NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
INSIDE:
~	WISE News
~	Award from D.C
VOLUME 3 NUMBER 12 September 1986
Beware the Pink Paddlers
By Mary Ellen Guay
Region 6
If you spot river-runners
or kayakers wearing pink T-
shirts emblazoned with the
letter "Q" (made up of a per-
son holding an umbrella and
riding a canoe backwards
over a waterfall), you'll know
that fun and frivolity can't be
far away. Such revelry means
the EPA Region 6 Quiche
Eaters Canoe Club (QECC) is
once again off on a quixotic
search for the perfect rapid.
The club was formed sever-
al years ago by boaters to
counteract alleged macho
elitism which threatened to
engulf the unregulated com-
munity of river-runners.
Attorney Pat Rankin helped
establish the group and wrote
the bylaws. Using bureau-
cratic skills honed to perfec-
tion by years at the Environ-
mental Protection Agency,
members issued a manifesto
that, by its own terms, must
be endlessly recirculated for
comment. The Proposed Draft
Interim Final Constitution
and Bylaws, despite numer-
ous amendments, remains the
primary guidance for all
QECC affiliates.
Members are classified as
senior, junior, or associate
affiliates for a number of
illogical reasons that make
perfect sense to the group. A
senior member is an affiliate
who owns a boat and a four-
wheel drive vehicle or who
has acquired a cast or stitch-
es as a result of a club trip. A
junior affiliate owns some
. . ^
The Quiche Eaters Canoe Club Logo
Pat Rankin and Barbara KeeJer run the Cossatot River.
kind of boat, and associates
are people that members just
like to have along on trips.
Officers serve only in an
acting capacity and the sole
traditional nautical title is
Commodore. Position de-
scriptions also include an
Acting Real Man, the club's
morale officer, who can be
male or female but must
"constantly chastise" affili-
ates for wimpish behavior.
The club's constitution
provides designation pro-
cedures for wild and scenic
places and sacred subjects. A
wild and scenic place, held
in special reverence, is any-
where QECC affiliates have
"experienced karma." Some
areas, like the Cossatot River
in Arkansas, are designated
wild and scenic places im-
mediately. Others, like the
elusive takeout point on
Texas' Pedernales River, take
a little longer. That one has
been proposed for designa-
tion for several years.
A sacred subject is any-
thing worthy of constant
repetition in members' con-
versations, such as Timber-
line tents or the relative
merits of removing ticks with
a counterclockwise, as op-
posed to a clockwise, twist-
ing motion. All affiliates are
required to express unreason-
able opinions on any sacred
subject that arises in casual
conversation.
(Continued on Back.)

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People
Around EPA
Retirees: Robert Nedz, 28 years, Headquarters . • • John
Frazer, 18 years, Research Triangle Park . . . Thomas Kim, 8
years, Region 5 . . . Lucille Hurst, 7 years, Cincinnati.
Special Act Awards presented to: Phyllis Makal and
Edward Brooks, Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . . Aubrey
Altshuller, Marshall Dick, Paul desRosiers, and Evelyn
Wray, Research and Development . . . Gloris Butler, Ruth
Reed, and Daniel Graves, Administration and Resources
Management . . . Joyce Morrison, Policy, Planning and
Evaluation.
Sustained Superior Performance Awards presented to:
Jacqueline Wilkerson, Franklin Smith, Marie Douglas,
Mary Cunningham, Ronald Shafer, Mark Antell,
and Sally Farrell, Air and Radiation . . . Felicia Cunningham,
Linda Thompson, Diana Gearhart, Linda Flick, and Allen
Danzig, Enforcement and Compliance Monitoring.
Gerald Harwood has been appointed as the Agency's Chief
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Judge Harwood succeeds
Edward Finch. Judge Harwood has been an ALJ with EPA for
nearly 10 years. Prior to joining the Agency, he served as
Assistant General Counsel for Litigation and Environmental
Policy with the Federal Trade Commission.
Laurence Bernson, Region 2, has been nominated for
Outstanding Federal Employee. This award is presented by
the Federal Executive Board of Metropolitan Northern New
Jersey.
