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contaminant loads for sewage sludge are less than was estimated by the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1973 data 

 (Section 5.7) , 



To assist in the ocean dumping site designation process, EPA (1982) has 

 requested additional information from New York City concerning: 



1) the effect of sewage sludge dumping at the proposed site on 

 human health and welfare, including economic, aesthetic, and 

 recreational values; 



2) the effect of such dumping at the site on fisheries resources, 

 plankton, fish, shellfish, wildlife, shorelines, and beaches; 



3) the effect of such dumping at the site on marine ecosystems; 



4) the individual and cumulative effects of dumping particular 

 volumes and concentrations in regard to other existing or 

 potential ocean waste disposal activities at the site and in 

 the New York Bight; 



5) the effect on alternate uses of the ocean, including scientific 

 study, fishing and exploitation of living and non-living 

 resources; and 



6) the feasibility of utilizing locations further offshore, either 

 on or off the Continental Shelf. 



In the Federal Register notice, EPA has further defined the environmental 

 issues to be addressed under points 1 through 6 above. EPA identified 

 "high levels of toxicants in fish and shellfish, repetitive algal blooms, 

 fish kills, fin rot, and beach washups" as effects that those opposed to 

 continued use of the 12-Mile Site fear may be caused by sewage sludge. 

 EPA further identified possible bacterial shellfish contamination, ben- 

 thic impacts, public health hazards (through bacterial contamination and 

 bioaccumulation of toxics in seafood), and the effects of cessation of 

 dumping as the major environmental issues to be addressed in considering 

 whether to redesignate the 12-Mile Site. Each of these issues is com- 

 prehensively addressed in other chapters of this report. However, the 

 report goes beyond these issues by providing a comprehensive summary of 

 the technical knowledge of the ocean environment at the 12-Mile Site and 

 surrounding area. In this chapter the information contained in other 

 technical chapters is summarized to respond directly to each of the 

 issues identified by EPA. 



2,1 HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY 



Located adjacent to one of the most populated and industrialized metro- 

 politan areas in the world, the New York Bight is one of the most exten- 

 sively studied marine regions of the world. Within the Bight are five 

 major ocean dumpsites where the disposal of wastes is permitted under the 

 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. The sewage 



A- 2 



