Although the beaches in the Miami area, are some distance from my area, I have gone there many times to fish.

After the war, they said because so many subs, and so many merchant marine ships were sunk, there was a lot of oil on the beach.

Here 25 years or a quarter of a century since that time, there is still fresh oil floating up on Miami Beach, and you cannot go swimming at any of the most expensive hotels, or any of the hotels, down there, without having to come out and practically take a bath in some kind of solvent to get the oil off your feet.

It gets on everything.

Of course, I think most of this is coming from ships that just dump the material out, helter-skelter all over the ocean.

I think the time is now, and the time is very critical, and I hope that you gentlemen will use all of the skill and all of the determination you have on this committee to do something about it. It needs to be done. Mr. DINGELL. Thank you.

This committee is grateful to you for your very helpful testimony. The committee would appreciate any suggestions you might give us with regard to amendatory language to the administration's bill.

We thank you very much for your fine statement, Mr. Gibbons, and we appreciate your help.

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement I would like inserted into the record.

Mr. DINGELL. Without objection, let the prepared statement of the gentleman appear at this point in the record."

(The statement follows:)

STATEMENT OF HON. SAM GIBBONS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM

THE STATE OF FLORIDA

Mr. Chairman: Thank you for this opportunity to present testimony to this Committee concerning the need to regulate the dumping of waste materials into the ocean. I had the privilege of introducing H.R. 4218, a bill to prohibit the discharge into any of the navigable waters of the United States or into international waters of any military material or other refuse without a certification by the Environmental Protection Agency approving such discharge. I am also a co-sponsor of H.R. 807, a bill to amend the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to provide additional protection to marine and wildlife ecology by providing for the orderly regulation of dumping in the ocean, coastal, and other waters of the United States.

Recent reports have left no doubt that our current practice of haphazard disposal of wastes by ocean dumping has seriously damaged certain areas of our coastal zone and is on the verge of causing worldwide, irreversible environmental effects. In order to alleviate the existing problem and to forestall it from becoming worse, many members of the Congress have introduced, either as individuals or in conjunctions with one or more of their colleagues, legislation regulating ocean dumping. I am told that the number of bills dealing solely and directly with ocean dumping exceeds 44, and that many other measures concerned with water pollution or with coastal zone management have sections regulating ocean dumping. Because there have been so many measures introduced, I would like to briefly review the major provisions of HR 4218 and HR 807.

HR 4218 is a very short bill, yet quite inclusive. It states that after the date of enactment, no person shall discharge, either directly or indirectly, into any of the navigable waters of the United States or into international waters, any munitions, or any chemical, biological, or radiological warfare agent, or any other military material except in accordance with a certificate issued by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Further, this bill would prohibit the dumping of any other kind of refuse material of any kind or de

scription whatever except as approved by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

HR 807 is far more specific in its approach. It identifies the waters to be protected including the oceans, gulfs, bays, salt-water lagoons, and other coastal waters where the tide ebbs and flows, the Great Lakes, and all waters in a zone contiguous to the United States extending twelve miles seaward from the baseline of the territorial seas as provided for in the Convention of the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone.

Like HR 4218, this bill declares that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall be responsible for administering this act. The Administrator will, in conjunction with the Secretary of the Interior, and in consultation with the Secretary of the Army, establish standards for the deposit or discharge of waste materials into the coastal waters of the United States. The kinds of materials which will be regulated include dredge spoil, sewage sludge, industrial wastes, building rubble, and all other materials which might be harmful to the quality of the receiving waters or to its inhabitants. The purpose, of course, of the standards program is to guarantee that disposal of waste materials will cause no damage to the natural environment.

In the administration of this act, the person seeking to discharge waste will bear the burden of proof that his action will not violate the standards established, and he must present evidence to this effect before any permit can be granted. The Administrator may, at his discretion, include additional requirements that he feels are necessary for the orderly regulation of ocean dumping. These standards will be adopted and enforced by any arm of the Federal and State Governments issuing any license, permit, or any other authorization which regulates dumping into coastal waters. Further, these standards will be applicable to all the departments, agencies and other instrumentalities of the Federal Government, the various State governments involved, and to any person operating under any kind of license or permit from any of these authorities. Unless the State standard is more stringent than the one established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal standards will apply in all coastal waters. The decision as to which standard applies in the various State jurisdictions will be made by the Administrator. The actual legal jurisdiction shall fall to the District courts of the United States. Violation of the standards will make a person liable to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 nor less than $5,000. In the case of a continuing violation, each day counts as a separate offense.

