United Stal Environmental Pr Agtncy :c ffairs (A- DC 20460' The Protection of Our Environment . fe / 1M ------- ------- United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Public Affairs (A-107) Washington. DC. 20460 Volume 8 Number 3 May-June 1982 SEPA JOURNAL Anne McGill Gorsuch, Administrator Byron Nelson 111, Director, Office of Public Affairs Charles D. Pierce, Editor Truman Temple, Associate Editor Articles EPA is charged by Congress to protect the Nation s i,mil a,r and water systems date of national environ mental laws, the Agency strives 10 for mnldlt; and implement actions which lead to a compatible balance between human activities Lintl the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life the tPA Journal is published bi-monthly Hy the U S Environmental Pro:> 1 i»un!iny this ! :y the Directoi "f thr Oif.ic u! Management .let for ihc iit'McKl erultmi A|in 1 984 Views expressed by authors do not . ', reflei ; LPA policy Contnbu lions and inquiries should be adi ditoi IA 10/1 Waterside Mall. 401 M St SW Washinyton. DC 70460 No permission necessary fo e contents except copyrighted photos and othi;r inatenal Administrator's Letter to the President Introduction ... 3 The Health of Our Citizens ... 4 Better Science ... 6 Regulatory Reform ... 7 State and Local Involvement ... 8 Reduction of Backlogs ... 10 Improved Management ... 12 . 2 i O ;'< ^ Cover A cowboy and his horse are dwar fed in the splendor of this Wyoming landscape- Opposite The sun bursts through dark clouds over Richmond Harbor. Calif Photo Credits Photri. Steve Delaney Design Credits Robert Flanagan and Ron Far rah EPA JOURNAL Subscriptions The annual rate for subscribers in the U.S- for the bi-monthly EPA Journal is S9 50 The charge To subscribers in foreign countries is S11 90 a year The price of a single copy of the Journal is 52 75 in this country and S3,45 if sent to a foreign country. Prices include mailing costs Subscriptions to EPA Journal, as well as to other Federal Government magazines, are handled only by the US. Government Printing Office Anyone wishing to subscribe to the Journal should fill in the form at right and enclose a check or money order payable to the Superintendent of Documents. The re- quest should be mailed to Superinten- dent of Documents. GPO. Washington. D C , 20402 Name-First, Last Please Print Company Name or Additional Line i Street Address L Zip Code I I D Payment enclosed D Charge to my Deposit Account No.. ------- The Honorable Ronald Reagan The White House Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. President: This month marks the com- pletion of my first year serving as your Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This report sum- marizes some of the major efforts and accomplishments during that time to further the mission for which the Agency was founded: the protection of our environment, and to do so within the framework of the initiatives of your Administra- tionregulatory reform, better science, state and local in- volvement, and improved, more efficient management. With your enthusiastic support, EPA has made progress in pursuing its critically important mandate. Significant environmental gains have been registered in the following broad and important categories: The Health of Our Citizens. First and foremost, EPA is pledged to safeguarding the health and welfare of the American people and the pro- tection of their environment. Our reforms, in all instances, hone true to that objective. Improved efficiency at EPA translates directly into better environmental protection. Better Science. Sound en- vironmental regulation can only be as good as the scienti- fic foundation upon which it is based. The Agency frequently finds itself at the frontier of health-related research, in an ongoing effort to determine the risks to humans posed by synthetic substances and waste products. To assure the best possible scientific information, EPA has undertaken a number of reforms in the area of research and development. Regulatory Reform. Regulatory reform is one of the major pillars of your economic re- covery program and an area in which EPA is making a sub- stantial contribution. The Agency has actively been re- viewing its entire body of regulations to eliminate need- less red tape. The result of this effort conservatively will add up to a savings of $6 to 7 billion as a result of our first year's work. Elimination of Backlogs. One of the most immediate and pressing tasks confronted upon taking charge of EPA was the elimination of costly, time- consuming delays as the Agency ground down under the weight of its own backlog of paperwork. With the adoption of procedural reforms and more businesslike management structures, all backlogs have been addressed and many have been drastically reduced. State Partnerships. We are strengthening positive working relationships with state and local governments. The major laws EPA administers provide for delegation of key program responsibilities to the