United States Environmental Protection Agency Issue No. 8 Aug. 16, 1982 Page 29 EPA TIMES A PUBLICATION FOR EPA EMPLOYEES Personnel EPA Monitors Ocean Beaches PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS Have you and all of your subordinates received training in the Performance Management System (PMS)-- the agency's performance appraisal system? The system is based on the premise that employees are more likely to perform effectively when they under- stand what is expected of them, participate in set- ting their performance objectives, and know how these objectives relate to unit and Agency goals. It requires that managers work with their employees in the establishment of critical job elements and perform- ance standards. An Agency- designed PMS Workshop prepares employees to develop their own perform- ance agreements. Head- quarters managers whose employees have not received this training should sign up those employees for the workshop to be offered in Washington during mid to late August. Field man- agers should contact their servicing Personnel Office to arrange training for their employees. Managers must have their Fiscal Year 1983 Perform- continued on page 32 —limfr*- -¦ EPA's Huey helicopter on mission over Jones Beach, Long Island. Note sampling probe beneath fuselage. New York--If vacationers see a white helicopter with "EPA" in blue lettering hovering off their favorite Long Island or New Jersey ocean beach this summer, they will be watching part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's program to monitor ocean beach water quality. The program involves the helicopter and analytical laboratory, as well as "hotline" telephone numbers for citizens, to provide current indications of beach water conditions. Scientists from EPA's Regional Environmental Services Div- ision regularly sample over 130 points along the entire Atlantic coast of New Jersey and most of Long Island's south shore during the beach season. The sample points—from the water edge to 15 miles off shore, from the surface to near bottom--are checked for numerous pollution indicators. The EPA data in turn are used by local health and environmental agencies in their decisions on beach access postings and other water advisories. Toll-free telephone numbers allow individuals to report sightings of fish kills, oil slicks or pollution along the coastline. In New York, the number is (800) 631-5316; in New Jersey, (800) 272-1108. continued on page 32 ------- REGIONAL PROFILES This is another in a series of profiles of the Agency regional offices and lat A Report on Regaon 7 "The environmental success we enjoy in Region 7 is the direct result of the spirit of the cooperativeness we enjoy with our States." declares John J. Franke, Jr., Regional Administrator. "Nearly 12 million people make their homes in Region 7. traditionally thought of as that.great Midwest agricultural belt of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. The vast span of hundreds of miles of farmland and grassland prairie may be a natural reason for our cleaner air, but nearly 65 percent of the population lives in the industrialized urban areas of Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, and the Quad Cities of eastern Iowa. All citizens hold deep concerns over the disposal of industrial wastes and the protection of any and all water sources, vital ingredients to an economy dependent upon agriculture. "In our partnership with the States and the New Federalism, any accomplishments the States made during the year became our accomplishments as well. Therefore, we asked State environmental officials for their perceptions of last year's achieve- ments. or current environmental successes, and this is their response," Franke said. # Iowa reports that a study committee has decided to keep the existing ammonia- nitrogen water quality standard, but to modify procedures by which discharge limitations are established for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. A bioassay study was completed during the winter at Marshalltown and a summer study is in progress. These may become pilots for establishing effluent limits for other Iowa wastewater treatment plants to set discharge limits. Iowa's Department of Environmental Quality recently made an official request for returning primacy to the State for the Safe Drinking Water Program. Iowa has also made progress in clean air efforts. The Progressive Foundry at Perry becomes the first industry to use the "bubble concept" at its gray-iron foundry. The plan will reduce dirty air emissions while keeping costs down, according to Steve Ballou, Executive Director. Iowa Department of Environmental Quality. # Kansas has a commitment to improve air quality. The Department of Health and Environment has submitted State Imple- mentation Plans for hydrocarbon emission control and a permitting system for major new source construction within Kansas City, as well as a voluntary vehicle Inspection and Maintenance program in Wichita. A $3.2 million Federal grant will be used for soil conservation and water quality management for the Wakarusa River Watershed, one of 13 such projects in the U.S. Addi- tionally, Kansas has prepared a Groundwater Quality Management Plan to protect sources from further pollution. In 1982, legisla- tion established regulations for the oil- gas industry to prevent contamination of other water sources. O Progressive in planning for safe management of low-level radioactive wastes, Kansans have passed legislation in 1982 for forming an inter-State compact of nine States to study the problem, according to Jim Aiken, Director, Division of Environment, Kansas Department of Health and Environment. # Missouri has its own paradoxes in urban and rural areas. The State Department of Natural Resources reports St. Louis has the cleanest air it's had in 50 years while farming areas suffer from some of the worst sheet water erosion in the nation. St. Louis citizens breathe easier because of strides made in improving air quality, and $30 million is earmarked for the next five years to deter future soil erosion on farms. Considered as a model for other States. Missouri has passed strict legislation to deal with disposal of the 650.000 metric tons of hazardous wastes generated yearly. Approximately 73 percent of these wastes are managed by the generators and remain on sites where produced. Citizens are reluctant to allow the openings of new facilities for disposing of indus- \ trial wastes in farming areas. A permit to operate a hazardous waste facility in rural Macon County was denied recently by the State. Three other permits to operate such ------- :>oratories that EPA TIMES is presenting. sizable waste facilities were received by the Missouri Department. One applicant later withdrew after being informed the Plissouri Department of Natural Resources would deny the permit, and the other two permits remain under State review. Appli- cants continue operating under temporary permits, reports Bob Schreiber, Director, Division of Environmental Quality, Missouri Department of Natural Resources. # Nebraska's Department of Environmental Control has modified its priority rating system for Construction Grant projects. The ratings will emphasize water quality