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EPA Information 3/89 [OA 4423]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Mary Kate Grant Subject Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Grant, Mary Kate, Files
Subseries:
Subject File, 1988-1991
OA/ID Number:
13880
Folder ID Number:
13880-005
Folder Title:
EPA Information, 3/89
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
19
2
7
5
SPEECH WRITER'S BRIEFING
MARCH 30, 1989
Inside cover of notebook -- EPA Journal
November/December Issue
"Are Today's Institutional Tools Up to
Task?" by Michael Gruber
White House Communications Liaison
with EPA
(A)
Memorandum -- EPA Communications
Overview
(B)
William K. Reilly's Confirmation
Statement to the U.S. Senate
(C)
William K. Reilly's Keynote
Address at the Annual Meeting
of the National Wildlife Federation
(D)
White House Communications
Liaison with EPA
Primary Contacts
Work Numbers
Home Numbers
David E. Greenberg
Special Assistant to the Administrator
382-7957
(202) 966-7878
for Communications
Dave Cohen
Director, Press Office
382-4355
(301) 657-1815
Emergency Contacts
Gordon Binder
Chief of Staff
382-4700
(202) 659-8823
Daniel Esty
Special Assistant to the Administrator
382-7957
(301) 229-5373
Terry Davies
Special Assistant to the Administrator
382-7960
(301) 530-1597
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Communications Overview
Overall E.P.A. Communications Message:
The Bush Administration has a serious commitment to addressing and
resolving environmental issues, both on a national and international
scale. The role of the Federal government is to act as a catalyst for
cost-effective change.
Discussion: Part of the mission is to remove "the environment" from the list of
partisan issues. Conservation is a principle that should transcend politics. The
invocation of Theodore Roosevelt as the secular "patron saint" of the American
environmental movement is a symbolic attempt to illustrate this point.
Communications Overview
Major E.P.A. Communications Themes:
Discussion: All the themes presented here presuppose one thing--that E.P.A. will
conduct its business with integrity, with openness and with commitment.
Under normal circumstances, that message alone would suffice, but these are
extraordinary times. The key points E.P.A. wants to convey are:
1. Pollution Prevention--Ultimately, pollution problems must be
solved before they are created, rather than at the "end of the pipe."
Supporting actions:
President Bush, in his budget message, committed the country to
achieving a 25 percent solid waste recycling rate.
E.P.A. will be promulgating new rules greatly restricting the use
of asbestos in commercial applications.
E.P.A. will be issuing the Cost of Clean Environment Report in
mid-summer, and evaluation of the true costs of controlling pollution.
E.P.A. will be issuing its Toxic Release Inventory national report,
a survey of the types of toxic materials being released into the air, ground and
water by commercial users and other applications. This information will be made
available via the states to individuals.
E.P.A. has published the first analysis of the options available to
control some of the factors contributing to the Greenhouse Effect.
President Bush has pledged to introduce comprehensive Clean Air
Act legistation. The bill will include provisions for controlling acid rain.
2
Communications Overview
2. Enforcement--Pollution of the environment is an attack upon
society as a whole. Enforcement of existing statues and regulations
will be increased, with an emphasis on compliance. In the criminal
area, polluters will be identified, prosecuted, fined and/or jailed.
Supporting actions:
President Bush's FY1990 budget calls for a 30 percent increase in
E.P.A. criminal investigators. For the first time, E.P.A. will have a criminal
investigative force within the agency, rather than acting under the direction of the
Justice Department.
E.P.A. is conducting an internal management review of the
Superfund program, due to be completed on June 1, that will address major
enforcement and compliance problems in the program as currently administered.
Consistent with the President's campaign promise to clean up the
nation's beaches, E.P.A. recently issued regulations concerning the monitoring
and reporting of medical waste disposal.
3. Ecology--The preservation, restoration and conservation of
ecosystems is in the national interest and is consistent with the
tradition of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Supporting actions:
President Bush has pledged "no net loss" of American wetlands.
The President has called for a "new'era of coastal awareness" and
has instructed E.P.A. to develop initiatives in this regard.
E.P.A., working with the Department of Interior, is, for the first
time, part of the policy team reviewing coastal water development management
practices.
E.P.A. Administrator William Reilly, with the approval of the
White House, order a complete review of the Two Forks Dam project on the South
Platte River (Colorado) because the plans failed to prove there were not
environmentally superior alternatives.
3
Communications Overview
4. International--Environmental issues transcend national
boundaries, and require international cooperation and coordinated
global action.
Supporting actions:
President Bush has called for the global phaseout of CFCs by the
year 2000 as a partial solution to the ozone problem.
President Bush has called for the enactment of legislation
requiring bilateral agreements for the international shipment and disposition of
hazardous wastes.
President Bush met personally with Japanese and Brazilian
political leaders to express his concern over the funding and construction of the
proposed Trans-Amazon Highway.
President Bush has instructed Secretary of State Baker to make
environmental issues, such as global warming, a cornerstone of American foreign
policy. The E.P.A. will elevate its office of International Affairs to Assistant
Administrator status.
4
Communications Overview
Upcoming EPA activities and opportunities:
These are events and substantive issues that are currently proposed for the
Administrator's direct participation. Some may be suitable for White House
involvement.
