390 



because of their physical, chemical, aud biological properties, and/or v/hich be- 

 come widespread iu the marine environment because of their physical and chemi- 

 cal properties, and/or which tend to become more concentrated in living orga- 

 nisms than in the surrounding environment, and which may present a danger ro 

 living organisms by their dii'ect toxicity or their influence on the health or 

 reproductive ability of living organisms or the health of man. 



(7) Establish fines for parties violating the regulations and necessary enforce- 

 ment procedures. 



(S) Establisili dates after which sewage to be placed in the sea or Great Lakes 

 must be upgraded. We would expect that increased Federal assistance will make 

 it iwssible to meet these deadlines. 



(9) Enable substantial areas to be set aside in which no dumping would be 

 allowed. These would be especially fragile areas and a substantial number of 

 areas to serve as baselines for biological study. 



(10) Finally, it would establish a national goal for the Department of State 

 to seek international cooperation with regard to preserving the oceans. 



Statement of Louis S. Clapper On Behalf of the National Wildlife 



Federation 



Mr. Chaii-man, I am Louis S. Clapi)er, Conservation Director of the National 

 Wildlife Federation which has its national headquarters at 1412 Sixteenth Street, 

 N.W.. here in Washington, D.C. 



The National Wildlife Federation has affiliates in all 50 States and the Virgin 

 Islands. These affiliates, in turn, are made up of local groups and individuals 

 w^ho, when combined with associate members and other supporters of the Federa- 

 tion, number an estimated 3 million persons. 



Mr. Chaii-man, we want to congratulate the Subcommittees for holding these 

 hearings on ocean dumping. In our opinion, this is a major problem — one which 

 merits immediate action and we are pleased by the interest of members of these 

 Subcommittees and by other members of the Congress who have introduced 

 appropriate legislation on the subject. 



Basically, the Federation does not believe that the oceans or the Great Lakes 

 or other areas of the U.S. shorelines should be used for dumping or waste dis- 

 posal purposes. Ed Chaney, one of our Staff members, is outlining this attitude 

 in a forthcoming article for our NATIONAL WILDLIFE Magazine and he points 

 out quite appropriately that the earth is a closed system — that nothing actually 

 can be thrown away. Unwanted wastes must be reclaimed or recycled back into 

 the overall ecological system. 



We note that H.R. 4723 defines "material" as "matter of any kind or descrip- 

 tion, including, but not limited to, dredge spoil, solid waste, garbage, sewage 

 sludge, munitions, chemical, biological and radiological warfare agents, radio- 

 active materials, wrecked or discai'ded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and 

 industrial wastes." H.R. 3662 and H.R. 4359 defines "waste materials" as "all 

 solid and liquid products or byproducts of the industrial process (including 

 tailings, sediment, and like materials resulting from marine mining or dredging 

 activities), industrial waste acids, chemicals, sewage, sludge, garbage, dredge 

 spoils, radioactive materials, construction and demolition debris, military ordi- 

 nance, explosives, and any other form of discarded material or equipment." 

 Af^r reviewing these definitions, Mr. Chairman, loe simply cannot see any valid 

 reason for using the Nation's offshore water areas for ivaste disposal. For far 

 too long, this has been another indication of the "out-of-sight," "out-of-mind" atti- 

 tude toward waste disposal and we no longer can afford this type of degradation 

 in our enviroiunent. 



If diunping is to be allowed, however, then we generally are in agreement with 

 the below listed principles which are expressed by one or more of the bills under 

 consideration : 



1. For the reasons already expressed, we note with exceptional interest that 

 some bills "phase out" ocean dumping. In the Senate, S. 192 would terminate all 

 dumping by June 30, 1975. H.R. 3662 and H.R. 4359 would phase out ocean dump- 

 ing of municipal and industrial wastes with primary treatment by 1972, by sec- 

 ondary treatment by 1974, and tertiary treatment by 1976. In lieu of outright 

 prohibition, we would be in accord with that schedule. 



