Document 3Jn0ZDQxaqXGkbGBVOD3B6RL6

Conservation Leonard A. Eiserer JI Weekly Worldwide Environmental Newsletter Business Publishers, Inc., P. O. Box 1067, Blair Station, Silver Spring, Md. 20910, Editor ond Publisher j Telephone 587-6300. Subscription Rate: $90`per year, $50 for six months. Quantity i and foreign rates on request. Vol. 8 No. 41^October 12, 1970Page 407 SLANTS & TRENDS WHITE HOUSE IS MAINTAINING effective silence on President Nixon's choice to head pow erful Environmental Protection Agency which goes into operation Dec. 2 (story page 413). Some veteran Federal career pollution control officials expect all 7 top spots (administrator, deputy, and 5 assistants) to go to political favorites with experi ence in public administration work,rather than to recognized environmental experts. As one high FWQA official noted last week, there is significant move away from health department leaders heading state environmental programs -- toward political appointees loyal to the top man -- and EPA selections are expected to follow this pattern. INSIDERS BELIEVE CHANCES ARE GOOD for Charles C. Johnson, Jr,, administrator of Con sumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, and David D. Dominick, commissioner, Federal Water Quality Administration, to land in top EPA hierarchy. Both are estab lished administrators and considered assets to the White House. PLANS TO USE MUTUAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS for extending U.S. influence abroad in pos itive manner are shaping up in the White House far beyond efforts of previous Admin istrations. .. On domestic front, look for Administration to seek closer ties with youth movements by encouraging and recognizing constructive elements in their pollution abatement drives. MURRAY STEIN, FWQA CHIEF ENFORCEMENT OFFICER,in Boston last week for annual conference of Water Pollution Control Federation, said he is maintaining open mind on 1-degree F. maximum temperature rise for Lake Michigan proposed last May by Interior's Fish & Wild life. .Service. New experimental data submitted by industry at resumption of enforcement conference in Chicago late last month is expected to nudge conferees to accept higher temperature discharge when decision is reached probably late this year. ' *** SENATE-HOUSE CONFEREES APPROVE '75 DEADLINE FOR CLEAN CARS Legislation compelling auto makers to reduce major air pollutants from 1975 models by 90% below current levels was tentatively approved by House-Senate conferees, Oct. 8, apparently clearing a formidable Congressional hurdle and markedly improving chances for final enactment of the toughest air pollution control bill on record. Sen. Edmund S. Muskie (D.-Me.), author of the provision, happily announced the conference agreement at end of the first meeting of the House-Senate group. Muskie said the conferees had struck a tentative bargain that would "preserve the deadline on automobiles," including the potential one-year grace period. The Senate version had aroused personal lobbying on Capitol Hill by top auto executives who in sisted that achieving the 90% emission cut by 1975 was not technologically oossible. (Continued on following page) DSW552420 Service for Subscribers: For further details on material appearing in A/WPR, subscribers are invited to write The Editor, P. O. Box 1067, Blair Station, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. Prompt service given at no additional cost. Deluxe, vinyl imprinted binders available at $3.00 each. STLCOPCB4090837 October 12, 1970 .AIR/WATER pollution report____ - Page 408 SENATE-HOUSE CONFERENCE APPROVES '75 DEADLINE FOR CLEAN CARS (Cont.) Industry engineers and the Nixon Administration had envisioned reaching the 1975 standard in 1980. The industry had hoped to stretch the deadline in Senate-House conference, since the House clean air bill passed in June dealt mostly with stationary sources of air pollu tion and lacked the Muskie-imposed deadlines for abatement. On their part, the Senate conferees agreed to a House proposal for a continuous monitoring of technological progress- on auto pollution controls by the National Academy of Sciences. House supporters said NAS would be an impartial judge on the technological problems facing industry. If prog ress is too slow to meet the strict 1975 deadline, and NAS so advises Congress, the legislators can move back the target date. ' The agreement was called tentative since staff aides must still draft precise lang uage outlining the NAS role. The conferees are scheduled to resume meetings Nov. 18 after the election recess, with wide differences still to be resolved in proposed controls over pollution from stationary sources. *** TOUGHER WATER POLLUTION LEGISLATION IN THE OFFING, MUSKIE & STEIN TELL WPCF New water pollution control legislation, tougher than any seriously considered to date, will be proposed to Congress next session. Sen. Edmund S. Muskie (D.