United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Issue No. 7
Aug. 2, 1982
Page 25
TIMES
A PUBLICATION FOR
EPA EMPLOYEES
Personnel
Alternative
Schedules
Congress has passed and
the President has signed
Senate Bill 2240, the
"Federal Employees
Flexible and Compressed
Work Schedules Act of
1982"--legislation which
provides a three-year
authorization for Federal
agencies to use flexible
and compressed employee
work schedules. A number
of EPA facilities have
been experimenting over
the past few years with
alternative work schedules
under P.L. 95-390, the
extension of which was due
to expire on July 24,
1982. It is the intent of
Congress, upon expiration
of this new three-year
authorization in 1985, to
review the alternative
work schedule and deter-
mine then if it should be
continued.
Generally speaking the new
legislation will permit
Federal agencies the same
kind of latitude in using
alternative schedules as
did the first Act. The
measure provides for the
continuation of all sched-
ule experiments in exist-
ence at the time of
enactment, but calls upon
agencies--in the 90 days
following enactment--to
review these work sched-
ules. If the Agency
New Appointments for
Waste and Emergency Response	
Rita M. Lavelle, Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and
Emergency Response, has announced several key appointments in
her program.
The selections include:
John Skinner, named Acting Director of the Office of Solid
Waste, to succeed Gary Dietrich, who resigned in May to take a
position in private enterprise. "John has done an exemplary
job as Director of the State Programs and Resource Recovery
Division and in his previous assignments with EPA," Lavelle
commented.
Mike Cook, chosen to remain as Deputy Director of the Office
of Solid Waste, will retain primary responsibility for
RCRA reauthorization efforts.
Lamar Miller, chosen to serve as Branch Chief in the Office of
Solid Waste for compliance. Miller has a strong background
in enforcement, ground water chemistry and monitoring.
"With this appointment we now will be able to put our efforts
into permitting, strengthening our approach to include States
in the regulatory management of hazardous waste," Lavelle said.
Gene A. Lucero, named Acting Director of the Office of Waste
Programs Enforcement. Lucero has been serving as Deputy
Director for the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response.
Previously, Lucero had been Deputy Regional
Administrator for Region 8 in Denver. He also was a former
Assistant Attorney General for Colorado.
James Lounsburv. named Acting Deputy for the Office of
Emergency and Remedial Response, succeeding Lucero. He had
previously served in the Office of Director of Water Regula-
tions and Standards and on the staff of the Office of
Management and Budget.
determines that a work
schedule has reduced
productivity, increased
operating costs, or
resulted in a reduction of
service to the public, the
Agency may unilaterally
terminate the alternative
work schedule program as
long as the termination
would not result in an
unreasonable increase in
the cost of Agency
Operations. Continued to page 28

-------
26
REGIONAL PROFILES
(This is another in a series of profiles of the Agency regional offices and laboratories that
A Report on Region 6
by Dick Whittington, Regional
Administrator
Region 6 is a mini United States in most
respects, with many of the successes and
challenges our Agency deals with daily.
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma
and Texas—the States comprising the Region-
cover 560,550 square miles-more than 15
percent of the land area of the United
States. Some 25 million people live on
the rolling plains, gulf coastland,
rugged mountains or bayous and wetlands
that comprise the Region's geography.
The Region represents a good chunk of
the sunbelt with its rapid industrial
and population growth. It contains
about 70 percent of the Nation's oil
production, 85 percent of the natural
gas production, 45 percent of the
uranium preserves, 10 percent of the
coal reserves and 15 percent of the
lignite reserves. That, plus 40
percent of the Nation's oil refinery
capacity, makes energy very big in
Region 6.
Other major industries include
commercial fishing,with 1.5 billion
pounds worth some $300 million landing
at Texas and Louisiana ports annually,
sports fishing, agriculture and
manufacturing.
