Si!ER\
NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
INSIDE:
~	New Office Space?
~	A-76 Response
~	"Illegitimate" Benefits
VOLUME 1
NUMBER 18
AUGUST 8, 1984
The Bureaucracy as Theater
The audience hushes as
the lights dim and the up-
raised arms of the con-
ductor silences the in-
strumental twittering and
tweeting ... A mumble, a
cough, a rustle of stagebills
and silk dresses . . .And the
lights, and the curtains
parting, and the opening
crescendo of the overture
punches a hole in life's
mundane reality and a new
world—a fantasy world—
emerges, captures the
onlookers, and they are lost
in the excitement of a new
play on opening night!
Federal employees may
often enjoy such experi-
ences as audience members,
and some assist in the pro-
duction as part-time actors
or musicians in local shows:
but rare indeed are the bu-
reaucrats who partake of
the full dose of opening-
night jitters as creators and
authors of a new musical
comedy. Two who have had
such an exhilerating and
scary experience are Peyton
Davis and Frank Corrado.
Davis and Corrado first
met at a regional EPA pub-
lic affairs meeting when she
was Director of Public
Affairs in Dallas and he
held the same position in
Chicago. Subsequently she
went to work on the im-
mediate staff of the AA for
Water and he founded a
communications consulting
firm in the Midwest. In the
fall of 1983, they met again
when Corrado began con-
sulting for EPA.
Having been away from
the Federal government for
a few years, Corrado was
struck by its seemingly
crazy ways of doing busi-
ness. Reasoning that Wash-
ington had spawned many
satires on the political sys-
tem, but that no one had
really targeted the special
foibles of government
bureaucracy, the two EPA
associates agreed to try
writing a musical comedy.
Davis began devising the
plot and dialog while Corra-
do concentrated on the
lyrics. They decided to call
their production "FEDS."
The music was composed
by Mike Pendowski from
Northwestern University,
whom Corrado discovered
while teaching a course at
the management school
there. At first, Davis' con-
cept of the music was a bit
skewed since she only
heard tapes of Pendowski
and Corrado singing the
songs, and neither com-
poser possessed award-
winning vocal chords. It
wasn't until the music was
recorded in a studio that
she got an idea of how it
really sounded. Then, she
says, she got excited. "For
the first time, I knew that I
was writing a real musi-
cal!"
Another EPA employee,
Judith Koontz, agreed to be
the producer. A special
assistant to the Director of
the Office of Policy Anal-
ysis, Koontz held early re-
hearsals in her home and, af-
ter much searching, con-
vinced the Technical Direc-
tor for Performing Arts of
George Mason University to
co-sponsor the show.
Davis and Corrado are
convinced that there is
truly magic in the theater.
Somehow, someway, every-
thing fell together and the
preview performance of
FEDS occurred as scheduled
on the evening of June 16,
1984.
Was the "opening" a suc-
cess? Davis and Corrado
think so. There were a lot
of laughs (at the right mo-
ments) and the preview
gave an excellent opportu-
nity to see what went right
and what needed to be
changed. With a 40-minute
videotape of the evening's
highlights in hand, they are
now marketing the play in
the Washington and Chica-
go areas. (Consult your lo-
cal paper for theaters and
performance times.) ~
A "typical" confrontation between a special assistant and an
office director at a "typical" staff meeting in FEDS.
Corrado/Davis

-------
People
Letters
Retirees: Evelyn Young, 20 years, Region 8.
Public Health Service Commendation Medal awarded to
Marc Alston, for his continued superior performance of
duties in the Wyoming and Colorado public water system
surveillance program.
William Budde named the Federal Employee of the
Year in the Cincinnati area by the Federal Executive
Board/Federal Business Association. As Chief of the Ad-
vanced Instrumentation Section, Physical and Chemical
Methods Branch, Budde is responsible for the develop-
ment of methods to identify and measure organic chem-
icals in environmental samples using gas chromotography-
mass spectrometry.
William Budde
Continued Superior Performance Awards presented to:
Patricia Elmer and Lucille Robinson, Office of the Ad-
ministrator . . . Carolyn Williams, Air and Radiation . . .
Ronald Shafer, Policy, Planning and Evaluation . . . Janet
Burrell and Jacqueline Hawkins, Office of General Coun-
sel .. . Sandra Baucom, Donna Tull and Richard Frank,
Research and Development . . . Adelaide Gorby, Towana
Dorsey and Cynthia Baggatts, Water . . . Sarah Stuart, Ad-
ministration and Resources Management . . . Betty Winter,
Pesticides and Toxic Substances.
Quality Step Increases awarded to: Dwight Doxey,
George Christich and Wendy Grieder, Office of the Ad-
ministrator . . . Patricia Cox, Research and Development. . .