1. Clean Beaches Activities.
2. National Press Club Speech--April 20th (Earth Day)
3. "Enviro Cops"
4. Clean Air/Acid Rain Bill--Due out in Mid-May
5. Coastal Water Initiatives
6. Pollution Prevention Initiatives
7. Environmental Awards Program
8. Earth Day 1990--April 20th, 1990
9. International Initiatives
10. Minorities and the Environment Initiative
11. Native American Initiative
12. Environmental Education--Burdick bill is due out in mid to late April.
13. Wetlands Initiative/Chesapeake Bay activities
5
Section 1
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ADMINISTRATOR
Associate Administrator
for International
Staff Offices
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR
Activities
Associate Administrator
for Regional Operations
Assistant Administrator
Assistant Administrator for
Assistant Administrator
for Administration And
Enforcement and
General Counsel
for Policy, Planning and
Resources Management
Compliance Monitoring
Evaluation
Assistant Administrator
Assistant Administrator
Assistant Administrator
for External Affairs
Inspector General
for Solid Waste and
for Water
Emergency Response
Assistant Administrator
Assistant Administrator
Assistant Administrator
for Air and Radiation
for Pesticides and Toxic
for Research and
Substances
Development
Region I
Region II
Region III
Region IV
Region V
Region VI
Boston
New York
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Chicago
Dallas
Region VII
Region VIII
Region IX
Region X
Kansas City
Denver
San Francisco
Seattle
Agency Overview
Organization and Management
Page 1-2
HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION OF EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created through an Executive reorganization plan
designed to consolidate a number of Federal environmental activities into a single agency. The plan
(Reorganization Plan #3 of 1970) was sent to Congress by President Nixon on July 9, 1970, and EPA
was formally established as an independent agency in the Executive Branch on December 2, 1970.
EPA was formed by bringing together 15 components from five Executive departments and independ-
ent agencies. Air pollution control, solid waste management, radiation control and the drinking water
program were transferred from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department
of Health and Human Services). The Federal water pollution control program was taken from the
Department of Health,
Department of
Department of
Food and Drug
Atomic Energy
Education and Welfare
Interior
Agriculture
Administration
Commission
Air, Solid Waste,
Water, Pesticides
Pesticides
Pesticides in
Radiation
Drinking Water
Research
Registration
Food
Programs
EPA
Department of Interior, as was part of the pesticides research program. EPA acquired authority to
register pesticides and regulate their use from the Department of Agriculture. From the Food and Drug
Administration, the Agency inherited the responsibility to set tolerance levels for pesticides in food.
EPA was assigned responsibility for setting certain environmental radiation protection standards from
the old Atomic Energy Commission, and absorbed some of the duties of the Federal Radiation Council.
The enactment of major new environmental laws and amendments to older laws in the 1970s greatly
expanded EPA's responsiblities. The Agency now administers eleven major statues: The Clean Water
Act (CWA); the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund); the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA);
the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
(MPRSA); the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA); Asbestos School Hazard
Abatement Act (ASHSA); and the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Author-
izing Act (ERDDA).
The Agency is directed by an Administrator and Deputy Administrator who are appointed by the
President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Nine Assistant Administrators (who manage
specific environmental activities or direct other Agency functions), the Agency's General Counsel, and
its Inspector General also are named by the President and subject to Senate confirmation. Each of the
nine Assistant Administrators head either a program (Air and Radiation; Water; Pesticides and Toxic
Substances; and Solid Waste and Emergency Response) or a function (Research and Development;
Enforcement and Compliance Monitoring: Administration and Resources Management; Policy, Plan-
ning and Evaluation; and External Affairs).
Agency Overview
Organization and Management
Page 1-3
Ten Regional Administrators across the nation cooperate closely with Federal, State, interstate and
local agencies, industry, academic institutions, and other public and private groups to make sure
Regional needs are considered and Federal environmental laws implemented. The Federal Regional
Structure was set up in the early 1970's and essentially selected ten cities in which the Federal
Government established its field offices. EPA maintains its Region I Office in Boston; Region II in New
York; Region III in Philadelphia; Region IV in Atlanta; Region V in Chicago; Region VI in Dallas; Region
VII in Kansas City: Region VIII in Denver; Region IX in San Francisco; and Region X in Seattle. Finally,
the Agency's executive staff includes Associate Administrators for International Activities and Regional
Operations.
Together, these executives supervise a staff of over 14,000 Federal workers and administer a five billion
dollar budget.
US EPA Regional Headquarters
Seattle-X
Boston-I
New York-II
Denver-VIII
Chicago-V
Philadelphia-III
San Francisco-IX
Kansas City-VII
O
Atlanta-IV
Dallas-VI
LOCATIONS OF OTHER EPA FIELD UNITS
Anchorage, AK
Westlake, OH
Durham, NC
Leonardo, NJ
Juneau, AK
Newport, OR
Chapel Hill, NC
Trenton, NJ
Helena, MT
Corvallis, OR
Research Triangle
Middletown, PA
Boise, ID
Sacramento, CA
Park, NC
Wheeling, WV
Duluth, MN
Las Vegas, NV
Athens, GA
Annapolis, MD
Monticello, MN
Ada, OK
Montgomery, AL
Warrenton, VA
Cincinnati, OH
Houston, TX
Lexington, MA
Arlington, VA
Ann Arbor, MI
Gulf Breeze, FL
Narragansett, RI
Beltsville, MD
Grosse Ile, MI
Bay St. Louis, MS
Edison, NJ
San Juan, PR
STATEMENT BY
WILLIAM K. REILLY
EPA ADMINISTRATOR-DESIGNATE
before the
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
THE UNITED STATES SENATE
January 31, 1989
MR. CHAIRMAN, DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE. IT IS MY
GREAT HONOR TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU TODAY AS THE PRESIDENT'S NOMINEE
FOR ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY.
