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Operation Bootstrap
Awards



VOLUME 5	NUMBER 8	AUGUST 1DHX
Sidestream Smoke
James Repace of the indoor air staff,
OAR, presented a seminar at the
Education Center auditorium June 29,
explaining that the typical nonsmoker
in this country suffers an exposure of
up to 14 milligrams of cigarette tar per
day, an amount yielding five extra
Hand-Holding Aerobics
The President's Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports met July 20 to
announce the winners of the recent
Federal Fitness Day competitions.
EPA fielded 17 six-person running
and walking teams for the hellishly
arduous 3K Fun Run around the
Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, four
more than last year, producing a rank
of fourth in number of teams entered.
Some 1260 people took part. The
photo shows Captain Angela
Fitzgerald, No. 2855, in a comical -
lung cancer fatalities per 100,000
people per milligram, or an extra 5000
such cancers per year in the United
States as a whole. That exposure is
twice as high as what is permitted
hazardous pollutants under the Clean
Air Act.
moment seconds after her team, the
Determinators, sped off the blocs.
Each team had to have three men and
three women and all members had to
start and finish together while holding
hands. Among upcoming events—3K
and 6K runs on the third Wednesday
of each month, starting 12 noon in
front of the Jefferson memorial, no
registration required. Call Mike
Shannon, 382-4697, or Howard Beard,
382-7796, for information.
Parking on an Angle
A recent review by the Office of
Inspector General (OIGJ has revealed
inequities in the use of the
headquarters parking garage. The
Facilities Management and Services
Division (FMSD) has been depending
on employees to tell the truth in
submitting their applications for
parking permits. However, OIG
found—in a random audit at FMSD's
request—that more than half the
employees examined made false or
misleading statements to obtain their
permits, or failed to notify FMSD
when they left their carpools. As a
result, other employees who are truly
eligible for permits cannot obtain
them.
When questioned, many employees
admitted that they had not actually
been members of their pools when
permits were awarded. Others stated
they had left their pools since, and
still more could not even name their
alleged pool members.
Providing false information to the
government is a violation of federal
law and Agency regulations, and
action could be taken against the
offenders.
FMSD is tightening its surveillance
of the permit issuance process, and
will review more thoroughly and
verify all applications before awarding
permits for next year. This should
help ensure that only eligible
employees park in the EPA garage.
Health Check
The services of the Washington
Occupational Health Associates, Inc.
(WOHAJ are now available for any
employee who gets sick due to poor
air quality. Many WOHA staff are
board-certified occupational
physicians with an expertise in indoor
air. By calling 382-4347, you can
schedule an appointment at the
Health Unit with Dr. Robert
Swotinsky between 2:00 and 4:30 p.m.
Mondays and Fridays. At other times,
you may see a physician in Northwest
(continued on next page)

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Awards
Recently the Boston Federal Executive
Board presented its coveted annual
Excellence in Government Awards to
14 recipients at the Faneuil Hall
Marketplace. Among them were three
EPA Region 1 employees. Marcia
Spink, chief of the Planning and
Technical Evaluation Section, Air
Management Division, was named
distinguished federal supervisor of the
year; Cynthia Greene, an
environmental scientist also in the
Technical Evaluation Section, was
cited as outstanding
technical-professional employee of the
year; and Ruth Ricker, grants
specialist and minority and women's
business enterprise coordinator, Water
Management Division, gained
recognition for outstanding
community service. Robert Goetzl,
chief of the Human Resources and
Support branch, received an
honorable mention for distinguished
federal manager of the year, and
Patricia Sweeney Poole, secretary in
the Office of the Regional
Administrator, merited an honorable
mention for secretary of the year.
Michael Deland, Administrator of
Region 1 and chairman of the Boston
Board, heaped praise upon the
awardees for their integrity,
imagination and dedication to duty.
The Boston Federal Executive
Board, a coordinating group of 90
executives from some 40 departments
and agencies employing over 34,000
in the Greater Boston area, established
the awards to recognize public service
and promote broader awareness of its
importance to democracy. The
winners are selected by an
independent blue-ribbon panel
comprising private- and public-sector
managers.
