y The Philadelphia Decision Ocean Dumping Days Numbered

PRISTINE BEAUTY Higher Beach is one of the area’s most unspoiled, natural beaches. It was a popular place to be last weekend.

byJKathkrn Cox Schaf ffer COURT HOUSE The sea;it is the lifeblood of the Cape May County community. Constantly changing, it is ever a constant source of livelihood, recreation and aesthetic appeal, irrcsistably drawing its faithful back again and again. An environmental decision recently complied with by the city of * Philadelphia will ensure that Cape May s waters lose none of their appeal The city of Philadelphia in compliance with federal Environmental Protection' Agency (EPA) regulations agreed to stop the dumping of sludge or solid waste at the ‘ Philadelphia site” 45 miles southeast of Cape May by December 31.19t» The action puts the city juM one step ahead of a federi| mandate that all ocean dumping must cease by

December l?wi In addition, the city has agreed to stop the flow of sewage from outtake pipes which empty directly into tin* Delaware Bay What impact will Philadelphia's decision have on Cape May County? it’s very positive , very positive,” Bob Myers, Cape May County planner said. The effect of ocean dumping to date has been seen in low level pollution including loss of productivity in the Wetlands, degradation of water quality and as yet undetermined damage to shellfish. ‘‘We're not talking about catastrophic impact, but low level pollution over a period of time,” Myers said. George Pense, of the EPA's Office of Enfor cement of Ocean Dumping in Philadelphia agreed with Myers estimation of

sludge dumping's damage to doe May's waters. In 4be spring of 1973 Philrabhia was ordered to relo^te the dumping site from 12 miles out of the mouth of the Delaware Bay to the current 45-mile site. “The maximum benefit for the.Jersey Coast occurred at that time,” Pense said. "I would doubt there has been any (pollution) effect on the Jersey coast since the site was moved,” Pense added Before the dumping site was relocated the EPA received complaints of brown discoloration in the Delaware Bay waters and deposits on tn beach. But, he said with the high dilution rate provided by the ocean and the southeastern direction of (Kean currents away from the site it is doubtful that pollutants would reach back into the bay.

Philadelphia has been sludge dumping at the "Philadelphia site" since the early 1960’s, Pense said. The dumping reached its maximum volume in a given year with 140 million poumfc of solid sewage. The dumping volume from the current year until dumping is halted next year is down to 40 million pounds, Pense said. The solid sewage dumped is completely treated and partially digested, Pense said. Pense haled Philadelphia's recent action saying, "We’ve been infavorof itall along.” The city’s compliance with federal regulations is "an expression of good faith,” Pense said. This formal agreement to clean up the ocean by halting dumping givq| the act *ourt sanction: And, any violation of the agreement would put the city in contempt of court, Panse said. EPA studies show that “once dumping stops areas do recover from any ill effects the disposals may have caused. Bill Musser of the EPA's Marine Protection Branch in Washington, D.C was even more sanguine about the dumping situation's effect on Cape May County. "It’ll be a cold day in hell before Cape May is damaged by the dumping," Musser said r “The Atlantic Ocean just doesn't circulate that way." Cape May County also has interest in waste dumping conducted in at a 12-mile site located within the area of the mid-Atlantic Cootinental Shelf waters between Long Island, New York and Cape May, otherwise known as the New York Bight.

The county planning board has acted as a thirdparty to a suit filed by the N.J. Department of the Public Advotate against the EPA for failing to move the site beyond the Continental Shelf as directed by the 197C Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act ( MPRSA). The suit, recently settled out of court, changes that dumping of sludge at the New York Bight site has an adverse 'impact on New Jersey's fishing and recreational industries and endangers the public health aiid welfare. In the summer of 1976 a combination of atmospheric conditions and pollution buildup from the New York Bight dumping stagnated and is believed

to have algae buildup and a massive fishkill from Sandy Hook, N.J. to Avalon. The area was dubbed the "Dead Sea." The Advocate’s Office suit alleges that continued dumping at the New York Bight has endangered human health, broken down the food chain of aquatic organisms and adversely impacted the life cycles and potential reproduction of many fish species. According to the seU tlement of the suit,the EPA has agreed to fdrnish an Environmental Impact Statement that will research the feasibility of moving the dump site to a 106 mile site beyond the (Continued on Page 24)

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OCEAN DUMP

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KOING UP! Keeping pace with other energy increases, summertime once again means increased electric rates. And, so it goes.,.

Summer Electric Rates Increase

ATLANTIC CITY - Summer brings warmer temperatures, waves of summer visitors and a lift to the winter-bedraggled spirit of South Jersey. It also brings an increase in electric rates Why should electricity cost more during one season than another? “Many customers, even though connected the year round only use their shore homes in the summer, ” Joe Kelly, Assistant Vice ITesident of Rates and Itcgula lions at Atlantic Electric said. "Their use of electricity

is very small but the carrying charge on upkeep on facilities has to be recovered." Kelly added The increased rates, effective from JuneMovember reflect a jump from the November May rate of 3.19 cents per killowatt hour to 5.31 cents perkillowatt hour The rate increase is for annual residential service and affects year round as well as seasonal home utility customers The increased rate is for ase over 500 killow att hours per month. Kelly emphasized, adding that more

than half of Atlantic Electric's South Jersey customers do not exceed the 500 killowatt hour per month level. The rate increase is necessary because, of increased loads, more customers and because a greater pressure deferential must be created to offset drags on the lines and transformers in warmer weather, Kelly said. Year-round residents though they “help spread out costs for all customers" are not carrying the burden of expense for seasonal

residents. Kelly said. "The customer who does not stay connected have higher charges," Kelly said. ( Until about eight or nine years dgo the differential between year-round and seasonal electric charges was not great enough and seasonal users were “getting a'lrec ride" as a result. Kelly said. But. adjustments were made, creating the dual rate system presently used A basic minnal summer electric rate of 5.17 cents (Continued'on Page 24)