WHEN PRESIDENT-ELECT BUSH ASKED ME TO SERVE IN HIS
ADMINISTRATION, HE SPOKE OF HIS STRONG COMMITMENT TO
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, NOT ONLY WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, BUT
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
I HAVE SPENT MY CAREER SEEKING BETTER WAYS FOR US TO MANAGE THIS
COUNTRY'S ABUNDANT NATURAL RESOURCES, ON WHICH OUR ECONOMIC
WELL BEING DEPENDS. I HAVE SOUGHT BETTER WAYS TO PROTECT THE
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH FROM POLLUTION. IN THE PAST FEW
YEARS, AS PRESIDENT OF WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, I HAVE WORKED
INTERNATIONALLY TO PROTECT WILDLIFE AND TO AID DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES AS THEY STRUGGLE WITH MONUMENTALLY SERIOUS PROBLEMS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND DESTRUCTION OF THEIR FORESTS.
MY EXPERIENCES HAVE LEFT ME WITH THE VERY STRONG SENSE THAT THE
STATE OF THE EARTH TODAY OFFERS GROUND BOTH FOR HOPE, AND FOR
DESPAIR, IN EQUAL MEASURE. WHILE NATURE IS SUFFERING UNDER
UNPRECEDENTED ASSAULT ALL ACROSS THE PLANET, PUBLIC AWARENESS AND
CONCERN ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT HAS PROBABLY NEVER BEEN HIGHER,
PARTICULARLY IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE. THUS WE ARE AT A
HISTORIC MOMENT, CHARACTERIZED BY URGENCY AND OPPORTUNITY.
RARELY IF EVER BEFORE HAS THERE BEEN SUCH A NEED FOR LEADERSHIP
ON THE ENVIRONMENT. THE PRESIDENT SEES THE NEED TO MOVE NOW TO
MAKE THE ENVIRONMENT A PRIORITY OF INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC
POLICY.
IN ACCEPTING THE PRESIDENT'S INVITATION TO SERVE, I TOLD HIM I
WANTED TO HELP HIM BE A GREAT ENVIRONMENTAL PRESIDENT. IF I AM
CONFIRMED, I PLEDGE TO YOU AND THIS COMMITTEE, TO THE CONGRESS,
2
AND TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT I WILL DO ALL WITHIN MY POWER TO
FULFILL MY RESPONSIBILITIES TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN
HEALTH.
AFTER MEETING WITH MANY OF THIS COMMITTEE'S MEMBERS INDIVIDUALLY,
I KNOW THAT YOU, TOO, LIKE PRESIDENT BUSH, HAVE HIGH
EXPECTATIONS. YOU WANT STEADY, TANGIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS
AS THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT THE SAME THING. CLEARLY, THE
ENVIRONMENTAL DRAMA OF LAST SUMMER TAPPED DEEP-SEATED CONCERNS
HELD BY MANY, IF NOT MOST, AMERICANS -- HIGHLY EMOTIONAL
CONCERNS ABOUT POLLUTION RUN AMOK, AND ABOUT DRASTIC CHANGES IN
THE ECOSYSTEM OF THIS EARTH THAT SUSTAINS US ALL.
LAST SUMMER, A RECORD DROUGHT SCORCHED MUCH OF OUR COUNTRY, AND
AFTER A DECADE AWASH IN SURPLUS CROPS, EXPERTS WERE SPECULATING
AGAIN ABOUT POSSIBLE FOOD SHORTAGES. DISTURBING NEW EVIDENCE
EMERGED OF HUMAN-INDUCED CHANGE IN THE GLOBAL CLIMATE, THE
CONSEQUENCES OF WHICH WE ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO FATHOM. BEACHES
WERE FOULED BY MEDICAL WASTES. AN AWESOME, UNCONTROLLABLE FIRE
INCINERATED THOUSANDS OF ACRES IN YELLOWSTONE PARK, A REMNANT OF
WILDERNESS MANY AMERICANS HAD CONSIDERED PERMANENTLY PRISTINE AND
UNTHREATENED. FROM BRAZIL CAME NEWS OF FIRES EVEN MORE
DEVASTATING, FIRES DESTROYING MILLIONS OF ACRES OF AMAZON
RAINFOREST. TO STEP FROM THAT REMARKABLE, WONDROUS,
BIOLOGICALLY RICH WORLD ONTO A BLACKENED LANDSCAPE, I ASSURE YOU,
IS TO GLIMPSE A PLAUSIBLE VISION OF THE APOCALYPSE.
AND AFTER ALL THIS, WHEN TIME MAGAZINE NAMED EARTH THE "PLANET OF
THE YEAR" FOR 1988, ALMOST EVERYONE EXPRESSED SURPRISE --
EVERYONE BUT COMEDIAN JAY LENO, WHO SIMPLY NOTED THAT ALL THE
JUDGES CAME FROM EARTH. HE HAD A POINT. so FAR AS WE KNOW, THEY
COULD HAVE COME FROM NOWHERE ELSE BUT THIS BRIGHT BLUE ORB,
FLOATING IN SPACE, WHOSE IMAGE WE SAW FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLY
TWENTY YEARS AGO.
3
IN THE TWO DECADES SINCE THEN, IT MUST BE SAID THAT THE UNITED
STATES HAS MADE GREAT PROGRESS IN DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS. WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK FOR POLLUTION CONTROL IN THE WORLD. ENORMOUS
INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE PUBLIC, BY INDUSTRY, BY
GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS. AND THESE INVESTMENTS HAVE PAID OFF
HANDSOMELY. WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS REDUCING MANY POLLUTANTS --
SULFUR DIOXIDES, NITROGEN OXIDES, PARTICULATES, AND LEAD, TO NAME
A FEW -- DURING A PERIOD IN WHICH OUR ECONOMY HAS GROWN
SIGNIFICANTLY. THIS IS AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY, AND WE SHOULD
TAKE PRIDE IN IT. PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR CLEAN AIR AND WATER HAS
NEVER BEEN HIGHER.
