United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
The Federal Effort
Office of
Public Awareness (A-107)
Washington DC 20460
Volume 6
Number 8
September 1980
-------
The
Federal
Role
While EPA has the lead
in national govern-
mental activities to
safeguard and restore the Na-
tion's environment, this issue
of the Journal recognizes the
major contributions made by
the many other Federal agen-
cies in this effort.
Although Federal regulation
is now under often fierce attack
by some industry groups, both
Douglas Costle, EPA Admin-
istrator, and Gus Speth, Chair-
man of the Council on Environ-
mental Quality, argue that while
regulation may need improve-
ment and pruning, it still serves
a vital purpose. Public support
for regulation to protect people
from the Three Mile Island,
Love Canal, and Kepone haz-
ards is not expected to wane.
This issue is a follow-up to
the May, 1979, EPA Journal
which reported on the vital role
played by the States and local
governments in environmental
protection.
On the Federal front, actions
to allow needed energy devel-
opment while controlling pollu-
tion are explained by EPA
Deputy Administrator Barbara
Blum. The same challenge is
discussed from a different
perspective by Secretary of
Energy Charles Duncan.
Two legislators, Senator
JohnChafee (R-R.I.) and U.S.
Representative James Florio
(D-N.J.), write about major
Federal needs to help protect
public health and our natural
environment.
Chafee proposes changes in
the landmark Clean Water Act
to help make it more effective
and Florio reports on the drive
to establish a superfund to
finance cleanup of hazardous
wastes.
A bird's eye view of the
status of the overall Federal
effort in the environmental area
is presented in a special fact
sheet.
The activities of three Fed-
eral agencies with major envi-
ronmental responsibilities are
reviewed. Included are articles
on the Agriculture Department,
by Assistant Secretary Rupert
Cutler; Interior, by Secretary
Cecil Andrus; and the Agency
for International Development.
by Administrator Douglas Ben-
net Jr. Some lesser known
environmental activities in
other major Federal agencies
are explained in another article.
Cooperative environmental
efforts among Federal agencies
are illustrated by a report on a
joint study of the movement of
polluted air in the Northeastern
United States.
On another front, Colorado
Gov. Richard Lamm discusses
the citizen role in environmen-
tal leadership.
Finally, the growing dangers
to the world's population
caused by environmental deg-
radation are reviewed in an
article about the recently re-
leased Global 2000 Study. Q
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Public Awareness (A-107)
Washington DC 20460
Volume 6
Numbers
September 1980
&EPA JOURNAL
Douglas M. Costle, Administrator
Joan Martin Nicholson, Director, Office of Public Awareness
Charles D. Pierce, Editor
Truman Temple, Associate Editor
John Heritage, Managing Editor
Chris Perham, Assistant Editor
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 atid water quali-
ty, solid w;; cement and
ntrol of toxic substances,
1 and radiation,
!he A. o formulate
and implement actions which
lead to a compatible balance be-
tween human activities and the
ability of natural systems to sup
port and nurturr
Mount
'
iiit McKmlry
Efficiency and
Compassion: Regulatory
Reform
EPA Administrator Douglas
Costle discusses the effort to
ensure efficient, effective
Federal regulations.
Coal and Ecology
Deputy EPA Administrator
Barbara Blum explains how key
fuel resources can be developed
while safeguarding the
environment.
Global Danger Signals
The world resource predictions
of the recent Global 2000
Study.
Fine-Tuning Construction
Grants for the
Eighties
Senator John H. Chafee
proposes some changes in the
Nation's water cleanup program.
Departments
Update
Around the Nation
Superfund: Solving the
Problem Without
Regulation
An approach to some of the
most critical hazardous waste
problems is outlined by
Congressman James J. Florio.
The Need for Federal
Involvement
An interview with
Gus Speth, the Chairman of
the President's Council on
Environmental Quality.
Interior and the
Environment 15
This Department's environmental
actions are reported by
Secretary of the interior
Cecil Andrus.
Energy and the
Environment
Secretary of Energy Charles W
Duncan Jr. explores these issues.
Aiding the Overseas
Environment
U.S. efforts to help protect the
environments of other countries
are discussed by Douglas J.
Bennet, Jr. AID Administrator,
People
News Briefs
Highlights of the Federal
Environmental Effort
A Fact Sheet on cost benefits,
progress, and programs in the
Federal role.
Conservation
Rediscovered
Stewardship measures in the
Department of Agriculture are
explained by Assistant Secretary
M. Rupert Cutler.
Key Federal
Agencies
A report on the environmental
responsibilities of some major
Federal departments and
agencies.
Tracking Pollution
Plumes
A report on a major project to
track polluted air across the
northeastern U.S. and into
Canada.
Environmental
Initiative
A strategy for environmental
progress is outlined by Richard
D. Lamm, Governor of Colorado.
Almanac 40
Photo credits: Bruce Carhart; Allan
Franks, Ohio EPA; Richard Frear,
National Park Service; High
Country Images; U.N. Environment
Program; Jane Russo; Carl Purcell,
AID; U.S. Forest Service; Yutaka
Nagata, Chen Jr. — United Nations;
E.P. Haddon, Robert Bridges, Rex
Gary Schmidt —U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service; William Thach;
Charles Geer; Association of Ameri-
can Railroads; Solar Energy
Research Institute.
Design Credits Robert Flanagan.
Donna Kazaniwsky and Ron Farrah
lllShfd
-
'J Si S W
•
employ
-------
Environmentally Speaking
Efficiency and
Compassion:
Regulatory
Reform
By Douglas M. Costle
EPA Administrator
n the best "once upon-a-time" tradition,
let me begin with a few stories:
* The public library in Rudd, Iowa, was
nearly forced—in conformity with Federal
regulation—to install ramps for handi-
capped persons. It was exempted from the
rule when it was learned that the cost of
building the ramps would almost equal the
library's annual budget'—and that not a
single handicapped person lived in Rudd.
• An unregulated trucker can haul railroad
ties if they are cut from logs that were
sawn crosswise; if the logs were sawn
lengthwise, however, the trucker must get
a certificate from the Interstate Commerce
Commission. Similarly, he can haul riding
horses to be used tor personal pleasure,
but not race horses; whole wheat, but not
wheat germ; and parrot food, but not
hamster or gerbil food.
• Hospitals in Baltimore are required by
Federal regulations to keep the water in
patients' rooms at 110 degrees or less;
they are required by city law to keep the
water at 110 degrees or more.
• A meat-packing pfant was told by one
Federal agency to wash its floors several
times a day for cleanliness . . . and was
told by another Federal agency to keep its
floors dry, so that employees wouldn't
slip and fall down.
This sort of story shows up regularly
in the newspapers and on television. If
such anecdotes were rare, they might
merely amuse us—as reminders of our
common, human fallibility. But they are not
rare; they have become frequent enough
to arouse resentment, and a demand for
reform.
The Federal Government today has
regulatory offices—most of them in the
Executive branch, but 1 8 of them in
independent regulatory commissions.
These offices issue a tola I of 7,000 rules of
various kinds a year. About 2,000 of those
rules have a significant impact on State
and local governments or private industry,
and about 100 have major economic
impacts.
The cost of these regulations is dis-
puted. It's estimated that Federal environ-
mental rules alone impose direct costs of
nearly $20 billion a year; State and local
EPA JOURNAL
-------
environmental rules impose even more.
A 1979 study by the Business Roundtable
of Federal regulation on 48 large com-
panies placed regulatory costs on them at
$2.6 billion. Nobody really knows the total
cost of Federal regulation, nor the benefits
that should be deducted from the overall
figure. I've seen estimates ranging between
$50 and $150 billion a year. Whichever
figure is nearer the mark. Federal regula-
tion costs a lot of money.
Now let me tell you a different kind of
story about Federal regulation:
• In 1933, bank-failures ran at the rate of
40 percent; since then, because of Federal
requirements, the failure-rate has dropped
to less than one percent—and not a single
depositor has lost a cent in the failure of
a Federally insured bank.
• The Federal safety standard for infants'
cribs became effective in 1974; since then,
crib deaths by strangulation have fallen
by half, and injuries by 45 percent.
• According to the General Accounting
Office, Federal regulations for motor
vehicle safety—seat belts, interior pad-
ding, and stronger doors—saved 28,000
lives between 1966 and 1974. That figure
does not include lives saved by lowering
the speed limit in response to the energy
situation.
These two categories of stories capture,
it seems to me, the essential difficulty in-
herent in our current demand for regula-
tory reform. On the one hand, evidence
shows that some Federal regulations are
silly, that they impose cost without adding
any compensatory benefit, and that they
ought to be thrown out. On the other hand,
evidence shows us that some Federal
regulations control individual and cor-
porate behavior in socially beneficial ways
that the market cannot, that they are saving
lives, and that they must be retained.
President Carter recognized both the
benefits and shortcomings of Federal
regulation in a message to the Congress
April, 1979. Much of it, he said, "is
vitally important to modern society. Goals
such as equal opportunity, a healthy
environment, a safe workplace, and a
competitive and truthful marketplace
cannot be achieved through market forces
alone."
Further on in the same message, how-
ever, he said that the overall regulatory
system has become "burdensome and
unwieldy."
"Our society's resources are vast," he
continued, "but they are not infinite. Amer-
icans are willing to spend a fair share of
these resources to achieve social goals
through regulation. Their support falls
away, however, when they see needless
rules, excessive costs, and duplicative
paperwork. If we are to continue our prog-
ress, we must ensure that regulation gives
Americans their money's worth."
Those measures are already showing
results. Among the specific improvements
that might be cited are these:
• Airline deregulation saved travelers
$2.5 billion in the first year alone; reduced
fares attracted more customers and boosted
airline profits.
• EPA regulations lowering the level of
water-pollution control on hundreds of
industries that do not discharge toxic pol-
lutants will save about $200 million in
control costs—with no loss in water qual-
ity. Our "bubble" policy, which allows
plant managers to choose the most econo-
mical control strategy for air emissions,
will permit savings of 25 percent; and one
electric utility in Tampa reports that the
"bubble" approach cut the cost of con-
trolling sulfur-oxide emissions by $20
million.
• According to Labor Department esti-
mates, the cotton-dust standard adopted
by this Administration has a capital cost
$2.1 billion below the original Ford Admin-
istration proposal. As a result of intensive
analysis by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration and the President's
Regulatory Analysis Review Group, the
cost of a regulation to control acrylonitrile
—a chemical used to produce resin, rub-
ber, and other products—was reduced by
$100 million below the original proposal.
Elimination of unnecessary regulation
and reduction of paperwork has also re-
sulted from the President's reforms:
• The Safety and Health Administration
has cut out 1,000 standards that did not
contribute to worker safety, and exempted
40,000 low-risk businesses from annual
reporting requirements.
• EPA has speeded up average processing
time for rural water-treatment applications
by more than a year—saving local govern-
ments several hundred million dollars
annually.
Finally, by making regulation easier to
understand. Federal agencies believe they
can encourage voluntary compliance and
reduce the need for enforcement. My per-
sonal favorite in this category is the follow-
ing regulation from the FCC:
"Except as provided in paragraph B of
this section, applications, amendments
thereto, and related statements of fact
required by the Commission shall be
personally signed by the applicant, if the
applicant is an individual." The new ver-
sion, translated into plain English, reads as
follows: "If you are an individual, you must
sign the application personally."
In all these ways, the reforms mandated
by the President are saving billions of
dollars, millions of hours, and heaven only
knows how many ulcers. But because reg-
ulatory programs are created by Congress,
comprehensive, permanent reform requires
new legislation approved by Congress.
Hence the President has submitted a
proposal known as the Regulation Reform
Act of 1979. In addition to making perma-
nent the improvements already initiated by
the President within the Executive Branch,
it would extend them to the independent
agencies.
Simply stated, President Carter's re-
forms emphasize three main goals: to get
rid of bad regulations, to save the good,
and to improve Federal management of the
regulatory process. This is an important
goal, and a worthwhile one. Precisely be-
cause it is so popular, however, we can
oversimplify the complexity of regulatory
reform and demand hasty action where
thoughtful analysis is needed.
it is both fashionable and easy to say
that Big Government creates Big Regula-
tion ... that bureaucrats write new rules to
keep themselves in business. I must admit
I have occasionally run into a Federal
employee who seems to have an ideologi-
cal repugnance to business, and an evan-
gelical zeal to regulate it.
But this is generally not true. The much
larger fact is that a Big Society has
spawned a thousand problems that the
Founding Fathers could not dream of. In
the last 20 years, we have come through an
era of legislation unprecedented in scope,
variety, and quantity. Congress has passed
law after law which the Executive Branch is
required to administer... and even though
each may make sense in itself, the accre-
tion of these laws slowly builds a cumula-
tive burden that can interfere with business
without bestowing any compensatory
benefit on society.
We have to sort out our rules, not throw
them out. We must safeguard vital social
goals, yes and President Carter's reforms
do not retreat from any of them.
But we must also get rid of rules that
needlessly discriminate between gerbil
food and parrot food, between crosswise
logs and lengthwise logs; we must restore
competition to healthy, mature industries
that do not need regulations passed in a
time of monopoly 75 to 100 years ago; we
must enable American business to devote
its energies to production—not of forms
and data, but of goods, services, jobs, and
national economic health; and we must
make American government use its dele-
gated powers with efficiency as well as
compassion.
Reform of regulatory operation, not
retreat from national goals: this is the
course that President Carter has set, and
it has already proved its value. D
SEPTEMBER 1980
-------
Coal and
Ecology
By Barbara Blum
EPA Deputy Administrator
In a sense, we are all hostages—bound by
our dangerous dependence upon that
long, thin line of oil tankers stretching
from the Persian Gulf halfway across the
world. As a result, America is paying a
heavy price—not only in terms of the $95
billion we will pay for imported oil this
year, but also in terms of added inflation,
weakening of the dollar and public inse-
curity about the future,
Will we as a Nation face up to the grow-
ing energy crisis? And will we, working
together, respond in a way that will assure
energy security, protection of the environ-
ment and a renewed sense of public con-
fidence in the future?
This is the challenge we face.
Recognizing all of this from the moment
he took office, President Carter was deter-
mined to chart a sound course of action
for the Nation. And he did just this.
In the very short term, conservation
remains the best route to an early reduction
of oil imports. That's why President Carter
has made conservation this Administra-
tion's first energy priority. Over the longer
term, development of new sources of
energy like syntuels and solar can make the
critical difference. That's why, as only one
example, the President seta goal of obtain-
ing 20 percent of our energy from the sun
and other renewable resources by the year
2000.
But meanwhile, any way you look at it,
America's hope for energy relief rests
heavily on coal. With one-third of the
world's coal reserves lying beneath Ameri-
can soil, this should come as no surprise
to anyone.
President Carter's energy policy recog-
nizes that, at this point, it is coal that will
put the Nation on the road to energy self-
sufficiency. And to make it a reality, the
Administration's program provides incen-
tives for increased production and use. Not
the least of these by any means is the new-
est initiative-—a S10 billion, 10-year pro-
gram to hasten the day when electricity
generating plants switch from oil or gas
to coal.
The policy of the Carter Administration
is to burn three times more coal by the year
1995. But it is more than that. It also is to
burn coal cleanly.
Neither the President, nor anyone else in
this Administration, is under any illusion
about the difficulty of holding to that
pledge. But we believe the goal is well
worth the effort and that the spirit and sub-
stance of the law reinforces our approach.
Today, the fact is that coal can be
burned as cleanly as most oil. And at to-
day's oil prices, it can be burned more
cheaply than imported oil, even with the
costs of pollution control factored in the
equation.
To help make it happen, EPA has ex-
pedited approval of new coal-fired utility
plants. By insisting on stringent pollution
controls and speeding up the review
process, EPA has been abie to give the go-
ahead to virtually every application we
have considered. As a result, America's
utilities soon will be burning 25 percent
more coal in a way that does not jeopardize
public health or the environment.
The benefits of this kind of action are
best reflected in a decision we made last
year. By allowing the first major power
plant in the Northeast to convert to coal,
we have reduced our dependence on for-
eign oil used for generation of electricity
by 1 4 percent. The Brayton Point Plant,
located in Somerset, Mass., is making the
transition now. It is the largest power plant
in the Nation to do so.
We are putting $41 million of the
Agency's research budget into the search
for new pollution control techniques for
coal.
EPA is taking a hard look at its regula-
tions, too. A major factor, for example, in
our power plant standard was to accept the
promise of dry scrubbing, a new technol-
ogy, because it would allow maximum use
of low-sulfur coal at a reasonable cost.
Equally important, the standard also gives
credit for the sulfur removed by coal-
washing. In other words, the more effective
the washing technique, the less the invest-
ment required for stack controls.
We're concerned about unnecessary
delay companies may encounter in obtain-
ing pollution control permits. We've pro-
posed to speed up and simplify the process
—not only under the Clean Air Act, but
under the Clean Water Act and other laws
as well. Already, EPA has named a single
point of contact in each of our 10 Regional
Offices to coordinate the work, according
to strict, self-imposed deadlines.
Finally, we're working closely with the
Department of the Interior to sort out prob-
lems associated with surface mining. Un-
der terms of an agreement recently signed,
the process by which EPA reviews sur-
face mining regulations of Interior and
the States will be speeded up. Under terms
of another agreement in the works, In-
terior's Office of Surface Mining soon will
issue one permit—addressing their con-
cerns and EPA's. Other joint efforts are
underway.
That, very briefly, sums up the coal story
so far. The question is where we go from
here.
The answer, as I said, bears on our will-
ingness to work together toward a common
purpose, helping to solve this Nation's
energy crisis. In the days and months
ahead, nowhere will this become more
important than in resolving an issue that
is just now emerging.
That issue is acid rain, the complex
phenomenon that could become the lead-
ing environmental concern of the next
decade, especially as worldwide energy
trends emphasize the use of more and
more coal.
While no one has a full understanding
of acid rain and its effects, we know
enough to know that there is legitimate
cause for concern.
In announcing his new proposal to en-
courage coal conversions, President Carter
said it this way:
"One major issue has not been resolved
—the problem of increased air pollution
loadings and increases in acid rain that will
result from these coai conversions. We
have recently come to understand that
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emis-
sions from power plants travel great dis-
tances and are a principal cause of acid
rain. I am becoming increasingly con-
cerned about the problem. ..."
Acid raincan wipe out fish lifeas it has
done in the Adirondack Mountains in the
EPA JOURNAL
-------
State of New York. It can cause stone or
masonry structure to decay. There is
mounting evidence—based on field re-
search—that it can damage crops, soil and
probably forests as well.
And there are some disturbing signs that
the problem may be getting worse.
In the mid-50's, for example, the only
places showing elevated levels of acidity
were in the Northeast. Today, there are
high levels throughout the Eastern half of
our country and even reports of high acid-
ity in the Hawaiian Islands. We are finding
that the fish in some lakes in Northern
Minnesota and Southern Ontario already
contain higher levels of mercury than is
safe for human consumption. Then there's
the increased presence of heavy metals in
the drinking water of small communities
that do not treat their water supply. Finally,
there's the matter of preliminary calcula-
tions by the Canadian Government. These
indicate that lakes in that country have
been damaged by acid rain, much of it
thought to stem from power plants and
other sources in the United States.
There is no question that President
Carter wants this problem dealt with.
He launched a massive Federal
program to study how acid rain works and
what effects it has on human health and
the environment. Recently, he called on
Congress to begin hearings on the matter
as soon as possible. Hearings held thus far
have been a major step toward focusing
national attention on the problem and its
solution. The President has asked EPA to
accelerate our work on acid rain and to
begin immediately to work with Congress
on a comprehensive way to improve the
situation as a whole—not simply to prevent
it from worsening.
The problem of acid rain in other words,
appears to be a serious one. And, as Presi-
dent Carter has recognized, it will take a
serious effort by all of us to deal with it.
More than three and a half years ago
when President Carter took office, he in-
sisted that a rigid agency-by-agency
approach to conducting the Nation's busi-
ness would only compound past mistakes.
Efforts to work, together, the President said,
are vita I, especially with so grave a matter
as the energy crisis.
This cooperation, the President said,
cannot be limited to government agencies,
if it is to succeed. A partnership among all
components of our society—government,
the general public, academia and industry
—will be needed if energy independence
is to become a reality.
Nowhere is this more true than with the
coal industry and government agencies
like EPA which foster environmental pro-
tection. At our fingertips, we have the tools
to convince a skeptical American public
that vast quantities of American coal can
be burned cleanly and at less cost, thereby
meeting a full range of national needs now.
This Administration's energy policy
provides the framework and the incentives.
The technology is available. And there's a
resource, an American resource, of work-
ers ready to mine that coal.
It's up to all of us, working together, to
make it happen. It is a challenge I—and
President Carter—believe we can meet. C"
This article is excerpted from a speech by
Barbara Blum to the Mining and Reclama-
tion Council in Washington, D.C.
Cool being hauled by train.
SEPTEMBER 1980
-------
F
f
K
m
>< - -/
' /
^. »•-/*.
"^^^^^WSSft
Global Danger
Signals
By Truman Temple
The long-awaited Global 2000 Study
has warned of "the potential for
global problems of alarming propor-
tions" within the next 20 years unless
changes in public policy are made in many
countries.
"Environmental, resource, and popula-
tion stresses are intensifying and will in-
creasingly determine the quality of human
\erica.
life on our planet," the report declared.
