Times
NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
INSIDE:
~	New Materials Section
~	WDR and the U.S.S.R.
~	Bubbles are O.K.
VOLUME 1	NUMBER 17	July 20, 1984
Muscling Their Way Into EPA
By the time most of us
have groped our way out of
our beds and our homes in
the morning, we are quite
happy to rely on gasoline or
diesel power to transport
our sleepy bodies to the
office, but there remain
numerous dedicated en-
vironmentalists for whom
the only way to go is by
muscle power alone.
Bicycling is one pursuit
in which the pollution con-
sciousness of the late Sixt-
ies and early Seventies
harmonizes perfectly with
the physical fitness con-
sciousness of the Eighties. It
seems fitting, therefore,
that EPA employees are
among the leaders of the
pedal-power movement
throughout the country. In
1980 the Agency won the
Golden Spoke Award for
having the most federal em-
ployees (300) at the Earth
Day Bike-In. Today, com-
muting by bicycle is still
avidly pursued by many
employees and promoted by
official Agency programs.
EPA bicycle commuters
use machines that range
from the sophisticated to
the basic to the non-
existent. One employee
rides a 15-speed bike, one
is assisted by a small com-
puter, a few pedal one-
speed machines with bal-
loon tires, and one employ-
ee bikes 7V-J miles one way
and runs the other all year
through.
In 1976 the Bicycle Com-
muters of EPA was organ-
ized to encourage pedaling
to work and to lobby for
improved facilities for bike
commuters. One result of
its efforts is the existence of
84 lockers and 18 garage
parking spaces for bicycles
in EPA's Washington-area
buildings. Bicycle com-
muters also gained the
privilege of using the
showers available at Water-
side Mall. For information
about the club call its cur-
A1 Russell (left), Office of General Counsel
Administration ana Resources Management
home from EPA headquarters.
and Billy Rhones,
prepare for the trek
EPA employees Dianne Rowe and Eddie Brandt take a breather
with Brandt's children during last month's Bike-a-7'hon
sponsored by the Washington Area Bicyclists Association and
the American Cancer Society. Brandt, who is co-owner of a bike
shop called the Bicycle Exchange, and his family volunteered to
hand water to the participants as they flashed by. Rowe hiked 20
miles to help the sponsoring groups earn $10,000 each for their
programs.
rent president, Dennis Szu-
hay, on 557-7494.
EPA has an official Bicy-
cle Coordinator whose task
is to encourage businesses
and other employers nation-
wide to provide adequate
facilities for bicycle com-
muters. This position was
designated by Congress in
the Clean Air Act Amend-
ments of 1977. The Act lists
provisions for employer
participation to encourage
bicycling as one of 18 trans-
portation control measures.
Dianne Rowe has held
the job of Bicycle Coordina-
tor since its inception. Her
duties involve teaching
bicycle clubs how to hold
bicycle commuting semi-
nars, speaking at bike days
(such as the upcoming
PRO-BIKE 84), monitoring
the 29 state implementation
plans which have bicycle
measures, and writing pam-
phlets and scripts for var-
ious educational and pro-
motional projects,
Rowe will be showing
headquarters employees a
videotape titled Bicycling to
Work at noon on August 16
in Room 2431. The show
details the requirements for
bicycle commuting and
gives the audience an
opportunity to see and hear
experienced bicyclists ex-
plain why and how they
pedal to the office. For fur-
ther information, Dianne
Rowe can be reached on
382-7756 on Thursday
mornings. ~

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People
Retired: John Garner, 9 years, Research Triangle Park. . .
Dick Hager, 24 years, Solid Waste and Emergency Re-
sponse.
Died: David Bowers, 41, Administration and Resources
Management.
The National Image President's Award won by Herb
Barrack, Region 2, in recognition of his being "the driving
force behind the overwhelming success of the Agency-
wide recruitment program held at the University of Puerto
Rico." National Image is an organization concerned with
the employment of Hispanics.
Herb Barrack
Joseph Ali
The U.S. Public Health Service presents a Commenda-
tion Medal to Joseph Ali for outstanding performance of
duty in providing the engineering and instrumentation
support for laboratory research programs. Ali is an elec-
tronics engineer at the Health Effects Research Laboratory,
Research Triangle Park.
The Commissioned Officer Honor Award is presented
by the Public Health Service to Edgar Jeffrey for sustained
high quality work performed in managing and maintaining
oversight of EPA's public water supply program in New
Mexico and Oklahoma.
Quality Step Increases awarded to: Adriana Fortune,
Jerome Mackey, Gail Korb and Kerry Weiss, Administra-
tion and Resources Management . , . Sandra Beck, Office
of the Administrator . . . Marlyne Lipfert, Office of Gener-
al Counsel . . . Evelyn Melvin, John Jamula, Evelyn Al-
ston, James Priestley, Eileen Hardy, Lila Seales and
Vanessa Pannell, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.
