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NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
Inside:
•	Drinking Water Lead
•	Acid Rain Cost Analysis
VOLUME 5	NUMBER 5	MAY 1988
Eco-Youth
EPA has launched its 1988 President's
Environmental Youth Awards Program
with a letter from Lee Thomas to the
nation's governors and a brochure
explaining how young people can
participate in this worthy competition.
Thousands of students in grades K-12
have received Presidential certificates over
the years for such activities as collecting
litter along roadways and rivers, building
nature trails, conducting water-quality
tests, performing scientific experiments,
cleaning debris from streams and
organizing recycling drives, to cite a few.
These projects have helped to foster an
environmental ethic among the youth of
the nation. All who participate will
receive a Presidential Certificate
recognizing them for their exemplary
work.
Participants may also compete on a
national level. Each of EPA's ten regional
offices will select one project for
recognition as a national winner. Along
with their project sponsors, all will be
flown to Washington where top
government officials will sing their praises
in a national ceremony. Applications must
be filed by August 31, 1988. ~
Pro Bike 88
More than 40 workshops and two special
seminars are scheduled for Pro Bike 88,
the Fifth International Conference on
Bicycle Programs and Promotions, October
9-12, in Tucson, Arizona. EPA is one of
several co-sponsors. Under the aegis of the
Bicycle Federation of America, Pro Bike
88 will bring together some 300 key
people in all aspects of
biking—transportation planning,
education, promotion, activism, tourism
and law enforcement. Several Canadian
bicycle program specialists will attend,
and participants from England, West
Germany. Switzerland, Australia and
Japan are expected.
Workshops will embrace
Institutionalizing Bicycling in
Government, Advanced Advocacy,
Mapping 101, What Corporate Sponsors
Want, A Review of Educational Approaches,
Basic Law Enforcement, Courts and
Lenient Sentences, Careers in Bicycling
and so forth. Two special seminars have
been scheduled for the weekend before the
conference. "Designing and Producing
Bicycle Videos and Public Service
Announcements", a one-day seminar, will
cover planning, budgeting, finding a
producer, location scouting and other
essentials. Led by Tallahassee producer
Robert Seidler, participants will actually
create a video and shoot it.
A half-day seminar, "Legal Liability
Aspects of Bicycle Environments:
Problems, Reasons, Solutions", will also
be offered. Seminar leader Alex Sorton,
Deputy Director of Northwestern
University's Traffic Institute, will focus on
the reasons behind continuing liability
problems with bicycle facilities and what
can be done about them. Case studies will
be examined.
People who want to see the Arizona
sights before the conference may join a
special section of the Greater Arizona
Bicycling Association's Grand Canyon to
Mexico Tour. More information about Pro
Bike 88 is available from the Bicycle
Federation of America, 1818-R Street NW.
Washington, DC 20009 (202-332-6986). ~
The Gift of Time
The House has voted legislation that
would establish "time banks" in U.S.
agencies where feds could donate spare
sick or annual leave to colleagues needing
extra time off to cope with family or
medical exigencies.
Agencies are already beginning to
implement a system allowing transfer of
vacation time within their own bailiwicks.
But the new House approach mandates a
three-year, government-wide test that
would include not only leave-sharing, but
also establish three leave-bank pilot
projects. Employees could donate sick or
annual leave and it could be used in some
cases by workers in other agencies. Now
it's up to the Senate. ~
FERS Flop
Federal workers rejected the new FERS
pension plan last year because they didn't
understand it, believed it wasn't as good
as the present plan and suspected that
politicians would tamper with it,
according to the General Accounting
Office (GAO). The old Civil Service
Retirement System is generally considered
best for those who plan to stay in
government. However, only 30 percent of
those who go into government eventually
retire from it, so officials thought FERS
portability would persuade hundreds of
thousands to switch. The government
spent millions training staff, printing
brochures and paying outside experts to
explain FERS to the two million
employees hired before 1984 who were
entitled to join. A paltry 40,000 signed up.
GAO found that the main reason feds
rejected FERS was that they planned to
make government a career and felt the old
retirement plan was best for them. In
addition, they didn't understand FERS or
feared that budget-cutters would slash the
very features that make it an attractive
option. Moreover, many said they couldn't
afford to contribute to the first-rate thrift
investment component—it permits feds to
invest 10 percent of pay and shelter it
from taxes, and get a matching 5 percent
tax-deferred contribution from the
government they can take with them if
they leave.
Finally, last minute changes in the FERS
program convinced many not to make the
switch, either because they couldn't
follow the permutations or felt they were a
tip-off that the new plan is too vulnerable
to political mischief. ~
No AIDS in Water
Deputy Administrator Jim Barnes has
replied as follows to letters from the
general public expressing concern about
the spread of the AIDS (HIV) virus.