"These stresses are already severe enough
to deny many millions of people basic
needs for food, shelter, health, and jobs, or
any hope for betterment. At the same time,
the earth's carrying capacity—the ability
of biological systems to provide resources
for human needs—is eroding." The trends
reflected in the massive, three-year study,
which was made public recently, suggest
strongly a progressive degradation and im-
poverishment of the earth's resources.
The report managed to find some evi-
dence for cautious hope in the international
scene. Its projections were based on the
assumption that national policies dealing
with population, resource conservation and
environmental protection would remain
basically unchanged for the next 20 years.
"But, in fact, policies are beginning to
change," the authors noted. "In some
areas, forests are being replanted after
cutting. Some nations are taking steps to
reduce soil losses and desertification. In-
terest in energy conservation is growing,
and large sums are being invested in ex-
ploring alternatives to petroleum depend-
ence. The need for family planning is
slowly becoming better understood. Water
supplies are being improved and waste
treatment systems built." The study also
pointed out that high-yield seeds for crops
are widely available, and in some areas
conservationists have taken steps to pro-
tect wildlands whose genetic resources of
plants and animals otherwise would be
6
EPA JOURNAL
-------
-•
endangered. Also, a number of farmers
are substituting selective pesticides and
making use of natural predators in place of
persistent pesticides that often kill species
not targeted by the user.
The study was signed by Gus Speth,
Chairman of the Council on Environmental
Quality, and Thomas R. Pickering, Assist-
ant Secretary, Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs,
Department of State.
As a result of the report, President
Carter announced that he was setting up a
Task Force on Global Resources and the
Environment with Speth as Chairman, to
assure that high priority attention is given
to the global problems mentioned. The
Task Force will consult with EPA and
numerous other agencies in making future
recommendations.
The Global 2000 Study started out with
a request by President Carter in his Envi-
ronmental Message to Congress in 1977
for a one-year study by the Council on
Environmental Quality and the Department
of State, in cooperation with the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, National Sci-
ence Foundation, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, and "other
appropriate agencies."
But it soon became obvious that the task
would take more time. Over a dozen Fed-
eral agencies contributed sections to the
three-volume report, which posed formid-
able clearance procedures. In addition, it
was the first U.S. Government effort to look
at the issues of population, resources, and
environment from a long-term global per-
spective recognizing their interrelation-
ships and attempting to make connections
among them.
What the study found was very gloomy
news in a number of sectors. Rapid growth
in world population will continue, with the
total increasing from four billion in 1975 to
more than 6.3 billion in 2000. The rate of
growth is predicted to slow down only
from 1.8 percent annually to 1.7 percent.
Even more alarming, 90 percent of the
growth will occur in the poorest countries.
At the same time, world food production
is expected to increase 90 percent between
1970 and 2000. However, because of
surging population, the per capita increase
will be less than 1 5 percent. Moreover, the
bulk of the increase will go to countries
that already have relatively high per capita
food consumption. The consumption per
person in such food-scarce regions as
South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa
will barely improve or in fact will decline,
the report warned. At the same time, real
prices for food are expected to double.
Most of the rise in food production must
come from greater yields per acre, since
the total of land fit for cultivation will only
increase four percent by 2000, the study
estimated. A major reason why food prices
will soar during the years ahead is that
most elements that now produce higher
yields, such as fertilizer, pesticides, fuel
for tractors and power for irrigation, de-
pend heavily on oil and gas.
Some of the study's conclusions had
already been predicted by other specialists
in industry, science, and government and
came as no great surprise. Warnings about
population stresses on world resources,
such as overfishing, deforestation, over-
grazing and soil erosion had been voiced
for years by such authorities as Lester
Brown, President of WorldWatch Institute
(EPA Journal, June, 1978 and December,
1979). Nor was it news that less developed
countries will have increasing difficulty
meeting their energy needs. Already con-
servationists are voicing concern about the
rate at which impoverished countries are
causing floods and erosion by excessive
cutting of trees for firewood. The authors
of the study think that needs for fuelwood
will exceed supplies by about 25 percent
before the turn of the century.
What of the world's other fuel re-
sources, such as coal, gas, oil shale, tar
sands, and uranium? The report noted that
they are "theoretically sufficient for cen-
turies," but are not evenly distributed.
They also pose economic and environmen-
tal problems.
"Despite recent progress in reducing
various types of air pollution in many in-
dustrialized countries," the authors said,
"air quality there is likely to worsen as
increased amounts of fossil fuels, espe-
cially coal, are burned. Emissions of sulfur
and nitrogen oxides are particularly trou-
bling because they can combine with water
vapor in the atmosphere to form acid rain
or produce other acid deposition." The
study cited Norway, Sweden, southern
Canada, and the eastern United States as
examples of where acid rain had become a
problem. Fish have been disappearing in
many lakes in these countries, and in the
last two decades, "first salmon and then
trout disappeared in many Norwegian riv-
ers as acidity increased," the report noted.
In addition, the increasing use of fossil
fuels has resulted in rising concentrations
of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmos-
phere. Scientists differ on the possible
consequences, but a widely held view is
that within the next 70 years this could
seriously disrupt world agriculture, accord-
ing to the study. Carbon dioxide has in-
creased about 1 5 percent in the last hun-
dred years and is expected by the year
2000 to be a third higher than it was before
the Industrial Revolution began in the 18th
century. If the burning of fossil fuels such
as coal and oil continues to show the same
rate of increase, the amount of this pollut-
ant in the atmosphere is expected to
double after the year 2050.
"The result could be a two to three de-
gree Celsius (about 3.5 to 5.5 degrees F.)
rise in temperatures in the middle latitudes
of the earth," the report declared, "and
significant alterations of rainfall patterns
around the world. Agriculture and other
human endeavors would have great diffi-
culty in adapting to such rapid, dramatic
changes in climate. Even a one-degree C.
increase in average global temperatures
would make the earth's climate warmer
than it has been any time in the last 1,000
years."
The study repeated earlier warnings that
the stratospheric ozone layer, which pro-
tects the earth from damaging ultraviolet
light, is being threatened by chlorofluoro-
carbon emissions from aerosol cans and
other sources (EPA Journal, February,
1979). It also noted that the problem of
Continued to inside back cover
SEPTEMBER 1980
-------
Fine-Tun ing
Construction
Grants for the
Eighties
By Senator John H. Chafee,
(R-R.I.)
Just 10 years ago. Lake Erie was so
choked with algae that its beaches
were closed, and fish could not sur-
vive its waters. The Cuyahoga River was so
polluted that it caught fire.
Both these bodies of water are now sur-
rounded by blossoming parks and clean
beaches, being enjoyed by human and ani-
mal life alike.
The rejuvenation of these and other
waters throughout the country is largely
due to the Clean Water Act, originally en-
acted in1972andamendedin1977,
Though great progress has been made,
there is much more that must be
accomplished to achieve the Act's goal of
fishable and swimmable waters in the
1980's.
One change that is inevitable, in order
to achieve that goal, is to reform and fine-
tune the construction grants program. The
largest non-military public works program
since the Interstate Highway System, the
construction grants program has authorized
$44 billion for 17,000 projects nationwide
since 1972,
Yet for all its expenditures and all its
successes, the construction grants program
has been plagued with monumental costs
and delays in Federal funding. We in Con-
gress are going to review the Clean Water
Act, possibly beginning with hearings this
year and continuing into next spring. As a
crucial part of the Clean Water Act that will
undergo this review, the construction
grants program—its accomplishments and
its shortcomings—deserves more than
cursory examination.
Under the construction grants program,
municipalities may receive Federal aid to
construct wastewater treatment facilities
to meet the Act's requirements. The Federal
grants are available for up to 75 percent of
total project costs or up to 85 percent
where innovative or alternative technolo-
gies, such as recycling, will be used. As
amended in 1977, the Clean Water Act
now awards these grants under a complex
formula based on need and population.
Since 1972, we have made considerable
progress under this program. Some 1,862
new sewage treatment plants worth $2.1
billion have been built with the construc-
'vVJ*
—
EPAJOURNAL
-------
lion grants. Planning grants totaling $589
million and design grants totaling $456
million have been awarded.
But many of the environment's glowing
success stories—fish in Connecticut's
Willimantic River andshadinthe Delaware
River—have been primarily authored by
industry, while municipalities are behind
in compliance.
About 85 percent of the country's major
industry polluters are now complying with
the law. U.S. businesses have spent an
estimated $21.5 billion in water cleanup
equipment since 1 972. Yet more than half
of the Nation's 20,000 muncipalities are
not yet in compliance with the Clean Water
Act's 1977 deadline for sewage treatment
levels.
Our large older urban areas present a
particularly difficult challenge. Their plants
a re of ten of early to mid-19 00's vintage.
The fact that many of these cities, such as
Memphis and Providence, are located next
to valuable water bodies means that their
problems must be addressed.
Yet we have an allotment formula which
fa ilsto do this. Itisa formula which gives
credence to collector sewers, as well as
more critical needs. Some of our large
cities have yet to meet secondary treat-
ment: A requirement they should have met
by 1977.
Along with the struggle to meet second-
ary treatment standards, our older cities
face the enormous problems of combined
sanitary and storm sewers. To separate
these sewers would entail costs more likely
to approach our defense budget. But there
are methods to treat overflows from these
combined sewers, and the allotment for-
mula should give a sufficient boost to these
efforts.
There is universal agreement that the
construction grants program, which EPA
Administrator Douglas Costle says is "on
the brink of major progress," is in need of
reform. Those reforms must be made in
several different areas of the program.
Project cost overruns, certainly a major
shortcoming of the system, have been
compounded by soaring costs due to infla-
tion. Just between 1976 and 1978, infla-
tion caused a $13 billion increase in cost
estimates for construction projects. With
zero inflation and no changes in current
requirements, many States estimated that
at current funding levels, it would take 50
years to complete the mandated cleanup
process. Cost overruns and inflation boost
those figures to phenomenal amounts.
A major funding obstruction occurred in
1 972 when President Nixon declared that
the $18 billion authorized for three years of
Clean Water Act funds would "bust the
budget," and impounded one half of that
amount. Three years later, the money was
freed, but there was only a short time in
which to spend it.
And all funding delays aside, EPA itself
estimates that the cost of meeting all re-
quirements of the Clean Water Act is an
incredible $167 billion, which at current
spending levels would take 50 years.
Despite the weakness in the system, the
construction grants program is worth fine-
tuning and ultimately preserving. But
several modifications must be made before
the program is to accomplish its goals in a
reasonable period of time with a reasonable
amount of funds.
Some of these modifications can be
made by Congress, which will be exam-
ining the construction grants program with
several bills improving the current system,
according to the needs of the Nation's
municipalities. Already introduced are bills
designed to change the construction grants
allocation formula, to adopt "two-tier"
allocation of grants, and to ease the restric-
tions on the reimbursement for construc-
tion of wastewater treatment plants.
The construction grants allocation for-
mula, under which the States are allocated
their annual funds, would be changed to
place more emphasis on solving the prob-
lems caused by combined sanitary and
storm sewers, under a bill which also
places emphasis on secondary treatment.
If we are to use the construction grants
formula effectively to meet our Clean
Water goals, we must weigh the formula to
do just that.
States which spend their regular alloca-
tions in a timely manner would be given
more construction grant money under the
"two-tier" proposal introduced in the
Senate last year.
Another suggestion to decrease the
effect of inflation on the grants program
would be to ease the restrictions on a State
or local government's ability to seek reim-
bursement from the Federal government
for the cost of constructing, in advance, a
wastewater treatment plant. This legisla-
tion would encourage municipalities to
move ahead with their projects because
they would have the opportunity to recoup
part of their expenditures through reim-
bursement of funds as and if they are
appropriated in the future.
I am assuming that the construction
grants program will be reauthorized, al-
though the levels of funding for the pro-
gram during the last few years have been
uncertain at best. What we have to assure
is that we get the most water quality benefit
for the tax dollars that will be spent in the
future on these projects. Our goal is to have
fishable, swimmable waters in the 1980's,
and the construction grants program
should be geared toward this goal, not to
encouraging community growth and the
like.
But Congress alone cannot make all the
repairs to the construction grants program.
Though it causes some delays, the EPA's
recent requirement of reviewing advanced
wastewater treatment projects has saved an
estimated $35 million in the construction
costs of 64 projects. The extension of that
reviewing process will continue to cut
construction costs and unnecessary
spending.
The EPA and Congress must review cost
effectiveness guidelines for sewage treat-
ment projects and tighten the reserve
capacity rules for new plants, to prevent us
from overbuilding. We must also give the
greatest priority to those projects that
achieve the greatest amount of pollution
reduction.
Considering the obstacles involved in
establishing the administration of the con-
struction grants program, coping with the
early funding impoundments and delays,
and early underestimates of the costs of
cleaning our waters, the construction
grants program has done rather well. But
there is much left to be accomplished, and
much that must be changed to accomplish
it.
The continuing construction grants pro-
gram must be a marriage of several parties:
Projects that meet high ecological stand-
ards, construction that is cost and energy-
efficient, and plans that are in tune with a
community's needs and environment.
Time to accomplish these goals is run-
ning out. All of us—Congress, the Federal
Government, and State and local govern-
ments—must act now to build the facilities
needed to protect and preserve our ir-
replaceable waters. It can—and I believe,
it will—be done, r
Senator Chafee is a member of the Senate
Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution
whose jurisdiction includes the Clean
Water Act.
SEPTEMBER 1 98C
-------
Superfund:
Solving the
Problem
Without
Regulation
By Congressman James J.
Florio, (D-N.J.)
Two years ago, the problem of expo-
sure to hazardous wastes from leak-
ing, inactive and abandoned disposal
sites was unknown. Now, it is the number
one environmental priority of the 96th Con-
gress. Love Canal—site of the first aban-
doned chemical dump to receive public
attention—has become synonymous with
environmental disaster.
Other names have been burned into our
memories: Jackson Townshio, N.J., and
Toone, Tenn., where people drank water
poisoned by hazardous wastes; Eliza-
beth, N. J., where erupting hazardous
waste drums and fires sent toxic chemical
fumes billowing into the air and
forced people indoors to escape the threat;
the Valley of the Drums, Kentucky, where
careless hazardous waste disposal pro-
vided the ultimate obscenity in desecrating
land and endangering public safety.
With each passing week and the dis-
closure of another hazardous waste insult,
the Nation has learned that the Love Canals
and Elizabeths were not isolated incidents,
but examples of a pattern of abuse experi-
enced from coast to coast. Right now,
there are scores of improperly managed
hazardous waste sites that are catastrophes
waiting to happen. An unknown number of
sites across the country, perhaps in the
thousands, threatens the health and wel-
fare of the American people.
In designing a solution to this most im-
portant environmental problem, two objec-
tives must be met. First, the current threat
to public health and 'he environment from
problem sites must be removed. The fact
that people are now being exposed to ex-
tremely dangerous chemical wastes is
intolerable.
Second, the potential threats from prob-
lem sites must be prevented, through reme-
dial actions, from becoming real threats.
While everyone can readily see the need to
respond to immediate emergencies, the
importance of preventing potential threats
cannot be forgotten. For economic, as well
as social benefits, such prevention is an
absolute necessity. An example is illustra-
tive. At Love Canai, New York, the govern-
ment has spent on the order of $30 million
for response measures. In addition, dam-
age suits amount to billions of dollars in
claims. By contrast, the site could have
been secured properly at the time of dis-
posal for an estimated $3 million.
These figures leave little doubt that an
ounce of prevention can be worth far more
than a pound of cure—not to mention the
savings in pain and suffering of the affected
people. The option to manage properly
those wastes which have already been
buried obviously does not exist. However,
significant savings can be realized by early
response to potential threats from problem
sites.
The sooner a problem site can be
remedied, the smaller will be the extent of
contamination and, therefore, the less ex-
pensive it will be to respond. It seems likely
that the amount of money which will be
available in a "Superfund" initially will be
less than the ultimate need. Therefore, it
makes sense to spend that limited money
as efficiently as possible. A preventive
approach to hazardous wastes will achieve
that efficiency.
In achieving these objectives, the need
for a strong Federal role is indisputable.
The problem is clearly national in scope.
Leaking inactive and abandoned hazardous
waste disposal sites are not clustered in
one or two states; they are spread through-
out the country. The price tag for cleanup
of problem sites is large. Although the
1
II
EPAJOURNAL
-------
exact figure is unknown, il is likely that the
cost will be, at the bare minimum, an
amount in the hundreds of millions of
dollars. In certain cases, there will be either
no identifiable party associated with a
problem site or a party without the finan-
cial wherewithal to carry out a cleanup
effort.
All of these factors lead to the need for
a Federal program. Congress has recog-
nized this need. Legislation to promote in-
active ana abandoned hazardous waste
disposal site cleanup is pending in both the
House and the Senate; both "Supertund"
proposals incorporate the concept of a
strong Federal program.
The unique nature of this problem, its
serious extent, and the strong need for a
speedy solution combine to make this pro-
posed Federal program significantly differ-
ent from traditional Federal environmental
programs.
Existing Federal environmental statutes
mandating clean air, clean water, safe
drinking water, safely disposed solid and
hazardous wastes, and controlled toxic
substances are all regulatory in nature.
The.se laws require the establishment of
uniform national standards or require-
ments. In general, the implementation of
these laws has been characterized by
lengthy rulemaking procedures followed by
extensive litigation.
Years have passed from the time each
of these laws has been enacted to the time
when the first environmental and health
benefits have been achieved. Progress has
been steady but slow.
The "Superfund" legislation now under
consideration in the Congress has been
designed to avoid long delays in its imple-
mentation. The proposals before Congress
are distinctly non-regulatory in nature.
Once enacted, the Federal Government,
with the help of the States, will inventory
all inactive hazardous waste sites. Based
upon the results of that inventory, the
Federal Government, again with the help of
the States, will place these sites on a prior-
ity list so that those sites posing the most
serious threat will receive the earliest
attention. Sites will then be investigated
and cleaned up in priority order. However,
as emergency situations are discovered,
immediate action will be taken to mitigate
a possible threat to public health.
The "Superfund" legislation is designed
to encourage voluntary cleanup to the
maximum extent possible. The liability,
enforcement, and penalty provisions pro-
vide strong legal and financial incentives
for voluntary cleanup. By encouraging
companies responsible for creating prob-
lems sites to repair them, the overall prob-
lem of inactive and abandoned sites will
be solved much more quickly than if the
Government were forced to take action at
each site.
The Government's role, therefore, is
limited to cases in which the party respon-
SEPTEMBER 1980
sibie for a hazardous waste release at an
inactive site does not or cannot take the
proper actions. Where States wish to clean
up inactive sites and have the capability,
monies from the Federal fund will be made
available to them. The overall intent is to
have cleanup of problem sites proceed as
rapidly and efficiently as possible.
Superfund legislation will charge the
Environmental Protection Agency with
primary Federal responsibility to manage
the abandoned hazardous waste disposal
site problem. EPA will work with the States
to develop inventories and priorities and
may enter into contracts or cooperative
agreements with States for site cleanup.
EPA will supervise site cleanup where the
States or the responsible parties for a site
do not act. Finally, EPA will work with the
Justice Department to recover Federal
cleanup costs whenever Superfund monies
are expended,
In implementing Superfund legislation,
EPA will have to set aside its primarily
regulatory approach. The multi-year data
collection and analysis associated with
national standard setting will not be appro-
priate. The establishment of uniform
requirements which must be force-fitted
across the country will not be necessary.
Within the guidelines of a National
Hazardous Waste Response Plan, site
response actions will be a process of prob-
lem-solving on a case-by-case basis. What
Superfund calls for is a series of speedy.
but well-conceived, actions.
Although standard setting and regula-
tory frameworks are not applicable to
Superfund, EPA does have the experience
and expertise to do the job. There is a cur-
rent facet of Agency activity closely related
to the kind of activities which implementa-
tion of Superfund legislation will call for.
This is the EPA oil and hazardous sub-
stances spill response program carried out
under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act.
Responding to releases or threatened
releases of hazardous wastes from inactive
dispose I sites will be similar to responding
to oil or hazardous substance spills. In
many cases, the types of materials and
their effect on health will be similar or the
same. Therefore, the nature of both pro-
grams is response oriented rather than reg-
ulatory. For emergency situations, the
same type of on-scene decision-making
which characterizes spill response will be
necessary for site response.
It is not a coincidence that proposed
hazardous waste site Superfund programs
resemble existing spiil response programs.
However, Superfund legislation has been
designed to complement, improve and
expand on the successful spill response
provision of the Clean Water Act.
The concepts of encouraging voluntary
cleanup, limiting the Federal response to
cases where those responsible do not act,
and recovering cleanup costs from respon-
sible parties, are embodied in current law
and have been effective. The reason that
the spill response program was used as a
basis for abandoned hazardous waste site
legislation is that, for the most part, it
works. Incentives for voluntary action
work. Government response actions have
been effective. Monies have been
recovered.
The Clean Water Act, however, was not
designed for hazardous wastes, Superfund
legislation has been developed for a spe-
cific problem not addressed by any existing
statutes. Seizing on the opportunity to im-
prove existing approaches, the House bill
will overcome limitations of both the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
and the Clean Water Act.
I don't mean to imply that implementa-
tion of Superfund legislation will be easy
or problem-free. The contrary is true.
Technologies to clean up inactive sites are
not well developed. The number of experts
in site cleanup is small. Identification of
hazardous waste drum contents can be
dangerous and difficult. However, the
underlying statutory foundations for Super
fund are sound.
