveillance and Analysis Div.
Sandra Gardebring
Enforcement Div
David Kee
Air and Hazardous Materials Div.
Charles Sutfin
Water Div.
Region 6
Myron Knudson
Water Div.
Diana Dutton
Enforcement Div.
Allyn Davis
Air and Hazardous Materials Div.
Region 7
Allan Abrarnson
Water Div.
Louise Jacobs
Enforcement Div.
David Wagoner
Air and Hazardous Materials Div.
i Gi " . ' ~ "
Lauift» Jacobs
-------
Region 8
David Standley
Water Div.
Robert L. Duprey
Air and Hazardous Materials Div.
Region 9
Frank M. Covington
Water Div.
Clyde Eiier
Enforcement Div.
Region 10
Lloyd Reed
Enforcement Div.
Robert S. Burd
Water Div.
Douglas Hansen
Air and Hazardous Materials Div.
An Individual Learning Center
opened recently at EPA Head-
quarters. The facility uses pro-
grammed instruction packages,
which allow the student to con-
trol the rate of material presen-
tation. The Center features a
variety of training equipment
for video cassettes, audio tapes,
and other types of programmed
instruction. Initially, courses
are available in the scientific
and technical, managerial, com-
munication, office skills, and
general interest categories. The
Individual Learning Center is
open 9 a.m. to noon and 1:00-
3:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday. EPA staffers can get
more information on the
courses available by reading
the "EPA Headquarters Train-
ing Catalog for the Individual
Learning Center", which has
been distributed to Headquar-
ters managers and supervisors.
Interested regional and field
employees may request copies
from the Headquarters Training
Center staff on (8}-245-3062.
Use by employees of the Indi-
vidual Learning Center for
continued career growth and
advancement is being encour-
aged by the Personnel Manage-
ment Division.
S piu>n Was
ACT 79 visitor Rosalynn Carter
observes wood burning power
generator with Congressional
and Washington. D. C officials,
Char
G.ven -octoi. secretary from
tht Offi Public Awareness.
vie\i t >e it the Individual
'i C iti
' '1 A/e need to regain some control over
V V our lives," said Mrs. Rosalynn
Carter. The President's wife was visiting
a model community on the Mall in Wash-
ington, D.C, The self-reliant and environ-
mentally clean town was set up for four
days in late April by ACT '79. The commu-
nity was powered by the sun, the wind, and
human labor. EPA was a major participant,
emphasizing resource recovery and helping
with waste recycling and other conserva-
tion steps.
Several hundred exhibitors and speakers
joined in the celebration of old-fashioned
American ingenuity. Sponsored by the
National Park Service and the District of
Columbia Cooperative Extension Service,
ACT '79 was conceived by an independent
board of directors. ACT '79 stands for
appropriate community technology—small,
decentralized, economically feasible
methods..
JUNE 1979
31
-------
Around the Nation
Permit Issued
Region 1 has approved an
air quality permit for the
Boise-Cascade Corpora-
tion to build a new recov-
ery boiler and smelt tank
at its pulp mill in Rum-
ford, Me. EPA determined
that the new facilities will
not result in significant
deterioration of air qual-
ity. In accordance with
regulations for preventing
significant deterioration
the Regional Office re-
viewed air quality data
and projected impacts of
the facilities and found
that ambient air quality
standards will not be vio-
lated. When the new
facilities are completed,
Boise-Cascade will retire
two older boilers, result-
ing in a net reduction of
suspended particulates,
reduced sulfur com-
pounds, and sulfur
dioxide.
Ecology Awards
EPA's Boston office re-
cently gave awards to
winners of its seventh
annual Elementary Educa-
tion Ecology Poem and
Poster Program. Teachers
of grades kindergarten
through six who partici-
pate in the program spend
time discussing environ-
mental problems with
their classes. Students
then create poems or
posters about what they
have learned. The teach-
ers select two outstand-
ing entries from each
class and send them to
EPA for judging. This year
more than 3,500 teachers
representing over 100,000
elementary school stu-
dents participated in the
program.
Waste Sites Listed
EPA recently released a
report that lists 215 waste
disposal sites in Erie and
Niagara Counties of New
York. The report, com-
piled by a Federal and
New York State Inter-
agency Task Force on
Hazardous Waste, pin-
points 36 sites known to
contain large amounts of
poisonous, carcinogenic,
or radioactive wastes.
Hooker Chemical Co.
owned or operated 24 of
these 36 high priority
sites. EPA investigated
waste disposal as prac-
ticed by Federal agencies
for over 30 years in the
two counties, which re-
ceive more than ha If the
waste generated by heavy
industry in New York that
is disposed of in landfills.
Ban Enforced
Newspaper surveys of re-
tailers in Long Island, N.Y.
showed that 17 of 62 re-
tail stores were still sell-
ing products containing
2,4,5-T and Silvex despite
EPA's temporary suspen-
sion of those substances.
According to Dr. Stanley
Fenichel, chief of the pes-
ticide branch, consumers
complained to the Region
2 office after newspaper
articles, and TV and radio
segments showed that
stores were ignorant of or
defying the suspension.
Pesticide inspectors act-
ing on these tips con-
tacted the stores allegedly
selling these products and
were told that the pesti-
cides would be removed
from sales shelves imme-
diately and stored until
further notice.
Noncompliers Named
Region 3 has announced
the names of 22 water
suppliers in the Common-
wealth of Pennsylvania
that have failed to comply
with the Safe Drinking
Water Act by notifying
EPA of the results of
drinking water monitoring
tests. EPA is concerned
because Pennsylvania has
led the Nation in the num-
ber of water-borne disease
outbreaks for the past
three years. The Safe
Drinking Water Act re-
quires suppliers that serve
more than 24 persons to
monitor their drinking
water for bacteria, chem-
icals and/or turbidity
(cloudiness) and to report
the results to EPA. Ray
Lee, Chief of Region 3's
Drinking Water Program
said, "We are concerned
about the quality of the
water from these sup-
pliers. We cannot judge
its safety until we obtain
the required monitoring
reports." EPA announced
the names in hope that
public pressure would
help bring the non-report-
ing suppliers into compli-
ance. Water suppliers that
do not meet the standards
must also notify their cus-
tomers and take immedi-
ate action to correct any
problems. The non-com-
plying suppliers are scat-
tered throughout the
State. Pennsylvania is one
of the few States that has
not yet assumed primary
responsibility for enforc-
ing the Safe Drinking
Water Act. Region 3 is
working with the Com-
monwealth on assumption
of the program.
