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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2173

Relating to the procedures and criteria for the issuance of permits authorizing

the ocean dumping of dredged material.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 19, 1993

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey) introduced the

following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Merchant

Marine and Fisheries and Public Works and Transportation

A BILL

Relating to the procedures and criteria for the issuance of

permits authorizing the ocean dumping of dredged material.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harbor Environmental

5 Dredging and Management Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. DUMPING PERMIT PROGRAM FOR DREDGED MATE7 RIAL.

8 (a) GENERAL PROCEDURES.—Section 103 of the Ma9 rine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1973

10 (33 U.S.C. 1413) is amended by redesignating subsections
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1 (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively, and

2 by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

3 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURE.—The following procedure applies

4 concerning action by the Secretary with respect to an ap5 plication for a permit under this section:

6 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—Within 15 days after the date

7 on which the Secretary receives an application for a

8 permit under this section, the Secretary shall cause

9 to be published a notice that contains—

10 ‘‘(A) a description of the project;

11 ‘‘(B) such other information that the Sec12 retary considers appropriate; and

13 ‘‘(C) an invitation for comment on the ap14 plication and on any other matters of relevance,

15 including the effect of approval of the applica16 tion on endangered species, if appropriate, from

17 interested Federal agencies, other public agen18 cies, and private persons.

19 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION TO BE CONSIDERED.—In

20 making the determination required by subsection (a)

21 regarding the application, the Secretary shall con22 sider any comment or other information that the

23 Secretary receives from interested agencies and per24 sons during the 30-day period following the date on
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1 which the notice under paragraph (1) is published

2 with respect to the application.

3 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR HEARING.—If the Sec4 retary determines that a public hearing should be

5 conducted with respect to the application, the Sec6 retary shall complete the hearing within 30 days

7 after the last day of the comment period for the ap8 plication under paragraph (2).

9 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION TO EPA AND OTHER INTER10 ESTED FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Within 15 days after

11 the date on which the Secretary receives all informa12 tion pertaining to the application, the Secretary shall

13 provide necessary and appropriate information con14 cerning the application to the Administrator and to

15 the heads of all other interested Federal agencies.

16 Within 15 days of receiving such information, the

17 Administrator and the heads of such other agencies

18 shall review the information and request any addi19 tional information they deem necessary.

20 ‘‘(5) CONCURRENT EVALUATION OF APPLICA21 TION.—The Secretary and the Administrator shall

22 concurrently evaluate the application and, as appro23 priate and to the maximum extent possible, confer

24 on the application in order to complete its consider25 ation at the earliest possible date.
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1 ‘‘(6) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION BY SEC2 RETARY.—The Secretary shall make a determination

3 regarding whether or not to issue a permit under

4 this section within 90 days after—

5 ‘‘(A) the last day of the 30-day comment

6 period for the application under paragraph (2);

7 or

8 ‘‘(B) if a public hearing is held with re9 spect to the application, the last day of the pub10 lic hearing.

11 ‘‘(7) STANDARDS.—The Secretary, in determin12 ing under subsection (a) whether or not the dumping

13 proposed in the application will result in the unrea14 sonable degradation or endangerment referred to in

15 such subsection, shall—

16 ‘‘(A) apply the applicable criteria and

17 standards as such criteria and standards are in

18 effect on the date of receipt of the application

19 by the Secretary; and

20 ‘‘(B) disregard any change made to any

21 such standard after such date of receipt.

22 ‘‘(8) CONSIDERATION OF EFFECT OF FAILURE

23 TO DREDGE.—In addition to applying the criteria re24 ferred to in section 102(a) in making the determina25 tion required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall
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1 also consider the effect that the failure to dredge the

2 material concerned will have on human health and

3 welfare, including economic, esthetic, and rec4 reational values.

5 ‘‘(9) TIME LIMITS ON PROCESS.—The Secretary

6 and the Administrator shall make a determination

7 regarding whether to issue a permit under this sec8 tion within 165 days after the Secretary receives an

9 application for the permit under this section.’’.

10 (b) CONCURRENCE BY ADMINISTRATOR.—Subsection

11 (c) of such section is amended—

12 (1) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the

13 following: ‘‘The Secretary shall provide the informa14 tion requested within 15 days after the date of re15 ceipt of the request for the information from the Ad16 ministrator.’’; and

17 (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘45’’ each

18 place it appears and inserting ‘‘30’’.

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (f) of

20 such section, as redesignated by subsection (a) of this sec21 tion, is amended by striking ‘‘and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘,

22 (d), and (e)’’.
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1 SEC. 3. DIOXIN CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT DISPOSAL

2 STANDARD.

3 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental

5 Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of

6 the Army, shall develop a national standard for the dis7 posal of sediments contaminated with dioxin. The stand8 ard shall apply, at a minimum, to determinations required

9 to be made under subsection (a) of section 103 of the Ma10 rine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1973.

11 SEC. 4. MUD DUMP CONTAINMENT ISLAND.

12 (a) PLAN.—The Administrator of the Environmental

13 Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Army shall

14 develop a plan for the construction of a containment island

15 as an alternative to the Mud Dump Site, as defined in

16 section 412(d) of the Water Resources Development Act

17 of 1990, for the disposal of contaminated dredged mate18 rial. The plan shall include, at a minimum, the following:

19 (1) A recommended location for the island.

20 (2) Proposed timetable for construction of the

21 island, including public hearings, permit processes,

22 and environmental impact statements.

23 (3) An analysis and estimate of the cost of con24 struction of the island and recommended financing

25 mechanisms for the construction.
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1 (4) The status of decontamination technologies

2 to be used on the contaminated materials.

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator and

5 the Secretary shall submit to Congress the plan developed

6 under subsection (a), together with recommendations for

7 its implementation.

8 SEC. 5. CONTAINMENT AND CLEAN-UP OF DIOXIN IN PAS9 SAIC RIVER, NEW JERSEY.

10 (a) PLAN.—The Administrator of the Environmental

11 Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Army, in con12 sultation with State authorities, shall develop a com13 prehensive plan for the containment, clean-up, and preven14 tion of dioxin contamination in the Passaic River basin

15 in the vicinity of Newark, New Jersey.

16 (b) MINIMUM CONTENT REQUIREMENTS.—The plan

17 to be developed under this section shall include, at a mini18 mum, the following:

19 (1) A comprehensive strategy for monitoring,

20 containing, and preventing the spread of dioxin in

21 the Passaic River basin to Newark Bay.

22 (2) A comprehensive strategy for the clean-up

23 of dioxin in the Passaic River basin, including a pro24 posed timetable, estimate of the cost, and financing

25 mechanism for the clean-up.
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1 (3) A comprehensive strategy for preventing

2 land activities from becoming new sources of dioxin

3 pollution in the Passaic River basin and Newark

4 Bay.

5 (4) The status of sediment sources in Newark

6 Bay.

7 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the

9 Secretary shall submit to Congress the comprehensive plan

10 developed under subsection (a), together with rec11 ommendations for its implementation.

12 SEC. 6. CONSORTIUM OF DREDGED MATERIALS DISPOSAL

13 PERMITTEES.

14 The Secretary of the Army is authorized to approve

15 the establishment of a consortium of permittees for the

16 testing, permitting, and disposal of dredged materials in

17 an effort to promote the cost-effective disposal and envi18 ronmental management of dredged materials.

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