THE ALASKA PI PELI NE ft s..Tt U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ENVIRONMENT AL IMPACT Six years ago the National Environmental Policy role EPA, as th e principal Federal regulator of Act, often de cribed as one of the most significant pollution control matters. ha pl ayed in reviewing Jaws of thi century, was signed. proposed actions and seeking to reduce environmen T hi s act imposes a number of requirements, tal damage from these project . including o ne which has achi eved wide fame and The group within E PA responsible for coordinat some notoriety, preparation of environmental impact ing the key fu nction of evaluating environmental statements. impact statements i the Office of Federal Activities. Essentiall y this last provi ion tates that whenever EPA's regions and program offi ce all play a role in a Federal agency proposes to take a major action the review process. having a ignifi cant effect on the quality of the Also reviewed in this issue are some of the other human environment. it must prepare a detailed responsibilities of this Office. such as helping to tatement on the environmental effects. ensure that Federal facil ities curb their own pollution. This law i regarded by some as an extraordinar il y aiding America's Indians in their efforts to protect effective environmental measure which has revolu their environment and helping with a traini ng pro tionized Federal decision-making. Others view it as a gram which finds jobs in the environmental area for tool for obstruction and a giant paperwork machine. welfare clients. Several thou and environmental impact statements As part of the Agency's ob er vance o f the have been prepared. Both the draft tatement . the Nation's Bicentennial. the Journal is beginning in this tage where review and comment by appropriate issue A Parade of the Regions. Each is ue of the Federal. State and local environmental agencies as magazine in 1976 wi ll have a section devoted to one well a the public begins. and the final statement are region. We begin with ''Region I On Parade ." In filed with the Council on Environmental Quality and these articles we hope to cover not o nl y what E PA made available to the publi c. is doing in each region to protect the environment The statement' primary purpose is to di close the but also to take a look at ome of th e environmental environmental consequence of a proposed action. treasure in each sector of the Nation· marvelou ·ly and assess al ternative cour es of action. Thi process di verse and exciting natural land cape. helps ensure that th e agency' programs are consist We a lso have articles on "Clean Rivers for ent with national environmental goals and alert the Whom?" and a report on the Agency's Fifth Anni public to environmental risks involved. versary and Honor Awards Ceremony in Washing As a re ult of environmental impact statements. ton. some projects have been stopped or sub t antial ly With this issue, EPA Journal begins its second altered fo r the better. The Corps of Engi neers. fo r year. Our mi sion remains as we described it a year example, dropped plan for a pier to cond uct ocean ago: to keep employees better informed about EPA's research at A ateague l land National Seashore many activities, stimulate a greater sense of esprit de after analyzing the adverse effects on the park and corps in belonging to the EPA famil y and foster pride reviewing possible alternative plan . and enthusiasm for o ur role in the enormously An example of action that was improved by the difficult, complex and vital task of protecting the environmental impact statement process is the Trans environment. o Alaska Pipeline. Article in this is ue report on the U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTENTS PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL WATCHDOGS 2 AGENCY EPA 's role in the impact statement process. Russell E. Train GUARDING OUR NORTHERN TREASURELAND 4 Administrator Reducing the environmental impact of the Alaska pipeline Patricia L. Cahn is one of EPA· s challenges. Director of Public Affairs THE SACRED SOIL 8 Charles D. Pierce EPA is working with Indian tribes on environmental projects. Editor SETTING AN EXAMPLE 10 Staff: A total of more than $800 million is being spent by the Federal Van Trumbull Government to reduce pollution from its own facilities. Ruth Hussey EPA OPENS NEW DOORS. 11 The Agency is helping to train welfare clients for environmental work. Cover: Alyeska pipeline workers CLEAN RIVERS FOR WHOM? 12 drilling for blasting operations atop HONORS CEREMONY HELD ON FIFTH ANNIVERSARY 14 Dietrich Pass in Alaska's Brooks Mountain Range. REGION I ON PARA DE 19 PHOTO MY NEW ENGLAND by Elizabeth Strock 22 CREDITS INSTANT DIKE BACK PAGE COVER Alyeska PAGE 5 Dennis Cowals• PAGE 7 Al ye ska PAGE 9 Terry Eiler• PAGE II Glad Harris PAGE 12 Ron Hoffman PAGE 13 Ivan Massar• Charles Stcinhacker• David Falconer• PAGE 14 15 Ernest Bucci PAGE 18 Anne Labastille" Neil Valis
DOCUMERICA•
The EPA Journal is published monthly. with combined issues for July-August and November- Decem DEPARTMENTS ber, for employees of the U.S. Envi AROUND THE NATION 16 ronmental Protection Agency. It does not alter or supersede regulations. PEOPLE 18 operating procedures or manual in INQUIRY structions. Contributions and inquiries should be addressed to the Editor. (A- NEWS BRIEFS 107) Room 301. West Tower, Water side Mall. 401 M St.. s.w .. Washing ton, D. C. 20460. No permission nec The appearance of the magazine paper has paper, a step consistent with the overdll emphasis at essary to reproduce contents except changed because we have finally succeeded in ob- EPA Headquarters on using this type of paper. copyrighted photos and other mate taining a printing contract requiring use of recycled rials. PAGE ENVIRONMENTAL WATCHDOGS
"/ have some good news and some bad news for you," God 2,000 Reviews told Moses. "The good news ls that I will part The Red Sea so that you can lead your people to aYear the Promised Land.'' EPA reviews about 2 .000 impact "And what is the bad news?" statements each year. About 95 per asked Moses. cent of them are handled in the Re "You 11ii/f have to write the After the General Services Adminis gions. Each Regional Office has an tration was persuaded to make an impact statement coordinator, with a environmental impact state impact swdy it became clear that the staff ranging from about two to six ment." planned location was entirely unsuita persons. They depend heavily. of ble from the standpoint of traffic course, on the cooperation of experts congestion and air pollution. in the program offices for help in • Many shoreland ''developments" reviewing and commenting. This joke that has been going around requiring the dredging of shallow bays When the statement involves national the business banquet circuit illustrates and the filling of wetlands have been policy considerations or when the ac an important fact of American life. No halted or drastically revised to con tion or project involves two or more major action· of a Federal agency. no serve natural areas. EPA Regions, it is reviewed by the major project involving Federal • A ·$500-million inigation project in Office of Federal Activities, in con money or Federal permission can be North Dakota is in abeyance after junction with other EPA offices. Each undertaken until the environmental ef environmental studies showed that sa of the Office of Federal Activities' fects have been fully considered. line drainage from the project might reviews is coordinated by one of its ! 2 Although the impact statement con damage Canadian rivers and lakes. An liaison officers, who. are assigned to tains no veto power in itself. it is a international commission is restudying work with all of the major Federal potent weapon for environmental bet the plan to see if this and other agencies. terment, according ro Rebecca Han hazards can be avoided. The impact statement process has mer. Acting Director of the Office of In none of these examples was the roots that are older than EPA. In the Federal Activities, which oversees impact statement the only factor in National Environmental Policy Act of EPA comments on impact statements. identifying environmental problems. 