YET THE DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA SEEMS ONLY TO HAVE
LENGTHENED AND GROWN MORE COMPLEX WITH TIME. IT TURNS OUT THAT
WE DIDN'T KNOW ALL THAT WAS BEING PUT INTO THE AIR AND WATER.
NEW, MORE SENSITIVE MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES AND MORE EXTENSIVE
MONITORING HAVE REVEALED TOXIC SUBSTANCES OF GREAT VARIETY,
DISTRIBUTED WIDELY IN AIR, WATER, LAND, AND WILDLIFE. IN SOME
PLACES "SANITARY LANDFILLS" OF A DECADE AGO HAVE BECOME TODAY'S
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS. AIR POLLUTION INDOORS APPEARS TO BE
THREATENING MANY AMERICANS MORE THAN AIR POLLUTION OUTDOORS.
ABANDONED TOXIC WASTE DUMPS DOT THE LANDSCAPE. POLLUTANTS OF ALL
SORTS HAVE SEEPED INTO THE VAST, UNSEEN RESERVES OF GROUNDWATER
FROM WHICH MILLIONS OF AMERICANS DRAW THEIR DRINKING WATER.
IF ANYTHING, THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IS BECOMING MORE SENSITIZED,
MORE AWARE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND HEALTH RISKS. WE'VE
LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT IT COSTS MUCH MORE TO CLEAN UP
POLLUTION THAN TO PREVENT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. IN THE WORDS OF
PROJECT BLUEPRINT, THE REPORT OF A NUMBER OF ENVIRONMENTAL
GROUPS, ONE FUNCTION OF NEW LEADERSHIP AT EPA MUST BE TO HELP THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE ACHIEVE AN EVEN BETTER "UNDERSTANDING OF THE
EXTENT AND SERIOUSNESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES."
4
AT THE SAME TIME, A NEW INTERNATIONAL AGENDA IS COMING SHARPLY
INTO FOCUS. ACID RAIN, OZONE DEPLETION, GLOBAL WARMING,
DESTRUCTION OF SPECIES-RICH TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, OCEAN
POLLUTION FROM NUMEROUS SOURCES -- THESE DAUNTING PROBLEMS
REQUIRE AN UNPRECEDENTED DEGREE OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, FOR
WE IN THE UNITED STATES ARE HOSTAGE TO DECISIONS MADE BY OTHER
COUNTRIES JUST AS THEY ARE HOSTAGE TO OURS. YET THE COMMUNITY OF
NATIONS IS ONLY BEGINNING TO CONSTRUCT THE LEGAL AND
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ADDRESSING THESE PROBLEMS.
HISTORICALLY THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE EFFORT TO
PROMOTE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT, AND EPA
WILL HAVE TO CROSS THE BORDERS MORE AND MORE IF WE ARE TO DO AN
EFFECTIVE JOB. AS THE WORLD ENTERS A TIME OF UNPRECEDENTED
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES AND DEMANDS, THE UNITED STATES MUST BE
AT THE FOREFRONT, SHARING OUR RESEARCH AND OUR SCIENCE, OUR
TECHNOLOGY AND OUR EXPERIENCE, OUR SUCCESSES AND OUR FAILURES. A
GREAT DEAL REMAINS TO BE DONE, AND, AS PRESIDENT BUSH HAS
REQUESTED, INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES WILL BE A PRIORITY
OF MINE IF I AM CONFIRMED.
IN APPROACHING THESE CHALLENGES AND OTHERS, I WILL ENDEAVOR TO
SET AND UPHOLD THE HIGHEST STANDARDS FOR CONDUCTING THE BUSINESS
OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
THE FIRST OF THESE STANDARDS IS RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW. I
WANT TO STRESS BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE THAT I UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT
AS MY DUTY, FIRST AND FOREMOST, TO IMPLEMENT THE ENVIRONMENTAL
LAWS OF THIS LAND AS CONGRESS HAS WRITTEN THEM. THE CONSTITUTION
AND OUR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS GUARANTEE RIGHTS TO ALL OUR CITIZENS,
INCLUDING THOSE WHOSE ACTIVITIES ARE SUBJECT TO REGULATION. so
OUR ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS MUST RESPECT DUE PROCESS AND THE RIGHTS
OF PROPERTY. AND ENFORCEMENT MUST BE INSPIRED BY A SENSE OF
VIGOR AND URGENCY, FOR THE AIM OF THE ENTERPRISE IS NO LESS THAN
THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN HEALTH, OF LIVES, AND OF THE NATURAL
ORDER THAT SUSTAINS CIVILIZATION. so I PLEDGE TO TAKE
5
AGGRESSIVE AND TIMELY ENFORCEMENT ACTION WHENEVER IT IS WARRANTED
TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC HEALTH OR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.
I DO LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSIONS WITH MEMBERS OF THIS AND OTHER
COMMITTEES IN CONGRESS ABOUT HOW WE MAY BE ABLE TO STRENGTHEN OUR
POLLUTION CONTROL EFFORTS -- BASED ON ADVANCES IN SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGE AND YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH POLLUTION CONTROL AND
REGULATION. HOW CAN WE BETTER EXPLOIT THE SEEMINGLY GREAT
POTENTIAL OF WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING? HOW CAN WE HARNESS
MARKET FORCES AND THE INVENTIVE GENIUS OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY TO
THE TASK OF ABATING POLLUTION? HOW CAN WE BEST PROTECT OUR
WETLANDS AND GROUNDWATER AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES ON WHICH WE
DEPEND? AS YOU MAY KNOW, THE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION EXPLORED
SUCH QUESTIONS IN SOME DETAIL DURING MY TENURE, AND I LOOK
FORWARD TO OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE POSSIBLE ANSWERS WITH YOU.
