77 
has a system for reporting violations, conducts some oceanographic 
work that leads to understanding of coastal currents, and includes 
methods of detecting pollutants and containment techniques. In 
view of the fact that the Coast Guard acquires and transmits to 
the appropriate users the bulk of the synoptic environmental data 
now being gathered in the coastal maritime regions of the United 
States and the high seas, the agency is in a very good position 
to contribute meaningfully to expanded programs in monitoring and 
surveillance. 
3. Health, Education, and Welfare: 
The Food and Drug Administration's Shellfish Sanitation 
Branch has interest in the ocean disposal of sewage and other 
sludges as this practice adversely affects surf clam resources 
in close proximity to the dumping areas. FDA has been consulting 
with FWQA regarding policies of ocean disposal of sewage sludges 
as they relate to this problem. 
The Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, P.L. 89-272, directs 
the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 
to inter alia conduct, encourage, cooperate with, and render 
assistance to-public and private agencies, institutions, and indi- 
viduals in the conduct of research, investigations, experiments, 
training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to (1) the 
operation of solid waste disposal programs and (2) the development 
and application of new and improved methods of solid waste collec- 
tion, storage, treatment, utilization, processing, or final disposal. 
These responsibilities were specifically assigned to the Bureau of 
Solid Waste Management, organized in 1965. 
Under the Act, the term "solid waste" means garbage, refuse, 
and other discarded solid waste materials from industry, commerce, 
agriculture, and communities, but does not include solids or dis- 
solved material in domestic sewage or other significant pollutants 
in water resources, such as, silt, dissolved or suspended solids in 
industrial waste water effluents, dissolved materials in irrigation 
return flows or other common water pollutants. 
In practice, solid waste refers more to the method of hand- 
ling or treating waste materials than the physical state of the 
wastes. Consequently, containerized liquids, semi-liquids, gases, 
or aerosols which are disposed of along with, and in the same man- 
ner as, conventionally defined refuse (garbage, rubbish, or trash) 
or solid industrial wastes are included within this Bureau's 
interests. 
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