1969 (NEPA), Congress set the policy The public impact statement has Court suits brought by States or citi that all Federal agencies should con proven to be a powerful tool for zens' groups or both, public hearings. sider environmental effects ''to the guarding air and water quality and and even new legislation have helped fullest extent possible" hlfore making enhancing the environment. Some ex to bring about actions that enhance decisions in any matter that could amples: the environment. have an environmental effect. During •The Cross-Florida Barge Canal, The impact statement serves as a consideration of the bill that was to already begun, was halted because of catalyst. Ms. Hanmer pointed out. It become NEPA, Congress had recog strong environmental concerns. and an brings out facts and opinions. scien nized the need for an '"action forcing impact statement is currently being tific data and differing points of view. mechanism" which would require that prepared as the major document for so that the whole decision process can agencies integrate NEPA 's goals the President and Congress to use in be carried out under public scrutiny. within their decision-making proc deciding on the future of the project. Moreover. she said. the mere pros esses. That mechanism eventually • Many stream-channel straightening pect of having to file an impact state took the form of a requirement that projects were changed or abandoned ment is causing Federal agencies to agencies prepare impact statements in after impact studies revealed that fre al!er many projects in the planning connection with every major action quent local flooding along winding stage to make them more environmen which significantly affects the environ streams helped to conserve water and tally acceptable. ment. The President's Council on En wildlife habitats and was preferable to "'Although there's no way to prove vironmental Quality oversees the Fed ditch-type drainage. it. it's probable that impact statements eral agencies' implementation of • The John F. Kennedy Memorial that never were formally filed have NEPA. Library will not be located in the had as many beneficial effects as Issuance of impact statements ex busiest part of Cambridge. Mass. those that were." she said. poses Federal decision-making to pub-
PAGE / Alaska Pipeline Case A significant turning point occurred in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline case, where an inadequate impact statement lie scrutiny. The law does not require held up a multi-billion-dollar project to the Council on Environmental the Federal agency to pick the most for more than a year. The pipeline Quality. This amendment, Section 309 environmentally favorable course of was long planned and construction of the Clean Air Act, gives EPA a action, but statements which attempt was ready to start along 800-odd miles "license to find out," to review and to cast poor environmental decisions from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic make public its opinion on many Fed as either neutral or favorable to the Ocean, across Alaska's tundra, moun eral actions, whether an impact state environment have caused several tains, and fore:..~ to the ice-free po11 of ment is prepared or not. Federal ac agencies to run afoul of NEPA's Valdez. tions subject to EPA 's 309 authority procedural requirements. An impact The Department of the Interior had include regulations and legislation, as statement that does not fully or accu filed an impact statement but its ade well as projects for construction. rately recount all significant adverse quacy was contested in court by envi Both kinds of review-NEPA and environmental effects or examine fea ronmental and conservation groups. Section 309..::_have been integrated sible alternatives is likely to be re EPA 's comments on the draft state into the environmental review pro jected by the courts. If its impact ment and some of the Agency's tech gram which the Office of Federal statement is rejected, the Federal nical· studies were cited by the plain Activities manages for EPA. ~ency must go back and rework its tiffs, although EPA was not a party to analysis. the suit. In the detailed regulations that the The case finally reached the Su Preparing EPA Council on Environmental Quality has preme Court, which ruled that Interior prepared, review of impact statements had not fully met NEPA requirements by the public and other affected State for environmental study. A new and Statements and Federal agencies is an essential more complete impact statement was What of EPA's own compliance with part of the NEPA process. made, including many more safe NEPA? The Office of Federal Activi Not unexpectedly, Federal agencies guards for the construction an·d operp. ties is responsible for developing did not rush to revamp their decision tion of the pipeline. EPA's own NEPA compliance regu making processes, Ms. Hanmer said. In reviewing impact statements, la1ions, and EPA 's regions and sev Many were at first unaware of the EPA has no final say; indeed, it is eral program offices have prepared new requirements, or they thought only one of many reviewing agencies. impact statements. that impact statements did not apply But a large part of the public regards From the beginning, the Agency in to them. Some merely went through EPA as the Agency whose opinion stituted procedures for preparing and the motions, filing superficial state counts the most, because EPA is filing impact statements for its munici ments after their real decisions had expert in environmental matters and pal sewage treatment construction been made. because it is the Federal Govern grants; in addition, the 1972 Water "There used to be some cynicism ment's primary action arm in the Act amendments called for statements about NEPA impact statements," said setting and enforcement of pollution on significant discharge permits for Ms. Hanmer. "An agency might fill a control standards. (There is also the new "point sources" of water pollu big book with straw-man environmen similarity of initials: NEPA the law tion. tal arguments and then knock them and EPA the Agency. Many people EPA has not regarded its stand down to justify its project. Often W'!ry think the P in NE PA stands for ards-setting activities as being sub important environmental questions "protection" instead of "policy.") ject to impact statement requirements were not. even brought up, much less The Agency has a unique legal au since EPA prepares the "functional resolved. The courts, however, have thority for environmental review in equivalent" of an impact statement in taken a strong stand on the impact addition to that conferred by NEPA. the documentation supporting its ac statement process, and the quality of In the 1970 Clean Air Amendments tions, and several courts have upheld Federal impact statements and under Congress empowered the EPA Ad this view. Nevertheless, the Adminis lying environmental analyses has ministrator to "review and comment trator announced in May 1974, that steadily improved." in writing on the environmental impact EPA would voluntarily prepare state of any matter relating to his duties and ments on certain of its regulatory responsibilities ... " and to publicize actions, even though they are not his determination and, where the pro legally mandated, in order to ensure posed action is unsatisfactory from the careful consideration and public un standpoint of public health, welfare, or derstanding of all environmental im environmental quality, refer the matter pacts of such proposed regulations.O
