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In a separate notice, EPA, on December 20, 1982, also announced the 

 proposed final site designation of the 106-Mile Ocean Waste Dump Site for 

 the disposal of aqueous industrial wastes and municipal sewage sludges. 

 Industrial wastes have been dumped at this site since 1961, and small 

 quantities of sewage sludges since 1974. A hearing on this proposal was 

 held on May 10, 1983, to receive public comment. As I stated at the recent 

 public hearing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on the 106-Mile Site designation 

 proposal, some innovative surveillance techniques -- permittee supported 

 shipriders, "black boxes", navigational overlays -- are being considered by 

 the Agency to augment those currently employed by the U.S. Coast Guard. As 

 well, the site designation process will not be completed until an adequate 

 short- and long-term effects monitoring plan has been developed by EPA and 

 NCAA. EPA will work with the nearby States to insure that this monitoring 

 plan adequately reflects their concerns and needs. This plan will, of 

 course, be further modified as individual wastes are identified. Also, the 

 Agency is considering excluding use of those areas of the Site which lie on 

 the Shelf. This would limit possible conflicts with long-line fishing 

 interests along the Continental Slope (northwest corner) and oil and gas 

 exploration. We are also considering the separation of industrial and 

 municipal waste dumping within the Site in order to minimize potential 

 synergistic effects and facilitate monitoring activities. 



Comments received to date on these two notices and at the public 

 hearing generally fall into two categories. First, current users support 

 site designation and prefer the nearshore to offshore sites. Second, 