-Me.), chair man of the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, and Murray Stein, FWQA assistant commissioner in charge of enforcement and standards compliance, told the 43rd annual conference of Water Pollution Control Federation in Boston last week. In his keynote address, Oct. 5, Muskie told the 6,000 water experts in attendance that his amendments to existing legislation "would put industry under pressure; would cost money and time and effort, could ultimately close down the worst offenders. "The amendments would require the establishment of water quality standards for all navigable waters, standards applicable to every significant source of water pollution in every state, standards to be adopted and enforced within fixed timetables. These amend ments would compel all new industrial facilities which discharge wastes into navigable waters to meet standards based on the best available control technology. These amend ments would prohibit any discharge of substances, such as mercury, which are found to be hazardous to the public health." Muskie emphasized "we must deal with the problems of industrial pollution with businesslike precision, with fixed targets and with tough performance standards." He asserted that his proposed amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act are "based on the premise that the costs of production must hereafter include the costs of preventing environmental harm. If we find that some products are just not worth the additional costs, we shall have made an important discovery... A product whose price is reasonable -- only because the consumer does not have to pay for the serious problems that product causes others -- has no business being sold at all." Administration Wants-Precise Effluent Requirements The Nixon Administration will push for tighter controls on industrial polluters, seeking "precise effluent requirements as an element of water quality standards," Stein told an WPCF session on intergovernmental relations. The Administration, he said, plans to extend the law's application to waters not now covered, remove restrictions on effec tive enforcement in cases of intrastate pollution, accelerate the enforcement process, authorize the imposition of heavy civil penalties, and provide additional regulatory tools. He said that resistance to Federal anti-degradation policy was holding up full ap proval of standards submitted by states. As of Sept. 30, he noted, standards of 22 states had been fully approved by Interior, including an anti-degradation statement com mitting the state to protection of its high quality waters. Standards of 8 states had been fully approved, except for the anti-degradation statement, and those of 9 others ' approved in part without the anti-degradation statement. _ He said that intensive negotiations were underway with the states to resolve remain- '~ing exceptions to the water quality standards. ' . . DSW 552421 STLCOPCB4090838 JUR/WATEROctober 12, ,1970------ ------ ,---- ------ pollution report ___________ Page 409 NIXON MOVES TO PREVENT FURTHER POLLUTION OF OCEANS & GREAT LAKES; EYES WORLD EFFORT . Legislation strictly limiting the use of oceans, estuaries and Great Lakes as dump ing grounds for municipal, military, and industrial wastes will be sought early next session of Congress, President Nixon said on Oct. 8, while sending recommendations of his Council on Environmental Quality to Congress. The President's proposal would be a world wide first in sense of seeking to "prevent pollution before it destroys the waters that are so critical to all living things." ' CEQ recommendations, endorsed by the President, would: (1) Require permit from newly created Environmental Protection Agency before any wastes are dumped from any point in U.S. into the oceans, estuaries, or Great Lakes. Permit would come from EPA administra tor yet to be named. (2) Authorize EPA to ban ocean dumping of certain materials "clearly harmful to the marine environment or man" -- including chemical and biological weapons and radioactive wastes. (3) Establish civil penalties for violations, up to $50,000 fine for each. (A) Designate Coast Guard as enforcement agency. Under the plan, unregulated dumping and dumping of hazardous materials would be stopped as soon as legislation could be enacted. Curbs on other types of dumpings would go into effect as soon as alternative solutions could be found. "The nation was an opportunity unique in history -- the opportunity to act to prevent an environmental problem which... would grow to a great magnitude," CEQ report said. The Council, headed by Russell E. Train, called for more research to get better under standing of what happens when waste is poured into the seas, as well as for research on effects of long-lasting toxic substances, on public health risks stemming from ocean pollution, and on alternatives to ocean dumping,:<^uch as recycling of wastes. 