Spill Totals Released
Region 4 recently released
a study that reports nearly
22 million gallons of oil
and hazardous wastes
were spilled into South-
eastern waters between
1974 and 1978. There
were 5,556 reported spills
in the five-year period. Oil
spills made up 3,828 of
these spills and 577 were
hazardous materials. The
remaining 1,151 were
unknown materials or in-
significant amounts. Re-
gional Administrator John
C. White said, "Even
though the number of
spills seems quite large,
these are reported spills.
Many small to medium-
sized spills are never re-
ported as required." The
Environmental Emergency
Branch supervises clean-
up where necessary to en-
sure the protection of the
environment. During 1978
EPA personnel supervised
clean-up of 131 spills,
down 20 percent from
1977, and down 25 per-
cent from 1976. However,
the number of spills re-
ported during 1978 in-
creased by six percent
over the previous year.
According to White,
"Over the five-year period
$327,496 in civil penal-
ties were collected from
firms and individuals re-
sonsibleforthe spills.
And, the number of cases
being referred for collec-
tion of penalties is in-
creasing." EPA responds
to inland spills, while the
Coast Guard has respon-
sibility in coastal areas.
Figures released in the
EPA study do not include
spills under the Coast
Guard's jurisdiction.
Library Fair
Region 5 recently held its
second annual Library Fair
for Midwestern librarians,
environmentalists, and
the general public. At the
fair an extensive collec-
tion of environmental pub-
lications was offered to
the public free of charge.
The materials included
technical and research
literature; reports on air
and water pollution and
hazardous waste manage-
ment, as well as miscel-
laneous Federal, State,
local and trade publica-
tions. The fair was held in
the lobby of the Kluczyn-
ski Federal Building in
Chicago.
States Assume
Management
EPA has given financial
aid to Michigan and Min-
nesota under the Clean
Water Act of 1977 to help
those States assume the
management of their por-
tion of the Federal con-
struction grants program.
The aid was given through
the State Management
Assistance Program. The
Michigan Department of
Natural Resources re-
ceived over $7 million to
cover the actual costs of
managing the construc-
tion grants program
through September, 1981.
The Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency received
$1.6 million to pay similar
costs through January,
1981. Through the con-
struction grants program,
the Federal Government
pays 75 percent of the
cost of constructing pub-
licly-owned wastewater
treatment facilities. The
State of Michigan re-
ceives about $180 million
annually in construction
grants; Minnesota re-
ceives about $80 million.
32
EPAJOURNAL
-------
days. The Office of Per-
sonnel Management in
Denver announced recent-
ly that several agencies
in the area, EPA among
them, witl start the four-
day work week this month
Sanctuary Set
EPA and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)
recently signed an agree-
ment to protect the Flower
Garden Banks, undersea
elevations 100 miles off
the coast of Galveston,
Texas. The agreement
comes under the Clean
Water Act and the Marine
Protection and Sanctu-
aries Act. The sanctuary
covers a six mile circle
around the Flower Garden
Banks. Under the agree-
ment, there will be a five-
year moratorium on devel-
oping oil and gas re-
sources on new tracts
within the proposed ma-
rine sanctuary. This will
allow the two Federal
agencies to monitor the
impact of the activities of
current lessees and to de-
termine the environmental
effects of drilling. Lease-
holders may discharge
drilling mud only under
restricted conditions and
monitoring. NUAA has
issued a draft environ-
mental impact statement
supporting the sanctuary
designation and will issue
regulations officially des-
ignating Flower Garden
Banks as a marine
sanctuary.
Second Suit Filed
The Department of Jus-
tice has filed a second suit
against Velsicol Chemical
Co. of Bayport, Texas, on
behalf of EPA, based on
allegations that the pesti-
cide leptophos washed
from the plant property
into tributaries of Clear
Lake and Galveston Bay.
The suit alleges 28 in-
stances of discharge from
July, 1974, to April, 1977.
The company earlier paid
a $17,000 fine in settle-
ment of the first suit, cov-
ering discharges during a
different period.
Bust A Bus
When an accidental mix-
ture of diesel fuel and
motor oil caused Kansas
City buses to belch black
smoke, EPA received
scores of angry telephone
calls. The Area Transpor-
tation Authority continued
to use the contaminated
fuel, adding clean fuel to
their central reservoir, in
hope that it would eventu-
ally eliminate the smoke.
EPA suggested putting
clean fuel into the buses
immediately or swapping
fuel with another indus-
try. Since the city and the
Transportation Authority
failed to act to correct the
problem. Region 7 be-
came involved. The first
step was the "Bust A
Bus" program, which
used the local media to
ask citizens for documen-
tation of excessive smoke
from buses. This informa-
tion, once notarized,
would help the Agency
take appropriate enforce-
ment action. Two EPA
compliance officers also
documented 67 buses in
75 minutes emitting black
smoke for over five sec-
onds, which violated the
Kansas City air pollution
code. "The problem could
have been corrected im-
mediately," said Regional
Administrator Dr. Kath-
leen Q. Camin. "However,
the Kansas City Area
Transit Authority con-
tinued to use the contam-
inated fuel in its buses."
EPA issued a notice of
violation to the bus com-
pany informing them of
possible enforcement ac-
tion. Camin added, "Citi-
zen complaints have
shown us that the public
is concerned about clean
air and wants to see some-
thing done about air
pollution."
