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neering pra.ctice devoted in major part to marine waste disposal problems. Inter- 

 estingly, the position I occupy is concerned with the engineering of water and 

 wastewater management systems for the protection of public health and en- 

 vironmental quality and has been in existence for over seventy years. I come 

 before you as a "practicing ecologist" with an extensive background of experi- 

 ence with environmental quality and not as a representative of the "instant ecolo- 

 gist" fraternity, many of whom have just discovered the environment with ac- 

 companying cries of alarm. I am deeply concerned about the quality of our 

 environment, and I have dedicated my professional career in efforts to achieve 

 the maximum environmental quality improvement for every dollar spent on its 

 behalf. It is with this continuing objective that I appear before you today. 



A few words about my background. I was raised in the water business, my 

 parents were owners of a private water supply utility. I am a graduate of the 

 University of Washington with a doctorate in sanitary engineering from the 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology in IfMO. In the mid 1950's I was appointed 

 Chairman of a Marine Research Con.sulting Board to the State of California 

 Water Pollution Control Board where we advised on the appropriate character 

 and conduct of coastal water quality studies to help guide the State in its coastal 

 water quality control program. I organized the first International Conference on 

 Waste Disposal in the Marine Environment which was held at UC Berkeley 

 in July, 1959. and the Proceedings of the Conference were printed and distributed 

 in book form. I have served as a member of the Governor's, and later the Legis- 

 lature's, Advisory Commission on Marine and Coastal Resources throughout its 

 existence (8 years). I am a member of the National Academy of Engineering's 

 Marine Board. I have served as Co-Chairman of a joint National Academy of 

 Science.s/National Academy of Engineering (NAS/NAE) Workshop on Waste 

 Management Concepts for the Coastal Zone — "Requirements for Research and 

 Investigation" — which resulted in a NAS/NAE publication in 1970. I have re- 

 cently served as Area Chairman of the Input Panel for the NAS sponsored work- 

 shop on the Input Fate and Effects of Petroleum in the Marine Environment 

 held in Arlie, Virginia, 21-25 :May, 1973. 



During the past twenty-odd years I liave been actively engaged as a consulting 

 engineer and/or as a member of boards of consultants for many coastal waste 

 disi>osal projects. In the United States I have advised on waste management 

 systems for the Cities of Ix)s Angeles, San Diego, Honolulu. San Francisco Bay 

 Area, and New York. I have also been a consultant on marine waste disposal man- 

 agement in Accra. Ghana ; Bilbao, Spain ; Bridgetown. Barbados ; Cork and 

 Waterford. Ireland ; Durban, South Africa ; Goteborg, Sweden : Istanbul, Turkey ; 

 Maracaibo, Venezuela : and Rio de Janeiro. Brazil among others. I also have 

 had the good fortune to spend a sabbatical year in Sweden in 1970-71 serving 

 jointly as a Visiting Profes.sor at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, 

 and as an Adviser to the Swedish Environmental Protection Board (Statens 

 NaturvSrdsverk). As you may observe, my experience has covered a broad scope 

 of environmental qualit.v activities ranging from teaching and research to engi- 

 neering practice in system design. 



STATEMENT OBJECTIVES 



This nresentntion is directed toward three main objectives which can be sum- 

 marized as follows : 



1. To report that although many questions remain unanswered and much con- 

 tinued study is needed, in urban areas such as southern California where well- 

 ensrineered marine wastewater dispo.sal systems have been constructed, the con- 

 dition of the nearshore ocean waters is generally very good as shown by the 

 findings of a recent, locally funded, multi-million dollar study of the coastal 

 ecology. 



2. To suggest that this Subcommittee review carefully and cautiously, requests 

 for the complete banning of treated wastewater discharges (including sludges) 

 to the ocean or blanket requirements regarding the degree of treatment of all 

 municipal and industrial wastewater. 



3. To recommend strong'y that this Subcommittee provide leadership and 

 guideance to appropriate governmental agencies, including the Environmental 

 Protection Agency, concerning the development of realistic objectives and re- 

 quirements for wastewater treatment and disposal considering both wastewater 

 characteristics as well as disposal locations and requirements. 



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