bene- fits where surface and groundwater uses are impaired. Selection also will stress improvement of the public health. The State's environmental agency will seek construction projects which are most cost effective in view of limited funding. The new Nebraska system, approved June 24, will give particular attention to strength of the effluent, assimilative capacity of the receiving stream, beneficial use of the stream, and cost per pound of pollutant removal. Nebraska plans to conduct its own Under- ground Injection Control Program although it has not received EPA approval. The State's regulations are in force and the Department of Environmental Control is hiring personnel now. The mining of uranium is of immediate concern to Northwest Nebraskans. The State agency has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that water, land, and air quality are protected. Creation of nuclear wastes will bring up new problems. The Department of Environmental Control plans a series of 10 public meetings in October 1982 to acquaint residents with the nature and safe management of low-level radioactive wastes. Compact legislation, similar to that passed in Kansas, could surface during the 1983 session of the Nebraska Legislature. With limited industrial areas. Nebraska's air quality remains good. Particulate levels are reported to be the lowest since monitoring began in 1971, according to Dan Drain, Director, Nebraska Department of Environmental Control. EPATargets 45 More Waste Sites Forty-five additional hazardous waste sites will be eligible for action under Superfund, EPA Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch recently announced. They are in addition to 115 sites targeted by the Agency last October. "We continue to make remarkable progress in the Superfund program," Mrs. Gorsuch said. "Since its enactment, Superfund has financed 76 emergency removal actions at a cost of S25 million, and remedial action at 57 sites at a cost of almost $63 million. Private parties also have agreed to support cleanups at 22 sites at an estimated cost of about $80 million." Superfund is the common name for a trust fund established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act passed at the end of 1980. EPA has lead responsibility among Federal agencies to administer cleanups under the Act. The law provides funds from industry and the Federal government to clean up hazardous waste sites where responsible parties cannot be identified or cannot afford to pay for such work. The 45 sites will be considered for inclusion on a list of 400 national priority targets that Superfund law requires EPA to identify. Mrs. Gorsuch said that cooperative agreements for cleanups have been signed by 21 States and six EPA-State contracts have been negotiated. As of July 23, a total of $265 million had been appro- priated for Superfund and $147 million had been allocated or obligated. "This, I repeat, is a very satisfying record," the Administrator declared. "We are adding these 45 new priority sites simply because we ran out of work on the earlier 115. We are pushing progress on those sites as rapidly as possible." ------- 32 PERSONNEL continued EPA MONITORS OCEAN BEACHES continued ance Standards in place for all employees by October 1, 1982. Managers should consult the "Diagnostic Guide for Improving the Quality of Performance Elements and Standards," which is now being dis- tributed 'to managers and supervisors Agency:wi'de, and make sure their employ- ees each have a copy of the PMS Workbook, extra copies of which are available in Personnel, where assistance is also available. In Headquarters, managers should contact Bob Pavlik (Telephone: 382-3269) or their personnel team leader. For managers of merit pay employees, training in the mechanics of the Merit Pay System, under which GM pay is determined, is also available for GM-13/GM-15 employees. SIGN UP FOR CPR Can you handle an emergency? The agency sponsors or presents cardiopulmonary resucitation (CPR) training at almost all of its loca- tions throughout the United States. Mrs. Gorsuch adds her personal support to this sign-up campaign. "We have documented two instances of EPA employees trained by the Special Forces saving lives using CPR. I encourage all EPA employees who are not presently certified in CPR to sign up and learn these lifesaving techniques.v Headquarters employees can contact the Health Unit, 382-4349 to enroll in their next regularly scheduled CPR class. "Millions of New Yorkers, New Jerseyites and visitors use the Atlantic beaches every year,"says Jacqueline E. Shafer, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "Therefore, EPA continues to ^ regard the monitoring program as a worthwhile investment otfl its resources. Our coastal waters are unique because of the combination of the recreational and commercial use they receive, the amount of wastes discharged into them, and the -geographic and climate conditions they are subject to. "The Atlantic beach program is the only such Federally run monitoring program in the country," she added. "The helicopter vastly increases our sampling speed, frequency and range to help us keep track of what is happening out there. The data collected over the last several years show the water quality has generally been very good. The water quality readings so far this season continue to be so. But nature and population pressures can cause recurring prob- lems," she cautioned. Fish kills have occurred in the past when algae blooms or stagnant water layers, resulting from natural weather conditions such as prolonged heat waves, deprive ocean life of oxygen. In addition, persistent on-shore winds can drive floating materials on shore. Agricultural and urhan strppt runoff, debris f r um pier' fires, and garbage from boats are some of the sources of this pollution. The summer of 1976 provided an example of both fish kills and floating debris that closed many beaches. Coastal pollution can result from other sources as well. Flow from the Hudson-Raritan estuarine system, inadequately treated municipal and industrial effluents, combined storm sewer discharges, and oil spills contribute. While many of these sources are being brought under control through Federal and State pollution control programs, enough contaminants are still present to warrant continued mon i tor i ng . EPA will measure dissolved oxygen, salt content, nutrients, suspended solids, organics, heavy metals, temperature, pathogen and virus levels in addition to bacteria counts. The EPA monitoring service is coordinated through an advisory committee made up of many Federal, State and local health and environmental units. Members include health departments of Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the town of Hempstead on Long Island; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion, Food and Drug Administration, Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the New Jersey and New York State health and environmental departments. The EPA limes is published every two weeks by EPA1 s Office of Public Affairs, A-107T^asTrh^Wn, D.C., 20460, to provide current information for all Agency employees. It is printed on paper with three ring holes so that it can be filed in a binder for future reference. ------- |