PAGE 3 GUARDING OUR NORTHERN TREASURE LAND "It's frustrating when you make a tight landing on a frozen river and Beaufort Sea then are unable to get a water sample because the river is frozen solid. " the director of EPA's Alaska Operations Office reports . .. Sometimes you work when the wind-chill factor is 70 degrees below zero drilling through as much as 12 feet of ice to find only gravel at the bottom of the river. You can't take the ice back because frozen water gives distorted readings for dissolved oxygen and other quality indicators." Gene Dickason said that he and his staff of 12 from Region X have sev eral extraordinary problems in their task of helping to keep to a min:mum environmental damage from construc tion of the Alaska pipeline. "Grizzly bears used to give us trou ble because th ey used the huge rubber bladder tanks holding fuel for pipeline construction vehicle as trampolines and teething rings. We finally learned to build the proper fencing around the tanks to keep the bears out. " It's o ur job to help control the environmental impact of the pipeline de lay start of constniction of the pipe constrnction. There have been a num line until tighter environmental protec ber of fuel spills and some problems tion safeguards were assured. with construction camp waste treat Commenting on the Department of ment plants. but overall a damn good the Interior's environmental impact effort is heing made to protect the statement for the proposed pipeline, environment. '· EPA warned that unless changes were Mr. Dickason said that he and hi s made ·'construction and operation of staff coordinate their surveill ance ac the Trans-Alaska pipeline may cause tivities with the Department of the avoidable degradation and pollution." Interior's Alaska Pipeline Office. Among the points stressed by EPA which has the prime Federal monitor was that fuller consideration hould be ing rcspon ibility. the Alaska State given to the effect hot oil temperatures Pipeline Coordinator's Office and the might have on the Alaska permafrost. Alaska Department of Environmental E PA also called for the development Conservation. and testing of monitming systems to Standing under an elevated ronion of the Establishment of the special Region alert pipeline operators to leaks Trans Alaska pipe line are represe nta X ta k force at Anchorage. was, in caused by earthquakes or other natu tives of the Technical Advi PAGE.:'\ However, the warnings and recom mendations by EPA and the conserva tion groups had a definite impact. Above Ground EPA played a significant role in nego tiating the stipulations for environ Pipe Support mental safeguards to be included in the pipeline construction. EPA is also represented on the Technical Advisory Board which makes periodic inspections of the pipeline construction project. The board's function is to advise the Un dersecretary of lnte1ior on Alaskan oil problems generally. EPA represenl PAGE 6 A Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter carries a 10- ton bulldozer to a work location atop the walls of Keystone Canyon. north of Valdez. An 80-foot-long section of 48-inch-diameter pipe is unloaded from a truck !railer onro a railroad car at Valdez. A barge loaded with sections of pipe is moored in Port Valdez awaiting high tide and a rug to tow it to Whittier. Alaska. where it will be unloaded. A section of rhe pipeline is lowered into the ground. Muc h of the pipe seen at th is ~toragc location near Valdez has no" been ~et in place along the pipeline route . PACE 7 Tilll-llE SACRED SOIL 0 An eloquent Indian leader. Chie f David Schaller coordinate the work and New Mexico meet (the Colorado eattle of the Duwami sh T1i be in the of th ese gro up fo r th e Office of sector belongs to the Utes). Navajo orthwe. t. . aid in a speech at a Federal Ac ti vities. "Thi s in-house land are being stri p-mined fo r coal. reception in 1854 for the fi r ·t governor network of communication." he said. which is burned in huge power plants of the Wa hington Territory: "is a c1itical ele ment in EPA 's efforts also on Indian lands. The avajo Envi "Every part of thi s so il is sacred in to insure consistent ·md sensitive con ronmental Protection Com mi. ion. the estimation of my people. Every siderati on of In EPA Assistance Indian tri bes that have received EPA assistance range from the Penobscots in Mai ne to the Lum mis in Washing ton State. More than $7 mi llion in sewage treatment grants for 32 proj ects have been awarded to t1ibal orga nizati ons. the largest-$1.5 mill io n- to the Navajo Tri bal Utility Autho1i ty in Ari zona in May last year. The Navajos arc the largest Indian group and th ey have environme ntal problems to match. Their lands cover three-qu arter of th e Four Corn ers area where Colorado. Utah. A1izona. PAGE H Relationships In addition to expediting financial and technical assi tance to Indian tribes. EPA 's working group and re gional liai on specialist eek to untan gle the complex relationships between Indian tribe and the State . There are more than I :w recognized tribes and tribal councils. many of which have pecial legal tatu . aid Mr. Schaller. There are also hundreds of Federal laws regarding Indian . nearly 400 different treatie . and more than 2.000 court deci ions. Getting Federal a istance for envi ronmental programs on Indian land can sometimes pose special question for EPA such as: • Is an Indian tribe a "ward" of the Federal Go ernment under the Inte rior Department' Bureau of Indian Affair ? • Is it a separate. sovereign ation. as many tribes claim. citing treaties dating to colonial times? • I a tribal group in a certain State obliged to follow that State's regula tions and procedures? • What about tribe who e lands lie in two or more State . or in more than one Federal region? "EPA must take care to acknowledge these complex relationships in its reg ulations and p licie ." Mr. challer said. "This is especially important whenever the Agency proposes to allow the tales to assume control over environmental programs previ ously admini tered by EPA." In any case. the Indian presence will be difficult to forget. hief attle in the ame speech quored at the begin ning of thi article as e11ed thar the shadowy spirits of departed Indians will always be present: "At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted. they will throng with the returning hosts that once Separated here only by a narrow strip of a Navajo sheepherder represent two dif tilled them and still love this beautiful water. the Four Comers Power Plant and ferent 'Aorld~ . land. The white man will never be alone. " o PAGE lJ SETTING AN EXAMPLE "Our government is the potent. If a military post needs a discharge the omnipresent teacher. For permit for treated wastewater from its good or ill, it teaches the whole ewage treatment plant. PA issues people by its example.'' it. If a power plant at a Federal fac ility is spewing smoke and sulfur -Justice Louis Brar.deis oxides into the air. EPA has power to Eglin Air Force Base in northwest inspect the plant. determine the viola ern Florida used to pour 1.8 mi llion tions. and negotiate abatement agree gallons of sewage effluent into Choc ments to bring it into compliance. tawhatchce Bay every day. The Agency has another tool to help Now this discharge which was pol bring Federal agencie into compli luting the bay has been halted. the Treated sewage is >prayed onto wooded area ance: the budget process. Each year it wastewater is given a high degree of at Eglin Air Force Bae to avoid polluting a reviews and evaluates all spendi ng treatment and then sprayed on woods ~-nc_a_rb_y_b_a_y_u_s ~_'d_f_o_r_re_c_rc _a_1io_n_._____ -1 proposals for pollution control and :md fields at the huge base. federally owned. How all these pro p- advises the Office of Management and In addition to reducing algal growth erties are managed has a significant Budget as to whic h ones should have in the Bay. the spraying helps to bearing on environmental quality. priority. The Agency also recom- replenish groundwater. The Federal fac ilities clean- up pro- mends the inclusion of nece ary proj This project helped Eglin win a De gram is being carried out under Exec- ects that have been omitted from the fense Department annual award fo r utive Order 11 752. The Order reiter- first budget req uests. Such projects the best environmental program at a ates the national policy that Federal are identifi ed by Regional Office in military facility . agencies should lead the way in pollu- spection visits. review of discharge In Wa<;hington . D. .. the burning of tion abatement and directs EPA to permit applications. or contacts with dirty old money will soon no longer oversee Federal compliance. State and local environmental agen- pollute the air because the Bureau of U nder the Executive Order. EPA is cies. Engraving and Printing is installing a responsible fo r: A number of jurisdictional iss ues smoke-free incinerator for burning cur • Issuing regulations and guidelines have recently been raised in the courts rency retired from circulati on. for Federal compliance, and Congress. Many have argued that These arc only two cases of Uncle • Reviewing compliance, Federal agencies should compl y with Sam setting a good environmental ex • Providing liaison and mediating con- all State requirements. both substan- ample . flicts be tween Federal agencies and tive and procedural. Under the Execu- EPA' .., Office of Federal Activities. State and local agencies. and tive Order. EPA e tablishes the pro- which is re\ponsihle fo r monit oring • Providing technical