QUESTION 8. What important questions are you unable to research adequately within your existing research structure? What are the main hindrances to proceeding with such research? NOAA's research structure is adequate for the tasks and questions of today and the foreseeable future. There are, however, important environmental research and development questions or areas which should receive initial or added emphasis in the future. The most significant of these and the main hindrances to proceeding with them are discussed below. The proper management and effective use of the coastal zone requires improved institutional arrangements and better information and understanding on which to base management decisions. It is in the latter area-better information and understanding-that NOAA can and should make a major contribution. A marine environmental quality monitoring program should be initiated to provide information in support of EPA, information in support of fisheries and information in support of research into the physical and biological aspects of estuaries, wet lands and continental shelf. The major hindrances to this program, aside from funding, are the shortages of qualified multi-discipline scientists to plan and conduct the program and the shortage of adequately staffed and equipped laboratories to conduct research into the local problems and questions relevant to coastal zone management. Monitoring the atmosphere on a global basis to determine climatic changes and reasons therefore needs added emphasis in the future to avoid possible irreversible changes that would add to the degradation of the atmosphere. The major hindrances are inadequate funding and remote sensing technology applicable to satellite-borne sensors. Weather modification for the benefit of man now appears possible in several areas and the research program should be expanded to establish firmly what modification actions may be undertaken safely and to bring the technology to an operational status as quickly as possible. This applies to modification of tropical cyclones (Project STORMFURY), rainfall augmentation from cumulus clouds, hail and lightning suppression and snowfall redistribution/augmentation. The principal hindrance, aside from funding, is the availability of suitable occasions or events in which the experimental techniques may be applied safely and results evaluated scientifically. Accurate weather predictions for longer periods offer great benefits to man in nearly every aspect of his life and in his relationship to his environment. This problem must be approached on an international cooperative basis since the solutions demand global information and global understanding of the physical and dynamic actions of the atmosphere and its inter-relationships with the oceans. Internationally, NOAA, as the lead U.S. agency, is a major participant in the World Weather Program, and the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP), and the specific experiments planned as part of GARP. The major hindrances to proceeding with this research lie in the difficulties of planning for large-scale scientific experiments involving many nations with diverse opinions and objectives. Patience, steadfast adherence to good science and adequate funding are the principal needs of those who plan and conduct the GARP experiments. Hon. EDMUND S. MUSKIE, U.S. Senate, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR MUSKIE: In response to your letter of 14 May 1971 concerning research of the Department of Defense in environmental science and technology the following information is provided. Specifically, my response is provided in the same order as you asked the questions. Research in environmental science and technology is an integrated portion of the program of the Department of Defense Director of Defense Research and Engineering and is conducted within this structure, rather than as an individual program with separate personnel and facilities. The Department of Defense supports 36 laboratories/centers which are engaged in environmental research. All of these laboratories are involved to some extent in our environmental research effort. A listing by Military Department of these facilities is given in the Enclosure with an estimate of individuals engaged in environmental research activities. As can be seen from this tabulation, approximately 750 professional scientists and engineers are employed. This represents about 4% of the total professionals assigned to these research facilities. The research laboratory community represents a very broad spectrum of specializations including most of the traditional fields of biological, physical, and mathematical sciences, engineering, and medicine. There are 309 individuals who possess advanced degrees (122 Doctorates; 187 Masters). The level of funding for environmental research within the Department of Defense is 65.9 million dollars for FY 1971. Future year programming is expected to remain approximately the same. Research programs in environmental science are concerned with the land, sea, atmospheric, and space environment as they affect operations of the Department of Defense. The problems addressed are the development of operational capabilities to counter or utilize the environment in fulfilling the mission of the Department of Defense. The majority of the environmental science research of the Department of Defense is directed toward problem solving through support of expertise in problem areas. Much of this research, however, produces fundamental knowledge in specific areas. The U.S. Army estimates that 7% of its environmental research is considered basic, 71% is devoted to technology development, and 8% is for technology assessment. The U.S. Navy does little