Although time is growing short, I am
hopeful that Congress will respond to the
will of the American people by enacting
Superfund legislation this session. Then
the Federal Government will be able to
proceed with directing the important job of
protecting public health and the environ-
ment from the dangers of leaking, inactive
hazardous waste sites. C
-
-------
The Need
for Federal
Involve-
ment
An Interview with
Gus Speth, Chairman,
President's Council on
Environmental Quality
Q
Are there any major
gaps remaining in the Federal
environmental effort?
Q
What is your impres-
sion of the Federal effort on
the environment today com-
pared with 1 0 years ago?
Ten years ago we were
really in our infancy. A big
achievement of the past decade
has been not only to develop
the needed environmental leg-
islation but to put the resulting
programs in place.
A decade ago we didn't have
the National Environmental
Policy Act, the Clean Air Act,
the Clean Water Act, or more
than 20 other laws. There was
only very rudimentary Federal
involvement in environmental
protection.
So, there has been a tremen-
dous change—comparable to
the change that we had in the
civil rights area during the
1 960's and the social legisla-
tion of the 1930's.
A
There are several, in-
cluding some in the areas with
which EPA is vitally concerned.
Some of the Administration's
proposed legislation is still
pending in the Congress—for
example, the "Superfund" leg-
islation aimed at cleaning up
inactive and abandoned hazard-
ous waste sites.
We must also seriously con-
sider additional legislation in
the area of groundwater pro-
tection. We want to be sure that
in the years ahead we are able
to protect groundwater effec-
tively through cooperative Fed-
eral and State arrangements.
A third area is the general
question of land use. Somehow
in the 1980's we have to evolve
a strong partnership among
Federal and State and local
governments to protect this
country's threatened land re-
sources. We now have a piece-
meal approach. If there is one
resource in the United States
today that is inadequately pro-
tected, it's our land.
There are four major land use
studies now underway that
President Carter initiated. The
first is the National Agricultural
Lands Study, which is focused
on the loss of farmland to urban
sprawl and other development.
Second is the Conservation
Incentives Study, which, like
the Agricultural Lands Study, Is
a joint Department of Agricul-
ture and Council on Environ-
mental Quality effort aimed at
deciding how best to address
the problem of erosion and soil
degradation.
A third land use study,
headed by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administra-
tion, is looking at the impact of
Federal activities on the coastal
zone and how they can be made
more protective of coastal
resources.
And a fourth land use study
effort is the barrier island study.
There is an environmental im-
pact statement out now for
public review dealing with the
question of barrier island pro-
tection. For example, should we
continue to provide Federal
flood insurance for the barrier
islands, or should we begin to
put restrictions on rebuilding
businesses or homes after a
flood or a hurricane?
Q
Are there any other
areas where Federal legisla-
tion may be needed?
A
We need a stronger leg-
islative mandate to curb acid
rain damage. We also need a
stronger Federal program to
support public participation in
agency proceedings—the so-
called "intervenor funding
legislation." And I think we will
probably identify other things
as well.
Q
What do you see as the
most significant achievements
as a result of the increasing
Federal role in the environ-
mental areas?
i\ The most important
achievement is launching the
very complicated and very im-
portant environmental pro-
grams that have been estab-
lished. That is a major, histori-
cally significant accomplish-
ment from which I don't think
there will ever be a turning
back.
What the public really wants
and deserves is results. And
there are specific results that
we can point to, even though
many of the programs—such as
the toxic substances control
effort—are just beginning to
get off the ground.
Coming into 1 970, we had a
situation of steady declines in
air and water quality. One
major achievement has been to
halt that decline and, in a num-
ber of areas, to reverse it. The
frequency of air pollution viola-
tions is down and air quality
levels have improved in many
areas of the country, at least
with regard to certain
pollutants.
In addition, we are able to
identify scores of streams and
water bodies where there have
been dramatic improvements in
water quality. These are likely
to increase significantly in the
years immediately ahead be-
cause of the large Federal in-
vestment committed to munic-
ipal treatment plants which are
planned or under construction.
Of the more than S25 billion
that EPA has committed in ap-
proved grants for sewage treat-
ment plant construction since
1972, only about $2.3 billion
has been spent on plants that
are actually completed. Within
the next few years, we should
see some significant results as
that backlog of treatment plants
comes on line.
We have also made impres-
sive gains in public lands—
both in additions to our parks,
trails, refuge areas, and wild
and scenic rivers, and in better
protection of lands that are
managed by the U.S. Forest
Service.
In almost all of those areas,
there are new legislative pro-
grams to assist in better
management.
We have tightened up greatly
the regimes that regulate off-
shore drilling and oil tankers,
and while we are certainly hav-
ing serious incidents they are
probably far less numerous than
what would occur if those pro-
grams weren't in place.
What would you say
are the key environmental
priorities of this
Administration?
A
The highest priority, and
maybe the most historically
significant, has been the com-
mitment to protect Alaska. We
have fought consistently for
three years for the strongest
possible protection of the nat-
ural areas of Alaska. We recent-
ly moved through executive
action to protect 96 million
acres in Alaska because of the
delays in getting necessary
legislative protection.
A second goal has been to
reorder the country's energy
priorities. There are a number
of different aspects of that.
First is the commitment which
the President made a year ago
to having 20 percent of our
energy resources come from
solar and other renewable
sources by the year 2000. A
program was established to
back that up, including the solar
bank. There are a number of
other initiatives to promote
solar energy as well.
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Related to the solar effort is
a commitment to make conser-
vation the cornerstone of the
Administration's energy policy.
This has been backed up by an
impressive series of measures
to promote energy conservation
in all sectors—including, in the
recent legislation, a conserva-
tion bank which will give low-
interest, long-term loans to
home owners to retrofit their
homes with measures to in-
crease energy efficiency.
Similarly, we have tried to
reverse the momentum that
existed in the previous Admin-
istration towards plutonium
utilization. The President has
successfully deferred the effort
that was underway to reprocess
nuclear fuel and to recycle
plutonium, and we have also
moved to reduce the priority
that would have been given to
the breeder reactor program
and to terminate the proposed
Clinch River Breeder Reactor.
Breeders, as you know, produce
plutonium. Both for do-
mestic environmental and
economic reasons, and for
international nuclear non-pro-
liferation reasons, the President
has been committed to reduc-
ing the emphasis on plutonium
and to moving away from that
to safer and more economical
nuclear technologies.
At the sametime, the
Administration has been pursu-
ing a more accurate and bal-
anced assessment of what the
nuclear future really is. There
have been estimates that the
country would need 300 to 400
nuclear power plants by the
year 2000. The Department of
Energy has now reduced those
estimates greatly, and the
President has indicated that he
wants to put quick solar and
conservation efforts first, give
coal a higher priority, and
pursue nuclear power only after
those options have been fully
tried.
All of that is reflected in a
rather dramatic reversal of his-
torical patterns that occurred
in the Fiscal Year '81 budget
that was just submitted to
Congress. For the first time in
history, the level of funding
committed to solar energy was
higher than the level of funding
committed to nuclear fission.
Also for the first time in history,
the level of funding for nuclear
fission actually went down in
absolute terms from previous
years. And the single largest
component of the expenditures
proposed by the Administration
in Fiscal Year '81 was for
conservation.
Q
What about pollution
control and other environ-
mental programs?
A
A third priority area for
the Administration has been to
continue the vigorous enforce-
ment of pollution control pro-
grams. Despite a lot of pressure
from many sources to weaken
those programs, we have con-
tinued to support them—with a
strong group of appointees
at the Environmental Protection
Agency and strong funding.
The funding for the regulatory
programs at EPA has, I think,
been adequate. In the toxics
area, for instance, it has gone
up substantially. So, in a period
in which some may have hoped
that a number of environmental
programs would be cut back
because of competing eco-
nomic and energy problems, we
have had instead a period of
steady and balanced enforce-
ment and progress under EPA
Administrator Douglas Costle's
leadership.
An additional area of major
accomplishment is the effort to
reform the way that water
resources projects are planned,
developed and implemented.
The aim is to insure that these
efforts put first priority on water
conservation and do not neglect
environmental protection.
Finally, we now have in
place for the first time a com-
prehensive and environmentally
sensitive program for moving
ahead with nuclear waste
management.
We have put together the
sophisticated and committed
effort that the problem de-
serves, including a commitment
to take a step back from previ-
ous plans to rush ahead with an
early commitment to nuclear
waste storage. Instead, we want
to adopt a more balanced,
longer-term program of looking
at a variety of different possibil-
ities and studying them intense-
ly and in depth before making
any decision about the type of
geologic formation or location
that would be most suitable
for nuclear waste.
Does the increased
environmental protection
effort mean a greater Federal
role—more big government?
A
It has to vary from issue
to issue. For pollution control,
we have to have national
standards because otherwise
States will compete with each
other for industry by seeing
which can have the weakest
programs and therefore attract
industry. Also, pollution
doesn't respect State bounda-
ries. There have to be national
standards in those areas, and I
think the presence of the
Federal Government will inevit-
ably be very strong.
The Federal presence will
also be strong where Federal
lands are involved. While such
lands must be managed with
great sensitivity to local aspira-
tions, they are public lands and
the national interest must be
kept at the forefront.
There are other areas, like
the protection of privately
owned agricultural lands,
where the principal govern-
ment involvement is going to
be State and local. For
instance, in management of
coastal resources State and
local governments are closer to
the problems than the Federal
Government, and we have to
rely on their expertise.
Some Federal environ-
mental regulations are being
criticized as excessive and
unfair. Do you believe the
critics are right?
A
The anti-regulation cru-
sade is being pushed in a rather
self-serving way by a segment
of business that in fact needs
to be regulated.
I am not saying that the way
we regulate can't be improved.
Indeed, the list of things that
the Administration has done to
reform regulation and to
eliminate waste, duplication,
and unnecessary burdens is
quite long, and we have to keep
doing those things.
But we have to remember
that the benefits of Federal
regulation far outweigh the
costs, even if you're just talking
about the benefits that you can
quantify. We also need to
remember that there is a big
difference between reforming
regulation and c/eforming regu-
lation. Companies like Mobil
Oil who suggest that we should
consider a moratorium on
Federal regulation at this time
are being very cavalier with the
public interest. For example,
what would a moratorium on
Federal regulation do to the
program which we are just now
developing to protect people
from hazardous and toxic
chemicals? What would it do to
cancer rates and to efforts to
halt the destruction of fisheries
in the Great Lakes and in the
Hudson and James rivers?
What would it mean in terms of
our ability to protect the public
from radiation from nuclear
power plants?
I don't think the public wants
the Federal government to let
up in its protection of the public
interest, in protecting environ-
mental quality and public
health. So, while there is con-
cern these days about big gov-
ernment and about government
regulation, the appropriate re-
sponse is a greater sensitivity
to red tape and unnecessary
burdens and an effort to achieve
more efficient regulatory proc-
esses. But we shouldn't cut
back on regulating. If anything,
in my judgment, the public
wants more environmental pro-
tection. That's the meaning of
public concern about Love
Canal and Kepone and Three
Mile Island.
What is the signifi-
canceof the Global 2000
report by the Council on
Environmental Quality and
the State Department?
A
The report has some very
profound conclusions and find-
ings. It suggests that our global
resource and environmental
problems are sufficiently seri-
ous that we are going to have
to put an increasing share of
our national resources, ener-
gies, and concern into them.
We are going to have to get
SEPTEMBER 1980
-------
some of our domestic preoccu-
pations and concerns resolved
and behind us so that we will
have the energy to address
these global problems.
We think of renewable re-
sources as being iust that,
resources that vou can count on
being renewed. But the study
indicates that global renewable
resources—agricultural lands,
water, and forests—and the
atmosphere, and species of life
around the globe are really all
endangered.
If current polices and current
commitments don't change,
such trends could radically
alter the face of the planet and
its habitability.
Q
Given such damages,
are you optimistic that we can
eventually achieve a clean
and healthy environment in
this country and globally?
A
am more optimistic
about this country than I am
about the global situation. Rela-
tively speaking, our problems
are under better control than
many global concerns. Of
course, everyone has a share in
the global problems in some
way. For instance, we have our
own problem of farmland
losses, which is very significant
and parallels the global
problem.
It is going to be very difficult
to address these global prob-
lems with the authority that
they require. Partly that's be-
cause some are not felt by
many people, although they are
very immediate to others. Part-
ly it's because they demand a
far-sightedness and a sense of
international involvement that
is difficult for people anywhere
to develop.
On the other hand, there are
some very encouraging signs.
The soundings that we have
made, both through public opin-
ion polls and our contacts with
citizens and the many environ-
mental organizations around
the country, would suggest that
the public concern about envi-
ronmental quality is still quite
high. The vitality is still there.
In some ways it expresses itself
differently than it used to.
There was a time when people
thought of "the environment"
as onegreat issue. Today, more
than before, people are begin-
ning to form coalitions to work
on smaller pieces of the prob-
lem. It is, I think, a healthy
development. It's very hope-
ful to note that we haven't
turned away from environmen-
tal protection and environ-
mental concerns and that we
have made the progress that we
have despite the competition
for public attention and com-
mitments because of our eco-
nomic problems and our energy
problems.
There has been a bright side
to our energy problem: It has
taught us all the value of con-
servation. A Nation of consum-
ers must become a Nation of
conservers. Fortunately, we're
already moving in that direc-
tion.
Q
Some skeptics have
said that the National tnvi-
ronmental Policy Act will
gradually become ineffective.
They believe it will be kind of
a compromise Hederal law.
How do you see that?
A
I don't think it has be-
come that at all, nor will it in
the future. There were a num-
ber of problems with NEPA
when we came into office a few
years ago. They had to do with
the way the environmental im-
pact statement process had
come to be implemented. The
statement had too frequently
become a document that was
used to justify decisions that
had already been made and to
defend those decisions. As a
result the documents were
sometimes very long and
defensive.
We decided that we had to
change that. We got a mandate
from the President to issue
regulations which would be
binding on all Federal agencies.
The regulations put a premi-
um on brevity and on eliminat-
ing unnecessary paperwork.
They provide an opportunity for
an applicant to request and re-
ceive a target deadline for the
completion of the impact state-
ment process. There is a re-
quirement that all permits and
other Federal approvals that are
necessary for a particular pro-
posal will be identified at the
outset and coordinated in the
impact statement process.
There are very specific re-
quirements for defining the al-
ternatives that have to be dis-
cussed in the impact statement.
The entire process is moved
back in time so that the draft
impact statement has to be pub-
lished when all the options are
still available for consideration
and the agency has not made up
its mind definitely. The public
has a right to try to affect the
decision in the period after the
final statement is available. If
the agency does not choose the
environmentally preferable
alternative at the end of that
period, it has to say, in a public
document, why it hasn't. I think
that's a very important
requirement.
It was a good series of re-
forms, and I think we have
taken the barnacles off this
ship. We have a situation, for-
tunately, in which both sides in
the debate have praised the re-
sults. We have received letters
of commendation from both
environmental groups and the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce on
the reforms, a rare accomplish-
ment in my experience.
Q
A prominent scientist
recently wrote that he was
concerned about the danger
that this country could be-
come another banana republic
if we continue to stress qual-
ity rather than quantity in our
lives and policies. He con-
tended that our highways,
city streets, industries, et-
cetera, are all gradually be-
ginning to deteriorate and the
pace of life is going to slow
down and we could become
just another society unable to
keep up with the leading pow-
ers of the world because we
won't have a strong defense,
good transportation, good
housing. Would you like to
comment?
A
His concept is that we
have to choose between the
quality of life and reindustrial-
ization of the country. That
phrase "reindustrialization of
the country" is an extremely
ambiguous one. It was also
Jerry Brown's campaign slogan
when he was running for Presi-
dent, and yet he was an advo-
cate of maintaining our quality-
of-life programs as well.
It seems to me that the argu-
ment that we must choose
needs to be more closely in-
vestigated. We should be able
to rebuild infrastructure in the
country without abandoning
social security and other social
programs and environmental
protection.
The environmental programs
are not having large effects on
economic growth. The analyses
that have been done suggest
that the economic effect is very
small. The environmental effort
seems to help economic prog-
ress in recessionary periods,
and it would have a small de-
pressing effect in boom periods.
But all in all, it's not large in
either direction.
It seems to me that to the
extent we need to rebuild our
infrastructure, the environmen-
tal position has a lot to offer in
terms of how to do that. If we
can revitalize our urban areas,
rebuild our railroads, improve
the systems of public transpor-
tation that we have, protect our
agricultural base, improve our
recreational resources, insure
that our commercial fisheries
are protected—all of these
things are environmental oppor-
tunities. If we are going to re-
tool our automobile factories,
or rebuild steel plants, that's a
tremendous opportunity for
better environmental protection.
So, I see efforts to revitalize
industry and urban areas and
transportation systems as
something that environmentally
concerned people have a lot to
contribute to. D
This interview was conducted
by Charles D. Pierce, Editor,
and John Heritage, Managing
Editor of EPA Journal.
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Interior and the
Environment
By Cecil Andrus
Secretary of the Interior
By the very nature of its mandate, the
Department of the Interior plays a
leading role in the protection of the
American environment. It is responsible for
the wise use of our natural resources and
for helping the American public determine
just how our still rich store of resources
willbeusedand how it will be protected.
The comparatively easy part of the job
involves making decisions to preserve in-
violate the most beautiful and significant
portions of our environment for the benefit
and enjoyment of future generations of
Americans.
After walking through the majesty and
cathedral-like stillness of a giant redwood
grove there can be little doubt that these
giants and the environment that supports
them must be preserved for all time. The
decision was easy, but there were a number
of legislative battles to win before it be-
came a reality. While the protection of the
redwoods in an expanded Redwood Na-
tional Park in California meant temporary
dislocations for some, I believe that the
end result was a tremendous victory for
America's legacy of natural beauty.
We are now fighting a similar but more
complicated battle in Alaska. Here the
challenge is not to protect a single specta-
ular resource but rather to analyze the nat-
ural and historic treasures of a great land
and determine which should be protected
and which should be developed.
Alaska is a land of awesome beauty,
vital wildlife habitat and valuable energy
and mineral resources. We have a respon-
sibility to manage the land so that we can
extract the minerals, fuel and timber our
country needs while preserving Alaska's
superlative natural beauty and wildlife
habitat. The Alaska legislation recom-
mended by the President more than two
years ago was designed to achieve just
such a balance.
While we have all been disappointed
that the Congress has not yet passed legis-
lation which would achieve the essence of
what the President proposed, I still believe
that such legislation can be passed and that
the opportunities wilt be realized for the
prudent development of Alaska's re-
sources, including those which nourish and
sustain the spirit as well as those which
nourish and sustain our economy.
To protect the more than 100 million key
acres of especially significant Federal lands
in Alaska until Congress completes action
on the legislation, President Carter has
placed some 56 million acres in national
monument status, and I have withdrawn an
additional 40 million acres primarily for
management as wildlife refuges.
Throughout the Nation the National Park
System preserves the crown jewels of our
heritage—natural and historic. I am proud
of the job that is being done to preserve
these treasured places and to make them
available for the use and enrichment of
Americans from all walks of life.
One difficult problem is maintaining the
crystal clear air that is so much a part of so
many parks in the Southwest. A number of
parks have been recommended for protec-
tion under the Clean Air Act and we are
also working with the States and energy in-
dustry to find and develop sites for power
generation that can use the rich coal re-
sources of the area and not seriously de-
grade the air above the parks.
Through the efforts of the Heritage Con-
servation and Recreation Service, the De-
partment of the Interior plays a major role
in the growth and development of State and
local outdoor recreational resources and in
the growing awareness of the need to
better identify and preserve a rich legacy
of historic buildings and structures and a
myriad of natural landmarks which con-
tribute so much to the diversity of our land.
We also possess a diversity of animals
and plants—many unseen or unrecognized
by most of us—that adds to our lives in
many ways. Too often the continued exist-
ence of these creatures is threatened by
ongoing civilization. To make sure that the
future environment of this Nation contains
the fullest possible spectrum of life the
Fish and Wildlife Service maintains the en-
dangered species program to identify and
then protect wildlife that, through man's
activities, is on the brink of extinction. It
works with the States and other Federal
agencies to help identify and protect the
habitat ot endangered species.
It should be noted that even the whole of
the United States is not a large enough en-
vironment to protect a world heritage of
nature. The Fish and Wildlife Service also
cooperates with other nations and inter-
national organizations for the protection of
migratory waterfowl under treaty, and for
endangered species everywhere.
The Service also operates many wildlife
refuges and hatcheries to maintain the
population of many species of mammals,
fish and birds in the face of encroachments
resulting from loss of their former habitat.
With the new hard realities of life in an
energy-short era many Americans are be-
ginning to feel like endangered species, or
at least question whether we can maintain
the lifestyle to which we so happily ac-
customed ourselves. I believe that for the
most part we can. There are going to be
some changes, some of them painful, but
with an application of American ingenuity
and determination we can manage our re-
source base in ways that protect and en-
hance the environment and yet contribute
to a strong economy and continued devel-
opment of our potential for lives of purpose
and achievement.
To do that we shall have to maintain,
through enlightened decisions, the balance
between resource use and protection. The
Bureau of Land Management makes many
such choices in its administration of some
400 million acres of public domain. It seeks
to manage timber sales and grazing leases
on those lands in such a way as to maintain
sustained yields of forage and forest prod-
ucts, and allow the extraction of coal, oil
shales and other vital minerals with a mini-
mum of dislocation to the land.