States, should they decide to accept. In accordance with your philosophy of New Federalism, we want to make sure that the responsibilities transferred are substantive, and not token. Improved Management. Finally, we are improving the basic organizational structure of the Agency. We have initiated re- forms that promise to produce a more streamlined organiza- tionone that will be more responsive in delivering the highest quality environmental protection at the lowest practi- cal public expenditure. Such innovations in environ- mental protection are a tradi- tional Republican mainstay. EPA was founded under a Republican Administration. Seven of its 11 years of existence have been under GOP leadership, and the cause of national conservation goes back to President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican. This Administration carries forward that tradition. I am confident that the quality of America's land, air and water will be better for our efforts. We have only made a start in this first year, but it is a start in which we take pride. Sincerely, Anne M. Gorsuch May 1982 EPA JOURNAL ------- Introduction The creation of the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agency ("EPA") on December 2, 1970, was the product of an effort to streamline the Federal Government and a desire to respond positively to the en- vironmental concerns of the country. Prior to EPA, the Federal Gov- ernment's environmental con- trol-functions had been spread across several federal depart- ments and agencies, including Interior, Agriculture, Health, Education and Welfare, and the Atomic Energy Commis- sion. Fifteen programs were brought together to make up the new Agency, which began with a Fiscal Year 1971 oper- ating budget of $303 million and 7,198 permanent employees. Today EPA's operating budget is approxi- mately $1.3 billion and em- ploys just under 10,000 perma- nent employees. EPA is charged with pro- tecting the nation's environ- ment by: administering laws passed by Congress, ensuring compliance with those laws, and performing research to sup- port its activities. EPA is responsible for en- suring compliance with these laws and is committed to a vigorous enforcement program. The Agency's enforcement philosophy is to encourage voluntary compliance by com- munities and private industry, but to adopt a firm posture where cooperation is not forth- coming. Most laws adminis- tered by EPA contemplate a partnership with States to perform direct enforcement activities needed to meet en- vironmental standards. States now shoulder a substantial share of this enforcement responsibility. Science provides much of the base for environmental protection. EPA's research ac- tivities span the spectrum of research interests: developing and standardizing techniques to detect pollutants; assessing their impact on human health and the environment; develop- ing and evaluating techniques for pollution control; and trans- ferring information to the public. These functions constitute the principal work of EPA. Its activities enter into nearly every aspect of daily life, just as the environment it protects affects all Americans, as well as citizens of our neighboring countries. The major laws administered by EPA include: Clean Water Act, as amended, is the basic authority for water pollution control programs. The goal of the Act is to make national waters fishable and swimmable. Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended in 1977, permits EPA to regulate the quality of water in public drinking water systems and the disposal of wastes into injection wells. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 ("RCRA") authorizes EPA to establish regulations and pro- grams to ensure safe waste treatment and disposal. Federal Insecticide, Fungi- cide and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA"), as amended, di- rects EPA to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and use of pesticides and conduct research into their health and environmental effects. Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 ("TSCA"), pro- vides authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution and use of chemical substances. Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977, provides the basic legal authority for the nation's air pollution control programs, and is designed to enhance the quality of air resources. Comprehensive Environ- mental Response, Compensa- tion and Liability Act of 1980 ("Superfund") establishes a program to deal with release of hazardous substances in spills and from inactive and abandoned disposal sites. Marine Protection, Re- search, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 permits EPA to protect the oceans from the indiscrimi- nate dumping of waste. MAY-JUNE 1982 ------- The Health of Our Citizens . we drink i the winch . Of all the tasks, large and mundane, for which EPA is responsible, the overriding goal is the protection of the physical health of the Ameri- can people. Every program ad- ministered by the Agency directly affects the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and swim in, and the land on which we live in short, all those things which directly affect human health. The Agency takes pride in the substantial progress which has been made during the past year toward making our world a healthier, and therefore more pleasant one in which to live. Some of the Agency's most notable accomplishments can be found in the actions EPA has taken in response to the health threats posed by dis- posal of pollutants, including hazardous waste. