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My name is Beth Millemann, and I am Executive Director of the Coast Alliance, a 

 national coalition of environmental leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Coast 

 Alliance works to educate the public about the value of ocean and coastal resources. I am 

 presenting testimony today on behalf of the Coast Alliance and 35 other fishing, water recreation 

 and environmental organizations. We appreciate the opportunity to express our grave concerns 

 about, and opposition to, proposals to dump wastes in the deep ocean. 



FoUow-Up To The 1992 Hearing 



In the letter inviting me to testify. Chairmen Weldon and Saxton described today's 

 hearing as an investigation into potential use of the deep ocean environment as a repository for 

 certain types of waste, particularly contaminated dredge material. Today's hearing was 

 described as a follow-up to a 1992 hearing on using the deep ocean for contaminated dredge 

 disposal. 



Many extremely valid concerns were raised at that 1992 hearing, and they are as relevant 

 today as they were then. For example. Chairman Saxton joined his colleagues from New Jersey 

 ~ former Representative William Hughes and Representative Frank Pallone - in pointing out 

 the potential for deep ocean dumping to degrade the marine environment. Mr. Hughes vowed 

 to work against any experimental ocean disposal program. Mr. Pallone rightly described 

 proposals to dump in the deep ocean as turning the ocean floor into a landfill. And Chairman 

 Saxton cautioned that: 



"Until scientifically determined conclusions are made beyond our present state of 

 ignorance, this government during a time of fiscal restraint would be hard-pressed 

 to assist research efforts seeking to inject more waste into the ocean floor. " 



The Oceans Are Biologically Rich 



Since Chairman Saxton's 1992 observations, our state of ignorance has greatly improved 

 with regard to the deep ocean. In October 1995, the New York Times reported an astonishing 

 breakthrough in knowledge about the deep ocean and sea floor (see attached). According to 

 scientists interviewed by the New York Times, the deep ocean has now been discovered to 

 "harbor a riotous diversity of life": 



* The diversity of species in the deep ocean is so high that it may rival that of 

 tropical rain forests, often seen as the pinnacle of biological richness. 



* The estimates for the number of species on the deep-sea floor have now soared 

 to 10 million or even 100 million, hundreds of times larger than old projections. 

 According to Dr. Lambshead, a marine biologist at the Natural History Museum 

 in Londori, "all sorts of ecologic theories that looked good suddenly fall apart. 

 We're having to change all our ideas.' 



* A huge variety of life occurs throughout the deep sea. Along with its ecological 

 importance, there is the potential for significant comraerdal value. 



