OCEAN DUMPING IN THE
UNITED STATES-1976
Fourth Annual Report
of the
Environmental Protection Agency
on Administration
of Title I
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act of 1972, as amended
* •** \
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Washington, D.C. 20460
-------
Intentionally
-------
OCEAN DUMPING IN THE
UNITED STATES-1976
Fourth Annual Report
of the
Environmental Protection Agency
on Administration
of Title 1
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act of 1972, as amended
JUNE 1976
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Office of Water and Hazardous Materials
Washington, D. C. 20460
-------
Page Intentionally Blank
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page ISfo.
I. Introduction and Summary 1
II. Permit Operations f ........ 5
III. Analysis of Existing Dumping Activity ........ . 13
IV. Baseline Survey Program . . . 23
V. EPA Research Program 35
VI. Dredged Material Disposal . . , , 43
VII. Ocean Incineration: A New Technique in Ocean
Disposal 59
VIII. Ocean Dumping Convention , . . 63
IX. Public Participation in the Program 65
X. Alternatives to Ocean Dumping and the Future of Ocean
Dumping as a Means of Disposal ........... 67
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LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO.
1.
TITLE
PAGE NO.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Permit Activity - Calendar Year 1975 7
Region I 7
Region II 7
Region III . 8
Region VI 9
Region IX . 9
Headquarters 9
Ocean Disposal: Types and Amounts; 1973, 1974
and 1975 14
Ocean Dumping Permits Not Granted or Phased
Out 16
Permittees on Implementation Plans to Phase
Out Ocean Dumping 18
Disposal Sites for Ocean Dumping - Dump Sites
for Municipal and Industrial Wastes 22
Dredged Material Dumping in Ocean . 45
FIGURE NO.
LIST OF FIGURES
TITLE
Ocean Disposal Sites of the United States .
PAGE NO.
21
VI
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I. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
This is the fourth annual report of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to the Congress on the implementation
of Title I of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act of 1972, as amended, (referred to in this report as "the
Act"). The Act became effective April 23, 1973, and since
that time all ocean dumping of waste materials transported for
the purpose of dumping has been done under permit from EPA
except for dredged material, which is regulated by the Corps
of Engineers (COE).
When the program was first initiated many procedural and
technical decisions had to be made on an interim basis because
of the need to implement the Act rapidly and the general lack of
specific knowledge of the impact of ocean dumping on the marine
environment. It was also apparent that the widespread practice
of the ocean dumping of environmentally damaging materials,
which had been going on for many years, could not be stopped
instantaneously without allowing time for the development of
acceptable alternatives. During the three years since the Act
became effective, the interim procedures and criteria have been
replaced by improved regulations and criteria; better laboratory
methods of analysis have been developed; a program of baseline
surveys has been initiated; and many dumpers of toxic wastes
have been phased out or are on firm implementation schedules.
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This annual report covers the third full year of regulation
of ocean dumping by EPA under Title I of the Act. This year
has seen the following accomplishments:
(1) Revised regulations and criteria have been developed
for proposal in 1976. The revisions are based on advances in
the state of knowledge of marine pollution, operating experience,
and the need to bring the criteria into full compliance with the
International Ocean Dumping Convention.
(2) The International Ocean Dumping Convention has been
acceded to by the required number of Nations and is now in force.
The first meeting of the signatory Nations was held in London
in December 1975 to set up a permanent international organization
to manage international ocean dumping activities.
(3) Baseline surveys on an alternate sludge dumping site in
the New York Bight were completed along with additional studies
in other parts of the Bight. A Draft Environmental Impact State-
ment (EIS) is being prepared and will be out for public review
in 1976. Monthly monitoring surveys are conducted at the exist-
ing New York sewage sludge site.
(4) A final EIS on the Gulf incineration site has been prepared,
and the site is being formally designated for the ocean incineration
of organochlorine wastes on a continuing basis.
(5) A monitoring protocol for monitoring ocean incineration
operations is being developed and will be published in a technical
report.
- 2 -
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(6) Detailed procedures for bioassays for ocean dumping
permit applications will be published shortly.
(7) Municipalities in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan
Area, Philadelphia and Camden have been advised that they must
stop ocean dumping of sewage sludge by 1981.
(8) Monitoring surveys of the Philadelphia and DuPont
dumpsites have continued on a quarterly basis, and preparation
of an EIS will begin in 1976.
(9) Excluding dredged material, ocean dumping activity
shows a net decrease of about 14 percent from 1974 to 1975.
This is the result of the phasing out of industrial dumpers
as the result of implementation of alternatives developed during
the past few years.
(10) The Coast Guard reported eight violations of the Act to
EPA. All were investigated, and letters of warning or other action
was taken. In six cases civil penalties were assessed and paid;
two are pending.
The major problem in the future is anticipated to be increased
pressure to ocean dump waste residues which result from more
and better waste treatment facilities removing increased amounts
of environmentally hazardous constituents from both municipal and
industrial waste streams. The basic EPA approach has been to
attempt to find and use the least environmentally damaging site
and method of disposal for each waste whether it involves land,
- 3 -
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air, or water. Much additional study is needed on all disposal
methods, including land disposal and incineration, as well as ocean
dumping, before the state-of-the-art will be sufficient to allow
the selection of the best environmental alternative in all cases.
- 4 -
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II. PERMIT OPERATIONS
It is the policy of the Act to regulate all ocean dumping and
to prevent or strictly limit the ocean dumping of any material
which would adversely affect the marine environment. To
implement this policy, Title I of the Act establishes a system
of permits to be administered by EPA and COE to control
dumping in ocean waters. The transportation from the United
States of any radiological, chemical, or biological warfare agent,
or high-level radioactive wastes for dumping in ocean waters,
the territorial sea or the contiguous zone is prohibited. Trans -
portation for the purpose of dumping of other materials, except
dredged material, is prohibited unless the Administrator of EPA
has issued a permit. The Administrator is empowered to issue
a permit after a determination by him that the dumping will
not unreasonably degrade or endanger human health or the
marine environment. The dumping of dredged material is
regulated by COE in accordance with EPA and COE developed
criteria.
Title I also requires the Administrator to promulgate
criteria for reviewing and evaluating permit applications,
which must include an examination of the need for the proposed
dumping and the alternatives available to the proposed dumping.
The Administrator is also authorized to designate areas where
ocean dumping may be permitted and to designate critical areas
- 5 -
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where dumping is prohibited. EPA must also give notice and
allow opportunity for public hearing before any permit is issued.
EPA has the authority to assess civil penalties for violation
of permit conditions. There is also a provision for criminal
action against persons who knowingly violate the Act.
Title II of the Act requires the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct a comprehensive
program of research and monitoring regarding the effects of the
dumping of material into ocean waters. Title III gives to NOAA
the authority to establish marine sanctuaries.
Table I lists by Regions those permits in force during 1975,
the type of permit, the material dumped, the date the most
current 1975 permit expires, and the actual amount of waste
dumped under the permit.
Under Title I of the Act, the Coast Guard has been delegated
the responsibility to conduct surveillance and other appropriate
enforcement activity to prevent unlawful ocean dumping. More
specifically, they ensure that ocean dumping is conducted under
an effective permit, that the material is dumped at the location
and in the manner specified within the permit, and that the
material meets the criteria outlined in the permit.
The Coast Guard's enforcement program objective is close
surveillance of the transportation and dumping of materials
dumped at EPA's toxic waste sites and spot checks of all other
- 6 -
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TABLE 1
PERMIT ACTIVITY - CALENDAR YEAR 1975
Material Expiration Date
Permittee /Type Permit Dumped of Current Permit
Region I
Safety Projects & Eng. misc. lab
special reagents
6/30/76
Actual Quant.
Dumped
114 drums
Region II
Bergen Co. Sew. Auth. sewage
interim sludge
Joint Meeting of Essex "
& Union Counties
interim
Linden Roselle Sew. Auth. "
interim
Middlesex Co. Sew. Auth. "
interim
Middletown Sew. Auth. "
interim
Passaic Valley Sew. Auth. "
interim
City of Glen Cove "
interim
City of Long Beach "
interim
County of Nassau "
interim
County of Westchester "
interim
West Long Beach Sew. Dist. "
interim
New York City "
interim
6/30/76
20,OOO wet T.
116,000 wet T.
142, OOO wet T.
331,OOO wet T.
20.0OO wet T.
570, OOO wet T.
4.0OO wet T.
7, OOO wet T.
349, OOO wet T.
112,OOO wet T.
6OO wet T.
2,04C, OOO wet T.
-7-
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TABLE 1
PERMIT ACTIVITY -
Permittee/Type Permit
Modern-PCI Corp.
interim
General Marine Transport
Corp.
interim
Modern Transp. Co.
interim
Material
Dumped
Sewage
Sludge
(CONT'D)
CALENDAR YEAR 1975
Expiration Date
of Current Permit
6/30/76
American Cyanamid
interim
Allied Chemical
interim
DuPont-Grasselli
interim
PCI International
interim
Chevron Oil Co.
interim
NL Industries
interim
Moran Towing Corp.
special
Crompton & Knowles
interim
digester
cleanout &
chemical
wastes
chemical
wastes
by-product
hydrochloric
acid
chemical
wastes
chemical
wastes
refinery
wastes
spent sulfate
sol.; inert
ore slurry
construction
rubble
chemical
wastes
11/19/78
10/31/76
10/31/75
11/19/76
11/19/78
2/16/76
Actual Quant.
Dumped
212, 000 wet T.
88, 000 wet T.
67, 000 wet T.
128, 000 wet T.
53, 000 wet T.
290, 000 wet T.
252, 000 wet T.
24, 000 wet T.
2, 030, 000 wet T.
185, OOOc.y.
19, 000 wet T.
Region III
City of Camden
interim
DuPont - Edge Moor
interim
City of Philadelphia
interim
sewage
sludge
titanium
dioxide wastes
sewage
sludge
11/11/76
11/13/76
2/13/76
13,000,000 gal.
90, 000, 000 gal.
170,000,000 gal.
8
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TABLE 1 (CONT'D)
PERMIT ACTIVITY - CALENDAR YEAR 1975
Material
Permittee /Type Permit Dumped
Region VI
Shell Chemical Co.
interim
Ethyl Corp.
interim
DuPont - Beaumont
interim
spent caustic
&. digested
biol. sludge
sodium-cal-
cium sludge
chemical mfg.
wastes
Expiration Date
of Current Permit
2/20/76
3/12/76
2/13/75
Actual Quant.
Dumped
10O, 000 T.
1, 700 T.
18, 000 T.
Region IX
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
emergency
MV Caribia
12/26/75
permit
not used
Headquarters
Shell Chemical Co.
interim
Foss Launch &, Tug Co.
emergency
organo-
chlorine
wastes
barge
1/20/75
10/13/75
4,200
metric tons
2,500 T.
-9-
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disposal activities. Surveillance methods operationally avail-
able include the escort or interception of dumping vessels by
Coast Guard vessels or aircraft, the comparing of dumpers'
logs with permits and Coast Guard notification and sighting
logs, and the use of shipriders to ascertain position and
dumping rate.
