[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        TRIBUTE TO NORM LOVELACE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2001

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend and congratulate 
a good friend and advocate of Guam and the Pacific Islands, Norm 
Lovelace, on his distinguished career and his well-earned retirement.
  Currently the manager of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
Pacific Insular Area Programs, Norm initially joined the EPA in 1972. 
At the time, he was tasked to develop, validate and utilize 
mathematical models for water quality, phytoplankton and hydraulics of 
the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River for the EPA's Region 3 
Annapolis Field Office.
  Prior to his stint at the EPA, Norm was employed by the California 
Department of Water Resources. From 1966 until 1969, he worked on 
developing water quality and hydraulic models of the Sacramento-San 
Joaquin delta. Having obtained a degree in Civil Engineering from the 
University of California at Davis in 1969, he went on to perform 
terrestrial and oceanic geophysical surveys as a senior watch officer 
aboard the NOAA Ship Surveyor until 1972, when he joined the EPA.
  Norm first got acquainted with Region 9 in 1979, upon obtaining a 
transfer to serve in several capacities mainly focused on the EPA's 
program in the Pacific Basin. He was the project officer for water 
programs on Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 
1975 until 1979. He went on to be selected as Chief of Municipal 
Management Section in the Water Division in 1979 where he managed 
programs and projects for key municipal areas such as San Francisco, 
Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. In 1981, he became the Chief 
of the Office of Territorial Programs. Renamed Pacific Insular Area 
Programs (PIAP) soon after he took over, the office administered to all 
agency domestic involvements in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. This is in addition to agency 
interests in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States 
of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau as well as in U.S. possessions 
such as Wake and Palmyra.
  An advocate of the needs of the Pacific Islands, Norm served as a 
spokesman and representative--ensuring that national agencies involved 
with the Pacific Islands were keenly aware of the special circumstances 
and needs of the region. He was instrumental in the development and 
enactment of public laws which adapted complex and cumbersome EPA 
programs to special circumstances and public health needs of the 
Pacific Islands community. Through his guidance, policies were refined, 
funds were allocated, and changes were implemented--all to the benefit 
of the region. For Guam, Norm played a key role in obtaining full 
delegation for the island's Hazardous Waste Management Program and 
Solid Waste Management Program. He was largely responsible for the 
federal funds secured for the construction of a highly needed hazardous 
waste transfer station currently in operation on Guam.
  For all his work and dedication, we, who have been the beneficiaries 
of his hard work and dedication, are most thankful. Upon his 
retirement, I offer my congratulations for his distinguished career and 
my personal commendation for a job well-done. We wish him the best on 
his well earned retirement and all the luck in his future endeavors. Si 
Yu'os Ma'ase, Norm.

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