Special Act awards go to: Pamela Weems, Lisa Tyschen,
Stephen Martin, Mary Beatty. Donald Hambric, John
Comstock, Edward Murphy, David Rodgers, Arthur
Payne, Mary Glenn, Michael Paquet, Pamela John and
Robert English, Administration and Resources Manage-
ment . . . Marilyn Varela and Peter Cosier, Air and Radia-
tion . . . Connie Derocco, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.
Continued Superior Performance awards presented to:
Alice Mims, Paul Frazier, Sheila Brown, Susan Butler,
Arnita Moore, Malisa Moreland, Anthony Payne, Doris
Wittington, Valeria Washington and Kenneth Young.
Office of General Counsel . . . Diane Hayden, Ruth Wood-
ruff, Joseph Jamison, James Kearns and Frances Mann.
Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . . Barbara Clark and
Tanya Demesme, Administration and Resources Manage-
ment.
Merit Pay Cash Award to: Terrell Hunt, Office of the
Administrator. ~
President Names WDR
To U.S.-U.S.S.R Committee
President Reagan has asked Administrator Bill
Ruckelshaus to be Co-Chairman of the U.S.-U.S.S.R.
Joint Committee on Cooperation in the Field of
Environmental Protection.
Yuriy Izrael, chairman of the U.S.S.R. State Com-
mittee for Hydrometerology and Control of the Nat-
ural Environment, is the Soviet Co-Chairman.
Ruckelshaus is the third Co-Chairman after EPA
Administrators Russell Train and Douglas Costle.
Izrael has served since 1974.
The agreement provides for cooperative activity
and information exchanges on 42 specific projects in
the areas of air, water and marine pollution, urban
and agricultural pollution, nature conservation,
biological/genetic effects, climatic effects, earthquake
prediction, arctic/subarctic ecosystems, and legal/
administrative measures. More than 2,000 American
and Soviet specialists have participated in exchange
visits under Committee sponsorship.
Overall coordination and communications
responsibilities for the U.S. are vested in an executive
secretariat located in EPA's Office of International
Activities, which works closely with the State Depart-
ment in managing the program. Ten different federal
agencies are involved, along with several universities
and industrial associations.
Agency Activities
Final decision deferred on registration of Larvadex un-
til the Agency receives additional test data regarding
adverse effects to fetuses.
EPA's "Bubble concept" upheld by Supreme Court in re-
versal of lower court's rule. Result: addition of new in-
dustrial processes or modifications of existing processes
need not be subject to the Clean Air Act's most stringent
and time consuming requirements for new emission
sources if plant-wide emissions do not increase by signifi-
cant amounts.
Final rule promulgated affecting those industries that in-
advertently generate PCBs as byproducts and impurities of
other processes. Most products limited to an annual aver-
age concentration of 25 ppm and a maximum one-time
concentration of 50 ppm.
Mississippi becomes second state to receive final auth-
orization to operate its own hazardous waste program.
The largest enforcement settlement yet for violations of
PCB regulations agreed to by the Todd Pacific Shipyards
Corporation of San Pedro, California. The company will
pay $135,000 for failure to inspect PCB transformers, prop-
erly store and dispose of PCBs, and maintain adequate rec-
ords.
Administrative enforcement orders have been served by
Region 9 against 35 San Francisco Bay area industrial
firms for being in significant non-compliance with pre-
treatment standards. Local agency attorneys are pursuing
legal actions against 14 additional firms. ~

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Around EPA
The House and Senate have agreed on EPA's 1985
appropriation. The bill contains an increase of S99.5 mil-
lion for the Operating Programs and a decrease of $20 mil-
lion for Superfund. The Construction Grants program con-
tinues at $2.4 billion.
Three hundred employees have been added to the
Agency's staff in the last two months.
A Master Agreement with AFGE (the Association of
Federal Government Employees) was signed on June 11.
Details of the contract will be printed here as they become
available.
The Superfund program has a new Deputy Director:
Walter Kovalick, who has served as director of the chem-
ical coordination staff of OPTS, and as chief of the Guide-
lines Branch in OSWER.
Available Information
Selections of possible general interest to EPA employees.
Reports:
EPA Report to Congress on the Administration of the
Open Dumping Permit Program—covers Agency activi-
ties carried out under the Marine Protection, Research, and
Sanctuaries Act and the London Dumping Convention dur-
ing 1981-83. For copies contact the Marine Protection
Branch (WH-585).