Environmental Profile
The Denver Regional Of-
fice has issued its first
profile of environmental
quality in Colorado, Mon-
tana, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Utah, and Wyo-
ming. In the report the
Agency notes that the
Region generally enjoys
good water quality and
that clean air prevails over
large expanses. The 30-
page document shows
progress in EPA efforts to
deal with problems of
noise, energy develop-
ment, radiation, pesti-
cides, solid wastes, and
toxic materials. However,
it adds that much remains
to be done since nearly
one-third of the people in
the Region breathe un-
healthy air, and that sub-
stantial problems remain
in the balancing of energy
needs and environmental
protection. According to
Deputy Regional Admin-
istrator Roger Williams,
the report was prepared
"to inform the Region's
citizens about the quality
of their environment and
to let them know how their
environmental improve-
ment dollars are being
spent!" Free copies of the
report are available by
writing to Profile, EPA
Public Awareness, 1860
Lincoln St., Denver, Colo.
80295.
Four Day Week
EPA's Denver Office has
been in the forefront of
planning and proposals
for an experimental four-
day work week for Federal
employees. The work is
being coordinated with
the Air Quality Committee
of the Denver Federal
Executive Board. Studies
show that commuter
travel would drop 20 per-
cent if Federal employees
worked four 10-hour days
instead of five 8-hour
Water Violations
The Region 9 Office re-
cently issued five findings
of violations against the
City and County of San
Francisco for water pollu-
tion. The two governing
bodies were found to be
violating the time sched-
ule for wastewater clean-
up and to be over the in-
terim limits set for efflu-
ent levels in wastewater.
Mexico Meeting
The Region 9 Administra-
tor, Deputy Regional Ad-
ministrator, and Enforce-
ment Division Director
met recently with the Sub-
secretary for Environmen-
tal Improvement of Mex-
ico at San Diego, Calif.
The technical meetings
covered such topics as
hazardous industries, co-
ordination of air monitor-
ing programs in Tijuana
and San Diego, and air
pollution source
monitoring.
Charge System Set
Regional Administrator
Donald Dubois and Water
Division Director Bob
Burd met recently with
the Mayor of Tacoma,
Wash., to discuss the
adoption of a user charge
system for the publicly-
owned sewage treatment
plant. The user charge
system, long sought by
EPA, places a more equi-
table burden on industrial
contributors to waste-
water treatment plants.
Just a few days after the
meeting, the city council
adopted the new system.
Had a new system not
been adopted, EPA would
have been obliged to with-
hold awards and pay-
ments for several pending
projects, including con-
struction of collection
lines and interceptor
sewers, and expansion of
a primary plant. The city's
action is seen as a sign
that other sewerage au-
thorities in surrounding
Pierce County will adopt
compatible user charge
systems.
Dirty Water
Region 10 has recom-
mended that people served
by the Barlow system in
Clackamas County, Orgg.
boil their tap water before
using it, based on the dis-
covery that maximum con-
taminant levels were ex-
ceeded in four out of five
samples taken from the
system. The system has
70 connections, including
2 restaurants, and is the
largest of five systems
operated by the Alder
Creek Water Co., a private
firm. In February EPA offi-
cially asked the company
to explain recurring viola-
tions of the Safe Drinking
Water Act. The Agency
also has brought a civil
complaint against Nesko-
win Enterprises Inc., a
water company in Tilla-
mook County, Oreg. for
failing to provide ade-
quate disinfection, to
perform required monitor-
ing, to file required water
quality reports to EPA,
and to notify the public
properly of water quality
problems. The company
supplies the town of
Neskowin, a coastal com-
munity where last summer
more than 170 cases of
gastrointestinal illness
were attributed to impure
drinking water. Periodic
water sampling by EPA
has shown continued vio-
lations of Federal stand-
ards for bacteria and
murkiness.Q
JUNE 1979
33
-------
A review of recent major
EPA activities and devel-
opments in the pollution
control program areas.
ENFOhCf
^
EPA Orders
GM Recall
The EPA has ordered
General Motors to recall
about 430,000 of its
1975-1978 Pontiac ve-
hicles to correct a defect
in the vehicles' pollution
control system.
The Pontiac models
involved include Cata-
linas, Bonnevilles, Fire-
birds, Le Mans, and Grand
Prix. These models repre-
sent about 27,000 1975
vehicles with 455 cubic
inch displacement (CID)
engines, 5,000 1976 ve-
hicles with 350 CID en-
gines, and 398,000 1977
arTti 1978 vehicles with a
350 or 400 CID engine.
Vehicles sold in Califor-
nia are not included in
this order, although they
are currently under inves-
tigation.
Ford and American
Motors Corporation were
ordered in 1978 to recall
about one million vehicles
for a similar defect. The
defect is a poorly brazed
joint used in the Exhaust
Gas Recirculation System,
which controls oxides of
nitrogen (NOx) emis-
sions.
EPA also announced
that 4.8 million vehicles
were recalled in 1978
bringing the total recalled
since 1972 to 14 million.
An Agency report on
emission recalls in 1978
indicated that 2.8 million
of the vehicles recalled
were either ordered by
EPA, or the result of EPA
investigations. About two
million vehicles were re-
called without EPA inter-
vention
Auto Warranty
For Air Cleanup
The EPA has proposed an
auto warranty program
that would make car man-
ufacturers liable under
certain conditions for
repairs to the emission
control system of 1980
and later vehicles that
violate air pollution emis-
sion standards.
The warranty would
cover the cost of repairs
to the emission control
system of a car that fails
an EPA-approved auto
inspection test, provided
that the vehicle owner
has followed the manu-
facturer's recommended
maintenance instructions.
The new warranty pro-
gram would be available
only in areas that use the
EPA test as part of their
auto emission inspection
systems that identify
when cars are not meet-
ing pollution standards.
"Under the Clean Air
Act Amendments of
1977," said EPA Assist-
ant Administrator for
Enforcement Marvin B.