EPA Task Force
members talking with
Backus faculty and
students. Left to right,
Talidah Haamid,
student; Tarita Scott,
student; William Lee,
science teacher;
Carolyn Scott, task
force chair, EPA;
Natalie Jones-WallacQ
assistant principal;
Ferial Bishop, BIG;
Gideon Ferehee,
EPA civil rights office.
Operation Bootstrap
During EPA's observance of the third
annual Martin Luther King, Jr. federal
holiday, Lee Thomas pledged the
Agency to continue to make the
American dream accessible to younger
citizens, stating:
"EPA will develop long-range
strategies to challenge students to
pursue courses of study in math
and science, targeting and
motivating as many young people
as resources permit to achieve the
kind of excellence that can lead to
environmental careers."
Spearheaded by the Office of
Human Resources Management, the
Office of Civil Rights, and our own
William D. Barber Chapter of
Blacks-in-Government (BIG), EPA has
begun formal negotiations, mediated
by the D.C. Office of Volunteer
Services, to "adopt" Bertie Backus Jr.
High School in Northeast Washington.
EPA staff members from the Office of
Community and Inter-governmental
Relations, the Office of Water, and the
National Federation of Federal
Employees (NFFE Local No. 2050)
have also joined in to form a
Partners-in-Education task force to
develop the initial proposal.
On June 2, Assistant Administrator
Charles L. Grizzle (OARM) issued a
call to Agency officials to designate a
contact person for each AA-ship to
serve as a liaison with the task force;
the response has been very
encouraging. The liaisons will
contribute their time, talent and ideas,
as will NFFE and other volunteers
still to be recruited.
The task force, chaired by Carolyn
Scott (OHRM), has charted a program
for headquarters employees to lecture,
counsel and motivate more than 300
Bertie Backus students in the fields of
science, math, and health during the
1988-89 academic year. Plans include
field trips, in which EPA experts will
lecture students before and after the
outings to reinforce the learning
process; regularly scheduled in-class
presentations by EPA staff, especially
scientists and mathematicians; an
Environmental Day at the school next
spring; and an intensive support
program to help students develop
science-fair projects. Other initiatives
are in the works.
To volunteer your assistance, just
call Carolyn Scott, 475-8833, or David
Grim, at 382-4588.
TASK FORCE MEMBERS: Carolyn
Scott (OHRM), Ferial Bishop and
Mary Settle (BIG), Melba Meador and
Douglas Cooper (OEA), Gideon
Ferebee and David Grim (OCR), Bill
Hirzy (NFFE), Sally Mansbach
(OCEM) and Reah Seals (OW).
Health Check
(Continued from front page)
Washington by calling Theresa
Santoro, 463-6698.
The Office of Human Resources has
arranged to explain workers
compensation benefits to employees
who believe they may have sustained
work-related illnesses. These benefits
allow eligible employees to retain pay
and be granted special leave while
recovering. Contact Rosanne Tucker,
475-9686.
The EPA Times is published monthly for
EPA employees. Readers are encouraged to
submit news of themselves or fellow
employees, letters of opinion, questions,
comments, and suggestions to the Editor. Thtj
EPA Times, Office of Public Affairs (A-107)"
Telephone: 475-6643. Items selected for
publication may be edited to accommodate
space available.
Editor: Don Bronkema

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Note#
SDBU to the Fore
^PA's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization (OSDBU), has been chosen to receive a
Certificate of Special Recognition by the Public Employees
Roundtable for work on behalf of small and disadvantaged
businesses throughout the nation. In presenting the award
to then Deputy Administrator Jim Barnes, Joan Keston,
Executive Director of the Roundtable, stated "competition
was extremely keen this year with several hundred entries
from across the country, overseas military bases, and
Puerto Rico. EPA can be proud that the committee selected
OSDBU as an excellent example of public service and
worthy of special commendation."
The Public Employees Roundtable is a non-profit
coalition of 26 professional and management associations,
representing about 800,000 public employees and retirees
with 35 federal, state, and local agency members. Barnes
stated that he was "very pleased to accept this
distinguished honor on behalf of the Agency" and
commended OSDBU for its "award-winning labors."
Human Resources Program
Lee Thomas said recently in a memo to top managers that
human resources are a continuing focus of his
administration. "You and I know that EPA's success
depends on its people and that our efforts to employ,
I tain, and develop the talented people we need are as
mortant as any of the initiatives we have pursued
"ether."