MY DECISIONS AS ADMINISTRATOR AND THOSE OF OTHERS IN THE AGENCY
WILL BE GUIDED BY THE MOST RIGOROUS SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION WE CAN
BRING TO BEAR.
FINALLY, AS MR. RUCKELSHAUS TOLD THIS COMMITTEE IN 1983, ENDING
THE GREATEST CRISIS IN EPA'S HISTORY, WHAT EPA DOES WILL BE DONE
IN A FISHBOWL. THE AMERICAN PUBLIC DEMANDS, AND DESERVES, FULL
ACCESS TO EPA'S DECISIONMAKING; IF CONFIRMED, I EXPECT TO ENGAGE
THE PUBLIC IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE AGENCY'S WORK.
IF CONFIRMED, I WILL INHERIT A DEDICATED, KNOWLEDGEABLE,
THOROUGHLY PROFESSIONAL STAFF AT EPA. I HOLD THEM IN HIGH REGARD
AND HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE THAT, WITH THE SUPPORT AND
ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR AND THE CONGRESS, THEY CAN
HELP THIS NATION AND THE WORLD TO ACHIEVE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS
HEALTHY AND NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT REMAIN PRODUCTIVE.
DURING THE CAMPAIGN, PRESIDENT BUSH OBSERVED THAT "ENVIRONMENTAL
ACTION HAS TOO OFTEN BEEN MARKED BY BITTER AND OFTEN NON-
PRODUCTIVE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN COMPETING INTERESTS." I HARBOR
6
NO DELUSION THAT THIS COMPETITION WILL CEASE. YET WE NO LONGER
HAVE THE TIME OR LUXURY OF ALLOWING THE BITTERNESS, THE
POLARIZATION, THE WASTED RESOURCES, AND THE OTHER EXCESSES OF
THAT COMPETITION TO STAY OUR PROGRESS.
I FIRMLY BELIEVE WE MUST USHER IN A NEW ERA IN THE HISTORY OF
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY -- AN ERA MARKED MORE BY RECONCILIATION OF
INTERESTS, BY IMAGINATIVE SOLUTIONS ARRIVED AT THROUGH
COOPERATION AND CONSENSUS, BY THE RESOLVE TO LISTEN AND WORK OUT
OUR DIFFERENCES. AFTER ALL, IT IS IN EVERYONE'S INTEREST TO
PROTECT THE PLANET WE SHARE, AT A TIME WHEN EVIDENCE IS MOUNTING
OF THE EARTH'S VULNERABILITY TO DESTABILIZATION.
I AM A CONSERVATIONIST. IT IS MY LIFE'S WORK. THROUGHOUT, IT
HAS BEEN MY INSTINCT CONSCIOUSLY TO SEEK THE ADVICE AND OPINIONS
OF A WIDE SPECTRUM OF AFFECTED PARTIES ON EVERY ISSUE OF
CONSEQUENCE I HAVE FACED.
I HAVE SPENT MY ENTIRE CAREER ADVOCATING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, IN THE CONVICTION THAT GROWTH PROVIDES THE
WHEREWITHAL TO PURSUE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, TO APPLY THE
CONSERVATION WISDOM THAT WE HAVE ACQUIRED THUS FAR, AND TO
EXPAND OUR KNOWLEDGE. I DO NOT SEE A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS FUNDAMENTALLY AT ODDS. THE ECONOMIC
GROWTH WE WANT IS THE KIND THAT DOESN'T SHORTEN OUR BREATH OR OUR
LIVES. IT IS THE KIND THAT CAN BE SUSTAINED.
TO BE SURE, DECISIONS I WILL MAKE IF CONFIRMED AS EPA
ADMINISTRATOR WILL INVOLVE TRADEOFFS, OFTEN SERIOUS TRADEOFFS.
BUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE ASKING THEIR LEADERS TO DO MORE THAN
WRANGLE OVER THE ENVIRONMENT. THEY ARE INSISTING, I BELIEVE,
THAT WE FIND THE COMMON GROUND OF SUSTAINABLE AND
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND ECONOMIC GROWTH. I AM CONVINCED WE CAN
FIND IT. ESPECIALLY IF OUR SEARCH EXTENDS BEYOND THE HALLS OF
EPA AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TO STATES, AND TO THE PRIVATE
SECTOR, BOTH PROFIT AND NONPROFIT. so MANY OF THE BEST IDEAS,
7
FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AS FOR SO MUCH ELSE, ARE OUT IN THE COUNTRY,
BEING QUIETLY TRIED AND TESTED. WE NEED TO FIND THESE IDEAS.
OUR REGIONAL OFFICES ARE WELL-EQUIPPED TO LISTEN AND QUESTION,
COOPERATE AND CONSULT, AND THEN MOVE FORWARD IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN
FIELD TESTED.
I WILL TAKE THESE INITIATIVES VERY SERIOUSLY, AS I WILL THE NEED
FOR VIGOROUS AND AGGRESSIVE ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
AND THE NEW WORLDWIDE ENVIRONMENTAL MISSION IN WHICH EPA MUST
PLAY A LEADING PART.