Durning, "we expect
most major urban areas
to install auto inspection/
maintenance programs by
1982."
The warranty would
cover cars for a period of
five years or 50,000 miles,
whichever occurs first.
Up through the first 24
months or 24,000 miles
the manufacturer must
repair any portion of the
vehicle necessary to bring
it into compliance with
applicable emission
levels.
After the initial period,
the manufacturer is only
required to repair com-
ponents that have been
installed for the sole or
primary purpose of con-
trolling emissions. These
would include such parts
as the catalytic converter,
air pump and exhaust gas
recirculation system.
Expanded Rules
for Rail Noise
The EPA recently pro-
posed an expanded noise
emission regulation for
the Nation's railroads.
EPA established stand-
ards in 1975 to control
noise from locomotives
and rail cars. The new
regulation extends that
authority to address noise
from other facilities and
equipment of more than
4,000 railroad yards.
The proposal sets lim-
its on the level of noise
that may reach people liv-
ing or working on devel-
oped property next to rail-
road yards. Standards are
also set for three specific
yard sources: "hump"
yard retarders, refriger-
ator cars, and rail car
coupling operations.
It is estimated that
compliance with the pro-
posed regulation will re-
duce noise for some
830,000 people to levels
which do not jeopardize
their health and welfare
and provide some relief
to the remainder of the
approximately 4 million
currently exposed to high
levels of rail yard noise.
Total cost to the indus-
try to comply with the
proposed regulation is
estimated to be an aver-
age $27 million a year.
EPA Stops Sale
The EPA has stopped the
sale of several electro-
magnetic insect and ro-
dent repellers because
tests have shown they
don't work.
According to the manu-
facturers, the electromag-
netic repellers emit low-
level "electromagnetic
waves" which disorient
harmful insect and rodent
pests such as cock-
roaches, termites, ants,
rats, mice, gophers,
squirrels, and others with-
in a 1-30 acre range, caus-
ing them to stop eating,
drinking, and reproduc-
ing. Eventually, according
to the manufacturers, the
pests become inactive and
die.
However, tests by sev-
eral Federal Government
agencies and universities
show that the repellers do
not affect insects and
rodents at all.
Makers of various elec-
tromagnetic repellers are
being required to stop
selling them and have
been requested to volun-
tarily recall all remaining
models which have not
been sold by retailers.
The repellers generally
retail from about $300 to
$1,000.
The repellers are:
NATURE SHIELD by
Solara Electronics, Inc.
of Costa Mesa, Calif.;
SIGMA by Orgolini Manu-
facturing Co., Inc., of
Sparks, Nev.; and AVIS
RODENT CONTROL, by
Sentry Manufacturing
Inc., Fairbury, Nebr. For
two others, THE ELIMINA-
TOR by DAL Industries,
Inc.. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.,
andtheAMIGOPHASE2
by Mira Manufacturing
Co., Pine Valley, Calif.,
tests are completed and
action {spending.
I -TE*
Landfill Guidelines
The EPA has proposed
guidelines for the more
than 20,000 landfills
around the country. The
guidelines recommend
practices for site selec-
tion, design, construction,
operation, and mainte-
nance of landfills. Without
adequate precautions,
landfill disposal can lead
to contamination of
groundwater and surface
streams, gas explosions,
and other environmen-
tal, health, and safety
problems.
The guidelines are pro-
posed under authority of
the Resource Conserva-
tion and Recovery Act.
They apply to landfill dis-
posal of municipal refuse
{about 90 percent of
which is deposited in
landfills), sewage sludge
(about 25 percent of
which is taken to land-
fills), and industrial and
other wastes. The dis-
posal of hazardous waste,
however, will be subject
to regulations which were
proposed in December,
1978.
The guidelines empha-
size that in selecting a
site for a landfill, consid-
eration should be given
to groundwater and sur-
face water conditions;
geological and topograph-
ical features; social, geo-
graphic, and economic
factors; and environmen-
tal impacts. Environmen-
tally sensitive areas, such
as wetlands, floodplains,
and recharge zones of
aquifers that are principal
sources of drinking water
for communities, should
be avoided.
Risky Drums Moved
For Safe Detonation
Eighty-six drums con-
taining explosive phos-
phorus were moved from
a truck terminal in Hagers-
town, Md., to Fort A. P.
Hill, Va., recently in order
to be safely detonated.
The drums were being
stored in Hagerstown fol-
lowing a transportation
accident in Gettysburg,
Pa.
"Effective action by
the National Response
Team has averted a poten-
tial hazard which could
have required evacuation
of some Hagerstown resi-
dents," said EPA Deputy
Administrator Barbara
Blum.
The move was coordi-
nated by the National Re-
sponse Team, a Federal
inter-agency group that
reacts to spills of oil and
other hazardous sub-
stances. It is chaired by
the EPA and includes the
Departments of Trans-
portation (Coast Guard),
Commerce, Interior, Agri-
34
EPAJOURNAL
-------
culture, and Defense. The
team was activated to
consider solutions to the
threat posed by deteriora-
tion of the 55-gallon
drums.
Final Rules
On PCB's
The EPA recently issued
final regulations banning
the manufacture of poly-
chlorinated biphenyls
(PCB's) and phasing out
most PCB uses. PCB's are
toxic and persistent chem-
icals primarily used as
insulating fluids in heavy-
duty electrical equipment
in power plants, indus-
tries, and large buildings
across the country.
The EPA rules will
gradually end many in-
dustrial uses of PCB's
over the next five years,
but will allow their con-
tinued use in existing en-
closed electrical equip-
ment under carefully con-
trolled conditions.
"Although PCB's are
no longer being produced
in this country, we will
now bring under control
the vast majority of PCB's
still in use," said EPA
Administrator Douglas M.
Costle. "This will help
prevent further contam-
ination of our air, water,
and food supplies from a
toxic and very persistent
man-made chemical."
