Conference wahoo::fishing

711.0. "Ocean Dumping, NY & NJ" by WIND::EGAN () Fri May 06 1988 12:55

     Did anyone read the article on Ocean Dumping in this weeks issue  (May
     5  -  May 11, 1988 No.  18) of the Fisherman?  It got me pretty pissed
     off.  I think it's time we opened up a big ole can of whip-ass on  our
     state  representatives and senators.  For those of you that did'nt see
     the article here are some excerps in the letter that  I  wrote  to  my
     rep.  and senator:

          Like the article said "What is being dumped at the 106 mile  site
     WILL end up back on our shores and - ON OUR TABLES".

          By all means, feel free to send this letter to  your  senator  or
     state representative.



                                           Richard T. Egan
                                           9 Beverly Road
                                           West Hartford, Connecticut 06119
                                           May 6, 1988


     Senator Lowell P. Weicker Jr.
     1 Corporate Center
     Hartford, Connecticut  06103


     Dear Senator Weicker,

          I am writing with great concern to the ocean  dumping  of  sewage
     sludge  and other toxic-bearing wastes at the 106 mile site off of the
     New Jersey coast.  I have always considered the ocean to be one of the
     last  unpolluted  natural  resources, it seems that even this is being
     poisoned.

          Since the Federal Government ordered a halt  to  the  dumping  of
     wastes  12  miles into the New York Bight, all of the municipal sewage
     sludge from New York City, two adjacent counties and  six  New  Jersey
     counties  is  being  taken  on barges to the 106 mile site and dumped.
     Mixed into  this  sludge  is  a  substantial  amount  of  toxic  waste
     including  heavy metals like cadmium, chromium, copper and PCB's.  New
     York and New Jersey are dumping 22,000 METRIC TONS PER DAY.

          The location of the 106 mile site is just 30 miles from the 1,000
     fathom  curve.   The poisonous sludge is being rapidly dispersed along
     the Continental Shelf.  The convergence there of warm  water  currents
     spinning  off  the  Gulf  Stream  sends  whatever gets dumped there in
     different directions.  A 1983  report  by  the  National  Oceanic  and
     Atmospheric  Administration  (NOAA)  stated that the potential area of
     influence of waste dumped at the site could extend over 65,000  square
     miles.

          The East Coast's yellowfin, bluefin and bigeye tuna, white marlin
     and  swordfish  all  pass  right  through  the  dump site during there
     seasonal  migration.   Bluefish  spawn  on  the  outer  edge  of   the
     Continental  Shelf,  the  eggs  and  larvae drift through the 106 site
     also.  Damaged lobsters and crabs, with holes burned in their  shells,
     are already being found as far away as 160 miles from the dump site.

          There are alternatives to the ocean dumping, such as incinerating
     the  sludge  or converting it to landfill or fertilizer.  The fact is,
     there are alternatives, including a relatively new process that  could
     convert the sludge into oil.

          Several bills have recently been introduced in Congress to  force
     a  phase  out of dumping at the 106 mile site.  The bills, which would
     allow the practice to continue until 1992 are being fought by the  New
     York  delegation.   Thirty  out of thirty four New York members of the
     U.S.  House of Representatives have signed a letter of opposition to a
     stop-the-dumping   bill   that   was   co-authored   by  Rhode  Island

                                                                Page 2


     Rep.Claudine Schneider and New Jersey Congressmen William  Hughes  and
     Jim  Saxton.   In  the  Senate,  where  New  Jersey's Frank Lautenberg
     introduced a similiar bill, New York's Alphonse D'Amato has threatened
     to  filibuster  it  to death.  Contrary to what New York Mayor Ed Koch
     believes, this is not merely an issue involving just New York and  New
     Jersey.  What is being dumped at the 106 mile site will end up back on
     our shores and our tables if action is not taken immediately.

          I would like to know, what I can do about this problem, what  are
     you  going  to  do  about  it and what is the Environmental Protection
     Agency doing?

          Thank you for your time.







                                           Richard T. Egan

    I did not see the article you speak of but it is true and a shame.
    The sea is nothing more than a giant toilet. Have you ever looked
    closely at a nautical map. I love the circles in red marked "danger
    and caution live ammo/bomb dumping area" The Rhode Island coast
    is full of them. BOOM BOOM OUT GO THE LIGHTS.  
    
    The sea refuses no river.................NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~~~~~