For several years EPA has been
evaluating the possibility of water-borne
transmission of the AIDS virus and has
recently developed a fact sheet on
discharge of AIDS-contaminated waste to
municipal wastewater treatment facilities.
The sheet reports the AIDS virus is a
delicate "bloodborne" pathogen that does
not multiply or survive outside a
hemotological environment. For this
reason, the Centers for Disease Control
has advised EPA that it does not
consider water-borne routes of
transmission possible. Moveover, it is
EPA's understanding that blood and other
effluvia from embalmed AIDS-infected
cadavers are disposed of by means of
incineration or other accepted procedures. ~

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Granting Wishes
Region 4's Deputy Regional Administrator
Lee A. DeHihns, III (2nd right) presents a
$1,259 check to Ronnie D. Wilson,
Southern Regional Director of the
Sunshine Foundation, an organization that
grants wishes to terminally-ill young
people. The money was raised through
sales of the region's famous cookbook,
Friendiy Feasts. Pamela Howell (left) and
Nancy Harshaw led efforts to produce and
market the book. ~
25 Years at Wheeling
Region 3 staff at Wheeling, West Virginia,
are preparing to celebrate 25 years of
government service at the same location.
The Department of Health, Education and
Welfare opened its doors in Wheeling on
April 1, 1963 as the Ohio River Basin
Project, which in its later phases was
absorbed into EPA. If you worked at
Wheeling, please write the office at Room
301, Methodist Building, Wheeling, West
Virginia 26003, or call Elsie Tavlores,
304-233-1271. ~
Winkle, R-6 DRA
On Monday, May 2. 1988. Joe D. Winkle
will be joining Region 6 as the new
Deputy Regional Administrator. At present
Assistant Associate Director of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, he
manages FEMA disaster, superfund
relocation and hazardous mitigation
assistance and several other national
programs. Winkle graduated from Texas
A&M in 1959 with a degree in civil
engineering and is a registered
professional engineer in Texas. In 1987, he
was awarded the Presidential Rank Award
of Meritorious Executive. ~
Lingo Mangle:
Twisting the Mother
Tongue
Novelist Peter DeVries once said. "I love
being a writer; what I can't stand is the
paper work." More than one manager, by
contrast, has said to himself. "1 love the
paperwork; I just can't stand the writing."
And it shows. According to a Wharton
Business School study, the most important
predictor of executive success after
interpersonal skills is the ability to
communicate. Most managers can handle
the oral part, but very few master more
than the rudiments of expository prose.
Take your typical memo. It doesn't
come quickly to the point. It's redundant
if not superfluous to start with. It buries
the central idea in a swamp of verbiage,
takes too long to figure out and if it
conveys the wrong tone can make the
nicest guy sound like a jerk or a tyrant.
What's more, memos cost
money—corporate America spends more
than a billion dollars per year producing
them. But they cost even more to read.
Some 21-38% of the average executive's
time is spent plowing through interoffice
communications. The figures for
government could hardly be lower.
What is a good memo? It's not a report.
It's designed to get someone to do or
understand something important. It should
be personal and conversational, not laden
with abstractions and circumlocutions. It
should not be longer than a page or so.
The ideal memo does not mince words or
waste them. It leans heavily upon short
sentences and an Anglo-Saxon as opposed
to a Greco-Latinate vocabulary. Of course,
there's nothing wrong with a literary
flourish or two, or even a trenchant bit of
philosophy, so long as the effect is to keep
the reader's attention and persuade him to
agree with you. A good memo often ends
with a call for action.
Remember the five cardinal rules of
memorable exposition—accuracy,
parsimony, cogency, elegance and wit. in
that order. And be sure to proof twice all
names, numbers and dates—that's where a
simpel mistek can maek you lok bad. So
write on! But can the federalese. ~
WIC Open House
EPA managers, supervisors and staff
attended demonstrations of Agency
information systems and services at the
fifth annual Open House of the
Washington Information Center (WIC)
April 19-20 from 10-4. The theme of this
year's OH was "EPA Technology; Tools
That Work for You." Co-sponsored bv the
WIC and the Office of Information
Resources and Management, the OH
embraced more than 20 job-related
exhibits and demonstrations. ~
Summer School
The summer evening session of the
Graduate School, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, meets June 20 through August
29. All adults are welcome to participate.
Subjects include computer science,
communications, foreign languages, law,
paralegal studies,
management/organization,
mathematics/statistics, natural history,
horticulture, personnel administration,
photography, engineering and secretarial
studies.
Register by phone or mail until May 27;
walk-in registration will be from June
13-18 at the USDA South Building, Ro<^^
1107, 14th Street and Independence
Avenue, S.W. Registration hours will be
Monday-Friday, 11 AM-6:30 PM and
Saturday, 9 AM-1 PM. For a schedule of
classes or information, call 447-4166. ~
Reflection for the Day
Unhappy the land that needs heroes.