advice and as- cedural requirements through which such things. estimates that U.S. facil sistance to Federal agencies. th e Federal agenc ies must comply it y comrliancc is keering up with or i ~ Procedures are being developed by with Federal. State. and local substan ahead of the private sector. the various program offices in con- tive pollution cont rol standards. Sev ·· ~fo..,t of the major Federal pollution junction with the Office of Federal era! States have challenged i.n court ... ources arc either in fu ll comrliancc Activities to assess Federal facility this interpretation of substanti ve ver- wit h F:PA air and water standards or compliance with solid waste disposal us procedural compliance. they have agreed to definite timetable-; guidelines. regulations governing pesti- But the legal questions are still not for achieving comrliance." said Re cides and radioactivity and noise settled. Three recent Court of Appeal becca llanmer. Acting Director of the standards. cases have reached differing co nclu- Office of' Federal Activiti es. ··our Executi ve Order 11 752 was designed sions on jurisdictional disputes be remaining prohlcms are generally with to provide a means of assuring that tween Federal and State Govern the minllr Federal \ources. ·· Federal fac ilities comply fu ll y with ments. A-; nt' .Junc 30. 1975. -U IY rollution Federal environmental laws. This in- The Supreme Court has agreed to control projects at redcral facilit ies eludes such environmental authorities hear appeals in two of these cases. hmJ been com r lctcd in 1he pa st eight as th e lean Ai r Ac t: th e Federal Meanwhile. Congress may make moot ycars at a rn'it of $842 million. This is Water Pollution Control Act: th e any decision on air pollution enfo rce di id ed into $593 million for 3.244 Solid Waste Disposal Act: the Noise ment by amending the Clean Air Act 1~ at er projects and $249 millio n fo r Control Ac t: the Marine Protection. to make clear that Federal sources are I .47 .~ air projects. Research. and Sanctuaries Ac t and to be treated like any others and must There arc more than 20.000 Fcdcral t he Federal Insecticid e. Fu ngicide . conform to State procedures. facilities scattered throughout the and Rodenticide Act. This issue has not detracted from country. They include electric pov\er The Order requires all U.S. age ncies EPA' s continuing efforts to oversee -;tat ions. inJustrial plants. mili ta ry to give EPA the information needed Federal fac ilities' compli ance with pol bases. naval ships and dockyards. to determine compliance and to coop- lution abatement requirements and aircraft and airiie ld s. lahoratories. hos crate wi th State and local agencies. most Federal agencie are moving pitals. parks. and office buildings. EPA sets the guide Ii nes for mon itor- forward with good environmental pro- One-third of the a ti on's land area is ing and repo11ing. grams. o P.-\ Gt-: 10 EPA OPENS NEW DOORS Together with the Department of Lynda Morri on. a pesticide appli Labor. EPA is sponsoring a novel cator in the Fort Worth/Dalla area: pilot project that trains welfare clients ·• 1 like th e independence the job for employment in environmental provide and I like the pay . I like services. meeting people and talking to them." Prime beneficiaries of the program o Sergio Zampa. wastewater treatment far have been mother with dependent operator at Pautuxent. Md .. whose children. who are on welfare and long-range goal is to become a Senior enrolled in the federal Work Incentive Plant Operator: Program. After training. these people .. I Like the outside work and more many of whom have never worked impo11ant it means ecurity. When I outside their homes before. are em ee omething to be done. I go out ployed by State. local. qua i-public and and do it myself.'' non-profit agencies in pollution control Although training in specific ski lls is and abatement fac ilities. the core of the program. the Work The project is directed by EPA's Incentive Program recognizes that Education and Manpower Pl anning special ervices are needed fo r people Staff. Office of Federal Activities. who are leaving the welfare rolls for They are responsi ble for finding envi the first time. ronmental job opportunities. providing Caseworker provide personal coun training. both in the class- room and seling and help in pro iding services on-the-job. placing people in jobs and Carol Turc. gradua ted from an EPA/WI N such a fund ing transportation and day th en checking on their progress. program a; an apprentice \q1stev. a1er/water care for childre n. plant operator in May. 1974. and v. en! 10 the Funding-about $ I milli on annuall y Anne Arundel ounty. Md .. plant for v. ork The program is underway in seven is prov ided by the Labor Department. and further training. She is now a certified States with these State age ncies: Ms. Glad ys Harris. EPA 's nati onal wa>tl.'\\ atcr plant operator. and ;oon will be in Colorado-Denver Regional Coun coordinator fo r the program. aid that charge of the \later te>ting laboratory at the cil of Governments. Maryland Hou-,e of Corrections in Jessup. the project has been successful in Md . Jn the pho1og raph above !i hc is preparing Connecticut-State Department of upgrading employment fo r women. a \\:tier 'ampk. M-; . Turc i'> 30 and lhc Environmental Protection. particularly black women in the mother of three children. Louisiana-State Department of Sou th . Education. In South Ca rolina . she repor1ed. 11 6 nance. pesti cide applicati on. vehicle Maryland-State Department of bl ac k women now are employed in operation. fish hatcheri es. laboratories Nalllral Resources. environmental jobs. many of them in and waste water treatment plant oper Mont ana-State Department of field s trad itionall y dominated by men. ations. All workers under the program Health and Environmental Sciences. In Anderson. S.C.. for example. two are paid at least at th e Federal mini outh Carolina-State Board for three-women teams have been em mum wage leve l and in some in Technical and omprchensive duca ployed as trash collection crews: the stances considerably mo re. tion . towns of Cayce and Sumter now have Some comment from pa11icipants in Texas- orth Cent ral Texas oun their first women water meter readers the program fo ll ow: cil of Government s. and in Florence a woman dri ves a ci ty Marilyn Preston. training to be an As of the end of Oc tober. a total of sanitation truck. operator at the Broadneck Wastewater 717 people had been placed in envi Encouraging results have been re Plant in Anne Arundel Count y. Md., ronmentally related jobs and an addi po11ed from the Connecticut program and who plans to take further lice n tional 800 job openings were located. as we ll. Five trai ning classes have sing !est to qualify for advancement: Ms. Patricia Powers. national training been given there. and all 76 trainees. " I found something I think I am offi cer for the program. says that she 64 women and 12 men. have been capable of doing and enjoy it . I want is optimistic about the future and placed in environmental service jobs. to send my three children to college. believe an increasing number of In other parts of the country. Ms. You may not be a supervisor for 20 States wi ll use the program as an Harri s said. women are being re years. but you can keep on advanci ng. answer to the cri tical need for trained cruited. trained and placed in jobs in If you take the tests and pas · them. workers in the en vironmen tal services park and recreational area mainte- your salary increases." fi eld. ::_, PAGE 11 CLEAN RIVERS FOR WHOM? The mas ive cleanup of America· waterway now underway must be accompanied by prompt planning to ensure that the recreational benefits of clean waters are available to the work ing man and his family. Admini trator Ru sell E. Train made this point at a recent Conference on Water Cleanup and the Land held in Boston. The conference launched a joint ef fort by EPA and the Department of the Interior to assist State and local Governments and private citizens in obtaining a good return from the nearly $ 18 billion being invested by the Federal Government in wastewa ter treatment plants. Mr. Train told the conference that this massive Federal program ·'will rai e property values along those shorelines downstream from treatment plants. When a polluted river becomes One of the activitie. for those attending the Water Cleaup and the Land Conference in Boston clean enough for fishing and boating was a field trip to see river site conditions. Observing a Nashua River setting from a mill and swimming. it attracts people and embankment are two EPA officials (right foreground) Shelley M. Mark . Director of the Office land development." of Land Use oordination. and Pat ricia L. Cahn. Direc1or of the Puhlic Affairs Office. The Administrator emphasized that "the public has a right to . hare more fully in these enhanced values. partic rural slums can emerge like a cancer full value on funds invested in water ularly in the case of cleaner rivers. around artificial lake when devel cleanup. . ince it has been tax dollars-public opers lack the foresight or the public "First." he aid . "is Section 201 dollars-that made possible the trans spirit to set aside open spaces and which states that the EPA Adminis formation of a body of water from an build proper access roads. As Tho trator 'shall encourage waste treat environmental liability to a source of reau once said 'What is the use of a ment management which combines recreation and aesthetic beauty. house if you haven't got a tolerable open space and recreation considera "This conference is particularly con planet to put it on'>' " tions wi th such management.