Under the Federal Land Management
and Policy Act of 1976, the Bureau is now
clearly mandated to do more than manage
commodity resources, by developing com-
plex land use systems that will preserve
primitive and prehistoric values—notably
SEPTEMBER 1980
Ih
-------
in places like the Birds of Prey Primitive
Area in Ida ho and the huge California des-
ert but elsewhere as well—while also
accommodating recreationists of all kinds.
It is no simple task, and requires some new
ways of doing things. The Bureau also now
has major Wilderness Act responsibilities.
Its diligence and effectiveness are attested
to in many parts of the West where some
traditional users have promoted the so-
called "Sagebrush Rebellion" aimed at
turning Bureau of Land Management lands
over to the various States. The "Rebellion"
dramatically underscores the many com-
petitive pressures Interior faces in seeking
a balance among all legitimate land uses.
A major Bureau of Land Management
effort is planning the development of off-
shore oil and gas reserves which are a vital
part of our economic future but which must
be leased with utmost care so that an acci-
dent does not mar an often sensitive marine
or coastal environment. The U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey administers and inspects the
actual oil and gas development on Federal
lands, both offshore and onshore, in close
cooperation with the Bureau of Land
Management.
Similar planning is being done in the
Interior Department's Water and Power
Resources Service (formerly the Bureau of
Reclamation). We need the pristine envi-
ronment of free flowing streams and rivers
and we need electricity for homes and
industry and we need irrigation water to
help grow foods and fibers we consume.
Dams and irrigation projects that are not
thoughtfully planned and executed would
have a detrimental environmental effect.
The Department has played a major role in
the more careful analysis of the environ-
mental effects of water projects across the
Nation. This not only protects the American
environment but the American pocketbook
as well.
There is no question but that the extrac-
tion of minerals from the earth is often a
very disruptive process that can leave
scarred and sterile landscape behind it.
16
EPA JOURNAL
-------
But there is also no question we
can extract minerals and then return the
land to a useful and attractive condition—
a productive and beautiful environment.
The Office of Surface Mining is leading
a cooperative program to restore lands
already damaged by coal mining activities
and to establish restoration standards and
requirements for new surface mining activ-
ities. This major effort in regulation and
reclamation is being implemented at the
State level and operates with a continued
citizen input. I have great faith in the ability
and the willingness of the people to work
in a very active way for the protection of
the lands and resources, while meeting the
need for conversion to coal.
Primary among groups whose culture
reflects a real sensitivity to the environ-
ment are the Native Americans—Indians,
Eskimos and Aleuts. With the aid of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Native groups in
the lower 48 States and Alaska are planning
to develop their very substantial mineral re-
sources in ways which avoid the environ-
mental pitfalls of careless planning and
exploitation. These projects will be under
the direction and control of the tribes and
will provide the employment opportunities
that will permit many young people to find
jobs without having to leave their tradition-
al homelands.
Across the Nation there have been very
direct and immediate benefits to the envi-
ronment through the activities of the Youth
Conservation Corps, the Job Corps and the
Young Adult Conservation Corps. Interior
is pleased to have a major role in these
programs. Projects, big and small, have
improved the public lands, parks and ref-
uges. Many young people have learned
skills that will enable them to find jobs.
And these young people have had the ex-
Surf fishing in the Atlantic Ocean at Cape
Halteras National Seashore in North
Carolina.
posure to the natural world that gives them
the understanding and respect for our en-
vironment necessary to make decisions as
informed and active citizens.
Finaily, our technological society has
too often demonstrated its capacity to
develop new threats to the environment.
Yet it is that same technology that can pro-
vide us with the tools to protect our envi-
ronment and reverse some of the damaging
trends in resource use and development.
The Geological Survey and the Office of
Water Research and Technology are work-
ing to give us a better understanding of the
nature of our planet and its natural sys-
tems. The better we understand the earth
and its lifegiving water the better we can
protect it and ourselves.
You can see that I define the word "envi-
ronment" very broadly. I think that we
must always consider the fact that the total
quality of our lives will be determined by
the total environment we live in. Just as no
organism lives in a vacuum apart from
others, our total environment is a seamless
web in which we work and live. Each part
of it is dependent on all the others. We are
continually discovering how its parts work
together, and seeking new and better ways
to achieve harmony within the whole.
Implicit in all these efforts by Interior is
the obvious fact that humankind is a part of
the environment and that it will continue
to interact with all the other parts as long
as we survive on this planet. People need
jobs, transportation, food, clothing and
shelter, and much more besides. Human
activity will always impact heavily upon
the total environment—and be impacted
by it, as the eruption of Mount St. Helens
so recently reminded us. We are a part of
the whole, and not necessarily the most
dominant part. We have no choice but to
search constantly for better ways to live
with nature's awesome forces and bountiful
gifts. We need to make our living, and we
also need a life that is worthwhile for our-
selves and our descendants. D
SEPTEMBER 1980
-------
Energy and the
Environment
By Charles W. Duncan, Jr.
Secretary of Energy
This year—1 980—marks the tenth
anniversary of America's great envi-
ronmental movement. It marks the
completion of a decade of environmental
progress and the beginning of a new
decade of intense dialogue on energy
development and environmental concerns.
The big question being asked today is: "Are
environmental and energy goals compa-
tible?" And, not surprising, we can easily
line up well-intended groups and well-
thought-out arguments on both sides of the
issue.
Back in 1970, cynics claimed that furor
over the environment was a mere passing
fad: that a fickle public would soon lose
interest in environmental issues. They were
wrong, of course; overall interest and
commitment to improving the environment
did not wane, even when the costs for pol-
lution control seemingly began to hurt.
Ironically, the Nation passed another mile-
stone back in 1970 and few people paid
much attention to it. The production of
petroleum in the United States peaked that
year, This turning point measurably has-
tened America's growing dependence upon
foreign oil suppliers.
As a Nation, we are moving as quickly as
possible toward a more balanced and diver-
sified energy base. We simply must reduce
our dependence on petroleum. This means
making greater use of coal and solar and
other renewable energy sources. It also
means the birth of a brand new industry in
this country—the synthetic fuels industry.
And it means taking care along the way to
minimize their environmental effects.
Environmentalists are rightly concerned
that moves toward greater domestic energy
production, and toward development of
alternate energy technologies, not be at
the expense of environmental quality.
We cannot afford incompatible environ-
mental and energy goals. In a climate of
mistrust, where both sides take non-
negotiable stands, the risk of failure is
increased—failure of the country to pro-
vide for its energy needs, failure to make
environmental progress, or both. However,
in a climate of accommodation, where new
technologies are sensitive to environmental
needs, and where standards for clean air
and clean water are geared to normal risk
tolerances, the Nation can continue to
maintain and improve our health and safety
and our energy self-reliance.
Coal is a prime example. In the 1980's
we are going to mine and burn more coal
than ever before. And we are going to have
to do it without doing irreparable damage
to the environment. Half a century ago,
coal meant steam locomotives, clinkers in
the basement furnace, and dirty air in such
places as Pittsburgh and St. Louis and
other big cities.
Today, increased use of coal means
unburdening the Nation from the tremen-
dous economic liability of imported oil,
weaning ourselves from the whims and
politics of foreign countries. It means using
our technological strength and ingenuity to
make coal an agreeable neighbor as well as
a valuable asset.
Is increased coal production and usage
a threat to environmental protection?
Clearly not!
The law that created the Department of
Energy to set a strong policy to meet the
Nation's present and future energy needs
also demands that the policy and program
be consistent with the Nation's environmen-
tal goals. Those goals include restoration,
protection, and enhancement of environ-
mental quality while assuring public health
and safety.
In the long-run, the only way to eliminate
our dependence on foreign oil is by em-
barking on a transition to an efficient, post-
petroleum world. While some may view
this transition with a sense of foreboding,
I view the years ahead asatime of un-
paralleled opportunity. Change is inevi-
table, but it is through change that we see
improvement. As a result, t envision cities,
transportation systems, buildings and
schools that are better equipped to meet
our energy and environmental needs.
The centerpiece of our energy program,
and the most environmentally attractive
element in our strategy, is a far-reaching
commitment to increasing the efficiency of
energy use. America matured in an era
when oil cost $2 a barrel; today, the world
price is over $30. Cars that were popular
when gasoline was cheap are no longer
acceptable to most Americans. And the
adequacy of insulation is today a major
concern to the homeowner and prospective
purchaser.
We should invest in efficiency until the
price of saving the next unit of energy is as
high as the cost of producing it. If such a
criterion had been followed in the past, we
could enjoy our present level of economic
productivity using half the fuel we current-
ly consume. Our refrigerators would keep
our food just as cold, but use only half as
much electricity. Our automobiles would
be comfortable and safe, but would require
only half as much gasoline. Our schools
and offices and homes would be more
pleasant, with fewer drafts and cold spots,
and they would burn only half as much
fuel.
In the years ahead, we will achieve that
kind of efficiency in our cars, appliances,
and buildings. Improved performance is
being demanded, pushed by higher energy
prices and special incentives such as tax
credits, efficiency standards and a new
multi-billion dollar Conservation and Solar
Energy Bank.
Yet no matter how much we conserve,
we must also develop new sources of
supply. One day this Nation may get most
of its energy directly and indirectly from
the sun. President Carter's pledge is to
vigorously advance toward that end by
turning to solar energy for at least 20 per-
cent of the national energy budget by the
year 2000.
Direct solar energy, and such indirect
solar sources as wind, hydropower, and
biomass, have many attractions. They tend
to be safe, resilient, dependable, and easily
applied at the individual and community
levels. Moreover, if developed correctly,
they are the most environmentally attrac-
tive energy options we have.
Many solar technologies are technically
mature and commercially available today.
We are encouraging their use with tax
credits, the solar bank, and many public
information programs. Other solar tech-
nologies require further research and de-
18
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Solar collector at the Energy Departrr
Sand/a Laboratories in Albuquerque, N M ,
concentrates heat from the sun.
velopment efforts, being undertaken by the
Department of Energy and private industry.
I expect to see a major private sector com-
mitment to solar in the years ahead.
Although our ultimate goal may be an
efficient society, powered by clean, renew-
able sources, the path to that end will not
be easy or quick. Three-fourths of our
energy is now produced by oil and gas.
We must make efficient use of our other,
more abundant fossil fuels—coal and oil
shale—as sources of liquid and gaseous
hydrocarbons.
The Department of Energy is promoting
the rapid development of a number of clean
coal technologies whose potential, both in
terms of meeting environmental standards
and of energy production efficiency, is
enormous.
Next year, for the first time we will
spend over $1 billion on research and
development into technologies to burn coal
directly and indirectly more cleanly and
more efficiently.
The Energy Department will continue to
examine the cost-effectiveness of health,
safety and environmental regulations. We
realize that the future of coal is largely
contingent upon the willingness of the
American people to see it as a safe, clean,
abundant and relatively inexpensive energy
source—and that environmental concerns
are not going to go away, but must be con-
sidered as part of our political and eco-
nomic way of life.
The efforts of industry, for example, must
be directed toward working with the Federal
Government to develop and commercialize
technology whichwillenableustoburn
coal in a manner consistent with environ-
mental standards.
We are optimistic about coal because
production can be rapidly expanded. The
industry today has about 100 million tons
of idle capacity, which cuts into profits,
aggravates unemployment and hurts the
consumer. It certainly represents a lost
opportunity to curtail our dangerous
dependence on imported oil.
We have every reason to believe that the
Synthetic Fuels Corporation—a basic ele-
ment of the Energy Security Act the Presi-
dent signed on June 30—will stimulate
demand for an additional 1 50 to 200 mil-
lion tons of coal during the 1 980's, and up
to 300 million tons by the end of the cen-
tury. The Corporation will not displace the
private sector. It is still up to industry to
build the plants and commercialize the
technology. But this Corporation will pro-
vide a mix of loans, loan guarantees and
price-purchase guarantees which will ac-
celerate the industry's development and
allow a wide range of private firms to par-
ticipate in creating a commercially viable
synfuels industry. But that industry must
be developed with full consideration of
environmental and social impacts.
We must also recognize that nuclear
power must continue to play an important
role as alternative sources are developed.
But it must be used safely. Therefore, we
are taking steps to improve nuclear power
plant operations. Reactor safety is the most
critical element of any program which
seeks to restore public confidence in nu-
clear energy. The safe handling of nuclear
waste is also a critical area that has been
aided by our concentration on developing
the framework for a strong and close re-
lationship between the States and the
Federal Government.
A State Planning Council was estab-
lished early this year consisting of gover-
nors, cabinet officials, local government
officials and a representative of the Indian
nations. On the recommendation of the
Council, in July the Department of Energy
wrote to the governors and the Indian na-
tions seeking close cooperation in our
program to expand our study of geologic
environments and to identify potential
disposal sites.
Fundamentally, all Americans share the
same basic objectives. We want a healthy
environment for our children, powered by
energy sources that are benign, resilient,
and sustainable, in getting from here to
there, it is the EPA's mission to protect the
Nation's natural endowment, and it is the
Department of Energy's mission to safe-
guard our economic well-being and our
national security by assuring the develop-
ment and use of our domestic resources.
Those different missions need not be in
conflict.
Neither energy nor the environment can
stand alone in the world in which we live
today and build for tomorrow. We cannot
make our decisions solely on one criterion
or the other, because we are not a single-
issue society. Our interests and our con-
cerns are as numerous and diverse as our
people and our resources. In the kind of
democratic society in which we fortunately
live, this inevitably will lead us to com-
promises and adjustments as we seek the
best, if not the perfect, path through this
twenty-year transition to an energy-secure
America. Q
SEPTEMBER 1980
19
-------
-
••us
V
r-
• .
:.;.' -_J. -
V
£*«..- •*./**
-------
Aiding the Overseas
Environment
By Douglas J. Bennet, Jr.
Administrator, Agency for
International Development
Will the Panama Canal be an empty
ditch by the time Panama takes it
over in the year 2000? This is a
distinct possibility if current plans are not
successful in arresting the massive defor-
estation that is causing the soil erosion and
serious silting of the Canal.
Can mountainous Nepal afford the an-
nual loss of 31 5 million cubic yards of
precious topsoil—topsoil that clogs new
irrigation canals in India's Gangetic plain?
That is the amount its rivers carry to India
•every year because of soil erosion resulting
from harmful agricultural practices and
deforestation.
Can the world continue to cut down
10 percent of its tropical forests each year?
These are vivid examples of how envi-
ronment deterioration can adversely affect
economic development in the Third World.
In both instances, the Agency for Inter-
national Development is helping to reverse
the trends. Panama, with assistance from
AID, is working on a comprehensive man-
agement plan for the Canal watershed. In
Nepal, an AID-backed conservation pro-
gram aims at helping the country solve
natural resource problems through training,
research, technical assistance and exten-
sion efforts.
Environmental considerations are as
great in the Third World as in industrialized
nations. More and more, developing coun-
tries see the importance of environmental
concerns, even in the midst of mounting
economic and political pressures.
There is growing recognition that envi-
ronmental damage can quickly wipe out
the gains from development projects, de-
plete or destroy the resources vital to
future progress and actually hurt the very
people who are supposed to benefit.
Countries frequently must confront the
undesirable and often unforeseen con-
sequences of projects started years ago.
For example, the U.N. Environmental Pro-
gram warns that snail fever now threatens
Tree nursery in Jordan.
over 1.5 billion people in 72 countries—in
part as a result of thousands of dams and
irrigation schemes that have provided wide
new breeding grounds for the fresh-water
snails that carry the schistosomiasis
parasite.
AID's programs reflect increasing efforts
to make environmental considerations part
of economic development. Our role is to
increase understanding, to help developing
countries identify major environmental
problems, to improve their capacity for
taking action and, finally, to take joint steps
to correct the problems through sustainable
development assistance.
According to the Natural Resources
Defense Council, "Within the last decade
AID has changed from an agency which
paid little conscious attention to environ-
mental aspects of development into a
leader within the international develop-
ment assistance community in addressing
the serious environmental problems con-
fronting developing countries."
The countries AID assists have many
problems in common. These include:
• Land deterioration—desertification, ero-
sion, salinity build-up, waterlogging, de-
clining fertility, deforestation.
• Water quality and quantity—silting of
lakes and reservoirs, contamination of
surface and ground water from agricultural,
industrial and domestic wastes.
• Damage to fishing waters.
• Air pollution.
• Loss of indigenous plant and animal
species.
• Depletion of mineral and energy
resources
In addition, population growth and rapid
expansion of cities strain resources and
services, while inadequate water and waste
systems add to pollution and health prob-
lems. Poorly planned and constructed irri-
gation systems, housing, dams and roads
may further harm water and soil resources,
increase health hazards and hurt agricul-
tural production.
The level of environmental awareness
and the ability to act vary sharply from
country to country. Some are just becoming
aware of such problems. Others, ready to
turn awareness into action, often lack the
resources to carry out effective programs.
What specifically is AID doing to help?
For fiscal 1980, the Agency planned 146
environmentally related projects involving
drinking water and sanitation, pollution
control and abatement, environmental
health and disease control, forestry, con-
servation and management of land and
water, and similar areas of concern.
The cost: $260 million.
In Africa, conservation of land and
water resources is essential to AID's pro-
gram, which emphasizes increased food
production. For example, AID has provided
technical assistance and $3.2 million to
Lesotho's $11 million Taba Bosiu agricul-
tural project, a joint effort with the Lesotho
government and other international donors.
Improved agricultural practices and con-
servation training there have paid off in the
last few years as farmers learn for them-
selves how erosion can be checked. In the
Sahel region of West Africa, where an esti-
mated 205,000 square miles of agricultural
and grazing land in eight countries have
been lost to the encroaching Sahara Desert
because of overcropping, overgrazing and
deforestation, AID is funding small-scale
forestry projects adapted to community
needs for fuel, construction materials,
food and fodder.
One unique solution to the energy and
environmental problems posed by defores-
tation is being explored in Burundi. At the
current cutting rate, the country could be
totally without trees in seven years. But
Burundi's peat bogs may offer rapidly
dwindling forests a chance to recover by
providing peat as a source of energy at a
sixth of the price of charcoal made from
wood. AID helped in the exploratory efforts
and is examining the environmental impli-
cations of an expanded program.
In Latin America, countries such as
Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia and
Peru are receiving more basic assistance in
tackling deforestation and soil erosion
problems. A number of proposed projects
SEPTEMBER 1980
21
-------
"1
"V"
X
-,
Cow dung in India is made into cakes lor fuel for cooking and heating.
would provide financial and technical
assistance in a variety of areas: for systems
to inventory and monitor forests and nat-
ural resources using remote sensing and
other techniques; for research on agro-
forestry, fast-growing trees and species
that stabilize soil; and for a credit exten-
sion system to help spread useful tech-
nologies.
In Costa Rica, where forests have been
depleted by 40 percent during the past 20
years.anAID loan of $9.8 million will
assist resource management and conserva-
tion through regional planning, reforesta-
tion and watershed management. The loan
will also support planning for a new na-
tional park and office for forestry and
protection of wild lands.
In the Near East, major environmental
problems stem from pollution, depletion
and improper use of limited water re-
sources as well as urban land use and
management of rural land. Agricultural
mechanization in many instances has ac-
celerated the deterioration of water and
soil resources. However, the problems are
not being ignored. An AID-funded environ-
mental assessment helped prevent some
unwanted effects of development projects
in Jordan. Morocco expects to overcome
land use problems through improved plan-
ning and programs in range and forestry
management.
Several countries in Asia have estab-
lished environmental boards or ministries
and passed legislation to deal with the
problems. A number of private environmen-
tal groups are also active. But the lack of
reliable data and trained people severely
hinders countries in carrying out programs.
Indonesia, for example, plans to set up
1 5 environmental study centers at major
universities. AID is assisting the center at
the Bandung Institute of Technology, which
will concentrate on human settlements,
manmade environments and the environ-
mental impacts of industrial development.
AID advisers are helping to develop a train-
ing program, publications for an environ-
mental clearing house, and short-term
training and seminars for academics and
government personnel.
A massive program to develop the
Mahaweli River basin in Sri Lanka is a good
example of how environmental concerns
are being incorporated into development
planning. Three dams will be built to in-
crease food production and spur rural de-
velopment and employment by bringing
new land under cultivation. More than
450,000 people will be resettled. What will
be the consequences on downstream areas,
fisheries, plants, wildlife and the people
who must be resettled from land flooded
upstream? At the request of the Sri Lanka
government, AID is funding an environ-
mental assessment. Although not yet com-
pleted, an interim report identified poten-
tial adverse effects on wildlife, resulting in
a project proposal to mitigate some of
those impacts.
Developing and industrialized countries
alike face difficult choices in balancing
agricultural, industrial and energy needs
against limited natural resources. The re-
sults of environmental abuse—climatic
changes, damage to fisheries, air and water
pollution, acid rain—do not stop at na-
tional borders. Solutions ultimately will
depend on cooperation between govern-
ments, international organizations and
corporations. Q
22
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Highlights of the Federal Environmental Effort
By Charlotte Garvey
The Estimated
Benefits of Environ-
mental Legislation
and Regulation
The President's Council on En-
vironmental Quality has con-
ducted a review of the benefits
of pollution control to Ameri-
cans through the passage of the
Clean Air and Water Acts.
Air Benefits
The review indicates the most
reasonable estimate of benefits
to Americans in 1978 from im-
provements in air quality since
the Clean Air Act was passed in
1970 to be $21.4 billion.
• S17 billion as a result of re-
ductions in pollution-related
death and illness.
