sale or use in the state. EPA staff predicted that funding will be a sticky issue. Currently EPA provides only $5 million annually to all the states for FIFRA enforcement, and this is unlikely to change. Consequently, the proposal suggests that states defray costs through a fee structure, requiring pesticide makers or users to pay to have their pesticides included in the plan. Other funding alternatives, EPA staff said, may require that pesticide makers or users provide states with technical expertise or take over monitoring groundwater conditions to demonstrate that pesticides won't pollute the environment Pesticide makers and users do not believe there is a need for the change and doubt that these five pesticides are particularly risky. But EPA officials counter that there have been hundreds of detections of these pesticides in groundwater and dozens of violations of drinking water and health standards. Atrazine, for instance, the most heavily used pesticide in the country, has often contaminated groundwater, EPA said. The proposal is expected to be finalized next year, staff said. States would have 24 months to develop and submit plans, EPA has three months to approve them, and a three-month startup period would follow. Final implementation, therefore, would not happen until the next century.
Cheaper dioxin controls considered for paper, pulp Publication of a "notice of data availability" on July 15 signals that EPA may be backing away from a technology proposed earlier to control dioxin effluent discharges from the pulp and paper industry and may accept a cheaper technology favored by the industry. The notice focuses on the bleaching processes for fine-grade, high-quality paper products: paper-grade kraft and paper-grade sulfite processes {Federal Register 1996 62(136) 36835-58). Bleaching processes that use chlorine to brighten these papers have been primary generators of dioxins and furans. The announcement seeks comment on two technology options to cut chlorine use and dioxin generation. It also seeks comment on a voluntary incentives program to reward mills that
implement pollution prevention technologies. More than $3 billion in new equipment is at stake, according to the American Forest and Paper Association. That is the amount the industry says it will spend if EPA continues with its 1993 proposal to require "oxygen delignification" technology coupled with substitution of chlorine dioxide for elemental chlorine in the bleaching process. The industry supports substitution of chlorine dioxide without oxygen delignification and has already introduced this process at many plants in the decade since environmental groups first sued EPA to force the rule In its notice, EPA said both technologies will result in a 95% reduction in dioxin generation. Both use chlorine dioxide rather than elemental chlorine to bleach pulp, which helps cut dioxin. Oxygen delignification, however, is done before the bleaching process begins and uses oxygen to purify pulp and remove lignin, a brown natural wood binder. Its removal before bleaching leads to a less polluting process overall with less toxic waste. EPA staff and environmentalists say oxygen delignification is a better "foundation technology" because it relies less on bleaching and will start the industry on a path to closedloop systems that reduce environmental emissions for a host of pollutants besides dioxin. The substitution of chlorine dioxide is cheaper, but it is a dead-end technology, they say. They also challenge the industry's cost figures. The comment period closed Aug. 14 on this latest addition to the long-delayed final "cluster rule" regulating air and effluent emissions from paper and pulp sources. Under court order, the rule was to be finalized in June 1995. This most recent notice marks the fifth time the proposal has been modified since it was proposed in December 1993. EPA officials, noting the complication and controversy in regulating this important and large industry sector, said they could not predict when the rule will be finalized
Electromagnetic Fields
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to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from architectural and industrial maintenance (AIM) coatings. The proposal will require product reformulation by manufacturers of all 55 product categories of architectural coatings, rather than require add-on controls {Federal Register 1996, 61 (123), 32729-46). VOCs are a primary component in forming ground-level ozone, and the AIM category of coatings represents about 2% of total U.S. VOC emissions. The proposal would reduce AIM VOCs by 20% from 1990 levels. Many states with ozone problems will depend on EPA's rule to meet Clean Air Act requirements for VOC reductions. In March, EPA said states may claim a 20% emission reduction credit toward their VOC goal based on this proposed rule. The proposal follows four years of discussions with manufacturers, environmentalists, and state regulators that concluded without an agreement. The proposal, however, incorporates concerns raised by the talks, agency officials said, and consequently EPA is accepting comment on several compliance alternatives: • A market-based option allowing companies to continue manufacturing higher VOC content paint if they pay an "exceedence fee"; • A "low-volume" exemption establishing a sales volume cutoff under which specialty products would be exempt; and • A "variance provision" allowing manufacturers or importers to apply for extended compliance time. The National Paint and Coatings Association, representing some 500 small and medium-size coatings manufacturers and distributors, supports the proposal but is concerned that the compliance options will not provide enough flexibility to develop coatings to address unique needs, said the association's Jim Sell. On the other hand, state air regulators believe the proposal is not tough enough. A group of House members objected to the timing of the proposal and sent a letter to the White House charging that EPA pushed the proposal out the door to avoid compliance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, which became effective June 29. An EPA official denied the charge, saying the proposal is long
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overdue and already incorporates concerns voiced by small businesses. Once finalized, the rule would affect about 500 architectural and coating manufacturers and importers in the United States but is expected to have limited economic impact, the agency said.
Agreement reached to clean up Lake Champlain After five years of discussion, a wide range of stakeholders in New York and Vermont have agreed to a cooperative plan to clean up Lake Champlain. The draft plan, sponsored by EPA, the two states, and several federal agencies, commits signatories to a voluntary, comprehensive plan to reduce phosphorus, sulfur, and toxic pollutants from the watershed, as well as manage nonnative aquatic plants and animals. The Champlain water basin runs 120 miles along the western edge of Vermont and the northeast corner of New York and has pollution problems similar to those of the Great Lakes. Congress highlighted the importance of Lake Champlain by designating it a resource of national significance. Development of the plan has involved many local groups representing business, agriculture, environmental, and government interests. No new regulations will be set, but current ones must be met under the draft management strategy, which emphasizes cleanup goals and recommendations. The plan promotes pollution prevention by government, businesses, and local residents. For instance, businesses are asked to reduce their use of toxics, and citizens are encouraged to participate in programs to control nonnative plant species. To help fund pollution prevention activities, the plan includes costshare programs, supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and supplemented by state funds, some of which are intended to assist farmers in improving waste management practices especially those directed to phosphorus. The Lake Champlain Commission, which represents local communities, supports the plan but worries that funding is inadequate. "If we don't have the money nailed down, we worry that the plan won't move forward," said Lori Fisher, executive director of the commission.