IN SUM, I BELIEVE THAT IN THE YEARS AHEAD THE NATION'S
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES SHOULD REFLECT FIVE PRINCIPAL PRIORITIES:
1. RESPECT FOR SCIENCE;
2. POLLUTION PREVENTION THROUGH WASTE MINIMIZATION AND
RECYCLING;
3. A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DEGREE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY AND
COOPERATION WITH OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE; PASSING
THE POLLUTION NEXT DOOR MAKES NO SENSE;
4. AGGRESSIVE ENFORCEMENT: IT IS THE KEY TO AN EFFECTIVE EPA
AND A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT; AND
5. WIDE CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION WITH CONGRESS, THE STATES
AND LOCALITIES, WITH BUSINESS, PROFESSIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
GROUPS IN THE SEARCH FOR THE BEST IDEAS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS.
LET ME CONCLUDE BY REAFFIRMING AN OBSERVATION DATING FROM MY
EARLIEST DAYS IN WASHINGTON. BI-PARTISAN COOPERATION AND
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CONGRESS AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH --
THESE ARE THE PREREQUISITES OF SOUND AND ENDURING ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY.
WHEN I LAST SERVED IN GOVERNMENT, IN THE EARLY 1970'S, THE
ENVIRONMENT ENJOYED A HIGH DEGREE OF BI-PARTISAN COOPERATION, AND
WE GOT THINGS DONE.
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MR. CHAIRMAN, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CHANCE TO BEGIN BUILDING A
PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH CONGRESS BY WORKING FOR THE
REAUTHORIZATION OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT. WE EXPECT TO OFFER A
COMPREHENSIVE PROPOSAL FOR CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE. AND I WOULD HOPE THAT, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE LAW
THAT EVENTUALLY EMERGES WILL RESULT IN THE SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION
OF ACID RAIN BY THE END OF THIS CENTURY -- A GOAL TO WHICH
PRESIDENT BUSH IS COMMITTED.
IF WE HAVE ANY HOPE OF ENTERING THE NEXT CENTURY WITH A SAFE
ENVIRONMENT, ABUNDANT NATURAL RESOURCES, THE SUBLIME EXPERIENCE
OF WILDERNESS FOR ANY WHO WANT IT, AND A HEALTHY, GROWING
ECONOMY, MUCH MORE WILL HAVE TO BE DONE. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE
WORK--OR, ANYWAY MCST OF IT-WITH ENTHUSIASM, HAVING DECIDED
LONG AGO THAT NOTHING COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT OR REWARDING THAN
PROTECTING THIS EARTH AND THE MAGNIFICENT LIFE UPON IT.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I WILL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU AND
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE MAY HAVE. THANK YOU.
HIGH HURDLING THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENT:
EXPECTATIONS FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS
Keynote Address
by
WILLIAM K. REILLY
ADMINISTRATOR
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
at the
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
March 16, 1989
I want to spend sometime this afternoon talking about
expectations. Your expectations for what can be accomplished at
EPA over the next four years, the President's expectations, and
my own.
Washington is a place where perception often drives reality.
That's especially true in an area as emotionally charged as the
environment.
You don't have to be very well seasoned in the ways of this
city to see that the best way to deal with conflicting opinions
and emotions is to lower expectations.
If you tell people you are going to jump the three foot bar,
they are happy and surprised when you soar four feet high. And
if you tell folks you are going to clear the bar at seven feet,
they are likely to be deeply disappointed even if you miss by
only a few inches.
So the standard advice is set your sights low, especially as
funds are few.
But the President is doing something different. He is
setting out to reaffirm and reinvigorate the conservation
tradition in American public life that began with Theodore
Roosevelt. He is moving to take decisive steps within the
federal government to create, as he put it, "a new attitude on
the environment."
Consider what he's done in his first 50 days in office.
He authorized Secretary Baker to make global warming the
subject of the first speech of his tenure.
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In meetings with the President of Brazil and the Prime
Minister of Japan he personally expressed American concern
over the financing and construction of the Trans-Amazon
Highway, which threatens one of the world's most important
ecosystems.
In his budget message, George Bush pledged "no net loss" of
wetlands, a goal to which Jay Hair contributed through his
participation in The Conservation Foundation's National
Wetlands Policy Forum.
The President also pledged to propose Clean Air legislation
this year, an initiative that promises finally to break a 10
year deadlock.
Last week, the President stated his intention to seek
legislation giving our government authority to ban exports
of hazardous waste, except where there is an agreement with
the receiving country that provides for safe handling of
those wastes.
Finally, the President committed the United States to call
for the complete phaseout of CFCs by the year 2000. We will
work through the Montreal Protocol and ensure that the
substitutes are safe.
With these early initiatives the President himself has set
high expectations. I believe it is my mission to help him meet
those expectations.
I also believe that high standards have been set by my
predecessors. I think it's great that you are honoring Lee
Thomas Saturday. He is a tough act to follow. Those who have
followed EPA closely know very well what a great job Lee Thomas
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performed, under difficult circumstances. In enforcement,
asbestos cleanup, indoor air pollution, and building public
understanding of international environmental issues, and many
other issues, Lee made an outstanding contribution on which I
will be proud to build.
So the second goal I have set for myself is to try to do as
good a job as Lee Thomas did.
The third set of expectations are those of the people I work
with, the 15,000 people of EPA. Not every Agency head considers
his people the best and the brightest. But I truly believe that,
in the entire federal government, EPA has the most dedicated,
most talented staff, working on the toughest, most thankless
issues, in the worst building.
EPA staff want more innovative approaches to environmental
problems. They recognize, in these days of tight budgets, the
wisdom of the British scientist who said, "Gentlemen we have no
money, and therefore we must think."
Many of our EPA people are the children of the first Earth
Day 20 years ago, and they want to see EPA reflect their highest
personal values. So do I.
The final set of expectations, which are the highest of all,
are those of the American people. The Bible says that "Without
vision, the people perish, " and I believe that our people have a
vision, a vision of living in harmony with the planet that
sustains us.