Anthony Tafuri and Richard Traver, Cincinnati.
Special Act Awards presented to: Michael Alford, Nan-
cy Smagin and Eric Strassler Policy, Planning and Evalua-
tion . . . Leanne Boisvert, Frances Adkins and Gilbert
Florence, Office of the Administrator . . . Clifford Fields,
Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . . Shirley Thomas and
Mary Holland, Research and Development . . . Kenneth
Dostal, Georgia Dunaway, Charles Euth, Sidney Hannah
and James Kreissl, Cincinnati. ~
To the Editor:
Concerning your story "Public Information Handled Pri-
vately," appearing in the July 6, 1984 issue of The EPA
Times: Your source(s) of information, private or otherwise,
are not accurate.
Of the 12 headquarters employees affected by the trans-
fer of duties to EBON Research, Inc., SIX are still to be
placed. These six are presently on detail (as of July 11)
and not necessarily in positions for which they are
trained, or have experience. We all (or at least the writer)
hope to see the Administrator's expectations (of being
placed in appropriate positions) bear fruition.
Sincerely,
Dick Fandel
Grants Information Office
Available Information	
Lately, numerous employees have requested information
concerning Superfund/CERCLA, and other laws, such as
RCRA and the Clean Air and Water Acts. In response, the
Library is collecting bibliographies, journal articles, and
copies of pamphlets and documents which relate to these
laws. Michael Bouchard of the headquarters library staff
informs us of the following entries in the current collec-
tion :
"Superfund Sleeper Sends Signals" by Roger Dower, The
Environmental Forum, March, 1984. (The Act's 301(c)
natural resources damages provision is one Superfund
"sleeper" whose impact is yet to be felt.)
"Superfund Needs A Strong Tax Base" by Richard L.
Hanneman, The Environmental Forum, December 1983.
(It is now widely accepted that Congress is likely to ex-
tend Superfund's taxing provisions beyond the current
1985 authorization. But will funds continue to be raised
via the front-end feedstock approach?)
"Superfund: A Legal Update" by Jeffery Trauberman, En-
vironment, March, 1981. (Industry was probably pleased
to have restricted the scope of the Superfund bill.)
"Superfund Proposals Floated by Committee" Chemical
Marketing Reporter, July 16, 1984. (Financing an ex-
panded Superfund program to aid the health victims of
abandoned hazardous waste sites.)
"Superfund Reauthorization Faces Delays" The Groundwa-
ter Newsletter, June 30, 1984. The expanded Superfund
is facing resistance and delays in both the House and
Senate.)
"Superfund" CQ Weekly Report, July 7, 1984. (The House
Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation
to extend Superfund for five years.)
Employees who have any materials or other inputs ger-
maine to this collection should contact Bouchard on 382-
5923. ~
The EPA Times is published 24 times per year to provide news and information for and about EPA employees. Readers are encouraged to submit
news of themselves and of fellow employees, letters of opinion, questions, comments, and suggestions to: Miles Allen, Editor, The EPA Times,
Office of Public Affairs (A-107). Telephone 382-4394. Information selected for publication will be edited as necessary in keeping with space avail-
able. All letters to the editor submitted for publication must be signed and accompanied by submitter's office location and telephone number.

-------
Around EPA
Dr. Reiner Luchenbach will discuss the significance and
rvalue of The Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry at
ra seminar open to all employees at 2 p.m. on September 4
in room 3906, headquarters. Luchenbach is Director of the
Beilstein Institute in West Germany. The first 75 seminar
attendees will each receive a free set of Beilstein user
aides.
New Regional Counsel for Region 7 is David Tripp. A
13-year EPA employee, Tripp has held positions of Senior
Associate Regional Counsel, Deputy Regional Counsel, and
Acting Regional Counsel.
New Director of the Office of Health Research, Research
and Development, is Robert Dixon. Previously, Dixon was
Chief of the laboratory of reproductive and developmental
toxicology at the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences.
Prospective authors are invited to respond to a call for
papers for a May 1985 conference on The Control of Toxic
Air Pollutants, which will be held in the Niagara Falls
area. Correspondence should be addressed to David Roma-
no, NYSDEC, 2176 Guilderland Avenue, Schenectady, NY
12306.
The Hazardous Materials Advisory Council and the New
Jersey Motor Truck Association will cosponsor HAZ MAT
TRANS EXPO AND SAFETY CONFERENCE on September
12-14 at McAfee, New Jersey. For information contact
HMAC, Suite 907, 1012 14th Street, NW., Washington DC
20005. Telephone 202-783-7460.
A conference on economic assessment of acid rain will
fce held on December 4-6 at the Loews L'Enfant Plaza,
Washington, DC. Contact Bill Wagner, Manager of Commu-
Training Opportunities
The following courses will be held in the Headquarters
Training Center unless otherwise indicated. For further in-
formation contact the Personnel Assessment and Support
Branch (formerly the Human Resources Development
Branch) at 382-2997.
