StERV
Times
NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
INSIDE:
~	Repair Calls
~	Paycheck Changes
~	CFC Triumphs
VOLUME 2
NUMBER 8
FEBRUARY 6, 1985
Employee Seeks Vintage Lifestyle
Just about every govern-
ment office, it seems, has
one resident wine "expert,"
who is always happy to tell
us more than we'd ever
want to know about the fine
art of imbibing the grape.
But very few offices can
claim to have an actual
vineyard owner and wine-
maker on the payroll.
This distinction comes to
EPA's Office of Federal Ac-
tivities through the efforts
of John Gerba, whose Guil-
ford Ridge Vineyard became
a bonded winery this past
November.
Currently on the staff of
OFA's Policy Office, Gerba
has worked for EPA since
1972. His interest in
winemaking was awakened
during the summer of 1954,
while he was studying
French architecture at the
Royal Palace at Fountain-
bleau.
The class involved a great
deal of touring throughout
the country. "And traveling
through France," Gerba
points out, "literally means
traveling through the vine-
yards on which that coun-
try's economy was built."
After viewing every major
winegrowing region that
summer, Gerba "returned
home hooked on the
thought of a lifestyle that
would include owning and
operating a vineyard, if not
a winery."
It took 17 years to raise
the capital to purchase a
25-acre farm in Luray, Vir-
* Tliiiiiitif
Winter in the vineyard
Picking is done by hand ~
The fruit of the vine
ginia, but the passing time
only heightened Gerba's de-
sire to replicate the French
vintner's way of living. In
short order, Gerba says, he
was ordering rooted grape
stock, looking for second-
hand farm equipment, and
"pestering my neighbors to
find out how to go about
being a part-time farmer."
Until 1982, Gerba ran his
"postage-stamp sized" vine-
yard as a pick-your-own op-
eration. He recalls that,
"one of the most disconcert-
ing, and at the same time
rewarding, experiences of
any kind of pick-your-own
farm, comes just as the first
crop is ripening like gang-
busters and then the
thought occurs: What if no
one shows up to buy it? But
when those first customers
and the curious started
driving in, and I was actual-
ly talking about winemak-
ing, I knew that the whole
aching experience of bring-
ing a vineyard through its
first 4 years (without in-
come) was worth it!"
Gerba is now getting the
chance to utilize his
architectural skill in the
construction of his own
winery. He sees the proper
role of winemaker as a "be-
nevolent overseer of na-
ture's process of converting
sugars and other good
things contained in grape
juice into that wonderful
accompaniment for the
dinner-table called wine."
By concentrating on mak-
ing single red and white
wines, Gerba and neighbor-
ing growers hope to pro-
duce a distinctive style of
wine for the Page Valley re-
gion.
So, the next time you're
wondering if Blue Nun real-
ly goes with buffalo steak,
why not take an afternoon
drive into the Shenandoah
and talk it over with John
Gerba? He's one white-
collar employee whose
advice is worth a listen . . .
and a toast! ~
Winepress outside the winery A

-------
People
Retirees: Inez Green 16 years, and John Tobias, 8 years,
Bay St. Louis . . . William Beller, 17 years, Mamie Low-
ery, 32 year's, and James Murphy, 18 years, .Water . . .
Robert Legg, 15 years, Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . .
Wanda Douglass, 32 years, Research and Development . . .
Vincent Jay, 35 years, Administration and Resources Man-
agement.
Special Act Awards go to: Sharon Brady, Mary Young,
Yvonne Countee, and Monica Doxie, Office of the Ad-
ministrator . . . Richard fHoffmann, External Affairs . . .
Elaine Haemisegger-and Alan Jones. Policy, Planning and
Evaluation . . . Cynthia Davis, Jesse Kingsberry and Sylvia
Danley-,Administration and Resources Management . . .
Robert Rose and Thomas Super, Air and Radiation . . .
Bruce Mintz, Water . . . Deborah York and Ruth Early, Re-
search and' Development.
Quality Step Increases awarded to; Beverly Thomas, Di-
ane Jones and Betty Halfpap, Office of the Administrator .
. . Barbara Rosing and Roger Rihm, External Affairs . . .
Annette Green and Linda Garrison, Administration and
Resources Management . . . Eleanor Jones and Barry
Parks, Air and Radiations . . Victoria Green and Towanna
Dorsey, Water.
