Unites States Issue No. 9 Environmental Protection Aug. 30, 1982 Agency Page 33 S.EPA TIMES A PUBLICATION FOR EPA EMPLOYEES Air Office Appointments Charles John 0. Hidinger Risner Kenneth Personnel ANNUAL APPRAISALS The annual appraisal cycle for Senior Executive Service (SES) members and Merit Pay (GM) employees will begin October 1. During this time employees and supervisors will independently rate employee performance and then meet for an appraisal review. The employee self-assessment reinforces the participative nature of the system, allows the employee to bring to- gether all available perform- ance data which influence the rating, and gives the opportunity to communicate personal perceptions of his or her performance level. When supervisor and employee meet for the actual appraisal session, these preliminary efforts will give them a better basis for comparing notes on performance data Continued to page 36 Kathleen M. Bennett, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air, Noise and Radiation, has announced several new appointments to her staff following a reorganization approved earlier (EPA Times 7/19/82). Charles L. Elkins has been named director, Office of Policy Evaluation, and John 0. Hidinger as Acting Director, Office of Program Management Operations. Other appointments include Barbara A. Ludden as Executive Assistant, and Kenneth L. Ladd and Michael T. Risner as Special Assistants. Elkins and Hidinger are veteran EPA employees. Elkins began his career at the Agency in 1971 as Special Assistant to Administrator William Ruckelshaus and subsequently was Acting Assistant Administrator for Hazardous Materials Control 1973-1974, as well as Director of Program and Management Operations, Office cf Water and Hazardous Materials 1972-1975, and was Deputy Assistant Administrator for Noise Control Programs 1975-1981. Earlier he was a budget examiner at 0MB 1967-1971, and was Deputy Director of the task force (Ash Council) that created EPA. He received a law degree from Yale in 1967. For the past year he has been Executive Director, Commission on Fiscal Accountability cf the Nation's Energy Resources, Interior Department. Hidinger had served as Director of the Office of Transporta- tion and Land Use Policy in EPA's Office of Air, Noise and Radiation, a post he assumed in 1974. Earlier he had been Director of Transportation, Delaware Department of Highways and Transportation, and Director of the Wilmington regional planning agency. He was principal planner with the South- western Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission 1966-1969. He received a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Penn State in 1959 and a Master's degree from Yale in 1966. Continued to page 36 ------- 34 REGIONAL PROFILES in a series of profiles of the Agency Regional offices and laboratories ic; presenting.) (This is another that EPA Times A Report on Region 8 By Steven J. Durham, Regional Administrator The States of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming make up EPA's 576,756 square-mile Rocky Mountain Region, headquartered in Denver. Approximately 6.9 million people live in our Region, 340 of whom are permanent Regional employees. The vast majority of the population is located in two areas, Utah's Wasatch Front around Salt Lake City and the Front Range of Colorado stretching along the Rockies from Fort Collins southward to Pueblo. In this Region, air quality and clarity is a prized resource. Much of it is clean, but the rapid population growth and increased numbers of vehicles and industries have brought severe localized air pollution problems. High altitude also compounds the Region's air pollution problems. In Denver, for example, there is 18% less oxygen than at sea level so the air is more easily affected. Along the two major population corridors there are seven urban areas that do meet national health standards for various air pol1utants. EPA, State and local health officials and private industry are working closely to help remedy air pollution concerns. Through the SIP process, for example, Colorado has adopted an I/M program which began on January 1, 1982. Also, negotiations now under way between EPA and a major steel producer in the Region are expected to result in improved air quality in a cost-effective, environmentally sound manner. Beneath the surface of the six States in our Region lie 50% of the nation's coal reserves, most of the country's commercially feasible oil shale, and 40% of its economically recov- erable uranium. Though the intense activity to extract these energy-rich fuels has temporarily slowed, much planning is being done to minimize the environmental problems which may arise from this development. Seven major river systems have their begin- ning here and supply water to other Regions as well as Mexico. The water they carry is precious in this arid and semi-arid Region. Pressing issues such as increasing demands for water to meet agricultural, municipal and industrial energy development needs, protection of surface and groundwater, pres- ervation of stream values such as recreation and aquatic life and protection of wild and scenic rivers are intensifying the