491 



vironment. We feel that the proposed act, calling for a permit sys- 

 tem administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is 

 charged with overall protection of the environment, meets this criteria. 

 We also feel that a good ocean dmnping act should clearly esclude 

 waste waters discharged from shore facilities through sewers into 

 coastal waters, because the mechanisms for controlling f'icse discharges 

 are included in the Clean Waters Act, as amended. The proposed act is 

 clear in this regard. 



Finally, a good ocean dumping act should exclude the day to day 

 operational discharges from ships, such as sewage, and oily bilge, 

 which are properly subject to regulation by other laws. In this connec- 

 tion, it is our understanding that "dumping" as defined in the pro- 

 posed act would not include the incidental discharge of some debris or 

 other material in the water from an activity provided that disposi- 

 tion is not the primary objective of the activity. For example, wastes 

 incidental to the operation of ships, the material and debris from 

 missiles, spent bombs, and other projectiles would be excluded from 

 this act. 



In summation, the Navy supports the proposed act as a rational, ef- 

 fective means of protecting the ocean environment while, at the same 

 time, providing for consideration of man's total environment. 



Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. 



Mr. DiNGELL. Thank you very much. Admiral Crawford. 



General Groves. 



General Gkoves. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I 

 am Brig. Gen. Eichard H. Groves, Deputy Director of Civil Works, 

 Office, Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army. 



I am accompanied by members of the staff of that office, Mr. Mark S. 

 Gumee chief of our operations division, and ^Mr. Errol Tyler from the 

 general counsel's office. 



I appreciate having this opportunity to testify on the numerous 

 bills before your committee concerned with the subject of ocean 

 dumping. 



Mr. Chairman, the bills before your committee embody a variety of 

 approaches to the problems associated with the dumpmg of waste 

 materials in the oceans. Rather than discuss each of them in detail, 

 I shall confine myself to discussing the administration bill and 

 attempting to answer any questions you may have concerning thfi 

 other bills. 



Last year, at the request of the President, the Comicil on Environ- 

 mental Quality investigated the problem of ocean pollution and 

 concluded that there is a critical need for a national policy on ocean 

 dumping. The recommendations of the Council were incorporated in 

 the Droposed Marine Protection Act of 1971, submitted to the Congress 

 by the President and introduced as H.R. 4247, 4723, 6239, 5268, and 

 5477. 



The administration bill provides that, except as may be authorized 

 in a permit issued by the Administrator of EPA, no person may trans- 

 port ^material from the United States for the purpose of dum,ping it 

 into ocean or other waters covered by the bill, or dump_ any materials 

 into any such waters which are within the territorial jurisdiction of 

 the United States, or dump any materials into the waters of the con- 