Thomas commended staff for their foundational efforts
thus far, saying that we must now direct our efforts toward
actual construction of the main framework. "We are now
ready as an agency to formalize our commitment to
excellence in human resources management."
A small workgroup has already sketched out some
proposed core program elements. In broad terms, they are:
*Each location should ensure that its basic personnel
services are in place and meet the needs of local
management and employees, including promoting
personnel-specialist interaction with management to head
off issues before they become problems. Opportunities to
participate in career planning and development activities,
rotational assignments, EPA Institute-sponsored courses
and wellness programs are vital. It goes without saying
that equal employment opportunity and affirmative action
objectives and initiatives play important roles in all
programs and systems.
*The Manager's Role. All leadership cadres must be
effective human resource managers. The Framework for
Achieving Managerial Excellence (FAME) initiative has
produced selection criteria, core developmental programs,
and recognition systems for our supervisory/managerial
corps. These systems and programs must be available and
used throughout the entire Agency, providing our
Inagers with the skills they need to manage people
jptively and give Agency leadership a mechanism for
rarding them when they do.
*The Employee's Role. Employees should recognize their
responsibility to provide thoughtful input on decisions
affecting their work and workplace. Such advice on the
direction of the human resource program has' been a
unique feature of EPA's efforts. Human Resource Councils
and other advisory bodies at the national and local levels
are priceless vehicles for employee feedback. Written
communication tools can enhance morale and promote
even greater employee participation for those not in
advisory groups.
Pollution Prevention
EPA has made significant progress over the last 18 years
through media-specific pollution control programs.
However, there are limits to how much we can reduce
pollution using "end-of-pipe" controls. Our whole society,
including government, industry, and private individuals,
must think more about opportunities to reduce or
eliminate contaminants before they reach the pipe in the
first place. In hearings before Congress, Lee Thomas has
committed the Agency to an aggressive leadership role in
incorporating source-reduction strategies, where
appropriate, into all EPA programs.
Recently, a number of EPA headquarters, lab, and
regional SES managers joined the Deputy Administrator in
a retreat to discuss how the Agency should fulfill this
commitment. Concomitantly, Thomas directed all EPA
offices to cooperate in implementing the new program.
They have established an Office of Pollution Prevention
that will report directly to the Assistant Administrator for
Policy, Planning, and Evaluation. The office's primary goal
will be to foster an ethic of source reduction both inside
and outside the Agency, focusing on changes in design,
process, or materials that cut the tonnage of pollutants and
wastes generated. It will play a key role in encouraging the
recycling or reuse of pollutants or waste that cannot be
eliminated up front.
The Pollution Prevention Office will be service-oriented,
stimulating public awareness through outreach activities;
assisting other EPA offices in their own pollution
prevention programs; coordinating contacts with states;
establishing a strategy for collecting, analyzing, and
disseminating data; identifying research needs; and
developing general policies and strategies. It should
complement rather than displace the activities of other
EPA offices. Indeed, each program should aggressively
pursue its own pollution prevention program as before.
In addition, a Pollution Prevention Advisorv Committee,
comprising office directors and senior regional managers,
will help direct the activities of the Pollution Prevention
Office and assure the participation of the entire Agency in
this vital mission.
Superfund Contracts
EPA has announced the award of twelve contracts in
Regions 3 and 5 totaling a potential $1.64 billion. These
contracts will support clean-up activities at hazardous
waste sites under the Superfund Program. Work will
consist of site investigations and characterizations,
feasibility studies of alternative cleanup technologies,
design specifications, and construction cleanup. The
twelve represent completion of the first of three cycles
implementing a new, aggressive cleanup strategy
nationwide.
(Continued on back page)

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This Alternative Remedial Contracts Strategy (ARCS)
program is an innovative approach to hazardous waste
site-cleanups because one firm will be responsible for
accomplishing all phases of a single site cleanup. That
means tighter competition for contract awards, continuity
of performance through each phase of site cleanup, high
focus on quality performance, and decentralization of
management to regional offices. Contractors with superior
performance records will receive the most valuable work
assignments. Contractors failing to perform satisfactorily
will receive no further assignments. In addition, profit is
derived primarily from award fees earned through periodic
EPA evaluations of contractor performance. Affirmative
action will be taken to boost the number of subcontract
awards to small and minority business.