48-Million Tons Dumped Annually CEQ estimated that the nation is pouring upwards of 48-million tons of polluted materials into oceans. Great Lakes, and estuaries each year. Dredgings to improve navi gation and pollutants from industrial and municipal discharges account for 80%. Other materials which end up in the oceans include agricultural pollutants washed off farmlands by rains, sewage and oil spills from vessels, and pollutants washed from the air into the oceans. Suggested guidelines for a national anti-dumping policy include: (a) prohibition on ocean dumping of materials clearly identified as harmful and limitations on dumping of substances whose effects are not yet known; (b) prohibition as soon as possible on dumping of sewage sludge, affecting particularly cities such as New York and Philadel phia, which already depend on the oceans for dumping grounds; (c) no communities would be permitted to begin dumping wastes into oceans, which would affect Baltimore which has discussed this possibility with U.S. officials; (d) total ban on ocean dumping of chemi cal war materials. As alternatives to ocean dumping, CEQ recommended hauling solid wastes off by rail for land burial; eventual recycling; better incineration that consumes wastes without creating air pollution. " Train described the President's proposed legislation as "an important opportunity for international leadership," and said the U.S. should encourage similar action by other nations. CEQ recommended that the U.S. draft proposals to control ocean dumping for the U.N. Conference on Human Environment being planned for Stockholm in June 1972. ' *** TRAIN ON 4-DAY MISSION TO TOKYO TO DISCUSS GLOBAL POLLUTION PROBLEMS . - ~ . Russell E. Train, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, has been sent on a Presidential mission to Tokyo for 4-day discussions of global environmental prob lems with Japanese leaders. President Nixon said Train would confer with Japanese Prime Minister Sato on Oct. 13. Political pressures for pollution controls have been building in Japan. Sato has become a prime target of criticism by conservationists for allegedly ignoring the environment while promoting industrial growth and commerce. However, he has recently ^ created and taken charge of a Central Environmental Pollution Control Office and has exchanged messages with President Nixon to cooperate in pollution control. ,/ SW 552422 STLCOPCB4090839 October 12. 1970_____ ;____ _____ ^IH/WATESI pollution report __________ Page *10 U.S. TO PUSH FOR TIGHTER ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS OVER POWER PLANT LOCATIONS Legislation providing tighter governmental controls -- mainly at the state level -- over location of new electric power plants and extra-high voltage transmission lines will be sent to Congress "very early in the next session," Dr. Edward E. David, Jr., the President's new science adviser, said last week. David released an interagency study group report, "Electric Power and the Environment," recommending a comprehensive program to resolve the environmental problems in meeting electric power needs. " "The growing controversy over the siting of electric power facilities -- both nuclear and fossil fueled -- makes it imperative that we take action to improve the role of government in establishing a balance between the need for power and the need to preserve our environment," David stated. The report, which provides basis for upcoming legislative proposal, noted that electric power use in the U.S. has been doubling every 10 years for several decades, and because hydroelectric resources have largely been developed, steam power and nuclear plants must provide new growth, both posing hazards to the environment. Basic elements recommended in the report include: (1) Long-range planning of expan sions by electric utilities on regional basis at least 10 years in advance of construc tion. (2) Public disclosure of specific plant sites at least 5 years in advance of con struction. (3) Preconstruction review and approval of all new large power plants and transmis sion lines by a public agency at state or regional level or by the Federal Government, if state fails to act. ' (4) Expanded program of research and development to develop techniques for utilizing or disposing of waste heat, reducing and disposing of solid and gaseous wastes from fossil fuel plants, improving methods of power generation, and locating transmission lines underground. Environmental Costs Recoverable in Rate-Making Private industry is urged to develop "professional competence in regional planning, architecture, biology, ecology, and other environmental sciences." Industrial expen ditures on research and environment should be recoverable in rate-making. The report recommends a coordinated system of state, regional, and Federal certify ing agencies to assure that all substantive environmental protection requirements are met before power plants and transmission lines could be built. These institutional arrangements are designed also to assure that if environmental concerns can be satisfied, construction can proceed in timely fashion to meet the nation's growing needs for electric power, the report said. Some of the principal recommendations are similar to those contained in legislation introduced by Sen. Edmund S. Muskie (D.-Me.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, on July 31, 1969. Subcommittee of Government Operations Committee, headed by Sen. Abraham A. Ribicoff (D.