NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
INSIDE:
~ The EPA Times
Begins Monthly
Schedule
VOLUME 2	NUMBER 13	May 1985 |
New Dollars for New
by Margherita Pryor
"There's got to be a better
way!"
Who hasn't been struck
by the urge to improve
something, only to dismiss
the idea as not worth the
hassle of pursuing?
The prospect of fighting
institutional inertia can
dampen the development of
new ideas, but Administra-
tor Lee Thomas has taken
two significant steps lo
make creativity more re-
warding.
On May 1, Thomas an-
nounced the creation of a
separate, agency-wide
award fund to be used sole-
ly for cash awards for em-
ployees whose suggestions
are adopted through the
agency's Employee Sugges-
tion Program. Normally,
cash awards for suggestions
are funded from the in-
dividual program offices.
The additional funds will
be used when program
office funds are inadequate
or unavailable for the
appropriate cash award. "It
is my philosophy to encour-
age creative thinking", says
Thomas. "I feel the Sugges-
tion Program is a high
priority in the agency be-
cause it can increase the
efficiency with which we
carry out our official
duties."
Secondly, Thomas backed
up these words by allocat-
ing $25,000 to the new
fund.
Creative thinking from
bureaucrats? For skeptical
readers, here are the facts.
In fiscal year 1983 (the last
year for which government-
wide figures were available)
employee suggestions re-
turned measurable benefits
of over $155 million. More
than 468,000 suggestions
were submitted, and a quar-
ter of these were actually
adopted. Cash awards for
these suggestions came to
$6.2 million, a benefit to
cost ratio of 25:1.
Last year, EPA employees
contributed 102 sug-
gestions, 14 of which were
adopted, and received cash
awards ranging from $1,000
to $150. These suggestions
didn't call for heavy cost/
benefit analyses or sophisti-
cated management research.
They were the result of peo-
ple making sensible
observations and acting on
them.
Ronald Raimo, of EPA's
Las Vegas laboratory, for ex-
ample, was able to save the
agency thousands of dollars
in replacement costs for
damaged monitoring tapes
by suggesting the purchase
of a $7.97 tape splicer to re-
pair tapes in-house. He re-
ceived a cash award of
$350.
Joan Bachler, a secretary
in Region 3, noted that too
many people were spending
Continued on back page.
Times
Ideas
Got an Idea?
Send it to the Employee Suggestion Program. All
you need to do is fill out a simple form describing
the situation or problem that you feel should be
changed and explaining your idea for doing it. You
also need to estimate the benefits, either tangible or
intangible, that you think will result from adopting
your idea.
Your suggestion will be carefully reviewed by offi-
cials who would have the authority to implement it if
it were adopted. Generally, they look for ideas that
will improve efficiency or reduce time and costs.
Ideas may save materials, money, manpower, or prop-
erty; conserve energy; reduce paperwork; or improve
service to the public.
If your idea is adopted, your award will probably
be calculated on the basis of the actual or estimated
net benefits gained from using your idea for a full
year. The Office of Personnel Management has guide-
lines for calculating awards:
Estimated First-year
Benefits
Up to $10,000
$10,001 to $100,000
$100,001 or more
Amount of Award
10% of benefits
$1,000 plus 3% of
benefits over $10,000
$3,700 plus 0.5% of
benefits over $100,000
Penelope Parker demonstrates winning technique for improving
EPA operations.

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People
Mary Whaley, Air and Radiation, was selected as Chan-
nel WTVD 11 Television's 1985 Peggy Mann Award Re-
cipient. This award is given annually by the Durham, N.C.,
television station to recognize dedicated community ser-
vice. Whaley received the award for her outstanding work
with the Yates Baptist Association Literacy Missions.
Mitchell Luxenberg, Chief of Research and De-
velopment's Program Coordination Staff, has been named a
Fulbright scholar for 1985-86. Mr. Luxenberg will embark
on a 9-month tour of duty in Japan beginning late this
summer. During his stay in Japan, Mr. Luxenberg will
study the policies and methods used by the Japanese gov-
ernment to plan its environmental research agenda. He
will also study the implications to environmental policy-
making of having separate agencies handle research and
regulatory functions.