Upon the effective date of this Act, all licenses, permits, and authorities which have been issued under any other provision of law shall be terminated.

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Mr. Chairman, I feel that there is real need for the Congress of the United States to enact strong legislation establishing a national policy on ocean dumping and establishing an effective mechanism for regulating this common and widespread method of waste disposal. There is no doubt of the destructiveness of promiscuous ocean dumping. Within the last year, several excellent reports have been released documenting the extent of environmental damage being wrought. An example of the extent of this abuse may be inferred from just one statistic taken from the report submitted to the Secretary of Interior on June 24, 1970, entitled: "Evaluation of Influence of Dumping in the New York Bight." On page 26 of this report, the following statement is made: "During fiscal year 1968 disposal of materials in dumping grounds amounted to 17,110,144 cubic yards. . .' For purpose of comparison, this volume is almost exactly four times that of Hoover Dam on the Lower Colorado River. Bearing in mind that this is the amount of material dumped into the New York Bight alone, it is disheartening to note that the report on Ocean Dumping prepared by the Council on Environmental Quality identified 246 dumping sites off the coasts of the United States. And even at the present vast levels of dumping, the Council felt that ocean dumping is not a serious nationwide problem now but could become one within the next few years because of the rapid rate of increase in ocean dumping. I urge this Committee to move quickly in the direction of effective legislation which will control this growing threat to the marine ecosystems of the United States. It is imperative that legislation be enacted promptly which will provide for strong and effective regulation of ocean dumping.

Mr. DINGELL. Our next witness will be the gentleman from California, Hon. Don Edwards.

STATEMENT OF HON. DON EDWARDS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman, to say that effective legislation establishing a national policy on ocean dumping is needed is to greatly understate the crisis this country is likely to observe in the near future. The relative and absolute increase of pollution in the face of disastrous health, economic and environmental consequences is shocking. The President's Council on Environmental Quality has reported that between 1964-68 an average of about 7.5 million tons of waste was dumped at sea. Without proper controls, this can be expected to climb to over 150 million tons by 1980. If such activity continues, the only and inevitable consequences we can expect is the unleashing of a Pandora's box producing a mixed bag of interrelated and almost insoluable problems.

What is astonishing is to discover that the Federal Government is the Janus-headed offender in the field of water pollution. By virtue of the Government's tardiness in handling the problem of ocean dumping, toxic pollutants have been deposited in the ocean, creating harmful and unattractive waters. By its laxity in enforcing statutes already on the books, the Government has been a conspirator to the pollution of our coastal and inland waterways. But the blame cannot end here. Above all, what is most horrifying is that the U.S. Government has been traditionally the major offender in the area of ocean dumping. To begin with, it is estimated that the Department of Defense plans to dump 88.835 tons of munitions alone this year; exploding large quantities of explosives results in pollution and destroys marine life. The Defense Department believes that a detonation of 1,000 tons of explosives-not an unusual amount to be disposed-will be sufficiently strong to kill marine organisms from 1 to 4 miles-depending on the species.

Yet, this activity is miniscule in scope when compared with the extent of other offenses. Empowered with the right to dump sludge into waters, the Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for most if not all of dredge dumping, which experts calculate constitutes 80 percent of the weight of all ocean dumping. The Army has admitted that at least one-third of these wastes are polluted. This type of dumping is responsible for adding oxygen-demanding materials and heavy metals which are detrimental to whole communities of marine organisms.

The administration's bill is but a slight improvement over what we have on the books now. Due to the application of legislative cosmetics, H.R. 4723 would make it difficult to halt Government dumping operations. I refer specifically to the construction of section 3 (e) which does not place "any employee, agent, department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government" under the sanctions of section. 6. Then too, because the bill fails to clearly delineate the jurisdiction of the courts, it is unlikely that private citizens will have the opportunity for a forum in which to seek redress from Government dumping operations. Moreover, section 11 of the administration's bill discourages public involvement in reporting illegal dumping activities by repealing the finder's fee provisions of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.

It is for these reasons, Mr. Chairman, that I suggest the committee report out H.R. 805 as a substitute for H.R. 4723.

Mr. DINGELL. Thank you for a fine statement, Congressman.

We will now hear from our colleague from New York, Hon. Lester Wolff.