With all the diversity of industries
and environment the Region has to
regulate and to protect, it is obvious
to me that delegation to the State
agencies as rapidly as they are willing
and able to take the programs is the
most effective means of implementing
the Federal programs.
To this end, we are vigorously emphas-
izing delegation. As a result, Texas
and Louisiana were the first two States
in the Nation to get full authority to
run the UIC program and all five States
have received some degree of delegation
of this program...Texas and Arkansas
were among the first three to receive
the RCRA Phase 2 delegation...al1 five
States have accepted more than half of
the PSD program. A lot of activity is
under way in other areas of delegation.
The work our UIC group did in the areas
of delegation as well as in working
with headquarters in the development
of a National strategy for implementing
the regulations earned them an EPA Gold
Medal.
We are aggressively pursuing enforce-
ment activities including submission of
a final reorganization of the Office of
Regional Counsel to the Office of
General Counsel and improving coordina-
tion with enforcement elements in the
programs. We are referring about two
cases per month to headquarters. Along
with that, a wide variety of negotia-
tions for consent decrees are under way
and administrative enforcement actions
with industries and municipalities
have been undertaken.
We have also had considerable success
with Superfund. Region 6 has 13 sites
on the Agency's first list of Superfund
candidate sites. At this time we have
worked out seven State-lead cooperative
agreements and another under which EPA
has the lead in the initial investiga-
tive and feasibility studies and the
State committed to take the lead after
these studies are completed. Negotia-
tions are under way for voluntary
cleanup of five of the sites, one is

-------
27
EPA TIMES is presenting.)
being cleaned up under a consent
decree, while court action is pending
in yet another case.
For the past several years, Region 6
has worked closely with the Texas Air
Control Board in the areas of the
emission inventory, air quality data,
and modeling the development of the
1982 State Implementation plan. The
draft plan is now under review. The
critical portion deals with ozone non-
attainment in the Houston area and the
need for an auto inspection-maintenance
program.
The plan for Albuquerque is expected
shortly and is expected to be approv-
able. The backbone is an inspection and
maintenance program necessary because
the city has not attained the carbon
monoxide standard. City participants
should be commended for their work on
the program which was complicated by
changes in the city administration
following an election.
The Region also has an active program
to authorize incinerators for the
disposal of PCBs. Two incinerators
have been approved for commercial PCB
disposal and a number of incinerators
have been approved for burning of
process wastes generated on-site con-
taining small amounts of PCBs. In
addition, a couple of mobile chemical
disposal systems have been approved for
operation in the Region.
EPA Resumes
Construction Grants
EPA is making available to the States $2.4
billion for construction grants to munic-
ipalities for sewage treatment facilities.
The grants resumed after most States had run
out of funds for this program when Congress
finally passed and President Reagan signed a
supplemental appropriations bill.
"We know that 41 States have run out of
money during the months we have waited for
Congress to approve the supplemental bill,"
EPA Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch noted. "I
urge State agencies to certify eligible
projects to us promptly and I promise them
that EPA will act on their proposals in the
shortest possible time."
Allocation of the $2.4 billion among the
States and territories is set by law.
Amounts range from $11.8 million for smaller
States up to $250 million for New York.
Mrs. Gorsuch noted that regulatory revisions
to simplify the grants program, along with
greater delegation of decision-making to the
States, will mean less red tape and shorten
the time required to turn the newly appro-
priated dollars into operational facilities
to combat pollution.
The $2.4 billion supplemental appropriation
for construction grants was requested by the
Administration after Congress enacted amend-
ments last December which President Reagan
said were necessary to restrain costs and to
target spending on projects that will achieve
substantial improvements in water quality.
In the current year, the Federal grants will
generally cover 75 percent of the cost of
treatment plants, sewers, and projects to
correct certain problems in existing sewer
systems. The Federal share will drop to 55
percent after September 30, 1984.