• $2 billion in soilingand
cleaning cost reductions.
• S700 million in agricultural
production increases.
• $800 million in property
value increases.
• $900 million in corrosion
prevention.
Water Benefits
A report prepared for EPA by
the JACA Corporation of Port
Washington, Pa., estimates that
each dollar of Federal lake
clean-up funds has resulted in
$8 in benefits. Total govern-
ment investment in lake clean-
up, including matching State
and local funding, is returned
four-fold to the taxpayer, ac-
cording to the study.
Estimates of anticipated water
pollution control benefits by
1985 range from $6.5 billion to
almost $25 billion a year. The
CEQ report concludes the most
reasonable estimate of the
annual water pollution benefits
accruing by 1985 is $12.5
billion. These benefits are pri-
marily in the area of recreation,
in improved opportunities for
swimmers, boaters and fisher-
men. Pollutant removal also
reduces certain waterborne
diseases, lowers municipal
water treatment costs and re-
duces costs to households and
industry.
Achievement of
Federal Environ-
mental Objectives
Air Quality
Over 80 percent of major air
pollution sources now comply
with the Clean Air Act. From
1972-1978 ambient levels of
particulates (smoke and dust)
were reduced 1 0 percent, sulfur
dioxide by 17 percent, carbon
monoxide by 35 percent, and
lead by 26 percent. Ozone lev-
els remained essentially stable
over this period with 1979
showing a 3 percent decrease
from 1978 levels.
The Council on Environmental
Quality, using EPA's pollutant
standards index on combined
data from 25 major metropol-
itan areas, showed that the
number of unhealthful days
declined by 15 percent between
1974and 1977, while the num-
bers of very unhealthful days
declined by 32 percent.
Tailpipe standards set by EPA
should reduce emissions from
gasoline and diesel-powered
trucks and buses by 90 percent,
beginning with 1984 models.
The new standards will control
hydrocarbon and carbon mon-
oxide emissions for vehicles
over 8,500 pounds gross
weight, and represent a 90 per-
cent reduction from 1969
emission levels.
EPA also has set new auto
emission standards to reduce
particulate exhaust released
into the air from diesel cars and
light-duty trucks, to take effect
with 1 982 models. Auto manu-
facturers estimate that 20 per-
cent of the auto market will be
diesels by the mid-1980's.
Fuel Conservation
Since standards were set by the
Energy Policy and Conservation
Act, average new car fuel econ-
omy has risen from 1 4.4 miles
per gallon to 20 miles per
gallon.
By 1985, the average miles per
gallon requirement for each
fleet of new cars will be 27.5
miles per gallon.
All of the top ten cars tested for
miles per gallon ratings in 1980
averaged over 30 miles per
gallon.
Land Use
Between 1974 and 1979, $70
million was distributed to
States for development of
coastal management programs;
15 of 35 plans have been Fed-
erally approved.
In 1980, the Soil Conservation
Service will survey and map
about 50 million acres of soil to
determine trends in land use
and if this use is best suited to
the capabilities of the land.
The total designated and pro-
posed Wilderness Lands have
nearly doubled since 1970, and
now total almost 93 million
acres; the National Wild and
Scenic River System has nearly
tripled since 1970, and now
embraces over 2,000 miles of
river.
The Department of Agriculture
and the Council on Environmen-
tal Quality are conducting the
National Agricultural Lands
Survey to study what is happen-
ing to agricultural lands. The
study should be completed by
January 1981.
Noise Control and
Abatement
About 90 local communities
have active noise control pro-
grams, while about 1100 com-
munities have some type of
noise control ordinance on the
books.
EPA offers financial assistance
to help States and commu-
nities launch noise control
programs. EPA assisted 1 6
States in 1979 and anticipates
assisting eight to 10 State pro-
grams in 1980.
In 1979, EPA gave financial
assistance to 1 2 community
programs and expects to aid
seven to 10 programs in 1980.
Under these cooperative agree-
ments, the Agency helps States
and localities identify their own
particular noise problems and
build programs in response to
their needs.
In 1979, 10 universities with
EPA assistance established re-
gional technical centers to help
EPA regions provide on-site
technical assistance to State
and local noise abatement
projects.
Under the Each Community
Helps Others (ECHO) program,
EPA provides transportation
costs for representatives of
communities to share their
noise control experiences with
other communities. As a related
part of the ECHO program, EPA
has established an experience-
sharing program dealing spe-
cifically with the noise abate-
ment problems of airports and
their surrounding communities.
Radiation
The White House has desig-
nated EPA as the lead Federal
Agency responsible for the
monitoring of off-site radiation
levels around Three Mile
Island, and for the implementa-
tion of a comprehensive pro-
gram to keep the local elected
officials and the public fully in-
formed of near and long-term
cleanup activities.
The Department of Health and
Human Services is researching
the effects of low-level radia-
tion exposure by studying the
health effects on people ex-
posed to small radiation doses
at the Three Mile Island
accident.
The Department of Energy is
conducting a study of the
effects of low-level radiation
exposure on over 250,000
subjects who have worked in
SEPTEMBER 1980
23
-------
shipyards involved in Navy
nuclear submarine programs.
Research and Development
The fiscal year 1980 budget
authority appropriation for EPA
research and development is
$368 million.
EPA's Office of Research and
Development is conducting an
accelerated research effort in-
vestigating the acid rain prob-
lem, with a 1980 budget of
over $5 million. Acid rain, a
result of sulfur and nitrogen
oxides changing chemically
into acids, is a threat to crops,
fish, trees, lakes, soil fertility
and buildings.
An interagency Acid Rain Co-
ordination Committee was
established in 1979, co-chaired
by EPA and the Department of
Agriculture. In its first year, the
Committee had $10 million in
reprogrammed funds available
for research.
EPA's Office of Research and
Development has helped de-
velop a new coal burner that
could reduce nitrogen oxide
emissions as muchas 85 per-
cent. In addition to reducing
the health risks of coal-burning,
the burner offers promise for
further development of coal as
an environmentally sound
energy source.
The National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration will
conduct a $474 million multi-
disciplinary effort in ocean and
coastal mapping investigations,
climate and research, environ-
mental monitoring and predic-
tion activities and data archiv-
ing and dissemination services.
The Nuclear Regulatory Com-
mission will review and up-
grade standards for construc-
tion specifications of nuclear
power plants to prevent the re-
lease of radioactive pollutants.
Solid and Hazardous Waste
A system to manage hazardous
waste from the point of genera-
tion to ultimate disposal is
being established by EPA. The
system requires that producers
and processors of hazardous
waste register with EPA and
also requires that EPA be noti-
fied if the waste does not reach
its designated treatment, stor-
age or disposal site on
schedule.
EPA, with State governments,
has inspected over 1,200 po-
tential hazardous waste dis-
posal sites. As a result, 29
improper disposal cases have
already been filed with the
Department of Justice, and
EPA has tentatively determined
159 sites require some type
of enforcement action.
EPA has launched an emer-
gency response capability pro-
gram to deal quickly with
threats posed to navigable
waters by toxic chemicals.
EPA grants will aid 63 commu-
nities in planning and devel-
opment projects to recover
materials and energy from solid
wastes.
Toxics and Pesticides
EPA has published the coun-
try's first comprehensive in-
ventory of chemicals produced
in the U.S. or imported here.
The list contains over 50,000
compounds produced or im-
ported since January 1, 1975.
Firms wanting to produce or
import chemicals not listed
must notify EPA and submit
available studies on the health
and environmental effects of
these new materials before they
can be put on the market.
Seven notices of intent to man-
ufacture several plastictzers
have been withdrawn because
of EPA's requirement to provide
significant information on the
potential near and long-term
health and environmental haz-
ards of all chemicals to be
manufactured or imported.
EPA in 1979 banned chloro-
fluorocarbons for use as pro-
pellants in most aerosol sprays
What's Being Spent by the Federal
Government
The fiscal year 1980 Federal budgeted outlays for environmental
and ecologically-related programs break down as follows:
• Pollution control and abatement (reducing pollu-
tion from Federal facilities, establishing and
enforcing standards, and conducting research
and development) $ 2.8 billion
• Construction grants (to help communities build
waste treatment plants)
• Soil mapping, river basin surveys
• Recreation programs, wildlife protection,
historic preservation
3.8 billion
2.3 billion
2.7 billion
$11.6 billion
The Environmental Protection Agency has primary responsibility
in most environmental areas, including 72 percent of total 1980
Federal outlays for pollution control and abatement, but 18 other
agencies have significant environmental responsibilities as well.
These 18 agencies include: The Departments of Agriculture, State,
Education, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human
Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, and
Labor; Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Smithsonian Institution, Ten-
nessee Valley Authority and the Council on Environmental Quality.
in the U.S. These compounds
can destroy the stratospheric
ozone layer that shields the
earth from harmful ultraviolet
radiation that can cause skin
cancer and damage animals
and plants. EPA is urging re-
duction of chlorofluorocarbon
production by other countries.
EPA and the Department of
Labor have entered into a joint
agreement to conduct a five-
year study of the effects of
pesticide exposure on the
health of agricultural employ-
ees under the age of 16. The
agreement calls for cooperative
enforcement efforts by the
Labor Department and EPA.
EPA has developed a new sys-
tem for reviewing the safety of
pesticide products. The regis-
tration standards system sets
safety standards for pesticide
ingredients, then approves or
disapproves the sale and use of
individual products depending
on whether they meet the
standards.
Water Quality
By 1981, 51 of 57 States and
territories will assume primary
responsibility for Safe Drinking
Water Act compliance, helped
by Federal financial aid.
EPA has found more than 70
examples of clear-cut improve-
ments in river and lake water
quality from Hawaii to Maine,
and from Alaska to Texas.
From 1973-1978, ocean dump-
ing decreased by 24 percent.
Federal law requires a halt to
all dumping of harmful munici-
pal sewage sludge by the end
of 1981.
EPA has committed more than
$25 billion in approved grants
for sewage treatment plant
construction since 1972.
Each billion spent for con-
struction results in roughly
15,000 workyears on the con-
struction site. (A workyear is
the equivalent of one person
working one year.)
Charlotte Garvey is an editorial
assistant on the EPA Journal
staff.
24
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Conservation
Rediscovered
By M. Rupert Cutler
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture
Ti
Ioday our country faces greater de-
mands on its basic natural resources
than ever before:
• Growing populations here and abroad
demand more food, fiber and forest
products;
• Pressures are increasing on our land and
water for municipal and residential uses,
for mining and industrial uses, for power
generation; and
• Energy costs are rising . . . and rising . , .
and rising.
New technology was the answer to many
of our problems in the past, but new tech-
nology to solve today's resource problems
is slow in coming, slow in practical applica-
tion, and uncertain—possibly undesirable
—in its environmental effects. Many peo-
ple think there is another, supplemental
answer today.
The American people are "coming
home" to the principles of conservation
and recycling for solutions to our resource
problems. Until they had to wait in gas
lines, many Americans never gave natural
resources a second thought. Now, because
of energy shortages and the environmental
movement of the last decade, aimost every-
one realizes that the country's supplies of
resources do have limits. Fossil fuels, of
course, are the most obvious example, but
soil, water, forests, farmland, wildlife, and
other basic resources are threatened as
well.
People also are coming to realize that
using natural resources prudently—con-
serving them—has the same effect as pro-
ducing more. And for once, the Federal
Government is in step with the people.
The natural resource conservation
achievements of the Carter Administration
probably outshine those of any since
Theodore Roosevelt's, but they have been
made with much less fanfare. Nowhere is
the commitment to conservation of our
natural resources and to a healthy environ-
ment more pervasive than in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
At the U.S. Department of Agriculture
we are re-evaluating all our policies, pro-
cedures, and programs to guarantee that
the Nation's vital resources will be pro-
tected for future generations even as they
meet the needs of our own. And with the
growing concern about inflation, we also
want to make sure that conservation work
produces the desired results—and at the
lowest cost to the taxpayer.
For example, to protect against upstream
flooding, it was standard practice for years
to reconstruct stream channels so that they
were deep, straight, lined with riprap (a
wall of stones), and free of debris. These
channels may control floodwater upstream,
but they provide almost no habitat for fish
and other aquatic life, and they magnify
floodwater problems downstream.
The Department doesn't modify stream
channels drastically anymore except where
it is absolutely necessary. We evaluate
each stream channel. We clear the brush
from one side only, leave pools and bends
in the stream, and try to make the channel
conducive to wildlife wherever we can.
Other resource problems are more
complex. For instance, the U.S. is losing
3 million acres of farmland each year,
1 million of which is prime farmland—the
flat fertile land best suited for growing
crops. Much of this land is being converted
to residential and commercial uses, high-
ways, reservoirs, and other nonfarm uses.
In almost all cases, this land can never be
farmed again. The Nation—and the com-
munity—lose not only the capacity of the
land to producefood and fiber but also
lose open space, wildlife habitat, and other
environmental and esthetic values.
The Department of Agriculture respects
the rights of individuals and State and
local governments to determine land use.
However, conversion of land to non-agri-
cultural uses is often supported in some
way by public funds, as with airport,
highway and sewer and water line con-
struction. It is now our policy to advocate
the retention of important agricultural
lands whenever proposed conversions are
caused, encouraged, or licensed by actions
or programs of a Federal agency and where
reasonable alternatives exist. Secretary
Bergland has directed that no Department
of Agriculture agency may aid or abet
such conversions.
The Nation also is losing its wetlands at
an alarming rate of 300,000 acres a year,
and two-thirds of this acreage becomes
cropland. Many of these wetlands are
valuable wildlife habitat; many act as
blotters to absorb stormwater, help control
flooding, and recharge groundwater sup-
plies. The Department now advocates the
retention of ecologically important wet-
lands, and will not provide assistance to
drain such wetlands to convert them to
other uses.
We do not oppose development and
change, but in the past too little attention
was paid to environmental degradation and
waste that accompanied our so-called
"progress." In many cases, suitable alter-
native sites can be found for buildings and
highways so that prime farmland, wetland,
or land that has some other environmental
value is left intact.
Our Soil Conservation Service provides
to local governments and private devel-
opers maps showing important farmlands
so that they can make more informed
decisions.
The Service also supplies soil surveys
and technical assistance to planners. In
addition, an inventory of all wetlands in the
U.S. will be completed next year, and that
information will be available as well.
We have undertaken new programs to
meet environmental needs never before
addressed by the Federal Government.
For instance, more than a million acres
of land in this country have been surface-
mined for coal and then abandoned, with
little or no reclamation. This land is unpro-
ductive; it is an eyesore: it pollutes water
and air; it can endanger the public health
and safety.
Through the Rural Abandoned Mine
Program started last year, the Department
provides technical and financial assistance
for reclaiming these areas.
When we think of water pollution, we
most often imagine chemicals or effluent
pouring from a pipe into a river or lake.
That is cal!ed point source pollution. But
SEPTEMBER 1980
25
-------
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Planting crew placing seed/ings in burned-
out Montana forest.
there is also nonpoint source pollution,
which is the result of runoff from land.
This runoff carries into the water supply
pesticides, fertilizer, chemicals, animal
wastes, and sediment—the biggest water
pollutant of all.
Through the 1980 Rural Clean Water
Program, USDA is experimenting to deter-
mine the best ways of controlling nonpoint
source pollution, sharing with farmers the
cost of installing "best management prac-
tices" on their lands.
We are working to minimize the quantity
of possibly toxic synthetic chemicals on
your food and in your environment by
advocating an "integrated management"
approach to controlling insects and other
pests. This approach includes encouraging
orchardists and other farmers to use
biological and cultural control techniques
and pest-resistant piant varieties . . , and
fewer chemical sprays . . . when practical
and proven alternatives exist.
And we are now practicing environ-
mentally sensitive forestry on the 187
million acres of National Forests and
Grasslands we administer.
An environmental conservation policy
that changes with each administration is
worthless. By their nature, resource prob-
lems take years to correct—to replace
polluted river water with clean water, to
regenerate a new layer of topsoil to replace
that lost to erosion, to grow new trees.
And resources must be managed con-
sistently. The gains made through years
of diligent care can be wiped out by a
bulldozer in one day.
To assure a consistent conservation
policy for the future, we are carrying out
several ambitious long-range planning
efforts. One involves forest and rangeland,
led by the Forest Service; another involves
soil and water; and a third deals with
getting resource information to the people
who need it, through Cooperative Exten-
sion programs.
At this time we are calling for the public
to participate in one of these efforts under
the Soil and Water Resources Conserva-
tion Act.
Last year we conducted a massive
appraisal and analysis of America's soil,
water, and related resources. The public
participated in this effort through some
9,000 meetings. From the appraisal and
analysis, we identified seven resource
problem areas and goals for improvement
in each. Then we proposed alternative
strategies that would change our programs
to meet the goals.
Now it is time again for the public to
review the Soil and Water Resources
Conservation Act documents and make
comments and suggestions.
We recognize as no other administration
has before that the American people know
what's happening to the environment and
the American people have good ideas about
conservation. And it is ultimately the
American people who will determine
whether the Nation's environmental re-
sources will be conserved or abused.
Those of you who own land—the lot
your house is on, business property, vaca-
tion property, farms . . .
Those of you who develop land, who
design homes and workplaces, who sell
property, who are involved in zoning . . .
Those of you who are concerned about
vanishing open spaces and woods and the
wild dogwood, holly, and oaks . , .
Those who are concerned about water
pollution and supply, who are concerned
about wildlife, who are concerned that
Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are smaller
and fewer than ever. . .
All of you have valuable viewpoints to
contribute to the way the Nation manages
its natural resources, We at the Department
of Agriculture encourage you to do so.
I guarantee you that we'll listen, and that
we will seriously consider your views.
The Federal Government is making every
effort to help protect our environment in a
way that is consistent with the desires of
the American people. And now that Ameri-
cans are rediscovering the principles of
resource conservation, the outlook for our
environment is good. Q
M. Rupert Cutler is Assistant Secretary for
Natural Resources and Environment, U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The above
article was adapted from a speech by him
earlier this year in Vienna, I/a.
SEPTEMBER 1980
-------
Key
Federal
Agencies
M
|ost Federal agencies
have some environ-
mental responsibil-
ities. Several articles on the
environmental activities of
Federal departments are car-
ried in this issue. The follow-
ing piece provides a brief
review of some of the less well
known but vital environmental
activities of a number of Fed-
eral agencies.
Department of Commerce
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) works to conserve
certain marine mammals and
endangered species, maintains
a fisheries habitat protection
program, and monitors the
quality of the marine environ-
ment. It provides funds to
States for coastal resource
management programs, and
administers the National Ma-
rine Sanctuaries Program and
the National Estuarine Sanc-
tuaries Program.
This Department of Com-
merce agency has the lead role
in developing a comprehensive
five-year plan to investigate
ocean pollutants, and has re-
sponsibilities for oil and haz-
ardous spill response, including
damage assessment, and ocean
clumping research.
Environmental studies of
specific regional problems,
such as sewage sludge disposal
in the New York Bight, are con-
ducted, and NOAA is assem-
bling an inventory of global
oceanic data including the
world's only international col-
lection of marine pollution
data.
NOAA evaluates atmospher-
ic transport and transformation
of acids, and operates a net-
work of stations that monitor
atmospheric ozone depletion
and increased concentrations
of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The Agency has lead respon-
sibility for the National Climate
Program, a multi-agency effort
to collect data, study forces
that may alter climate, and
analyze the environmental,
economic, and social implica-
tions of climate variability.
NOAA has completed a
major project to identify envi-
ronmentally critical resources
on the East Coast.
Department of Defense
The Defense Department re-
ports the following environ-
mental actions: Of the nearly
13,000 separate air pollution
sources spread throughout U.S.
dustrial operation, hundreds of
Defense installations are in-
volved daily with many aspects
of hazardous material manage-
ment.
Department of Education
The Office of Environmental
Education administers the En-
vironmental Education Act. The
activities of this Office in the
Education Department are de-
signed to help provide effective
interdisciplinary environmental
education programs. Such edu-
cation is defined by the Act as
a process involving the study
of the relationships between the
natural and social support sys-
tems that, together, constitute
the total human environment
and define the quality of life.
Under the Environmental
military installations, over 98
percent are in compliance with
EPA and State regulations.
Seventy-four percent of the in-
stallations are in compliance
with water pollution regula-
tions. Approximately 99 per-
cent of the 448 installations
that require spill prevention,
countermeasure and control
plans have established these
plans, and 54 percent have
completed the necessary
projects to implement those
plans. In addition, the Depart-
ment is participating in area-
wide wastewater treatment
systems, installing several
refuse incinerators which si-
multaneously generate usable
energy, implementing inte-
grated pest management pro-
grams, and recycling waste
paper, aluminum cans, and
lubricating oil.
The Department's primary
environmental concern for the
1980's is hazardous material
management. As a diverse in-
Education Act, the program has
focused on the development of
basic resources, models, and
processes that can assist local
implementation of local pro-
grams. The priority of the
program over the past year has
been on dissemination, training
and technical assistance.
Grant and contract support for
new development work is not
anticipated in the coming year.
For information concerning
available resources and other
types of assistance, contact
the Office of Environmental
Education, OSI OERI, Educa-
tion Department, 400 Maryland
Avenue, S.W., 1100 Donohoe,
Washington, D.C. 20202.
Department of Health
and Human Services
The U.S. Public Health Service
of the Department of Health
and Human Services is con-
cerned with every aspect of
environmental hazards affect-
ing human life and safety.
Congress has given the
Agency responsibility for con-
ducting several prevention and
control activities related to the
health effects of toxic hazards.