Bronze Medals awarded to the Program Coordination
Staff of the Office of Research Program Management; the
Risk Assessment Group of the Office of Health and En-
vironmental Assessment; and Roger Cortesi, Acting Direc-
tor of the Office of Exploratory Research.
Special recognition in the form of an ORD Statesman-
ship Award, presented to Matt Bills, Deputy Director of
the Office of Acid Deposition, Environmental Monitoring
and Quality Assurance, to show ORD's appreciation for his
superb public relations activities that have enhanced the
image of ORD over the past years.
Bill Beianger, an environmental engineer with Region 3,
was honored at a regional awards ceremony for his heroic
efforts in trying to save the life of a pilot seriously burned
in an airplane crash last May.
Bill Beianger
Howard Messner, Assistant Administrator for Adminis-
tration and Resources Management, presented Tribute of
Appreciation awards to the following individuals for their
contribution in implementing the Federal Managers'
Financial Integrity Act and in strengthening EPA's internal
controls: Diane Bazzle, Office of the Administrator . . .
Patricia Cox, Research and Development . . . Don Flattery
and Jim Tagert, Office of External Affairs . . . Jim Hadd
and Ellen O'Boyle, Administration and Resources Manage-
ment . . . Bob Hardaker and June Lobit, Water . . . Tony
Musick, Office of the Inspector General . . . Jan Young, Re-
gion 1 . . . John Gardner, Region 4 . . . Kestutis Ambutas,
Region 5 . . . Richard Kenyon, Region 6 . . . Bill Anning,
Region 9.
The Office of Research and Development presented
Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards to:
Richard Steele, Narragansett . . . Douglas Middaugh, Gulf
Breeze . . . Bruce Gay, Philip Hanst, Basil Demitriades,
Robert Arnts, Robert Seila, Roger Thompson, Robert Es-
kridge, David Mobley, M. Jackson, Jack Suggs, Thomas
Curran, Nancy Wilson, Richard Paur, L. Wright, R. Lewis,
John Margeson, William Mitchell, M. Midgett, David Hol-
land, Terence Fitz-Simons, Thomas Ward, David Svens-
gaard, Joe Elder, Merritt Long, Willima McDonald,
Donald Horstman, Elston Seal, Sa'id Salaam, Dennis
House, Frederick Miller, Judith Graham, John O'Neil,
James Raub, Robert Kavlock, J. O'Callaghan, L. Reiter,
William Boyes, Robert Dyer, Ronald Spiegel, Ezra Ber-
man, Hershell Carter, Dennis House, Christopher Gordon,
and John Meier, Research Triangle Park . . . Michael Per-
eira, Edith Lin, Sydna Freund, Robert Clark, and Albert
Klee, Cincinnati . . . James McKim, Gary Glass, and Gil-
man Veith. Duluth . . . Wayne Sovocool and L. Betowski
Las Vegas . . . James Gillett. Corvallis.
Quality Step Increase awarded to: Shirley Simpler.
Office of Research and Development.
Special Act Awards presented to: Daniel Byrd, Office of
the Administrator . . . Paul Schuette, John Meagher, David
Davis, and Mary McCarthy-O'Reilly, External Affairs . . .
Stephen Seidel, Daniel Fiorino, and Odelia Funke, Policy,
Planning and Evaluation . . . Paul Murray and Angeline
Holowka, Air and Radiation . . . Linda Thompson,
Enforcement and Compliance Monitoring . . . Matthew
Hall and John Campbell. Pesticides and Toxic Substances
. . Barbara Smith, Ellen Stuntz, Bertha White, Alice
Cooper, Delores Brown, Timothy Doss, Ruby Braxton,
Eula Johnson, Gladys Chew, Gloria Gay, David Lindsey,
Joseph Nemargut, Erine Watson, Gerald Yetter, Jackie
Shipley, Daniel Payton, Lucia Mao, Maureen Nolan, and
Ruby Skelton, Administration and Resources Management.