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ( RCRA): The almost 58,000 generat- ors of hazardous wastes are now required to properly identify these wastes, ensure they are sent to legitimate hazardous waste management facilities, properly package and label them, and maintain vital records of the amounts, types, and ultimate disposition of these materials. Over 14,000 transporters of hazardous wastes are required to comply with a manifest system to ensure that ship- ments are sent to and received by legitimate hazardous waste management facilities. Almost 10,000 hazardous waste facilities are now regis- tered with EPA. To determine if these facilities are meeting 'EPA's standards, over 2,000 inspections have been carried out by EPA Regional personnel. Over half the states have been authorized to carry out their own hazardous waste programs on an interim basis. As part of EPA's efforts to administer RCRA, EPA had, by March 1982: Issued compliance orders at 300 facilities, with penalties in appropriate cases. * Filed 62 civil actions in Federal court. One of EPA's priorities in 1981 was also its newest duty: to administer the Superfund program which was enacted by Congress in December 1980 to deal with the release of hazardous substances in spills and from inactive and abandoned disposal sites. To implement Superfund, EPA first had to establish an effective organizational sys- tem. To this end, the Agency: Supervised the merging of the RCRA and Superfund pro- grams under a newfy establish- ed Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response. Began new accounting pro- cedures to ensure proper fund management. Instituted a Superfund com- munity relations program to promote the local support that is crucial to achieving Super- fund's goals. Under Superfund, EPA can take either removal or remedial action. Removal actions are short-term or emergency in nature, similar to those under- taken to clean up accidental spills of oil and hazardous sub- stances. To date, EPA has authorized $20.8 million for removal actions at 61 loca- tions. The remedial program is intended to clean up problem hazardous waste sites. By April 1982, the Agency had: Allocated over $45 million for cleanup at 48 sites. Compiled and published (in October 1981) an Interim Priority List of 115 sites. EPA JOURNAL ------- Superfund's 115 top priority hazardous waste sites Mariana Islands Guam American Samoa Depending on current circum- stances at each site, funds are available and clean-up work can begin. EPA revised the National Oil and Hazardous Substance Response Plan to reflect and implement the new authorities under the Superfund legisla- tion. In addition to streamlin- ing the existing oil response mechanism under the Clean Water Act, the new plan sets out the criteria and procedures for using Superfund money to respond to hazardous sub- stance spills and sites. The re- vision is the cornerstone of the Superfund program and is written in the spirit of regu- latory reform. The provisions are concise, its language is nontechnical and the require- ments are flexible. In addition, the plan establishes a strong federal-state partnership for implementing the Superfund program. Hazardous waste sites are evaluated by state and EPA personnel, including Field In- vestigation Teams stationed at EPA Regional Offices. Staffed under contract by 180 trained professionals with a breadth of technical skills, the teams car- ried out 2,347 preliminary assessments, 1,769 site in- spections, and 279 field investigations during 1981. Making the most out of the limited monies in Superfund requires that every effort be made to have any private parties responsible for a site, manage and finance its clean- up. The Superfund legislation authorizes judicial and ad- ministrative action to compel responsible parties to under- take cleanup. Where use of these mechanisms does not abate hazards, the Agency will proceed with remedial actions and is empowered to seek recovery of all the funds ex- pended. EPA established a task force in February 1982 to notify as many responsible parties as had then been identified of their potential liability should fund monies be used at sites with which they were associated. EPA believes these communications give a clearer picture of whether pre- litigation private-party cleanup, administrative or judicial orders to compel clean-up, or fund-response with