Brecht ~
Quote of the Month
Toutes choses sont dites deja, mais
comme personne n'ecoute, il faut
toujours recommencer (everything has
been said already, but since no one is
listening, it is always necessary to
repeat). Nobel laureate Andre Gide,
commenting on bureaucracy. ~
The EPA Times is published monthly for
EPA employees. Readers are encouraged
to submit news about themselves or
fellow employees, letters of opinion,
questions, comments and suggestions to
the editor, The 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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prinking Water Lead
light of the potentially serious threat to public health
posed by lead contamination of drinking water. Lee
Thomas is accelerating the proposal of a rule to control it.
In a memo to top agency officials, the Administrator
reiterated that replacement of lead service connections is
an important remedial option. It should be presented for
public comment but the agency needs more evidence
before it can endorse a national requirement for
replacement of lead service lines as a preferred course of
action. Deferring the fuller analysis of that option,
however, will simplify preparation of a more limited
proposed rule. Thomas said the speed-up proposed by OW
is aggressive but meetable. given the whole-hearted
cooperation of all participants. ~
Research Funding
Administrator Lee Thomas has sent EPA's proposed
Environmental Research, Development and Demonstration
Authorization Act of 1988 to the Senate. The bill would
provide appropriation authority for research and
development in support of media programs through FY
1990. Present authority has expired.
Enactment would enable EPA to continue essential
research and development under the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
lid Rodenticide Act; the Safe Drinking Water Act; the
noxic Substances Control Act; the Public Health Service
Act (radiation activities); the Clean Air Act; the Solid
Waste Disposal Act; and for interdisciplinary activities,
energy-related research, and program management and
support including basic operating expenses and salaries.
The Agency's request for FY 89 R&D totals
$307,436,800. ~
Acid Rain Cost Analysis
It has been suggested that widespread adoption of new
technologies and alternative cost estimates for
conventional flue gas desulfurization (FGD) could reduce
compliance costs for acid rain control proposals EPA is
currently conducting such analyses ot Title II ot Senate
Bill 1894, and will include sensitivity cases examining the
impact of repowering technologies and lower FGD costs.
EPA and DOE staff arc trying to resolve differences in theii
methodological approaches. Once EPA is able to develop a
range of appropriate assumptions, the agency will estimate
the potential impact of these technologies in reducing the
cost of compliance with S. 1894.
In the case of FGD. EPA is aware of the differences in
available cost estimates for FGD systems designed to meet
NSPS. As part of the analyses noted above, we are
examining the sensitivity of acid rain control impacts to
alternative scrubber costs. ~
Combustion Waste
Lee Thomas has transmitted a two-volume report to
Congress on coal combustion waste generated by electric
utility power plants. Presenting results of studies carried
out pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act, the report assesses management of such wastes,
which account for approximately 90 percent of all wastes
generated from the combustion of fossil fuels. The
principal waste categories include fly ash, bottom ash,
boiler slag and flue-gas emission-control
waste. ~
Caron in Haiti
Bob Caron, Chief of Region 3's Emergency Response and
Preparedness Section, recently spent a week in Haiti as a
technical advisor to the Pan American Health
Organization, helping PAHO and the Haitian government
characterize 2,000 tons of Philadelphia incinerator ash left
there by a ship carrying 15,000 tons of combusted
residues. Other members of the team advising on proper
disposal were Dr. Harry Allen and Harry Compton of the
National Environmental Response Team, Edison, NJ. ~
Seif in Italy
James M. Seif, Region 3 Administrator, recently spoke at
a symposium on urban solid waste management in Rome
at the invitation of the Italian Ministry of the
Environment. Seif presented his views on the U.S.
problem and consulted with European waste-management
officials. The event was keynoted by the Italian Minister of
the Environment and covered by television, which
interviewed the participants. Return visits by Italian
officials are being planned by the Office of International
Affairs. ~
GLO
The Greater Leadership Opportunities program is off to a
successful start; two groups have already finished the
week-long seminar. GLO is primarily for GS 11-13 women
and minorities who show leadership potential and are
interested in pursuing supervisory careers. They are
selected by a competitive process in each region and
headquarters.
GLO plans to train one group of about 25 participants
every four months. The seminar covers career
management, situational leadership, cross-cultural
communication and the hasic supervisor's Survival Tool
Kit. Follow-up activities include a group project and a
short rotational or observational assignment to give
participants a close-up, hands-on experience of what it
means to be a supervisor. Several high-level agency
officials addressed the group, including Deputy
Administrator Jim Barnes, Assistant Administrator for
OARM Charles Grizzle, and Bruce Barkley, Director for
Office of Management Systems and Evaluations.
