533 



months, perhaps even a year, for another agency to develop a similar program 

 from scratch ; therefore I would regret seeing the three-year program discarded 

 until a better and more comprehensive plan of attack is in hand. Everyone 

 involved in these studies recognizes that the Army Corps of Engineers may 

 not be the best agency for administering the research program, because their 

 responsibility for maintaining the harbor depths is one of the sources of the 

 problem. However, the Corps has acted in the public interest in supporting 

 research on the problem up to now and they are well acquainted with the nature 

 and mechanics of the dumping activities. 



In addition to the Army's familiarity with the pr'oblem I feel that other 

 agencies of the government that are charged with protecting the environment 

 have not demonstrated a willingness to become involved in work on problems 

 related to the actual dumping activities. Our present knowledge of the problem 

 is based on the excellent, but small, Army supported programs of Dr. Jack 

 Pearce and Dr. Grant Gross. A Smithsonian advisory group has contributed its 

 skills and the National Science Foundation and Atomic Energy Commission have 

 supported research work done at sea by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

 and Duke University groups. If there are other major research efforts the Army's 

 advisory group and the major researchers are not aware of them. 



It is disappointing that NOAA and what is now EPA have not been active in 

 this research. In view of the lack of major involvement of these agencies at 

 present I feel that a clear charge of research responsibility to some agency is 

 needed in the Marine Protection Act of 1971 to insure that the necessary work 

 is carried out. 



One example of necessary work is high precision depth and seismic mapping of 

 the dump sites. To "manage" the dumping we need to know whether the material 

 dumped in the New York Bight has been accumulating over the past forty years 

 and has produced a series of low hills or hummocks or whether the dredge spoil 

 and sewage sludge is disi)ersed by currents and winter storms over a broad area. 

 The vessels of the Environmental Science Services Administration, under the 

 direction of NOAA in the Department of Commerce, are specifically equipped 

 for carrying out a precision depth and seismic survey of the sea floor. The 

 question of dispersal versus accumulation would perhaps be answered by such a 

 survey, and in addition a sensitive seismic survey (such as are used in oil 

 prospecting on the continental shelf) might tell us what kind of material is 

 acciunulating on the bottom in dump sites. Since the New York Bight dumps have 

 been receiving publicity for over three years I am puzzled as to why ESSA has 

 not assisted the Corps by making such a survey. This work would be a small 

 and perhaps even trivial effort for NOAA to undertake but until work of this 

 sort is started I do not feel that we are making a reasonable effort to solve 

 the problems caused by ocean dumping. 



If the Marine Protection Act of 1971 is going to result in the transfer of 

 research responsibility out of the Army Corps of Engineers then the responsibility 

 should be assigned to another agency and that agency should carry on the 

 ongoing programs until it has a better research program. 



The present research effort of my lab is NSF supported : I do not intend to 

 seek support from the above described Army research program. My concern is 

 that an environmental crisis resulting from ocean dumping is gradually occurring 

 with the full knowledge of political and scientific authorities. This low level 

 crisis deserves as much attention as the acute hazards of transporting and 

 dumping of chemical warfare agents. 



Richard T. Barber, 

 Director, Oceanographic Program,. 



Santa Ana, California, April 7, 1971. 

 Hon. Alton Lennon. 



Chairman, Subcommittee on Oceanography, 

 U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 

 Dear Sir : Please place this on the record for the hearings of April 5-7. 

 I ask that you by-pass H.R. 4723, which only meets some of the recommenda- 

 tions of the Council on Environmental Quality in banning the dumping of waste 

 material. 



I ask your support for the bill co-sponsored by Dingell and Rogers which 

 meets all CEQ recommendations. 

 Sincerely, 



Fern Zimmeeman. 