Continued Superior Performance Awards go to: Gladys
Stroman, Linda Weathers, Elizabeth Wonkovich, William
French, Louise Plater, Patricia Thorne, and James Walker,
Office of the Administrator . . . Eloise Davis, Robert Flana-
gan, Thomas Glover, Marilyn Henderson, Dorothy Kelly,
Greg Peck, Joan Platten, Ruth Robenolt, Dawn Roberts,
Ettrina Vanzego, Pearl Young, Sandra Pererin, Jan Shaw,
and David Durham, External Affairs . . . Joyce Morrisu^
Eileen Sheehan and Brian Tolle, Policy, Planning aif~
Evaluation . . . Orlando Plater, Betty McClaugerty, JT
Mercier, Dolores Moorman, Charles Tobin, Robert Neuen-
dorf, Mary Smith, Donna Poole, Patricia Wade-Neal,
Mary Rogers, Jacqueline Baldwin, Robert Brooks, Monica
Lawson, Hallie Baldwin, Gerald Cunningham, Adriana
Fortune, Rebecca Vidi, Charlene Sayers, Thomas Tasker,
HarnlH Wehster, and Mary Patterson, Administration and
Resources Management . . . Elizabeth Bailey, Katherine
Moore, Felicia Deal, Dennis O'Connor, Joyce Grabsch,
George Bonina, Sheila Allen, Linda Brewer, Cheng Yeng
Hung, Lisa Coyle, Stephanie DeScisciolo and Charles Rob-
bins, Air and Radiation . . . Francis Csulak, Mary Piatt,
Frank Gostomski, Barbara Ramsey, Jannie Latten, Maria
Gomez-Taylor, Arnetta Davis, Charles Cothern, Stephen
Clark, Susan Goldhaber, George Enyeart, Roger Annolin,
Mario Salazar, George Denning, William Coinglio, Paul
Berger, Carolyn Acklyn, Lawrence Weinere, Phillip Wil-
liams, Susan Danning, David Evans, Judith Hecht, Harriet
Hubbard, Barry Burgan, Diane Brower, John Lishman,
Jane Lobit, Carmelita White, Karen James, Patricia Black-
well, Patel Yogendra, Kenneth Hay, Larry Anderson, and
Francoise Brasier, Water . . . Virginia Kahn and Nancy
Katowski, Research and Development. ~
The Fiuctuafing Paycheck
If your last couple of paychecks haven't been
encouraging, they probably have captured your inter-
est. Our Payroll Office points out that at least six
events have occurred in the last month to cause
adjustments in your net pay.
Read 'em and weep:
For paydate January 15, 1985:
Last deduction for the 1984 Combined Federal
Campaign. Note: If you itemize your charitable contri-
butions, the last deduction is for tax year 1985—not
1984.
Deductions resume for individuals who have
reached their maximum deduction for FICA/ MEDI-
CARE in 1984.
Increase in.FICA to 7.05 percent and MEDICARE to
1.35 percent is effective.
For paydate January 29, 1985:
First deduction for the 1985 CFC.
New health insurance premiums are effective. Note:
New insurance coverage is effective at the beginning
of pay period 08, which is 1/6/85.
The 3.5% pay raise is included.
If there are any questions about these changes,
please contact the Customer Assistance Section at
382-5116.
Q & A	
Q. Are the cleaning people at EPA headquarters in-
structed to report any plumbing and electrical malfunc-
tions to the maintenance division or does repair of such
things as non-flushing toilets and burned-out lights de-
pend solely on employee reports to the Trouble Desk?
A. Town Center Management (TCM), has a cleaning con-
tract with USSI Maintenance Company to clean all of the
Waterside Mall office space. This cleaning contract does
not instruct its employees to report any maintenance mal-
functions. Their job is to clean only. As a special favor to
EPA, TCM has verbally asked the nighttime cleaners to re-
port to EPA any restroom malfunctions they find. These
findings are left on the desks in the Building Information
Centers' Office, Room 3225. The next morning the mal-
functions are written on tickets and given to the TCM
repairman. The turnaround time for completion of mainte-
nance tickets (unless emergency) is 3-4 hours. The General
Services Branch has two inspectors. These inspectors in-
spect all restrooms for general maintenance and cleaning
once a week. While this is the normal procedure of rest:
room repair, the Branch still depends on EPA employees
reporting malfunctions they find throughout the
building. ~
The EPA Times is published 24 times per year to provide news aTremTforrnatio
of themselves and of fellow employees, letters of opinion, questions, comment;
Public Affairs (A-107). Telephone 382-4359 Information selected for publicatio

-------
Around EPA
According to the Financial Management Division, em-
ployees who started working for EPA during 1984 or who
(eld more than one job in 1984 may have had too much
whheld for MEDICARE or FICA taxes. The maximum
Jnounts for 1984 were $491.40 for MEDICARE and
2532.60 for FICA. (The actual deduction may vary slightly
due to rounding.] Excess withholdings occur when you
have more than one employer during the year and have in-
come subject to withholdings of more than $37,800. This
is because each employer is required to withhold MEDI-
CARE and FICA taxes irrespective of the other employer's
withholdings. If you have had deductions in excess of the
maximum amounts, you are entitled to receive credit for
the excess deductions on your 1984 tax return. If you have
any questions, please contact the Customer Assistance Sec-
tion on FTS 382-5116.