The Ocean Dumping Surveillance and Enforcement program
has prompted the development of an electronic Ocean Dumping
Surveillance System (ODSS) which will eliminate the require-
ment for shipriders on all vessels carrying such a "black box. "
Vessels engaged in one-time or very infrequent dumping will
not be required to install the ODSS, and vessels operating in
areas covered by radar or other continuous surveillance may
also be exempted from this requirement.
Two prototype systems of the ODSS were installed last
summer on two dumping vessels operating out of New York.
The systems consist of an automatic LORAN-C receiver, a
clock, and a recorder which records time versus position.
The recorder tape can be "read" by computers at Coast Guard
district offices and, when desired, the computer can provide a
graphic display of the vessel's voyage. Through these data, it
can be ascertained that the dumper traveled to the proper site
and remained for a period of time consistent with his volume
and required discharge rate. A dump valve or dump door sensor
may be added to the next generation prototype or first operational
-10-
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system so that the actuation of the dumping mechanism will also
be recorded. The LORAN-C receivers continuously display two
LORAN-C time delay signals in digital form so that the vessel's
navigator has only to apply these readings to his LORAN-C
chart to obtain a rapid and accurate two-line fix.
If and when the ODSS is adopted, the ability of the Coast
Guard to conduct surveillance at night will be greatly enhanced,
as they presently are limited primarily to search and rescue-
related resources for night surveillance. The system will
similarly enhance effectiveness during other periods of reduced
visibility when, as at night, unlawful dumping is most likely to
occur. However, the "black box" surveillance method is viewed
as only supplemental to present means of surveillance. First,
it is not "real time" surveillance. The recorded data must be
retrieved and analyzed after the dumper has completed his
mission and returned to port. The second, and related, factor
is the question of the acceptability and sufficiency of the system's
tapes as sole evidence. At worst, however, this source of in-
formation should alert the Coast Guard to the few dumpers who
may warrant closer attention, thereby permitting the most
effective utilization of their operational resources. Obviously,
too, it should provide a significant degree of deterrence to
intentional violations.
Under Title II authority, the Coast Guard continues to
cooperate with EPA and NOAA in their research on the effects
-11-
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of ocean dumping and other man-induced changes to ocean
ecosystems. Interagency agreements provide for Coast
Guard support in these joint activities. Under Title III,
providing for designation of marine sanctuaries, the Coast
Guard is working with NOAA toward effective enforcement of
present and proposed sanctuary regulations.
In 1975 the Coast Guard conducted 591 disposal surveil-
lance missions and 70 vessel boardings. Eight violations were
detected and reported to EPA. Two of these violations were
dumping off site; one was dumping without a permit; and the
remaining five were failure to notify of change in plans,
dispersal rate exceeded, falsified report of duration of dumping,
failure to obtain and submit fathometer records in accordance
with permit conditions, and dumping prior to daylight con-
ditions. In all of these cases EPA has issued notices of
violation. Penalties have been assessed and paid in all but
two of these cases, and these two are pending.
In addition to violations reported by the Coast Guard, EPA
has issued notices of violation in six other cases in which either
penalties have been assessed or final determinations are pending.
-12-
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m. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING DUMPING ACTIVITY
During the three years that the Act has been in effect all
previously unregulated dumping of wastes into ocean waters has come
under strict regulation by the Ocean Dumping Permit Program. The
level of dumping activity that has occurred under EPA permits since
the program became operational is indicated in Table 2.
The absence of complete and accurate dumping records prior
to the implementation of the permit program makes any comparison
with ocean dumping activity of past years difficult. It is evident,
however, that ocean dumping of wastes was increasing when the Act
was passed. In addition, both the Senate and House versions of
this Bill reflected the concern that those pollutants, which were
previously discharged into the Nation's territorial waters or air
and are now restricted by the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act Amendments of 1972 and the Clean Air Act, not end up indis-
criminately being dumped in the ocean.
The data in Table 2 show a decrease from 1973 to 1975 in
the dumping of industrial wastes, construction debris, and solid
waste, a slight increase in the dumping of sewage sludge, and no
dumping of explosives. The permit program went into effect in
mid - 1973, so the data from that year reflect eight months of
dumping activity extrapolated for 12 months to estimate an
annual rate.
In implementing the ocean dumping permit program, EPA
requires a thorough evaluation in all applications of the need
-13-
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TABLE -2
OCEAH DISPOSAL: TOTS AHD AMOUMS, 1973*, 1971***, and 1975***
(IN TONS, APPROX.)
WASTE TYPE
Industrial Waste
Sewage Sludge
Construction &
Demolition Debris
Solid Waste
Explosives
TOTAL
ATIAHTIC
1973 1971*
1975
3,6^2,800 3,6k2,000
1^,898,900 5,010,000
973,700 77Q,toO
0 0
0 0
3,322,300
5,039,600
395,900
0
0
9,515, too 9,1*22,1*00
8,757,800
GOLF
1973 197** 1975
1,1*08,000 950,000 123,700
o o-o
0 00
0 00
0 00
1,1*08,000 950,000 123,700
PACIFIC
1973 1971*
1975
0 0
0 0
0 00
2kO 200
0 0
0
0
0
0
0
21*0 200
0
TOTAL
1973 1971*
1975
5,050,800 1*, 592, 000
i+, 898, 900 5,010,000
973,700 770,1*00
2l+0 200
0 0
3,1*1*6,000
5,039,600 .
395,900
0
0
10,923,61*0 10,372,600
8,881,500
* 1973 Source - EPA Regional Offices. Unpublished reports, 1973; updated
information, 1976 (Suionths of dumping activity, May to
December 1973 under permits issued by Ocean Disposal
Program extrapolated for 12 months to provide an annual
rate).
** 1971* Source - EPA Regional Offices. Unpublished reports, 197**; updated
information, 1976 (ifc months of dumping activity).
*** 1975 Source - EPA Regional Offices. Unpublished reports, 1975; updated
information, 1976 (12 months of dumping activity).
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for ocean dumping and the availability of alternative methods of
disposal. This approach has required a number of industrial
dumpers to seek other alternatives. Since the permit system
has been effective, 81 former or potential ocean dumpers are
not ocean dumping (Table 3). Other permittees on implemen-
tation plans to phase out ocean dumping are shown in Table 4.
On the Atlantic Coast alone, 67 former dumpers ceased ocean
dumping either by the time the Act went into effect or after
having initially received permits. Another nine companies
here have either withdrawn their applications or have been
denied permits. At least 10 current dumpers are scheduled to
cease ocean dumping by December 1976, and eight more by
July 1977.
The amount of industrial wastes dumped in the Gulf of
Mexico under ocean dumping permits declined in 1975 to less
than 10 percent of the amount dumped in 1973 under the first
year of the permit program. This decrease is due largely to
the fact that five of the seven original permittees had im-
plemented alternatives to ocean dumping by the end of 1975.
Although a number of dumpers have ceased ocean dumping off
the Atlantic Coast, the amount of dumping has only decreased
slightly due to industrial growth during which time the companies
have been seeking alternatives to ocean dumping.
The slight increase in the amount of sewage sludge being ocean
dumped off the Atlantic Coast is due to increased plant capacity
and additional levels of treatment of municipal "waste, not to an
-15*
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TABLE 3
OCEAN DUMPING PERMITS
NOT GRANTED OR PHASED OUT (CONT)
2
Region Company
45. It General Color Co.
46. H J.M. Huber Corp.
47. H Lily-Tulip
48. n The National Lockwasher Co.
49. n Howmedica, Inc.
50. n Celanese Coatings Co.
51. n American Cyanamid Co.
52. n Green Village Packing Co.
53. n The Mennen Co.
54. n Weyerhaeuser Co.
55. II Wilson Products Co.
56. n American Cyanamid Co.
57. n Kimberly-Clark Corp.
58. H St. Regis Paper Co.
59. n Hercules, Inc.
60. n Dow Chemical
61. IX H-10 Water Taxi
62. VI E.I. duPont de Nemours
63. H A&S Transport Co.
64. VI GAF Corporation
65. I Pine State By-Products, Inc.
66. VI E.I. du Pont de Nemours
67. VI E.I. du Pont de Nemours
68. n Blue Ridge-Winkler Textiles
69. H The Nestle Co., Inc.
70. n U. S. Radium Corp.
71. n Tenco Division of the
Coca-Cola Co.
72. II Warner-Lambert Co.
73. H Mycalex Corp.
74. E Worthington Biochemical
Corporation
75. n Howmet Corp.
76. n Sherwin Williams Co.
77. H William Schaeffer Septic
78. HI Sun Oil Company
79. n Solvents Recovery Services
80. II Eagle Extruaion Corp.
81. H Chevron Oil Co.
Location
Newark, N. J. 07114
Edison, N. J. 08817
Holmdel, N.J. 07733
North Branch, N. J. 08876
Rutherford, N.J. 07070
Belvidere, N. J. 07823
Pearl River, N.Y. 10965
Green Village, N. J. 07960
Morristown, N.J. 0796O
Closter, N.J. 07624
Neshanic, N.J. 08853
Bound Brook, N.J. 08805
Spotswood, N.J. 08804
West Nyack, N.Y. 10994
Kenvil, N.J. 07847
Mt. Holly, N.J. 08060
San Pedro, Calif. 90733
Belle, W.Va. 25015
So. Kearny, N.J. 07032
Texas City, Texas 77590
S. Portland, Maine 04106
LaPorte, Texas 77571
Beaumont, Texas 77704
Bangor, Penn. 18102
Freehold, N.J. 07728
Hackettstown, N.J. 07840
Morris Plains, N.J. 07950
Morris Plains, N.J. 07950
Clifton, N.J. 07011
Freehold, N.J. 07728
Dover, N.J. 07801
Newark, N.J. 07101
Pequannock, N.J. 07101
Marcus Hook, Penn. 19061
Linden, N.J. 07036
Dover, N.J. 07801
Perth Amboy, N. J. 08861
Date Phased Out
or Denied
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
April 1974
Sept. 1974
Oct. 1974
Dec. 1974
Dec. 1974
Jan. 1975
Jan. 1975
Feb. 1975
June 1975
June 1975
June 1975
June 1975
June 1975
June 1975
June
June
June
June
July
July
July
Oct.
1975
1975
1975
1975
1975
1975
1975
1975
- 16 -
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TABLE 3 (CONT'D)
OCEAN DUMPING PERMITS NOT GRANTED OR PHASED OUT
Region
II
H
H
H
n
n
n
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. n
10. n
11. n
12. n
13. n
14. n
15. n
16. II
17. n
18. H
19. n
20. n
21. H
22. II
23. n
24. n
25. n
26. H
27. H
28. H
29. II
30. n
31. n
32, VI
33. I
34. n
35. n
36. n
37. n
38. n
39. H
40. H
41. n
42. n
43. n
44. n
Company
Benjamin Moore & Co.
Chester Packing Co. , liic.
CMlders Products Co.
Clairol, Inc.
Debell & Richardson
Dow Chemical Service
Drake Bakeries
Drew Chemical
Electro-Nucleonics, Me.
Engelhard Industries
Fedders Corp.
Ford Motor Co.
Gamlen Chemical Co.
Heinzelmen & Sons
B. Horstmann Co.
I. C.I. America, Inc.
International Paper
Ivers-Lee Co.
