OCEAN POLLUTION PLANNING AUTHORIZATION 

 AND OVERSIGHT 



FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1980 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Oceanography, 

 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 



Washington, D.C. 



The subcommitte met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m., in room 

 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Gerry E. Studds 

 (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 



Present: Representatives Studds and AuCoin. 



Mr. Studds. The subcommittee will come to order. 



Today's hearing concerns the National Ocean Pollution Research 

 and Development and Monitoring Planning Act. 



Signed into law last Congress, this act has as its major purpose 

 the coordination of ocean pollution research efforts currently per- 

 formed by 11 different Federal agencies. The chief coordinating 

 mechanism is to be a biennial 5-year plan, the first of which was 

 published in late 1979. 



The first plan contains a listing of how much money each Feder- 

 al agency is spending on specific pollutants, sources of pollution, 

 and their regional effects. As mandated by the law, the plan also 

 categorizes as high, medium, or low priorities gaps or needs in 

 current ocean pollution research and monitoring efforts. 



Unfortunately, although the first plan does list these priorities, it 

 fails to state which three or four issues should be addressed first 

 and foremost — a difficult question, but one that must be addressed. 

 I realize the difficulties interagency committees encounter while 

 attempting to rank certain problems as more pressing than others, 

 but I do not think the underlying purpose of this law will be 

 fulfilled until we know where there are disparities between current 

 efforts and current needs. 



The most obvious question that needs answering is where do we 

 go from here. Is there really a need for a new plan every 2 years, 

 and will such plans make a difference in our struggle to minimize 

 and eventually eradicate ocean pollution? 



[The bill and an executive communication follow:] 



(71) 