A conference will be held April 17-18, 1985 on
Minimizing Energy Costs in Air Pollution Control Sys-
tems. Sponsored by the Air Pollution Control Association
and cosponsored by the Industrial Gas Cleaning Institute,
it will be held at the Pittsburgh Marriott Hotel in Green-
tree, Pennsylvania. For further information call 412-621-
1090.
The Air Pollution Control Association will also sponsor
a conference on Indoor Air Quality in Cold Climates:
Hazards and Abatement Measures. This wiil be in Ottawa
from April 29 through May 1, 1985. Several continuing
education courses will be held on topics related to the
conference theme. For more information on either con-
ference, write or phone: Air Pollution Control Association,
P.O. Box 2861, Pittsburgh, PA 15230, 412-621-1090.
On May 6-9, 1985, there will be a "Joint Symposium on
Stationary Combustion NOx Control, held in Boston by
EPA and the Electric Power Research Institute. Since a
similar 1982 Joint Symposium, many technological de-
velopments have transpired. For more information write
to: Ms. Sarah Peralo, Symposium Coordinator, Acurex
Corporation, 555 Clyde Avenue, P.O. Box 7555, Mountain
View, CA 94039. ~
Environmental News
"The Italian Industry Ministry said that starting in 1991
the use of non-degradable plastic shopping bags in super-
markets and other stores will be banned. Packaging materi-
Ikand bags produced from materials that aren't degrad-
le or can't be recycled also will be banned, the ministry
id. The move comes as concern is growing world-wide
over the increasing pollution of rivers and oceans by plas-
tic products."—Wall Street Journal, 1/3.
"The Mississippi River is trying to change course in
southern Louisiana, to shift west and find a shortcut to the
Gulf of Mexico. If this happens—and some scientists say it
inevitably will—the result will be billions of dollars in
property damage, the cutoff of New Orleans' drinking
water supply, a halt to shipping on the lower Mississippi,
the severing of the Gulf Coast highways and railroads and
destruction of pipelines that supply natural gas to the East
Coast."—Boston Globe, 12/23.
"A White House task force has determined that no new
rules or laws are needed to regulate the emerging
biotechnology industry, but it has called for the creation of
a 'biotechnology science board' to advise federal agencies
on how to assess new products . . . The task force's report,
which represents the views of 17 executive branch groups
with interests in biotechnology, was published in the De-
cember 31 issue of the Federal Register."—Washington
Post, 12/27.
"Population growth along the Chesapeake Bay could in-
crease the use of fresh water so much that salt levels in
the bay would rise permanently to levels harmful to
i for a^Klxiut EPA employees. Readers are encouraged to submit news
. and suggestions to. Miles Allen. Editor. The EPA Times, Office of
l will be edited as necessary in keeping with space available.
marine life, according to an Army Corps of Engineers
study. The salt levels in the bay increase as fresh water
from tributaries is used for animal and human consump-
tion, irrigation and industrial cooling ... A permanent in-
crease in salinity would encourage diseases and parasites
that could reduce the bay's supply of oysters, clams, rock-
fish and shad. One creature that would thrive in more sal-
ty water is the stinging jellyfish, which could become
more plentiful."—The Washington Post, 12/27.
"Federal officials will build a 9.000-foot emergency sew-
er line at the U.S.-Mexico border to catch leakage from Ti-
juana's sewage pipes and prevent the effluent from flowing
onto San Diego County beaches . . . the 'interceptor' pipe
is a response to the latest break in Tijuana sewer mains
that has sent sewage downhill across the border and
forced San Diego County health officials to quarantine the
Imperial Beach oceanfront."—Los Angeles Times, 12/29.
"The English-language weekly Peking Review said China
released 31 billion tons of waste water, 41 million tons of
polluted gas, and 400 million tons of industrial filth into
the environment in 1982 . . . The magazine said the figures
show 'China has one of the worst pollution problems in
the world' ... In China . . . many cities have become
choked with industrial smog and most major rivers are
filthy."—AP, 1/7.
"... Cities from New York to Tampa to Tulsa are
counting on sophisticated, large-scale incinerators to solve
most of their future garbage disposal problems . . . But the
Treasury Department's landmark tax-reform proposal
could disrupt some of those plans . . . The irony ... is
that local governments may end up owning and operating
these giant garbage plants if corporations lose the eco-
nomic incentives of tax-free borrowing and other write-
offs. This at a time when the Reagan administration has
been encouraging government to hand off as many func-
tions as possible to private enterprise."—The Wall Street
Journal, 2/8. ~

-------
Available Information
We Caught the Spirit
Selections from EPA Library holdings which may be of general interest to
employees.