· cerned with assuring public access and Action to ensure public acces to the " ext is Section 208 which author public use of shorelands along restored waterways is essential not for izes the Administrator to provide cleaned-up waterways. either down "a handful of special interest groups. technical assistance in development of stream from the treatment plant or but (for) the ordinary working man areawide waste treatment management even right at the plant itself." and his fam ily who want and need plans. And Section 303 also provides Mr. Train predicted that unle. s recreation areas. particularly recrea autho1ity for intergovernmental coop sound planning precedes the devel tion areas that are close to home. and eration with respect to the planning opment of cleaned-up . horeline . the whose tax dollars already are in vested process. result will be a zoni ng disa. tcr. in clean rivers." The Administrator said that studies "I am sure that you all have <>een the Mr. Train recalled that in a cele and recommendations on water-related kind of problem I am talking about: brated comt decision. Supreme Court recreation opportunities may be car the shabby hot dog stand here and the Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once ried on under both Section 201 and gas station there. the noisy and lit wrote. ··A ri ver is more than an 208. Section 20 1. he noted. provides tered and commerciali zed beaches. amenity. it is a trea ure. It offers a oppo11uni ti cs. in a se1ies of steps. for the landscape disfigured by billboards. necessity of life that must be rationed coordinating the project layout. engi the monopolized stretches of shore among those who have power over neering design. and construction lines with their 'No Trespassing' signs it." scheduling of a treatment plant with and the whole region a victim of the Mr. Train told the conference that considerati ons for recreation and open speculator' quick-profit. build-it-and there are eveml sections of the Fed space. get-out philosophy. eral Water Pollution ontrol Act of Sixteen regional planning agencies or "We have seen all too often th '1t 197'!. which can be used to help secure councils of go ernment in New Eng- P E 12 THE PROMISE OF AMERICA'S RIVERS The delights of swimming and fishing in clean river waters are seen in these photograph . With the aid of a $18 billion Federal investment in wastewa ter treatment. many waterways are being tran formed from an environ mental liability to a ource of recrea tion and beauty. Effort are now being made to protect the public's right to share more fully in the benefits of the cleaner rivers provided by tax dollar . land have now initiated Section 208 a reawide pla ns, a nd these plans hould identify specific recreation use opportunities and coordinate acce s a nd shoreland protec tion needed to support proposed water uses. he said. "Within the Bureau of Outdoor Rec reation. the Land and Wate r Conser vation Fund finances acquisition of lands for Federally administered recre a tion areas a nd provides matching grants to States for recreation plan ning, acquisition and development. "The Bureau assists States in devel oping comprehensive outdoor recrea tion plans required for States or locali ties to participate in the Fund grant program, and al o provides technical assistance to State and local agencies for their outdoor recreational pro grams." In addition, Mr. Train noted, the U.S. Department of Housing and Ur ban Development under Section 70 f of the Housing and Community Act of 1974 provides comprehensive planning grants to States for regional and local activities. "These planning grants." he said , "are concerned with the pattern and intensity of land use. As [ announced earlier this year, EPA has an agree ment with HUD on coordination of the la nd use-related provisions of our Section 208 and the HUD 70 1 grant programs." So, Mr. Train emphasized. there is legal a uthority avail abl e for Federal participation with State a nd local agencies in the planning process to en ure public be ne fit from cleaner rivers.o Thc~c ;oung,ter' an: floa1ing on inner 111he-. down the Chaltahoochee River near Helen . Ga. PAGE 13 HONORS CEREMONY HELD ON FIFTH ANNIVERSARY Regional Adminis1ra1ors awanJcd ~pccial fifth "We celebrate our anniversary with persons were honored for their out anniversary plaque' by Admini~tr'alor Train arc (fr om left): John A. S. M'Glcnnon. every rea son for pride in our accom standing work during 1975. (Award Region I : Geralc.J M. Han,ler. Region I I : plishments. our own ability. and the winners' names were published in last Daniel J. Snyder. 111: .i PAGE 17 A plan developed by Louis A. Bevi lacqua and Ernest J. Schmalz of Re gion I I' Pesticides Branch helped to alleviate an outbreak of typhus in Guatemala and aved the U .S. tax payer money as well . In mid-July 1975, a pesticide en forcement inspection found nearly 13 to ns of DOT dusting powder in a Felisa M. Ruiz Leslie Carothers New York City sto re. E PA issued a Vivian Malone Jones Dave Hopkins stop-sale-and-use-o rder. Felisa M. Ruiz, grants clerk in the The store agreed to surrender the Vivian Malone .Jones, Director of the Region VII office. recently received DOT. which has been banned for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs Office two awards for her volunteer work to most domestic uses. to EPA fo r safe in EPA's Atlanta regional office. has improve the economic and ocial life di posal. Ordinarily. EPA would have been interviewed by CBS-TV. of the Spanish-speaking community in shipped the banned c hemical to a The interview by Da n Rather on the Kansa City, Mo.: laboratory in Buffalo for high tempera general area of progress in civil rights A bronze medal and citation from ture incineration. Estimated cost of in the South i expected to be used the Heart of America Chapter. Feder such disposal was $1 1.000. sometime in January o n the Sixty ally Employed Women, Inc. Stanley Fenic hel. Chief of the Re Minutes program. An award from EPA's International gion Pesticides Branch credits hi s Ms. Jones entered the University of Women's Year Conference in Seattle. two coll eague . Bevilacqua and Alabama in 1963 despite Gov. Wal Wash. Schmalz. with the idea of hipping the lace's "stand in the schoolhouse Ms. Ruiz has been an active volun confiscated DDT to Guatemala where door ... and became the university's teer working to help the Spanish it could be beneficially u ed to combat first black graduate. spcaking community in Kansas City. a typhus epidemic. According to Feni The E PA official, who joined the Mo.. for the pa t nine years. chel. ··After many phone call s. we Agency in 1971 , has received numer were finally able to arrange things ou awards a nd citations for her pi Leslie Carothers has been named Di with the Guatemala n Governme nt oneering efforts in de egregating the rector of Region rs Enforcement Di through the Pa n American H ealth university system in Alaba ma. vi~ion by Regional Administrator John Organization. DOT is perfectly legal A. S. McGlennon and will assume her in Guatemala. and they were happy to Dave Hopkins, an official in EPA's new duties in the Boston Office this get it from us." Regio n IV Office in Atlanta. has ac month. The DOT was sent to Guatemala at cepted a one-year assignment in Sao Ms . Carothers. 