342 
that the judge has begun to lose patience with the pace of negotia- 
tions in those lawsuits. I have a feeling that things are going to 
crystalize in those cases and reach a resolution very shortly. 
Mr. Hucues. Is the Nationa) Wildlife Federation a party to those 
suits? 
Mr. KAMLET. We have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in each of 
those cases. We are currently preparing papers in support of a 
formal motion to intervene in those lawsuits. 
Mr. Hucues. What is your understanding of the status of any 
new regulations developed by the EPA that promulgated pursuant 
to the Sofaer decision which might be challengeable? 
Mr. KAMLET. I believe the latest draft of those regulations came 
out in early February. The original timetable for issuing proposed 
revised regulations in the Federal Register was early April, but the 
indications I have are that that date has slipped somewhat. It may 
not be until late spring or even summer before proposed revisions 
find their way into the Federal Register. However, those are active- 
ly going on. They contain a number of provisions that would sig- 
nificantly relax many of the more significant ocean protections 
that are contained in the existing ocean dumping regulations. 
Mr. Hucues. Thank you. 
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
Mr. D’Amours. Mr. Evans, do you have any questions? 
Mr. Evans. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
Mr. Kamlet, thank you for being here. I am sorry I was on the 
floor speaking on a bill and could not be here for your testimony. 
This morning, as you know, we heard from Mayor Ed Koch of 
New York City, who might have a different perspective now that 
he is running for Governor. He said in his original testimony that 
sewage sludge contributes only a small percentage of the contami- 
nant load in the New York Bight. I asked what contribution 
sewage sludge made to the individual pollutants such as PCB’s, for 
example. I just wonder if you might comment on that same ques- 
tion. 
Mr. KAMLET. I would be delighted to comment on it. I believe the 
response by the New York City Environmental Commissioner to 
your question was that we do not know. There are numbers that 
have been suggested for the loadings of PCB’s and other contami- 
nants by sewage sludge in relation to other sources. Those numbers 
indicate that sewage sludge contributes on the order of 30 percent 
of the PCB’s that enter the bight. In the case of mercury, about 50 
percent of the material that enters the bight is attributable to 
sludge. Therefore, while it may be true that in terms of the wide 
array of contaminants that are introduced only 7 to 10 percent 
may be associated with the sludge, there clearly are certain specific 
contaminants such as PCB’s and mercury which are contributed by 
sludge in very significant quantities. 
Mr. Evans. Thank you, Mr. Kamlet. 
Second, Mayor Koch implied that, even with all the pollutants 
going into the New York Bight, there is really little impact on fish 
and other marine organisms. I would just like to have your com- 
ment on the same question. 
Mr. KaAMLET. Of course; it is hard to directly pin the impacts to 
sewage sludge as opposed to other sources of contamination of the 