Annual Progress Report: Denver Wildlife Research Cen-
ter. 1983. SB993.D44.
Genetic Engineering and New Pollution Control Tech-
nologies: By James B. Johnson and Susan G. Robinson.
1984. TD755.J64.
The Global Possible: Resources, Developments, and the
New Century: The Statement and Action Agenda of an
International Conference: World Resources Institute. 1984.
GF41.G55.
Directory of Chemical Producers: United States of
America. Stanford Research Institute. REFHD9651.D57.
Environmental Policy in the 1980's: Reagan's New
Agenda 1984. HC) !0 E5E4q«fifi.
Federal Executive Directory. Washington, D.C. JK6.F42.
Recent reports available from the issuing offices.
The Inspector General Semiannual Report, April 1,
1984-September 30, 1984: Environmental Protection Agen-
cy. 1984.
Accomplishments Report FY 1984. EPA's performance
under the new Strategic Planning and Management Sys
tem. Office of the Administrator, November, 1984. ~
By Marilyn Rogers
This year's Combined
Federal Campaign was the
most successful in the
Agency's history. The cam-
paign goal of $190,000 rep-
resented an 11 percent in-
crease over the previous year.
The final dollar amount raised
this year was $222,848.79,
an increase of 28 percent
over last year's pledges.
Five offices will be re-
ceiving special awards for
their contributions to the
Campaign.
Presidential Awards,
signifying donations of
$75.00 per employee, will
be presented to the Utfice
of Policy, Planning and
Evaluation, the Office of
Enforcement and Com-
pliance Monitoring, and the
Office of General Counsel.
Merit Awards, signifying
a 65 percent participation
rate, with overall contribu-
tions averaging at least
$35.00 per employee, will
be presented to the Office
of the Inspector General
and the Office of Res^
and Development.
Overall, 45 percent 3^
EPA headquarters em-
ployees chose to partici-
pate.
According to CFC
account executive William
Whitson, the success of this
year's campaign is directly
attributable to the generos-
ity of EPA employees and
the overwhelming support
of the Agency's top manage-
ment. "Without these key
ingredients," he claims, "it
would have been impos
sible to accomplish our
goal."
Whitson has asked The
EPA Times to thank all the
EPA employees for their
assistance. While we're at
it, here's a special thanks to
William Whitson himself,
and to his campaign partner
Landon Holt, for the many
hours of enthusiastic
they contributed.
EPA has truly "cau"
spirit" in 1985! ~
le
Agency Activities	
Lee M. Thomas, Acting Administrator of EPA, approves
the largest cleanup yet under the Agency's "Superfund"
program. Estimated to cost more than $55 million, the
project is designed to eliminate the threat to public health
and the environment posed by the Bridgeport Oil and
Rental Services site in Logan Township, Gloucester Coun-
ty, New Jersey.
New method is proposed to give gasoline refiners and
importers added flexibility to meet standards for allowable
lead content in gasoline which were proposed last July.
Under the new proposal, the Agency would give refiners
option of reducing their leaded gasoline production over
the next year below federal lead standards and getting
credit for the difference that can be applied later as stricter
federal standards go into effect.
Special reviews have been initiated for the pesticides
alachlor, TPTH, captafol, and dinocap.'All remaining
registrations of the pesticide DBCP have been cancelled.
EPA proposes civil penalties of over $4 million against
three fuel additive manufacturers in Phoenix and Seattle
for improperly blending alcohol with gasoline. Notices of
Violation issued to United Energy Company of Phoenix,
Arizona, UEC Inc. of Phoenix, and Sound Energy, Inc. of
Seattle, Washington.
Upcoming heavy duty engine rule will be based on re-
sults of pre-regulatory negotiations with environmentalists,
truck manufacturers and others. This is first time the agen-
cy has used consensus results from face-to-face negotia-
tions with interested parties as the basis for a proposed
rule.
Regulations proposed to prohibit burning of con-
taminated used oils in residential, institutional and com-
mercial boilers. Burning of hazardous wastes in these boil-
ers is also prohibited. Used oil, which typically contains
toxic metals, is sometimes mixed with pure fuel oil and
bought, often unknowingly, by non-industrial boiler own-
ers, particularly in the Northeast and the Midwest.
Although hazardous waste may still be burned in in-
dustrial boilers and industrial furnaces, the proposed regu-
lation would bring these burners and sellers into the
hazardous waste management system for the first time.
A temporary tolerance level of 30 parts per billion^m:
the pesticide ethylene dibromide (EDB) is set on im^^^fej
mangoes. This is the last remaining use of EDB on
destined for U.S consumers. Action sharply curtails use of
EDB on mangoes and will eliminate its use entirely on
mangoes destined for U.S. consumption in near future. ~

-------