In the area of toxic chemi-
cals, the Public Health Services
works closely with the EPA,
State governments and the
medical community to protect
the public from disease and ill-
nesses due to hazardous waste
dumps. In addition, under the
auspices of the Department of
Health and Human Services the
Public Health Service has de-
veloped a National Toxicology
Program to find new testing
methods for chemical health
hazards.
Health Service radiation ac-
tivities center around regulatory
radiation protection, research,
waste management and crisis
management.
The National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health
directs activities aimed at as-
suring safe and healthful work-
ing conditions for all working
people through research and
the establishment of standards.
Department of Housing
and Urban Development
The goal of a suitable living
environment for every Ameri-
can has been part of this De-
partment's mandate since
1949.
The Department's mission,
however, is not just to abate
pollution, but to help shape a
high quality urban environment.
It has found that employment,
education and other social
needs are Integra I factors in
such an environment.
Major programs,
such as the Community Devel-
opment Block Grant program
and Urban Development Action
Grants, link environmental
assessment and decision-
making at the local level where
there is greater understanding
of needed projects and their
impact. Thresholds have been
established for housing projects
to help determine if the impact
will be significant and an Envi-
ronmental Impact Statement
(EIS) will be necessary. The
28
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Department has spearheaded
development of the Areawide
EIS, which is designed to
assess the total effect of sev-
eral projects in an area.
As the primary Federal urban
agency, the Department has
led Federal efforts to formulate
and to implement this Admin-
istration's Urban Policy, par-
ticipating with other agencies
such as the EPA and the Eco-
nomic Development Adminis-
tration in demonstrating that
urban air quality and economic
development are not incom-
patible, and leading in estab-
lishing new methods for ana-
lyzing the impact of proposed
Federal programs on the quality
of urban life.
Justice Department
The Land and Natural Re-
sources Division of the Depart-
ment of Justice conducts the
government's litigation to im-
prove the environment.
This program entails civil
litigation on behalf of such
agencies as the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Army
Corps of Engineers, the Coast
Guard, and the Department of
Energy, and criminal litigation
under the pollution control
statutes.
The Division enforces nu-
merous statutes.
To address the mounting
environmental problems, the
Division has created two sec-
tions—Pollution Control and
Hazardous Waste. The sec-
tions' principal client is EPA,
whose cases account for some
70 percent of the docket. In
recent years, the number of
cases referred by EPA has in-
creased dramatically.
In the hazardous waste area,
some 30 civil suits have been
filed . Recently, the first suit
was filed against the generators
of hazardous wastes—10
major chemical corporations
that dumped wastes at two
sites in Louisiana—as well as
against the owner of the sites.
Department of Labor
The Occupational
Safety and Heaith Act of
1970 is an environmental as
well asa public health law.
This Act created the Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Ad-
ministration in the Labor De-
partment to help employers
protect their employees and
empowered the Agency to
issue and enforce safety and
health regulations.
OSHA regulates toxic and
hazardous substances in the
workplace basically in two
ways. Worker exposure limits
have been set for more than
400 contaminants; an average
airborne concentration has
been established for each sub-
stance and must not be ex-
ceeded during the workday.
For about 20 toxins, most of
which are carcinogens, the
Agency has issued more com-
prehensive standards which
includean exposure limit, engi-
neering or other methods to
meet it, and provisions for
workplace monitoring, medical
surveillance of exposed work-
ers, employee training and
education, substance labeling,
and recordkeeping.
Since 1977, regulations
on inorganic arsenic, in-
organic lead, the pesticide
DBCP, acrylonitrile, and cotton
dust have been promulgated.
The Agency has also issued a
generic carcinogen standard :o
speed the regulation of cancer-
causing substances and a rule
permitting worker access to
medical and toxic exposure
records. Projects currently un-
derway include a final standard
on beryllium exposure and a
proposal to require generally
the identification of hazardous
substances.
Department of State
To protect and manage the envi-
ronment and resources of the
U.S., this Nation must also
consider the international and
global effects of policies and
practices of other countries
because environmental and
resource damage does not re-
spect national boundaries. And
because the U.S. shares a com-
mon ecological system with
other nations, American pol-
icies can affect environmental
conditions in neighboring as
well as distant countries.
In keeping with American
foreign policy considerations,
the State Department is the
focal point for linking U.S.
domestic environmental and
resource interests and activ-
ities with those abroad.
Through its overseas missions
and domestic programs, the
Department informs other gov-
ernments of U.S. policy in these
broad areas and reports on
developments abroad. It repre-
sents the United States in a
host of international organiza-
tions and negotiates agree-
ments on environmental and
resource matters. The Depart-
ment also manages and mon-
itors all science and technology
agreements with other coun-
tries, including those involving
environment and resources. It
provides policy guidance, di-
rection and coordination to the
international activities of do-
mestic agencies in these fields.
Tennessee Valley Authority
Since Board Chairman S. David
Freeman brought his environ-
mental concerns to the Tennes-
see Valley Authority three
years ago, the multi-State
Agency has experienced a
change of direction.
According to the Agency,
more than half of TVA's 63
coal-fired generators, using
more coal than any electrical
utility in the country, are now
in compliance with Federal
clean air standards; the rest
will comply before 1983—at a
cost of $800 million.
TVA's agricultural and nat-
ural resources management
programs and community de-
velopment activities are being
focused on the objective of
"quality growth" for the re-
gion's seven million residents.
TVA wants to be "a yardstick
in the 1980's by demonstrating
the compatibility of industrial
growth with environmental
quality," Freeman says.
The Tennessee River is the
object of fresh scrutiny by TVA,
which discovered that its sys-
tem of 36 dams often reduces
oxygen in the water to levels
that make it unusable and un-
safe in some places.
In 1979, TVA put air, land,
and water management func-
tions under one office, the
Office of Natural Resources.
Within this group it established
an Environmental Quality Staff
and gave it broad power to
weave environmental quality
into all TVA projects and pro-
grams. The staff also advises
the TVA Board on environmen-
tal policy and charts new en-
vironmental initiatives that
go beyond mere regulatory
compliance.
Transportation Department
In his environmental message
of May, 1979, the President
directed the Secretary of Trans-
portation to ensure that trans-
portation projects are designed
to promote energy conservation
and to reduce urban sprawl and
adverse environmental and
employment impacts. In imple-
menting this directive, the
Department has required con-
sideration of non-construction
alternatives and options such
as noise barriers, and is more
closely examining the energy
and environmental conse-
quences of its actions.
The Department has pro-
grams underway to improve
air and water quality and re-
duce transportation noise. For
example, the Department has
an on-going program with EPA
and cities to implement the
transportation-related require-
ments of the Clean Air Act.
With respect to water qual-
ity, the Transportation Depart-
ment's Coast Guard has devel-
oped sophisticated techniques
to prevent and clean up oil
spills, and recently issued
regulations establishing new
standards for the design and
operation of large oil tankers
to reduce the probability and
severity of oil spills.
The Department re-
cently issued a report on the
energy-saving potential of
increased bicycle transporta-
tion, and announced a signifi-
cant new program designed to
increase bicycle use. D
SEPTEMBER 1980
29
-------
Update
A review of recent major
EPA activities and devel-
opments in the pollution
control program areas.
AIR
Arsenic
The EPA has named in-
organic arsenic—a sub-
stance strongly linked to
human skin and lung can-
cer—as a hazardous air
pollutant. This action,
called "listing" under the
Federal Clean Air Act,
initiates the development
of regulatory programs
directed at controlling
industrial emissions of
arsenic.
While scientists have
for years been concerned
about the toxicity of all
arsenic compounds, this
concern has recently fo-
cused specifically on in-
organic arsenic. Epi-
demiological evidence
has shown that inorganic
arsenic is clearly a
carcinogen.
Clean Air Act
EPA Administrator
Douglas M. Costle
recently outlined a pos-
sible change in the Clean
Air Act to deal with acid
rain, but warned that
Congress could "substan-
tially gut" the law due
to pressure from special
interests.
Speaking to the Air
Pollution Control Asso-
ciation in Montreal,
Canada, Costle said he
seriously questioned
whether the State imple-
mentation plan process—
that requires a State by
State, plant by plant
approach—was the best
way to solve the problems
of acid rain in a timely
fashion.
"1 would personally
prefer," Costle said, "a
regional, multi-State
approach to the problem
of total loadings—one
which would, for exam-
ple, allow an entire utility
system to find the most
cost-effective approach to
getting a percentage re-
duction from among a mix
of all their plants, based
on their proportionate
contribution to overall
regional loads. Sucha
system should even be
flexible enough to permit
trade-offs with other
utility networks."
Despite the accom-
plishments of the Clean
Air Act, Costle went on,
it is a troublesome and
complex statute.
"The inherent com-
plexities of air pollution
control make it easy for
an opponent to propose
language changes which
—seemingly innocuous
on their face—in fact
weaken the law to a seri-
ous degree. Lawyers are
paid fortunes in Washing-
ton for such 'creative
draftsmanship,' " he said.
Organic Solvents
Air pollution regulations
proposed recently by EPA
would reduce degreasing
operation emissions of
organic solvents by 64
percent in industries
throughout the U.S. by
1985.
Degreasers are used to
clean metal, plastic, fiber-
glass, and other materials.
Nationwide, degreasing
operations are responsi-
ble for about four percent
of all stationary source
emissions from indus-
tries.
Power Plants
The EPA is setting final
emission limits for two
Cleveland Electric Illumi-
nating Company power
plants that will cut cur-
rent sulfur dioxide emis-
sions into the atmosphere
by 100,000 tons per year.
The final standards affect
the two Cleveland area
plants in Eastlake and
Avon Lake, Ohio.
The new standards are
more stringent than those
proposed for the plants
last year, which essen-
tially preserved the status
quo while EPA gathered
monitoring data and de-
veloped new modeling
techniques. In part, the
final standards adopted
reflected a recent change
in the Agency's policy on
power plant smokestacks.
Under the new policy,
utilities will no longer be
automatically granted
pollution reduction credit
for raising smokestacks;
they now must perform
wind tunnel tests demon-
strating that increasing
the height of smokestacks
is necessary to avoid ex-
cessive pollutant concen-
trations at ground level
nearthe plants. If the
tests show such increases
are unnecessary, EPA will
not give ground level pol-
lution reduction credit
for the taller stacks, thus
removing the major in-
centive for raising the
height of smokestacks.
ENFORCEMENT
Hazardous Waste Suits
The Department of Jus-
tice has filed a suit on
behalf of EPA seeking an
end to the health and en-
vironmental danger posed
fay the unsafe storage of
hazardous chemicals at a
site near Denver in Jeffer-
son County, Colo. The
complaint alleges that
American Ecological Re-
cycle Research Corpora-
tion stores incompatible
and flammable hazardous
chemicals in an unsafe
manner which could re-
sult in explosion, fire, or
the release of toxic fumes.
Afire at the site on
October 17, 1979, re-
leased hazardous chemi-
cals and vapors into the
environment and resulted
in twelve firefighters be-
ing sent to a local hospital
with suspected cyanide
poisoning.
The Government suit
asks the court to issue an
injunction requiring the
company to cease receiv-
ing additional wastes, to
identify and segregate or
remove incompatible and
hazardous wastes, to
arrange for adequate fire
protection at the site, to
securely fence the. site,
and to submit an ade-
quate plan for continued
operation.
The Justice Depart-
ment on behalf of EPA has
also filed suit against two
firms in Columbia, S.C.
(Richland County) for the
improper storage and dis-
posal of hazardous waste
at a site near Columbia
called the "Bluff Road
site."
The suit contends that
illegal dumping by South
Carolina Recycling and
Disposal, Inc. and Colum-
bia Organic Chemical Co.
has created an imminent
fire hazard at the site and
a risk of contaminating
groundwater and nearby
surface water. The owner
of the property, Oscar
Seidenberg, was also
named as a defendant in
the suit.
The Department of
Justice has also filed a
civil suit on behalf of
EPA against Spectron,
Inc., a chemical recycling
company, and its owner,
Paul J. Mraz, charging
that the company im-
properly stored and dis-
posed of chemical waste
which caused contamina-
tion of the soil and the
water of a nearby creek.
The suit asks that, un-
der an EPA-approved
plan, Spectron be re-
quired to clean up the
site, and provide ade-
quate facilities for any
future storage of hazard-
ous wastes. The suit fur-
ther seeks long-term
monitoring of the ground-
water under the site, in
addition to posting warn-
ing signs of the dangers
of swimming, fishing, and
drinking from the creek,
and a fence around the
site.
Also, the Department
of Justice on behalf of
EPA recently filed suit
against Fisher-Calo
Chemicals and Solvents
Corporation and David B.
Fisher, its president, for
operating an unsafe waste
disposal facility in an in-
dustrial park near La
Porte, Ind.
The suit asks Fisher-
Calo to permanently pre-
vent all waste products on
the site from further con-
tamination of the ground-
water, to cleanup the
groundwater already con-
taminated, and to ex-
cavate the buried drums
and contaminated soil.
The suit also names
Kingsbury Industrial and
Development Corpora-
tion, the manager of the
industrial park where the
Fisher-Calo facility is lo-
cated and the owner of
the land on which some
of the dumping occurred.
More Facts
The EPA is seeking addi-
tional information from
three companies and five
individuals concerning
water softening resin
which may be contami-
nated with uranium. This
action follows discovery
of contaminated resin in
recent months by Mich-
igan authorities and
EPA's Hazardous Waste
Enforcement Task Force.
Since that discovery, EPA
has done additional test-
ing. In addition, the deal-
ers involved have been
asked to voluntarily co-
operate in recalling the
resin or accounting for its
disposition.
The Agency suspects
that most of the resin has
been in use since 1974
and that its contamination
level, if any, is very low.
There is no known risk
in handling or storing
the resin.
The additional infor-
mation sought will help
the Agency decide if new
regulations are needed or
if EPA should take other
legal steps.
Complaints Issued
The EPA has issued ad-
ministrative complaints
against twelve com-
panies and is seeking
$51,450 in penalties
for violations of un-
30
EPAJOURNAL
-------
leaded fuel regulations.
The alleged violations
took place in the Rich-
mond, Va., and Wash-
ington, D.C., areas.
Complaints assessing
penaltiesof S23,600were
issued against five com-
panies for equipping
leaded gasoline pumps
with undersized nozzles
which allows the gasoline
to be used in vehicles de-
signed for unleaded
gasoline.
Civil complaints as-
sessing penalties of
$27,850 were also issued
against seven other com-
panies for selling, dis-
pensing, or offering for
sale gasoline represented
to be unleaded which was
contaminated with lead.
GM Recall
The EPA has ordered
General Motors Corpora-
tion to recall 169,000 of
its passenger cars to re-
pair defective emissions
control equipment. The
two recall orders stated
that approximately
105,000 1976 and 1977
Cadillac Sevilles (includ-
ing those sold in Califor-
nia) with a 350 cubic inch
displacement {CID) en-
gine and 64,000 1977
Oldsmobile Cutlass,
Omega, and Delta 88
models with a 260 CID
engine were not meeting
the Federal oxides of
nitrogen (NOx) standard
applicable to those model
years.
PESTICIDES
Pesticide Approved
The EPA has approved a
"biorational" pest-control
agent for use in combat-
ing destructive grass-
hopper populations in
several Western States.
The substance, called
Noserna locustae (trade
name "Noloc"), works by
infesting the hoppers with
a deadly natural parasite
harmful only to this in-
sect. The term "bio-
rational" refers to pest
control based on natural
factors rather than in-
herent toxicity.
Nosema is manufac-
tured by Sandoz, Inc., of
San Diego. The Agricul-
ture Department tested it
last year with some suc-
cess on 100,000 acres in
northwestern Wyoming,
where it was combined
with the chemical pesti-
cide carbaryl to provide a
quick "knock-down"
effect.
This season Nosema's
effectiveness is being
further tested on 35,000
acres in Arizona.
Pesticide Sprayer
A machine that sprays a
concentration of electri-
cally charged pesticide
droplets at target insects
or weeds was demon-
strated in Tifton, Ga.
recently. The occasion
was a field day sponsored
by the EPA, the U.S. De-
partment of Agriculture,
and the Georgia Agricul-
ture Experiment Station.
The Agency said the
machine's principal ad-
vantage over conventional
sprayers is that, since the
pesticide is electrically
attracted to target weeds
and crops, there is less
pesticide drift.
The big, 1 2-row spray-
er is specifically de-
signed to apply cotton
insecticides and defoli-
ants. It is still in the ex-
perimental stage. Another
blast-type, orchard
sprayer, also still in the
experimental stage, was
shown as well as an ear-
lier, smaller test model.
Pesticide Proposal
The EPA has proposed re-
quiring a phaseout of the
use of the pesticide
diallate in its ernulsifiable
concentrate formulation,
because it poses a high
risk of cancer to the men
and women applying it in
the fields. Diallate is an
herbicide used to control
wild oats in sugar beets,
flax, lentils, dry peas,
alfalfa, field corn, po-
tatoes, and soybeans.
Because of its im-
portance to growers, the
Agency is proposing to
allow a two-year phaseout
for the sole importer,
Monsanto Agriculture
Products Co. of St. Louis,
and others selling the
product, to give them
time to convert to granu-
larformulations of dial-
late. The granular form
was found to pose a low
risk to applicators han-
dling it and the Agency
said it would propose to
allow its production and
use to continue without
restriction. The granular
form is presently ap-
proved for use with sugar
beets.
Until the final shift is
made, the Agency said
applicators applying the
emulsifiable concentrate
formulation, which is
liquid, should wear pro-
tective clothing, rubber
gloves and cloth face
masks.
WATER
Groundwater
New rules to prevent con-
tamination of under-
ground drinking water fay
chemical wastes or other
materials injected below
ground through wells
were issued recently by
the EPA.
Some 650,000 injection
wells for waste disposal
or other purposes now
dot the country, with 85
percent of them in 22
States.
The rules set minimum
safety requirements for
five types of underground
injection and require all
States and Territories to
come up with plans con-
taining the requirements
within nine months. After
the plan is accepted, the
State or Territory must
begin an inventory proc-
ess culminating in the
issuance of permits in
order for wells to be
operated.
For the time being,
however, permits will not
be needed for certain
wells including those
used for storm-water run-
off or for air conditioning
return flows until further
studies have been made
of their potential for con-
taminating underground
water. Production wells
drilled to obtain oil and
gas are also not affected
by the rules.
EPA—Corps
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and EPA have
agreed to extend the in-
teragency agreement
under which the Corps
will review proposals to
construct sewage treat-
ment facilities being built
around the country, as
well as conduct progress
inspections on these
projects.
The multi-billion dollar
construction program,
one of the Federal Gov-
ernment's largest, is con-
ducted fay EPA under the
Clean Water Act as a key
means of cleaning up
water pollution in the
Nation's rivers and
streams.
TOXICS
Chemical Records
The EPA recently pro-
posed regulations to
require firms that make
or process chemicals to
keep records and in some
cases to report on allega-
tions they receive that the
chemicals may have
harmed human health or
the environment.
Agency officials say
records of such allega-
tions by workers or the
general public would pro-
vide government health
officials with a significant
new source of informa-
tion on the possible dan-
gers associated with
specific chemicals.
This proposal comple-
ments requirements al-
ready established by the
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
concerning records of
verified occupational in-
juries and serious short-
term health effects.
Tests Proposed
The EPA recently pro-
posed that certain chemi-
cal manufacturers and
processors be required to
conduct tests to evaluate
the human health effects
of seven chemicals they
make. The chemicals are
used to produce silicones,
certain pesticides, gaso-
line additives, and other
chemical products.
This action marks the
first time the Agency has
used its authority under
the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA) to
require that chemical pro-
ducers and processors
carry out studies on exist-
ing chemicals to demon-
strate whether and how
their products pose haz-
ards to people or the
environment.
The Agency will use
the data produced to
determine whether fur-
ther regulatory action on
these chemicals is needed
to protect human health.
AGENCY WIDE
Cleanup Costs
The capital cost to four
major industries of meet-
ing Federal pollution con-
trol requirements during
the mid-70's was not as
expensive as either the
industries or the govern-
ment originally estimated,
according to a recently
released EPA study. The
industries are automo-
biles, pulp and paper,
petroleum refining, and
iron and steel.
The capital cost to a
fifth industry, electric
utilities, of complying
with Federal clean air
requirements during
1974 to 1977 turned out
to be more than the elec-
tric power industry or
EPA originally forecast. Q
SEPTEMBER 1980
31
-------
Tracking
Pollution
Plumes
By Valerie Wf
More than a dozen aircraft, including
several twin-engine Cessnas, took
turns searching and sampling the
skies over the Ohio Valley region recently
The purpose of the study was to help
improve understanding of regional air
pollution and such specific probiems as
acid rain and visibility reducing aerosols.
Aerosols are suspended liquids of solid
particles in a gas, such as su If ate which re-
sults from the conversion of sulfur dioxide.
An important mechanism of sulfate for-
mation, during the warmer months, is
oxidation of sulfur dioxide by photochemi-
cal processes of which the formation of
ozone in the air near the ground we breathe
is the best example. Besides ozone and
sulfates, photochemical processes form
nitrates including nitric acid. Acidic
industn;- :-Jcr Valley.
during one of the most comprehensive air
pollution hunts ever held.
The armada of aircraft was part of the
equipment and instruments brought in by
100 or more scientists representing the
EPA and six other Federal agencies who
gathered at their field headquarters in
Columbus, Ohio, to track and monitor
plumes and extended areas of air pollution.