Highlights from WISE
On June 18, at the Chan-
nel Inn in Washington, DC,
the EPA Chapter of Women
in Science and Engineering
(WISE) held their 6th annual
luncheon. Over 150 men and
women attended and heard a
speech titled "The Right
Choice" given by Judith
Ayres, Regional Administra-
tor for Region 9.
Ayres' commitment to hir-
ing women and minorities is
evidenced by the fact that her
Region has the highest pro-
portion of women and minor-
ity professionals in senior
and management positions.
Administrator Thomas has
established a scientific and
technical careers advisory
committee through the efforts
of members of WISE. One of
the objectives of this com-
mittee is to enhance career
development for scientists
and technical staff by creat-
ing a dual career track which
assures comparable pro-
motional and salary potential
for non-managers. The sci-
tech committee is also work-
ing on enhancing pro-
fessional development by
encouraging participation in
professional societies and or-
ganizations, and by encourag-
ing rotational assignments
within and outside EPA.
In June, representatives
from EPA headquarters, re-
gional offices and labora-
tories met at the Duluth En-
vironmental Lab to formulate
plans for a national EPA
Committee on WISE. The
purpose of the national com-
mittee is to coordinate the ac-
tivities of local EPA-WISE
Chapters and to serve as a
forum for addressing issues
of common interest to the
chapters.
At its annual meeting in
July, members of EPA's
Federal Women's Program
Council strongly endorsed
the concept, goals, and objec-
tives of national EPA WISE
and discussed ways to ensure
a close supportive working
relationship between WISE
and the FWP.
If you wish to join WISE,
attend a meeting of the group
or contact Dr. Nancy Beach,
Chair of the Headquarters
Chapter, at 382-7567. If you
are in a Regional Office or
Lab and would like to start a
WISE Chapter, contact Mavis
Bravo at FTS 382-4001, Lorna
Schull FTS 597-6906, or Julia
Barrow FTS 886-6084.
The Office of External Affairs conducted a series of weekly
seminars at EPA Headquarters throughout the summer for 400
4-H Club delegates and their leaders. The delegates, 12th
graders and first—year college students, came from all pfl
the nation to participate in a Youth Leadership Developme^^
Conference. Under the direction of Peggy Knight, the Office of
Private and Public Sector Liaison brought in speakers from
various program offices in EPA to address the young people.
In speaking to the delegates, Howard Messner, Assistant
Administrator for Administration and Resources Management,
emphasized the need for young people to be actively involved
in improving the quality of the environment in their
respective communities. Plans are underway to continue this
program next summer.
Recent Agency publications available from EPA's Public
Information Center (800-828-4445):
•	A Citizen's Guide To Radon: What It Is And What To Do
About It (OPA-86-004).
•	Radon Reduction Methods: A Homeowner's Guide
(OPA-86-005).
Every month, the EPA library puts out a listing of new
books and articles available to EPA employees. If you are
interested in receiving copies, contact Michelle Lee, PM
211-A, 382-5922. The Available Information column will no
longer appear in this in this publication.
EPA has received a Distinguished Service Award from the
D.C. Department of Employment Services. The award is based
on EPA's record in utilizing the Senior Environmental
Employees program. EPA was chosen out of 150 agencies in
the D.C, area for its success in hiring low-income seniors
under the Title V grant program of the Department of LabJ
and subsequently transferring them to unsubsidized posifl
under the Agency's Senior Environmental Employees Program
(SEE). ~
W\SE m
WOMfN »N SOI-NCS AND	RING
1,'^t SSll
WISE officers display new bulletin board: (I to r.J Susan
Goldhaber, Vice-Chair of Programs; Diane Niedzialkowski,
Vice-Chair, Communications; Nancy Beach, Chair.

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One of Us
Our thanks to John Rapsis of Region 5 for submitting the
material for this story.
Profile: Willa J. Winston—Region 5
Jon Bronkema
An intriguing abstract oil hangs beside her desk, but Willa
J. Winston insists that "I've had no formal art training, so
I'm not very good at it . . . But I enjoy painting anyway."
"I have been dabbling since I was 15," says Willa, who
labors away as a clerk-typist in the Water Quality Branch
of the Water Division in Region 5. "I started out with the
numbered kits, of all things, and later switched to
canvasses, painting from pictures and photographs that I
liked. I'm especially proud of a still life I did as a last
birthday gift for my father before he passed away."
