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Press Advisory for Friday, August 26, 1994

Release Date: 09/01/94
Contact Information:

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1994

HIGH-ALTITUDE CHRYSLER CARS NEED NEW ENGINE COMPUTER

EPA said Chrysler Corp. today started mailing over 5,000 vehicle recall notices to owners of l988 Plymouth, Dodge and
Chrysler cars located in high altitude areas for exceeding the federal carbon monoxide (CO) exhaust standard. Chrysler will
install a new engine computer that has a leaner air/fuel control strategy to reduce the CO emissions. The affected models are
l988 Plymouth Horizon, Caravelle, Sundance, and Reliant; Dodge Omni, Shadow, Aries, 600, and Lancer; and Chrysler
LeBaron Sedan and LeBaron GTS. The excessive CO emissions were discovered when EPA tested the cars at the Colorado
Health Department laboratory in Aurora. Chrysler subsequently agreed to recall the cars. The repair is free and should take
about 30 minutes. Owners should schedule an appoint-ment with their dealer after receiving notification from Chrysler. CO
reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to muscles and various organs. The effects are more pronounced for people in high
altitude locations where oxygen concentrations are lower.

EPA GIVES NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES SAME

RIGHTS AS STATES UNDER CLEAN AIR ACT

In an important Clinton Administration action to empower Native Americans and help them protect their environment, EPA is
today announcing a proposed rule allowing Tribes, if they so wish, to implement and administer their own programs under the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, just as states do. The proposal establishes the requirements that Tribes must meet to
administer Clean Air Act programs and provides for financial assistance. The proposed rule supports EPA Administrator Carol
M. Browner's March announcement formally reaffirming the Agency's Indian Policy, a commitment to working with federally
recognized tribes on a government-to-

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government basis to enhance environmental protection. The proposal also supports President Clinton's April Memorandum
entitled "Government-toGovernment Relations with Native American Tribal Governments." As part of the Administrator's
commitment to fully institutionalizing the Indian Policy into the Agency's planning and management activities, she has formed a
team of EPA leaders to work with Tribal representatives and others to make recommendations on EPA/Tribal relationships.
On August 19, Browner announced that she will establish an EPA Office of Indian Affairs in the Office of Water. Today's
announced proposal will appear soon in the Federal Register, but may be computer-accessible earlier through EPA's Electronic
Bulletin Board at 919-541-5742 (backup number for access problems is 919-541-5384). EPA is currently participating in a
White House Task Force pilot project on electronic filing of public comments on proposed rules and comments on today's
announced proposal may be submitted electronically using instructions

in the Federal Register notice. For further technical information on the proposal, contact Tina Parker at 202-260-6584.

EPA RELEASES CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

EPA has recently released its Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy. Many sediments in the navigable waterways of
the United States show signs of contamination. These sediments have been contaminated over time from various sources of
pollutants that may be controlled under different environmental laws. The strategy proposes an integrated Agency approach for
the control and management of sediment contamination. In the strategy, EPA describes the extent and severity of sediment
contamination and identifies various environmental statutes relevant to the management of contaminated sediments, from
pollution prevention to remediation programs. The strategy also lists specific actions that the Agency will take to reduce the
risks of sediment contamination. The strategy does not call for new legislation or propose new regulations, but does encourage
Agency efforts to prevent and clean up contaminated sediments through existing laws. For more information, please contact
Mary Blakeslee at 202-260-7158.

EPA PROPOSES "SOLE-SOURCE" PROTECTION IN WASHINGTON STATE

EPA's Region 10 Office in Seattle, Washington announced a proposal this week to designate the Eastern Columbia Plateau
aquifer system as a "sole-source" aquifer. The designation would give added protection to drinking water in a 14,000 square
mile area of

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eastern Washington. The EPA proposal was made in response to a citizen petition for EPA to make sure that projects or
programs funded by the federal government don't create situations that might contaminate the drinking water used by the
260,000 persons who draw their supplies from the Eastern Columbia Plateau aquifer system. EPA's proposal is subject to
public comment before EPA will make the designation final. Such a designation would mean that projects receiving federal
financial assistance could be reviewed by EPA if there was a potential for them to impair the quality of the drinking water
underground. For more information, please contact Bob Jacobson at 206-553- 1203.

EPA SPONSORS COMPUTER VISUALIZATION WORKSHOP ON ENVIRONMENTAL DATA, AUG. 30 - SEPT.
1

EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office, the Gulf of Mexico Program Office, the High Performance Computing and
Communications Program, and EPA's National Data Processing Division will sponsor the second annual International
Environmental Visualization Workshop on the use of visualization techniques to explore environmental data sets, Aug. 30 to
Sept. 1, in Cleveland Ohio.

Visualization is a process for showing computerized environmental data projected over time. The two-and-a-half day event,
open to senior EPA managers, state and local government program managers, and scientists from the public and private sectors
will be held at the Marriott Society Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The sessions will focus on the role of visualization in policy
formation, environ-mental research, quality science, and environmental education. Scheduled to speak are Jon Cannon,
Assistant Administrator for the U.S. EPA's Office of Administration and Resources Management, and Gary Foley, Acting
Assistant Administrator for U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development, as well as other top experts in the field of
environmental visualization. The International Environmental Visualization Workshop will be limited to 250 participants. There is
no registration fee. To ensure a slot for participation, contact Kerstin Felske, Martin Marietta Technology Services, Inc.,
National Environmental Supercomputing Center, 135 Washington Ave., Bay City, MI 48708-5845. Phone 517-894-7699;
fax 517-894-7676. Reporters having additional questions can contact George Shelton in the EPA Press Office, at
202-260-5965, or Phil Hoffman at 312-886-7478.

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