Koppers Co. , Inc.
Lehn & Fink, Co.
L & M Trucking Corp.
Makar Trucking Co.
National Can Corp.
NL Industries, Inc.
Norton & Sons, Inc.
New York Twist Drill
Mfg. Corp.
The Parker Co.
G. Redner, Inc.
Sandoz -Wander, Inc.
Three Star Anodizing Corp.
Universal Oil Products
E.I. duPont de Nemours
Pratt & Whitney
Biocraft Corp.
Alcholac, Inc.
Eve lion Fabrics Corp.
The Ansul Co.
Consolidated Edison Co.
BASF Wyandotte Corp.
The Clorox Co.
Gaess Environmental
Services Corp.
Bell Telephone Laboratories
Amerada Hess Corp.
Riegel Products Corp.
Location
Newark, N.J. 07105
Chester, N.Y. 10918
Bristol, Penn. 19007
Stamford, Conn. 06904
Enfield, Conn. 06802
Stoneham, Mass. 02180
Wayne, N.J. 07470
Boonton, N. J. 07005
Fairfield, N.J. 07006
Newark, N.J. 07015
Edison, N.J. 08817
Mahwah, N.J. 07430
Elmwood Park, N. J. 07407
Carlstadt, N.J. 07072
East Hanover, N.J. 07936
Bayonne, N.J. 07002
Whippany, N.J. 07981
W. Caldwell, N.J. 07008
Kearny, N.J. 07032
Belle Mead, N. J. 08502
Kenilworth, N.J. 07033
Mendham, N.J. 07945
Piscataway, N.J. 08854
Pedricktown, N.J. 08067
Bayonne, N.J. 07002
Ramsey, N.J. 07446
Wayne, N.J. 07470
Wanaque, N.J. 07465
East Hanover, N. J. 07936
Beacon, N.Y. 12508
East Rutherford, N. J.
La Place, La. 70068'
East Hartford, Conn. 06108
Waldwick, N.J. 07463
Ossing, N.Y. 10562
Closter, N.J. 07624
Marinette, Wise. 54143
New York, N. Y. 10003
So. Kearny, N.J. 07032
Jersey City, N. J. 07305
Passaic, N.J. 07055
Whippany, N.J. 07981
Woodbridge, N.J. 07095
Milford, N.J. 08848
Date Phased Out
or Denied
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April. 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
April 1973
before April 1973
before April 1973
before April 1973
before April 1973
before April 1973
before April 1973
Nov. 1973
1973
1973
1973
1973
1974
1974
1974
1974
1974
1974
1974
1974
- 17 -
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TABLE 4
PERMITTEES ON IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
TO PHASE OUT OCEAN DUMPING
Region Company
BE American Cyanamid Co.
Middletown Sewer Authority
Pas sale Valley Sew. Comm.
Allied Chemical Corp.
The Upjohn Manuf. Co.
E. I. duPont de Nemours
City of Long Beach
Middlesex Co. Sew. Auth.
New York City
Merck & Co., Inc.
Abbott Chemicals, Inc.
NL Industries, Inc.
Modern Transportation Co.
Bergen Co. Sew. Authority
Linden Roselle Sew. Auth.
Elizabeth Joint Meeting
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Merck Sharp & Dohme
County of Nassau
County of Westchester
West Long Beach Sew. Dist.
Oxochem Enterprises
Puerto Rico Olefins Co.
Whippany Paper Board Co.
Sobin Chemicals Co.
International Wire Products
City of Glenn Cove
Arrow Group Industries
Reheis Chemical Company
Bristol Alpha Corporation
M/M Mars
The Coca-Cola Company
Curtiss-Wright Corp.
Nor da, Inc.
S. B. Penick & Co.
Pfizer, Inc.
J, T. Baker Chemical Co.
Fritzsche Dodge & Olcott
Keuffel & Esser
Caldwell Trucking Co., Inc.
Schering Corp.
American Cyanamid Co.
S. B. Thomas, Inc.
General Marine
Crompton Knowles
in City of Camden
City of Philadelphia
E.I. duPont de Nemours
Location
Phase Out Date
Linden, NJ 1979
Belford, NJ 1981
Newark, NJ 1981
Morristown, NJ 1981
Barceloneta, PR 1978
Linden, NJ 1981
Long Beach NY 1981
Sayreville, NJ 1981
New York, NY 1981
Rahway, NJ 1981
Barceloneta, PR 1978
So. Amboy, NJ 1981
So. Kearny, NJ 1981
Little Ferry, NJ 1981
Linden, NJ 1981
Irvington, NJ 1981
Barceloneta, PR 1978
Barceloneta, PR 1978
Mineola, NY 1981
White Plains, NY 1981
Atlantic Beach, NY 1981
Ponce, PR 1978
Ponce, PR 1978
Whippany, NJ 1977
Newark, NJ 1977
Wyekoff, NJ 1977
Glen Cove, NY 1981
Haskell, NJ 1976
Berkeley Hts., NJ 1977
Barceloneta, PR 1978
Hackettstown, NJ 1977
Hightstown, NJ 1976
Fairfield, NJ 1976
East Hanover, NJ 1976
Montville, NJ 1977
Parsippany, NJ 1977
Phillipsburg, NJ 1977
Clifton, NJ 1976
Morristown, NJ 1977
Fairfield, NJ 1981
Manati, PR 1978
Wayne, NJ 1976
Totawa, NJ 1976
Bayonne, NJ 1981
Reading, PA 1981
Camden, NJ 1981
Philadelphia, PA 1981
Edge Moor, DE 1978
- 18 -
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increased number of municipal dumpers. About four million
tons of unwatered municipal sludge were dumped in the New
York Bight in 1975. Upgrading present treatment facilities to
secondary level with 90% reduction of biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) and suspended solids, plus treatment of the
present raw sewage discharges, will significantly increase
the volume of sludge to be handled. Unless environmentally
acceptable alternative sludge disposal methods are developed,
this additional sludge will be dumped in the ocean.
The decrease in construction rubble is due primarily to the
cessation of the work on the Harlem River Water Supply Tunnel.
The construction debris from this project was being transported
to the ocean and dumped.
As indicated in Table 2 ocean dumping of barged wastes is
currently utilized as a disposal technique predominately on the
East and Gulf Coasts for industrial wastes and on the East Coast
alone for sewage sludge. This is not merely because these areas
have failed to fully pursue alternatives to ocean disposal, but
rather a combined result of historical usage of ocean dumping
and immediate unavailability of alternate methods of disposal.
The use of ocean outfall pipes and the availability of land for
disposal on the West Coast have made unnecessary the barging
of wastes to the ocean. Inland disposal of municipal effluents and
sludges in the Gulf Coast states has prevented the development
of ocean dumping of municipal wastes into the Gulf of Mexico.
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On the other hand, it has been those areas open to the sea with
a high density of population and industrial development such as
Metropolitan New York and Philadelphia that have turned to
ocean dumping. Now these industrial and municipal dumpers
are being required to evaluate the alternatives to ocean dumping
to determine what is the most environmentally acceptable method
of disposal.
In 1975 "L1 ocean disposal sites were in active use (Figure I).
The types of wastes being dumped at each site is indicated in
Table 5, as -well as the projected phase out dates for dumpers
at each site.
-20.
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OCEAN DISPOSAL SITES
OF THE
UNITED STATES
DREDGED MATERIALS, WRECKS .
SEWAGE SLUDGE, GARBAGE O
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS •
- 21-
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.TABLE 5
DISPOSAL SITES FOR OCEAN DUMPING
Dump Sites For Municipal And Industrial Wastes
Site.
Center Points
Nature of Use
1,
2,
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Current N. Y.
Sludge Site
Galveston Site
"106" Site
Philadelphia
Sludge Site
DuPont Site
N.Y, Acid Site
Mississippi
River Site
Region I End.
Waste Site
Puerto Rico Ind.
Waste Site
N.Y. "Cellar
Dirt" Site
Ocean Incineration
Site
Proposed DuPont Site
in S. E. Gulf of Mexico
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long. •
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
Lat.
Long.
40° 22' 30"N
73° 41' 30"W
27° 20'N
94° 36'W
38° 50'N
72° 15'W
38°211N
74° 10'W
38° 30'N
74° 15'W
40° 18'N
73° 38 'W
28° 05'N
89° 22.5'W
42° 25'N
70° 35'W
19° 15'N
66° 42.5'W
42° 23'N
73° 49'W
26° 40'N
93° 40'W
27° 00 'N
87" OO'W
municipal sewage sludge
industrial wastes
industrial wastes
municipal sewage sludge
acid wastes
acid wastes
industrial wastes
industrial wastes
industrial wastes
construction or
demolition debris
ocean incineration
industrial wastes
Phase Out Date for Dumpers
1981
Dumpers under strict implementation
plan to develop alternatives to O. D.
1981 (all but 4 dumpers out by Dec, 197?)
January 1981
November 1978
1981 or bring waste within limitations
of criteria
dumper under strict implementation
plan to develop alternatives to O. D.
dumper under strict implementation
plan to develop alternatives to O. D.
April 1978
none
none
site never used
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IV. BASELINE SURVEY PROGRAM
Section I02(c) of the Act authorizes the Administrator to
designate recommended sites or times for dumping, considering
the criteria of Section 102(a). When the interim regulations
were published, a list of interim dump sites was included. These
sites were selected from existing information on ocean dumping
and were selected based on historical usage, not on environmental
criteria governing the selection of sites to minimize damage to
the marine environment. This was recognized as a temporary
expedient, and EPA has since made the commitment that it will
comply with EPA's Regulatory EIS procedures in the designa-
tion of ocean dumping sites for continuing use.
Regulations are being prepared to be proposed to establish thie
procedures by which ocean dumping sites will be designated for
continuing use; these procedures include the preparation of an EIS
for virtually all ocean dump sites presently in use or proposed
for use.
The preparation of an acceptable EIS on an ocean dumping site
requires the collection of a large amount of environmental data,
at the site itself and in nearby areas, to form the basis for an
environmental assessment of the site and to predict the impact
of dumping on the site. The data collection requirements
needed for an environmental assessment of a dump site have
been formalized into a standard baseline survey guideline.
-------
This baseline survey guideline was developed in consul-
tation with NOAA and will serve as the basic plan for all baseline
surveys, with appropriate modifications being made to meet special
situations. The basic plan in any baseline survey is to take samples
of both water and sediments to determine the levels of specific
chemical parameters in and near the dump site. Of particular
interest are trace metals and persistent organic compounds that
might be present in wastes dumped at the site. Samples are also
taken of living organisms at and near the site in the water column,
at the bottom, and in the sediments. This broad scale sampling
is needed to provide data on the widest possible range of ecological
features at the dump site so that an accurate assessment can be
made of what the impact of pollutants would be at the dump site.
