90 



Department of Agriculture, 



Office of the Secretary, 

 Washington, D.C., April 19, 1971. 

 Hon. Edward A. Garmatz, 



Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 

 House of Representatives, Washington, B.C. 



Dear Mr. Chairman : This is in response to your request for reports on H.R. 

 4247 and H.R. 4723, bills "To regulate the dumping of material in the oceans, 

 coastal, and other waters and for other purposes." 



This Department supports the enactment of H.R. 4247 and H.R. 4723 which 

 carry out the recommendations set forth by the President in his February 8, 1971, 

 message on the environment. 



Under these bills, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

 would be authorized to issue permits for dumping materials into oceans, coastal, 

 and other waters when, in his judgment, such dumping will not unreasonably 

 endanger human health, welfare, or amenities, or the marine environment, eco- 

 logical systems, or economic potentialities. 



The Administrator, EPA, would be directed to establish criteria for evaluating 

 permit applications on the basis of their likely environmental impact including 

 (1) possible persistence of the effects of the proposed dumping, (2) volume and 

 concentration of materials involved, and (3) the location proposed for dumping. 



Of especial interest to this Department is the provision (Sec. 5(a) (2) that the 

 Administrator, EPA, consider "alternate locations and methods of disposal in- 

 cluding land-based alternatives. . . ." Since most of the land in the United States 

 is rural land, used for farming or forestry, this Department is concerned with any 

 land-based alternatives which might be considered. The Department of Agricul- 

 ture has information and expertise relevant to the suitability of various land 

 sites for disposal of solids, either as sanitary landfills or through methods by 

 which many solids may be beneficially incorporated in the soil. We wish to point 

 out that the bills very appropriately provide that, in establishing or revising 

 criteria against which dumping permit applications would be approved or denied, 

 the Administrator, EPA, will consult with this Department, along with several 

 other interested Federal agencies. 



The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection to 

 the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's 

 program. 



Sincerely, 



J. Phil Campbell, 



Under Secretary. 



Department of the Army, 

 Washington, B.C., April 7, 1971. 

 Hon. Edward A. Garmatz, 

 Chairman, Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, House of Representatives. 



Dear Mr. Chairman : Reference is made to your request for the views of the 

 Department of Defense on H.R.'s 285, 336, 337, 548, 549. 805, 983. 1095. 1383, 1661, 

 3662, 4217, 4584 and 5050, 92nd Congress, bills concerning the discharge of mili- 

 tary or other material into international waters or waters of the United States, 

 and the transportation of that material for disposal into internaional waters. The 

 Department of the Army has been assigned responsibility for expressing the views 

 of the Department of Defense on these bills. 



The purpose of the bills is to prohibit unregulated dumping into the oceans 

 and other waters. The Department of the Army on behalf of the Department of 

 Defense is deeply concerned about the adverse ecological and environmental ef- 

 fects associated with the discharge of wastes and other materials into the navi- 

 gable, coastal, and ocean waters of the United States. Each of these bins addresses 

 some facet of this area of concern. We are concerned, however, that certain of 

 these bills could unnecessarily prohibit some imiwrtant activities not necessarily 

 harmful to the marine environment. We are especially concerned that the pro- 

 hibitive features of certain of these bills could be construed as an attempt to pre- 

 clude operation of U.S. nuclear powered warships, including the strategic deter- 

 rent Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine force. Such a result would be untenable to 

 the security of the United States. 



