6 



Mr. Ortiz. Thank you and I am sorry. I did not mean to inter- 

 rupt your statement, Mr. Saxton. 



Mr. Saxton. That is all right. 



Mr. Ortiz. As I stated before, we are very happy to have with us 

 two members of the full committee, Mr. Hughes of New Jersey, 

 and Mr. Pallone. Mr. Hughes, do you have an opening statement? 



STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM HUGHES, A U.S. 

 REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW JERSEY 



Mr. Hughes. Mr. Chairman, I do have an opening statement 

 which I would like to submit for the record if I might. I would like 

 to congratulate you in convening this hearing. And I thank my col- 

 league from New Jersey, Mr. Saxton, for requesting the hearing. It 

 is very timely as Mr. Saxton has indicated. Additionally, I would 

 like to associate myself with his remarks. 



Mr. Chairman, over the years, we have done a very good job of 

 cleaning up the oceans, and our water quality has not been better. 

 This hearing, though, is deja vu in many respects. I don't think 

 anybody would seriously propose that we close down the New 

 York/New Jersey Harbor. Nobody suggests that. But by the same 

 token, it doesn't make sense to continue the same policies that 

 have gotten us into trouble for so many years. 



Frankly, there are a lot of unanswered questions. My colleague 

 from New Jersey, Mr. Saxton, and certainly Mr. Pallone, has 

 raised many of them. For example, there is an uncertainty about 

 what level of dioxin is acceptable for ocean disposal. We don't know 

 what the impacts of dioxin and other contaminants are on our 

 marine environment. We don't know whether capping really is 

 foolproof or what damage can be done by future storms. And yet 

 we keep talking about interim solutions and the promise of long- 

 term solutions, and I have yet to see them. 



I hope that the witnesses today will begin to address what I 

 think is probably one of the most important central questions to be 

 resolved at this and future hearings and that is what are our long- 

 term options? Do we have some long-term plans? Are we going to 

 have this type of a battle every time we have new areas — new re- 

 gions that have to be dredged? That wouldn't make sense. I think 

 we can spend our time a lot more prudently if we begin to focus in 

 on long-term options instead of the short-term fixes that keep get- 

 ting us into trouble time and time again. 



I want to welcome our witnesses. I see an old friend, Tudor 

 Davies from EPA, is with us today and Mr. Rees and others from 

 the Army Corps but particularly Mr. Sinding from the DEPE and 

 Fred Grassle who is at Rutgers University, and we are delighted to 

 have them. I look forward to the testimony. 



[Statement of Mr. Hughes follows:] 



Statement of Hon. William J. Hughes, a U.S. Representative from New Jersey 



Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for convening this hearing today to 

 discuss ocean disposal of contaminated sediments. I appreciate the opportunity to 

 join you and would also like to thank my colleague from New Jersey, Mr. Saxton, 

 for requesting the consideration of this timely and important issue. 



The disposal of contaminated sediments poses a very serious problem — one that 

 has no easy solution. The hearing today is the result of the controversial application 

 currently pending before the Army Corps of Engineers to dispose of dioxin-contami- 