Congress specifically provided that $3.9
million of the total appropriation should go
to Kansas, in addition to the State's normal
allocation, to correct a previous accounting
error, and $933,000 should go to New York to
fund one-third of the cost of providing
sewer service to the proposed New York
Convention Center. (New York and New
Jersey will pay the remainder from their
allotments.)

-------
28
Gorsuch Emphasizes Results
EPA Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch told
members of five House subcommittees recently
that "we are fully committed to a stronger,
better directed, and more effective
Environmental Protection Agency."-...
She testified before the Subcommittee- on
Commerce, Transportation and Tourism and the
Subcommittee on Health and Environment of
the Committee on Energy and Commerce; the
Subcommittee on Environment, Energy and
Natural Resources of the Committee on
Government Operations; the Subcommittee on
Natural Resources, Agricultural Research
and the Environment and the Subcommittee
on Investigations and Oversight of the
Committee on Science and Technology.
"We are committed to environmental results,
not environmental rhetoric," Mrs. Gorsuch
told the subcommittees. "We are not tied to
budget increases or budget decreases, but to
the better use of taxpayer dollars. We are
not locked into more lawsuits or fewer
lawsuits, more attorneys or less attorneys,
but to better lawsuits and the better use of
enforcement resources."
Mrs. Gorsuch cited improvements achieved in
each of the programs administered by EPA
during her first year as head of the agency.
Major statutory programs have been strength-
ened, she continued, while focusing on five
overall goals: better science, regulatory
reform, elimination of backlogs, improved
State partnerships, and stronger management.
Her ultimate goal, Mrs. Gorsuch said, "has
been, and will continue to be, the safe-
guarding of the health and welfare of the
American people and the protection of our
national environment." Yet, Mrs. Gorsuch
noted, she opposes "the use of the Federal
government's power merely as a hammer to
force State and local governments into a
preconceived mold."
Maloley Named to CEQ
Nancy A. Maloley, a former EPA official, has
been appointed as a member of the Council on
Environmental Quality by President Reagan,
subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Maloley, who would succeed Jane Hurt Yarn, has
been serving as Policy Advisor in the Office
of Policy Development at the White House.
She was Director for Legislation
Transition Team when the Reagan
tion assumed office. She served
tive Assistant to U.S. Senator R
Lugar of Indiana from 1977-81.
as Special Assistant to the Admi
EPA from 1971-76. Prior to hold
post, she served on the staff of
Representative E. Ross Adair of
for the EPA
Admi ni stra-
as Legisla-
ichard G.
She served
nistrator of
ing this
former U.S.
Indi ana.
Personnel
Continued
Contracts Rep
Pam John of the Procurement
and Contracts Management
Division has been desig-
nated to serve as her
division's Client Services
Representative. As an-
nounced in the June 21 EPA
Times, the Office of
Administration is creating
Client Services Represent-
ative positions in each of
its divisions in response
to a need identified in a
recent user survey. Pam's
counterpart in the Per-
sonnel Management Division
is Client Services Rep-
resentative Rich Lemley
(Telephone: 8-382-5217).
Pam John wi11 use her
knowledge of procurement
policies and procedures to
answer questions from
headquarters and field
program offices on how the
procurement process works
and what the program
office needs to do to get
a contract awarded. She
will respond to service
problems which cannot be
resolved at the opera-
tional level by working
with both the contract
operations and the program
offices. Her office is in
Room 2003 of Waterside
Mall. Her telephone is
8-382-5026.
Managers of each alter-
native schedule unit have
already begun their re-
quired program reviews and
will be telling program
participants what the
Agency decided about each
particular work schedule.
Flexible work schedules
which predate the exist-
ence of P.L. 95-390--such
as the headquarters'
flexitime program--are
unaffected by this new
legislation.
The EPA Times is published every
D.C., 20460, to provide current
with three ring holes so that it
two weeks by EPA's Office of Public Affairs, A-107 Washington,
information for all Agency employees. It is printed on paper
can be filed in a binder for future reference.

-------