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the facilities needed to clean up the Harbor and the Bay are 

 constructed. We do not design or construct those facilities 

 ourselves. Our mandate is to review the facilities designed by 

 the MWRA, and to ensure that they will achieve compliance with 

 the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws. 



EPA began its review of the proposed MWRA outfall in 1986. 

 We conducted an intensive study of the potential impacts of the 

 outfall on the Massachusetts Bay ecosystem. The study examined 

 the potential for effects on water quality, sediments, plankton, 

 fish, marine mammals, endangered species, and other aspects of 

 the marine environment. As part of this process, EPA initiated 

 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service concerning impacts on 

 endangered species. During that consultation, EPA notified NMFS 

 in writing that it planned to incorporate an Endangered Species 

 Act biological assessment into its Environmental Impact 

 Statement. That approach is specifically encouraged by 

 regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act. 



Mr. Chairman, as you know, there has always been great 

 public interest in the proposed outfall. After EPA issued a 

 draft Environmental Impact Statement, we received a number of 

 written comments from the public and from environmental groups. 

 Many of these comments urged that the outfall be located even 

 farther into Massachusetts Bay than proposed by MWRA. After 

 detailed analysis, EPA concluded that MWRA's proposal was 

 environmentally sound, and that the outfall would not have 