33, ha been an a shipping co t of about $ 1.500: a Paulo. Brazil. which was described in attorne y in the General Counsel's saving of al mo t $ I 0,000 to this a recent national television documen Office. Air Quality. Noi e, and Radia country. Regional Administrator Ger tary as " the world's most polluted tion Division. for the last two years. ald M. Hansler ha commended Bevi city." She had previously served for two and lacqua and Schmalz a nd they have Mr. Hopkins will be leaving hi s a half years as a branch chief in the been nominated for special awards. present job as c hief of the regional Mobile Source Enforcement Division. Mr. Hansler expla ined that whil e Environmental Impact Statement Of Before joining EPA in July, 1971. she DDT has been banned by EPA for fice to go to the South American city had been a legislative assistant to most uses. it can be used in emer under a loan agreement with the Pan ongressman Gilbert Gude of Mary gency situations where there is no American Health Association. land and clerk to Judge Henry Edger suitable ubstitute. DOT is considered The 36-year-old EPA official has ton of the Federal Court of Appeals by health authoriti es to be an effecti ve served with EPA since it was formed. for the District of Columbia. and inexpen ive insecti cide for typhu His wife . Dora. is a native of Sao Ms. Carothers was graduated. control. Paulo . a highly industrialized city with s umrna cum laude. from Smith Col a population of seven million people. lege in 1%4 and from Harvard Law School in 1967. PAGE 18 REGION I ON ~AJ~AOE Transport Strategies One of the more controversial i sues continues to be EPA's transportation control strategy for metropolitan Bos New England, a birthplace of the ton. Region I is moving to implement American Revolution and the site a plan to reduce harmful level of where industry first helped the Nat carbon monoxide and hydro arbons. ion become a leading manufacturer, is Most elements of the plan will be put placing increasing emphasis on pro in place in 1976 and early 1977. The tecting and enhancing its environment. plan includes on- treet parking ban in Thi concern for the Region' natural the downtown area, in pection and setting is prompted, in part, by boom maintenance for automobile p llution ing tourism. a $3 billion-a-year indus control device . stationary ource con try in the six New England States trols, extensive car pooling, and re which comprise EPA 's Region I. The quiring busines es to take step to visitors are attracted to the Region's reduce the number of single pa enger lovely river valleys. green mountains commuting vehicles that come to their and ocean beache . plants each day. Similar plans are New England has a population of 12 being developed for Springfield, million in 63,000 square miles, or Mass.; Hartford-New Haven. Conn.; about six percent of the Nation's and Providence. R. I. people in two percent of it land. In water pollution. highe t priority i More than three-fourths of the peo being given to con truction grants. ple live in 26 metropolitan areas, so After a careful study of ways to the Region is primarily urban, al expedite the handling of grant applica though large parts of Maine. New tion and the addition of ome new Hampshire, and Vermont are rural, per onnel. regional official~ expect to dotted with fore ts. farms, and small ulfur fuel regulations generally be able to allocate the $800 million towns. adopted in this Region. available to this Region b} the ep The Region includes eight percent of The bad news i air pollution is the tember 1977 deadline. the Nation's manufacturing plants growing problem f photochemical ox Another high priority project is area (factory wages account for 40 percent idants. The oxida t primary standard wide wastewater treatment planning, of worker income. compared to the ( 160 microgram per cubic meter for and $ 12 million has been awarded 10 national 30 percent). and 10 percent of one hour) is being repeatedly violated 16 regional planning agencies. Mo!>t of its metal working plant . with their at every one of the 30 monitoring the plans will not be completed until complex waste treatment problems. stations in five States. Maine doesn't 1977. The first annual Regional Adminis yet monitor for oxidants. Some sta Considerable progre~s has been trator' s Report on Environmental tion have had levels six and seven made in abating water pollution. More Quality in New England, recently is time the standard. and in Fall River, treatment plant than ever before are sued, describes the status of air a nd Mas . , there were 526 violations over under con !ruction or coming on line. water quality. drinking water supply, an eight-month period. Millions of gallons of raw ewage and solid waste management in the six Last summer a research study to previously dumped into New England State . determine if oxidants in New Eng waters are now being treated. lndu - land's air came from outside the Re try ha hown a much greater willing Good News and Bad gion clearly showed there i a tran - ne to fund water pollution control The report tell the good news and por1 of this kind of pollution from one projects. the bad. It shows progress in abating section 0f the country to another. Of 4,870 miles of rivers and major pollution but also points out the short With this in mind Region I helped tributaries, over half (2,670 stream comings and the needs for further sponsor a meeti ng with officials from miles) are not yet in a "fishable cleanup. 24 States to discuss the problem. It swimmable'' condition. Jn the next In air pollution, the good news is a appear that additional controls on two years a sub tantial improvement significant drop in sulfur oxide levels automobiles and stationary sources should occur a a result of major nevi throughout the Region. Both primary will be necessary over wide regions of wastewater treatment facilities bt:111g and secondary tandards for sulfur the country if there is to be a reduc placed in operation. However. unless oxide are being met, thanks to low- tion of harmful levels of oxidants. the problems of combined sewer over- 1 ,GE 19 Youngster play hockey on ice at the Boston Common. Refinery for Maine Finally. an area which is emerging as a key issue is energy development. EPA has been designated as the lead flows and non-point sources of pollu Metropolitan District Commission to agency for preparing the draft environ tion are solved. there will still be reduce the lead-in-water hazard and mental impact statement for a pro rivers in New England that will not be will work closely with all States in posed 250,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery suitable for swimming and fishing by implementing the new Federal drink to be built by the Pittston Oil Co .. in 1983 (the deadline et by the Federal ing water tandards. which go into Eastport. Maine. The draft statement Water Pollution Control Act). effect this year. will be completed in May or June of 1976. Thi is the first plan for an oil Drinking Water Safety Solid Waste Corporations refinery in Region I. and there will Safety of water suppl y has for years Some progre<>s has been made in the probably be other refinery proposals. been one of the most neglected areas area of solid waste. Connecticut and The Regional Office also expects to of environmental protection. The Safe Rhode Island have established state be involved more in such related Drinking Water Act of December wide solid wa. te management corpora issues as off-shore oil drilling and 1974. extend5 Federal regulatory au tions. Two Massachusetts com muni deep-water port construction. thority to cover practically all public ties, Marblehead anJ Somerville. re To insure a coordinated approach water systems. Implementation of the ceived EPA grants to initiate commu with other Federal agencies who will new law will in ure consi'itent quality nity-wide recycling projects on a two have decision-making roles in energy and safety. year pilot basi . . Last year 18 resource matters. Region I has established an Tested during a nationwide EPA recovery facili ti es were proposed in energy task force which meets regu sampling. water suppli es in Rhode the Region. larl y. Thus. the Office will be fully Island. onnecticut. and Massachu But much more remains to be done. prepared to deal with these energy setts <>ho\.Vcd traces of .organic