532 



In the New York Bight. The basis for my concern is described in the following 

 letter. This material may be included in my statement for the record on H.R. 

 4723, the Marine Protection Act of 1971. if you desire to use this information. 



I support the intent of the Marine Protection Act of 1971 because I think there 

 is a very real need for regulating the various ocean dmnping practices that are 

 going on at present. The acutely dangerous and small volume dumps of explo- 

 sives, chemical warfare agents, highly radioactive wastes, and very toxic in- 

 dustrial wastes can be halted. The relatively small volumes involved in this 

 kind of dumping make it economically feasible for this waste material to be 

 disposed of in alternative ways. 



The large volume dumps of dredge spoils and sewage sludge will have to be 

 brought under "control" by a slow and complex process which will require 

 greatly improved land-based waste treatment facilities. The dredge spoil and 

 sewage sludge are in themselves not acutely dangerous materials but the 

 large areas of environmental degradation at the site of the New York dumps 

 testify to the fact that the present methods of managing this ocean disposal 

 are no good. Whether the recycling capacity of the system has recently been 

 exceeded or whether the dredge spoils and sewage sludge have become more 

 acutely toxic in the last five years is not known. 



What is known is that an area of the sea floor is devoid of animals and the 

 bottom sediment smells of petrochemicals. I feel that we have defined the 

 problem clearly and we are ready to start research on an interim solution for 

 managing this kind of dumping while we work towards the ultimate goal of no 

 harmful dumping. 



I am familiar with the studies supported by the Army Corps of Engineers and 

 carried out by Dr. Jack Pearce and Dr. Grant Gross. When the Coastal En- 

 gineering Research Center of the Corps of Engineers was developing its second 

 phase research program on the New York Bight they contacted Dr. Dirk Franken- 

 berg of the National Science Foundation to discuss the Army's proposed research 

 program. 



Dr. Frankenberg is the Biological Oceanography Program Director at the 

 National Science Foundation ; he contacted me and asked if I had suggestions 

 for a man to administer the research contract program for the Army. He out- 

 lined the Army's program as being a three-year program budgeted at $300,000 

 the first year, $2,000,000 the second year, and $2,000,000 the third year. After 

 discussion with Dr Frankenberg I said I would be glad to serv^e as an advisor to 

 the Army on this work because I feel that problems associated with the New York 

 Bight dumping are important and I feel that they can be solved, but I am dis^.t- 

 isfied with the amount of effort that government agencies, other than the Cori>s of 

 Engineers and National Science Foundation, have devoted to this important 

 problem. Dr. Frankenberg knew that I was interested in this problem because my 

 NSF supported research studied some of the biological consequences of the 

 dumping. Some of the results of my work in the New York Bight were selected 

 by National Science Foimdation for mention in the 1970 Annual Rei>ort of the 

 President to the Congress on Marine Resources and Engineering Development. 

 This reix)rt is entitled "Marine Science Affairs — Selecting Priority Programs'' and 

 was communicated to the Congress in April 1970. The relevant section of page 156 

 of the Report is given below : 



"It has been demonstrated that phytoplankton growth is prohibited or pre- 

 vented in waters over New York City's sewage dumping area." The toxicity is 

 increased by the addition of small amounts of trace metals and is partially 

 decreased by the addition of metal chelators indicating the toxicity results 

 from high concentration of toxic metals in the sewage sludge." 



On March 31, 1971 an advisory group met at the Army Corps of Engineers' 

 Coastal Research Center, 5201 Little Falls Road, Washington, D.C., to review 

 the specifications of their proposed research program. At that time. Lieutenant 

 Colonel Edward M. Willis of the Center informed the advisory group that the 

 Army's participation in the study had been reduced from the original three-year 

 program to a one-year program. The staff at the Army's Coastal Research Center 

 mentioned that the future of the research program has been discussed with 

 individuals from EPA but as late as 6 April 1971 EPA had not announced that 

 it was going to adopt and carry out the Army's proposed program of research. 



I think that the Army's proposed program is a good first step towards further 

 understanding of the New York dumping problems. It would take several 



13 Barber, Richard T., Unpublished results from progress report on NSF Grant GB-1366.^ 

 to Woods Hole Oeeanographlc Institution 1JM59. 