-Conn.), held hearings on the proposal but never reported the bill for further consideration. Report was prepared by Energy Policy Staff, Office of Science and Technology, headed by S. David Freeman. Cooperating in the study were the Council on Environmental Quality, Atomic Energy Commission, Departments of HEW and Interior, Federal Power Com" mission, Rural Electrification Administration, and Tennessee Valley Authority. The 71- page report is available at 75q from Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. , Early this month, the three Federal Power Commission Republican members sent bill to Congress conforming in general terms to the OST report. FPC sources indicate the three acted to forestall Democratic charges of inaction against the Administration. *** WHITE NAMED ACTING ADMINISTRATOR OF NOAA Dr. Robert M. White, administrator of Commerce Department's Environmental Science Services Administration prior to its transfer to the new National Oceanic and Atmos pheric Administration, created Oct. 3, has been named acting administrator of NOAA. Appointment was made by Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans. Permanent appointment will >- be made by President Nixon, subject to Senate confirmation. DSW 552423 1 STLCOPCB4090840 October i2, 1970__ _JUE1/WJITEI& pollution report-Pgge 411 CITIZEN RIGHT TO SUE POLLUTERS UNDER 1899 REFUSE ACT FACES COURT TEST IN RAYONIER CASE Right of citizens to sue polluters under the 1899 Refuse Act, vigorously espoused by Rep. Henry Reuss' (D,-Wis.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Conservation and V Natural Resources, faces early ruling by U.S. District Court in Seattle, Wash,, in case involving ITT-Rayonier, Inc. Arguments, pro and con, were taken under study by Judge William N. Goodwin, Oct. 2, in suit filed by Seattle attorney Marvin Durning contending that ITT-Rayonier violated the 71-year-old law by dumping pulp mill wastes into Port Angeles harbor and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Durning insists the mill should pay a minimum fine of $32-million up to maximum of more than $132-million, under terms of the Act which prohibits the discharge of any refuse, except municipal sewage, into navigable waters without permit from Corps of Engineers. Company argued that the Act is only a criminal law and that a citizen cannot bring suit under it, while Durning said his "qui tam" action, in which the person sues on behalf of himself and the U.S., is possible under the Refuse Act. ITT-Rayonier contended the Act applies only to pollution that obstructs navigation, but Goodwin said he considered the law to include other forms of pollution. Previous suits under the Refuse Act have been filed by the Justice Department, sometimes on infor mation provided by private citizens. Other Environmental Legal Actions Mobil Oil Corp. last week was fined $10,000 by New York State Judge Carman F. Ball, Buffalo, N.Y., on ground it failed to halt discharge of industrial waste from refinery into Buffalo River. Judge also ordered company to build abatement facilities to halt pollution and to have facilities ready for operation by next July 15. He rejected a request to close the 42,000-barrels-a-day refinery, since that "would bring a large economic loss, not only to the defendant, but to its employes and would have an adverse economic effect on other businesses throughout the Buffalo community." Dale Choate, ( refinery manager, said that Mobil originally had planned to close the refinery, later decided to continue operations because of changing conditions in the oil industry. Abatement equipment, ordered last July at cost of more than $675,000, will enable Mobil to more than meet state standards, he said. State of Alabama is suing U.S. and the Sylvaire Dusting Service, Inc., of Sylvester, Ga., acting under contract with Corps of Engineers, for almost $200,000, charging the service with spraying a compound containing Malathion on Black Warrior River last year. Suit said that on Oct. 3, 1969, Sylvaire sprayed the compound on the river to kill mosquitoes, causing death of 751,000 bass and bream on Locust Fork section of the river in Jefferson County. State charged that the defendants knew or should have known the deadly nature of Malathion toward fish and should have applied extreme care in applying it to waters of the state. Fish value was placed at $195,750. ITT-Rayonier, Inc., Port Angeles, Wash., has asked State Department of Ecology to review assessment of $10,400 fine levied against company last month on charge that it violated terms of its waste discharge permit 104 times from July 21, 1968, to May 30, 1969 (A/WPR, Sept. 28, 1970, p.391). John B. Gray, resident manager, said excess water discharge resulted when mill diverted more of the Elwha River through the mill than usual to operate a chlorination washer. He charged further that the state had informa' tion on the alleged violations available in monthly reports from company since 1967, and that intent of pollution control laws was to prevent pollution rather than "to accumu late money by permitting a claimed violation to go on over an extended period without any notice, demand, or other action by the responsible administrative body." Georgia-Pacific Corp., Bellingham, Wash., and Justice Department have agreed on terms * to adjourn until Dec. 4 a Federal suit against mill for mercury pollution. Until then, /' mill is pledged to maintain discharge of no more than one-half pound of mercury per day \ from its chlor-alkali plant. It must also take daily measurements and send them monthly i to U.S. Attorney's office. j Maritime Overseas Corp., has settled an Alaska oil pollution suit brought by Justice is- _ .Department by payment of $8,000. Suit was filed under Oil Pollution Acts of 1924 and : 1961 after fishermen noticed a vessel pumping oily bilges into Gook Inlet on Feb. 18, 1968. STLCOPCB4090841 DSW 552424 October ,i2a,, 