PCB's have caused
birth defects and cancer
in laboratory animals, and
they are a suspected
cause of cancer and ad-
verse skin and liver effects
in humans.
State Toxics Control
The EPA has awarded
five States a total of
$ 1,740,229 to develop
programs for investigat-
ing and controlling human
and environmental haz-
ards from toxic chemica Is.
The States receiving
the funds under coopera-
tive agreements are:
Maryland, Michigan, New
Jersey, New York, and
Wisconsin. The grants
are the first to be awarded
for State program devel-
opment under the 1976
Toxic Substances Control
Act.
States had until May
27,1979, to apply for a
second round of grant
money totalling
$1,250,000.
Urban Lakes
Initiative
EPA Deputy Administra-
tor Barbara Blum has an-
nounced a new effort to
upgrade and revitalize
lakes in urban areas to
provide recreational,
leisure-time, and aesthetic
opportunities for inner
city residents. Blum an-
nounced the new program
at a conference in Detroit,
Mich., on urban environ-
mental problems.
The pilot program will
involve the selection of
ten urban lakes, one in
each of the standard ten
Federal regions of the
country, for intensified
improvement efforts un-
der EPA's existing Clean
Lakes Program. Public
transit access to these
lakes will be a major re-
quirement for selection.
Under proposed regu-
lations, EPA could pro-
vide grants of up to
$100,000 per lake in Fis-
cal Year 1979 to pay for
70 percent of the planning
costs related to water
quality improvement.
These projects would then
be eligible for a 50 per-
cent grant for actual
improvements.
"Many cities have had
to cut back on funding for
nonessential public serv-
ices such as maintenance
of public park areas,"
Blum said. "As part of the
President's Urban Policy,
this new initiative would
help take up the slack and
focus on recreational op-
portunities for inner city
residents."
Groundwater
Protection
The EPA has proposed
regulations designed to
prevent pollution of the
underground sources of
drinking water that now
serve one-half of the U.S.
population.
EPA will provide up to
$6 million this year to
help States set up and
enforce programs to in-
sure that the underground
injection of liquid wastes
and other fluids does not
endanger subsurface
drinking water. Poten-
tially harmful practices—
such as the improper un-
derground disposal of
hazardous wastes—
would be stopped.
Thousands of commu-
nities depend on ground-
water resources for their
drinking water. Even so,
EPA has estimated that
there are over 500,000
injection wells that now
have the potential to con-
taminate groundwater;
this number increases by
about 5,000 each year.
"The answer is clear—
we must stop contaminat-
ing our groundwater
sources immediately,"
said EPA Administrator
Douglas M. Costle.
"Otherwise, we may not
be able to insure the avail-
ability of adequate sup-
plies of safe drinking
water in the years ahead."
Basically, EPA's regu-
lations call on the States
to set up programs to re-
view all underground in-
jection operations and
take any remedial action
necessary to protect
groundwater. Injection
wells would be inspected
to make sure they are
properly constructed and
maintained. Safe injection
operations that are not
potentially dangerous
could continue; however,
they would have to com-
ply with permits and rules
issued by the States or
EPA.
EPA, Forest Service
Water Agreement
The EPA and the Forest
Service of the U.S. De-
partment of Agriculture
have agreed to coordinate
their activities to promote
awareness of water pollu-
tion problems resulting
from forestry operations.
Both agencies hope the
result will be less erosion
of the soil on forestlands,
which results primarily
from timber harvesting
activities, such as the
construction of logging
roads and skid trails. Such
erosion destroys the soil,
pollutes waterways, and
disrupts aquatic life.
The "Statement of In-
tent" was signed in Wash-
ington, D.C., by EPA
Deputy Administrator
Barbara Blum and Forest
Service Chief John R.
McGuire.
AGENCYWIDE
Blum Speaks
To U.N. Group
EPA Deputy Administra-
tor Barbara Blum recently
addressed the Governing
Council of the United Na-
tions Environment Pro-
gram (UNEP) in Nairobi,
Kenya.
In delivering the prin-
cipal U.S. Plenary state-
ment, Blum emphasized
the critical role the U.N.
program plays in the
world environment. "With
each tick of the
clock," she said, "we
have less time to remedy
the global imbalances be-
fore lasting damage is
done."
Outlining many global
environmental threats,
Blum stressed'the alarm-
ing disappearance of the
world's forests. She
stated, "Tropical forests
are the world's richest
genetic reservoir, a po-
tential source of useful
plants and drugs, a modu-
lator of climate, a shield
against desertification
and soil loss, a renewable
timberbank. It is time to
highlight this key problem
for decision-makers at the
highest level of govern-
ment."
She called for UNEP to
"convene an international
meeting of experts to ac-
celerate and coordinate
action to improve man-
agement of our forest
resources."
Focusing on another
environmental problem,
Blum pointed out the
serious climatological
effects of the buildup of
carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
"In our view UNEP can
and should take the lead
in coordinating assess-
ment of the impact of a
global carbon dioxide in-
crease on the environment
and health and society
generally."
Blum illustrated the
ominous problem of haz-
ardous waste disposal to
the Governing Council by
summarizing the recent
American tragedy of Love
Canal, near Niagara Falls,
N.Y. The lesson learned
by the United States, she
said, is that "provisions
must be made from the
start to detoxify wastes
before land disposal.
Otherwise, they must be
securely sealed in the
earth for ages."
In her final comments
Blum saluted the U.N.
Program's accomplish-
ments in the past year.
She assured the Govern-
ing Council that "the U.S.
Delegation will do all it
can to support UNEP's
objectives and goals." In
conclusion Blum called
for UNEP to "go forward,
neither complacent nor
paralyzed by the problems
before us. We owe it to all
people and to future gen-
erations to guard against
environmental abuses.
Our survival may depend
onit."D
JUNE 1979
35
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Costle
Urges
Careful
Growth
Administrator Douglas M. Costle
has catled upon the 25 nations
of the Organization for Economic Coopera-
tion and Development to pursue economic
growth that takes into account the need to
safeguard human health and natural
resources.
