606 



-3- 



adopted H.R. 6113, a bill which contained needed amendments to 

 our domestic Ocean Dumping Act. That House action served as a 

 precedent for Congressman Glenn Anderson's noteworthy efforts to 

 attach very similar amendments to the Congressionally approved 

 nickel-a-gallon gas tax increase bill which President Reagan 

 signed in early January of this year. 



On a more recent note, we appreciated very much the 

 recommendations made in a September 30, 1983 letter from fifty- 

 three members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Secretary 

 of the Navy John Lehman, Jr., in relation to ocean scuttling of 

 obsolete nuclear submarines. It was especially encouraging to 

 see that the chairpersons and ranking minority members of both 

 the full Merchant Marine Committee and this Subcommittee, as well 

 as four other members of this Subcommittee, were signatories to 

 that letter. 



With respect to international aspects of radioactive waste 

 disposal, the environmental coalition also is extremely grateful 

 for the oversight role that you, Mr. Chairman, and your 

 Subcommittee staff have exercised in relation to the preparation 

 and presentation of U.S. positions in the context of the London 

 Dumping Convention and regional initiatives. 



This hearing is very timely. The parallel domestic and 

 international moratoriums and scientific reviews of the risks 

 associated with ocean disposal of radioactive wastes are 

 approaching their midpoint. Public airing of U.S. governmental 

 activities, programs and planned initiatives at this juncture 

 offers an important opportunity to assess the adequacy of those 



