waste management depend upon reliable knowledge of treatment effectiveness and 

 costs just as importantly as upon knowledge of fate and effects in the Bight. Regula- 

 tory agencies should have adequate authority and resources to compile and maintain 

 this information on a regular basis. The U.S. Coast Guard's Pollution Incident 

 Reporting System is an illustration of such a reliable data base for oil and hazardous 

 wastes spilled from vessels. 



Although continuing insight can be expected in our knowledge of pollutant im- 

 pacts, unrealistic expectations must not be used as the basis for deferring manage- 

 ment actions. For instance, if an ecological or public health impact is judged unac- 

 ceptable, it is seldom useful in the Bight environment to ask which pollutant or which 

 pollutant source is "responsible." The New York Bight receives polluting wastes 

 from an unusually large number of sources, and they are effectively mixed in coastal 

 waters, sediments, and biota. Essentially all pollutants from all pollutant sources 

 contribute to the observed biotic effects in the Bight; all pollutant sources are there- 

 fore responsible for ecosystem degradation. Their relative importance is a function 

 of the quantity, toxicity, and biological availability of their pollutant composition. 

 Thus, apart from exceptional situations, it will not be possible to identify a single 

 chemical or pollutant source as responsible for an observed effect. If ecological ef- 

 fects in the Bight are viewed as socially unacceptable, effective remedial action can.be 

 taken without unrealistic attempts to first fix blame upon any single chemical or type 

 of waste. 



REFERENCES 



Anderson, J.W. 1981. The transport of petroleum hydrocarbons from sediments to benthos 

 and the potential effects. In: Ecological stress and the New York Bight: science and manage- 

 ment, G.F. Mayer, ed. The Estuarine Research Federation, Columbia, SC In press. 



Beardsley, R.C, W.C Boicourt.and D.V. Hansen. 1976. Physical oceanography of the Middle 

 Atlantic Bight. In: Middle AtlanticContinentalShelfand New York Bight, M.G. Gross, ed. 

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Bird. D. 1973. Divers confirm finding of sludge a half mile off L.I. New York Times. Decem- 

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Blumm. M.C 1980. Chapter 9. Implementing the Clean Water Act: progress, problems and 

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Boddewyn. J.J. 1981. Economic development and the Port of New York. NOAA Special Re- 

 port Series. NOAA. Rockville, MD. In press. 



Buelow. R.W., B.H. Pringle. and J.L. Verber. 1968. A preliminary investigation of waste dis- 

 posal in the New York Bight. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Public Health 

 Service, Northeast Marine Health Science Laboratory. Mimeo. 



Cabelli. V.J. 1981. Bacterial and viral pathogens. In: Public Health MESA New York Bight 

 Atlas Monograph 32. New York Sea Grant Institute, Albany, NY. In press. 



Carls, E.G. 1978. Recreation. MESA New York Bight Atlas Monograph 19. New York Sea 

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Carroll, R. 1974. Experts in dispute over when sludge will hit beaches. Daily News, March 23:7. 



CEQ (Council on Environmental Quality). 1970. Ocean dumping, a national policy. Council 

 on Environmental Quality, Washington, DC. 



Drake, D. 1974. Suspended particulate matter in the New York Bight apex: September-No- 

 vember 1973. NOAA-TR-ERL 318 MESA-I. Washington. DC. 



Duce. R.A., G.T. Wallace, and B.J. Ray. 1976. Atmospheric trace medals over the New York 

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 Laboratories, Boulder, CO. 



Energy and Environmental Analysis. Inc. 1975. Assessment of the National Pollutant Dis- 

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Farrington, J.W., and B.W. Tripp. 1979. Hydrocarbons in western north Atlantic surface sedi- 

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Freeland, G.L., and D.J. P. Swift. 1978. Surficial sediments. MESA New York Bight Atlas 

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