97 



TESTIMONY 



BEFORE 



THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY, GULF OF MEXICO, 



AND THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 



LILLIAN C. LIBURDI 

 DIRECTOR, PORT DEPARTMENT 

 THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY 



WASHINGTON, DC 

 MARCH 30, 1993 



My name is Lillian Liburdi. I am the Director of the Port 

 Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Mr. 

 Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before this 

 distinguished committee on dredging and ocean disposal of dredged 

 material. I appreciate even more that you are giving your 

 attention to this generic and very frustrating matter of dredging 

 our ports. My statement will address the length of time it takes 

 for decision making within the regulatory process, discuss the 

 high cost of testing and demonstrate the need for a proactive 

 federal policy initiative on dredging and disposal necessary to 

 solve what I see as a national dredging crisis. 



First, I would like to set forth a few important points. 



o We are not talking about toxic or hazardous materials, 

 for such materials are not dredged and disposed of in 

 the ocean. We are talking about sediments that have low 

 levels of contaminants that are pervasive throughout 

 many if not all coastal systems and not just the New 

 York/New Jersey harbor. 



o We are not appearing before you as the offending 



industrial polluter but as the agency contending with 

 the consequences of the polluter's actions. It is our 

 responsibility as a public port agency to both maintain 

 marine terminal facilities for commerce and to do so 

 with the utmost respect for the environment. 



o Not withstanding the fact that the Port Authority is a 

 public agency and my colleagues and I are public 

 employees we cannot adopt an indifferent attitude 

 regarding the real costs and consequences of government 

 regulation. Indeed we must operate as a business does 

 with a practical concern for costs in time, people and 

 financial resources. 



o Our port employs 180,000 people. Most of the port's 



shipping activities occur at the Port Newark/Elizabeth 

 complex, one of the largest in the world. While I 