Office of Inspector General Report to Congress—covers
general and specific efforts to eliminate fraud, waste and
abuse within EPA operations for the period October 1,
1983 to March 31, 1984. Limited copies available from
Mike Binder, Office of Inspector General (A-109).
Library Materials
Ethics and the Environment, edited by Donald Scherer
and Thomas Attig, Prentice Hall, 1983. HC 79.E5E75.
The Federal Lands Revisited, by Marion Clawson, Re-
sources for the Future, 1983. HD 242.3 F34.
Guidebook to the Freedom of Information and Privacy
Acts, Clark Boardman Co., Ltd., 1983. REF KF5753.G84
Suppl.
Passing the Bucks: The Contracting Out of Public Ser-
vices, American Federation of State, County and Munic-
ipal Employees, 1983. REF JF1525.C6P35.
State of the World 1984: A Worldwatch Institute Re-
port on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society, edited
by Linda Starke, W.W. Norton & Co., 1984. HC59.B766.
"Fooling Mother Nature," National Journal, Vol. 16, No.
12, March 24. 1984. p. 573. ~
The EPA Times is published 24 timos per year to provide news
and information for and about EPA employees Readers are encour-
aged to submit news of fellow employees, letters of opinion, ques-
tions, comments, and suggestions to: Miles Allen, Editor. The EPA
Times, Office of Public Affairs (A-107). Telephone 382-4394. In-
formation selected for publication will be edited as necessary in
keeping with space available. All letters of opinion must be signed
and accompanied by submitter's office location and telephone
number.
The Strategies and Air Standards Division in Research
Triangle Park is now directed by John O'Connor, who re-
places Joseph Padgett. Padgett has taken a year's leave to
direct the Air Pollution Control Association.
New regional External Affairs directors: Doris Sanders,
Region 8; and, Diana Wieman, Region 9.
The Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association is
seeking nominations for recipients of its Executive of the
Year Award. For further information contact Janice Wing-
field on 382-3343 or Nell Gates on 382-3317.
The President has proclaimed this to be the National
Year of Voluntarism. For information on the needs of the
less fortunate that might fill your needs, call the Washing-
ton Volunteer Clearinghouse on 638-2664.
The 39th annual meeting of the Soil Conservation Soci-
ety of America will be held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
July 29 through August 1. Jack Ravan, Assistant Adminis-
trator for Water, is scheduled to be among the 100 speak-
ers for the event. Contact Max Schnepf at 515-289-2331.
The Virginia Water Pollution Control Association is
sponsoring a one day seminar on Activated Sludge Process
Control in Richmond on October 25. Contact James Hig-
gins at 703-860-2400. ~
Supreme Court Rules
Disclosure Constitutional
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the 1978
statute authorizing EPA to make public the health
and safety data on pesticides is constitutional. The
court vacated a 1982 lower court judgment which
had enjoined EPA from making public the results of
tests on pesticides concerning toxicity, environmental
fate, and wildlife effects. The statute had been attack-
ed by Monsanto Company, a major pesticide pro-
ducer, as an unconstitutional taking of property rights
granted under state laws concerning trade secrecy.
The court said that, although Monsanto may have
property rights in pesticide data, Congress was free to
provide by statute that EPA might make the data pub-
lic. The court also upheld a companion provision in
the pesticide statute allowing other businesses wish
ing to obtain registration to rely on data previously
submitted, if they offered to compensate the original
data submitter.
Deputy Administrator Alvin Aim said1 "The Su-
preme Court's decision will make it much easier for
us to explain to the public the complexities of pesti-
cide regulation, particularly the health and safety
data upon which we base many of our decisions.
This will foster a greater understanding and trust of
the Agency's decisions."

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Environmental News
A selection of noteworthy lines culled from the 300-400
newspaper and magazine articles on environmental mat-
ters which we receive every two weeks.
"Scientific minds . . . may have solved the case of the
holey pantyhose, a mysterious malady plaguing several
Baltimore women . . . researchers say that chemicals emit-
ted by industry go through various changes in the air. Sul-
fur, for instance, turns into sulfuric acid. When the humid-
ity is very high, as it was last week, the acid combines
with the moisture to form a sort of acid mist. The mist, in
turn, attacks things like buildings and nylon pantyhose,
the experts said. The buildings do fine, but the pantyhose,
to say the least, are unequal to the challenge."—The Wash-
ington Post, 6/23.
"President Reagan yesterday named Anne M. Burford . .
as head of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans
and the Atmosphere, a 25-member panel that advises Con-
gress and the president on such matters as offshore oil
leasing, coastal zone management and marine and es-
tuarine sanctuaries."—The Washington Post, 7/3.
