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the laboratory is often given too many short-term kinds of goals 

 and they don't have a long-term type of commitment for many of 

 their activities, which is difficult for a scientist to carry out, but is 

 part of the activities of the agency itself. But in general, there has 

 never been any problems from that standpoint. 



The management of the laboratory has been the primary problem 

 that the Science Advisory Board has seen, not at the local level, but 

 it is very heavily connected to the management at the administra- 

 tive level in Washington. What we think might help better — and as 

 the Administrator has indicated is probably the direction they will 

 be going — is to provide more local types of administration and man- 

 agement of their own program. 



Senator Reid. In talking about this Mitre report, which was criti- 

 cal of EPA's research laboratories, SAB and EPA have either re- 

 sponded or are planning to respond. 



What are the merits of the criticism, from your personal perspec- 

 tive, raised by the report? What can be done to respond to these 

 issues? 



Dr. Matanoski. We have heard recently at our recent meeting 

 of the Science Advisory Board some of the plans for implementation 

 for changes in the laboratory. The board was extremely enthusias- 

 tic about those plans. They include a restructuring to allow more 

 local management of the actual programs themselves in a gradual 

 way within the laboratories. That certainly is strong. 



The laboratories need to build a scientific basis that has some 

 input from the outside. That was proposed in terms of research 

 agendas that would go, perhaps, to universities or other outside 

 groups under the supervision of the laboratories. That, too, is a 

 very strong program. 



And the idea of building "young blood" to come into the labora- 

 tories and build the scientific research through fellowship programs 

 and through visiting scientists kinds of programs is a very strong 

 step forward. 



So in general, we saw .something that would definitely strength- 

 en the laboratories in most of their endeavors. 



Senator Reid. Could I have the panel respond to this final ques- 

 tion? Each of you can respond. 



The environmental monitoring and assessment program requires 

 EPA to collect data. Is this an appropriate function for its Office 

 of Research and Development? 



Dr. Foley? 



Dr. FOLEY. The EMAP program, currently as we are operating it, 

 is in its research phase. The research phase consists of doing re- 

 search to identify appropriate indicators, to identify how to take 

 those indicators to the field and do sampling, and ascertaining 

 whether you can get the information using these indicators and, 

 using a various grid approach and sampling frequency. We are in 

 the research phase to really identify what needs to be done. 



Where the work will be done once it becomes routine and oper- 

 ational has not yet been determined. 



Senator Reid. Dr. Schaefer, do you have a comment? 



Dr. Schaefer. Yes. One of the biggest weaknesses we have had 

 in environmental research is the quality of our data on the ecologi- 

 cal environment. EMAP, together with the national biological sur- 



