125 
STATEMENT OF BRIG. GEN. FORREST T. GAY III, DEPUTY DIREC- 
TOR OF CIVIL WORKS, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DE- 
PARTMENT OF THE ARMY, ACCOMPANIED BY COL. MAX 
IMHOFF, COMMANDER, WATER RESOURCES SUPPORT CENTER; 
DAVID MATHIS, PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST; DR. ROBERT M. 
ENGLER, CORPS SCIENTIFIC ADVISER TO THE U.S. DELEGA- 
TION OF THE LONDON DUMPING CONVENTION AND CHAIRMAN 
OF THE OCEAN DUMPING TECHNICAL COMMITTEE; CHARLES 
CALHOUN, PROJECT MANAGER FOR DREDGING OPERATIONAL 
AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT OF THE CORPS’ ENVIRONMENTAL 
LABORATORY; AND COL. WALTER M. SMITH, DISTRICT ENGI- 
NEER FROM NEW YORK DISTRICT 
General Gay. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. 
I, as well, have a prepared statement which I will submit for the 
record. I have a shorter reading text which I have cut even more to 
save some time for us. 
[Statement of General Gay follows:] 
PREPARED STATEMENT OF BriG. GEN. Forrest T. Gay III, Deputy Director oF Civin 
Works, U.S. Army Corps oF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY 
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittees, I am Brigadier General For- 
rest T. Gay III, Deputy Director of Civil Works, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 
addition, I hold the position of Corps policy advisor in the U.S. Delegation to the 
London Dumping Convention. In this capacity, I attended the Convention meetings 
in London last fall. I appreciate this opportunity to appear before you to discuss 
reauthorization of Titles I and II of Public Law 92-532, The Marine Protection, Re- 
search and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as amended (MPRSA). With me are members of 
my staff who will assist in answering questions you may have. 
Through the years, domestic and international navigable waterways have played 
a vital role in this Nation’s and the world’s economic growth. The Corps, in fulfull- 
ing its mission to maintain, improve and extend waterways of the United States is 
presently responsible for approximately 25,000 miles of Federal channels and over 
1,000 harbors. The Corps’ dredging operations in support of this navigation mission 
Recesstate the disposal of from 250 to 300 million cubic yards of dredged material 
each year. 
The Corps, acting on behalf of the Secretary of the Army, is also responsible for 
issuing permits for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into the navigable 
waters of the United States, as well as for the transportation of dredged material 
for the purpose of disposal in ocean waters. Dredged material disposal in freshwater 
and in coastal areas to the outer boundary of the territorial sea is regulated under 
the Clean Water Act (CWA). Although the Corps does not issue permits for its own 
activities, the Corps is required by law to comply with the same criteria applied to 
permit applicants. 
SECTION 103 ADMINISTRATION 
Since 1973, an average of 61 million cubic yards of dredged material, or about 20 
percent of the average total annual quantities dredged under Federal jurisdiction, 
have been disposed in ocean waters each year. On the basis of volume, dredging is 
the largest single source of materials dumped in the ocean. In 1979, as an example, 
the 72 million cubic yards of dredged material which were disposed in the ocean, 
constituted nearly eight times the combined tonnage of industrial wastes, sewage 
sludge, construction debris, and other waste materials disposed in the ocean during 
that year. Under existing criteria implementing the MPRSA, ocean disposal of 
dredged material is regarded as a last alternative and is then only allowed after 
these materials have undergone and passed toxicity and bioaccumulation laboratory 
testing protocal. 
Nationwide, disposal by others under section 103 has averaged less than seven 
percent of the total annual quantities of ocean disposed dredged material, with the 
remainder originating from Federal projects maintained by the Corps. However, in 
certain coastal areas, ocean disposal under permit plays a vital role in port and 
harbor development and accounts for a much larger percentage of the total quantity 
