[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 244 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 244

To terminate ocean dumping at the Mud Dump Site and other sites within 
        the New York Bight Apex off of the coast of New Jersey.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

 Mr. Pallone introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To terminate ocean dumping at the Mud Dump Site and other sites within 
        the New York Bight Apex off of the coast of New Jersey.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``New Jersey Marine and Estuarine 
Ecosystem Protection Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to preserve and restore the fisheries 
and other marine wildlife of the New York Bight by closing the Mud Dump 
Site and ending the practice of disposal of dredged material within 
that area.

SEC. 3. CLOSURE OF MUD DUMP SITE.

    (a) Termination of Dumping.--On and after September 1, 1997, no 
person shall transport any dredged material for the purpose of dumping 
it into ocean waters at the Mud Dump Site, other than for purposes of 
remediation in accordance with subsection (c).
    (b) Conditions for Dumping Before Termination.--
            (1) Category i and category ii dredged material only.--
        After the date of the enactment of this Act, no person shall 
        transport any dredged material for the purpose of dumping it 
        into ocean waters at the Mud Dump Site, other than Category I 
        dredged material or Category II dredged material.
            (2) Conditions for category ii dredged material.--After the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, no person shall transport 
        any Category II dredged material for the purpose of dumping it 
        into ocean waters at the Mud Dump Site, unless the applicant 
        for a permit for the transport under title I of the Marine 
        Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 
        1411 et seq.) has certified, and the Secretary of the Army has 
        published a finding of, the following:
                    (A) The affected States or ports were requested to 
                provide alternative sites for disposal of the material 
                and failed to provide a reasonable alternative site.
                    (B) Dumping of the material (including necessary 
                capping material) at the Mud Dump Site will not 
                increase the elevation of the ocean bottom at the Mud 
                Dump Site--
                            (i) such that the depth of the ocean at 
                        that site is less than 65 feet below the 
                        surface of the ocean; and
                            (ii) above an elevation designed, based on 
                        scientific evidence, to contain the material 
                        within the lateral limits of the Mud Dump Site.
    (c) Site Remediation.--
            (1) Plan.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
        Commerce and the Secretary of the Army, shall develop a 
        remediation and restoration plan in accordance with applicable 
        laws and regulations for the Mud Dump Site and surrounding 
        areas.
            (2) Designation of site.--The Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency shall designate the Mud Dump 
        Site and surrounding areas that have historically been used for 
        disposal of contaminated material as the Historic Area 
        Remediation Site under part 228 of title 40, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, effective September 1, 1997.
            (3) Management of site.--The Historic Area Remediation 
        Site--
                    (A) shall be managed to reduce impacts at that site 
                to acceptable levels in accordance with part 228.11(c) 
                of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations; and
                    (B) shall be remediated with uncontaminated dredged 
                material that--
                            (i) meets standards for Category I dredged 
                        material; and
                            (ii) will not cause significant undesirable 
                        effects, including such effects through 
                        bioaccumulation.
    (d) Modification of Environmental Assessment.--The Secretary of the 
Army and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
modify environmental assessment activities at the Mud Dump Site as 
appropriate to reflect the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF OTHER OCEAN DUMPING OF DREDGED MATERIAL OFF OF 
              COAST OF NEW JERSEY.

    (a) In General.--On and after September 1, 1997, no person shall 
transport any dredged material for the purpose of dumping it into ocean 
waters in the New York Bight Apex outside of the Historic Area 
Remediation Site designated under section 3(c), or into waters of the 
New York-New Jersey Harbor.
    (b) Prohibition on Designation of Sites and Issuance of Permits.--
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not 
designate any new site for ocean dumping of dredged material within the 
New York Bight Apex, and the Secretary of the Army may not issue any 
permit for transportation of dredged material for the purpose of 
dumping it in the New York Bight Apex, except in accordance with this 
Act.

SEC. 5. VIOLATIONS.

    Any violation of section 3 (a) or (b) or section 4(a) shall be 
treated as a violation of title I of the Marine Protection, Research, 
and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.).

SEC. 6. DISPOSAL ALTERNATIVES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Army, in cooperation with the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of 
Transportation, State and local governments, and environmental and port 
interests, may establish, operate, and maintain a confined dredged 
material disposal facility or facilities within the confines of the 
Port of New York and New Jersey. Costs associated with implementation 
of this section shall be paid by non-Federal interests in substantially 
the same manner as costs are required to be paid by non-Federal 
interests under section 101 of the Water Resources Development Act of 
1986 (33 U.S.C. 2211).
    (b) Prohibition on Construction of Certain Sediment Containment 
Islands.--The Secretary of the Army may not construct sediment 
containment islands in the Port of New York-New Jersey if such 
construction would result in the loss of shellfish or other fisheries 
habitat.
    (c) Limitation on Designation of Upland Disposal Sites.--If the 
Secretary of the Army determines that upland disposal of dredged 
material is necessary in the Port of New York-New Jersey, the site of 
such disposal shall be designated within close proximity of the actual 
dredging site.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $260,000,000.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Terms defined in marine protection, research, and 
        sanctuaries act of 1972.--Any term used in this Act that is 
        defined in section 3 of the Marine Protection, Research, and 
        Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1402) has the meaning given 
        the term in that section.
            (2) Category i and category ii dredged material.--Each of 
        the terms ``Category I dredged material'' and ``Category II 
        dredged material'', respectively, means such material as 
        determined under the 1992 United States Army Corps of Engineers 
        New York District and the Environmental Protection Agency 
        Region II Guidance for Performing Tests on Dredged Material 
        Proposed for Ocean Disposal.
            (3) Mud dump site.--The term ``Mud Dump Site'' means the 
        area designated by the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency under part 228.115(d)(6) of title 40, Code of 
        Federal Regulations, as the New York Bight Dredged Material 
        Disposal Site (Mud Dump) in the New York Bight Apex, North 
        Atlantic Ocean for the disposal of dredged material generated 
        in the Port of New York and New Jersey and nearby harbors.
            (4) New york bight apex.--The term ``New York Bight Apex'' 
        means the ocean waters of the Atlantic Ocean westward of 73 
        degrees 30 minutes west longitude and northward of 40 degrees 
        10 minutes north latitude.
            (5) Uncontaminated dredged material.--The term 
        ``uncontaminated dredged material'' means dredged material 
        that, when subject to the criteria for evaluating environmental 
        impact under subpart B of part 227 of title 40, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, does not demonstrate chronic toxicity in 
        appropriate sensitive marine organisms and does not cause 
        appropriate sensitive benthic marine organisms to bioaccumulate 
        one or more of the prohibited constituents set forth in section 
        227.6 of such title to statistically significant levels.
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