Willa uses her talented fingers for more than just
painting and typing: she crochets and she knits dresses
and suits, which she designs herself. And in her "spare"
time she plays golf or goes bowling.
Her plans for the future include starting a collection of
straw baskets and attending her niece's wedding in
Washington, DC in November. We hope she'll drop in for
a visit here at Waterside Mall. We need to get an appraisal
on some prints hanging in the Public Affairs Office, and
then we do have all these publications to type . . .
c/fllroi 4* Atlanta ^ c/ftfiau 4* UStiLj St, JGjuCi *f* iBd'twitt*. 4* !Bmu. *1* iBoiton 4* CJuificf JiiCC 4*
Willa Winston sits in front of some of her work.
Willa can be proud of some other skills, too, having
spent 17 years as a court reporter who could do 250
words-per-minute on a stenograph (a national record at
that time). Her rate of 110 words-per-minute on an electric
typewriter earned her a place in the Hall of Fame at the
Chicago College of Commerce, where she whizzed through
the standard two-year course in less than 12 months.
During her court-reporting period she was an honored
member of the National Shorthand Reporters' Association
and received that association's highest award, the
much-coveted Certificate of Merit.
A native of Chicago, Willa grew up in the city's
southern suburbs and was graduated from Loretto
Academy. Her interest in matters aesthetic appeared at
age seven when, according to our informants^—whose
verisimilitude is beyond question—she was taken to the
Art Institute by a rather straight-laced old auntie but
refused to leave at closing time. The story has it that she
had to be dragged out the door kicking and screaming and
vowing vengence.
Her parents were shrewd people who could see a
problem coming down the pike; they forestalled it by
taking her to the museum almost weekly. Later on, as a
snt of piano and voice for 11 years at the Conservatory
asic across the street, Willa dropped into the Art
Tute every chance she got. So her musical and artistic
interests grew in tandem. The result? She is obsessed with
Cezanne, Matisse, and Chagall and can't spend a day sans
Franck, Berlioz, and Mahler.
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Notes from the Field
By Priscilla Flattery
Priscilla Smith Flattery is the Regional Coordinator in the Office
of Public Affairs. All employees are encouraged to contribute to
this column by sending ideas, information, and comments to her.
Telephone: 382-4387. Mail Code: A-107.
Changes at the top are occurring in two regions.
Region 10 welcomes new Regional Administrator
Robie Russell, formerly the Senior Deputy Attorney
General for Idaho. Region 6 bids farewell to
Administrator Dick Whittington, who is retiring to
his ranch in south Texas to raise cattle. Fran Phillips,
the Deputy Regional Administrator, will be named
Acting Regional Administrator. We wish them all the
best of luck . . . Ken Lloyd of Region 8's External
Affairs office has been selected as site director for
Denver's Integrated Environmental Management
Program . . . The Narragansett lab hosted an open
house on July 5 and 6 in conjunction with the
demonstration of the University of Rhode Island
Graduate School of Oceanography's research vessel.
Tours were conducted, information materials were
distributed, and balloons given to children. During
the two-day event, 1000 people had an opportunity to
see how an EPA research facility operates . . . Marilyn
Quinones, a Region 2 Human Resources
Management Specialist and Debora Jean Strickley, a
Region 6 legal technician, have been selected for
inclusion in the latest edition of Outstanding Young
Women of America . . . Rose Evans, Region 8's
Secretary of the Year for 1986, has also been awarded
the Outstanding Secretarial Employee Award by the
Denver Federal Executive Board . . . After completing
a four-month detail as a special assistant to the
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, Region
3 Air Management Director Ray Cunningham had
this to say about how successful he found the
assignment. "I feel that I gained invaluable
experience which is impossible to gain from a
training course. In addition, I gained a good
understanding of the complexity and broad effects of
national air decisions that the Administrator and
Assistant Administrator face." . . . And for our "Who
Says Bureaucrats Have It Easy?" department: we
note that RCRA permit writers and on-scene
coordinators in Region 2 are being offered the first
crack at a new stress management course. ~
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Quiche Canoes Cont'd
Pilot Computer in Region 2
Enforcing the strict code of
conduct laid down by the
club's manifesto is no easy
task. At least once a year,
however, an annual meeting
is held and the Acting Com-
modore issues draft adminis-
trative orders (AOs) to viola-
tors.