cost- recovery, would be appropriate at individual sites. As of April 1982, EPA had: Issued notice letters to over 850 individuals or firms at 75 sites on the list. Issued notice letters to 29 responsible parties at 7 sites not on the list. While Superfund and the re- lated solid waste clean-up activities received considerable publicity in 1 981, there were other less publicized, but none- theless important, activities taken by EPA to help protect the health of our citizens. * EPA set in place a coordi- nated fish monitoring strategy to determine levels of toxic contamination in the Great Lakes, and surveyed sediments in 17 harbors and river mouths on the Great Lakes to deter- mine toxic sources and trends. EPA prepared eight health advisory documents to inform state authorities and water fa- cility operators of health risks posed by unfamiliar contami- nants. These include toxicolo- gical information as well as monitoring and removal data. EPA initiated the review of ocean dumping regulations to assess the comparative risks of land versus ocean disposal. To protect our water, EPA conducted 110 on-scene oil response actions, monitored over 5,000 removals, com- pleted over 2,000 spill preven- tion inspections and conducted 25 damage assessments. * Final standards for disposal of Uranium Mill Tailings at in- active sites are complete. In EPA's toxics program, actions are being taken to ob- tain more testing data when valid concerns about new chemicals are raised. EPA banned importation of two new potentially dangerous chemicals pending submission of additional data. Emphasis has been placed on finding acceptable PCS dis- posal methods. Two high- temperature commercial in- cinerators for PCBs have been approved, as well as incinera- tion aboard the ship Vulcanus. EPA also has approved two chemical destruction processes which reduce PCBs to easily disposable substances and allow the residual oil to be cleaned and reused. In January 1982, the U.S., including two EPA representa- tives, participated in an inter- national meeting'of experts concerning protection of stratospheric ozone. Further cooperation is anticipated in this area. EPA has released a long- awaited study of environment- al pollution in the Niagara frontier which affects both the U.S. and Canada. This com- prehensive review reveals that substantial progress has been made in controlling many of the water contamination prob- lems in the Niagara frontier. EPA is undertaking additional actions to provide further assistance in the area. Both the Administrator and Deputy Administrator have been personally involved in high-level and technical meet- ings with Mexican officials to further U.S.-Mexican coopera- tion on environmental issues and to develop new ap- proaches to the existing air and water pollution problems. MAY-JUNE 1982 ------- Better Science Without "' tho EPA's new administration firmly believes that there can- not be good regulation without good science. Without ade- quate scientific understanding, steps necessary for the protec- tion of human health might never be taken and, converse- ly, wholly unnecessary regula- tions might be foisted upon the public. To avoid these pit- falls, EPA is taking steps to improve the scientific basis of its regulations, including selecting 15 to 25 rule pro- posals each year for special review by its Science Advisory Board. Other activities to produce better scientific and technical understanding include: Insisting that any proposed regulation whose rationale de- pends on scientific assump- tions undergo a thorough peer review by knowledgeable scientists to test the validity of those assumptions; and The production of certain Air Quality Criteria documents that serve as the primary scientific basis for the estab- lishment or revision of nation- al ambient air quality stand- ards under the Clean Air Act: CO (Carbon Monoxide), No. (Nitrogen Oxides), HC (Hydro- carbons), SO./PM (Sulfur Oxides and Particulate Matter). Comprehensive health as- sessments are near completion for seven chemical solvents: Carbon Tetrachloride, Methyl Chloroform, Methylene Chlo- ride, Chiorof lurocarbon 113, Tetrachloroethylene. Trichloro- ethylene, and Toluene. This information will be submitted to the Science Advisory Board for public and peer review. This is the first time EPA has prepared a single document which addresses the varied scientific health assessment needs of EPA's many regu- latory programs. Several projects (which in- fluence the Agency's approach to health and risk assessment) are in varying stages of com- pletion: Exposure assessment guide- lines have been developed for Agency-wide use. Guidelines for mutagenicity risk assessment have been re- viewed and are being revised based on the public comments. They will receive peer review by the Science Advisory Board. Guidelines for risk assess- ments on reproductive toxicity are under development. A workshop has been success- fully completed and proceed- ings have been published. Notably, this