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QUESTIONS FROM CONGRESSMAN HUGHES ; 



ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY CONGRESSMAN 

 HUGHES. 



(1) Is the New York Bight seriously degraded? Is it the most 



seriously degraded coastal area in the United States? Can 

 you cite a region or coastal area which is more severely 

 degraded . 



Research has shown that certain limited areas within the New 

 York Bight apex are adversely affected by pollution. Limited 

 areas of altered benthic communities have been observed, and 

 elevated levels of chemical contaminants have been found in the 

 sediments of depositional areas of the New York Bight (especial- 

 ly the Christiaensen Basin) where particle-associated contami- 

 nants preferentially settle and have longer residence times. 



It is difficult to say objectively whether or not the New York 

 Bight apex is "seriously degraded" since "seriously" is a sub- 

 jective term. However, other United States coastal areas have 

 been formally cited as "seriously" degraded by their designation 

 as hazardous waste sites under the Comprehensive Environmental 

 Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or Superfund. These 

 areas include Commencement Bay, Washington, and New Bedford 

 Harbor, Massachusetts. New Bedford Harbor, for example, has the 

 highest PCB sediment levels ever recorded for any coastal sedi- 

 ment in the U.S., and probably in the world (Massachusetts 

 Office of Coastal Zone Management 1982). PCB levels in marine 

 organisms from New Bedford Harbor are correspondingly high and 

 have caused the closure of over 70 square kilometers to fishing 

 (Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management 1982). 



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