Alliance for a Living Ocean 2007 Long Beach Boulevard North Beach Haven, New Jersey 08008 Mail: PO Box 95, Ship Bottom, NJ 08008 (609) 492-0222 E-Mail ALO

Mud Dumping off the
Coast of New Jersey

ALO Statement to Congressman Jim Saxton
February 22,2000

February 22, 2000

To: Congressman Jim Saxton
Chairman of Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans

The Alliance for a Living Ocean, since 1987, has been associated with your office through many dynamic milestones: the Ciba-Geigy pipeline shut down; a Watershed Management Plan for Barnegat Bay; ALO has served on the steering committee and is presently on the Advisory Committee of the Jacques Cousteau Estuarine Research Reserve; we were part of the steering committee and presently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Barnegat Bay Watershed Association; ALO attended the first meeting to establish the National Estuary Program for Barnegat Bay and at the present time also serves on the CAC, STAC and Public Outreach Workgroups. Working towards ending ocean dumping ALO was part of the coalition of Clean Ocean Action and voted yes to the 1996 HARS agreement negotiated by Vice President Gore. Throughout all the years, you, Congressman Saxton have been a leader.

Representing our 1400 members, we suggest the following. The EPA must keep strict standards for contaminated materials dumped at HARS. Vital to the operations should be regular monitoring of barged materials and sediment testing of the cap itself, by an impartial company, using "good science".

Don't waste money in court - use funds already designated for decontamination efforts adding corporate, union and citizen contributions to the mix. Work on land-based remediation. Times have changed and we now have land disposal methods that work. The future is NOW! Let's work together; the Federal Administration, the Governors of two great states, New York and New Jersey, all coastal municipalities, environmental groups and scientifically credentialed citizens to solve this 21st century problem. These problems will not go away. The goal should be no ocean dumping.

We cannot possibly over exaggerate the environmental "crisis" we now face in our search for healthy coastal waters. Lately the underlying theme of PANIC is expressed by every audience we address. The public is frustrated and confused. The ocean is where they fish and swim with their children. It moves, it surrounds them. In the media they have been bombarded with information from both sides, much of which they don't understand. We look to your steady leadership and those of your co-sponsors to keep the ocean living, not becoming a SEA of DREAD.

Sincerely,

Joan Koons
President
Board of Trustees

For more information see:
Clean Ocean Action

Express your opinion on Mud Dumping by writing:

Governor Christine Todd Whitman
PO Box 001, State House
Trenton, NJ 08625-001