Indian Communications
The Indian amendments of the reauthorized SDWA, CWA,
and SARA have intensified the need for EPA to
communicate directly with Indian tribes, native Alaskan
villages, and national and regional Indian organizations.
This will be vital as EPA develops regulations and
guidance under these acts, and as it seeks Indian
amendments to the remainder of its authorizing
legislation. Recent meetings with tribal governments
sponsored by various EPA national and regional offices
have clearly indicated that Indians expect EPA to maintain
regular face-to-face consultations as it implements
environmental laws on their lands.
A number of Indian groups want the Agency to set up
either an Office of Indian Affairs or pn Indian Desk as a
primary point of communication with the Indian
community. EPA, on the other hand, wishes to deal with
Indians through its regional offices and media programs in
the same way that it relates to state governments. The
Office of Federal Activities has sought to reconcile these
views by proposing that a number of communications
channels be opened and points of contact established on
headquarters and regional levels to ensure timely feedback
of Indian opinion. It proposes a two-tiered system of
Indian coordinators and liaisons to facilitate interactive
information flow between EPA and tribal jurisdictions.
The liaisons would consult with Agency communications
strategists, respond to tribal requests for assistance, and-
serve as members of the Agency's Indian Work Group. The
plan calls for occasional Indian-program review
conferences to seek tribal input on implementation of EPA
Indian policy overall. The EPA Journal would continue to
be distributed gratis, and SEE, EPA Institute, and Circuit
Rider programs would be pushed to spread
techno-managerial skills.
If history is any guide, both EPA and Indian
governments are likely to continue to ask Congress for
increased authority and resources for the development of
environmental programs on Indian lands, and it is likely
that Congress will continue to grant these requests. This
communications plan suggests a relatively minor
reallocation of carefully budgeted resources to ensure that
communications help maximize cooperation as we pursue
our mutual goal of restoring and maintaining the Indians'
environmental patrimony.
Mine Waste
Lee Thomas has responded as follows to inquiries about
EPA's nonfuel mining-waste programs. The Agency
recognizes the unique and variable characteristics of
mining operations from state to state, and shares the
National Governors' Association view that a flexible,
state-based regulatory approach for mining waste under
Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) is most desirable. EPA has already developed a
"strawman" rule as a rough working draft to generate
interest and focus comment. Though the accelerated
development of that rule precluded early participation of
the states, they will enjoy many opportunities to shape the
rule we eventually propose. EPA is currently developing
criteria for the management of mining waste under
Subtitle D and will augment these criteria by developing
regulations designed specifically for mining waste and to
be administered by the states.
The program will be confined initially to wastes
addressed in the December 31, 1985 report to Congress,
which included wastes from the mining and beneficiation
of copper. The multi-media program will address the
potential impact of these wastes in air, land, and both
surface and ground water, ranging from large volumes of
acid-generating waste rock to cyanide-leaching solutions to
conventional metal-bearing or acid solutions.
An outline of the mining-waste criteria was presented in
June in Denver to a selected group of interested parties,
including states where mining is a significant part of the
economy. State participation will be coordinated by the
Western Governors' Association. Development of
expanded, detailed criteria will proceed concurrently.
Tech Transfer
Mary Hoffman of the headquarters library has published
"Technology Transfer: An Overview," the ninth in the
library's bibliographic series. Others cover indoor air
pollution; estuarine management; asbestos in schools; risk;
and waste minimization. Copies are at hand. The articles
in the bibliography are taken directly, without editing,
from the database that cited them.
The technology transferred ranges from techniques,
computer applications, and management tools to products
and expertise. Transfers are accomplished through joint
development projects, continuing professional education,
consulting arrangements, clearinghouses, information
centers, and libraries.
The bibliography focuses on the use of unclassified
technical material generated by government funds to help
solve problems in both public and private sectors, and
exemplifies the need for new transfer mechanisms,
receptiveness to federal technology, support of top
management, availability of funds and personnel, and
cooperation with federal laboratories.
The transfer of technical information is dependent on
successful communications, so may include technical
assistance, expert-to-expert exchange and training, specif
library services, telephone hotlines, newsletters, and
customized research services.

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