Before any acceptable appraisal of conditions at a dump site
is possible, the full range of seasonal or other periodic variations
in conditions must be observed. The baseline survey program
began during PY 1974, and additional studies have been conducted
on a continuing basis since that time. A brief synopsis of each
baseline survey presently being conducted follows:
1. Alternate Sewage Sludge Dump Site in the New York Bight
Sewage sludge from the New York Metropolitan Area is
currently being dumped at a site approximately twelve miles
from recreational beaches. While no impact on the beaches
has yet been seen from sludge dumped at this site, increased
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sewage treatment in the New York Metropolitan Area will result
in much greater volumes of sludge to be disposed of during the
next few years. Much of this sludge may have to be ocean dumped
at this site as an interim measure until a permanent form of
ultimate disposal is selected and implemented.
In early 1974, EPA requested NOAA to recommend areas
farther out in the New York Bight for study as alternate sludge
dumping sites. NOAA recommended two areas, one just north
of the Hudson Canyon and the other just south of the Hudson
Canyon; EPA has completed studies, by contract, of the area
recommended by NOAA just north of the Hudson Canyon and
about 60 miles from Ambrose Light. The first survey was
conducted during September and October 1974; the second was
conducted during January and February 1975; and the third survey
was conducted July and August 1975.
EPA also supported studies by NOAA in other parts of the
New York Bight, and used the results of these studies, as well
as its own studies to prepare an EIS on ocean dumping of sewage
sludge in the New York Bight.
This EIS was made available, in draft form, for public
comment in February 1976. The conclusion reached in the EIS
was that dumping should continue at the existing site, a com-
prehensive monitoring program should be maintained for the
existing site, and the alternate site should be designated so that
it can be used when and if the monitoring program indicates that
- 25 -
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the existing site cannot safely accommodate any more sewage
sludge.
Steps are now being taken to implement the conclusions
reached in the EIS.
2. Philadelphia/Camden and DuPont Dump Sites off Delaware
Bay
Prior to the beginning of the Ocean Dumping Permit Pro-
gram, Philadelphia had been dumping sewage sludge at a location
approximately 11 miles seaward of the mouth of Delaware Bay.
In April 1973, EPA issued an interim ocean dumping permit to
Philadelphia for ocean disposal of sewage sludge, but required
the city to use a site about 50 nautical miles southeast of the
mouth of the Delaware Bay. Philadelphia has,used this designated
site up to the present time. This site is quite close to the site
being used by DuPont for the disposal of waste acid.
Prior to use of the present site by Philadelphia, a single
baseline survey of the site was conducted, and since then surveys
have been made on a quarterly basis. These surveys have been
a cooperative effort among EPA, universities, industries,
NOAA and the Coast Guard. About 20-24 stations are sampled
on each survey, primarily for trace metals in sediments and in
organisms. Direct observations were also made in August 1974
and in August 1975 using a manned submersible.
The close proximity of these two dumpsites makes it
- 26 -
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logistically economical to study them both at the same time.
The difference in composition between the two wastes makes
it possible to use different constituents as tracers to describe
the movement of each waste. Using this technique statistically
significant differences in the geographical distribution of trace
metals in sediments and in some organisms have been found.
Additional studies are being conducted to quantify the nature
and extent of these differences and to establish cause and
effect relationships.
3. Toxic Industrial Wastes Dump Site, East of Cape Henlopen,
Delaware ("106" site)
This dumpsite is located 106 nautical miles southeast of
Ambrose Light (at the entrance to New York Harbor) and
approximately 90 nautical miles due east of Cape Henlopen,
Delaware. The area is bounded by 38°40'N to 39°00'N and
72°00'W to 72°30'W. The site is off the continental shelf at
depths ranging from 1,550 meters in the northwest corner of
the site to 2, 750 meters in the relatively flat southeast corner.
The bottom, for the most part, is characterized by a rugged
i
topography. A major topographic feature of the region, the
Hudson
Canyon, is to the north, northeast, and east of the
toxic waste dump site*
This site is used by over 30 different ocean dumpers in the
New York - New Jersey area for the disposal of industrial
chemicals.
- 2? -
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Typical waste materials are residual sludge from galvanizing
and plating operations, liquid wastes from textile manufacturing,
liquid wastes from etching and photographic processes, water
solutions of inorganic salts, and similar materials resulting from
diverse manufacturing processes. Containerized radioactive wastes
were dumped in a location just south of the present site several
years ago and prior to enactment of the act.
In May 1974 NOAA began a series of baseline surveys of
this dumpsite in cooperation with EPA, the Virginia Institute of
Marine Science, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
the Lament-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University,
and the Smithsonian Institution. The cruise report has now been
completed.
Additional cruises were conducted in July 1975. The July cruise
made use of the manned submersible ALVIN, and data were also
collected at the radioactive waste dumping area south of the
dump site.
The hydrography of the dump site area is complex and the
currents are seasonally variable. Any one of three water masses
may be present at different times or at different levels in the
water column; shelf, slope, and Gulf Stream water have all been
identified. Circulation patterns are affected by mixing across
frontal zones. Currents man predominantly southward along
the coast, while the Gulf Stream runs generally northeastward.
- 28 -
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The slope water may circulate in a cyclonic gyre. Surface
circulation is primarily a function of season.
In addition to hydrography, studies have also been made in tine
water column of the occurrence and, in some cases, relative
abundance of nutrients, zooplankton, ichthyoplankton, and nekton.
The ocean bottom at the dumpsite has also been investigated
by means of echo-sounding, photography, trawling, and quantitative
sampling in order to describe aspects of geology, geochemistry,
and benthic fauna.
Investigations have been made of heavy metal and other con-
taminants in water, sediments, and in the tissues of larger
benthic fishes and invertebrates.
4. Gulf Incineration Site
As a result of the two research burns and the two burns under
an interim permit of the organochlorine wastes from the Shell
Chemical Company, environmental data on the site and on the
impacts of burning at the site were collected. A report on the
entire program of this'incineration has been published and about
2, 000 copies have been distributed.
A Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been published
on the site, and the formal designation of the site for ocean
incineration of organochlorine wastes will be published in
August.
-29 -
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5. Radioactive Waste Dump Site Surveys
One of the major problems facing the nuclear industry today
is the management of the large volumes of low-level radioactive
wastes generated as a result of nuclear reactor operations and
subsequent spent fuel reprocessing. With increased competing
demands for a. decreasing amount of available land, there is a
growing interest both here and abroad in ocean disposal as a
waste management alternative. And, in fact, some European
countries have been conducting ocean dumping of packaged,
low-level radioactive wastes under international supervision
since 1967.
A. Farallon Islands 900m Dump Site
In 1974, EPA initiated the first successful survey of a discon-
tinued radioactive waste dump site with the investigation of the
Pacific-Farallon Islands site at a depth of 900m {30OO feet)
approximately forty miles west of San Francisco, California. A
report of the at-sea operations has been prepared by the EPA
Office of Radiation Programs and preliminary analytical results
were discussed in the EPA Third Annual Report on Ocean Dumping.
Since that time the radioanalyses have been completed and the level
of plutonium-239,240 contamination in surface sediments has been
found to be between 2-25 times higher than the maximum expected
concentration that could have resulted from weapons testing fallout
alone. Plutonium-238 contamination was also found but at lower
concentrations. The plutonium-238 and 239, 240 contamination
-30 -
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was detected in the immediate vicinity of visually sighted radio-
active waste packages.
B. Farallon Islands 1700m Dump Site
During the period of August 15-22, 1975, a survey coordinated
by the EPA Office of Radiation Programs was conducted at the
Farallon Islands 1700m (5300 feet) radioactive waste and munitions
dump site centered at 3?°37'N, 123°18'W. The survey devi used
was an unmanned, tethered submersible, the CURV III (C jcble-
controlled Underwater Recovery Vehicle) operated by the U. S.
Naval Undersea Center in San Diego, California. Radioactive
waste containers were located showing the standard packaging
design, i.e., 55-gallon mild steel drums filled with concrete in
which the waste was mixed and solidified. Photographs of the
condition of the packages were taken showing most of the packages
to be intact but with a few showing evidence of hydrostatic im-
plosion. This survey investigated only a small fraction of the
more than forty thousand containers estimated to have been
dumped in the general vicinity of the radioactive waste dump site.
Four bottom-moored current meters were emplaced around the
site and a one-month record of current speed and direction was
taken. The results showed a slow northward transport of water
with a mean speed of 1. 3 cm/sec and a maximum speed of
16.5 cm/sec. However, more extensive measurements are re-
quired in order to determine whether there is any net long-
- 31-
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term directional flow and whether the flow would be capable of
moving contaminated sediments.
Preliminary results of the radioanalysis of sediment samples
collected from this site indicate the presence of plutonium-238,
and plutonium-239, 240 contamination at levels comparable to
those found at the 900m (3000 feet) site in 1974. The levels of
plutonium contamination detected so far should not be considered
as a risk to man or to the marine environment. However, two
significant problems remain to be resolved: (1) the extent of
contamination in and around the dump site areas, for example
between the 900m and 1700m sites, and (2) the presence of
currents or water mass movement capable of transporting the
sediments to which the radioactive materials are attached.
C. Atlantic 2800m Dump Site
One of the major Atlantic discontinued radioactive waste
dump sites was surveyed using the manned submersible ALVIN
during the period of July 23 - August 4, 1975. The site is centered
at 38°30'N, 72°06'W at the depth of 2800m (9300 feet) and is
approximately 120 miles east of the Maryland-Delaware coast
and ten miles southeast of an actively-used industrial waste dump
site (the "106-mile site"). It was used intermittently from 1951-
1962 and received an estimated fourteen thousand drums of low-
level radioactive waste containing over forty thousand curies at
the time of packaging.
-32 -
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Eighty-gallon drums containing low-level radioactive wastes
imbedded in concrete were located in the dump site area.
Cesium-137 contamination was detected in the immediate
vicinity of both intact and breached containers at concentrations
ranging from 3-70 times higher than the maximum expected
fallout concentration. Records of the packages and their radio-
active contents indicate that the material may be leaching out
of the concrete matrix rather than simply leaking from a
breached container.
Of additional interest is the potential for transport of this
released radioactive material, cesium-137, and the possibility
of uptake into food chains leading to man. Preliminary experi-
ments using a dye-string current meter array on the manipulating
arm of the ALVIN submersible indicated the presence of a
measurable directional bottom current. This was corroborated
by evidence of sediment scouring and buildup around the radioactive
waste packages. Plans are being formulated by the Office of
Radiation Programs to implant deepsea current meters around
the dump site to measure the velocity and direction of this
current and to determine its relationship to the Western Boundary
Undercurrent.
Trawls were conducted around the perimeter of the radio-
active waste dump site in May 1974. The predominant fish
caught in the 1974 trawls and seen in the July 1975, ALVIN
submersible descents was the rat-tail fish (Nematonurus
- 33 -
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(Coryphaenoides) armatus. However, neither this fish nor
any other fish or invertebrate seen in the dump site is
commercially exploited and, therefore, direct food chain transfer
within the site appears unlikely. Nevertheless, the red crab
Geryon quinquedens is found approximately 150 miles north of
the dump site and may be exploited in the future, and commercial
fish inhabit the upper layers of the water column over the dump
site; thus, the potential for food chain transfer of radioactive
materials translocated from the dump site ;.s still of concern.
Although EPA does not believe that the radioactive con-
tamination detected in this dump site presents any hazard to man
or to the marine environment, it raises many questions regarding
the ultimate fate of these released radionuclides, questions which
should be addressed before any future permits for ocean disposal
of packaged, solidified, radioactive wastes are considered.