com A survey by the Regional Office issues that do have an impact on the pounds suspected to be causes of found that only 30 percent of ew environment. cancer. A survey by State authorities England' s population is served by dis This is just a brief glance at New last year showed 200 water ~upplies in posal facilities that meet State require Engl and 's environment. The job of Vermont failing bacteria tests. and 12 ments and thus can be considered to moving ahead with pollution abate sy tern" in Vermont are on notice to be environmentally acceptable. There ment programs gets more and more boil water before drinking it. In parts is wide variation among the States in difficult. particularly since energy and of Bo'i ton an EPA study found exces the portion of the population served economic problems are severely im sive lead in tap water. attributed to by acceptable solid waste facili ties: pacting the New England States. But corrosion of old lead piping by the from 68 percent in Vermont to one the Region ha s always been environ c;;oft. slightly acidic surface water sup percent in Maine. However. the re mentally-oriented. and its elected offi pl ·. gional over-all figure of 30 percent last cials and most of its industrial leaders Regional authorities will oversee a year was three percentage points bet recognize the importance of a sound corrosion control program by Bm.ton·s ter than in 1974. environmental control program. [] PAGE _(1 REGION ·l'S LEADERSHIP TEAM Rober! C . Thompson Acting Director, Enforcement Di\·ision John A. S. McGlennon Regional Administrator Lcsler A. Sutton Director, Waler Programs Di\'ision Director, Air and Hazardouo; ~lutrrials Dh j,ion PA(iF 21 MY NEW ENGLAND By Elizabeth M. Strock Region I public information officer Some days you can stand in Govern tired. you can always find a rambling their natural state, and has assured ment Center in Boston and smell the clapboard inn. maintained just as it public access to all of these areas. ocean. You can close your eyes and was one hundred years ago, with There are provisions for off-road vehi breathe in the sea air and listen to the gleaming brass and dull pewter and cles and bicycle paths that snake in and gulls screeching overhead, and when hand-sewn quilts. Your host will most out around the dunes. you open your eyes, you are faintly likely be a taciturn Yankee with a A few shacks are still in the dunes. surprised to find yourself surrounded wise and weathered face. and plenty Their inhabitants live only according to by handsome buildings instead of sand of good stories. if he chooses to tell the dictates of the sun, moon, and crabs and beach plum. you. tides, and they are passionately at This experience has always re By the time winter rolls around tached to their land. The National presented the quintessence of New again, you have learned to dress for Seashore has acquired most of the England to me. Because underneath the weather, and the cold doesn't shore area on the Lower Cape and the urbanity of Beacon Hill. and the seem as bitter as last year. In fact, it has negotiated with private owners to tweediness of Cambridge, the bond is invigorating. and there are any assure that privately held land will that New Englanders share is a love number of things you can do in a remain relatively undeveloped. This of the land. New England winter that you cannot represents something of a first in the For a newcomer, it is a hard land to do in a more temperate season. acquisition of privately owned land for love. It seems hostile, almost defying Downhill and cross-country skiing, the public domain and the regulation you to make it through that first snow shoeing, ice skating and ice of private lands for public benefit. It grinding winter with your spirit unbro hockey are the most popular winter also presents a perplexing philosophi ken. There is no spring to speak of; activities, but there are a few hardy cal and social question. Should the summer is unremarkable. But, if you enthusiasts, including some in the Re government seize land for the public stick it out that long, you have been gional Office, who believe that winter domain from private owners who love tested. and you have passed, and you was .made for cold-weather camping. it so and who have lived their entire will be rewarded with fall. Fall is They dress in layers of clothing as the lives on it? On one hand, the dune spectacular. There is nothing like temperature dictates, pack their dwellers seem to have a moral right to walking through the New Hampshire worldly .goods on their backs, and set it, since they live on and from it; but woods on a crisp fall morning. with off in sub-freezing temperatures to on the other hand, the dunes belong the brilliant red and gold leaves over make camp in three feet of snow on to all of us, and they ought to be head. and the fallen ones crunchy and top of the nearest mountain. They say maintained in their natural state, not musty-smelling underneath. that nothing in the world can compare just for us. but for future generations "Peak weekend" is a New England with the magnificence of the view of New Englanders as well. It is a tradition revered every bit as much as from the top and the silence of being hard question, and no one really Paul Revere's ride and the shot heard alone in a world muffled with snow. knows the answer, but it will almost round the world. Beginning in Octo Bracing as this may be to some, it is surely come up again. One of New ber. the newspaper and television not to everyone's taste. For those of England's most valuables resources is weathermen begin a countdown to us who die a little every time the her land, and one of her most fiercely peak weekend-the weekend when temperature threatens to drop below held tenets is belief in individual free the leaves are most colorful. When it freezing. there is summer. doms. The two are bound to run head arrives. the roads to the north woods Summer is beach weather in New on someday. Hopefully, when that look like the roads to the beach on England, as it is everywhere else in happens, the question will be resolved Memorial Day weekend. Unlike the the country. These beaches are spe as peaceably and as satisfactorily as it Memorial Day trek, however. when cial. though. Anyone who has ever has been on Cape Cod. there is nothing to do but get initated cast a horrified eye over Rehoboth New England is rich. both in history at the traffic jams until you reach your Beach or Atlantic City will be grateful and in contemporary cultural institu destination. on peak weekend. you for the unspoiled beauty of Cape Cod. tions. In Boston, you can take a don't really have a specific goal. and There is not a high-rise beach-front walking tour of the Freedom Trail, the trees are beautiful all along your hotel or condominium to be seen marked by a red brick stripe in the route. You can wander aimlessly anywhere on the Cape. The National sidewalk, and see the Granary Bury through the back roads all weekend. Seashore has maintained the Ii ttoral ing Ground with the graves of John You can pie k your own crisp apples areas. the dunes. and. in some cases. Hancock. Samuel Adams. Paul Re or shop for antiques. When you get even the forests behind the dunes in vere, and the victims of the Boston PAGE.,.., OLD STATE HOUSE The royal British lion and unicorn are of an Engli h King. it was the scene still rampant on Boston's Old State of the pre- Revolution Boston ma sa House. one of the most beautiful and cre and from it balcony was given best preserved of the city's many the first reading of the Declaration of historic structures. Built in 1713. while fndependence in Mas achusetts. the colonies were still under the rule Mas acre; Faneuil Hall. which John Adam called .. The Cradle of Lib erty"; the Old orth Church. \here on the night of April 18. 