They want us to set our standards high, to reach and to
stretch even if the results sometimes fall short. I share their
expectations, and I am willing to take those risks.
3
We are not satisfied with the state of our environment.
Despite huge investments over the past two decades, the
environment today is under less control, the problems facing us
more complex, the solutions more demanding than in the past. We
must be resourceful and imaginative, even while our will is
larger than our wallet. We dare not be satisfied. We can do
better. We will do better.
We have in this society a large unfinished agenda of
environmental business. These are the problems our laws were
crafted to solve. But they are not solved.
Consider wetlands. We knew 20 years ago that wetlands play
a vital role in nurturing marine life and waterfowl and filtering
pollutants and buffering floodwaters. And yet, despite
longstanding federal and state laws, we continue to lose these
vital and productive resources. To this problem President Bush
has said enough, no more, it's time to draw the line and set an
ambitious new goal: "No net loss of wetlands."
A second longstanding concern is acid rain, a problem that
has bedeviled the environment, damaged lakes and rivers, forests
and buildings, fish and man. President Bush has made clear that
"the time for study alone is over; now is the time for action."
We will make public our legislative proposal for clean air this
spring. And it will be a comprehensive proposal, dealing also
with air toxics and ozone non-attainment, the smog problem that
reached its worst in many cities during 1988's hot summer. I
hope and believe that many members of Congress and the
President's commitment to clean air will break the long,
contentious, and exhausting stalemate and give us what we have
not had in 12 years, a reauthorized Clean Air Act.
4
There are many other items of unfinished business -- one
is our debt to clean up after generations of careless, ill-
informed dumping of hazardous wastes. That debt is past-due. We
are in arrears. And it's a big debt.
Numerous critical reports from the Congress and elsewhere
make clear that Superfund is a flawed program. My charge is to
fix it. I have begun an internal management review to consider
the criticisms and recommendations in these reports. Bright,
committed people have given their best to this program and still
the results have disappointed us. The President made clear in
his State of the Union address that he sees enforcement as
central to the solution. He wants to see vigorous pursuit of
those responsible for dumping hazardous wastes. We intend to use
all the enforcement tools at our command.
You have all heard a great deal recently about EPA's
regulation of pesticides. We must review our exhaustive and
expensive testing and research process. This society halts
trading in a bad stock faster than it cancels a bad chemical. So
we'll work to correct that, if necessary by recommending new
legislation.
But let me enter a caution: we must as a society speak
frankly about risk. The scientists at EPA and elsewhere have
worked for many years to develop methods for assessing risks.
They have also contributed to our understanding of such concepts
as "acceptable risk" and "negligible risk." Our society will
need these concepts, for we cannot escape risks any more than we
can run from life. But we will need consensus if EPA is to
regulate and manage risks with public understanding and support.
5
The challenge to those of us who wish to see further
progress on the environment is to steer a course between scaring
the country to death on the one hand, and boring the country to
death on the other. We are tempted to exaggerate and hyperbolize
to get an issue on the agenda, and then to use esoteric and
arcane language of the specialist once it becomes law. Superfund
and pesticides have seen us err in both directions. I think
sometimes I'll scream if I hear more jargon about RIFS' and
ROD's. And how many people have any idea what 10 to the minus 6
means in assessing pesticide residues?
We need to communicate more clearly about risk and about
choice, about consequence and about cost. The Bush
Administration is serious about improving our environment. As we
move forward, at a time when new money is hard to find, the
premium will be on clear thinking and frank communication about
difficult tradeoffs.
I have spoken about our unfinished agenda. There is also a
new agenda, one that wasn't understood back in the early 1970s
when our major laws were enacted. This agenda derives from more
recent discoveries: the pervasiveness of toxic substances and
their tendency to move around among air, water and land;
CFCs and the terrible destruction to stratospheric ozone they
have caused, are causing, will continue to cause even if we were
to cease their manufacture and use tomorrow. When President Bush
was presented with the most recent scientific evidence indicating
the problem is much more serious than had been believed, he acted
at once to commit the United States to full phase-out of these
chemicals through the Montreal Protocol by the end of the
century. For this to work, we must ensure safe substitutes are
available.
6
And global warming. Five of the 10 warmest years on record
occurred in this decade. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has
increased 25% in 100 years. Something significant may be
occurring. We dare not ignore it. Tomorrow morning I will
testify on EPA's just-completed report on the range of possible
policy responses to global warming. This effort is the first by
any government to take a comprehensive look at how nations might
respond to global warming.
There is a fortunate and persuasive coincidence between the
policies we would need to undertake to address global warming and
the policies desirable in and of themselves for our own good
environmentally and economically. These include phasing out CFCs
which account for almost a fifth of all greenhouse gases. They
include promoting energy efficiency -- saving energy also reduces
carbon dioxide emissions. And they include using our influence
with the World Bank and other multilateral aid and lending
institutions, as well as our own foreign assistance, to give a
higher priority to reforestation and to discouraging
deforestation.
The weekend before last I headed the US delegation to the
London conference on saving the ozone layer. President Bush gave
me a personal letter to Prime Minister Thatcher affirming his
strong interest in the international environment. In our
conversation, the Prime Minister spoke with great urgency about
our environmental challenges, and then referred to people's
environmental concerns as part of an increasingly universal
aspiration toward quality in all areas.
Mrs. Thatcher is correct. Americans want quality in their
jobs and their homes, in the things they buy and the recreation
they pursue. They want a better life, and they define
environmental quality as an essential part of that life. They --
7
we -- want economic improvement, of course, that's what pays for
our environmental gains, among other things, but we want economic
growth that doesn't shorten our lives or our breath.