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V. EPA RESEARCH PROGRAM
The division between permit operations, baseline surveys,
and fate and effects research within the overall EPA approach
toward implementation of the ocean dumping permit program is not
sharp; All three programs are interrelated: research information
is incorporated into permit decision. In turn, permit operations
provide the research program essential information on how to
structure effective research; the baseline surveys provide data
feedback to the permit operations program regarding the environ-
mental effects of past permit decisions while the surveys them-
selves incorporate field program design and data interpretation
based on research results.
Research efforts within EPA related to the ocean dumping
permit program have focused on three areas since the passage
of the Ocean Dumping Act in 1972. These areas are: (1) ocean
dumping permit criteria development, (2) bioassay methods
development, and (3) the development of techniques for environ-
mental impact assessment. The development and improvement
of criteria and bioassay methodology have been given the highest
priority. As these efforts have brought positive results, addi-
tional resources have been devoted to research directed toward
the assessment of environmental impact.
The environmental impact of ocean dumping is being studied
directly by in-house EPA activities, as well as through grants
and contracts. These efforts are being concentrated in three
-------
general areas; trace metal impacts, impacts of persistent
organic compounds such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, and
modeling techniques to predict impacts. In addition, technical
assistance for permit operations is provided by the EPA Office
of Research and Development.
In addition to site-specific investigations, a large portion
of the Federal effort is directed to investigating fate and effects
of municipal wastes. The following studies highlight research on
the fate and effect of sewage sludge relative to ocean dumping, or
research that can be directly applied to ocean dumping situations:
o Research by the Southern California Coastal Water Research
Project has studied the input of DDT and PCBs into Southern
California marine waters. The work, to date, indicates
that municipal wastewater discharges in Southern California
and atmospheric fallout are the prevalent sources of DDT and
PCBs. Available data indicate that surface runoff, industrial
waste inputs, and antifouling paints are less significant
sources. Other persistent organics under study include HCB
and di-and trichlorobenzene. Additionally, investigators at
the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project are
studying the effects of ocean outfalls on the structure of
benthic infauna and fish communities, the incidence of
diseases, including fin rot and tumors in flat fish, and his-
torical trends in the diversity and stability of marine eco-
systems in the Southern California Bight. They also have
- 36 -
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examined the recovery of benthic infaunal assemblages
following the cessation of an outfall discharge. More work
in this area is planned to focus on epifaunal rocky bottom
assemblages.
o The University of Rhode Island (URI) is emphasizing the
biologi'cal effects of wastes at both ecosystem and species
levels. Microcosm models of lower Narragansett Bay
follow natural flushing rate, temperature, salinity, and
light regimes while being subjected to stresses that
mimic natural mortality and sewage disposal. Thus far the
model system has been satisfactorily tested for reproducible
results and field verification is underway. Another URI
researcher is concentrating on the uptake of trace metals
by benthic species from clean and polluted pore waters
within benthic sediments. The concept of these experi-
ments is to determine the extent to which benthic species
act to cleanse sediments of entrapped heavy metals by
translocating the metals into overlying waters or into the
marine food web.
o A study at Pordham University entitled "Biological Analysis
of Primary Productivity and Related Processes in New York
Harbor as Reflective of Changing Water Quality" is designed
to investigate those processes and factors that might con-
tribute to massive algal blooms. This study will provide in-
formation relevant to the kinds of treatment required for
- 3f -
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municipal waste discharges. In addition, the study will
investigate whether the water quality of the New York Harbor
region is being affected by materials flowing into the area
from offshore sludge dumping sites.
o Researchers at Harvard University are studying the ability
of native marine microorganisms to kill human pathogens
released to the marine environment through ocean outfalls.
These results are being incorporated into a mathematical
model of the fate of coliform bacteria in the sea.
o A study of toxic metals in domestic and industrial sewage
is in progress at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). The reactivity and fate of concentrated heavy metal
wastes dissolved in acid that are dumped into seawater is
a complex problem that must be understood to establish
safe disposal practices. Transport of toxic metals depends
upon their solubility in seawater and their mobilization in
the sediment and ecosystem. The MIT approach uses com-
puter modeling of chemical solubilities and field data from
a specific study of ocean dumping to determine which
chemical, physical, hydrographic, and biological factors
govern the transport and translocation of toxic metals
dumped at sea.
o The impact of different thicknesses of sewage sludge on the
survival of representative invertebrates has been studied
to determine the assimilative capacity of the marine
- 38 -
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benthos to sewage wastes. This research led to a pre-
liminary design for a multispecies bioassay for materials
dumped at sea.
o Indices of population dynamics and community structure,
including measures of species composition, diversity,
richness, dominance, density, and biotic homogeneity, are
being reviewed to determine those most suitable as in-
dicators of the effects of ocean dumping.
o Sampling methods for the benthos, plankton, and fish
communities at ocean disposal sites are being developed
to provide a basis for statistically valid analyses of the
health of marine ecosystems.
o Models are being developed to simulate trophic levels,
concentrations of sewage sludge, and mortality, growth,
reproductive success, and bioaccumulation of trace metals.
Through an inter agency agreement between EPA and
ERDA, the Puerto Rico Nuclear Center's research reactor
is used for neutron activation analysis of heavy metals
from sludge as they are incorporated into biological
systems. To evaluate metal uptake and concentration
where it occurs, mixed plankton, benthic infauna, and
epibenthic marine organisms are analyzed following ex-
posure to metal-laden sludge.
o A survey of the dynamics of benthic communities and
pollutant levels in a clean area of the New York Bight
- 39 -
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is in the third year of a long-term study, which will
provide a baseline against which changes in biotic
conditions at disposal sites in the Bight can be
assessed.
o A biomonitoring system using the caged animal concept
has been developed. The primary purpose is to show the
feasibility of such a system in determining zones with high
pollutant bioavailability around submerged discharges of
waste. The concept uses a taut line buoy system, from
which nylon mesh bags are supported at selected depths,
and a metal cage rests directly on the bottom. The
organism selected was a mussel, a species which readily
concentrates chlorinated hydrocarbons and rapidly responds
to environmental levels of such pollutants.
Field results indicate a direct relation between uptake of
DDT and PCBs and proximity of bioindicators to con-
taminated sediments or wastewater plumes. Plans are to
use this monitoring system near three major submarine
outfalls, including a sludge discharge line that has signifi-
cantly high concentrations of PCBs and DDT. This planned
effort should shed some light on the degree to which sedi-
ments are contaminated by sewage effluent and sewage
sludge discharge, and make it possible to assess whether
selected sediments are a major source of chlorinated
hydrocarbons in the biota.
-------
In addition to studies at specific sites, EPA is performing or
sponsoring a number of fate and effects research projects on
industrial wastes. The projects are largely aimed at perfecting
appropriate bioassay techniques and methods of predicting impacts.
Bioassays to establish potential toxicity of a given waste to
be dumped at sea to species indigenous to the dump site have
been under development. EPA's Region II has employed assays
on a zooplanktonic copepod, a phytoplanktonic diatom, and a fish
to determine the manner of dumping to be employed by an appli-
cant as an ocean dumping permit condition. Although it is
recognized that bioassays employing representative indigenous
species do not guarantee the integrity of an ecosystem, it is
often the only available index of environmental safety. Applied
conservatively to permit conditions, bioassay results plus a
judgmental safety margin in rate of waste disposal may be the
best available information on which to regulate ocean dumping.
As part of the research effort, a manual of standard bioassay *
techniques has been compiled and revised as the state of know-
ledge has advanced.
Man's effects on the marine environment are being investi-
gated by sediment core analysis. The history of pollutants,
other than heavy metals, including petroleum, PCBs and DDT,
plutonium isotopes, and man-mobilized minerals, is studied
through a grant to the University of California. The historical
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changes in these materials, in sediment cores, are being used to
predict future environmental levels, given past and present usage
patterns. Variation in pollutant concentration with depth indicates
that recent sediments are most polluted. Environmental manage-
ment of waste disposal depends upon predictive capabilities
developed by such methods.
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VI DREDGED MATERIAL DISPOSAL
A. Basis for Regulation
Section 103 of the Act vests responsibility in the COE, in
cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency, for autho —
rizing the transportation of dredged material for the purpose of
dumping it in ocean waters.
The COE published Final Regulations for the Dredged Material
Permit Program on April 3, 1974, and subsequently republished
them on July 25, 1975 as 40 CFR 209.120. Dredged material
disposal by any Federal agency other than the COE is governed
by this regulation. Thus, such Federal disposal activities receive
the same scrutiny as any disposal activity by the private sector.
The regulations require that a determination be made that any
proposed disposal of dredged material will not adversely affect
human health, welfare, amenities, the marine environment, ecolo-
gical systems, or economic activities to an unreasonable degree.
The regulation also provides, pursuant to the Act, for an independent
determination of the need for ocean dumping. The determination is
to be based on an evaluation of the potential effect which the denial
of a permit would have on navigation, economic and industrial
development, foreign and domestic commerce, and on other possible
methods and locations for disposal. All COE projects involving
ocean disposal are subject to extensive coordination with other
Federal and local agencies, as well as the general public, before
the proposed disposal can proceed. Further, COE dredging will not
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commence until an environmental assessment and, if required,
an impact statement has been prepared.
B. Volume of Dredged Material Ocean Dumped
Table 6 presents volumes of dredged material dumped
in ocean waters during Calendar Years 1974 and 1975. The total
volume dumped in 1975 indicates an approximate 12% reduction
dumped during 1975. As is readily apparent, the major portion
of the reduction (and, in fact, the greatest volume) occurred in,
the Lower Mississippi Valley Division. This Division indicated
a tremendous increase in volume in Calendar Year 1974 over tine
previous year. This resulted from the aftermath of hurricanes
the year before thereby emphasizing that dredging requirements
placed upon the COE are subject to a very great extent to the
effects of nature, and may vary greatly from one year to the
next.
The sizable increase in dredging and disposal noted in the
South Atlantic Division results from new outer channel dredging
requirements of this Division. This dredging started late in 1974
and increased during 1975. It is anticipated that this volume will
decrease during 1976 to some lower level of maintenance dredging.
C. Dredged Material Research
Research into fate and effects of dredged material and alter-
natives to ocean dumping is undertaken by several Federal agencies.
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TABLE 6
DREDGED MATERIAL DUMPED IN OCEAN
Calendar Year 1974
Calendar Year 1975
New England
Division
North Atlantic
Division
South Atlantic
Division
Lower Mississippi
Valley Division
1 Southwestern
^ Division
South Pacific
Division
North Pacific
Division
Pacific Ocean
Division
Corps of Engrs.
(Cu. Yds.)
1,340,400
8,234,543
2,931,748
54, 600, 000
9,743,982
7,162,918
5,982,280
Permits Total
(Cu. Yds. ) (Cu. YdsD
921,800 2,262,200
3,475,849 11,710,392
2,979,500 5,911,248
54,600,000
9,743,982
1,292,500 8,455,418
5,982,280
Corps of Eners.
(Cu. Yds.)
551,000.
