387 



Everyone has tlie responsibility for saving our oceans and coastal 

 waters. The dumper has an obligation to all of us to demonstrate that 

 his material is not harmful. The Government has an equal responsi- 

 bility to set and enforce standards for dmnping. 



We need a strong law — a clear law — a comprehensive law — to halt 

 the degradation of our oceans and coastal environment. I urge the 

 committee to report out a bill of this nature. "We in Congress bear a 

 primary responsibility for a decent environment. We have failed thus 

 far to act to save our oceans and coastal waters. 



We must act now. 



Mr. DiNGELL. The same unanimous request is made with I'egard to 

 the statement of our colleague, Cornelius Gallagher. 



STATEMENT OF HON. CORNELIUS E. GALLAGHER, A REPRESENTA- 

 TIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OE NEW JERSEY 



Isir. Gallagher. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to have the oppor- 

 tunity to testify this afternoon before your distinguished commiteee 

 on legislation to control the dumping of waste materials into our 

 oceans. For far too long, we have looked to the oceans as an inexhaust- 

 ible source for the disposal of side effects of man's technological 

 abundance and urbanization. I contend, as have the many ]\'Iembers 

 of the Congress who have appeared before you, that it is no longer 

 possible. 



The problem of ocean dumping is one in which I am particularly 

 interested for two specific reasons: (1), in May 1969, the Subcom- 

 mittee on International Organizations and Movements of the House 

 Committee on Foreign Affairs, which I chaired at the time, held what 

 is widely regarded as the first hearing on the dumping of any sub- 

 stance into the ocean; and (2), there are 250 major dumping areas 

 nationwide; 15 of these areas are located off the coast of my home 

 State of New Jersey. Two of these 15 areas have been closed to shell- 

 fish harvesting due to the impact of the dumpings. 



The major feature of the bills I have cosponsored is that before 

 any discharge can take place in any ocean an approval must be ob- 

 tained from the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

 Agency. This may seem like a somewhat small step to take when so 

 many in our land are speaking the language of doomsdaymanship and 

 are freely predicting ecocatastrophies, but I think this is vital. 



Let me illustrate the essential nature of fixing responsibility in the 

 Federal Government for assessing the dangers of each ocean dump 

 by describing what we learned during our Foreign Affairs Subcom- 

 mittee consideration of plans to dump obsolete poison gas into the 

 oceans. 



This plan vitally affected the mandated responsibilities of tlie 

 Department of Defense, the Departm.ent of State, the Department of 

 Transportation, and the Department of the Interior. Each of these 

 Federal Agencies had a particular responsibility in the transporta- 

 tion of the trainloads of poison gas across our Nation and in the dispo- 

 sition of the poison gas in the oceans. 



Yet, the only time representati^^es of these Agencies ever gathered 

 in the same room to discuss their mutual problem was in the hearing 