"Borrowing a legal maneuver from the handbook of so-
cial activists, an industry group has sued the Centers for
Disease Control to prevent the federal agency from
toughening its position on acceptable levels of lead in the
blood . . . the Lead Industries Association, Inc., contends
that the CDC is relying on the advice of a panel of experts
that is not 'fairly balanced' to include 'opposing scientific
points of view.'"—The Washington Post, 6/22.
"Despite widespread speculation to the contrary, anti-
pollution inspections for cars and other vehicles may have
support from Michigan residents ... A 1979 survey by the
University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute
shows that residents . . . where the inspections are pro-
posed supported the auto tests by about 3 to 2."—Detroit
Free Press, 5/27.
"State Rep. Dominic jacobetti, powerful chairman of the
state House Appropriations Committee, vowed Wednesday
to block the spending of even a single state dollar toward a
vehicle inspection program ... 'If the federal government
wants a program so bad. why don't they send us the
money?' said Jacobetti."—Detroit Free Press, 6/14.
"Thumbing their noses at the U.S. EPA, officials of the
City of West Chicago and Kerr-McGee Chemical Co. have
proposed that they organize their own clean-up of about
80 radioactive hot-spots in the city ... 'If we wait for the
feds to act, it may take years and cost millions,' Mayor Eu-
gene Rennels said . . . Rennels said he hasn't informed the
EPA of the proposal, and doesn't intend to do so. it's
none of their business,' he said."—Chicago Tribune, 6/14.
"Governor Ed Herschler asked that the Union Pacific's
tie treatment plant not be included on the Environmental
Protection Agency's list of the worst hazardous waste sites
in the nation because of concern the EPA would interfere
with state clean-up efforts, an aide said."—UPI, 6/27.
"Environmentalists and residents . . . want lawn-
maintenance companies that use pesticides to post warn-
ing signs ... At issue is whether people have a right to
know when they're being exposed to potentially harmful
pesticides. At stake is the health of a rapidly growing in-
dustry that has grown from one dominated by small pro-
fessional gardening operations, to a profitable one worth
more than $1 billion a year."—The Washington Posf, 6/28.
"Florida officials, already battling the citrus-destroying
Mediterranean Fruit Fly, are facing another potentially de-
vasting pest: a root-devouring beetle that can't be fought
with the usual chemical weapons . . . 'The soil in-
secticides we used in the past have been banned because I
of contamination of groundwater,' said Dr. Bill Schroeder
of the U.S. Agriculture Department research station in Ply-
mouth. 'We don't have anything to fight it with.'"—AP, 6/29
"Asarco Inc. said it plans to close its copper smelting
plant in Tacoma, Wash., one of its three smelting facilities,
within a year because environmental regulations can't be
met."—The Wall Street Journal. 6/28.
"Japan, because of a lack of raw materials and space, is a
marvel of recycling efficiency. The city of Machida, a
Tokyo suburb, recycles 90 percent of its garbage and burns
the rest for energy. This operation is so efficient that man-
agers complain there isn't enough refuse to keep things
moving."—Science Digest, May 1984.
"Yervant Dermirjian made Si.5 million in profits last
year on corn grown on land so poor the locals used to say
rabbits had to pack a lunch before crossing the fields . . .
Dermirjian, who holds doctorates in engineering and
environmental science . . . irrigated 6,000 acres of corn
with 120 inches of waste water ... I think environment
and industry can survive together,' Demirjian said."—UPI,
6/25. ~
Regions Gain Full
Participation In
Agency Decision Making
Regional offices will par-
ticipate fully with head-
quarters in Agency decision
making under a new policy
spelled out by Deputy Ad-
ministrator Al Aim.
In a June 11 memo to Re-
gional Administrators and
Deputy Administrators,
Aim established the
framework to enable "the
diversity of experience
residing with senior Region-
al managers" to be fully uti-
lized in developing EPA's
programs and policies. A
key component of this
framework is the expansion
of the "Lead Region" con-
cept.
Each region, under this
concept, is assigned a
specific program area. The
Lead Region for each area
will have the responsibility
to articulate regional views
so that they can be fully
considered and effectively
integrated into national de-
cisions. Formerly used
mainly for budget proc-
esses, the concept now in-
cludes policy, regulatory,
program implementation
and evaluation issues.
The Lead Region program
assignments are:
Region 1—Groundwater/
Drinking Water
Region 2—Superfund
Region 3—Enforcement/
General Counsel
Region 4—Monitoring/
Research & Development/
Environmental Services
Divisions
Region 5—Hazardous
Wastes
Region 6—Water Quality
Region 7—Policy/External
Affairs
Region 8—Pesticides/Toxics
Region 9—Air/Radiation
Region 10—Management/
Human Resources ~
gPO W08-1 44

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