10, 500, 000
11,360,250
33, 508, 087
8,581,253
2,516,000
7,473,792
30, 000
TX — KnA — ftBA
Permits
(Cu. Yds.)
331,500
3, 100, 000
355,000
12,000
None
190,480
135,000
9,182,000
Total
(Cu. Yds.)
882, 500
13,600,000
11,715,250
33,520,087
8,581,253
2,706,480
7,608,792
9,212,000
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The Federal Government's primary thrust in dredged material
research is the Dredged Material Research Program (DMRP)
of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Less comprehensive
research efforts on dredged material were supported by EPA
and NOAA during 1975.
Dredged Material Research Program (COE)
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Dredged Material Research
Program (DMRP) began in March 1973. One objective of this 5-year
$30 million program was to provide definitive information on the
environmental impact of dredging and disposal of dredged material.
A second objective of the research was to develop technically
satisfactory, environmentally compatible, and economically feasible
alternatives for dredging and disposal. The program is being con-
ducted by the Corps' Waterways Experiment Station (WES) at
Vicksburg, Mississippi. The scope of DMRP includes upland,
freshwater, and marine environs. Over 30 percent of the effort
deals directly with ocean-related dredged material research.
DMRP comprises four projects, each directed by a full-time
project manager and each with its own support staff. The four
projects are: (1) Environmental Impacts and Criteria Develop-
ment Project, (2) Habitat Development Project, (3) Disposal
Operations Project, and (4) Productive Uses Project. The
research effort in the Environmental Impacts and Criteria
Development Project is devoted to studying the environmental
impacts of both contained land and open-water disposal. In
addition, this research is developing valuable regulatory criteria.
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In August 1975 the former Aquatic Disposal Research Project
was retitled the Environmental Impacts and Criteria Development
Project. This redesignation reflects the generally increased
emphasis on multiple aspects of the development of criteria and
guidelines for regulating disposal operations in terms of both
water quality and biological effects. Promulgation of regulatory
criteria for dredged and fill material under the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) has been the impetus for the
development of detailed evaluative procedures and interpretive
guidelines for Section 404(b) of that Act. Also revision and
promulgation of criteria for the Ocean Dumping Act has empha-
sized the need that expanded criteria research be incorporated
into the project. Laboratory investigations of the acute and chronic
water quality impacts of open-water disposal have been completed
and have clearly delineated the problem areas from the nonproblem
areas. Biological research in the laboratory is nearing completion
and will provide much needed information to enable the environ-
mental manager to minimize or negate any biological impact
associated with aquatic disposal. Characterization of the
pollution potential of upland containment areas has been
initiated with completion of 6 to 10 selected sites. This project
is now the focal point for research on the effects of both land
and open-water disposal.
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There are ttiree locations for major field investigations to study
the physical, biological, and chemical impacts of open-water dis-
posal, all of which relate to ocean dumping. They are in the
Pacific Ocean just off the mouth of the Columbia River; the Gulf
of Mexico off Galveston, Texas; and the newly initiated estuarine
site in Elliott Bay (Puget Sound) for disposal of material from
the Duwamish Waterway near Seattle, Washington. The Duwamish
Waterway site -was selected to replace the cancelled investigation
at Batons Neck, New York, where field activities were terminated
because of local public opposition.
To date, baseline research and controlled disposal investi-
gations are completed and postdisposal monitoring is currently
underway at the first two sites.
Columbia River Site - At the ocean disposal site off the
Columbia River, baseline and postdisposal physical and chemical
field studies have been completed. Sediment physical character-
istics are being used to define the spatial distribution and volume
of dredged material placed at the site; and hydrodynarnic para-
meters, turbidity, and meteorological data will be integrated with
sediment data to describe movements and temporal changes in
the dredged material volume and properties. Baseline, disposal
operation, and postdisposal chemical and biological data are
being interpreted to ascertain overall impacts. Benthic studies
have concentrated on the rate and extent of recolonization of the
dredged material deposit; physical and chemical data on sediments
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will be used to explain recolonization patterns. Impacts on
plankton and fisheries are also being evaluated.
Galveston Site - Disposal of noncontaminated silty sand and
silty clay dredged material from the Galveston entrance channel
and contaminated dredged material from the Texas City Ship
Channel has been completed and postdisposal research efforts
are in progress. Tentative results indicate that manganese and
ammonia were the only two constituents released in measurable
concentrations to the water column during disposal.
Heavy metals and nutrients were either found to show no sig-
nificant release or concentrations decreased during disposal
operations. Chlorinated hydrocarbon studies are inconclusive at
this point; however, initial field results suggest little or no
release from the contaminated sediments. Initial postdisposal
data indicate no apparent chronic impact on water quality at
experimental disposal sites. Biological studies of the acute impact
of dredged material disposal on planktonic, benthic, and demersal
assemblages are complete. Longer term studies of the rates and
patterns of benthic assemblage recolonization of the experimental
dredged material deposits are continuing.
Elliot Bay Site - The latest addition to the aquatic disposal
field investigations is the disposal site in Puget Sound. Routine
channel maintenance dredged material selected for this site
originates from the Duwamish Waterway. The pilot survey and
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selection of the disposal site and selection of a sampling station
for organisms, sediments, and water have been completed.
This study will focus on the mobility and possible uptake of poly-
chlorinated biphenyls and selected heavy metals contained in the
dredged sediment. The results will be compared with those at
a confined upland disposal of the most contaminated material from
the Duwamish. EPA is participating in this work with the COE
through an inter agency agreement.
Various stages of report preparation are underway for each
study site. These evolve as DMRP technical reports which are
widely distributed.
Two new work units were begun in late 1975 dealing with the
movement of dredged material. The first is a field investigation
entitled "Effects of Winter Storms on the Stability and Fate of
Dredged Material in Subaqueous Disposal Areas. " This work unit
was initiated in response to recommendations of a prior work unit
titled "Assessment of Factors Controlling the Long-Term Fate of
Subaqueous Banks of Dredged Material. " The research will in-
vestigate the effects of major winter storms on the hydraulic
regime and the stability and fate of deposits of dredged material
at actual and potential open-water sites in central Long Island
Sound.
The second work unit is "investigation of the Physical
Characteristics of Dredged Material and the Effects of Dispersion
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Behavior During Open-Water Disposal Operations. " This work
unit is designed to field verify an estuarine dispersion model
developed under a prior work unit. The objectives are to quanti-
tatively define the physical processes that .control the dispersion
and disposition of dredged material that is released from a barge,
hopper dredge, or pipeline and is conveyed to and emplaced upon
the bottom at selected sites, and to compare these results with
the theoretical (simulated) results of the model. This work unit
will have direct application to ocean dumping operations.
Another recently completed task area concentrated on the
laboratory evaluations of dredged material disposal. Results of
these investigations have shown that acute chemical effects on the
water column at a disposal site are insignificant or completely
nonexistent. Only ammonium, iron, and manganese were shown
to be released to the water column in quantities significantly
greater than background. None of these constituents is considered
highly toxic, and all are required nutrients for organisms. Mobil-
ization of toxic metals from the redeposited dredged material over
long time intervals was insignificant or was in the direction from
the water to the sediment rather than from the sediment to the
water. Nutrients were released in significant quantities. Almost
all of the sediments studied were found to contain at least trace
quantities of PCBs, DDT, and isomers of DDT. Certain other
chlorinated hydrocarbons were found depending on sediment
location. Very little or no chlorinated hydrocarbons were found
to be released to the water column during simulated disposal.
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They remained -with the solid-phase sediment material. These
findings are being verified by field investigations and will be
tested at other DMRP field test sites.
Another preliminary conclusion generated as a result of these
short-term high.-intensity laboratory investigations is that oxidation-
reduction conditions, which are generally found in open-water disposal
»
areas, actually appear to inhibit the release of most sediment con-
taminants rather than to enhance their release. Anaerobic sedi-
ments disposed in oxygenated water are found to be an efficient
scavenger of dissolved contaminants already present in the water
column. Sediment organic fractions were found to account for
only-a small fraction of mobile heavy metals. Copper was the only
exception. Sediment interstitial water concentrations at the dredged
site were found to be similar to those concentrations at the disposal
site. Movement out of the redeposited material at the sediment/
water interface was minimal and similar to that found in natural
undisturbed sediments. In summary, laboratory findings show that
the intermediate release of toxic constituents due to aquatic disposal
is negligible.
Another area of concern to Corps scientists is the effects of
dredging and disposal, including ocean disposal, on aquatic organisms.
A specific work task was designed to examine the response of
representative organisms to the previously mentioned physico-
chemical conditions. Laboratory investigations were made in 1975
on the effects of resuspended dredged material (turbidity) on repre-
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sentative marine, estuarine, and fresh-water organisms at
concentrations up to 20 grams per liter over a 21-day exposure
time. This resulted in the mortality of only a small number of
the organisms being assayed from freshwater and estuarine non-
contaminated and moderately contaminated sediments. Sediments
from the highly contaminated Oakland Inner Harbor area had critical
exposure-mortality effects on marine organisms at 5-day 20-g/l
and 7/day 4-g/l exposure-concentration levels. Shrimp, clams,
shiner, perch, and rainbow trout were some of the organisms studied.
It must be emphasized that the turbidity concentration and duration
(2-20g/l for 21 days) were much greater than dredged material dis -
posal operations. The normal range is 5-200 mg/1 for a few hours.
Vertical migration investigations, completed by the University
of Delaware in 1975 for the Corps, show that representative bottom -
dwelling organisms have a significant ability to migrate upward
through coverings of various depths of dredged material. Those
organisms most severely impacted were sand-dwelling organisms
that had a clayey sediment deposited on them and mud-dwelling
organisms covered with a sandy dredged material. Effects of the
physico-chemical nature of sediments on organism response will
continue to be evaluated. However, these initial tests indicate
the desirability of choosing a disposal site characterized by a
substrate similar to the material to be disposed.
In other investigations, the uptake of pesticides by benthic
organisms was shown to be related to the concentrations of
pesticides in interstitial waters. Organisms also take up
pesticides from the solid-phase material, but to a much lesser
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degree. Consequently, to predict acute effects, the leaching
characteristics of dredged material should be evaluated before
disposal. Studies of heavy metals availability to benthic
organisms from the solid-phase portion of dredged material were
initiated in 1975. Sediments from the Houston Ship Channel were
chosen as the contaminated dredged material. Shrimp, clams,
and polychaete worms were used as test organisms. Preliminary
results indicate a general toxicity of the sediments, but little
uptake of a wide selection of heavy metals.
During 1975 the Corps also specifically studied the contamina-
tion status of dredged materials. To define the contamination status
of dredged material required development of chemical and biological
procedures for determining the contamination properties of various
types of dredged material on a regional basis. Research in this
area has shown dredged material to be a complex combination
of naturally occurring silicate-soil material, bound and unbound
water, an organic phase, and a range of contaminant and non-
contaminant elements distributed within the complex. Elemental
partitioning, a procedure used to characterize a sediment,
showed that the release of chemical constituents from sediments
is not dependent upon the total constituents present in the sedi-
ment. Consequently, it is concluded that total or bulk sediment
analysis, which measures the sum of the native and contaminant
forms of a constituent, does not measure the potential effect
-------
of dredged material on water quality. These same studies also
show that chemical contaminants in sediments are unequally
distributed among a number of chemically defined phases.
