The Nation : Senate Votes to Curb Dumping in Ocean

In the wake of wide media coverage of and public anger over filth that has forced beach closings in the East, the Senate approved legislation to stiffen penalties for ocean dumping of medical waste and to end disposal of sewage off the New Jersey coast. The bill, passed 97 to 0 and sent to the House, bans the dumping of municipal sludge off New York and New Jersey after 1991 and orders the closing of a sludge dump 106 miles off the New Jersey coast that is used by nine sewage authorities in New Jersey and New York. The Senate added an amendment by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) that bans the disposal of medical waste in oceans or streams. It approved an amendment by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N. J.) providing a five-year prison sentence for anyone caught violating the ban. Although the medical waste problem has attracted wide attention, many environmentalists and fishermen believe dumping of sewage sludge is having a greater impact on marine animals.