basic environmental research and considers 30% of its environmental research supports exploratory development and 15% is for advanced development purposes. The U.S. Air Force considers that very little of its environmental research meets your definition of basic research with the remaining research divided equally between technology development and technology assessment. The only current research by the Department of Defense that could be considered as related to ecosystem structure is that involving collisions of birds with aircraft. An effort to study bird ecosystem structure and function with a view to minimizing these hazards is being conducted. Approximately 32 million dollars or 50% of environmental science research is conducted in our own facilities. The remaining half is proportioned approximately as follows: $25 million-Universities (37%). $3 million-Independent Research Firms (5%). $5 million-Industry (8%). The research structure of the Department of Defense lends itself naturally to identifying and addressing large-scale interdisciplinary questions. Environmental issues are identified through field investigations conducted by interdisciplinary teams from laboratories/centers. Additionally, environmental questions are identified and addressed through coordinating committees, panels, and working groups and personal contacts with other Department of Defense and nonDepartment of Defense federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency. (849) Activities of the Department of Defense in support of environmental quality are coordinated with the Council on Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Management and Budget, and other federal agencies through this office and the mechanisms of the Department of Defense Environmental Pollution Control Committee. I know of no formal agreements between the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency concerning environmental research matters. There are no important questions that the Department of Defense is unable to research adequately within its existing research structure provided sufficient funds are identified and made available for this purpose. The information submitted in this letter does not include the Department of Army, Corps of Engineers. The Corps I understand received a request directly from your Subcommittee and will respond to it directly. Sincerely, Enclosure. (S) LOUIS M. ROUSSELOT LOUIS M. ROUSSELOT, M.D., F.A.C.S. OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (Health and ENVIRONMENT) (ENCLOSURE) Laboratory Environmental Research Staff Information Department of the Army (Exclusive of Corps of Engineers): U.S. Army Natick Laboratory- Environmental research staf 12 U.S. Army Fuel and Lubricants Research Laboratory. U.S. Army Munitions Command.... U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command. U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command___ U.S. Army Mobility Equipment Command_ 235500 8 Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.... 11 U.S. Army Medical Research Laboratory and Joint Laser Safety Team of U.S. Army Medical Research and Development CommandUSAMC Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Washington, D.C.. Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California_ Naval Weapons Laboratory, Dahlgren, Virginia... Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory, Port Hueneme, California__ Total Department of the Air Force : Cambridge Research Laboratories_ School of Aerospace Medicine____ Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory. Air Force Weapons Laboratory_. Aero-propulsion Laboratory- Flight Dynamics Laboratory-. Rocket Propulsion Laboratory Frank J. Seiler Research Laboratory Total Naval Undersea Research and Development Center, San Diego, California 49 218 52 41 147 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, Hon. EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR MUSKIE: We are pleased to reply to your letter of May 14, 1971, requesting information on the structure and resources of the research laboratories and programs of the Environmental Protection Agency. Our initial EPA organization largely continued decentralized operation of the major media and categorical components, and was intended to bring into view the totality of EPA functions that would require subsequent integration. On April 30, 1971, I ordered the reorganization of EPA along functional lines each of which would operate as an integrated and unitized segment of management extending throughout the breadth and depth of the Agency. Under our new organization, a considerable effort currently is being expended to bring into existence a single research program for the entire Agency. Its purpose is clear the environment is a total, complex, interacting system, and to protect the environment we must gain understanding of how it operates. This understanding is essential to our standard setting and regulatory activities. Furthermore, this approach more fully utilizes our own extensive, professional resources, and more effectively brings to bear the competence available outside of government. We are in the final phases of defining our new research organization, and appropriate orders are expected to be completed shortly after July 21, 1971. The attached replies to your questions reflect the current transitional nature of our research organization and program, but they also show the swiftly developing pattern of unification and comprehensive action. Please note that all financial information is presented in terms of our Fiscal Year 1972 appropriation estimates. Each of your questions is treated separately on the attachments to this letter. Sincerely yours, [Attachments.] WILLIAM