STATEMENT OF HON. LESTER L. WOLFF, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Mr. WOLFF. I very much appreciate this opportunity to express my strong support for legislation to control ocean dumping. I am a cosponsor of two of the bills under consideration by the subcommitteeH.R. 808, to provide for the orderly regulation of dumping in the ocean, coastal, and other waters of the United States; and H.R. 4359, to regulate dumping of waste materials and authorize the establishment of a system of marine sanctuaries.

For several years, I have been deeply involved in the fight to restore and protect Long Island Sound, which is used for recreational purposes by residents of New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Eleven million residents of those States live within 15 miles of the sound. Unfortunately, however, the sound's waters are becoming less and less appealing for recreational activities.

One of the chief causative factors in the sound's rapid deterioration has been man's dumping of his wastes-sewage, sludge, or, worse yet, untreated sewage; dredge spoils; industrial wastes. Strong Federal legislation to control such dumping is urgently needed if we are to prevent further destruction of the sound and other bodies of water, and eventually reclaim and preserve them.

Both of the bills I have cosponsored would help halt indiscriminate dumping of man's waste products in our coastal waters. H.R. 808, of which Congressman Harrington is the chief sponsor, would place the burden of proof on the person who wishes to dump to demonstrate that the waste materials would not endanger the natural environment and ecology of the area in which he plans to dump. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Interior would be authorized to establish standards to govern ocean dumping-standards to insure that no damage to the natural environment and ecology of the ocean, coastal, and other waters of the United States would result from any discharge or dumping activity. Failure to comply with the established standards would result in a fine of $5,000 to $10,000.

H.R. 4359, of which Congressman Frey is the principal sponsor, carries these principles a step further by authorizing the Secretary of Commerce to designate as marine sanctuaries those areas of the Nation's tidelands which should be protected for their recreation, conservation, ecologic, or esthetic values. These marine sanctuaries, which would be analogous to the wilderness areas in our national parks system, would be out of bounds for mining activities, industrial development, and dumping or disposal of waste material.

In addition, H.R. 4359 would prohibit the dumping of waste material into the oceans, coastal waters, and estuarine areas, except under a permit issued by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after he determines the dumping will not damage the ecology

of the marine environment. The dumping of radioactive wastes, toxic industrial wastes, and chemical and biological warfare materials would be flatly prohibited, and standards would be established for treatment of sewage and industrial wastes disposed of under a permit. Violation of the permit requirement would be punishable by a fine of $2,000 to $10,000 for a first offense, and $10,000 to $25,000 for each succeeding offense.

Recent news reports about the contamination of marine life, including the fish we eat, by mercury, DDT, and NTA, and the destruction of the waters of the New York Bight through excessive sludge dumping, prove the danger of indiscriminate dumping. Remarkable as the marine ecosystem may be, it cannot continue to cleanse itself indefinitely while man dumps infinite amounts of waste into the ocean. Action to protect our marine environment is urgently needed, and I urge adoption of a strong bill by these subcommittees and by your full committee.

Mr. DINGELL. The subcommittee appreciates your time for an excellent and informative statement.

Next we wish to have our good friend and very able minority leader of the House, Hon. Gerald R. Ford.

STATEMENT OF HON. GERALD R. FORD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN

Mr. FORD. Thank you Mr. Chairman. The horrendous problems created by our pollution of the environment have finally come to the forefront of the national conscience and are receiving the attention they deserve.

Cleanup has become an everyday word. But how much better it would have been had we forestalled the pollution which is necessitating cleanups throughout the Nation and throughout the world.

There are environmental problems that are far more critical than ocean dumping. But there is no time better than the present for acknowledging that the current level of ocean dumping is creating serious environmental damage in some areas.

We should recognize now that the volume of wastes dumped in the ocean is increasing rapidly.

We should warn ourselves now that a vast new influx of wastes is likely to occur as municipalities and industries look to the oceans as a convenient spot to dump their wastes.

We should view with alarm now the trends indicating that ocean dumping could become a major, nationwide environmental problem. The oceans cover nearly three-fourths of the world's surface. They are critical to maintaining our environment. They contribute to the basic oxygen-carbon dioxide balance upon which human and animal life depends.

We must act now to safeguard our basic environmental balance by banning unregulated dumping of any materials into the oceans and by strictly limiting the ocean disposal of any materials harmful to the environment.

I have introduced a bill, H.R. 6771, which would accomplish these objectives. Needless to say, I strongly endorse the identical bills now