workshop in- cluded prominent academic and industry scientists and is a cornerstone for the continued development of the Agency's reproductive toxicity guide- lines. These projects serve to bring uniformity and consist- ency to future Agency risk assessment activities. The peer and public reviews afford in- creased opportunity for indus- try and academic involvement in the development of the risk assessment process. Further steps toward better science include the following: EPA sponsored an Inter- national Hazardous Waste Symposium in October 1981, The Symposium contributed significantly to advancing world-wide knowledge of proper methods for dealing with the hazardous waste dis- posal problem. EPA participated in the Or- ganization for Economic Co- operation and Development ("OECD") Chemicals Program. In June 1981, the OECD Coun- cil reached an agreement bind- ing on member countries that test data on chemicals produced in one country will be accepted as valid in all others for assessment pur- poses. Under the U.S.-Canada Memorandum of Intent on Transboundary Air Pollution, five bilateral work groups un- der EPA chairmanship are pro- viding technical support for the negotiations. The final techni- cal reports will assist the Administration in its negotia- tions and in the resolution of major scientific uncertainties concerning acid precipitation. EPA completed analysis of 14 chemicals leading to the development of water quality criteria documents; initiated research on the toxic effects of some organic compounds; and gathered additional scientific data to revise criteria docu- ments for the 65 water pol- lutants which will form the basis for the development of water quality standards. EPA JOURNAL ------- Regulatory Reform When the Reagan Administra- tion took over EPA manage- ment, it found that success in protecting the environment appeared to be measured by the ever-increasing amounts of tax dollars being spent on producing regulations. A pro- gram of vigorous regulatory reform and relief was clearly necessary. The Agency's po- tential to provide regulatory relief to the American economy amounts to as much as $6-7 billion in direct costs. Within this opportunity, top Agency management had two goals: To focus on activities that would produce significant en- vironmental protection without stiffing economic growth; and To revise existing regula- tions to provide industries and states greater flexibility in meeting our nation's environ- mental goals. Since beginning its regu- latory reform program, EPA has produced significant pay- offs. Without compromising its responsibility to protect the environment, EPA has suc- cessfully implemented the following regulatory reform and relief measures: EPA responded to the Presi- dent's request for regulatory relief for the auto industry by announcing the Agency's in- tent to change several regu- latory requirements. As a result, air quality protection is being achieved at a greatly reduced regulatory cost bur- den. Reiief measures taken include: consolidating the CO and NO. waiver proceedings; assuring adequate time to meet regulatory requirements; al- MAY-JUNE 1982 A program of vigorous regulatory reform and re- lief was clearly neces- sary. lowing manufacturers to self- certify high-altitude vehicles and forego assembly-line test- ing at high altitude; reducing the number of annual assem- bly-line tests: streamlining the preproduction testing program; deciding not to pursue on- board controls for refueling hydrocarbon emissions, and deferring the 1983 truck noise standard to 1986. These initia- tives, and others planned to be taken, should save manufac- turers and consumers more than $4 billion over the next five years. EPA has made progress on paperwork reduction. In Octo- ber 1981, the Agency com- pleted an inventory of its information collection activi- ties, and for the first time, now has a complete information collection budget linked to its fiscal budget. In specific program areas, improvement has been dramatic. For example, reporting burdens under RCRA have been re- duced by about 3 million hours without affecting program quality. The Agency established a small business ombudsman in EPA's Office of Policy Analysis to help small businesses that experience difficulties in meeting or understanding regulatory requirements. EPA is aggressively moving to expand the cost savings from emissions trading. The best known example of emissions trading is the use of "bubble" tradesso named because a firm is allowed to place an imaginary bubble over all its sources of air pollution at a particular site and develop its own alternative for reduc- ing air pollution to the total amount allowed under the bubble. These trades can be accomplished within a plant or firm or by transactions among firms. To date, 19 air "bubbles" have been approved by EPA. These will save industry approximately $40 million. At least 90 others are under development and could pro- duce savings of $200 million. In