480 



-17- 



wastes) , executive branch representatives (CEO) , peer group 

 review by outside scientists (for whom the possibility of 

 participation would be significantly enhanced if their expenses 

 were covered) and members of the concerned public. Again, the 

 Farallon Islands hearings clearly illustrate the importance of 

 outside oversight. More extensive lists of past dumpsites were 

 compiled by groups such as Committee to Bridge the Gap, with 

 its limited access and resources, than by any of the government 

 agencies. Having scientists — representing the Oceanic Society 

 (through its Ad Hoc Scientific Advisory Committee, chaired by 

 Dr. Michael Herz) and the U.S. Mussel Watch Committee — affirm 

 the "no current hazard" findings of the EPA, provided an important 

 non-governmental perspective. 



Moreover, the systematic exchange of information amongst 

 government agencies and the public can only benefit the process. 

 For example, the need for better cooperation on the part of the 

 Department of Defense was a major recurring them of the 

 Farallon Islands hearings. Such DOD cooperation is even more 

 essential in light of the Navy's potential plans to scuttle 

 decommissioned nuclear submarines by sinking them to the 

 ocean floor. The memo of understanding between NOAA and EPA 

 requested at the Farallon Islands hearings, though helpful, is 

 simply not enough; it does not include all groups vrho should be 

 involved and would not provide for the kind of detailed, 

 continuous review that is called for. As an illustration, the 

 IRG recommended (at page 79 of its March 1979 Report) that by 



