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OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY l0 -G AND OPEN St N DAY 10-4 WATSON & COMPANY BOOKS at’s It c 911\(-Abo u t ? Parisian Charm. Omelette & Champagne Breakfast. Beautiful Crepes. Afternoon Cocktails. Gallant Waiters. Delicious Quiche. Evening Romance. Continental Steaks. Mysterious Women. Famous Pastries. Cognac & Midnight Rendezvous. In short, it’s about everything a great European style restaurant is all about. The_O ld mcan St 310 East 6th St. Austin, Texas For the Record “The investigation showed the truck carried 90 drums of waste instead of the 60 on its shipping records. One was leaking, 13 were damaged and nine had loose plugs. The barrels were itnproperly packed and labeled five drums marked “corrosive solids carried liquids. ‘The cargo wasn’t secured to prevent shifting and the shipment listings had incomplete and misspelled chemical names. Last fall, Cl -iem Federal District Ju Steckler that it had full aut burn chemicals at sea. In fact, company has only held rese permits. However, based on Waste representations, the CO approved a S7.7 million clean plan which included incinerg* the Vulcanus In January, 1983, both Administrator Ann Gorstt Fredrick Eidsness, Assistant Acin -iinistrator for Water, met w!: James Sanderson, an attorney Chem Waste and a close friend 6 Gorsuch. Soon after, 41.1pe, turned his staff’s recomm and ordered processing of a S permit for ocean incineration, Moreover, TRW, the company hired by EPA to test the Vulcanus and its results, was simultaneously employed by Clieni Waste in vari ous capacities. Although this possible conflict of interest has been brought to EPA’s attention, no action has been taken by the agency. On March 21, 1983, the Illinois Attorney General filed suit against Chemical Waste Management, Inc claiming that during the first six months of 1980..200,000 gallons of dichlorobenzidine were illegally disposed of in Calumet City, Illinois. The suit alleges that the company lacked a permit for DCB disposal and concealed this from the State of Illinois by withholding the withholding manifests for the chemical. In another instance, a Chem Waste truck was investigated near Las Vegas. According to an article in in the Rocky Alountalti News: scheduled for November 18. to determine whether the public hearings on the permits scheduled for the 21st through 23rd would be halted. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of Brownsville dismissed the case without prejudice on the basis that it was premature. In his decision from the bench he advised the plaintiffs that they should direct their energies towards the administrative hearings. He then told the EPA that he himself lived at Padre Island and that the EPA should be aware of the serious public concern about the issue. He told the EPA that they should take a hard look at the ocean incineration program and that if an adjudicatory hearing were requested they would do well to grant it. Informal administrative hearings were then held in Brownsville and Mobile. Over 6100 people registered for the Brownsville hearing [See accompanying article]. Of those who spoke only two favored ocean incineration, and they were representatives of Chemical Waste Management. The Mobile hearing was less well attended, but the opposition was equally clear. Interestingly, the focus in Mobile was somewhat different than that in Brownsville. Testimony emphasized the need for clean industry in Alabama, the negative impact that would stem from using Mobile as the loading and storage point for ocean incineration, and the dangers associated with the transport and transfer of waste on land and through a crowded ship canal and harbor. Meanwhile, various events have transpired in other parts of the country. On the evening of December 1, 1983, a police jury in Lake Charles, Louisiana, considered a zoning change requested by At-Sea Incineration to re-classify property from an industrial to a hazardous waste site so that it could be used for loading and storage facilities. Several hundred people attended the hearing, and it was stressed that any decision on re-zoning was premature. The police jury agreed to defer the decision until after the first of the year. This item can be back on the agenda at any time. On December 6, 1983, William Ruckelshaus finally agreed to meet with the Gulf Coast Coalition for Public Health. The meeting lasted approximately one hour, and although Mr. Ruckelshaus made no commitments he did appear interested and concerned. Oversight hearings were held December 7 by a sub-committee of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Unfortunately, a number of organizations and individuals who requested permission to speak were told that they would not be allowed to do so. These included representatives of shrimping, fishing and tourist interests, farm worker organizations, technical experts such as Dr. Steven Safe and Edward Kleppinger, and the states of Alabama and Delaware. In contrast, the three companies which hope to engage in ocean incineration were each allowed to testify. Sue Ann Fruge, the coordinator of the Gulf Coast Coalition for Public Health, was permitted to speak and gave portions of her time to Dr. Drum, Dr. Safe, Deyaun Boudreaux, Robin Alexander, and Jane Rosamond. Testimony was presented by Brian Berwick for Attorney General Jim Mattox’s office and by Jacques Cousteau, who stated: “I can think of no worse place for such dangerous chemicals to be transported or destroyed than the sea. Do not allow fear and emotion to drive you, like stampeding cattle, to the sea.” Good books in every field JENKINS PUBLISHING CO. The Pemberton Press John H. Jenkins, Publisher Box 2085 g3i Austin 78768 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 11