The first GLO seminar took place in November. 1987, at
the Twin Bridges Marriott in Crystal City, and the second
at the Woods Conference Center in West Virginia in
March, 1988. Participants found the seminar exceeded
their expectations and they appreciated the opportunity to
focus on their careers and their goals as potential EPA
managers. For information, call Sandy Bingham, OHRM,
382-3311. ~

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Air & Day Care Contracts
SES Candidates
In their continuing effort to improve working conditions,
EPA headquarters unions and management have
consumated contractual agreements on indoor air
pollution issues at our Washington facilities such as
ventilation rates, smoking, asbestos, PCBs and chemical
exposures from new rugs, furniture, paints and other
solvents; and day care services for the children of civil
servants, including a mechanism for employee oversight.
These agreements, developed by an equally weighted
subcommittee of management and non-management peers,
have been approved by EPA's Labor-Management
Committee and are now binding contractual agreements. ~
Indoor Air Pollution
The purpose of the first mentioned agreement is to
establish a clean-air policy for EPA headquarters
buildings (Waterside, Crystal City, Fairchild) which
ensures that the level of airborne pollutants in these
buildings is kept sufficiently low to provide a
salubrious work environment free from significant
health risks associated with exposure to chemical,
physical and biological agents. Management is
committed to maintain a well-functioning ventilation
system capable of distributing an adequate air supply
to all employees; control pollutants generated or
accumulated within the building including
monitoring as necessary; set up, analyze and
distribute the results of an employee occupational
health survey at headquarters buildings to detect
possible indoor-air-related illness; and maintain an
open forum for communications between employees
and management on occupational health-related
concerns. ~
Day Care
The high quality child-care program for employees
located at headquarters enhances productivity and
morale. The Agency will provide space, facilities and
general services for the program, which will operate
in conformance with applicable laws and regulations
governing child-care facilities.
The Agency will recommend to the contractor that
the program provide high quality care designed to
meet the developmental needs of children; a
mechanism for financial aid to help defray costs for
needy employee parents; enrollment priority for the
children of employee parents; and opportunity for all
employees to participate in policy and operations. A
reasonable amount of official time shall be granted to
employees while serving as non-paid members of the
board of directors, or while serving in an official,
non-paid capacity as an officer in the program.
Management reserves the right to determine the
limits of this time.
Negotiations on child-care facilities for children of
employees may be re-opened at the request of either
party and will be conducted through the applicable
collective bargaining agreement. Biannually,
beginning in September 1988, the Agency will
distribute a child-care needs survey developed by the
unions to all headquarters employees. ~
Lee Thomas has announced with pleasure the selection or
22 of EPA's top managers to participate in the SES
Candidate Development Program. More than 170
applicants applied. Panels in Headquarters and the
Regions, comprising members of the SES. reviewed the
applicants and identified 57 individuals as best qualified
for the program. The Executive Resources Board (ERB)
interviewed the best qualified group, carefully considered
all recommendations and made final selections in March.
Thomas said he was very impressed with the quality of
the new candidate class, and is "confident they have the
potential to be among the future leaders of the Agency."
The candidates will participate in an assessment and
orientation program in May to identify their
developmental needs. Thomas urged top officials to be
thinking of opportunities for rotational assignments
beneficial to accelerated development.
The best-qualified applicants not selected. Thomas
acknowledged, were also of very high caliber. Their
background and abilities will be reviewed in order to
provide them opportunities for further career growth.
Thomas thanked members of SES panels and ERB for their
contributions to this important program: "Your efforts
have helped us identify an outstanding cadre of future
senior executives', and your continued contribution will
ensure their success in the upcoming training and
development phase of the program". ~
SES Final Candidates
John C Jones
Walter E Mugdan
Peter H Wyckoff
Cheryl E Wasserman
Daiva A. Balkus
Kathy Petruccelli
Chester J France
Bruce C Jordon
William R Diamond
Gerald F. Kotas
Stephen L Johnson
Anne E. Lindsay
Thomas A. Clark
Raymond C. VVilhour
Patricia L iVleaney
Thomas J Maslanv
Dale S Brvson
Mary A Cade
William B Hathaway
Laura K Yoshii
Alvin L. Ewing
Randall F Smith
Office of the Inspector General
Office of the General Counsel
Office of the General Counsel
Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Monitoring
Office of Administration and Resources
Management
Office of Administration and Resources
Management
Office of Air and Radiation
Office of Air and Radiation
Office of Water
Office of Water
Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Oflice ol Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Office of Research and Development.
Cincinnati
Office of Research and Development.
Gull Breeze
Region I
Region 3
Region 5
Region 5
Region 6
Region 'J
Region 10
Region 10

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