addition, the adoption of generic emissions trading rules by many states will produce greater reliance on the trading process and is expected to produce savings of nearly $1 billion. EPA has reduced the time it takes for the Agency to act on State implementation Plan (S!P) revisions through new processing techniques that in- clude conducting administra- tive procedures in parallel with the state. EPA now comments on proposed SIPs concurrently with the state's public com- ment period (instead of after). The improved techniques have resulted in a savings of up to 70% over the previous aver- age time. EPA's toxics program is en- couraging negotiated testing agreements as substitutes for rulemaking, to allow appro- priate and necessary testing to begin earlier and test data to be generated more quickly. Similarly, the Agency's tox- ics program is issuing test methodologies as guidelines rather than as requirements. This provides greater flexibility as well as the ability to take advantage of the latest test methodologies. Progress has been made in overhauling the much criticized and expensive sewage treat- ment construction grants pro- gram. This regulatory reform is based on the idea of producing only those regulations that are mandated by law or which are necessary for effective pro- gram management. Guidances are to be discretionarynot regulations in disguise. A serious problem in years past was lack of local funds to provide plant maintenance. EPA's new regulations require the approval of a user-charge system before a community receives money for certain grants. This approach will fos- ter fiscal responsibility and should provide environmental benefits for many years to come. Major reforms in the con- struction grants program were accomplished through EPA's 1981 legislative initiatives to streamline the program, re- direct its focus from public works to environmental needs. and reduce tho long-term federal commitment by 60% from $90 to $36 billion. As a result of prompt Congressional action on this effort, the pro- gram was reauthorized for FY 83-85 at $2.4 billion annually (down from $5 billion in FY 82). Over a three-year phase-in period, eligibility categories will be restricted to present treatment needs, the Federal share will be reduced to 55%, and states will be given greater flexibility in allocating funds. ------- State and Local Involvement EPA's new leadership views the Agency's relationship with states and localities as a true partnership. The previous pat- em of EPA dictating to the states, treating them at best as junior partners, not only makes for bad relationsit also makes for bad regulations, and, therefore, poor environmental protection. This Administration believes that the people most affected by a problem should have a significant voice in de- ciding the solution. Therefore, one of EPA's primary goals in this first year has been to in- crease the involvement of state and local governments in the Agency's decisionmaking and actual operation of pro- grams for pollution abatement and control. In seeking to dele- gate more authority and de- cisionmaking to the states, The people most cted by a problem should have a signific voice in deciding the SOlu! EPA has accomplished the following: More than doubled the num- ber of states which now operate the New Source Performance Standards program. Increased by 50% the states which operate the Hazardous Air Pollutant program. Increased by 60% the states which have interim RCRA Phase I authorization. Perhaps most importantly, a combination of Federal pro- grams and state initiatives have built, over the last de- cade, a highly-trained, well- motivated workforce in state and local environmental agen- cies across the country. The air quality program alone has invested nearly one-half billion dollars in state programs. States have moved into this area strongly, strengthening their statutes and providing real financial support, to the point where Federal contribu- tions now represent less than half of the operational costs of state environmental programs. Solid Waste Under RCRA, the states have the primary responsibility for managing solid, including hazardous, waste. The first task is to gear up the priority hazardous waste regulatory programs for which Congress intended states to be primarily responsible. In FY-1981 and 1982, EPA will provide a total of $71.7 million to the states for developing their own regu- latory programs and will com- plete the basic regulatory framework. The second major task fac- ing states under RCRA is to evaluate nonhazardous waste disposal facilities on the basis of EPA criteria which place restrictions on facilities that allow open burning or are in wetlands, floodplains, habitats of endangered species, or re- charge zones for principal sources of local drinking water. EPA has published the first installment of an inven- tory of nonhazardous disposal facilities that fail to meet the criteria. The third task is to develop and