1775. two lanterns ignaled the Redcoats' ad vance on Lexington and Concord and started Paul Revere on hi famous ride: Old Iron ides; and Bunker Hill. In Concord. you can till ee the rude bridge that spanned the flood. an d in Sudbury. still land the Wayside Inn. On Patriot's Day Eve. the men of Sudbury still don old militia uniform and congregate at the Wayside Inn before marching to Concord. There are bit of hi story in every corner of Bo ton you may care to investigate. In fact. if you are so inclined. you can take a oga class in the old Bl acksmith House where Longfellow's village . mi th y stood be neath the preading chestnut tree. Culturally. ew England offer the Boston Symphony Orchestra. the Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler. the Boston Ballet. the luscum of Fine Arts. and the Gardner Museum. where you can fea st not only your eyes. but your ears at Sunday after noon concert . Boston is also a great city for amateur artists. Budding dan cers. mu sicians. and painters tind a knowledgeable and appreciative audi ence here. ew England has its drawbacks. It does not have the highest peak in the continental United States. and yo u cannot get a pastrami sandwich at 4:00 a.m .. the area has no indigenous en ergy sources. and the unemployme nt rate is higher than the national aver age. Howe ver, people continue to flock to this area. and the only expla nation can be the high qualit y of life New England offers. The pace is not as desperate as New York or Los Angeles. but it is not smal l town either. And even in downtown Bos ton. you can smell the sea. you always feel a part of the land. Come and visit us fo r the Bicentennial. a JoAnn Johnson, Chief. Library Ser-v good accomplishments will result ices, Environmental Research Center. "I see my job as being a very busy when the reorganization of Research Cincinnati, Ohio: and exciting one in 1976. Our Branch and Development is completed and "The first major challenge of the new currently is working on. or planning, approved. year will be managing the move of the aerial surveys of environmental condi "In a mis ion-oriented agency like library to our new quarters in the tions in nearly all of EPA's regions. EPA, balance mu t be achieved be Environmental Research Center on We work for the regions in assessing tween pure research and the uses that the University of Cincinnati campus. air and water quality, land u e. moni such research serve in attacking real ··Also, I am in the proce s of working toring compliance-any surveillance life problems. In order to strike such a out an innovative and cooperative that can be done by image-making balance. scientists from various fields arrangement with the Library System equipment aboard aircraft. of specialization must be brought to of the University of Cincinnati. that "The coming months can be expected gether so they can interact and con will make our collection available to to produce a number of oil and haz tribute to the same goal. I see that in the University's teaching staff and ardous materials spills. These acci Corvallis we are heading towards this graduate students. and the Univer dent are aggravated and increased by kind of team work. and I intend to sity's material accessible to our peo harsh winter weather. play an active role in whatever capac ple. ity I can do best." ··Our library here serves as the scien Virginia Snarski, Biologist. Environ tific and technical focal point for the mental Research Laboratory. Duluth. James Weigold, Assistant Director. whole EPA Library System. Minn.: Strategies and Air Standards Division. "I've just returned to the laboratory Office of Air Quality. Planning and Mary Jean O'Donnell, Environmental here after a year spent at the Univer Standards, Durham. N.C.: [mpact Statement pecialist. Region sity of Washington at Seattle, doing "I think my job will be as exciting or VII. Kansa::. ity. Mo.: work in fish disease . This was spon even more so than it has been in the 'Tm fortunate enough to be in a shop sored by EPA as part of its long-range three-and-a-half years I've been with where exciting changes are going on in training program. the Agency. My Division looks at environmental considerations. and ·'I look upon the new year with new problems as they emerge, and hopefully in 1976 more NEPA consid enthusiasm since I hope to set up a then devises strategies to deal with erations will figure in early on the laboratory for the diagnosis and treat them. We are now getting into the construction grant, 208 planning and ment of disea ·es that occur in our fish fields of unconventional pollutants that permit processes. here. Also. [ want to do research to pose hard challenges. For example. "I hope that in 1976· we will have study the effect of pollution on the carcinogen are a pecial problem made environmental considerations a fishes' re istance to diseases." because there may not be a known or natural part of the planning-decision knowable safe health threshold for making process and oriented our Dr. Mostafa Shirazi, Acting Chief. them. thinking to ways to accomplish our Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis "The biggest problem is that we need overall Agency purposes and goals. Branch. Environmental Research Lab more and better health effects data. oratory. Corvallis. Ore.: and the accumulation and evaluation Robert Landers, Environmental Pro "I am optimistic about the coming of this takes a long time. In some tection Technologist. Remote Sensing year. Our Branch pur ues a multi cases it may take years to acquire a Branch. Environmental Monitoring media discipline that involves both sufficient health data base to permit and Support Laboratory. Las Vegas. long-range research and its application the development of defensible stand Nev.: to immediate problems. I believe that ards." JoAnn Johnson 1\lary Jean O'Donnell Robert Landers Virginia Snarski ·or. Mostafa Shirazi James Weigold P G 2-f ACTION PLAN ANNOUNCED FOR PCBS Administrator Russell E. Train has declared that the United States must move towards ..total elimination of the use of polychlorinated biphenyls and make every effort to assure that these PCBs do not enter the environment. Mr. Train announced an action plan to begin reducing the discharge of PCBs but warned that many years may pass before a significant decline occurs in the level of PCBs. PROGRAM FOR CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE SPILLS EPA has published proposed regulations designed to protect the Nation's waterways from spills of over 300 chemicals considered to be "hazardous substances" for man and the environment. The regulations list the 300 substances such as nitric and sulfuric acids, ammonia, and caustic soda which when discharged pose an imminent danger to public health and welfare. The regulations include a provision for fines of up to $5 million in spill cases involving gross negligence. SAFE DRINKING WATER STANDARDS SET EPA regulations designed to help safeguard the Nation's public drinking water supplies have been promulgated. These interim regulations will apply to about 240,000 public water systems when they become effective in June, 1977. Emphasizing the importance of these regulations, Administrator Russell E. Train said that "for the first time, drinking water supplies across the country will be subject to uniform minimum standards that will be effective in regulating harmful contaminants." BREIDENBACH CONFIRMED Dr. Andrew w. Breidenbach's appointment by the President as EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water and Hazardous Materials has been confirmed by the Senate. Dr. Breidenbach had been serving as Acting Assistant Administrator since September 1. A career environmental scientist, Dr. Breidenbach had served for four years as Director of the National Environmental Research Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, before assuming his present post. PAGE ?.5 U.S. ENY!RONME TAL PROTECTION AGE CY POSTAGE AND FEES PAID OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A107) U.S. E YIRO 'ME TAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON. DC 20460 EPA-335 THIRD CLASS BULK RATE I~ Return this page if you do NOT wish to receive this publication ( ). or if change of address is needed ( ). list change. incl uding zip code. 'Instant Dike' Developed A portable " in stant dike" and col lapsible bags for collecting s pill mate rials were recently demon !rated by the EPA contractor who developed them. A foam resembling shaving cream tank (fort:ground) leaked liquid whil·h diking unit cost about JOO was trapped b> pla>tic foam instant dike. The apiece. The collec tion bag and pump can be squirted from a back pack to material wa, then pumped into pla,tic con quickly form a stable dam structure to tainer at lcfl. system costs about $5,000. o ne-third contain spills of hazardous ma te1ials. of which is for the bag itself. The cost The foam is generated from chemi storage of the spill ed liquid. Afte r of the bag will be significantly less cals canied in the back pack. Each emergency contai nment and coll ec when they