vey. Some 45% of companies report no costs for permitting requirements, however. Ninety percent said permitting costs were less than $10,000, and three-quarters reported receiving a permit in six months or less from the time of application. Overall, those surveyed said industries should be more directly involved in developing regulations and enforcement should be based on industry standards, not government rules. Among environmental laws, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was most costly and burdensome. The report is available by calling (202) 463-5682.
NEWS BRIEFS EPA's future research will be guided by risk-based principles spelled out in the "Strategic Plan for the Office of Research and Development" released in May. The report identifies six high-priority research areas: drinking water disinfection, particulate matter, endocrine disrupters, research to improve ecosystem risk assessments, research to improve health risk assessments, and pollution prevention and new technologies. The plan also highlights ORD's drive to expand extramural grants and fellowships, intensify use of peer review, and institute a new planning and management process. The plan will also be a basis for the ORD fiscal year 1997 and 1998 budgets. It is available from EPA by calling (513) 569-7566 or via the World Wide Web at www. epa.gov/ORD. A glowing report on the acid rain program's implementation progress was issued by EPA in May. The third annual update report covers the year 1995, the year the first phase of sulfur dioxide reductions was required for high-polluting utilities. In that year, the report notes, S0 2 emissions reductions were 3.5 million tons ahead of schedule, meaning that 5.3 million tons of S0 2 were emitted in 1995 as compared to 10 million tons in 1990 by utilities covered by the first phase of reductions. The report also notes that several utilities had met emissions limits for nitrogen oxides by installing low-NO x burner technology. "Acid Rain Program Update No. 3" is available by calling (202) 233-9620. Adequate water and sewage treatment are predicted to be major problems for the "megacities" of the future where most of the population growth over the next 30 years is expected to occur, says the National Research Council. The NRC released several working papers, which focus on labor, water and sanitation, and transportation. Overall, the papers predict that most of the 2.5 billion in population growth will take place in cities with pop-
ulations of more than 8 million. The drafts will become part of a larger study to be completed later this year but are now in "Meeting the Challenges of Megacities in the Developing World," which is available by calling 1-800-6246242. Seventy-two federal programs and initiatives exist to help states, cities, individuals, and others protect water from pollution, according to a General Accounting Office report released in June. The report lists activities and staff contacts—with phone numbers and e-mail addresses— for the eight federal departments and agencies with significant water-related activities. In all, GAO estimates that $4.6 billion and 10,680 staff members were dedicated to these programs in 1995. "Water Quality: A Catalog of Related Federal Programs" (GAO/RCED-96-173) is available from GAO by calling (202) 5126000. Although businesses dislike them, environmental rules are not as expensive as labor and employee benefits regulations, according to a new survey of 8000 business officials conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. From one-third to one-half of surveyed companies said they spend 5% of their annual budgets to comply with federal regulations. Looking at environmental laws, the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act affect the largest number of firms, 62% and 68%, respectively, according to the sur-
The number of industrial facilities with on-site incinerators is declining, and the trend is likely to accelerate as EPA finalizes standards for hazardous waste combustion, according to a report by the research firm Environmental Information, Ltd. (EI). Since 1994, 11% (13 facilities) have ceased burning hazardous wastes, and only one built a new incinerator. El's report predicts that the new standards will drive half the facilities to use off-site commercial incinerators or other alternatives to cut hazardous wastes. EI estimates that more than 1 million tons of hazardous waste are burned by captive incinerators. For more information, call (800) 593-6271. The $45-billion-a-year fishing industry is among key U.S. economic sectors that benefit from clean water, according to an EPA report released in May. "Liquid Assets" assesses the importance of water to the overall U.S. economy and examines water's importance in five industrial sectors. The report says real estate next to water is nearly 30% more valuable than similar inland property; Americans take 1.8 billion waterbased vacation trips per year; the clean water technology industry has sales of more than $64 billion a year in the United States and $170 billion internationally; and manufacturing calls for 13 trillion gallons of water a year, nine times the volume flowing daily from the Mississippi River. The report is available through EPA's Water Office at (202) 260-3881.
VOL. 30, NO. 8, 1996/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY/NEWS" 3 3 9 A
