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United States Office of Volume 8 Environmental Protection Public Affairs (A-107) Number 2 Agency . Washington. D.C. 20460 March-April 1982 &EPA JOURNAL :ENVIRON:. - ~ '"TION AG.ENC'? A Water Review In this issue of EPA Journal. we report on several different aspects of water use and abuse by people. EPA Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch reviews drinking water problems and the legislation designed to help cure these ills. Deputy Ad­ ministrator John W . Hernandez outlines the administration's views on aspects of the Clean Water Act. Eric A. Eidsness. EPA's new Assistant Administrator for Water, explains the approach he is taking to improving the agency's water programs. An article on the Charles River in Boston outlines progress made by a citizen-state-federal team in curbing the environmental maladies of this ancient waterway. An article on the lake trout in the Great Lakes explains how these fish could help serve as indicators of the water quality for these lakes. Another article gives a report on how hot water discharges from a municipal power plant helped Canada geese survive a bitterly cold winter. Other stories on water and pollution include one about a nationally recognized waste treatment pilot plant in M is­ souri and a survey on the effec­ tiveness of some drinking water filters. In an interview, Dr. Earnest F. Gloyna. chairman of EPA's Science Advisory Board. gives his views about environmental problems and opportunities. This issue also reports on a number of new appointments which have been made at EPA. 0 An aerial view of a spectacular section of the California coast. United States Office of Volume 8 Environmental Protection Public Affairs (A-107) Number 2 Agency Washington. D.C. 20460 March-April 1982 oEPA JOURNAL Anne McGill Gorsuch, Administrator Byron Nelson 111, Director, Office of Public Affairs Charles D. Pierce, Editor Truman Temple, Associate Editor Articles Drinking W ater Problems Science for the Future Conference on Fire Ants 28 and Solutions An interview with a noted Ways of curbing the fire ant EPA Administrator Anne M. scientist. Dr. Earnest F will be examined at a June Gorsuch analyzes the Safe Gloyna meeting Drinking Water Act Lake Trout: Bellwether for Giant Geese Survive Clean Water Act Improve­ the Great Lakes Another W inter 30 ments Trout could help indicate the Hot water discharges from Proposed amendments seek future quality of water in the power plant help geese mid-course corrections lakes through frigid w inter Water for Living 9 Superfund Contingency Some Drinking Water Assistant Administrator Plan Announced to help Filters Found Effective 32 Eidsness outlines his ap­ Clean up Sites New tests done for EPA show proach to the water program Administrator Gorsuch filters can remove chemicals Better D ays for the Charles proposes new guidelines for River hazardous wastes A report from Boston on Appointments and progress made by a citizen­ Awards State-Federal team New woman assistant ad­ ministrator among those named Missouri Treatment Plant Recognized Waste treatment facility honored in national contest Front Cover: Little girls feeding ducks on Photo Credits: Steve Delaney. John Design Credits Robert Flanagan and Ron Washington Lake near Seattle. Wash. Goerg. Chertes River Watershed Assoc1a- Farrah. tion. Margaret Faulkner, Harvard Un· iversity. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. USDA. Photri, Ted Rozumalski. EPA JOURNAL Subscriptions The annual rate for subscribers in the Name-Fin1t Laat Pt.... Print U.S. for the bi-monthly EPA Journal is $9.50. The charge to subscribers in I. I I I I I I I I I I I I I l I I I I I I I I l I I foreign countries is $11.90 a year. The price of a single copy of the Journal is 1 $2.75 in this country and $3.45 ii sent to 1 1 1 , , , , , , , 1 1 a foreign country. Prices include mailing 1~rii ii. riTT Ur , , , , costs. Subscriptions to EPA Journal. as well as to other Federal Government magazines. are handled only by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Anyone liiiii I I I I I I ! I I ! I I I I I I I I I j l I wishing to subscribe to the Journal should fill in the form at right and enclose a check or money order payable to the 11 j Ii J I I.JI 11 ! 1 Superintendent of Documents. The re­ jj ! ! l quest should be mailed to: Superinten­ 0 Payment enclosed dent of Documents. GPO. Washington. D-.C., 20402. 