Annual meetings are tough
and trying. Affiliates must eat
quiche and listen to poetry.
Rankin is the current Acting
Poet Lexitronist, who chroni-
cles every trip in poems and
memoirs.
Rankin says, "We pick up
new affiliates along any wild
or scenic river, but especially
in Arkansas where a few of
our counterparts have es-
tablished a chapter and
where more water runs faster
than in Texas."
In keeping with the "new
federalism," the QECC will
delegate its authority wher-
ever possible. Recruitment
methods vary, but can be sur-
prising, especially for the
new recruit who just happens
to be sitting on a quiet beach
watching the river roll by.
When a strange band of
canoeists pulls up and begins
pasting an outrageous club
logo on his beached boat, he
can assume he's just been
drafted as a the latest Quiche
Eater.
The Dallas group thinks
nothing of driving several
hundred miles for a day-long
outing of whitewater kayak-
ing and canoe racing. Some-
times, in contravention of
dedicated wimpishness,
members do quite well in
competitions. Last year two
members, Barbara Keeler and
Presley Hatcher, won the
American Canoe Associa-
tion's Central Division cham-
pionship for mixed downriv-
er recreational canoe racing;
two others, Martha McKee
and Jim Olander, finished
second in the same race—all
four thus becoming candi-
dates for club enforcement
action and subsequent AOs.
Despite its tough stance on
violators of club rules on
wimpish behavior, the club
recognizes true love when it
occurs. When Acting Com-
modore McKee and Senior
Affiliate Olander tied the
knot, they disappointed
many Quiche Eaters by refus-
ing to be married cere-
moniously in a canoe.
McKee, chief of the Region 6
Superfund site assessment
section, and Olander, an en-
gineer in the Environmental
Resources Division, did,
however, honeymoon in the
wilds. It's entirely possible
that they may choose to cele-
brate their first anniversary
in a canoe on some wild
river—along with fellow
Quiche Eaters, of course. ~
By Herman Phillips
Region 2
To some, it's "Mainframe,"
"3090 Subset, " or "Hal"; to
others, it's just "com-
plicated." Whatever, it's a
new IBM computer facility,
formally dedicated in Region
2's Information Systems
Branch in July, and soon to
be placed in other Regions as
well. (Mainframe refers to so-
phisticated central com-
puters, which are now about
the size of a desk).
The computer will be part
of an Agency-wide network
that will make for easier and
faster information transfer
among the regions and head-
quarters.
"With the new computer, the
regions will have quick ac-
cess to all of the EPA data-
bases for each major program,
such as the hazardous waste
data management system
under RCRA or the permit
compliance system under
NPDES," said Region 2 Ad-
ministrator Christopher Dag-
gett.
In addition, unique region-
al systems can be developed
using the latest software.
This means that non-ADP
staff will have computer
"tools" to assist them in do-
ing their own work, like com-
bining Superfund, RCRA, and
water quality data for com-
prehensive analytical proj-
ects.
Also, Agency reporting will
be accomplished more quick-
ly and reliably through up-
graded telecommunications
with states. All EPA personal
computers and terminals can
be connected to the main-
frame, making the informa-
tion readily available though-
out the Agency. ~
After expressing his pleasure that Region 2 was selected as
the pilot site for the IBM 3090, Regional Administrator
Christopher Daggett cuts the ceremonial ribbon. Looking on,
(I to r) are: William Henderson, Director, Resources Systems
Management Division, Headquarters; James Brown, Office of
Management and Budget; Willis Greenstreet, Director, Office
of Administration and Resources Mgt., RTP; William
Muszynski, Region 2, DRA; Herbert Barrack, Asst. RA for
Policy and Management, Region 2; and Edward Hanley,
Director, Office of Information Resources Mgt., Headquarters.
Quiche Eater Canoe Club member Bob Vickery runs a rapid.
The EPA Times is published monthly to provide news and
information for and about EPA employees. Readers are encouraged^
submit news of themselves and of fellow employees, letters of
opinion, questions, comments, and suggestions to: Marilyn Rogers!
Editor, The EPA Times, Office of Public Affairs (A-107). Telephom
382-4359. Information selected for publication will be edited as
necessary in keeping with space available.
J t^_

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