Sustained Superior Performance Awards presented to:
Peter Caulkins, Jeffrey Kolb, Albert McGartland and Ma-
rian Musser, Policy, Planning and Evaluation . . . kenneffl
Buckner, Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . . Albert
Pelmoter, Thomas Moran, Tod Gold, and Sheila Hoover.
Water . . . Phyllis McLarney, Harriett Mitchell, Connie
Posey, and Betty Powell, Administration and Resources
Management . . . Tammy Evett, Sandra Kretschmer, Roger
Dornberger, John Kargul, John Schwartz, Ken Mosbey,
Kathleen Rogers-Martinez, Brian Burgin, Carmen Dumas,
Phil Conde, Dave Lents, Lottie Parker, Dan Stokes, Ralph
Yeckley, Karen Reese, Paul Reece, Gordon Becker, Dave
Turner, Lennie Kocher, Gordon Riley, and Sue Cook, Ann
Arbor. ~
Training Opportunities	
The following courses will be held in the Headquarters Training Center.
For further information contact the Program Assessment and Support
Branch af 382-2997.
Employee Relations for Supervisors, Managers and Ad-
ministrative Officers, June 18 or June 20 (Your choice of
dates): Topics covered include: Leave Administration,
Grievance and Adverse Action Documentation, Preventive/
Corrective Disciplinary Actions, Denial of Within-Grade
Increases, Unacceptable Performance Actions. (Apply by
June 11.)
Beginning Clerical Development, June 24—26: Designed-
for EPA employees currently employed in entry level
office positions, i.e., clerks, clerk-typists, and secretaries.
Skills taught are those relating to general procedures in the
modern office through the use of simulated work projects,
role-playing, audio-visual aids, question and answer ses-
sions and discussion periods. (Apply by June 7.) ~

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Agency Activities
Letters
All registrations have been terminated for Lhe once com-
juonly used weed and brush killer pesticides, 2,4,5-T and
Bvex. At the same time, the Agency terminated the
cancellation procoodings for theso two pesticides. The ac
tions culminate more than a decade of government action
directed at the pesticides.
A $1,782,000 penalty against the Diamond Shamrock
Chemical Company of Irving, Texas, proposed for viola-
tions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The
company is being cited with 3 counts of failing to notify
the Agency prior to the manufacture of three new chem-
icals. The complaint also cites the company with one count
of using an illegal chemical substance for commercial pur-
poses.
A proposal has been made to revise the criteria and pro-
cedures for "special reviews" of pesticide products which
may pose unreasonable risks to public health and the en-
vironment. The Agency also is proposing to increase pub-
lic participation in the special review and registration
standards process for pesticides.
Program proposed for states to use in implementing re-
vised standards for particulate matter (dust, dirt, and
soot) in the air. The revised standards, which the Agency
proposed March 29, 1984, would shift the focus of the
national effort to clean up particulates from controlling all
particulates in the air to controlling smaller, inhalable
particles that are more harmful to human health. Under
the new program states will reexamine the adequacy of
their air pollution control strategies and may revise their
^ir pollution regulations.
BFinal rule issued allowing gasoline refiners to begin tak-
ing advantage of a new program designed to increase
flexibility in meeting new, stricter standards for lead in
gasoline, without affecting overall allowed lead usage.
This action allows a refiner producing leaded gasoline
with a lead content below prevailing limits to "bank" lead
usage rights. Refiners can be credited with the difference
between the number of grams of lead allowed to be used
and the number of grams of lead actually used in any
calendar quarter of 1985. The banked lead rights can be
withdrawn and used during any calendar quarter from the
second quarter of 1985 through the last quarter of 1987.
The rights may be used by the refinery by which they
were banked, or they can be transferred or sold to another
refinery for its use. The banking program also applies to
importers of leaded gasoline.
Twenty-six additional sites proposed for the National
Priority List (NPL), the Agency's list of hazardous waste
sites that pose the greatest potential long-term threat to hu-
man health and the environment. There are now 540 sites
around the country on the NPL.