Middle Management Institute, August 13-14. Examines
key current issues facing mid-level managers such as the
budget process, vulnerability assessment, situational
leadership, office automation, and others.
Stress Management for Secretaries and Administrative
Assistants, August 14. Helps attendees deal with mixed
priorities, interruptions, unrealistic goals, the dual de-
mands of home and work, various personality types, and
criticisms.
Time and Attendance: Recordkeeping and Procedures,
August 15-16. Assists timekeepers in competently fulfill-
ing their responsibilities.
Writing Skills for Secretaries and Administrative Assis-
tants, August 15-16. The theory and practice of effective
written communications in the office,
k Project Officer's Certification, August 20-24. Provides a
Thorough understanding of the Project Officer's responsi-
biliites within the acquisition cycle.
Decision Analysis, August 29-31. (Held at the Capitol
Park International.) For scientists, engineers, and other
technical policy makers and analysts. ~
nications, Center for Environmental Information, 33 S.
Washington Street, Rochester, NY 14086. Telephone 716-
546-3796.
The Senior Environmental Employment Program, whose
funding by grant monies was questioned by GAO, given
new life by the June 12 passage of the Environmental Pro-
grams Assistance Act. The program at EPA employs ap-
proximately 2000 older people in such tasks as collecting
evidence of fuel switching, monitoring air quality, and
helping with the school asbestos program. Under the new
Act, these senior citizens may continue to work on tempo-
rary or part-time tasks, providing their work does not dis-
place or adversely affect the jobs of other current em-
ployees. ~
Agency Activities	
Special review initiated of the pesticide aldicarb, trade
name Temik, based on evidence of groundwater con-
tamination in some states. Aldicarb is used to control
nematodes, mites, and insects in soil.
Restrictions imposed on three pesticides used as wood
preservatives. Sale and use of creosote, pentachlorophe-
nol, and inorganic arsenicals restricted to certified applica-
tors. Each of these chemicals has been associated with
cancer occurrences. They account for over 97 percent of the
wood preservatives used in the U.S.
Special review initiated of the pesticide daminozide due
to possible high lifetime dietary risks. The pesticide, used
primarily on apples and peanuts, causes tumors in mul-
tiple organs of male and female mice.
Revised regulations proposed to streamline the process
for witholding government contracts, grants, or loans
from facilities that violate the Clean Air and Water Acts.
Opportunities expanded for discretionary listing of facili-
ties guilty of chronic civil noncompliance with standards.
Facilities so listed are ineligible for contracts, grants, or
loans over $100,000 from any federal agency.
Administrator Bill Ruckelshaus leads seven-member
Agency team in a series of meetings with Europe's top
environmental officials. In Paris, Ruckelshaus signs agree-
ment with the French Secretary of State for Environmental
Affairs to maintain and enhance cooperation in pollution
control. The team's itinerary includes 3-day conference in
Munich and visits to waste management facilities in
Sweden.
Region 5 files suit against Wyckoff Chemical Co. for
violations of hazardous waste storage and disposal regula-
tions. Penalty proposed of $58,000.
A consortium of 13 states awarded a grant of $257,201
for training hazardous waste criminal investigators and
enforcement officers. EPA expects to also participate di-
rectly in some projects of the grantee—the Northeast
Hazardous Waste Coordination Committee.
Region 5 proposes to disapprove Ohio's ozone attain-
ment demonstration for the Cleveland and Cincinnati met-
ro areas. Result: the state must now take concrete steps to
implement automobile inspection programs.
Region 2 recommends denial of dredge and fill permit
for the proposed Westway Project after rating the latest
EIS "Environmentally Unsatisfactory." ~

-------
Environmental News
A selection of noteworthy lines chosen from the 300-400
newspaper and magazine articles on environmental mat-
ters which we receive every two weeks.
"Fish in Fairfax County had a swim in waters that may
have left them a bit hung over Monday when the A. Smith
Bowman Distillery, makers of Virginia Gentleman whisky,
accidently dumped more than 600 gallons of 190-proof
grain alcohol into Colvin Run."—The Washington Post,
6/11.
"The Soviet Government newspaper lzvestia has voiced
concern about the possibility of a cover-up in the in-
vestigation of an environmental disaster that polluted a
major river in the Ukraine, depriving cities and towns of
drinking water."—The New York Times, 7/15.
"Four months after the state's mandatory biennial smog
check law took effect, California motorists are challenging
an exemption to what they consider to be the biggest
polluters of all—diesel cars, trucks and buses . . . The die-
sel exemption has triggered twice as many objections as
other complaints voiced by motorists."—Los AngeJes
Times, 7/8.