1970______.AIR/WATER pollution report Page 412 DOW CHEMICAL TO REDUCE HEAT DISCHARGES 52% WITH 28 ADDITIONAL COOLING TOWERS In one of the largest pollution control projects ever undertaken in the Saginaw Valley, Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., last week announced plans to build 28 additional cooling towers in the next 30 months to reduce its release of hot water to the Tittaba- wassee River by 52%. Purchase and installation, together with changes in the plant's piping and electrical systems, will cost $7.2-million, of which $4.8-million will go for the towers. " The additional towers will permit recycling of cooling water used by 55 production buildings. When the new total of 39 towers are in operation cooling 160-million gallons of water daily, Dow said its water intake from the river will be cut 45%, or by 100- million gallons daily. Midland operations now take 225-million gallons daily from the river, but send back 250-million, since additional water is obtained from Lake Huron and City of Midland waste treatment plant. Added to the 11 cooling towers already operated by Dow, and the 880-acre cooling pond planned for the Midland nuclear energy plant, the new towers will raise to $25- million the investment by Dow and Consumers Power Co. for keeping heat out of the Tittabawassee. In reducing by 52% the heat Dow releases to the river, the project will drop to less than 3 degrees the temperature increase in the river at its average flow of 1,500 cu,ft./sec. At river's low flow of 350 cu.ft./sec., the temperature increase will be less than 10 degrees. Harold Bosscher, Midland Division general manager, described the Midland situation as "unique in the nation.. A large nuclear energy plant is planned, . yet the heat released to the Tittabawassee by both Dow and Consumers Power will be less in 1975 than the heat lost to the river today." *** HUMBLE OIL EXECUTIVE TELLS PETROLEUM INDUSTRY TO PUT 'AIR/WATER QUALITY HOUSE IN ORDER' A 7-point environmental code of conduct for the petroleum industry was urged by Dr. Charles F. Jones, vice chairman of Humble Oil & Refining Co., at 45th annual fall meeting of Society of Petroleum Engineers, in Houston, Oct. 5, as he told the industry to "put its house in order" where air and water quality are concerned. While the petro leum industry already is the leader among all U.S. industries in expenditures for air and water conservation, it still has not yet done enough, he said. "I am thoroughly convinced that until our operations are conducted in a manner that does not offend either the senses or the sensibilities of the public, we will remain open to criticism and possible regulatory reprisal," Jones declared. His series of suggested goals for the industry included: (1) Elimination of oilfield brines wherever their discharge means that someone else's use of water is materially curtailed. (2) Elimination of oil from surface of land and waters where the esthetic sense of public may be offended or its use of these re sources restricted. (3) Elimination of unpleasant odors from petroleum operations any where the public can justifiably say the sense of smell is being offended. (4) Elim ination of offensive amounts of smoke from petroleum facilities. (5) Reduction of transfer and gathering losses in collection and distribution systems to lowest practicable level. (6) Responsible disposition of automotive crankcase drainings, and no oil in public sewers in any petroleum operation. (7) Pleasant appear ance to petroleum installations so that the landscape is not unjustifiably marred. Basic Cleanup Issue -- How Much Public Will Spend Jones urged the petroleum industry not only to be more aggressive in tackling environmental problems "in its own legitimate defense," but to help provide a better perspective on the total problem. "In the cry over industry's part in lowering of air and water quality, the negative contributions of the American city and the American individual have been brushed aside as incidental. Basically, the solution of our en vironmental problems is a matter of how much money -- both public and private -- Americans want to devote to the task," Jones asserted. "Environmental pollution abatement will become a series of economic choices at many levels -- national, state, and local -- on which the public will have to make a series of economic judgments on the basis of the t.-cost versus the benefits." DSW 552425 ) STLCOPCB4090842 October 12, 1970 JUR/WHTEil pollution report- Page 413 NOAA EFFECTIVE ON OCT. 3, EPA ON DEC. 2 IN MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL REALIGNMENTS President Nixon's major realignments of environmental agencies --air, water, and solid waste -- become officially effective in two stages, Oct. 3 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Dec. 2 for the Environmental Protection Agency, in line with Presidential documents published in the Federal Register, Oct. 6. Both reorgan ization plans were submitted to Congress on July 9, but the President stipulated an additional 60 days to allow needed time for creating EPA as an independent agency, report ing directly to him, through transfer of the major pollution control agencies from other departments. While the Administration has indicated that revisions may be made by the administra tors yet to be named after the agencies are established, the number of positions and budget dollars being transferred initially to each agency are summarized below. The positions are estimates supplied by the President's Advisory Council on Executive Organ ization. Budget figures are Administration's fiscal 1971 requests for outlays, as distinct from requests for obligations which are considerably higher. Environmental Protection Agency Functions Transferred From Positions 1971 Budget Federal Water Quality Administration............ Interior Fish & Wildlife Service (pesticides)............ Interior Natl. Air Pollution Control Admin. ............... HEW Food & Drug Admin, (pesticides)........................ HEW Bureau of Solid Waste Management............... HEW Bureau of Water Hygiene...................................... .. HEW Bureau of Radiological Health (portions).. HEW Environmental Control Admin, (portions)... HEW Environmental Health Service (portions)... HEW 'Agriculture Research Service (pesticides). USDA Radiation Standards.......... .......................................... AEC Federal Radiation Council..................................... Exec. Office Ecological Research of Council on Environmen:taal Quality 2,669 29 1,141 272 206 160 508 127 211 461 8 4 0 $650,000,000 751,000 107,400,000 9,660,000 15,305,000 2,110,000 9,946,000 1,772,000 5,229,000 6,572,000 67,000 130,000 0 . 5,796 $808,892,000 $1,399,270,000 Functions National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Transferred From Positions 19 71 Budget Environmental Science Services Admin............ Bureau of Commercial Fisheries.................... .... Bureau of Sport Fisheries & Wildlife (research-marine sport fishing)...................... Bureau of Mines' marine technology................. National Sea Grant Program.................................... Engineers Corps' Great Lakes charting..... Navy Oceanographic Data Centers........................ Coast Guard buoy systems......................................... Commerce Interior Interior Interior Nat. Sci. Found. Defense Defense Transportation 11,582 1,680 60 55 7 120 188 53 $198,599,000 53,000,000 1,150,000 900,000 10,000,000 2,000,000 3,485,000 6,000,000 TOTALS .. 13,745 $275,134,000 Total Budget Requests for Obligations.......... $329,862,000 The President's decision to have NOAA report directly to the Secretary of Commerce instead of making it a part of Interior Department has raised speculation as to whether ( the U.S. coastal zone program now being formulated might also be funneled into Commerce. The proposed coastal management program would provide Federal grants to 30 coastal and Great Lakes states for planning and management of coastal water and land resources. The pending Administration bill assigns the program to Interior, bpt that could quickly be changed now that NOAA has cleared Congress and is in operation.. tr- ..... DSW 552426 STLCOPCB4090843 ' October 12, 1970 Page 4l4 GSA ESTABLISHES OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS; COMMENDED BY ILLINOIS ATTY. GENERAL General Services Administration is establishing an Office of Environmental Affairs to coordinate its pollution abatement efforts. Administrator Robert L. Kunzig announced last week. Kunzig said that as the buyer of common use items for the Federal Government, the builder and operator of Federal buildings across the nation, and as administrator of Federal excess property, GSA "must take a leading role in helping clean up and maintain the environment." He said the environmental affairs staff will blend persons with back grounds in natural sciences, law, and land use planning. GSA buys $2.1-billion in common-use items annually, manages 10,000 Federally-owned or leased buildings, and in fiscal 1970 disposed of more than $100-million in Federal real property. "Each of these activities has a direct impact on the environmentKunzig explained. "We plan to more than meet our responsibility in protecting this environment." The GSA unit will work closely with the President's Council on Environmental Quality, he indicated. - The new office will be involved in: (a) Use of anti-pollution cleauses in GSA pro curement contracts that would require suppliers to furnish non-polluting products and discourage suppliers' use of manufacturing facilities or methods that contribute to pollution; (b) development of comprehensive plans for Federal land use that would include designation of Federally-owned real property for urban park use, low and moderate income housing and other Administration programs; (c) expansion of solid waste recycling pro gram for paper, metal, and glass. GSA is responsible, for collecting waste from most Federal buildings. ; 'Best... State and Federal Government Cooperation' Illinois Atty. Gen. William J. Scott last week called GSA's participation in a recent Commonwealth Edison Co. rate increase application hearing involving air and water pollution issues, "one of the best examples of State and Federal Government cooperation ve have ever experienced." Thanks in part, he said, to aid from representatives of GSA's general counsel and its Transportation and Communications Service, Edison will spend about $200-million for abatement and control of pollution by end of 1974. The . Illinois Commerce Commission granted a substantial