implement comprehensive plans for managing non- hazardous solid waste. Devel-- opment of the state plans has been a long and arduous process. To aid these efforts in FY-1981, EPA: Provided technical assist- ance and $8 million in finan- cial assistance to the states to help them develop their plans. Received state plans from over half the states for review according to EPA guidelines. Approved 14 state plans with the remainder expected to be approved in 1982 and 1983. Water As the result of a recent legal settlement between EPA and a number of industries, the burden of underground injec- tion control regulations has been lessened without weaken- ing their effectiveness. There are now more flexible standards for judging the mechanical integrity of injec- tion wells, a reduction in routine monitoring require- ments by well operators and greater leeway for states to define the extent of their underground drinking water sources. These changes are ex- pected to result in economic savings of $65 to s75 million over the next five years. During 1981 seven addition- al states agreed to accept delegation of the construction grants program, br'rnging the total to 45. This is an import- ant step toward the Presi- dent's goal of a New Federalism. EPA JOURNAL ------- Toxics and Pesticides Improved information flow among states has been fos- tered. Through a grant to the National Governors Associa- tion ("NGA"), states now have access to the computerized Chemical Substances Informa- tion Network. NGA also acts as a clearinghouse to publicize state toxic substances manage- ment practices and to allow experts from one state to ad- vise their counterparts in another. EPA has employed retired engineers in its ten Regional Offices to help states and local districts inspect asbestos in schools and advise on appro- priate containment or removal techniques where warranted. Air, Noise and Radiation Work is underway to trans- fer from EPA to the states responsibility for ensuring that new plants satisfy new source performance standards ("NSPS") and National Emis- sion Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ("NESHAPS"). Currently, approximately 67% of the NSPS and NESHAPS compliance work is being administered either partially or fully by the states. Systems now in place will result in this figure totalling over 87% by the end of FY 1982. In addition to the Clean Air Act, the Office of Air, Noise, and Radiation also ad- ministers and manages national programs relating to noise abatement and control and radiation programs. In 1981, the Office of Noise Abatement and Control be- gan phasing out the Federal noise program. Twenty-one states re- quested training assistance as EPA transfers control of noise programs to them. Nine state training sessions have already been conducted with 16 more scheduled in FY 82. Approximately 500 state and local noise officials will have been trained before the noise program is com- pletely phased out as a federal responsibility. Approximately $1.5 mil- lion in noise control equip- ment was made available to states, localities, and universities from EPA. Fifteen states requested assistance from EPA in .designing public support programs. Twenty-four states will have active noise abatement programs in place by Sep- tember 1982. EPA provided support to the Conference of State Radi- ation Program Directors in the form of technical expertise and financial grants. The Agency has assisted several states and Indian nations on special radiation surveys by direct involvement or by equipment loan. MAY-JUNE 1982 ------- Reduction of Backlogs Were wed i .'t unities for it wd mi in environmental re I linve An unglamorous, but none- theless important, task facing EPA's new leadership in 1981 was the elimination of backlogs which had accumu- lated throughout Agency programs. Were these back- logs allowed to stand, or worse, to continue growing, opportunities for innovation and reform in environmental protection would have been thwarted. This was not per- mitted to happen. Significant progress has been made in this area. In the past three months, the Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances has reduced its backlog of chemical re- views from 417 to 123, a 71% reduction. Similarly, the backlog of amended regis- tration reviews has been re- duced 56%. EPA is now firmly on schedule to produce six effluent guidelines standards this fiscal year and an additional ten next year. In the previous five years, only one such guideline, although required by law, had been produced. In 1979, the Agency re- ceived 70 applications for 301 h waivers under the Clean Water Act. These are requests from publicly owned treatment works for a variance from secondary treatment requirements when discharging into marine waters. Of these 70 applica- tions, 30 involved discharges of more than 16 million gallons per day. When the new Ad- ministration took office last year, a few of these applications were finally coming to completion, but the