debate over Western water quality and quantity. For example, salinity, or the presence of dissolved salts in water, is a major issue concerning the Colorado River. Three Regions, 6, 8, and 9, and Mexico are working to resolve this complex legal, economic, and environmental problem. Region 8 has seven designated Superfund sites. In a number of instances, private industry is voluntarily participating in some form of remedial action. Four of the Region's Superfund sites are in Colorado, three in metropol itan Denver, one in Utah, one in North Dakota, and one in South Dakota. We plan to nominate an additional 13 to 15 sites in the near future. The Regional Office, which has 340 employ- ees, has developed improving relations with the Rocky Mountain States. Air programs are the most completely delegated, followed by water and pesticides. All but one State have been delegated or are under a cooperative agreement for the hazardous waste program. By revamping several inspection procedures, we are seeing an improvement in the quantity and quality of inspections. Immediately after an inspection is completed, for example, inspectors and facility personnel go over the findings. Issues which surface during an inspection are no longer left unacknowledged for 69 to 90 days as was common in the past. Before June 1982, Region 8 had no central- ized way of knowing the status or flow of enforcement activities. Now our enforce- ment .act iv ity tracking system is on line for such major Federal laws as TSCA, FIFRA, and RCRA, and we anticipate having air and water included on the system within 30 days. The EPA Times is published every two weeks by EPA's Office of Public Affairs, A-107, Washington, 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. ------- News Briefs 35 U.S. STEEL COMPLIANCE ELIGIBLE DEADLINE FOR EXTENSIONS U.S. Steel Corporation is eligible for exten- sions of compliance deadlines set under the Clean Air Act, Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch has announced. The extension will give the company time to modernize its plants. Mrs. Gorsuch's action starts negotiations between U.S. Steel and EPA aimed at reaching Federal court consent decrees. The decrees will require compliance with the Clean Air Act at all of U.S. Steel's facilities and require that the company invest at least $90 million in efficiency and productivity upgrading at various steel works in the next 10 months. The Administrator's action was taken under authority of the Steel Industry Compliance Extension Act of 1981 (SICEA), an amendment to the Clean Air Act which permits EPA to agree to compliance schedules extend- ing up to December 31, 1985, in order to enable a steel company to target funds to improve steelmaking. FIVE CORPORATIONS SUED FOR IMPROPER HANDLING OF HAZARDOUS WASTES Five major hazardous waste generators are being sued by the Department of Justice, on behalf of EPA, for improper storage, treat- ment and disposal of hazardous wastes they shipped to a facility near Columbia, S.C., between 1974 and 1980. The five generators named, Monsanto Corp., Allied Corp., Aquair Corp., Eaton Corp., and EM Industries, failed to enter into a voluntary cleanup agreement, according to the announcement. As a result, the five are now being named as co-defendants in the civil action originally filed in July 1980, and are also being cited for violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund). EPA TRANSFERS AIR PROGRAMS TO OREGON Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality will no longer have to seek time-consuming step-by-step approvals from EPA every time it takes an action to clean up air pollution in Oregon. Under a new arrangement, Oregon need not obtain prior case-by-case approvals of State permits for existing, new or modified sources of air pollution. Such permits are written to prevent signif- icant deterioration of air quality and to avoid violations of national ambient air quality standards. EPA won't submit for public comment and public hearing actions that have already undergone exhaustive public review in Oregon. But EPA will still have an oversight role to play in making sure thatthe objectives of the Clean Air Act are being met. "Oregon is the first State in the country that has been given such far reaching authority to operate a State-wide control program for the full range of air pollut- ants," said Kathleen M.Bennett, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air, Noise and Radiation. "Under this new arrangement with EPA, Oregon can avoid the procedural delays which in the past have frustrated everyone who wanted cleaner air. The Oregon example is one that I hope other States will follow." Rice Heads Region 7 William W.Rice has been named Acting Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7. In this position, he is responsible for coordination and direction of the Agency's efforts to protect the health and environment in the four-state area of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Rice is filling the vacancy created when John J. Franke, Jr., relinquished the Regional Administrator's job for the post of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washing- ton, D.C. Franke