part of Edison's request for rate increase -- 4.5% as compared with requested 6.1% -- only after company agreed to pollu tion abatement terms. Scott called the action an "historic legal achievement" since it was the first case in which a state public utility regulatory commission used its powers to reduce and control air and water pollution by an electric utility. He credited GSA with playing a key role in cross examining witnesses, presenting evidence, preparing briefs and oral arguments. Since the Federal Government is a major consumer of electricity, gas and water, and a user of other public services, GSA has been given statutory responsibility for rep resenting the Government as a consumer in regulatory proceedings before Federal and state utility commissions. A ** CAPSULE NEWS ` Standard Oil Co. (Ohio) will introduce lead-free gasoline and new versions of present regular and premium fuels with lower lead content during November. Sohio's lead-free fuel, called Cetron, is designed for use in most 1971 cars, will be sold at same price as regular-grade, compared with l-6c markups for unleaded fuels sold by other oil companies. Regular and premium grades will be reduced 20% in lead content, but won't carry lower octane ratings or higher prices than Sohio's present fuels. Initially, new unleaded fuel will be marketed at about one-third of outlets in Ohio and neighboring states. Rep. William C. Cramer (R.-Fla.), campaigning for Senate, has asked Florida Gov. Claude Kirk to call for a Federally sponsored enforcement conference to deal with pollu tion in Tampa, Hillsborough, and Boca Ciega Bays. . Texaco, Inc, said it has developed new transistorized ignition system that several i engine manufacturers are now evaluating as aid to reducing pollution. -Company said its new. device will permit cars to bum lean fuel mixtures and can be used in conjunction "with recirculation of exhaust gases. - DSW 552427 . ) ' .J STLCOPCB4090844 October 12, 1970__ ;;____ filR/WAIE^ pollution report;Page *is NIXON WON'T VETO $1-BILLION FOR HUD SEWER & WATER GRANTS, WON'T SPEND IT EITHER President Nixon announced Oct. 6 he will not veto the Emergency Community Facilities Act containing authorization of $l-billion in Federal sewer and water construction grants, administered by Department of Housing and Urban Development -- but he indicated he wouldn't spend that much either. The measure passed the House by 232-32 vote, and the Senate by voice vote. President asked for $150-million in his budget for the Federal aid program which isoperated on a 50-50 matching basis with localities. His written statement did not discuss the need for water and sewer construction grants, but declared "it is plainly irrespon sible to call for spending without regard to how the cost is to be borne." He charged Congress with "raising false hopes" by authorizing $l-billion when there is little hope of actually obtaining and appropriating the money without an increase in revenues. In passing the Act, Congress formally declared that a large number of cities are ... unable to finance sewer and water facilities because of shortage of funds for long-term borrowing, and that "there is an immediate need for such facilities" to safeguard public health, check pollution, and combat unemployment. Congressional figures show 4,300 applications with requests totaling $2.5-billion for sewer and water grants pending at HUD. Last year HUD spent only $128-million for this purpose. *** IMPORT TAX SUGGESTED TO PROTECT HIGHER PRODUCT PRICES DUE TO POLLUTION MEASURES In absence of international pollution standards, the U.S. may have to levy border taxes on imports to keep domestic goods produced under stiff pollution control laws competitive, Harold Passer, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, said Oct. 6. Passer told a meeting of businessmen in Charlottesville, Va., he favored this use of taxation "only for special cases involving transitional problems." The most desirable solution, he stated, would be international pollution agreements adhered to by major industrial coun tries. If such agreements cannot be reached, the U.S. may have to levy taxes on imports and rebates on exports to reflect the added cost of controlling pollution, he explained. The taxation route was called a "less desirable solution" because of the possibility of creating trade difficulties and the problem of determining how much pollution stand ards add to production costs. Passer emphasized that the cost of pollution abatement ultimately will be borne by the consumer; the market mechanism would translate pollution prevention costs into product prices which individuals will pay. Short-term, he suggested, the Federal Government might temporarily apply subsidies to help workers or industries affected by pollution controls, but the market mechanism must govern long-term adjustments. *** FWQA ISSUES GUIDELINES ON DESIGN, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE OF WASTE TREATMENT PLANTS Culminating a year's study of its grant program, the Federal Water Quality Admin istration last week ussued "Federal Guidelines for Design, Operation and Maintenance of Waste Water Treatment Facilities," aimed at deriving optimum benefits from expenditures in water pollution control. David D. Dominick, FWQA commissioner, told the 