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II. Ocean Pollution USA -- The Broad Picture 
1. Review Federal responsibilities and activities regarding 
ocean pollution and abatement 
2. Summarize State and local authorities, responsibilities, 
and actions‘to control ocean dumping 
3. Consider critical problems and conditions around other 
urban centers 
4. Prepare interim guidelines for Corps of Engineers 
Shortly after its establishment, the Council on Environmental 
Quality was assigned the task of considering the problem of ocean 
pollution. President Nixon's message to Congress, dated April 15, 
1970, on the problems of the Great Lakes and ocean pollution, spe- 
cifically requested the Chairman of the Council on Environmental 
Quality to initiate a study of the ocean dumping and disposal 
problem: to recommend research needs and legislative changes, if 
necessary; and to propose a comprehensive approach to the problems 
of ocean dumping, including evaluation of all possible alternatives. 
Subsequently, the Ad Hoc Committee worked closely with the Council 
on Environmental Quality task force in the completion of the CEQ 
Report. 
Opportunity to comment on a draft of this report was extended 
to appropriate New York and New Jersey State and Interstate agen- 
cies. Comments were received from the New York Health Department, 
New York Conservation Department, the Port of New York Authority, 
the Interstate Sanitation Commission, and the New Jersey Department 
of Environmental Protection. However, the views expressed in this 
report do not necessarily reflect opinions of these agencies. 