Let us as a people claim the environmental high ground and
give definition to quality and to economic progress. Let us
clarify for the world that investments in the protection of
natural systems like clean air and estuaries, groundwater, and
wetlands are every bit as essential and productive as investments
in education, science, and defense.
To do this, to be a beacon to the world we will have to do
better ourselves. We in the U.S. produce twice the solid waste
per capita that West Germany does, and three times that of Italy.
We use twice as much energy as Switzerland or West Germany and
nearly three times that of Japan. We must seek international
cooperation. We all use and pollute the earth's resources.
Unilateral action by the U.S. will not be enough. The President
places a very high priority on international cooperation.
We must learn not just to control pollution but to prevent
it, not just to dispose of waste better but to eliminate it.
Here I must confess that more of the same -- more controls,
tighter standards, better enforcement -- will not be enough to
get us there. Regulations closing off waste disposal options
will help, have helped. Greatly increased costs of waste
disposal are creating the incentives. Did you know that a third
of the landfills in the country will be obsolete in 5 years? Ten
years ago the cost of solid waste disposal was $5 to $10 per ton.
Now in some places it is $125 per ton and rising.
When costs rise like this, so must our ingenuity and
resourcefulness. We must learn to generate less waste in the
8
first place, use less, make products that are recyclable or
reusable.
Speaking of resourcefulness, Governor Branstad of Iowa told
me recently that he has proposed a law requiring that plastic
bags and food containers be biodegradable. He told me of a poll
indicating that 93% of Iowans support these measures. I learned
later that the biodegradable bags are to be made of corn starch!
That's Iowa ingenuity!
The agendas I've cited are in a sense a return to the roots
of the environmental movement, the deep understanding that
everything natural is connected, and that we are here as
stewards. The environment will always be changed by human
activity. I see nothing wrong with that. We are part of nature
and we have a right to be here, and to earn our living from its
bounty. We do not have the right to harm the ability of nature
to supply that living to our posterity.
So I envision four priorities for the years ahead. First,
we will make enforcement the vital core of our regulatory
efforts, the means of ensuring that our laws are respected and
liabilities are voluntarily settled.
Second, pollution prevention. It will increasingly become
the measure against which all our policies and regulations are
judged. We need strong incentives for pollution prevention,
throughout our society.
Third, ecosystem protection. Wetlands, estuaries, and
groundwater, the sea itself -- these are natural systems on which
life and commerce depend. They will receive a high priority, as
we move to give expression to the President's promise to
introduce "a new era of coastal awareness."
9
Fourth, we will endeavor to reassert U.S. leadership in the
international arena. We intend to enlarge and raise the status
of EPA's international office, to revitalize important
environmental treaties, and to assist in developing
administration policy on aid and lending institutions, to help
developing countries manage their environments. So much of what
we must achieve cannot be achieved unless the world community
cooperates. CFC phaseout is the most immediate example. Should
other nations increase the manufacture and use of CFCs they could
offset all the gains achieved from our phasing out of them. We
will be a part of the team that seeks to make the environment an
important priority of U.S. foreign policy, as the President's and
Secretary of State's recent actions make clear.
Defending, improving the environment as we move toward a new
century will increasingly affect the way we live. I think we
will have to change the way we live, and develop, if I may coin a
phrase, a kinder, gentler relationship with the environment. The
role of the Environmental Protection Agency is to help manage
that change.
What if we don't make this great change? We hear much talk
about the fragility of Nature, and it is true that human
ignorance and greed can destroy large portions of the
environment. But Nature is not fragile; Nature is very tough
indeed, as you might expect from something that has been around
for three billion years. No, it is human society that is
fragile, as is the temporary aspect of Nature -- the climate, for
example -- that sustains life. This aspect can change, as it has
in the distant past, in ways that would make this earth vastly
less comfortable for our sort of life. Nature bats last, as we
used to say in the environmental movement.
10
Such a change may be happening now. We don't know for sure,
but the prudent person, or the prudent society, takes out
insurance in the face of uncertainty. The modifications that I
foresee in our way of life are in a sense the premiums on that
insurance. If the insurance turns out to be unnecessary, no one
complains to their insurance company because they're still alive!
When Time Magazine declared "Earth the Planet of the Year in
1988" everyone was surprised: everyone but the comedian Jay Leno
who said wee of course, what would you expect, all the judges
came from earth!
So they did, so we do, self-interested all of us, in making
the changes necessary to life.
The Japanese have a social technique for implementing
change. It is a slow process whereby the stakeholders in a
particular adjustment are brought into the process far in advance
of its activation, listened to, and made to feel that they are
not being unduly harmed. They call this process "binding the
roots." In this country our roots are wilder and more thorny by
far than they are in Japan, but I think some variant of it can
work. I certainly intend to try, and I hope I can rely on your
support.
Thank you.
11
Such a change may be happening now. We don't know for sure,
but the prudent person, or the prudent society, takes out
insurance in the face of uncertainty. The modifications that I
foresee in our way of life are in a sense the premiums on that
insurance. If the insurance turns out to be unnecessary, no one
complains to their insurance company because they're still alive!
When Time Magazine declared "Earth the Planet of the Year in
1988" everyone was surprised: everyone but the comedian Jay Leno
who said well of course, what would you expect, all the judges
came from earth!
So they did, so we do, self-interested all of us, in making
the changes necessary to life.
The Japanese have a social technique for implementing
change. It is a slow process whereby the stakeholders in a
particular adjustment are brought into the process far in advance
of its activation, listened to, and made to feel that they are
not being unduly harmed. They call this process "binding the
roots." In this country our roots are wilder and more thorny by
far than they are in Japan, but I think some variant of it can
work. I certainly intend to try, and I hope I can rely on your
support.
Thank you.
11