312 



the enactment of this legislation will not impair the exercise of those responsi- 

 bilities, we intend to provide a more detailed statement on this subject at a later 

 date. 



Sincerely yours, 



Frank A. Bracken, 



Legislative Counsel. 



Statement of Harrison Loesch, Assistant Secretary of the Interior 



I think the Ohalrman of both Subcommittees and the members for this oppor- 

 tunity to discuss briefly the subject of ocean dumping and the need for its 

 regulation. As others have already testified, the threat to oceans and our coastal 

 waters is a real one that grows worse with their continued utilization for waste 

 disposal. The A'alue of these waters for commerce, recreation, transportation and 

 as the habitat for a vast variety of marine life was recognized early in the life of 

 our country. Centers of population grew along the coasts, and came to regard the 

 coastal waters not only as a source of bounty and as a trade link to the world, 

 but as a convenient medium for the disposal of urban waste. Suddenly, it seems, 

 we have come to realize that the oceans, too, have limits and that urban society 

 is to be held accountable for its misiuse of a great natural resource. We talk in 

 terms of "dead seas," while counting numbers of fish killed and beaches despoiled. 

 We are awed by accounts of debris afloat on the high seas, thousandsi of miles 

 from shore. 



The number of bills under consideration today bespeaks a conviction that 

 the time has come for regulation of ocean dumping. Most of the sponsors recog- 

 nize, I am sure, that their bills are but a first step. The problem is world-wide, 

 and will require a solution of comparable scope. I am equally sure that most 

 would prefer an absolute prohibition to regulation, however strict. We, too, look 

 forward to the day when it will not be necessary to use our lakes, coastal waters 

 and oceans for the disposal of any waste material. Until technology provides the 

 alternatives, however, we must seek to assure ourselves that such disposal as is 

 allowed will be accomplished with a minimum risk of injury to the marine 

 environment. 



In announcing a program for the control of pollution in our Great Lakes, 

 President Nixon last year asked the Council on Environmental Quality to study 

 the threat posed by ocean dumping, and to propose a national policy to meet 

 that threat. The Council assembled a panel of experts to conduct such a study, 

 and made its recommendations in the report, "Ocean Dumping — A National 

 Policy," adopted by the President and released on October 7, 1970. The Depart- 

 ment's concern for the environmental effects of uncontrolled dumping led to 

 studies of waste disposal in the New York Bight and participation in the Coun- 

 cil's review of ocean dumping generally. We participated, too, in the preparation 

 and review of legislation to implement the Councirs recommendations. 



That legislation is now pending before the full Committee as H.R. 4247 and 

 H.R. 4723. It is the result of close cooperation among those several Federal 

 agencies, and others, with responsibility for and interest in the protection, con- 

 servation and management of our Nation's natural resources. As you are aware, 

 the bill would vest in the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

 authority to control ocean dumping through issuance of permits and enforcement 

 of a prohibition against the unauthorized transport or dumping of waste ma- 

 terial. In determining whether or not to approve a permit application, the Admin- 

 istrator would be required to consider ( 1 ) the impact of dumping on the marine 

 environment and human welfare and (2) other possible locations and methods 

 of disposal, including land-based alternatives. The Administrator would be au- 

 thorized to designate recommended sites for the dumping of specified materials, 

 and would be permitted to prohibit absiolutely the disposal of any material 

 that could threaten human health or the marine environment. 



Additional species of this, the proposed "Marine Protection Act of 1971", 

 have no doubt been presented by the Environmental Protection Agency. It should 

 be noted, I think, that its proposal combines several provisions of other bills also 

 pending before the Committee. The result, we believe is a comprehensive frame- 

 work for regulating the transportation and dumping of wastes in the oceans, 

 coastal waters, and the Great Lakes. The Department of the Interior and others 

 would be consulted by the Administrator in establishing criteria against which 

 to measure permit applications. We believe that such consultation will afford an 