Speaking as Chairman of the Environ-
ment Committee at the Ministerial Level of
the OECD in Paris last month, Costle also
urged members to emphasize preventive
actions in halting environmental damage
before it occurs, rather than after-the-fact
cleanup tasks. He also stressed the need
for harmonizing policies of member coun-
tries and greater international cooperation
in matters such as standards for toxic
substances.
"Most importantly, we must seek a new
concept of economic growth that takes into
account the finite nature of natural re-
sources and the limited capacity of natural
systems to recover from chronic damage,"
Costle declared.
"We need growth—but we can only
afford a qualitative growth that protects
human health, anticipates the virtual de-
pletion of some resources—most notably
petroleum—and safeguards the present
integrity and future productivity of other
finite resources, such as land and water."
Costle noted that the economies of many
OECD nations including that of the United
States seem to be shifting from manufac-
turing to one based increasingly on infor-
mation, knowledge and communications, a
trend now being studied by OECD. He
emphasized that the basic industries such
as steel and autos wilt still be important in
the next decade, but will also become more
environmentally benign, largely due to
environmental regulations.
"Environmental regulation often forces
companies to rethink their production
processes and products," he said, "there-
by providing the necessary catalyst for
innovation, In the United States, such
process review has led some companies to
adopt innovations that lead to greater in-
dustrial efficiency, improved fuel conserva-
tion and profitable recycling. Thus, bottom-
line economic benefits, as well as energy
benefits, can resuIt when corporate manage-
ment responds creatively to regulations."
The Administrator said qualitative
growth calls for a "new partnership be-
tween environmental and economic con-
cerns." EPA has already taken steps in this
direction, he added, in moving toward an
increasing use of economic incentives in-
stead of command-control type regula-
tions.
"These steps demonstrate that economic
and environmental principles can comple-
ment each other rather than following the
adversarial, trade-off role prescribed to
them in the past. In the same spirit, I trust
that economic policies in the 1980's will be
examined not only for their impact upon
investment, prices, and employment, but
also on resource depletion and environ-
mental deterioration," he said.
The theme of the OECD meeting, "The
Development of Environmental Policies in
Changing Economic Conditions," grew out
of a realization by member nations that
profound changes have been occurring in
many countries in recent years. Wide-
spread inflation and slower economic
growth have brought new pressures to halt
or slow down environmental control efforts.
At the same time, numerous long range
environmental problems have persisted
and have required careful attention.
In calling for greater emphasis on pre-
ventive environmental action, Costle
pointed out that in the United States, $25
million already had been spent to clean up
damage from leaking chemicals at one site
where the problem could have been con-
trolled years ago for $2 million. In another
case, one corporation has paid $20 million
to settle lawsuits involving a pesticide in-
cident that could have been prevented by
a $ 100,000 investment, he declared. And
similar inferences could be drawn from
environmental and health tragedies in other
nations, where "the lack of stringent envi-
ronmental control over hazardous sub-
stances can prove vastly more expensive
in the long run than the imposition of those
controls in the first place," Costle said,
"From our common experience so far,
then, I would draw this conclusion: Far
from retreating on environmental controls
because of our current economic distress,
we should intensify our efforts to protect
natural systems and human health from the
side-effects of industrial activity," he
warned. "Our failure to do so will not
appreciably moderate our economic diffi-
culties; indeed, reducing environmental
protection can even worsen our economic
situation."
Costle emphasized that pollution control
expenditures in the United States, while
adding slightly to consumer prices, are
more than offset by the health benefits and
resulting increased productivity of workers,
as well as jobs created in the pollution
control sector.
Other EPA officials attending the Paris
conference last month included Steven R.
Reznek, Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Energy, Minerals and Industry; Alice B.
Popkin, Associate Administrator, Office of
International Activities, and Richard Dowd,
Director, Science Advisory Board.
The OECD was created in 1960 and
aimed at improving the economic vitality
and standard of living among nations and
at expanding world trade. OECD estab-
lished the Environment Committee in 1970
to encourage cooperation among member
nations in the relationship between envi-
ronmental and economic factors.
Nations belonging to OECD are:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Den-
mark, Finland, France, Federal Republic
of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and
the United States. Yugoslavia is an asso-
ciate member. Q
Administrator Costle confers with J. W.
MacNeill, Director of the Environment
Directorate of the Organization for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Development, and
Mostafa Tolba. Executive Director, United
Nations.
36
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Eivii i rental Almanac:
Vorl W He Protect
\ A/hen the silence of long summer eve-
" '' nings is broken by an insistent hum,
punctuated by a loud slap, we know that
the female mosquito is back seeking a
blood meal.
Despite the annual expenditure of $55
million in the United Stotes for mosquito
abatement, mostly for chemical pesticides,
billions of these pests have now hatched to
feed upon humans and other animals.
In addition to helping spread such dis-
eases as encephalitis and malaria, mos-
quitoes also cause vast economic damage.
Clouds of these small blood suckers make
park and outdoor recreation areas un-
bearable at times. Beef cattle lose weight
and production from dairy cows drops
when mosquito densities are high. Cattla,
harassed by mosquitoes, are sometimes
driven into frantic running and occasion-
ally refuse to eat or drink for days.
When the pesticide DDT was developed
and extensively applied after World War II,
the problem of malaria, a debilitating dis-
ease transmitted by mosquitoes, appeareji
to have been controlled. However the in-
sects developed a resistance to this chem-
ical and the malaria rate has begun to
climb again.
This development helped spur interest
in integrated pest management which
encourages use of biological controls
(natural predators or diseases) and cul-
tural controls (altering the insect's sur-
roundings to make them less favorable).
In Montana, where mosquitoes can be a
serious problem at times, EPA is working
with the State and several Federal agencies
to help develop a program of using Gam-
busia fish to eat the mosquito larvae
before they develop into adults.
