147 



STATEMENT OF HON. BOB CASEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 

 CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS 



Mr. Casey. Mr. Chairman, and distinguished colleagues of these two 

 important subcommittees, permit me to express my personal thanks to 

 you for the expeditious hearings on the grave problem of waste dis- 

 charge in our coastal waters. I am especially pleased that the bill which 

 I have had the pleasure of cosponsoring with my friend, Representa- 

 tive John M. Murphy of New York, is included in legislation being 

 considered by these hearings. 



I think the gravity of the problem is well recognized, and the fact 

 that two important subcommittees are holding joint hearings on this 

 issue certainly testifies to that fact. Having been privileged to serve on 

 the House ^Merchant ^larine and Fisheries Committee for several terms, 

 I am well aware of the leadership it has taken through the years in pro- 

 tecting our natural resources under its legislative jurisdiction. 



"We, along the Texas gulf coast, know only too well that there is much 

 to do in conserving and protecting our great coastal areas. We know 

 that it cannot be done by the county, or the State of Texas, and we 

 must have broad Federal legislation. For decades, we have callously 

 disregarded the vital resource provided by our seas and coastal zones, 

 and have looked upon them as vast dumping grounds for every type of 

 refuse — from municipal garbage to obsolete munitions and explosives. 



Along the Gulf of Mexico, few people realize the enormity of the 

 problem we face. Our great gulf is the dumping ground for pollution 

 of all types carried by river drainage from 31 of our States. Our five 

 coastal States — Alabama, Florida. Louisiana, ^Mississippi and Texas — 

 have 17,141 miles of tidal shore. 18 percent of the U.S. total. In our own 

 State of Texas, almost three-fourths of our population live within 50 

 miles of the gulf, and I am sure the same fact is true in many of our 

 sister States. This tremendous rate of growth is continuing to accelerate 

 as new heavy industries seek the many advantages offered by the gulf's 

 shoreline. 



As I am sure my colleagues know, the gulf is a vast reservoir of natu- 

 ral resources, mostly undeveloped, for our Nation. Petroleum is but one 

 of the great assets to be found there. It is. for example, the production 

 area for 80 percent of our country's oil and gas — and it is estimated that 

 60 percent of the enormous Continental Shelf petroleum reserve lies 

 under the warm waters of the gulf. This vast area of the gulf holds 33 

 separate bay systems, averaging each about 550 miles, which are the 

 spawning area for our seafood resources — and the principal drainage 

 pits for waterboi-ne pollution. The importance of protecting these 

 areas becomes more evident when you realize that about one-third of 

 the country's commercial fish crop comes from the gulf. 



We, along the gulf, are fortunate to one extent. As I ad^dsed the 

 Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation in hearings on 

 the similar bill we introduced in the 91st Congress, there are invaluable 

 studies underway which will provide the basis for intelligent and con- 

 certed action in years to come. We have imderway now a major study 

 of Galveston Bay, a joint State-Federal project. And we have in the 

 initial stages a massive 10-year study of the gulf environment by 

 the Gulf Universities Research Corp., a consortium of 17 major uni- 