0 Charge to my Deposit Account No. ----------- Drinking Water Problems and Solutions By Anne M. Gorsuch. EPA Administrator The Safe Drinking Water Act. whose authorization expires September 30. has been an important part of the body of en­ vironmental protection laws since its enact­ ment eight years ago. The Act authorized EPA to set uniform drinking water standards nationwide. requires drinking water systems to notify their customers of failures to meet standards and monitoring requirements. and also deals with controls on underground in­ jection wells to protect drinking water aquifers. Like other laws. of course. the Act may need to be revised from time to time to reflect changing conditions. EPA is now weighing a number of proposed changes following public comment and meetings held earlier this year. Among those questions: How should EPA and States use exemp­ tions and variances for small drinking water systems that have trouble meeting stan­ dards? Should the public be notified of every standard violation, no matter how minor, af­ fecting drinking water supplies? Should the standards be separated into , categories. i.e.. those applying to all systems, those applied flexibly by the States. and those of a non-regulatory nature such as " health advisories?" In considering these proposals and the broader question of how EPA can best meet its responsibilities to taxpayers. it should be kept in mind that several objectives of Presi­ dent Reagan's administration are highly rele­ vant to the Agency. These include regulatory reform, protection of the environment without impeding economic progress. a closer partnership with the States. and better controls on Federal spending. Regulatory reform does not mean deregulation. the wholesale abandonment of rules. Rather it describes the simplifying of the regulatory process. lifting the burden of paperwork and attendant delays and costs to industry and the public. We already have made substantial progress in this area. An example was the settlement last July of lawsuits dealing with EPA JOURNAL protection of underground drinking water fastest expansion in government work forces EPA currently is considering controls on supplies from contamination by fluids from has been under way for years not in up to 14 volatile organics, but other. similar injection wells. Briefly. the history of this case Washington. D.C. but at the State and local compounds also may be of concern to the is that in 1980 EPA issued rules requiring level. Since 1960. the number of employees agency. States to develop programs to protect these in the latter categories has more than Traces of volatile organics have been water supplies from such contamination. doubled. from six millio.n to 13 million. They found in about 10 percent of drinking water Subsequently a number of companies and now outnumber their Federal counterparts by wells studied by various groups. including the State of Texas sued EPA over the regula­ more than four to one. It only makes sense EPA. Rivers. lakes and other surface waters tions. The settlement we reached last year that the nation should take advantage of this subject to industrial discharges also are likely provided protection of valuable underground increase in staffing and competence and·give to contain the compounds but usually at drinking water sources without imposing ex­ more responsibility and control to the local levels considerably lower then those found in pensive. unnecessary requirements on in­ level. where officials often have a better contaminated ground water. Slow-moving dustry. The agreement is expected to save grasp of problems and conditions. ground water lacks the ability of a flowing. the affected companies $65 million to $75 At the same time EPA will continue to surface waterway to flush itself of pollutants. million over five years. and does away with provide support of our regulatory office's Levels of contaminants like trichlorethy­ certain repetitive testing requirements promulgation of revised drinking water stan­ lene and tetrachloroethylene in ground water related to injection wells. reduces the number dards. This includes studies on the oc­ can be up to 1 or more parts per million. and frequency of reports required. and currence and health effects of contaminants Typical readings in contaminated surface clarifies regulatory language. EPA proposed in drinking water. including underground water usually are much less than five parts some of the settlement's terms as amend­ sources of such supplies. Our research also per billion. ments to State Underground Injection Con­ will continue to support the development of Water treatment methods effective in con­ trol programs. and after receiving public com­ treatment technology that is both cost­ trolling volatile organics include aeration and ment. these became effective March 5 this effective and technically feasible. filtering through granular activated carbon. year. As a measure of the changing nature of The choice of a cleanup method would be left The drinking water program is an out­ environmental problems. EPA now is con­ up to the water utilities. standing example of what we mean by a sidering various ways of controlling a group Preliminary EPA estimates indicate that close partnership with the States. Forty nine of chemicals known as volatile synthetic the cost of controlling these organics in out of 57 States and jurisdictions such as organic chemicals (VOCs) frequently found in larger drinking water systems ( 10,000 or U.S.

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