$The State has requested assistance in
its efforts to develop more warm water
pof ds where the Gambusia, a tropical fish
related to the guppy, can survive the harsh
Montana winters.
Van Jamison, a biologist with the Mon-
tana Department of Health and Environ-
mefrtal Sciences, said that while use of
Gambusia fish to destroy mosquitoes has
been well established in many parts of the
world, the difficulty of keeping them alive
during cold winters had previously pre-
vented the use of these fish in Montana.
The state has begun to impound warm
Water from geothermal springs to help
teep the Gambusia alive over winter.
While the cold wilt kill the Gambusia in
most of Montana/s waterways, if there is
a supply at nearby warm water ponds these
fish can be transferred each spring to the
areas where theyare needed.
"We need to pick up the Gambusia and
place them early in the spring so they can
reproduce and be ready to go in large num-
bers when the number of mosquito larvae
in June becomes a big problem," Jamison
said.
The winter freezing in Montana acts as
a limiting factor on the number of mosquito
fish and restricts their permanent establish-
ment to the warm water ponds. This means
that the Gambusia is not likely to become
a widespread undesirable import, such as
the European starling, for example.
Tha explorers Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark were among the first to
officially note Montana's mosquito prob-
lem. Jamison reports. He says that Lewis
and Clark made more than 50 references
to mosquitoes in the Montana area in their
journals.
"Early trappers and homesteaders
burned green wood in their fireplaces
becausafsmoke discouraged mosquitoes,"
Jamison said. "To protect livestock they
burned moldy hay in a corner of a field so
the stock could bathe in the smoke and
escape their tormentors."
Today in addition to increasing use of
mosquito fish, extensive efforts are being
made to foster expansion of other natural
mosquito enemies such as parasites, patho-
gens and certain other insects.
Meanwhile, a tiny fish appears to be
one of our most promising allies in the
multi-million dollar, world-wide effort to
control an annoying and dangerous pest
which has plagued humanity since pre-
historic times and spread diseases respon-
sible for the deaths of millions of people
C. D, P.
JUNE 1979
Mosquito
Time
-------
New;-
EPA Proposes
Testing Rules
EPA recently proposed the first standards for testing
potentially hazardous chemicals under the Toxic
Substances Control Act. The proposed standards would
be used in testing chemicals for chronic (long-term)
human health effects. They also include "Good Laboratory
Practices" for health effects testing, to help assure
the quality and reliability of chemical testing informa-
tion submitted to the Agency.
Anti-Noise Orders
EPA has issued its first enforcement orders under the
Noise Control Act. The orders were issued to two
manufacturers of portable air compressors. The actions
were taken to require that compressors the firms had
distributed comply with EPA noise reduction regulations.
Portable air compressors are used on construction sites
to supply compressed air for the operation of pneumatic
hammers, drills, and similar equipment. The companies
are Worthington Compressors, Inc. and General Supply and
Leasing Company.
Herbicide Halted
Chevron Chemical Co. of San Francisco, the largest
manufacturer of home and garden weed-killing products
containing the ingredient "Silvex," has agreed, in a
settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency,
to halt any future production
recall and assist in the safe
In the settlement, EPA agreed
pesticides law, retailers and
of these products and to
disposal of existing stocks.
that, under the 1972 Federal
distributors of Chevron's
home and garden Silvex products may present claims
compensation for the costs of existing stocks.
for
States Served by
EPA Regions
Region 1 (Boston)
Connecticut Man
Massachusetts New
Hampshire, Rhode Island.
Vermont
617-223 7210
Region 2 (New York
Crty)
New Jersey. New York
Puerto Rico, Virgin
Islands
212 264 2525
Region 3
(Philadelphia)
Delaware Mariano.
Pennsylvania, Virginia,
West Virginia. District of
Columbia
2155979814
Region 4 (Atlanta)
Alabama. Georgia,
Florida. Mississippi.
North Carolina. South
Carolina. Tennessee,
Kentucky
404881-4727
Region 6 (Chicago)
Illinois Indiana. Ohio.
Micnigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota
312-353 2000
Region 6 [Dallas)
Arkansas, Louisiana.
Oklahoma, Texas, New
Mexico
214767 2600
Region 7 (Kansas
City)
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska
816-374-5493
Region 8 (Denver)
Colorado. Utah,
Wyoming. Montana,
North Dakota. South
Dakota
303-837-3895
Region 9 (San
Francisco)
Arizona. Camorma,
Nevada. Hawaii
415-556-2320
Region 10 (Seattle)
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,
Washington
206-442-1220
38
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Nature
in the
City
By Done Karl
Groups of boys and girls cluster in the
corner of a New Haven schoolyard
searching the bare ground for seeds from
a maple tree. Traffic roars by outside the
fence and office buildings rise on all sides,
but the youngsters are absorbed in their
task. They grab the winged seeds and toss
them up, filling the air with twirling bits of
green. Under the watchful eyes of their
teacher and a Yale graduate student, the
children are finding out how nature works
in their environment. Later, back in the
classroom they will use an ecology work-
book to delve into the mysteries of life on
the seashore and in the mountains, learning
to understand and appreciate other
environments.
Children from the Winchester Community
School in New Haven search for seeds.
In 1969, teachers in New Haven's Head
Start Program sent out a call for volunteers
to lead inner city children on nature walks.
Students at the Yale School of Forestry
and Environmental Studies, a graduate
school within Yale University, answered
the call and helped establish a relationship
that has flourished in the ten years since.
They have provided successive classes of
youngsters with diverse experiences, from
building an igloo to viewing slides of
wildlife in other countries. Yale Forestry
School students, although no longer work-
ing through Head Start, have maintained
thefr own informal organization from year
to year to coordinate the work that now
involves some twenty students.
How do they find the time? Or, more to
the point, why do they make the time? A
belief in the importance of environmental
education is one factor. Personal satisfac-
tion also plays a part. There is delight in
getting a classroom of third graders to
discuss why there are more plants and
animals in natural ecosystems than in their
own backyards.
