(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association June 1995 Newsletter)
On June 12, a Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Clean Ocean Action and other groups with regard to the 1993 lawsuit against ocean dumping of dioxin-tainted sediments at the Mud Buoy.
The court ruled that U.S. Federal District Judge Dickinson Debevoise committed "a serious error in applying the law," when he allowed the EPA/Army Corps of Engineers to grant a permit to Port Authority to dredge and ocean-dump half-a-million tons of Newark Bay mud.
According to the Third Circuit Court, federal agencies did not conduct all of the required tests before issuing the permit to the Port Authority. In other words, the mud, which contained not only dioxin, but a host of there contaminants, was never proven safe before it was ocean dumped.
Gordon Litwin, Attorney for the plaintiffs said, "EPA has not complied with their own rules and the appellate court nailed them. From now on, federal agencies are going to have to be meticulous in following the regulations."
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included the American Littoral Society, Clean Ocean Action, Confederation of Association of Atlantic Charterboats and Captains, Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative, and the United Fishermen’s Association.
The ruling will have far-reaching effects on the future of ocean-dumping projects.
Pits of Promise
On June 28, U.S. EPA will hold a "scoping meeting" to discuss the proposed Newark Bay containment pit. The meeting will determine what topics should be covered in the Environmental Impact Statement, which needs to be filed before the project can begin.
Governor Whitman announced the pit-plan in March after the Dredge Materials Management Team, chaired by Assemblyman Steve Corrodemus, released a report calling for Newark Bay pits, as well as other innovative dredging technologies, as a short-term solution for contaminated sediments.
The pits would contain 14 million cubic yards of material, and will be sited on the western side of Newark Bay near Port Newark/Elizabeth. The public is invited to attend the hearing, which will be held on Wednesday, June 28, from 10 AM - 12 AM and from 2 PM - 5 PM, and will reopen for an evening session at 7 PM and go until all comments are taken. It will be held at the Port Authority Administration Building at Port Newark. For more information, call Clean Ocean Action at 908-872-0111.
Speaking of pits, after the proposal to fill the Raritan Bay CAC pit with toxic mud from the Holland Hook terminal was shot down by citizens and fishing groups on Staten Island, the Port Authority is now looking to store the mud on site. This is something that OA has called for since the beginning, since there’s plenty of room at the 187 acre Holland Hook facility. The Port Authority is eventually planning to send the mud, which is highly contaminated with petroleum by-products. Those citizens of Connecticut already organized against sending the spoils to a landfill on the Housatanic River. Clean Ocean Action will work to ensure that the spoils resting place is an environmentally safe one. Stay Tuned.