had served as Regional Administrator since October 1, 1981. Rice has been Deputy Regional Administrator since 1979. He also served previously as Acting Regional Administrator for a seven- month period in 1971. Prior to serving as the Region's Deputy Regional Administrator, he was the Director of the Surveillance and Analysis Division in Region 7. Before coming to the Kansas City Regional Office, he was Chief, Planning, Management, and Administration Staff of EPA's Industrial Environmental Research Lab, Research Triangle Park, N.C. Prior to his involvement in public service, he was an industrial engineer with Raychem Corporation, Menlo Park, California. Rice graduated magna cum laude from the School of Engineering at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, in 1959. He received a Master's degree in Management from Duke Univ- ersity in 1977. ------- 36 PERSONNEL (continued) and performance level. The resulting appraisal of em- ployee performance is the foundation of the compensa- tion process under which SES and Merit Pay employees receive salary increases and cash awards. Employees should consult EPA Directive 3151, dated June 22, 1982--avai1 able from servicing personnel offices or adminisLrdlive offices-- for more detailed informa- tion on these processes. CREDIT UNION MFRGFR The EPA Employees Federal Credit Union has merged effective August 1 with the Federal Credit Union of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to provide members with a full range of finan- cial services. The new organization which has over $8 million in assets, has declared a 5 3/4% annual dividend rate to be paid on all shares. It offers sav- ings (or share) accounts, check cashing privileges, money orders, travelers checks, certificates, loans, Individual Retirement Accounts, and many other services to its members. Membership is maintained by an active account balance of $5 or more and a one-time fee of SI. After September 7, the one-time fee will increase to $5. On-site credit union office facil- ities are maintained in Room 3319 of the Waterside Mall in Washington, D.C. Wanda Gustus, Acting Manager of the EPA Office (755-0360) can provide additional information on the many services available. All EPA employees regardless of geographic location, are eligible to join. AIR OFFICE APPOINTMENTS (continued) Barbara Ludden has been a consultant to Bennett's office for the past year. Earlier she had served in numerous posts in Washington as a consultant to ACTION; Director of Government! Liaison, American National Standards Institute; Executive Assistant to the Chairman and Director of Congressional Relations, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; and in Congressional Liaison for the Cost of Living Council and GSA. She also was Administrative Assistant to Representa- tives Robert McClory and Donald Rumsfield, both of Illinois. She is a graduate of Immaculate Conception Academy and has attended American University and the USDA Graduate School. Ladd has been with the Southwestern Public Service Company, Amarillo, Texas since 19G1 as cm enyineer and chemist. He received a B.S. degree from West Texas State University in 1964 and a Master's degree in engineering from Texas Toch in 1978. Kisner has been special counsel tn Rennett for the pact year. He was Assistant Director, Legislative Drafting Office, Colorado General Assembly, 19/7-1981, and a staff attorney in that office, m/2-1^/6, He received a B.A. degree from the University of Colorado in 19b8 and a law degree from the University of Arizona in 1972. (Note: Through a typographical error, two appointments were incorrectly listed in a previous issue. The listing should have read: Wayne Bliss, Acting Head, Office of Radiation Programs, Las Vegas; Charles Porter, Head of Eastern Environ- mental Radiation Facility.) Administrator Scores "Myths" About EPA Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch has attacked "myths" about EPA that "through sheer repetition and not by any basis in'fact have become broadly accepted." Speaking before a California Town Hall audience in Los Angeles, she cited recent achievements by the Agency and added, "We are not retreating one whit from the nation's commitment to sustained environmental progress. But we are taking great pains to make certain that our progress is achieved in as cost-effective a manner as possible." In describing some of the misconceptions about EPA, she said that one "whopper" is that the Agency's budget has been slashed by as much as 60 percent. In fact, she noted, the budget was reduced by 7 to 9 percent for Fiscal 1981 and a further reduction of 12 percent is proposed for Fiscal 1983. Similarly, EPA personnel ceilings are reduced 12 percent in the budget proposed for the coming year--although reductions of more than 80 percent have been reported, she said. "EPA's resources are still most generous during a period of Federal austerity," the Administrator declared. Although reductions also have been proposed in EPA's research fund after a careful review of agency needs, she added, one reason cuts are possible is that many of EPA's long-term research programs are complete or nearly so. ------- |