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to which they are currently assigned as a part of the City's 

 budget. In our view a Federal mandate at this time to eliminate 

 ocean disposal would show no environmental benefits to justify 

 such a diversion of very scarce City resources. Consequently, it 

 would be reasonable to expect the Government, through Congress, to 

 make the City whole for its additional expenses. 



Our reaction to the possibility of the Bight restoration plan 

 is positive. Such an approach is more consistent with what we 

 believe is the best method for making waste management decisions 

 than simply banning the 12-mile site or any other option. If the 

 root concern with ocean disposal at the 12-mile site is the water 

 quality of the Bight, then it makes sense to focus on the Bight in 

 a wholistic fashion: all pollution inputs should be evaluated and 

 the cost effectiveness of mitigating each of them should be weighed. 

 And, of course, the environmental effects of altering any of the 

 inputs should also be evaluated. 



A number of caveats to this endorsement are in order. First, 

 while improvement in the enviromental quality of the New York Bight 

 is a commendable regional goal, we can never "restore" the Bight 

 to the condition it enjoyed when Henry Hudson visited our shores. 

 The region is a highly urbanized one with over 15 million people 

 dependent upon a complex technology which produces complex environ- 

 mental effects. 



Another caveat is that restoration or improvement of the 

 environmental condition of the Bight is only one among many 

 legitimate and competing social and environmental goals. Ultimately 

 the decision will have to be made about the use of scarce economic 



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