224 



Although the beaches in the IMiami area, are some distance from my 

 area, I have gone there many times to fish. 



After the war, they said because so many subs, and so many mer- 

 chant marine ships were sunk, there was a lot of oil on the beach. 



Here 25 years or a quarter of a century since that time, there is still 

 fresh oil floating up on Miami Beach, and you cannot go swimming at 

 any of the most expensive hotels, or any of the hotels, down there, 

 without having to come out and practically take a bath in some kind 

 of solvent to get the oil off j^our feet. 



It gets on everything. 



Of course, I think most of this is coming from ships that just dump 

 the material out, helter-skelter all over the ocean. 



I think the time is now, and the thne is very critical, and I hope that 

 you gentlemen will use all of the skill and all of the determination you 

 have on this committee to do something about it. It needs to be done. 



Mr. DiNGELL. Thank you. 



This committee is grateful to you for your very helpful testimony. 



The committee would appreciate aiij suggestions you might give us 

 with regard to amendatory language to the administration's bill. 



We thank you very much for your fine statement, Mr. Gibbons, and 

 we appreciate your help. 



Mr. GiBBOis^^s. Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement I would 

 like inserted into the record. 



Mr. DixGELL. Without objection, let the prepared statement of the 

 gentleman ajDjDear at this point in the record. 



(The statement follows :) 



Statement of Hon. Sam Gibbons, a Representative in Congress From 

 THE State of Florida 



Mr. Chairman: Thank you for this opportunity to present testimony to tJiis 

 Committee concerning the need to regulate the clumping of waste materials into 

 the ocean. I had the privilege of introducing H.R. 4218, a bill to prohibit the 

 discharge into any of the navigable waters of the United States or into interna- 

 tional vpaters of any military material or other refuse without a certification by 

 the Environmental Protection Agency approving such discharge. I am also a 

 co-sponsor of H.R. 807, a bill to amend the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

 to provide additional protection to marine and wildlife ecology by providing for 

 the orderly regulation of dumping in the ocean, coastal, and other waters of 

 the United States. 



Recent reports have left no doubt that our current practice of haphazard dis- 

 posal of wastes by ocean dumping has seriously damaged certain areas of our 

 coastal zone and is on the verge of causing vrorldwide, irreversible environ- 

 mental effects. In order to alleviate the existing problem and to forestall it from 

 becoming worse, many members of the Congress have introduced, either as in- 

 dividuals or in conjunctions with one or more of their colleagues, legislation 

 regulating ocean dumping. I am told that the number of bills dealing solely and 

 directly with ocean dumping exceeds 44, and that many other measures con- 

 cerned with water pollution or with coastal zone management have sections 

 regulating ocean dumping. Because there have been so many measures intro- 

 duced, I would like to briefly review the major provisions of HR 4218 and HR 

 807. 



HR 4218 is a very short bill, yet quite inclusive. It states that after the date 

 of enactment, no person shall discharge, either directly or indirectly, into any 

 of the navigable waters of the United States or into international waters, any 

 munitions, or any chemical, biological, or radiological warfare agent, or any 

 other military material except in accordance with a certificate issued by the 

 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Further, this bill woiild 

 prohibit the dumping of any other kind of refuse material of any kind or de- 