"When employees of All South Supply (Jacksonville,
Fla.) inadvertently spilled some of an industrial hand
cleaner distributed by the firm on a mound of red im-
ported fire ants, they were in for a surprise. The insects—
pests that infest millions of acres in the South—died
almost immediately. The lethal agent? Orange-peel ex-
tract, the main ingredient of the hand cleaner. 'We are
now testing the efficacy of citrus-peel liquid against mos-
quitos, fire ants and flies,' says All South Supply's
president, Earl B. McCabe, 'in hopes that we can market it
as an insecticide.'"—Chemical Week, 6/27.
"There is an insolent, unstoppable, green, slimy monster
in the Potomac River ... a type of seaweed called hydrilla
verticillata . . . Because it forms impenetrable mats—as
thick as 15 feet—of stems and leaves on the water surface,
hydrilla has the potential of destroying fishing and boating
activities, clogging water-intake systems, killing fish,
attracting mosquitoes and spoiling potable water . . .'It is
an incredible thing. It grows two inches a day. You can
almost see it growing right before your eyes,' said City
Manager Douglas Harman of Alexandria, Va."—
Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/4.
Q & A
"Homeowners and other consumers might have been
concerned by the EPA's announcement . . . limiting the
sales of three popular wood preservatives because they
had been linked to cancer and other illnesses . . . How, for
example, can one tell what is already on outdoor furni-
ture? . . . Those who are uncertain or worried about
treated furniture can seal the wood to eliminate any
hazard. The environmental agency suggests sealing with a
latex epoxy enamel, a polyurethane or an epoxy."—The
New York Times, 7/19.
"Alarmed by 19 straight days of stage-one smog alerts, a
coalition of government, business and Los Angeles Olymp-
ic leaders on Friday urged 4,000 factories and businesses
in the South Coast Air Basin to voluntarily reduce their
emissions by up to 20% during the Games."—The Los An-
geJes Times, 7/14.
"A key witness in a state investigation of hazardous
waste violations at Pyramid Industries, Inc. was fired Fri-
day from his position as plant manager. Edward Beckler,
who held the job for two years, said he was forced out be-
cause of what Pyramid President Earl Gilbert characterized
as an 'uncooperative attitude.' Beckler acknowledges
'openly' cooperating with the state attorney general and the
state Department of Health Services in an investigation of
a May 24 hazardous-waste spill that sent three Pyramid
employees to the hospital."—The Arizona Republic, 6/30.
"A fire that has burned in a mountain of 9 million tires
since last October . . . has burned itself out, officials said
today . . . The EPA said it spent $1,284,000 to collect
about 843,000 gallons of liquid runoff from the fire."—ThM
Washington Post, 7/6. ~
Survivor Benefits
Ruled Independent
Of Marriage Vows
Q. What are the Agency's plans to expand into addi-
tional office space, such as the annex recently constructed
on the northeast corner of the mall? —Jerry Kotas,
OWPE.
A. On June 14, 1984, the House Subcommittee on Public
Buildings and Grounds approved a prospectus allowing
GSA to lease up to 120,000 square feet of office space in
the Northeast Mall. Pending approval by the full House
and other administrative processes, EPA will be able to
assign approximately 700 employees to this space. Plans
for space allocation were presented to the AAs on June 29.
No other office-space acquisitions are currently planned.
The Agency does not plan to discontinue use of the offices
in Crystal or Fairchild. (Note: Although The EPA Times re-
ceived this question last December, no basis for a useful
response was available until now.) ~
"Illegitimate" (out of
wedlock) children of de-
ceased Civil Service em-
ployees are eligible for sur-
vivor annuity benefits,
according to a recent press
release from the Office of
Personnel Management
(OPM).
Judge Charles Richey of
the U.S. District Court ruled
that such children were eli-
gible in a 1979 decision,
but OPM and the employee
who originally filed the
lawsuit have contested for
years the method for mak-
ing potential beneficiaries
aware of the ruling.
The ruling declared un-
constitutional a provision of
the Civil Service survivor
annuity law which re-
stricted survivor benefits to
those "illegitimate" chil-
dren who were living with
their Civil Service parent at
the time of the parent's
death. The ruling provides
that all "illegitimate" chil-
dren, whose Civil Service
parent died on or after Feb-
ruary 24, 1972, are entitled
to retroactive benefits, and
may also be entitled to fu-
ture monthly benefits.
Persons who may be eli-
gible for benefits or who
know about children who
may be eligible should
write or call the Office of
Personnel Management,
P.O. Box 16, Washington,
DC 20024. Telephone 202-
332-6853. ~
GPO 909*039

-------