majority still remained incomplete. Under the new leadership, half of the 30 major projects were completed by the end of calendar year 1981 and the remaining major projects are scheduled for completion by October 1, 1982. The 40 smaller projects can be evaluated by the end of De- cember 1982. The backlog of State Imple- mentation Plans for air quality was reduced by more than 63% between August 1981 and April 1982 and should be eliminated altogether by mid-1982. In May 1981, EPA had ap- proximately 500 wastewater treatment construction grant projects on which final audit issues had not been resolved. The backlog had accumulated in spite of the fact that each audit was supposed to be re- solved within six months. Prompt action was required. As of February 1 5, 1 982, there were only 14 projects which had not been resolved within the six-month period. Prior to the current Ad- ministration, EPA had missed five legislative deadlines for decisions on testing of priority chemicals. The Agency is now on schedule in addressing the backlog of testing de- cisions and responding to new recommendations. The Office of Toxic Substances' publication of notices of receipt of pre- manufacture notices and its review of exemptions for test marketing new substances have been streamlined and now comply with statutory deadlines. Some of the most dramatic reductions in backlogs have been achieved in EPA's pesti- cide program. All registration programs have seen reduc- tions (ranging from 40% to 100%) in the backlogs which existed when the new Ad- ministration took office. 10 EPA JOURNAL ------- 1 "* \ \ * ------- Improved Management instituted to ' iud. ind ;it.niso. nnai streamline op(;r;itt: Effective environmental protection requires that every dollar be spent wisely and efficiently. We owe it not only to our environment, but also to the American tax- payers. Accordingly, new proced- ures have been instituted to control costs, eliminate fraud, waste and abuse, and streamline operations to make them more efficient, effec- tive and responsive. Some of the more note- worthy management accom- plishments at EPA during the first year of the Reagan Ad- ministration include: Budget Reform The 1983 budget increases funding for hazardous waste and Superfund by $36 million, maintains a strong enforce- ment program, preserves es- sential research and develop- ment, maintains the wastewater treatment construction grants program at $2.4 billion, and substantially reduces the regulatory burden on state and local governments. The 1983 budget is a sound and effective environ- mental protection plan which will cost $85 million less than in 1982 and $237 mil- lion less than in 1981. Re- ductions in the last two years are in marked contrast to the increases which had occurred in every prior year of EPA's existence. Management Accountability The Agency designed and began operating the Ad- ministrator's Accountability System, which enables the Administrator to identify at a glance: major initiatives being carried out on schedule, areas where successful performance may require additional attention, and the specific manager re- sponsible for results. Grants Administration The Agency is revising grant regulations and procedures to strengthen management and simplify administrative requirements for recipients. This will streamline the process while better guarding against waste, fraud, and abuse. The revisions will also eliminate unnecessary requirements, limit the paper- work required of grantees, and develop consistency across all of EPA's financial assistance programs. Contracts Administration EPA has institutionalized the review and approval of con- tract expenditures at the highest Agency levels (Assistant Administrators) to ensure that Agency re- sources are used in the most efficient and cost effective manner. General Administrative Procedures The Agency has eliminated or simplified many of its forms and records, is auto- mating aspects of its person- nel and financial management systems, and has refined and fully automated the Merit Pay System. Consolidated Financial Assistance A consolidated financial assistance program will make it easier for states to do business with EPA. The con- solidation allows a single application for all program funds, a single comprehen- sive public review, a coordi- nated EPA review, consoli- dated reporting by the grantee, a single evaluation, and an integrated audit. The mechanism is flexible so that a state may consoli- date some of its assistance while continuing to be eligible for categorical awards under other programs. Efficiencies concerning cash management, overtime, leased space, publication dis- tribution, audit resolutions, telephones, travel expenses, procurement, contract proc- essing, library subscriptions, printing and the purchase of capital equipment have been undertaken, resulting in sav- ings of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the American taxpayer. 12 EPA JOURNAL ------- t ------- ------- |