The children not only learn abstract
concepts of ecology but also see familiar
surroundings and habits with new under-
standing. They learn that a blazing lamp in
an unoccupied room is a waste of energy,
and that throwing candy wrappers on the
sidewalk is littering.
Most of the learning takes place in
school and is coordinated with the help of
School Volunteers for New Haven, Inc.
Forestry School students register with its
Talent Bank and Ecology Project. The
Talent Bank lists people who can share a
special interest or skill with children on an
occasional basis. Volunteers in the Ecology
Project offer weekly classes in environmen-
tal subjects. They may follow a curriculum
designed by the staff of School Volunteers
or they may design their own. The names
of students participating in both programs
were distributed to all New Haven teachers
at the beginning of the school year. Calls for
volunteers began coming in after less than
a day.
Forestry School students Marc Groff and
Hobson Calhoun taught a group of children
to build model igloos. This was not a crafts
project but an opportunity to teach the chil-
dren about the environmental differences
between Arctic and temperate climates.
Henry Woolsey led a junior high school
class on an ecology field trip. Other stu-
dents have talked about beekeeping, mak-
ing maple syrup, backpacking and wilder-
ness survival, identifying edible plants, and
birdwatching. Foreign students have given
slide shows and talks about their native
lands in African, Asia, Indonesia, Australia,
and South America.
Many classes center around urban ecol-
ogy. Forestry School students lead children
through residential areas as well as nearby
parks and woodlands. They point out the
habitats available to animals and birds in
the city and discuss the differences be-
tween these and a wilderness environment.
Such experiences are also available out-
side the public school system. Cub Scout,
Boy Scout, and Girl Scout troops frequently
request special help from the Yale Forestry
School. In the past, students have provided
visual aids and other material for Scout
leader presentations on ecology and fores-
try in the United States. One colorful day
last fall, Chris Brown and Tom McHenry
administered a field quiz in tree identifica-
tion to a group of Cub Scouts seeking their
forestry achievement badges. Another stu-
dent recently spoke to a Girl Scout troop
about forestry careers.
When the volunteers are not working
directly with children, they are paving the
way for future studies. This April a group of
Yale students helped plan nature trail stops
for New Haven's Cedar Crest Park, a camp
dedicated to environmental education.
New Haven's children have been aager
learners. Although many have never had the
opportunity to venture beyond city limits,
their curiosity can carry them around the
world. The Yale Forestry School volunteers
provide them with an awareness and appre-
ciation of nature that they'll carry into
adulthood. D
Doric Karl, a second year graduate student
at the Yale School of Forestry and Environ-
mental Studies, is the president of the
Forestry Club and coordinator of the volun-
teer project. She and another student have
designed and illustrated a children's guide
to Identifying plants.
Ecology /essons continue in the classroom
JUNE 1979
39
-------
Recyling the Rails
Continued from page 4
such as snowmobilers versus hikers or
cross-country skiers in winter, and bikes
versus mbpeds in summer. All these factors
have to be dealt with before a trail can be
considered a successful effort.
Despite the problems and obstacles, the
rails-to-trails movement has attracted wide-
spread support. As a result of this increased
public interest, the U.S. Department of
Transportation last year completed a study,
"Availability and Use of Abandoned Rail-
road Rights-of-Way." It pointed out that
since 1970 more than 15,000 miles of track
had been abandoned and petitions were
pending before the ICC by railroads to
relinquish another 6,000 route miles. The
American Association of Railroads has
predicted that the remaining 200,000 miles
of track in the United States would be
reduced by a further 20 percent within the
next ten years.
Terming these abandoned rights-of-way
a 1'unique land resource," the report said
they represent opportunities in conserva-
tion, recreation, and also for other uses by
utilities such as buried cables or pipelines.
In fact, the report noted that some trails
earn revenues by sharing their land with
utilities. One trail at Falmouth—Woods
Hole, Mass., receives $27,000 annually
through lease of part of its right-of-way for
public parking areas and the entire length
of the line for electric and telephone trans-
mission corridors.
The creation of bike trails is not limited
to old rail beds, of course. The Federal
Water Pollution Control Act encourages
combining wastewater system rights-of-
way with open space and recreational uses.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Com-
mission, which has built 10 miles of bike
trails in the last five years along such rights-
of-way in cooperation with the Maryland
National Capital Park and Planning Com-
mission, now is planning to add additional
trails under the Act's provisions.
Some of the best opportunities for trails
are along the tow paths of old canals. An
example is one along the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal extending from Washington,
D.C. into rural Maryland, now used by
thousands of cyclists and hikers.
And the 67-mile California Aqueduct
Bikeway illustrates still another approach.
It was established after a private citizen,
Mrs. Artemis Ginzton, saw the pipeline
route from a commercial airliner, later
chartered a private plane to survey it, and
helped to convince authorities that the
aqueduct's banks would provide an ideal
bike trail. Q
Truman Temple is A ssociate Editor of EPA
Journal.
Some Useful
Publications
A 68-page booklet on the subject,
"From Rails To Trails," by the Citi-
zens Advisory Committee on Environ-
mental Quality is available for $1.50
from the Superintendent of Docu-
ments. U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
(Stock No. 040-000-00330-4.)
Your community may be eligible
under the Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1977 for a grant to help plan bike
programs. Details are furnished in a
booklet, "Bicycle Programs and Ur-
ban Air Quality Grants," available
without charge from Nina Rowe,
Office of Transportation and Land Use
Policy, ANR-445, Environmental
Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
20460.
ed
iked by guii
"
> 12
ofi the
'Recrea
os 2.
Price Rise
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the price of subscribing to the EPA Journal from $10 to $12 a year, effective
July 1. The price of a single copy will go from $1 to $1.20. The subscription
cost if mailed to a foreign address will be $15 instead of the current $12.
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