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provide new answers. No answer should, therefore, be made final 

 by legislative or administrative fiat. Not only will information 

 about the quality of the environment change, but information on 

 risks will change, and technology will continue to evolve and affect 

 the availability of disposal options. I think we need to get away 

 from the idea that someday we can get all the necessary information 

 and make a final decision, so that we will never have to deal with 

 sludge disposal again. While long term planning is important, the 

 rational approach is to retain the flexibility to make the best 

 choice as time passes -- and likewise not force what may well be 

 wrong choices before the evidence is in. 



At this point I would like to move into a more detailed account 

 of the City's waste management program, the progress that we have 

 made since our last appearance, and what our current information 

 shows. I will then address the three questions which my letter of 

 invitation suggested I discuss as well as some of the legislative 

 options which are currently under discussion. 



New York City currently operates 12 sewage treatment plants 

 using an activated sludge process. The sludge which is produced 

 from this treatment is anaerobically digested, which reduces 

 pathogen contamination and generates energy as a by-product. The 

 final product typically contains 95 to 97 percent water and 3 to 

 5 percent solid material. It is then shipped to the 12-mile site 

 in one of the City's four self-propelled vessels. In addition, 

 seven other municipal sewage treatment plants dispose of their 

 sludges at the site. New York City disposed of 3.2 million wet 



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