Release of contaminants from dredged material varied from site
to site and was a complex function of the chemically defined
phases; however, there was a statistically significant relationship
between the elutriate test and those sediment phases shown to be
mobile or active.
In 1975 a second study. Development of Dredged Material
Disposal Criteria, was undertaken to evaluate the factors that will
influence the performance of the elutriate test. Results suggest
that the elutriate test response is dependent upon the oxygen con -
centration during the mixing procedure and insensitive to most
other experimental factors. The only constituents that were
generally observed to be released in potentially significant
quantities during the elutriate test evaluation were ammonia and
manganese. Several constituents were found to decrease. These
results were verified in the field during 1975 at actual dredging
operations. The elutriate test evaluation study indicated that
the observed response would vary with the source of the dredged
material, which suggests that the elutriate test would be
sensitive to regional variations.
Solution-phase bioassay procedures developed by EPA were
modified for use with the elutriate test in 1975. Biological
assessment of the elutriate demonstrated that elutriates prepared
from aeveral iypes of dredged material would elicit a variety of
response from protozoan, bacterial, and algal cultures. These
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results also suggest that the elutriate test can be used with a wide
variety of sediments. To properly interpret elutriate test results
or bioassay results in terms of potential environmental impacts
in the water column at a disposal site, additional information is
being gathered on the degree of dilution and dispersion that will
occur at a disposal site.
Dredged Material Disposal Criteria Research (EPA)
EPA has a responsibility under Section 404 of the FWPCA,
and the Act to provide scientific criteria for the disposal of
dredged materials. To develop sufficient data on which to base
the required criteria, it is essential that EPA maintain its own
research. In 1975 EPA's research program on dredged material
fate and effects included the following studies:
- A grant to Columbia University is in progress to study con-
centration and bioaccumulation of trace metals attributable
to disposal of dredged material and sewage sludge in sedi-
ments and overlying waters. Scientists are sampling the
Hudson estuary and adjacent coastal waters. Natural
radioactive tracers and heavy metals are being used. The
sediment/water interchange of these materials is being
studied by chemical analysis to determine the rate and
nature of pollutants released from dredged materials into
estuarine and coastal waters and biota. The study is also
investigating the role of bacterial communities and organic
polymers in heavy metal mobilization.
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- Preliminary dredged material studies off Narragansett Bay
have indicated the possible distribution of materials in fine
grain sediments slightly beyond the limits of the dumpsite.
I
Clayey harbor sediments were deposited on a sand substrate;
consequently, the fine grain sediments contain higher natural
abundances of a wide-range of heavy metal than the sand.
These findings prompted an in-depth comprehensive field
study conducted in October 1975. , This study focused on
benthic biota, including foraminifera and edible shellfish.
The objective is to carefully delineate the area of influence
around this dumpsite.
- The University of Michigan had a grant to study the effects
of dredging on water quality in large lake systems. The
major objective was to determine the rate and mechanisms
of exchange of chemical species between sediments and watex*
during disposal of dredged material in open lake waters. The
study has been completed and a report is being prepared.
Dredged Material Research (NOAA)
NOAA's Dredged Material Research is concentrated in the
National Sea Grant Program and the National Marine Fisheries
Service. Grants under this program include studies of;
- Marsh regeneration on dredged material—by investigators
in the Departments of Biology and Soil Sciences at the
University of North Carolina, Seeding and transplanting have
been utilized to establish Spartina on dredged material.
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Breakwater protection devices have been found to assist
in stabilization of dredged material shorelines. Continuous
monitoring" nas proved that transplantation can be used to
restore disturbed areas.
Effects of dredged material disposal on benthic animals by
investigators at the Graduate School of Oceanography at the
University of Rhode Island. Major objectives are to deter-
mine the status of recolonization of dredged material by
benthic invertebrates, identify sources of colonizing species,
and predict future development of the benthos in disturbed
areas.
It has been determined that: (1) dredged material areas still
have low densities of benthic animals four years after
deposition, and (2) colonization of silty dredged material
has been by members of natural silty communities.
A management plan for dredged material in Central Long
Island Sound by researchers at the State University of
New York.
The effects of wave processes on the erosion of dredged
material islands, a new Sea Grant project at Texas A&M.
Field and model studies are being conducted to provide a
predictory capability necessary for site selection.
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VII. OCEAN INCINERATION: A New Technique in Ocean Dispos al
Since September 1974 EPA has interpreted that ocean incineration
comes under the regulatory mandates established by the Act and,
therefore, requires an ocean dumping permit from EPA and in-
volves the designation of sites. EPA believes that ocean inciner-
ation is an emerging viable technological alternative, under
carefully controlled conditions, to the direct dumping of the material
into the marine environment. Ocean incineration is a waste burning
process whereby chemical wastes are taken aboard specially de-
signed and equipped vessels and transported to specified locations
in the ocean. The onboard incinerators are fuel fired to a pre-
determined temperature, the waste valves are opened, and waste
is fed into the incinerator. The nature of wastes being incinerated
is such that once they hit the pre-heated incinerator they ignite
and continue to burn.
On October 4, 1974, a public hearing was held in response to
Shell Chemical Company1 s application for a permit to incinerate
organochlorine wastes in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of the
hearing Shell Chemical Company was granted a research permit
authorizing at-sea incineration of 4,200 metric tons (one ship
load) of organochlorine wastes subject to specific conditions and
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monitoring activities. A second research permit was issued on
November 27, 1974, and an interim permit was issued on
December 11, 1974, for incineration of an additional 8,400 metric
tons of waste. The incineration of Shell wastes was completed
on January 7, 1975, and EPA published a final report on the
results of the research burns in July 1975.
During the organochlorine waste incineration tests in the Gulf
of Mexico, EPA undertook a sampling and analysis program to
acquire the data necessary for evaluating the incinerator waste
destruction efficiency. Although these efforts provide an assess-
ment of the acute effects of incinerating organochlorine wastes,
a better understanding of the potential long-term effects of ocean
incineration is needed. Evaluation of longMerm effects is depen-
dent upon the advancement of at-sea monitoring technology which
is in its early stages of development.
To enable refined analysis of the potential fox* long-term
impacts of ocean incineration, EPA is developing a test program
which will serve three purposes:
1. Evaluate a test protocol for ocean incineration based
on a similar protocol developed for land incineration. If
successful, the test protocol may then be used to standar-
dize source assessment equipment and techniques for
monitoring ocean incineration.
2. Conduct tests to determine if additional criteria for
stack gas emissions are needed which could serve as
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guidelines for limiting emissions, if appropriate.
3-. Acquire additional information to determine if further
assessments and evaluations of potential long-term im-
pacts to the environment are required.
The test program being developed for the incineration
process at sea is based on recent studies of land-based incinera-
tion sponsored by EPA. These studies have resulted in the
development of a methodology to characterize the emissions from
orgnochlorine incineration and the adequacy of new waste incin-
eration technology. This new methodology, if successfully
applied to ocean incineration, would extend the current state-of-
the-art for the monitoring of incineration at sea. Each new
incinerator design and each category of waste with different thermo-
chemical properties could then be evaluated by a single standard
or protocol, thus providing a uniform basis of comparison of the
projected impacts to the environment.
On January 9, 1975, the U.S. Air Force applied for an
ocean dumping permit for the ocean incineration of its stocks of
Herbicide Orange. They have also requested EPA to assist them
in exploring the feasibility of reformulation or reprocessing.
Public hearings were held on the permit application in Hono -
lulu on April 25, 1975, and in San Francisco on April 28, 1975.
At these hearings the Air Force presented extensive testimony
indicating that the proposed ocean incineration would do no harm
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to the marine environment or cause any effects in the air.
They also indicated an intent to investigate reprocessing
proposals t>y conducting pilot plant studies on a small amount
of the Herbicide Orange to see whether the claims made by
the reprocessing firms were valid. They requested a recon-
vening of tine hearing in Washington, D. C., at a later date,
after the pilot plant studies were completed. The pilot plant
studies were initiated by the end of 1975, and the final report
with recommendations are anticipated to be completed by mid-
1976.
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VIII. OCEAN DUMPING CONVENTION
The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution By
Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter entered into force on
August 30, 1975. In accordance with the provisions of
Article CIV(l) of the Conventions the first meeting of the
contracting parties was held in London, England, on
December 17 and 18, 1975. The main objectives of the
meeting were to designate an organization to carry out the
Secretariat duties, provide guidance on agenda items to be
considered at the First Consultative Meeting, and to esta-
blish a tentative date for the first meeting.
Delegations representing 22 contracting parties, 50
observer states, and 13 observer organizations attended
the meeting. The contracting parties adopted resolution
LDC(7) Rev 1 which designated the Inter-Governmental
Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) to be respon-
sible for Secretariat duties in relation to the Convention.
Tentative agenda items were adopted and the date for the
first consultative meeting was scheduled for no later than
September, 1976.
In view of the importance attached to the Ocean Dumping
Convention, the State Department established a subcommittee
within the Shipping Coordinating Committee to ensuxe coordi-
-------
nation among government agencies and to provide for
public comment on U. S. positions regarding the implemen-
tation of the Convention. The first meeting of the Advisory
Committee on Ocean Dumping was held on March 25, 1976,
and was chaired by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The purpose of the meeting was to obtain comments on the
proposed U.S. submission to IMCO on the proposed agenda
for the first consultative meeting of the contracting parties
which is scheduled for September 20-24, 1976, at IMCO
Headquarters. A second advisory committee meeting will be
held to discuss the U. S. positions on the various agenda items
prior to the September meeting.
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IX PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM
Section 222. 5 of the Ocean Dumping Final Regulations and
Criteria provides that any person may request in writing a public
hearing to consider the issuance or denial of any ocean dumping
permit application following public notice of receipt of such
application.
During 1975 ten public hearings were held - one by Region I,
three by Region II (one each on municipal and industrial permit
applications on the mainland, and one in Puerto Rico), three by
Region III, two by Region VI, and one by Headquarters.
Hearing attendance averaged 45 at the Region II hearings, 50
at the Region III hearings, and 25 at the Region VI hearings.
Representatives of EPA and the applicants, other Federal agencies,
Federal, State, and local officials, environmental groups,
academia, concerned citizens and the news media attended these
hearings. Those who wished to make statements on the proposed
dumping did so.
In May of 1975 an adjudicatory hearing was held at EPA
Headquarters to consider the City of Philadelphia's challenge to
*
the order issued to that City requiring it to cease ocean dumping
by 1981. The States of Maryland and Virginia and several
environmental groups took an active part in that proceeding.
Attendance at the five-day. hearing was large, and media cover-
age was extensive. As a result of that hearing, the Administrator
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affirmed the Regional Administrator's determination to require
the City of Philadelphia to phase out its ocean dumping by 1981.
Since the ocean dumping permit program began, public
interest has "been impressive. In letters to EPA and to Senators
and Congres smen, citizens from all parts of the country have
expressed concern about the oceans and the possible effects of
ocean dumping- Newspaper stories on ocean dumping also bring
letters of re sponse, and those who attend public hearings often
express theix* concern about pollution of the oceans and what is
being done about it.