The study was performed under the di-
rection of EPA's Environmental Sciences
Research Laboratory, located in Research
Triangle Park, N.C.
Besides tracking the polluted air masses
as they moved across the country, scien-
tists also carried out experiments to study
their formation around cities, industrial
areas, and power plants and took measure-
ments of the chemical changes that
occurred as the pollutants mixed with the
atmosphere.
sulfates and nitrate compounds are impor-
tant contributors to acid rain, which can
have a destructive effect on plants and fish.
The Ohio Valley region was selected
because of the density of pollution emis-
sions present and the fact that geograph-
ical barriers such as mountain ranges are
nonexistent in the region. Therefore all of
the area within the region will be impacted
by the pollution. The lack of barriers makes
it easier for scientists to monitor the pol-
luted air mass for several days without
interruption.
Prior to their arrival in Columbus,
project coordinators said that they were
prepared to travel into every State in the
Northeast following the air masses. The
tracking, however, would not stop there. If
the polluted air crossed into Canada, sci-
entists from the Atmospheric Environment
Service of Environment Canada would pick
up the pursuit. The Canadians, like their
American counterparts, would use both
vans and planes to track the pollution.
The $2 million field study was officially
known as the PEPE/NEROS Study and
was a collaboration of two operations with
overlapping missions. The initials PEPE
stand for "Persistent Elevated Pollution
Episode," which results when a slowly
moving and, at times, nearly stagnate mass
of air accumulates high pollutant loadings
from emissions in the region over which it
is drifting. This summer's field exercise
allowed scientists a chance to take a close,
intensive look at the physical and chemical
makeupof aerosols that contribute to the
air masses aswell asacquire data on
processes affecting urban and industrial
pollutant plumes.
This summer's study is the second effort
of EPA's Sulfur Transformation and Trans-
port in the Environment (STATE) research
program. The research program began in
1978 with The Tennessee Plume Study,
which consisted of a month-long intensive
investigation of the emissions from the
Tennessee Valley Authority's Cumberland
power plant.
NEROS stands for the "Northeast Re-
gional Oxidant Study," which officially
began last year with a smaller scale study
over Pennsylvania and nearby portions of
adjacent States. It is a three year effort to
measure ozone and other oxidant air pol-
lutants, such as hydrogen peroxide, which
can react chemically with other substances
in the air. The data gathered will be used to
develop and validate EPA's regional oxidant
model. Field headquarters for NEROS is
Baltimore, Md.
For the PEPE scenario, a scout plane
took off to confirm through instrumentation
measurements that the expected condi-
tions were present. The scout plane was
succeeded by two primary sampling air-
craft that alternated in sampling the air
parcels for periods in excess of two days,
to study the accumulation of pollutants
and their changes with time within the
parcel. The planes stayed aloft four to five
hours at a time, sometimes working double
shifts, coming down briefly to refuel.
Besides the primary aircraft that sam-
pled the air directly, EPA's Las Vegas
Environmental Monitoring Support Labora-
tory operated a plane with downward look-
ing lidar that flew over the region under
investigation to measure the distribution
of aerosols in the air between flight level
and the ground. Lidar is an acronym for
"light detection and ranging" and refers to
an array of instruments used to detect and
map distributions of aerosols.
Another plane, operated by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration,
'-.'
EPA JOURNAL
-------
served as a flying laboratory. Unlike the
other planes, which could only accom-
modate a pilot, technician, and observer,
this one had room for a pilot, a co-pilot, a
number of technicians and observers, and
an array of equipment being tested for
remote sensing of atmospheric pollutants.
The flying lab operated out of Waliops
Island, Va., while most of the other aircraft
were based at the Ohio State University
airport. The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration also operated a
smaller plane equipped to measure the
total amount of ozone between flight level
and ground as well as a plane which made
direct measurements in support of their
other two aircraft.
Balloons Launched
Near the start of each scenario, scien-
tists launched a large balloon called a
tetroon from one of a number of preselected
sites. Some of these sites were adjacent to
coal-fired power plants. The function of
the large tetroon was to mark an air parcel
that could be followed and sampled over
several days as plumes from various
sources merged to form a larger, regional
air pollution mass. Scientists used trans-
ponders to help track the tetroon. These
instruments work by detecting a pulse from
radar in an area and then sending back a
radio signal to technicians giving their
approximate location. Observers at radar
tracking centers, operated by the Federal
Aviation Administration, in locations such
as Cleveland, New York, and Washington,
D.C.did the tracking.
The large tetroon was
supplemented by smaller ones which could
potentially be tracked for 250 kilometers.
These were followed by mobile surface
radar units. The multiple release of
tetroons served to indicate changes in
wind speed and direction with altitude as
the power plant or urban emissions merged
with emissions from other pollution
sources.
In addition to monitoring the pollution
episodes in the sky with radar and mobile
ground units, scientists a I so used station-
ary equipment provided by a French con-
cern. The team, which represented a Paris
engineering firm, operated a device known
as an acoustics doppler system at one of
the ground sampling sites. The doppler
system sends up sound waves and the
frequency shifts in the echoes that return
indicate the turbulence in the wind.
According to Dr. Francis Pooler, an
EPA meteorologist, the first 24 hours of
any of the sampling experiments were the
most critical. During that period, scientists
must determine with the information
gained the location, size, and movement of
the air mass. Also, whether the pollutant
levels were building up and whether a
given power plant contributed to the pollu-
tion episode. If the answer is yes, then
sampling continues in the area marked by
the tetroon. Occasionally^ second set of
tetroons is released to ensure that air
markers would be presented to guide the
sampling aircraft to the parcel being
measured.
NEROS Experiments
The NEROS experiments were con-
ducted under two scenarios designed for
ozone modeling work. One scenario was
designed to test the air over an area and
consisted of repeated flights
from Ohio eastward to the Atlantic with
flights spaced out over a period of up to
48 hours.
• i stern L S
The second scenario was designed for a
more limited period and provided data on
the dispersion and chemistry of plumes
from the Columbus area. Occasionally
the urban plume study was extended to
follow the Columbus plumes and other
plumes that merged with it to the North-
east corridor. At night airborne measure-
ments of the urban plumes in Columbus
were limited to helicopter flights, since the
Federal Aviation Administration safety
requirements precluded fixed wing flights
below 1,000 feet, and the plumes generally
hovered no higher than 600 feet.
Both large and small tetroons were re-
leased during the NEROS scenarios to
serve as markers and to document the
effect of the changes of the wind with
height or the dispersion of the plumes or
air masses being sampled.
It is estimated that it will take a year and
a half to process the air pollution informa-
tion from the project and make use of it.
Results of the pollution plume data from
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, New York
City, Washington, D.C. and the Columbus
study will then be used in EPA's regional
air quality model program to determine the
extent of regional pollutant flow on these
Northeast corridor cities. These cities will
then be responsible for running local scale
models through their computers. The ex-
periments should provide scientists with
enough information to improve pollution
control strategies for their respective
cities. That intormation in turn, containing
photochemical models on an urban scale,
will be fed back into the regional air quality
model being developed at an EPA facility
in North Carolina.
By running the control scenarios through
the regional model, Federal scientists hope
to be ableto eventually adjust the control
measures for each city until the require-
ments of the ozone standard set by EPA are
met. That standard now specifies that the
one hour average ozone concentration can
not sxcoed 0.12 parts per million more
than one day per calendar year.
The six Federal agencies joining EPA
in this summer's exercise were the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Federal Aviation Admin-
istration, Tennessee Valley Authority,
National Science Foundation, and the
Department of Energy's Argonne National
Laboratory. Several private companies also
participated in the study, among them
Environmental Measurements, Inc., the
primary contractor selected by EPA to
conduct the study. In addition to providing
the non-government aircraft used, they
also maintained a weather briefing office
throughout, using reports and analysis from
the National Weather Service, including
satellite pictures every half hour. The team
also operated mission control facilities
for actual conduct of experiments and
operated mobile meteorological sounding
units to measure wind and temperatures
aloft together with a lidar van for ground
based detection of aerosol structure aloft.
Universities involved in the study in-
clude Ohio State University, which pro-
vided housing for all of the participants as
well as campus facility support; the Uni-
versity of Minnesota; Washington Univer-
sity at St. Louis, and Harvey Mudd College
of California.
The Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency provided laboratory facilities and
space at its air monitoring lab in Columbus,
as well as monitoring data from sites
across the State. Monitoring data from
other States was also obtained to assess
the regional buildup of pollutants as
episodes developed. D
Valerie Whitney is an editorial
assistant on the EPA Journal staff.
SEPTEMBER 1980
-------
Around the Nation
Conference Planned
A combined Minority
Business Enterprise and
Public Awareness Confer-
ence will be held Satur-
day, September 13, at the
Lenox Hotel in Boston,
Mass. The purpose of the
conference is to stimulate
interest in and public
awareness of EPA's
minority business enter-
prise policy in the con-
struction grants and
solid/hazardous waste
disposal programs.
Specific problem areas
that have been encoun-
tered by minority busi-
ness enterprises will be
discussed. In addition, a
series of workshops,
panel discussions, and
technical assistance fo-
rums are planned to in-
form, clarify, and re-
emphasize the goals and
requirements of the
program.
Acid Rain
The Maine Natural Re-
sources Council will hold
a conference on acid rain
November 22 and 23
in Portland, Maine.
Co-sponsored by the In-
ternational Atlantic
Salmon Foundation and
Trout Unlimited, the con-
ference will highlight the
environmental and eco-
nomic effects on sports-
fishing in the Northeast.
Additional topics will
include an overview of the
nature and extent of the
acid rain problem in the
Northeast and Canada,
and regulatory options.
Transportation
Region 2 has proposed to
disapprove the mass
transit plan prepared for
the New York Metropoli-
tan area under the Federal
Clean Air Act because the
State, in EPA's view, has
not yet met the Congres-
sional mandate for a plan
with appropriate meas-
ures to meet the City's
basic transportation
needs. The Agency also
feels that the plan does
not show that every effort
is being made to provide
the necessary funding for
those measures.
"When it amended the
Clean Air Act in 1977,
Congress recognized how
difficult it was for State
and city officials to im-
pose the tough transporta-
tion measures needed to
reduce air pollution
caused by motor vehicles
and under certain condi-
tions allowed exten-
sions," said Charles S.
Warren, EPA Regional
Administrator.
"Congress also specifi-
cally provided an alterna-
tive to tolls on the East
and Harlem River bridges.
The State could eliminate
tolls but in return must
submit a plan showing
how it would expand and
improve public trans-
portation to meet the basic
transportation needs of
the region. The plan was
supposed to demonstrate
that all available Federal,
State and local funds
would be used to meet
those needs." he said.
"In our opinion, the
State's plan for the metro-
politan area does not
meet that definition. In
the meantime, the level of
poisonous carbon mon-
oxide and ozone caused
by motor vehicles remains
at twice the healthful
level in many areas,"
Warren added.
Scrubbers
A recently signed con-
sent decree should re-
solve air pollution
emission problems at the
Philadelphia Electric
Company's Eddystone
and Cromby generating
stations located near
Philadelphia.
Under the decree, the
company will continue a
cleanup program origi-
nally begun in 1970. The
program is designed to
bring the coal-fired units
at the two generating
stations into compliance
with sulfur dioxide, par-
ticulate matter, and visi-
ble emissions standards.
The utility is con-
trolling air pollution
through the use of emis-
sions control devices
known as "scrubbers."
Special magnesium oxide
scrubbers are being used
to control sulfur dioxide.
Magnesium oxide scrub-
bers differ from other
scrubbers in that no waste
sludge is created which
would require landfilling
facilities for disposal.
According to the newly
signed decree, the utility
must meet all emissions
standards by December
31, 1982, though certain
standards must be at-
tained earlier at one of
the Eddystone units.
The decree also calls
for stricter interim stand-
ards to be attained before
the scrubbers are in
operation than were re-
quired under the earlier
administrative orders.
Air Pollution
The Department of
Justice, on behalf of EPA,
filed suit recently against
Sharon Steel Corporation
for polluting the air at the
company's Farreil Works
in western Pennsylvania.
EPA initiated the com-
plaint after observing ex-
cessive visible emissions
coming from the blast
furnace at the Farreil
Works. EPA had previ-
ously cited the company
in September 1977 for air
pollution.
Reevaluation
Three proposed Interstate
Highway 75 interchanges
in the Miami-Ft. Lauder-
dale area are being re-
evaluated by the Florida
Department of Trans-
portation at the request
of Rebecca W. Hanmer,
EPA Regional Adminis-
trator. Hanmer said the
interchanges pose an in-
direct threat by encour-
aging growth and devel-
opment which could harm
the Biscayne Aquifer, the
area's principal source of
drinking water.
The reevaluation was
agreed to in a memo-
randum of understanding
signed by the EPA, the
Federal Highway Admin-
istration, and the Florida
Department of Transpor-
tation. None of the inter-
changes are under
construction.
EPA agreed to stay its
formal review of the I-75
project pending the out-
come of the reevaluation,
but reserved the right to
reinstate such proceed-
ings under authority of
the Safe Drinking Water
Act.
The highway is to run
down the west coast of
Florida to Naples, east
into Broward County and
then southeast to the
Palmetto Expressway in
Dade County.
Cleanup Credits
The Illinois State Cham-
ber of Commerce and
EPA Region 5 were co-
sponsors recently of a
Chicago conference on
the banking and trading
of (air pollution) emission
credits. This multi-State
meeting brought together
about 300 senior manage-
ment and technical staff
from industry and from
State environmental pro-
tection and economic
development agencies, as
well as EPA personnel, to
discuss concepts and pro-
cedures involved in con-
trolled trading.
Among those who ad-
dressed the conference
were William Drayton,
Jr., EPA Assistant Admin-
istrator for Planning and
Management, and Region-
al Administrator John
McGuire. The general
objectives of the confer-
ence were: to provide
briefings and case study
data on specific con-
trolled trading activities
in Region 5; to conduct
State-specific briefings on
controlled trading in the
region; and to establish
State and regional focal
points for exchange of in-
formation and help in
controlled trading.
Workshops were con-
ducted on emission off-
sets, the bubble policy,
and offset banking sys-
tems. These workshops
were organized as panel
discussions, with five
speakers (one each from
the region and the State,
two industrial representa-
tives, and one representa-
tive of the EPA headquar-
ters controlled trading
staff) participating in
each panel, moderated by
a representative of
Region 5.
Separate meetings for
each of the region's six
34
EPAJOURNAL
-------
States were held to con-
sider, with audience par-
ticipation, the status of
controlled trading within
each State, the advan-
tages and disadvantages
of the system, and the
need for follow-up meet-
ings or assistance.
Hazardous Waste
Eight seminars on the
effects of EPA's new
hazardous waste regula-
tions were held in the
region during July, for
anyone impacted fay the
rules.
The first seminar, in
Dallas, was attended by
almost 500 people, with
similar interest in other
seminars. Major media
covered the seminars,
with pro regulations
articles and editorials
resulting.
EPA has allocated
more than $3.2 million to
Arkansas, Louisiana, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, and
Texas to support State
programs to manage haz-
ardous waste.
The money, allocated
under the Resource Con-
servation and Recovery
Act, will be used to in-
vestigate sites to deter-
mine whether there is a
threat to human health or
the environment.
Clean Lakes
Region 6 recently award-
ed three grants totaling
$639,950 to the States
of Louisiana, New Mex-
ico, and Oklahoma. The
grants were made under
the Clean Lakes Program,
designed to assist states
in making specific lakes
more healthful and
usable.
Training Course
Region 7 with the assist-
ance of Ecology and the
Environment, Inc., an
EPA contractor, recently
sponsored the first com-
bined local, State, and
Federal level Hazardous
Field Activities Course.
The event took place at
the Kansas City, Mo., Fire
Department Training
Academy.
The course, which in-
cluded four days of
instruction by nationally
known experts in various
disciplines and two days
of "hands on" training,
was designed to prepare
personnel for involvement
in hazardous chemical
spill responses and inves-
tigations of hazardous
waste dumps.
According to Bill
Keffer, Chief of Region
7's Emergency Planning
and Response Branch,
this was the first time that
regional resources had
been used to provide
practical training that had
been requested by various
area agencies.
Included among the
participants were 60
students from Region 7,
representatives from the
U.S. Coast Guard, State
environmental agencies
in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska, various local
government units and the
private sector, such as
the railroads.
X,
Cleaning Wastewater
A construction grant of
approximately $3.7 mil-
lion has been given to the
Upper Eagle Valley Sani-
tation District, which
serves the town of Vail,
Colo. The grant will fund
75 percent of the cost
necessary to enlarge and
modify Vail's wastewater
treatment plant which is
posing a threat to Colo-
rado's Gore Creek. For
decades, the creek, which
flows through Vail, has
been the site of trout
fishing.
Another important
facet of the cleanup
project will be control of
sediment from non-point
sources of pollution.
Eagle County has passed
and Vail is expected to
pass laws which require
sediment control meas-
ures be taken. These ac-
tions could include build-
ing a secondary drainage
system, prohibiting
construction of buildings
close to the creek's banks,
implementing erosion and
stormwater control meas-
ures, and revegetating
areas disturbed by
construction.
o
Radiation Policy
Members of the public
and interested State and
local officials commented
on Federal radiation pro-
tection policies at a recent
meeting in San Francisco
of the President's Radia-
tion Policy Council.
The meeting was one
of five being held across
the Nation to promote
public involvement in the
formulation of tasks to be
undertaken by the
Council.
The Radiation Policy
Council, which is com-
posed of members from
13 Federal agencies in-
cluding EPA, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission,
and the Department of
Energy, was created this
year to oversee the formu-
lation and implementa-
tion of Federal policies
related to radiation pro-
tection. EPA Administra-
tor Douglas M. Costle is
Council Chairman.
At the San Francisco
meeting, the public was
particularly invited to
comment on three spe-
cific areas: occupational
exposure to radiation, the
control of naturally oc-
curring radon in build-
ings, and problems
related to low level radio-
active wastes from
research and medical
facilities.
Pollution Settlement
Three pulp mills in the
State of Washington have
agreed to pay substantial
civil penalties to settle
separate lawsuits brought
against them by Region
10 for their failure to
meet deadlines for
achieving certain required
levels of industrial waste-
water treatment.
The three mills and the
penalties are: Scott Paper
Company, located in
Everett, which has agreed
to pay $400,000; Geor-
gia-Pacific Corp., in
Bellingham, which agreed
to pay $250,000; and
Weyerhaeuser Corp.. in
Longview, which agreed
to pay $135,000 in
penalties.
At the time the suits
were filed, a total of 28
other pulp mills in EPA's
Northwest region (Alaska,
Idaho, Oregon and Wash-
ington) had already com-
plied with, or were on
schedule to comply with,
the effluent limitation re-
quired by their permits.
Alaskan Permits
Region 10's proposal this
summer to issue required
Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) and
National Pollutant Dis-
charge Elimination Sys-
tems permits set in mo-
tion the process by which
final EPA approval can be
given to the construction
of a joint Arco-Sohio
project at Alaska's
Prudhoe Bay.
The permits are neces-
sary before Arco-Sohio
can build its planned
"waterflood project," an
effort that calls for flood-
ing underground oil fields
with purified seawater,
thereby flushing out oil
and gas that might not
otherwise be recovered.
States Served by EPA Regions
Region 1 (Boston)
Connecticut. Ma
ichuseus, f^
island.
Verrv
617-2237210
Region 2 (New York
City)
Ni?w York.
-iico. Virgin
•
Region 3
(Philadelphia)
•id
,97-9814
Region 4 (Atlanta)
Alabama. Georgia
i
Noith Carolina. S
Kentucky
404-881 4727
Region 5 (Chicago)
Illinois, Indiana. 0
Michigan, VV
312 363-2000
Region 6 (Dallas)
Arkansas i .
Oklah. 'Mow
214 767 2600
Region 7 (Kansas
City)
174-5493
Region 8 (Denver)
Wv»"
TO South
303
Region 9 (San
Francisco)
. California.
Nevada, Hawaii
,1)6-2320
Region 10 (Seattle)
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon.
Wash;'
206-442-1220
SEPTEMBER 1980
35
-------
Environmental
Initiative
y observation is that most of the
change that occurred over the last
twenty years has been done by
leaders outside the political system. The
civil rights movement, the women's move-
ment, the environmental movement—all
these were initiated and led by people out-
side the political system. The public lead-
ers merely confirmed into law changes
which had their genesis in sweeping value
changes outside the political system:
Politicians are by definition winners: we
have seldom been leaders.
Secondly, the political system is by
definition compromised. Government is a
common denominator of all the values—
right or wrong—farsighted or myopic—
within it. Trudeau said it so well—"Politics
deals with urgencies, not with essentials."
The environmental movement converse-
ly deals with essentials—with some
sweeping changes in lifestyles at a mini-
mum—but more probably with a Hob-
sonian reality that is incompatible with
political survival. This may be a new Gar-
rett Hardin piece—"The Tragedy of the
Common Politician"—but it is realistic.
We can and do fight forliberalized abor-
tion, family planning, mass transit, air
clean up and a thousand similar important
bandaids—but the system is clearly not
capable of legislating solutions of world
scarcity and limits. The politics of plenty
were easy; the politics of scarcity are going
to be tumultuous. How do you sell one half
of a chicken in every pot?
Politics is fueled by good news, not bad.
