139 



Delaware Bay and watched as the ship dredged 200 pounds of sewage 

 sludge containing many dead clams. 



The presence of mercury, lead, DDT, and pesticides is increasing 

 dangerously in sea life. It has been shown that pesticides inhibit the 

 ability of diatoms in the ocean to produce oxygen. The world's supply 

 of oxygen comes mainly from the photosynthetic activity of these tiny 

 diatoms. 



Dr. Jacques Cousteau, famed oceanologist who has traveled nearly 

 155,000 miles in the last 8I/2 years exploring the oceans of the world, 

 recently concluded: "The oceans are in danger of dying. The pollu- 

 tion is general." 



Mr. Chairman, we are all familiar with inside the United States 

 and the waters close by, but down our way we have the specter of the 

 Gulf of Mexico becoming a dead gulf in a very short time and it is a 

 very real danger. It is going to take a tremendous effort in terras 

 of technology to restore the Gulf of Mexico to what it ought to be in 

 terms of clear water and as an asset for mankind. 



The hearings I am sure will be replete with evidence, Mr. Chairman, 

 that the need is urgent and that the time is short. 



At the present time there is neither legal provisions for the control 

 of ocean dumping nor enforcement beyond the 3-mile limit. Further- 

 more, there is a regulatory vacuum in international waters which lie 

 outside even the 12-mile outer limit of the territorial seas of a coastal 

 nation. 



Recently the United Nation's Intergovernmental Maritime Con- 

 sultative Organization adopted in London a U.S. resolution calling 

 for an end to willful ocean dumping and accidental spills by 1975 if 

 possible, but certainly by the end of the decade. This is a positive step, 

 but I fear we cannot afford the luxury of waiting until 1980 or even 

 1975. 



The various legislative proposals before this distinguished com- 

 mittee offer unilateral restraints on the part of the United States. My 

 bill is not an exception. I have got a repeat of the package put in here 

 last year. H.E. 4719 is part of a legislative package which includes, 

 among other things, a concurrent resolution calling for an interna- 

 tional agreement, under the auspices of the 1972 United Nations Con- 

 ference on the Human Environment, to prohibit dumping in the waters 

 of the world and provide the necessary framework for review and 

 enforcement. 



In the final analysis, Mr. Chairman, this is a problem affecting all 

 the nations of the world, and we must have international cooperation 

 in order to meet it successfully. House Concurrent Resolution 146 on 

 that point is now pending before the House Committee on Foreign 

 Affairs. 



The part of my legislative package which is before this committee 

 is, of course, H.R. 4719. Simply and comprehensively it prohibits the 

 discharge into the waters of the world of any military or waste ma- 

 terial without a certification by the Administrator of the Environ- 

 mental Protection Agency approving such discharge. 



As the operational agency charged with the responsibility of en- 

 forcing and administering air and water quality standards, the EPA 

 is the logical watchdog against pollution of our oceans. 



