Document jmzdeGrNJayk0GzzVg6gBz0eO

'\ CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS ardized welded steel tankage, and the 11 to 170 barrels capacity facility would apply to small apartment budd ings, small vehicle fleet operations, and small commercial and industrial establishments. The 171 to 500 barrel capacity category would include most service stations, marinas, medium sized apartment buddings, and some industrial establishments, and the ''largest capacity covered under the proposal would apply to industrial plants, large hotels and apartment buddings, tar.M MflllM t#tr** CC <Po h ofto 6 / Miff* ArT -C- A,V < fa/ fhfo fti) ' W // k * ysu* . * j"H' wiiich cannot be exceeded more than once per year, will remain in oiTeci. * Robert L. Sansom, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Water Programs, said the decision to revoke die annual standard for sulfur oxides was based on "the evolution of knowledge" and on a February 1972 deci sion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The decision found that EPA failed to demon strate the basis for the standards. Siintom mid it is something of an "oddity" that Kcnicotl brought suit, and (hat the revaluation of the standards may prove to be to industry's disadvantage since it has been brought sttcntlon to isolaiod point sources that have a standard geometric deviation of more than 2.4. EPA has found that the standard geometric deviation ranges from 1.7 to 2.8 across the U.S. The proposal would mean that such industries as power plant facilities and copper smelters, which generally locate in isohued areas, probably will have to install more stringent con* trols, he ssid. Sansom added that while the agency has not studied what impact the proposal will have on coal burning, it probably will not help the clean-fuels problem. Sansom also said EPA is studying the secondary threehour standard since there are tome indications that the standard is not stringent enough and should be based on a one-hour test. EPA plans )o promulgate the standard Within 90 days and then allow states nine months to revise their air quality implementation plans, if necessary. EPA will issue guidelines for states to follow to determine the ncccssti) for revising plans. Comments on the proposal should be submitted in triplicate within 45 days to the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, EPA, Research Triangle Park. N.C. 27711. The proposal appears in the Full Text section of this report. Water Pollution EPA REPORT CITES STORM WATER RUNOFF FROM STREETS AS MAJOR POLLUTION FACTOR Storm water runoff from city streets may be adding significant amounts of lead, zinc, and other heavy metals to 113. waterways, according to a report of the Environ mental Protection Agency. The report, "Water Pollution Aspects of Street Surface Contaminants," also found that pesticides and other similar chemicals were contributing to water pollution during periods of heavy rain. The report was released April 26, five months after it was printed. About 75 percent of the total weight of the materials found in stroet samplings were polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's). Currently, the major use of PCB's is in recircula ting systems such as industrial heat exchangers. EPA said that data are lacking on concentrations of the material in the environment, but that investigations are underway to obtain more detailed information. The study states that street runoff may contnhutcf^ considerably more pollution than a city's sanitary sewage during periods of moderate to heavy rain. The major part of street surface contaminants was found to be sand and stit material. However the study concluded, more of the materials of this particle size are very effectively removed by current street cleaning practices. Tho study was conducted under a $.109,000 FPA contract by IRS Research Company of San Mateo, Calif. EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Mon itoring Stanley M. Greenfield said "while not cause for alarm, the information presented in this report docs show that more attention must be paid to the problem of pollution from storm runoff, especially as wastes from industry and other municipal sources art reduced." Copyright C 1973 by Tho Buroaw of National AHairt, Inc. MGNS 060215 V ENVIRONMENT REPORTER The Federal Water Pollution Control Act gave EPA authority to offer demonstration grants in this area of pollution and to require consideration of pollution from storm runoff in the development of area wide waste ' treatment management plans. X . Tire 237-page report is available from the U.5. Govern ment .Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, for $3.' The other number is EPI 23/2: 72*081. ' ................................................. ' " ' ' INTERIOR DEPARTMENT BEING REORGANIZED TO CARRY OUT PRESIDENTS ENERGY PROGRAM PITTSBURGH - (By an Environment Reporter staff correspondent) -- A major reorganization of the U.S. Interior Department designed to help deal with the energy crisis was announced May 7 by Assistant Secretary for Energy and Minerals Stephen A. Wakefield. He said it an American Mining Congress press eon* faience that the reorganization order signed by the Secre* tary of the Interior May 7 created four new agencies aimed at carrying out "tire directives of President Nixon's April 18 energy mossage" (Environment Reporter, Federal Laws 21:0541)- The four new agencies were: the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration, Office of Energy Data and Analysis, Office of Research and Development, and the Office of Energy Conservation. The Department also established an Office of Land Use and Water Plan* King. The Office of Energy Conservation will be responsible for promoting consumer awareness of energy conserva tion, for developing studies and research on means of reducing energy requirements, and for coordinating all* federal agency programs relating to energy conservation. The Office of Energy Data and Analysis will be respon sible for developing an energy information system and analytic capabilities to assist federal officials in eitab* Hilling short and long-tenn energy policies. The Office of Research and Development will set energy research priorities and coordinate departmental budgets end programs in this area. The office will admin ister a proposed $25 million central energy fund and direct the underground electric power transmission re search program. Tire Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration will enforce Uie Federal Coal Mine Act and the Federal Metal and Nonmetallic Mine Safety Act. The Office of Land Use and Water Planning will be responsible for policy development and interagency co ordination on tho use of public land and water resources, liaison with the Water Resources Council, and coordina tion of River Basin Commission activities. ' Washington Press Conference Wakefield told s Washington press conference May 8 that (here is "no necessary conflict" between energy end the environment on development of the Outer Con tinental Shelf. He said major risks associated with offshore develop* monl "have been' eliminated," and offshore production Is environmentally "far superior" to increased tanker traffic for oil imports. The Interior Department expects to offer an accelerated lease sale schedule shortly on about three million acres for offshore oil and gas exploration and development, he added. ' Wakefield predicted supply "dislocations" but no "massive shortages" of gasoline this summer, snd said no ' rationing of consumer gasoline supplies is foreseen for the immediate future although it may be necessary to "push" for "voluntary" allocations of supplies by major oil companies to independent distributors. He also said he doesn't expect gasoline prices to increase very much, although prices will rise- somewhat as a result of shortages and fees on imported petroleum products being brought in to relieve those shortages. > Wakefield maintained that he\sees no evidence that the gasoline shortage is contrived by industry to gain support for measures favoring its economic interests and said anyone who has evidence that the shortages are contrived should present it to the Justice Department for legal action. He predicted general fuel "dislocations," but no mas sive shortage for the foreseeable future. Localized short ages may require allocations of some fuel supplies to "high priority" users such as households and hospitals, he . advised. __ `Energy Ethie' Wakefield said in Pittsburgh that the U.S. is heading toward "overreliance" on imported ofl and must "move strongly" to reverse this trend. He recommended a con certed national effort to develop resources and to create an "energy ethic" in which energy Is regarded as an asset rather than something to be wasted. At a luncheon meeting, he said the U.S. is "not short on resources, not even oil and gas," but is short on incentives to develop them. He added that a legacy of almost two decades of inattention to the developing problems of domestic energy industries is the reason for current shortages in oil and gas. He said that the "critical element that we have irretrievably lost is time." Energy and Environment Senator Jennlnp Randolph (D-WVa) told the con vention vthat "more realism" is needed in stmeturing and carrying out environmental policies. He raid failures in coordination have created a situation in which environ mental considerations threaten the economy and national security. Spokesmen for environmental and economic priorities 'have not gotten together, Randolph said, end have acted as pressure groups seeking to use Congress as an arbitra tion board. Only through discussion and compromise can in immediate and long-term consensus on environmental objectives be developed that would "mesh, not clash" with energy needs, he added. Randolph called the President's energy message "too little, too late." He added that the abolition of the Mandatory Oil Import Quota Program disturbed him because "it has all the signs of a revenue measure rather titan a proposal to manage or limit oil imports." snd because it would be done by executive order without review by Congress. .. k He called for positive federal initiatives in energy Environment Roportor HONS 068216