D. RUCKELSHAUS, Administrator. Attachment 1 QUESTION 1. What is the organizational structure of your environmental research program? How many separate laboratories or installations in your agency are engaged in this research? What is the size and composition of the staff of each? ANSWER. A. By EPA Order 1110.18 of April 30, 1971, paragraph 10, page 6 (Attachment 1a), the national research program and related laboratories of EPA were placed under the singular authority and management of the EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Monitoring. B. The above Order was given interim implementation by letter dated May 21, 1971 (Attachment 1b), establishing interim supervisory relationships for the EPA Office of Research and Monitoring. The interim organization presented in this letter is valid as of this date, but will be replaced by a firm organization shortly after July 1, 1971. The new research organization now in final phases of resolution will centralize the determination and supervision of the entire EPA research program to assure (1) relevancy to all Agency mission functions, (2) that Agency mission needs are optimally covered, and (3) that long-term needs for information and technology are recognized and pursued so that environmental problems of the future are defined and provided with answers in advance of their occurrence. (851) The laboratories and scientific capabilities of EPA will be organized and operated to most effectively utilize the full range of professional skills and research facilities for comprehensive and systematic approach to problems of the total environment. The organization will make broadened application of existing capabilities to multimedia and multipollutant problems, and will enable enhancement of these capabilities with interdisciplinary strengths to fully meet the need for comprehensive and total treatment of interrelated environmental problems. Examples of movement in this direction are already in progress. At the Bureau of Air Pollution Sciences the excellent capabilities developed for research on techniques and methodologies for analysis of economic effects and ecological problems related to air pollution are being redirected toward broadened application of these skills on economic and ecological problems of the total environment. The Western Environmental Radiation Laboratory has been renamed the Western Environmental Research Laboratory to reflect its broadened mission. This laboratory has developed considerable expertise in surveillance for radionuclides on a total environment, multi-transport-media basis. Modifications of sample collection and analytical procedures will enable this facility to treat many environmental pollutants. It is being developed to provide EPA with the capability to evaluate total pollutant stress in an arid environment. Work already assigned to this facility includes tasks to evaluate the environmental stress of radionuclides over a broad ecological profile, including the nuclide interactions within surface and ground water, air, and soil systems. To attain this competence, the laboratory has developed a sophisticated analytical method and instrument development capability. This entire capability is being reoriented from radiologically directed efforts to solution of analytical problems related to pollution stress on the total environment. The present programs in the Cincinnati area in air and water pollution and in solid waste and environmental radiation control technology are being consolidated into an integrated environmental research program that will allow evaluation of the total adverse environmental impact of all important combinations of pollutants transported through all significant environmental pathways to man and all receptors of economic or ecological importance. Our primary concern here is to determine the levels of combinations of pollutants which stress the environment to the point that the pollutant has adverse effects on man or the environment, and to develop the necessary control technology and abatement mechanisms. Strong EPA movement into interdisciplinary science is also demonstrated in the case of the interagency National Center for Toxicological Research at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. President Nixon announced the establishment of this Center on January 27, 1971. According to the terms of an interagency agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare the FDA will administer the operation of the Center under policies determined by a Policy Board with equal representation from the FDA and the EPA. The Center is being organized into multi-disciplinary teams to evaluate the toxicity of materials as they might be expected to occur environmentally. The Center has about six square miles of surrounding grounds in addition to very substantial laboratory facilities. Several large ponds are also located on the grounds of the Center which makes it an excellent location for the conduct of controlled ecological studies to complement the toxicological investigations. The new EPA research organization will formalize the unification of direction and management an the structure for integrated, interdisciplinary attack on the interconnected problems of the total environment that are illustrated by the above presented examples of action already taken. C. Attachment 1c presents a summary and compilation of descriptions of the laboratories in EPA engaged in research. Also presented in this material is information on the size and disciplinary skill composition of the staff of each laboratory. The 36 EPA laboratory facilities located in 18 stages are staffed by 1,109 professional people representing 59 recognized academic disciplines and 838 non-professional support personnel. |