If it isn't good, we emphasize whatever
good we can find. I coach my son's Little
League team. We had a 5-5 season. Lost 5
at home and lost 5 on the road. I know
some politicians who, if they were cap-
tain of the Titanic, would persuade the
passengers they were only stopping for ice.
Any public official fears a public who,
beset by inflation, shortages, scarcity and
lower living standards, confuses the mes-
senger with the message. Politics is in-
»i
EPAJOURNAL
-------
Rocky Mo
extricably interrelated with the manage-
ment of expectations, and a society which
has expanded economically and socially
for 300 years will find sacrifice, belt tight-
ening, and hard work a bitter pill to swal-
low. A call for "Blood, Sweat and Tears"
requires exquisite timing and a political
Dunkirk. Winston Churchill out of office
could describe and define a holocaust
much more accurately than F.D.R. in office,
although both correctly perceived the true
nature of the threat.
Thus are environmentally aware public
figures caught—with our eyes on the hori-
zon but our feet stuck in the reality, not so
much of survival—that may or may not be
important—but of effectiveness.
Al Smith said it so well: "A politician
can't be so far ahead of the band he can't
hear the music."
There are some messages that politi-
cians can deliver—and some that await a
freer agent—a Martin Luther King or an
Amory Lovins or a Garrett Hardin. You
need, I feel, a Gandhi, not a Governor to
help you chart a strategy of the new world
into which we a re rapidly plunging.
To quote Walter Lippmann shortly be-
fore his death: "We are living through the
closing chapters of an established and
traditional way of life. We are in the early
beginning of a struggle, which will prob-
ably last for generations, and that is to
remake our civilization. It is not a good
time for politicians, it is a time for prophets
and leaders and explorers and inventors
and pioneers and for those who are willing
to plant trees for their children to sit
under."
I would like to passionately reaffirm the
validity of the goals of the environmental
movement. Oliver Wendell Holmes said
that "a person must get involved in the
passion of his times, at the risk of never
having lived." You have been involved in
the passion of your times, pushing society
toward eventually inevitable goals, and
despite societal preoccupation with other
more immediate issues.
We should take pride that we have cor-
rectly identified many major issues facing
the world and done our best to articulate
their seriousness.
With considerable accuracy you have
been right. With remarkable accuracy we
have identified the looming issues of our
times: overpopulation; pollution; resource
shortages; wise use of land; toxic and
hazardous wastes; and geometrical growth.
Giscard D'Estaing recently summed it
up with a quote that haunts me: "All mod-
ern day curves lead to disaster."
So first and foremost I believe we must
have the courage of our convictions—an
audacious faith in ourselves. History will
confirm—I passionately believe—that we
correctly identified the gargantuan prob-
lems of our age.
Second—with remarkable accuracy—
we helped forge a body of laws, executive
orders and administrative measures which
withstood the test of times. We have faced
the Nation in a new and needed direction
and institutionalized a whole generation of
solutions. They have to date withstood the
test of time.
In our agenda for the 1 980's, retention
of what we have gained should be of ut-
most importance.
Third: we must admit that with all our
efforts—successful as they were—the
problems continue to outrun the solutions.
We still live in a world which will see
mega-famine, massive desertification, de-
forestation, a Niagara of Love Canals, toxic
and hazardous, and nuclear management
problems which eclipse any of our present
solutions. We need a sense of strategy
which should come out of this meeting but
of which I can only vaguely see the outlines.
We must be both dreamers and realists:
"both visionary and practical person. We
must, in short, be a unique blend of Don
Quixote and Sancho Panza. After the Don
had attacked the windmills, mistaking
them for evil giants, and had been rudely
unhorsed for his pains, he picked himself
up out of the dirt, announced to Sancho: 'I
proposed to do such exploits that you shall
deem yourself fortunate to have been
found worthy to come with me and behold
marvels that will be almost beyond belief.'
To which Sancho replies: 'I believe every-
thing that your Grace says; but for now
tighten up your saddle a little, because you
seem to be slipping off your horse.' '
We must be concerned with means, like
Sancho, no less than with ends, like
Quixote.
How we define the strategy clearly de-
pends on how we define the problem and
how we define the solution. I got into
politics as an unpaid lobbyist fighting bill-
boards. If our environmental problems are
billboards and beauty, coyotes, coastlines,
litter and landscapes, sprawl and snail
darters, then our strategy is different than
if we define our problems as overpopula-
tion, overconsumption, overutilization of
resources and system overload. The issue
isn't scenery. It's survival.
I believe, sadly but realistically, that
"All modern curves lead to disaster," and
that we will see in our lifetime—indeed we
are presently witnessing—the beginning of
a wrenching transition into a new world as
different as the one Columbus discovered.
I believe that a world of energy shortages,
hunger, and natural resource limitation will
soon be upon us.
We continue to assume that God is an
American and ethnocentrically believe that
the future wi!l be an extrapolation of the
past.
Senator Muskie said that the agenda for
the 1980's must be to implement and un-
derstand the laws that we passed in the
1970's. He suggests sort of a period of
consolidation for the environmental
movement.
That would be good advice if these were
normal times, but in my opinion we don't
live in normal times and we don't have
time for a period of consolidation. We have
to fasttrack our solutions because the
world is unraveling. The Government has
a role in implementing the laws that you
helped pass in the 1970's and you have the
responsibility of developing the new values
which we will need to carry us to the year
2000. It is our duty to articulate accurately
the true dilemma of human existence. We
must show that we cannot produce our way
out of the current shortages; that we must
help conserve our way out; that population
is dealt with, not only by making more food,
but by stabilizing population; that energy
shortages will not be solved by merely drill-
ing more wells, but by conservation and
renewable resources; that resource short-
ages also must be worked on by recycling
and reusing; and that growth-caused prob-
lems cannot be solved by merely more
growth.
We must take a society raised on pro-
ducing our way out of shortages and show
them how we can help conserve our way
out also. To a society that assumes infinite
resources we must promote the finite.
In an important sense, we may not need
more laws, but a spiritual revolution, an
attitudinal revolution. We must take a so-
ciety which has been built on the assump-
tion of infinity and promote finity. Thus
one of the foremost tasks of environmen-
talists is the development of a massive
campaign of attitudinal change aimed at
reversing the assumptions of infinity and to
promote the recognition of scarcity and
finiteness. D
This article is excerpted from i> speech by
Governor Lamm to The Conservation Foun-
dation's Environmental Decade Conference
in Estes Park, Colo.
SEPTEMBER 1980
37
-------
People
Leslie A. Carothers
She has been named Deputy
Regional Administrator of EPA
Region 1 headquartered in
Boston. In this position
Carothers will be responsible
for overseeing the management
of EPA activities in the six-state
New England region.
Carothers has a strong envi-
ronmental background. From
1976 until her recent appoint-
ment, she served as the director
of the Enforcement Division of
the Region 1 Office. In 1979
she was detailed for 3 months
to EPA headquarters to serve as
Coordinator of the Hazardous
Waste Task Force. From 1 974-
1976 she served in the Office of
General Counsel at EPA head-
quarters in Washington, D.C. as
an attorney for the Air Quality,
Noise and Radiation Division.
She graduated summa cum
laude in government from
Smith College and holds an
L.L.B. from Harvard Law School.
She also received a masters in
environmental law from George
Washington University in
Washington, D.C.
Carothers replaces former
Deputy Regional Adminis-
trator Rebecca Hanmer who is
now the EPA Regional Adminis-
trator of Region 4, headquar-
tered in Atlanta, Ga.
Steven Schatzow
He has been appointed Deputy
Assistant Administrator for
Water Regulations and Stand-
ards. In this post, he will be
responsible for developing reg-
ulations to control toxic indus-
trial pollutants and for formu-
lating water quality criteria and
standards. He also will super-
vise certain water monitoring
operations and the wetlands
protection program.
Schatzow had been EPA's
Deputy Associate General
Counsel for Effluent Guidelines
since 1978. He joined EPA as a
staff attorney in the Office of
General Counsel in 1976. Prior
to this, he was in private law
practice in Washington, D.C.
Earlier he was a consultant to
the Canadian government for
urban affairs and an attorney in
the U.S. government's VISTA
(Volunteers in Service to
America) program.
He received a B.A. in English
from Yale University, a law
degree (J.D.) from the Univer-
sity of Chicago, and a master's
degree (L.L.M) in urban law
from George Washington
University.
John S. Fleeter
He has been named Assistant
Regional Administrator for
Planning and Management for
EPA Region 6 with headquar-
ters in Dallas, Tex. Floeter has
10 years' experience with the
city of Dallas, where he most
recently served as Assistant
City Auditor. His experience
includes work in the areas of
personnel, grants management,
program planning, and evalu-
ation.
He received his B.A. from
the University of Texas at
Austin and did graduate work
in Public Administration at
Southern Methodist University.
Laird Starrick
He has been named Director of
the Region 5 Analytical Center.
The centers will focus on policy
analysis and development con-
cerned with major "cross-
cutting" (i.e. transcending
organizational orfunctional
lines of authority) issues of
high priority to EPA and to indi-
vidual Regional Administrators.
The Region 5 Analytic Cen-
ter has been formed to analyze
and develop policy; assist
Reg ion 5 divisions and branches
in policy analysis and develop-
ment; conduct analysis of
projects of potential use to
other EPA regions; and partici-
pate in analysis of projects of
outside organizations which
are of great interest to EPA
Region 5.
Starrick comes to EPA from
the Department of Commerce
and Community Affairs of the
State of Illinois, where he had
been Director of Policy and
Programs since October, 1979.
Prior to that, he held various
positions in State government.
He received his bachelor's
degree in 1967 and his mas-
ter's degree in 1972, both in
urban and regional planning,
from the University of Illinois.
George V. Bochanski, Jr.
He has been named Chief, Of-
fice of Public Awareness, at
EPA's office in Philadelphia. He
will be responsible for directing
Region 3's public awareness,
public participation, and press
services programs.
Before being appointed to his
new position, Bochanski was
Press Officer in Region 3 for
two years. He also worked in
various public information
capacities for the Department
of the Treasury and the Depart-
ment of the Army for nine
years. Prior to joining the Fed-
eral Government, he was a news
reporter for several Philadel-
phia area radio stations.
He received B.S. and M.B.A.
degrees from St. Joseph's
University in Philadelphia.
James Thompson
He has been named Regional
Counsel for Region 8. !n that
position, he is the senior legal
advisor in the Region and pro-
vides overall legal and policy
advice to the Regional Admin-
istrator and other senior staff
members. He also represents
the Office of the General Coun-
sel on the Agency's Indian Task
Force.
Prior to coming to Region 8,
Thompson was Assistant Re-
gional Counsel in Region 1
from 1974 to 1979. Before that
he was an attorney-advisor in
the Region 1 enforcement
division.
He graduated from the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania in 1967
and received a law degree from
George Washington University
in Washington, D.C., in 1973.
Robert E. Hall
He was recently installed as
Chairman of the Air Pollution
Control Division of the Ameri-
can Society of Mechanical En-
gineers (ASME) at itsannual
meeting in Montreal, Canada.
He is a program manager at the
EPA's Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory in Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C.
The Society Air Pollution
Control Division currently has
800 members representing a
wide range of governmental,
industrial, and academic or-
ganizations. The American So-
ciety of Mechanical Engineers
is an educational and technical
society of some 90,000
engineers.
Hall has been with EPA since
its formation 10 years ago.
Prior to that time, he worked
with the U.S. Public Health
Service and the U.S. Navy. He
holds both a bachelor's degree
and master's degree in mechan-
ical engineering from the Uni-
versity of Kentucky.
Dr. Edward G. Bobalek
He has been named a Fellow of
the American Institute of
Chemical Engineers. Bobalek
is a senior chemical engineer-
ing advisor at EPA's Industrial
Environmental Research Lab-
oratory in Research Triangle,
Park N.C.
Bobalek has beenon a special
intergovernmental exchange
program. He is on leave from the
University of Maine in Orono,
where he is a Gottesman
Research Professor and head of
the Chemical Engineering
Department. He will be returning
to the University in September.
•:-,
EPAJOURNAL
-------
News Briefs
U.S., CANADA AGREE
ON ACID RAIN
The United States and Canada have signed an
Agreement that initiates a comprehensive program
to develop solutions to the acid rain problem.
Major provisions of the Agreement include:
establishing a formal coordinating committee
to begin negotiations by June 1, 1981, on a
cooperative agreement to control drifting air
pollution; vigorously enforcing existing air
pollution controls; and providing advance noti-
fication on industrial or regulatory developments
relating to the acid rain problem. This Agree-
ment, a Memorandum of Intent, was signed by
Secretary of State Edmund Muskie and EPA
Administrator Douglas M. Costle for the United
States, and by Canadian Ambassador Peter Towe
and Canadian Minister of the Environment John
Roberts for Canada. In signing the Memorandum,
Secretary Muskie pointed out that the Agreement
responds to the 1978 Congressional resolution
calling for U.S.-Canadian negotiations to pre-
serve and protect mutual air resources.
COSTLE WARNS
ON CHEMICALS
The legacy of the chemical revolution will present.
this country with its biggest environmental
problems, according to EPA Administrator Douglas
M. Costle. He discussed the environmental future
of the U.S. in a recent appearance on NBC-TV's
"Meet the Press." "We have been pumping hazard-
ous wastes and chemicals into the ground for years
in this country," said Costle. "We're going to
see it start turning up in the drinking water."
Discussing recent studies investigating links in
growth of cancer incidence to exposure to toxic
chemicals, he said, "I think there is mounting
evidence that suggests that they are clearly impli-
cated in i~, but the degree to which they are is
in many cases still unclear. It's an infant
science. But it's an absolutely critical area,
and my hunch is that we're going to find it to
be a more serious problem than we ever imagined."
EPA Journal Subscriptions
Name-First. Last
Please Print
JJL
Company Name or Additional Address Line
Street Address
City
li
State
Payment enclosed
Charge to my Deposit Account No.
Do you know someone in industry or in a civic
group who wants to keep up with national
environmental developments involving EPA?
Let them know about EPA Journal. If they want
to subscribe, give them this form. The sub-
scription price is $12 per year and $15.00 if
mailed to a foreign address. A single copy
sells for $1.20. (Agency employees receive
this publication without charge.) Anyone
wishing to subscribe should fill in the form
below and enclose a check or money order
payable to the Superintendent of Documents.
Mail order form to:
(Superintendent of Documents)
Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
-------
Environmental Almanac: September 1980
A Glimpse of the Natural World We Help Protect
Falcons on
the Wing
A dawn breaks over
Washington a peregrine
falcon rises from a
tower of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution's Castle Building, circles
the area, and then dives with
blazing speed on a pigeon flying
nearby.
The falcon makes a fist of
its claws and strikes its victim
with such force that a cloud of
pigeon feathers goes flying. The
peregrine then makes a reverse
turn and catches the pigeon
before it hits the ground.
By the time the morning rush
hour traffic begins to rumble by
the Smithsonian on the way to
downtown offices the falcon is
back at its tower perch plucking
and eating its breakfast.
Six young falcons were taken
to the Smithsonian earlier this
year as part of a major program
to help restore the peregrine in
the East. The falcons at the
Smithsonian are expected to
migrate this fall but may return
to nest in three years when they
reach sexual maturity.
Four young falcons were
raised on the roof of the Depart-
ment of the Interior headquar-
ters in Washington last year,
but after leaving on migration
one was shot in New Jersey and
another crashed into a building
in Baltimore. Interior officials
are hoping that the remaining
two will return to nest next
year.
Meanwhile, four more pere-
grine chicks were recently
taken to a box nest on the roof
of a Manhattan skyscraper in an
attempt to restore this bird to
New York City. Attempts to rear
peregrines are also being made
in other large cities.
The decline of the peregrine
has been attributed to the effect
of the pesticide DDT on the
species. By 1970 when most
uses of DDT were banned by
EPA, Dr. Thomas Cade of Cor-
nell University had started a
large-scale captive breeding
program at Cornell.Thenestling
falcons bred by peregrines in
captivity at Cornell's Behavior-
al Ecology Facility, known as
the "hawk barn," are taken to
suitable locations around the
country and released.
One problem has been that
since the eastern subspecies of
the peregrine became extinct,
great horned owls have taken
over many of the cliff ledges
where the falcons used to nest.
Young fa Icons are not strong
enough to defend themselves
against these predatory owls
which attack at night. At some
cliffside sites attempts to re-
lease the peregrines have had
to be abandoned when some of
the fledglings disappeared and
later their severed !egs and
feathers were found at the base
of the cliff.
As a result, scientists de-
cided to experiment with the
restoration of peregrines to
large cities where tall buildings
andan amplefood supply of
starlings, pigeons and sparrows
used to provide good habitats
for peregrine falcons.
Although some people have
expressed concern about the
falcon's victims, scientists esti-
mate that a healthy young pere-
grine will eat a maximum of
about two pigeons a day,
probably less than are killed
daily in urban traffic. Some city
officials have wondered if fal-
cons could help reduce ex-
cessive starling populations.
The peregrine restoration
program is sponsored by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the Cornell University Pere-
grine Fund, and various other
groups. The eggs to start the
program were obtained from
natural nests, or eyries, and
then hatched in incubators at
Cornell. When an egg is re-
moved from a nest in the wild it
is replaced with a dummy egg
and later a nestling raised at
Cornell is sometimes sub-
stituted for the artificial egg
and raised by the unsuspecting
parent birds.
When parents are not avail-
able the birds are taken in a
protective crate, or hack box, to
a mountain ledge where they
can remain in the safety of the
box and be fed by remote con-
trol until they have "fixed" on
their wild surroundings. The
box is designed to allow parent-
less birds to fledge safely in the
wild without imprinting on
human beings. The term "hack"
comes from the practice in the
ancient art of falconry of feed-
ing the young bird at a tree
stump or hack board. Although
the bird is free to fly it depends
on the hack board for food.
When the bird reaches the stage
of being able to capture its own
prey, the falconer recaptures
the fledgling and attaches
jesses—straps on the legs to
which a leash can be attached.
Under the restoration pro-
gram, which has resulted in the
release of several hundred
captive-bred birds, the fledg-
lings are released to the wild
instead of being leashed.
In addition to the fact that
peregrines are majestic and
fascinating birds capable of
flying at speeds of approxi-
mately 200 miles an hour while
diving, they deserve our atten-
tion because they are part of
the life on this planet that is
inextricably linked.
As Rene Dubos.the noted
scientist and author, has written,
"the only real clue to the origin
of life is that all its forms . . .
have many physiochemical
characteristics in common."
Dubos added that "this uni-
formity of fundamental struc-
ture holds true irrespective of
the size, shape and complexity
cf the organism—whether it be
microbe, plant, animal or man.
"Indeed, the similarity in
structure of the genetic appa-
ratus throughout the living
world is so perfect that it can-
not possibly be a matter of
chance. The conclusion seems
inescapable that all the living
forms that now exist have had
a common origin."—C.D.P. D
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1980 O— 620-273n REGION 3-1
EPA JOURNAL
-------
Global Danger Signals
safely storing nuclear wastes from power
reactors remains unresolved.
One of the goals of the study was to
show how global problems are related to
each other, and it furnished several strik-
ing examples of this. In warning that the
world faces a loss of many plant and
animal genetic resources—between 15
and 20 percent of all species on earth—
within the next two decades, the report
pointed out that up to two-thirds of these
extinr: ons will rest ; from the destruction
or deg;adation of tropical forests, Many
other freshwater and marine species are
threatened with extinction by dams, chan-
nels, silt, and pollution by salts, acid rain,
pesticides and other toxic chemicals,
according to the study.
Jn summary, the picture painted by the
study of the world in the year 2000 is not
an optimistic one. There will be many more
people. Four-fifths of them will live in
less developed countries. The gap between
the rich and poor will increase. There will
be fewer resources to go around. In the
last quarter of the 20th century, remaining
petroleum resources per capita will decline
at least 50 percent, water supplies per
capita will drop 35 percent, and growing
stock of wood will cecline 47 percent. By
the end of the century, 40 percent of
forests remaining in lesser developed
countries will have been razed. Soil erosion
will have washed or blown away on the
avprage several inches of topsoil from
croplands around the world. Desertifica-
tion may have claimed a significant part of
productive land. At least 500,000 species
of plants and animals will have become
extinct in little more than two decades.
it is obvious from the tone of the report
that the authors, while terming it as no
more than "a reconnaissance of the future"
and a description of what is likely to occur
rather than a firm prediction, are using the
occasion as a call to action. They warn
that there is no technological "quick fix"
for the problems.
Gerald 0. Barney, study director, be-
lieves that among the immediate results
of the findings, the Department of State
will soon organize an international con-
ference as a follow-up to the warnings.
"This is the first study of its kind that any
Buck ('•
nation has done where an attempt was
made to look at population, resources, and
environment and how their problems are
interrelated," he said. "A great many
people are reflecting on the subject both
here and abroad, and the study comes at
a time of increasing stress."
Copies of the full Global 2000 Study
are available from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 or any
GPO bookstore. The Summary Report
(S N 041-011-00037-8) is $3.50, Vol 2
The Technical Report (S/N 041-00038-6)
isS13,andVo!3 The Government's Global
Model (S-N041-011-00051-3) is S8.Q
Truman Temple is Associate Editor of
EPA Journal.
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Washington D C 20460
Official Business
Penally for Private Use $300
gency
>A335
Third Class
Bulk
Return this page if you do not wish to receive this publication ( ), or if a change of address is needed ( ), list change, including zip code
------- |