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I appreciate the opportunity to testify today on H.R. 4723 and a 

 number of other bills, all directed at the serious problem of the con- 

 tamination of our oceans. To my right is Eear Adm. Robert E. Ham- 

 mond, Chief of the Office of Operations of the Coast Guard. 



Secretary Volpe has said often that at the Department of Trans- 

 portation environmental quality is a goal, not a constraint. I am 

 pleased to be here today to explore with the subcommittee how the 

 Department, through the Coast Guard, can play a positive and effective 

 role in regulating ocean dumping. 



I graduated from the Naval Academy in 1947. At that time, no one 

 questioned the capacity of the oceans to absorb our waste. We now 

 realize, however, the peril of ocean dumping on a major scale. We now 

 understand that we cannot continue to poison our oceans merely be- 

 cause they seem large enough to dilute the poison. 



Administrator Ruckelshaus of the Environmental Protection Ad- 

 ministration and Chairman Train of the Council on Environmental 

 Quality will testify during this hearing. Both of those gentlemen will 

 address themselves to the environmental concerns involved. I need not 

 reiterate their statement of the problem or their commitment to solv- 

 ing it. I would like, however, to assure this subcommittee that my 

 Department, through the Coast Guard, stands ready to cooperate im- 

 mediately with the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out 

 those portions of the program which they choose to delegate to us. I 

 can assure the subcommittee that the Coast Guard can, today, fulfill 

 the responsibilities for enforcement under section 8(c) of the pro- 

 posed legislation. 



In this regard, let me review for you the capabilities of the Coast 

 Guard in this area. I have attached to my statement, as appendix A, 

 a more thorough analysis of what is available in the way of support 

 personnel, materials, and technical expertise. 



The Coast Guard is already active in the area of ocean dumping as 

 an adjunct to its marine environmental protection program. On a 

 day-to-day basis, they actively seek information on planned dumping 

 and record the location, identity of materials, and persons involved 

 in all observed ocean dumping activities. This information is routinely 

 furnished to interested agencies such as the Council on Environmental 

 Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. They also monitor 

 many dumping operations upon request. 



Effective regulation of ocean waste disposal requires three elements : 

 a permit issuing authority, an available surveillance and enforcement 

 capability, and effective monitoring activity. Based on the Coast 

 Guard's considerable past experience in the field of maritime law en- 

 forcement, we believe that the agency vested with the responsibility 

 for enforcement should have some involvement at each stage of the 

 regulation scheme, particularly the issuance of permits. It is self- 

 evident that effective surveillance and enforcement calls for knowledge 

 of any permits issued and the terms of those permits. H.R. 4723 makes 

 provision for this in section 8(b), and we have already begam to dis- 

 cuss with the Environmental Protection Agency how we can be most 

 useful to them and to the xerogram. 



The Coast Guard engages in a variety of mission areas which would 

 support the role of the Environmental Protection Agency in the reg- 



