Statement of Hon. Curt Weldon, a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing today on the ocean 

 disposal of contaminated dredge material. Without a doubt, this is a matter of great 

 significance for myself as well as other Members who represent ports that are, for 

 the first time, addressing this growing problem. 



As you know, the unfortunate circumstances leading to the denial of the permit 

 for the disposal of contaminated dredge material from Newark Bay at the Mud 

 Dump site has raised a number of important questions. Today, we will not only 

 focus on the regulatory process of disposing dredged material in our oceans, but 

 also, we will discuss alternatives to this disposal. This hearing, Mr. Chairman, is 

 long overdue and I applaud you for taking the lead on this significant matter. 



As you know, my district is adjacent to the Delaware River, which serves the Port 

 of Philadelphia. Although still in its preliminary stages, the Army Corps of Engi- 

 neers has selected a plan to enlarge the main channel of the Delaware River to 45 

 feet with widths ranging from 400 to 1000 feet. The plan also includes widening and 

 deepening a portion of the Marcus Hook Anchorage Area. By deepening the river, 

 there will be greater access to the Delaware River Port Area which will provide a 

 local economic benefit. 



While it is my understanding that contaminated sediments do not exist within the 

 proposed channel enlargement area, little information exists outside of this area. If 

 in fact, such sediments are found, I would hope that the Port of Philadelphia would 

 not have to wait three years before obtaining a permit for disposal of these sedi- 

 ments. 



Also of significance at today's hearing are not only the problems associated with 

 ocean disposal of contaminated materials, but also the various alternative solutions 

 that are being developed. In particular, I look forward to hearing from Dr. Robert 

 Engler of the Army Corps of Engineers and Fred Grassle of the Institute of Marine 

 Sciences on the various alternative methods of ocean disposal of contaminated sedi- 

 ments. I am very interested in technologies that are being developed which use con- 

 taminated sediments to create wetland areas under the combined COE-EPA Field 

 Verification Program. 



Again, Mr. Chairman, I applaud your leadership on holding this very important 

 hearing. I look forward to working with you on this important matter. 



[Statement of Mr. Fields follows:] 



Statement of Hon. Jack Fields, a U.S. Representative from Texas, and 

 Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 



Chairman Ortiz, thank you for scheduling this hearing on a topic of much interest 

 to Members on my side of the aisle. We must remember, though, that the vast ma- 

 jority of dredge material poses no disposal problems and can be used beneficially to 

 restore beaches and create wetlands. This is certainly the case in the Gulf of 

 Mexico, which has more dredge material than any other region in the country. Most 

 of the dredge material is dumped in open water, and disposal has not been a prob- 

 lem despite a number of contaminated sediment sites ringing Gulf shores. I would 

 hate to think that it would take the Port of Houston three years to obtain an ocean 

 dumping permit to dispose of dredge material from its waters, as the Port Authority 

 of New York and New Jersey has faced since 1990. 



I am also interested in technology that is being developed to help decontaminate 

 those sediments that do pose a disposal problem. The Army Corps of Engineers labo- 

 ratory in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is a leader in this area, and we must also consider 

 EPA's operations in the Great Lakes under the Assessment and Remediation of 

 Contaminated Sediments Program. I understand that most of these treatment proc- 

 esses are extremely expensive and thus work only on a small scale. Perhaps addi- 

 tional research may be necessary to expand the application of these technologies to 

 the larger amounts of dredge material involved in our most heavily contaminated 

 sites. 



Finally, I will be very interested to hear about the Environmental Protection 

 Agency's (EPA) survey of the extent of contaminated sediments in U.S. waters and 

 its development of appropriate monitoring programs for these sediment sites. I hope 

 that EPA will take into consideration the substantial work conducted by the Na- 

 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in this area, and labor to 

 avoid duplication of effort with NOAA and private entities. 



Mr. Ortiz. Mr. Saxton. 