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X. ALTERNATIVES TO OCEAN DUMPING AND THE FUTURE
OF OCEAN DUMPING AS A MEANS OF DISPOSAL
In its first three years of regulatory authority over ocean
dumping, EPA has taken a highly restrictive approach toward
applying the criteria embodied in the Act by requiring all dumpers
to actively seek alternatives to ocean dumping even when their
wastes have met the published EPA criteria for issuing permits.
During these two years EPA has brought all ocean dumping in the
United States under full regulatory control and has required many-
dumpers either to stop dumping immediately or to phase out their
dumping activities within the next few years.
EPA has taken this approach because of the general lack of
specific knowledge about the impacts of waste materials on marine
ecosystems. As the results of research now underway become
available, it may be possible to become more selective in per-
mitting the disposal of some wastes by ocean dumping if it can be
demonstrated that the disposal will not cause unreasonable degra-
dation of the marine environment.
EPA is in the process of preparing proposed revisions to the
existing criteria; these proposed revisions will not change the
regulatory approach used in the program, but they will provide
an additional measure of environmental safety, as well as additional
flexibility in the long term management of ocean dumping sites.
The proposed criteria establish levels of impact which define
"unreasonable degradation" on a quantitative basis based on
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monitoring pf each dump site. The proposed criteria will
allow EPA to modify the use of each site to avoid unreasonable
degradation.
By using this approach it will be possible to permit some
ocean dumping of certain materials which meet the criteria.
without causing significant damage to the marine environment.
However, at the present time most of the wastes being dumped
do not meet the criteria, and, as a consequence, the dumpers of
these wastes are being required to seek other alternatives for
ultimate disposal of wastes whi'ch might cause unreasonable
degradation. In particular, it is the intent of EPA Regions II and
III to stop the dumping of all sewage sludge in the ocean by 1981.
The Cities of Philadelphia and Camden are required to end
ocean dumping of sewage sludge by or before 1981. To meet
the 1981 deadline, Philadelphia has a program underway to select
and implement alternatives. Land application of sludge to pasture
land and strip mines is being instituted on a pilot basis and
composting is being studied. In addition, the City has begun
a sludge giveaway program and is expending considerable effort
in exploring various sophisticated technologies such as the wet-air
oxidation of sludge coupled with pyrolysis.
The construction of a regional incinerator in 1980 should
solve Camd^n'a sludge disposal problem. In the interim, land
application is being examined as an alternative to ocean dumping.
All other* dumping of sewage sludge is by municipalities
located in El3 A Region II. To meet the goal of ending dumping
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by 1981, EPA Region II in conjunction with the States of New
York and New Jersey, has initiated a comprehensive program
for development of land based alternatives to ocean dumping
for these municipalities. The first phase-of the study, a
technical examination of applicable alternative methods, was
completed in June 1975. The report recommended that the most
desirable alternative for the urban metropolitan area, not consider-
ing ocean dumping, was dewatering of the sludge with filter presses
followed by pyrolysis. Current estimates indicate that the imple-
mentation of this process would cost one-half billion dollars. The
report also recommended that a small-scale pilot study be started
immediately to develop engineering design parameters needed
prior to full-scale demonstration. EPA will fund the pilot
study during this fiscal year using Federal Water Pollution Control
Act funds. Phase II, which is scheduled for completion in June
1976, will develop in specific terms a recommended technical
plan for sludge management on a regional basis for the New
York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area. This plan will include site
locations, capital and operating costs, energy recovery, and an
environmental impact assessment for the processes recommended
in Phase I. The third phase, also under way and scheduled for
completion in July 1976, will develop the legal and institutional
arrangements for authorization and administration of the
operating program identified in Phases I and II. The completion
of this three-phase comprehensive study will provide the frame-
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work for implementation of a sound program of land-based
alternatives to ocean dumping of sludge in the New York-New
Jersey Metropolitan Area.
The marine environment is, however, only a part of the total
environment which must be used for the ultimate disposal of
wastes, and problems which affect the marine environment and
solutions to these problems must be viewed in terms of their
interrelation with the total environment. For example, EPA
under the mandate of the Act is in the process of phasing out
ocean dumping of materials which do not meet tfcie criteria,
but this creates other environmental problems. Some alter-
native form of disposal must be developed for each waste that
is phased out of ocean dumping. Considerable research is going
into the development of alternative methods of disposal which will
reduce the environmental effects of the ultimate disposal of the
unavoidable residue - be it solid, liquid, or gas - either on the
land, in the water, or in the air. EPA is concerned particularly
about the problem of the ultimate disposal of sewage sludge, which
will be produced in ever increasing quantities as municipalities
install more advanced forms of sewage treatment.
EPA, continuing the work of its predecessor agencies, has
been developing environmentally acceptable methods for the
disposal and management of municipal sludge since the enact-
ment of the first Federal Water Pollution Control L,aws. The
study of alte x*natives to ocean dumping of municipal sludge
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normally has not been funded through the ocean dumping
program, but under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
since municipal sludge is an integral part of the sewage treat-
ment process.
The initial phases of the research program were concerned
with the characteristics and dewatering properties of primary
and secondary sludge because of the need to dewater sludge
before its ultimate disposal. The current research and demon-
stration program emphasis has shifted toward development of
improved technology for returning sludge to the environment in
an ecologically acceptable manner. In FY 76 nearly $3 million
was allocated on such programs, including secondary health
and ecological effects of the alternatives to ocean disposal.
The emphasis of these projects was on beneficial utilization,
i.e., land application for soil enhancement, crop production
and reclamation of disturbed lands, the production of energy,
and resource recovery.
EPA plans to continue its comprehensive program for
municipal wastewater sludge management. This program will
concentrate on demonstration of new technologies which will
recycle or reuse sludges, or recover residuals contained in
the sludges. For example, new technologies are being
examined to determine if there are cost-effective methods
for producing or recovering marketable products in the
processing of sludge. These products include metals re-
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eovery, organic acids, fertilizer bases, soil conditioner,
methane, and the recovery of process heat.
Health effects research will include investigations into land
application, disinfection, and composting. The health effects of
airborne contaminants from incinerators and the improved
technology for reducing or eliminating pollution emissions will
be evaluated, it is also EPA's intent to continue cooperative
agreements with other Federal, State and local agencies.
In addition to research and demonstration programs, EPA
is undertaking pilot studies for the design of new and innovative
technologies for sludge as well as studies of regional solutions
to sludge issues. Presently over $11 million has either been
obligated or is m the process of being committed for such
studies. This work is being done under the FWPCA.
One alternative showing particular promise is the composting
of sludge with various bulking agents such as wood chips, bark
or solid waste. EPA has a joint project with the Department of
Agriculture in Beltsville, Maryland and is conducting a compost-
ing demonstration program in Bangor, Maine. Composting
stabilizes the sludge and if designed properly can kill pathogens
in the process. The land area required for composting as a means
of stabilizing sludges is small and in some cases an energy saving
can be realized by using this method. The product resulting from
composting has been shown to be an excellent soil conditioner.
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Another alternative being used by many cities is the direct
application of liquid or dried sludge to farm land or forests.
EPA estimates that about 25% of the municipal sludges are
currently being disposed of in this manner. This method has
been frequently used to provide all or part of the fertilizer
requirements for growing forage crops and grain. Such direct
applications of sludge have also been used to reclaim strip mined
or otherwise disturbed lands (shifting sand dunes, mine spoils,
etc.). EPA has initiated studies to survey the results of such
city programs to document more adequately current nationwide
practices in land application of sludges.
Composting and direct application of sludges are examples of
alternative methods of sludge management where the nutrient
value of the sludge is being used. One firm is working with
adding nitrogen to the sludge so that it becomes a high grade
fertilizer. Another option for this beneficial use of sludges
that has been an accepted practice in several areas of the
country for many years is the commercial operator who simply
bags dried sludge and sells it as a soil conditioner. However,
any disposal/management alternative which results in sludge
being applied to the land creates the potential for pollutants,
particularly trace metals and nitrates, to leach into ground
water or enter the food chain. To date, no link to adverse
health effects from land application has been demonstrated
by EPA's research efforts, but work is continuing in this
area.
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In urban areas where the scarcity of open land inhibits the
employment of any alternatives using land application, pyrolysis
may be the answer. Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of
materials into gases, liquids, and char in the absence or near
absence of oxygen. The gases and liquids can be used as a fuel
and the char is amenable to landfill disposal. A pilot study at
Orange County, California, is being designed to convert the sludge
pyrolysis char into activated carbon. The carbon will then be
recycled to treat the sewage. In this way it may be possible to
upgrade the conventional activated sludge system to achieve a
substantial reduction in the quantity of sludge. Such a system
can also produce its own power needs as well as some excess
power. In another program, a pilot pyrolysis plant converting
solid waste has been built by EPA in conjunction with the City
of Baltimore, Maryland. At present, the operation of the plant is
awaiting the correction of technological problems encountered dur-
ing the plant 'g trial run. Another pyrolysis system using solid
waste, sludge and coal is being developed in South Charleston,
West Virginia with the aid of an EPA grant. Finally, EPA Region
II has provided a grant of $169, 000 to the Interstate Sanitation
Commission for the conversion of an existing sludge incinerator
into a pilot pyrolysis plant for sewage sludge. Once constructed,
it is expectecj that the plant should significantly reduce air pollu-
tion problem^, and the residue should be of better quality for
landfill disposal. However, until pyrolysis is perfected, tradi-
tional sludge incineration may be the best sludge disposal
alternative fo»r those urban areas without air pollution problems.
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At present, the elimination of ocean dumping is a laudable
goal. The pursuit of alternative methods of waste disposal
must be continued. However, there are many remaining
unanswered questions regarding the overall problem of the
pollution of the marine environment, what is known about it,
and what are the impacts of alternative methods of disposal.
There may be circumstances where ocean dumping of certain
wastes may cause no harm to the ocean or may be the most
overall environmentally acceptable solution. Thus, while
EPA is continuing to scrutinize carefully all applications for
ocean disposal permits to insure that harmful dumping is
eliminated as rapidly as possible, it is investigating the
broader issue of sludge utilization or disposal to develop the
most environmentally accepted waste management program.
The general problem of pollution of the marine environment
has numerous components, of which pollution by ocean dumping
is only one. Other significant sources of pollution are ocean
outfalls, discharges from offshore platforms, and land runoff
from rivers and estuaries. Most forms of pollution from these
sources are regulated under the PWPCA Amendments of 1972
through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System,
and specifically Section 403(c) which requires the setting of ocean
discharge criteria for ocean outfalls. EPA applies the same strict
criteria to outfall disposal as it does to ocean dumping, in addition
to requiring at least secondary treatment for all municipal sewage.
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In looKing to the future, it can be expected that increases
in population and industrial growth in coastal areas, which his-
torically -tend to grow more rapidly than inland areas, will
result in gafreater pressures for ocean disposal either by outfall
or by duin-ping, in addition to much larger quantities of effluents
being discharged in rivers and estuaries. All these sources of
pollution of the marine environment must be regulated and
strictly controlled to limit adverse impacts and to insure that
the best environmental alternatives are chosen.
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WH - 548
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