43rd annual conference of the Water Pollution Control Federation in Boston, Oct. 7, that conformance with principles in thev guidelines is essential to ensure the development of properly designed facilities meeting all state and FWQA requirements. Guidelines stress the need for (1) environmental compatibility, so projects have least possible impact on environment; (2) conformance with regionalization and/or basin sewerage planning; (3) project feasibility -- facility should be completed and in opera tion within 3 years of date of Federal grant offer; (4) reliability -- facility should be capable of operating satisfactorily during power failures, flooding, peak loads, equipment failure, and maintenance shutdowns; (5) elimination of by-passing -- by-passing must have prior approval of state and FWQA, should be avoided unless human life or welfare is involved; (6) defining characteristics of industrial wastes and their effects upon treatment process. Copies of guidelines available from FWQA, Department of Interibr, Washington, D.C. 20240. . -- -------- . . DSW 552428 STLCOPCB4090845 October 12, 1970 iHH/WHTiK pollution report_ Page 416 18 FWQA GRANTS TOTAL $4.3-MILLION FOR $22.9-MILLION WASTE TREATMENT FACILITIES Federal Water Quality Administration last week awarded 18 construction grants total ing $4,302,910 to help build $22,876,934 worth of waste treatment facilities. Grant Est.Total Cost Project California: San Diego................. $376,500 $1,255,000 Sludge digester Tulare........................ 57,550 174,405 Interceptor, pump station Georgia: Columbus................... 682,800 2,276,000 Chlorination, activated sludge Homervilie............... 38,280 116,000 Secondary, chlorination Illinois: Belvidere........ 396,000 1,320,000 Secondary plant additions Michigan: Eaton County..... 12,960 271,200 Treatment plant Marine City...... 39,840 806,800 Secondary, phosphate removal Meridian Twp..... 2,500 50,000 Secondary, lift station, force mains Oakland County... 418,060 8,455,318 Interceptor Wayne County..... 91,700 1,834,000 Plant additions Mississippi: Natchez...................... 919,500 3,065,000 Force mains, activated sludge No,Carolina: Thomasville............ 60,690 204,000 Interceptor, force mains Tennessee: Elizabethton.......... 703,450 1,279,000 Activated sludge, incineration Texas: Conroe........................ 98,340 308,000 Treatment plant, interceptor Kyle............................. 74,100 258,200 Interceptor, pump sta., force mains Nederland................. 182,010 618,700 Plant expansion, force mains Sheldon Sch.Dist. 13,630 41,311 Chlorination, aeration Vermont; Chester...................... 135,000 544,000 Secondary, interceptor PUBLICATIONS & TECHNICAL LITERATURE Environmental Criteria for Electric Transmission Systems, issued jointly by Depart ments of-Interior and Agriculture, is intended as guide in planning of needed electric transmission systems, and all agencies of both Departments have been directed to use the criteria in reviewing projects. Contains specific recommendations regarding route selection, tower design, right-of-way-clearing, construction, cleanup and restoration, and maintenance. Publication points out there are 3,600 electric utilities in U.S., operating over 300,000 miles of transmission lines which preempt 4-million acres of land for right-of-way. It estimates 100,000 miles of new lines will be constructed on 1.5million acres of right-of-way in each decade for remainder of century. 52-pp. Available for 65b from Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Cat.No. I 1.77/2:EN8. Investigating Fish Mortalities, 21-page pamphlet published by Federal Water Quality Administration, is comprehensive guide for field investigator in procuring samples, preparing specimens for analysis, and evaluating data to determine cause of fish deaths, which also provides checklist to aid investigator in thorough study of the kill and in reporting the symptoms of the dead or dying fish. Copies are available, free, from Office of Public Information, Federal Water Quality Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20242. Lake Tahoe Basin, California-Nevada describes water resources and water use in basin, prepared by U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with California Department of Water Resources. J.R. Crippen, USGS hydrologist and senior author, states "most immed iate problems are waste disposal and consequent pollution," but that eutrophication "can be forestalled by controlling the inflow of everyday waste products into the basin." 56-pp. Available for 40c as USGS Water-Supply Paper 1972~ Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Congregation of Vapors includes facts on major sources of air pollution, how it affects people, plants and environment, discusses methods of control. 6-pp. Available for 35c from League of Women Voters, 1730 M St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Air Pollution Injury to Vegetation, published by PHS- Environmental Health Service, in full-color, discusses basic anatomy, morphology, and physiology of leaf to facilitate understanding of leaf activity in relation to air pollution symptoms and injuries. ! Available for $1.25 as Cat. No. HE 20.1309:71, Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. END DSW 552429 STLCOPCB4090846