Government
Federal Alert— new regulations
EPA plans to strive for measurable results
This listing highlights regulations published in the Federal Register from Feb. 25 to April 5. Page numbers refer to those issues. PROPOSED Environmental Protection Agency—Sets more specific criteria for obtaining permits for and operations of ocean incineration of liquid wastes; comments by May 29 (Feb. 28, page 8222). Seeks comments and data on proposal to ban totally use of lead in gasoline; no closing comment date (March 7, page 9400). Updates Toxic Substances Control ventory asking manufacturers to current production data on about substances; comments by May 13 12, page 9944).
Act insupply 15,000 (March
Changes Rebuttable Presumption Against Registration process to Special Reviews and revises review criteria and procedures; comments by June 25 (March 27, page 12188). Food & Drug Administration—Clarifies requirements for identifying use of sulfiting agents in foods; comments by June 3 (April 3, page 13306). Occupational Safety & Health Administration—Exempts ethylene oxide containers that comply with pesticide labeling law from having to comply with OSHA ethylene oxide regulations; comments by May 1 (April 1, page 12827). PINAL Environmental Protection Agency—Amends performance standards for emissions of wool glass-fiber insulation into air; effective Feb. 25 (Feb. 25, page 7694). Sets standard of 0.1 g of lead per gal for leaded gasoline as of Jan. 1, 1986; effective April 8 (March 7, page 9386). Adjusts reportable quantity values for spilled chemicals under Superfund law and proposes new reportable quantity values for other chemicals; effective July 3 (April 4, pages 13456 and 13514). Nuclear Regulatory Commission—Revises grading scheme for nuclear fuel of low strategic significance to reduce licensee cost in handling; effective March 27 (Feb. 25, page 7575). Amends rules to comply with Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials for international transport of certain shipments; no set effective date (March 28, page 12221). Office of Science & Technology Policy— Establishes guidelines for regulatory agencies to consider in assessing cancer risk from chemicals (March 14, page 10372).
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April 15, 1985 C&EN
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to dedicate the next four years to obtaining measurable environmental results, according to the agency's new administrator, Lee M. Thomas, in a major policy speech April 3 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. In providing an outline for his plans for running the agency, Thomas says that nothing erodes the public's tolerance for a regulatory agency more than the imposition of burdens that appear to have only petty results, or the appearance of not acting aggressively in the public interest. In general, the speech indicates Thomas wants to take a pragmatic approach to pollution control. EPA must choose to do the things it believes are important and do those well, he says. Then, "we must tell people why we think they are important and why we didn't do other things we think are less important." Problems Thomas considers important at this time include sewage treatment, controlling ozone and other major air pollutants (particularly to protect wetlands), and finding some way to get a handle on water pollutants from n o n p o i n t sources. But the biggest concerns are toxic substances and hazardous waste. The entire pollution control situation is exacerbated because "we always, always underestimate the complexity of the environmental problem we want to control and the difficulty of operating the control program. In other words, what comes out of a committee room in Washington as a mandate often has little connection with what comes out of some pipe in Ohio," Thomas says. He envisions a four-point process taking place during the next few years. First, EPA has to make sure its priorities are those that will have important environmental results. Thomas says he wants to add indicators of environmental progress into the accountability systems of each agency program. Second, he will continue to decentralize EPA programs and delegate additional authority to regions and states. "En-
Thomas: a multimedia perspective vironmental protection is too large a dog to be wagged by a tail clutched in Washington," he says. Third, EPA plans to increase the emphasis it gives to community inv o l v e m e n t and public education. This would include programs both to keep the communities informed about what EPA is doing and to establish forums to provide better input to EPA about how the agency's decisions are affecting people's lives. Fourth, Thomas says EPA must plan control solutions from a multimedia perspective. "We have to reduce risk and not merely transfer it," he says. Thomas declined to m e n t i o n , however, a number of matters that have been on people's minds—such as the budget cuts EPA has suffered in the past four years, the recent re-emphasis on R&D and the concomitant increase in funds there, the problem Congress has had for the past several years in reauthorizing environmental legislation, and the constant criticism of EPA's record on S u p e r f u n d c l e a n u p s . Thomas' plans for the agency could change its 1970s mold into one more suitable for the 1980s, but the constant battles EPA fights just to keep up with its court- and Congressionally mandated workload make moving in new directions extremely difficult. David Hanson, Washington
