603 



She indicated that the United States will oppose any efforts to 

 establish a regional ban. Frankly, Mr. Chairman, I was extremely 

 troubled by the exchange you engaged in with the prior witness, 

 Ms. Hughes, in an effort to get her to acknowledge that there was 

 a U.S. law on the books that we have a moratorium and that the 

 United States would affirmatively encourage or support regional 

 adoption of that moratorium as an alternative to supporting a full 

 ban. But the responses I heard from Ms. Hughes were to the effect 

 that, in the State Department's view, our domestic moratorium 

 does not even exist. 



A similar problem existed, as you know, in London, that is, a 

 frustration with getting several members of the delegation to rec- 

 ognize, accept and make constructive use of the existence of the 

 recent moratorium amendment to our domestic law. 



With respect to the negotiations in Noumea, we believe the U.S. 

 should reconsider its position offering support for the proposal to 

 ban rad waste dumping if it receives widespread support from 

 those nations in the Pacific who are most directly affected. 



We also believe that the manner in which the Department of 

 State has developed this position also needs to be changed with re- 

 spect to future policy issues. There should have been opportunities 

 for nongovernmental participation in the development of that posi- 

 tion. 



Finally, Mr. Chairman, my prepared testimony addresses the 

 question of dumping in the context of President Reagan's recent 

 EEZ proclamation. It is our understanding that the administration 

 is developing an EEZ position on dumping. It is our view that uni- 

 lateral actions such as that should be deferred for the present. In- 

 stead, such issues should be addressed as part of a comprehensive 

 review of U.S. ocean policies. 



For this reason, we support the concepts embodied in H.R. 2853, 

 which would create a National Ocean Policy Commission. House 

 passage of that bill 2 days ago was a significant step in that direc- 

 tion. 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present these 

 concerns regarding U.S. policies and programs pertaining to ocean 

 dumping of radioactive wastes. 



We look forward to working with you on this issue now and in 

 the future. 



[The statement of Mr. Curtis follows:] 



