109 



-19- 



The other overriding issue is what U.S. policy should 

 be toward municipalities (and industries) that seek to 

 introduce contaminated sludges and other wastes to the 

 ocean for the first time. At least one set of NOAA esti- 

 mates projects that, if present policies continue, the level 

 of sewage sludge ocean dumping could increase by 300 percent 

 or more over the next few years. Even assuming the ocean's 

 capacity to accommodate present waste loadings, this 

 capacity is clearly not unlimited. But if you tolerate 

 present sludge inputs, how do you say no to future sources? 

 This "floodgates" problem is one of the most serious 

 side-effects of present ocean dumping policies. 



Since 96 percent of all U.S. sewage sludge (by weight) 

 is managed or disposed of by means other than dumping or 

 discharge in the ocean, it is clear that placing constraints 

 on access to the ocean by new sources of contaminated sewage 

 sludge should not cause great hardship. 



Accordingly, the National Wildlife Federation would 

 strongly support an amendment prohibiting or significantly 

 constraining the ocean dumping of contaminated sewage sludge 

 from sources not currently engaged in this practice . 



Conclusion 



As EPA's first Administrator, William Ruckelshaus (now 



also EPA's new Administrator) told this Committee in 1971 



that: 



In administering the [Ocean Dumping] act, 

 EPA would be guided by the ultimate objective 

 of terminating all ocean dumping which is 

 damaging to the marine environment . 



