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Responses to the Questions of the Honorable Curt Weldon 



(A-l) In your testimony you state that it is important to 

 recognize that there are some distinctions between the 

 Port Authority's pending permit application and many of 

 the long-term issues involving proper harbor management. 

 What are some examples of this? 



The biggest distinction is that most sediments in the 

 estuary system are not contaminated with dioxin, and 

 thus will not pose similar problems. The overall 

 issue of the suitability of ocean disposal at the Mud 

 Dump site has been raised, however, and should be 

 evaluated and addressed. Feasible disposal 

 alternatives should continue to be evaluated and, if 

 shown to be economically viable, implemented. Other 

 long-term issues, many of which are currently being 

 addressed by the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary 

 Program (HEP), include the loss of habitat, the 

 control of floatables in the harbor, the development 

 of a toxics management program, and water quality 

 concerns . 



(A-2) What do you feel are some of the crucial issues 

 facing proper harbor management? Do you feel that these 

 issues are being addressed or has the New York/New Jersey 

 permit process served as a catalyst to address problems 

 associated with harbor management? 



As noted above, many of these issues are being 

 addressed in the forum of the HEP and as part of the 

 recently announced seven-point interagency cooperative 

 initiative (see Response B below). In addition, these 

 issues are now considered on a routine basis during 

 policy and permit reviews. The Port Authority's 

 permit application did serve as a catalyst in that it 

 transformed what had previously been policy issues 

 into practical and regulatory problems demanding 

 action. The problem of dioxin-contaminated sediments, 

 though long recognized as a potential issue, became a 

 "real" problem demanding immediate attention. It has 

 also resulted in an ongoing series of meetings 

 bringing together all of the stakeholders in the New 

 York-New Jersey Harbor Region for frank and extended 

 discussion of pressing issues and concerns. 