Final determination made to deny petitions to redesig-
nate the 12-Mile Sewage Sludge Dump Site in the New
York Bight Apex. The decision means that several current
municipal sludge dumpers will no longer be allowed to
dispose of municipal sludge within 12 miles of the New
Jersey and Long Island, N.Y., shores. ~
^Vhe~EPA Times is published monthly 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, com-
ments, and suggestions to: Miles Allen, Editor, The EPA Times, Office of
Public Affairs (A-107). Telephone 382-4359 Information selected for
publication will be edited as necessary in keeping with space available
... a moans for Agency emp/oyoos to communicato to other employees
whatever messages of criticism, praiso, opinion, or applanation they so do
sire. Brevity and constructive suggoctionc aro oncouragod; obscenity and
rudeness arc disallowed Letters mil be publishod as space allows and may-
be edited for clarity and conciseness No attempt is made by the editor to
confirm any data presented by correspondents and tho opinions expressed
should not be taken to represent Agoncv positions, unlosc signod by tho
head of the appropriate office. All letters must bo signod and accompaniod
by submitter's office location and telephone number.
Dear Editor:
In response to the recent "Letter to the Editor" in Vol. 2
No. 12 issue of The EPA Times the following information
is provided:
Under current EPA policy, each major program and re-
gional office is responsible for including adequate funds
for cash awards and quality step increases in annual
budget plans.
Projected awards expenditures are one of several ele-
ments comprising an organization's PC&B (Personnel Com-
pensation and Benefits) estimates each year.
Unfortunately, budget planning, like other forms of
planning, is not a perfect process. Accordingly, it is possi-
ble that management decisions made late in the fiscal year
could cause a dimunition of funds set aside for awards.
One example might be the decision to hire more than a
planned number of summer employees. Other examples
could be an unusually heavy use of overtime funds or an
extra number of promotions.
Recently, the Personnel Management Division has be-
gun issuing an annual Agency-wide incentive awards re-
port that includes data on cash award expenditures for all
program areas and regional offices. We hope these reports
will prove beneficial to all EPA components in planning
and budgeting for their awards programs. The FY 84 report
is due out in early May.
Clarence Hardy
Director of Personnel
Available Information	
EPA's Office of Water provided financial and technical
support for the development of the Journal of Soil and
Water Conservation's Special Issue on Nonpoint Water
Pollution. It is intended to make the public, particularly
the professional soil conservationist, aware of nonpoint
source water pollution problems in the U.S., and effective
methods available to prevent or abate them. There is a lim-
ited amount of copies available from the Office of Water,
but copies may be ordered from the Soil Conservation So-
ciety of America for $5.50. Contact the SCSA, 7515 N.E.
Ankeny Road, Ankeny, Iowa 50021. Telephone 515-289-
2331.
Soloctions from EPA Library holdings ivhich may be of general interest to
employees.
Deep Wall Disposal: An Option for Responsible Man
agement of Chemical Wastes. Chemical Manufacturers
Association. HD9650. D311. 1984.
How to Slash $119 Billion from tho Doficit: A Proposal
by the Staff of the Heritage Foundation for the Budget of
the United States Government FY 1985. Ed. by John Pa Iffy.
HJ2051. 3.H89. 1984.

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Congresswoman To Be
Women's Week Speaker
by Patricia Mm ami
Women's Week at EPA
will be celebrated May 13-
17. Highlighting the week is
Congressswoman Claudine
Schneider's talk on Friday,
May 17, in Room 2709 at
lunch time (see bulletin
boards for exact time). Rep.
Schneider is a well-known
consumer and environmen-
tal activist from Rhode Is-
land. Her House committee
assignments include Sci-
ence and Technology, Mer-
chant Marine and Fisheries,
and Aging.
Women's Week is spon-
sored by the Federal
Women's Program Com-
mittee to heighten aware-
ness of the contributions of
women to EPA. The FWPC
¦ is an advisory group to the
manager of the Federal
Women's Program, es-
tablished by law to work
toward equal opportunity
for women in recruiting,
hiring, training, arid pro-
moting practices within the
federal government. The
FWPC works for change by
helping women help them-
selves and by working with
managers to make the sys-
tem more responsive in
areas such as career de-
velopment, upward mobil-
ity, and quality of worklife.
Two active FWPC sub-
committees are Women in
Science and Engineering
(WISE) and the Secretarial
Advisory Committee (SAC).
The goals of these groups
are to recruit, retain, and
promote women in these re-
spective professions and to
enhance the working en-
vironment and status of
women in the federal gov-
ernment.
For more information on
the work of the Federal
Women's Program Com-
mittee or WISE, call Penny
Fermer-Crisp at 382-7589;
those interested in SAC
may call Carrie Pope at 382-
5400. ~
The EPA Times
To Be issued
Once Per Month
Due to government-widS^
reductions in printing
budgets, The EPA Times
will now be issued once per
month instead of 24 times
per year.
Hopefully, we shall be
able to devote more time
and talent to each issue and
thus make up in quality
what we lose in quantity.
Certainly, those on the
staff are no less concerned
with building better com-
munication bridges between
all members of the EPA
family. So, keep those cards
and letters coming! ~
Conferences, Etc.
EPA is participating in the "Emergency 85 Conference"
at the Washington Convention Center May 21-24. The con-
ference, bringing together emergency management, en-
vironmental planning, industrial and legislative experts
from many nations and representing federal, state and lo-
cal agencies in the U.S., will focus on emergency manage-
ment needs for the year 2000 and beyond. For more in-
formation, contact Roy Popkin at 382-4359.
The Public Employees Roundtable is sponsoring a
national conference on "Excellence in Public Manage-
ment." It will be held May 29-31, 1985 in Washington,
D.C., and will serve as a forum for public employees to
propose management improvement initiatives for PER to
consider recommending to the President. For more in-
formation, contact: U.S. Professional Development In-
stitute, 1520 Elton Road, Silver Spring, Md. 20903. Tele-
phone 301-445-4400.
EPA, along with other sponsors, is hosting a con-
ference, Clean Water Through Controlling Nonpoint
Sources, May 19-22, 1985 in Kansas City. The conference
is designed to bring together all those concerned with non-
point source pollution: agricultural, forestry, mining, con-
struction, industry, governmental, environmental and
other interests both public and private. For more informa-
tion write to: North American Lake Management Society,
P.O. Box 217, Merrifield, Va. 22116.
EPA and the Electric Power Research Institute are
sponsoring the 1985 Joint Symposium on Stationary Com-
bustion NOx Control, May 6-9, in Boston, Massachusetts.
The symposium offers attendees a comprehensive picture
of recent developments in NOx control technology. For
more information contact: Sarah Peralo, Acurex Corpora-
tion, 555 Clyde Avenue, Mountain View, California 94039.
Telephone 415-964-3200, ext. 3380. °
New Ideas/New Dollars
Continued from front.
too much time proofreading
correspondence. In a four-
sentence suggestion, she
recommended that the
office use readily avail-
able word-processing soft-
ware to check spelling. Her
award was $150.
And Ted King, of RTP in
North Carolina, won $1,000
and saved the agency
$27,000 by working out
how to enlarge an existing
computer room instead of
replacing it.
If you have a better idea,
the Employee Suggestion
Program wants to hear from
you. All suggestions are
taken seriously and evalu-
ated by a qualified review-
Around EPA
Now is the time to order your copies of the 1985 edition
of the Code of Federal Regulations. Get the best price
submitting a properly funded Request for Printing Form
(EPA-2340-1) prior to June 10. Forward the requisitions
and direct inquiries to: Thomas Green, Printing Manage-
ment and Distribution Section (PM-215). Telephone: 382-
2125. ~
er. If your suggestion is
adopted, EPA will nurture
your urge to improve by re-
warding you with ten per-
cent of your suggestion's es-
timated first-year benefits.
Even if it's not accepted,
you'll still get an "EPA
Suggestion Award" ceramic
mug.
With the new $25,000
fund, many more em-
ployees could be receiving
substantial checks while
sharing the satisfaction of
bringing savings, efficiency,
and creativity to EPA activi-
ties. Why not you? ~
G PO 9 1 4*7 99

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