THE NEED FOR A NATIONAL MATERIALS POLICY HEARINGS BEFORE THE PANEL ON MATERIALS POLICY OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-THIRD CONGRESS COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS JENNINGS RANDOLPH, West Virginia, Chairman EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Maine JOSEPH M. MONTOYA, New Mexico MIKE GRAVEL, Alaska LLOYD BENTSEN, Texas QUENTIN N. BURDICK, North Dakota JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware HOWARD H. BAKER, JR., Tennessee M. BARRY MEYER, Chief Counsel and Chief Clerk BAILEY GUARD, Minority Clerk; RICHARD A. HELLMAN, Minority Counsel LEON G. BILLINGS, Senior Staff Member PHILIP T. CUMMINGS, Assistant Chief Counsel; JOHN W. YAGO, Jr., Assistant Chief Clerk JAMES R. READLE, RICHARD M. HARRIS, MARGARET L. WORKMAN, AND RICHARD E. HEROD (minority), Assistant Counsels RICHARD E. KAIT (minority), Legal Assistant Professional and Research Staff: KARL R. BRAITHWAITE, HAROLD H. BRAYMAN, PAUL CHIMES, TRENTON CROW, KATHERINE Y. CUDLIPP, PAUL F. EBELTOFT, Jr., GEORGE F. FENTON, Jr., RANDOLPH G. FLOOD, KATHALEEN R. E. FORCUM, ANN GARRABRANT, RICHARD T. GREER, RICHARD D. GRUNDY, WESLEY F. HAYDEN, VERONICA A. HOLLAND, RONALD L. KATZ, LARRY D. MEYERS, CLARK F. NORTON, JUDY F. PARENTE, JOHN B. PURINTON, JACQUELINE E. SCHAFER, DIANE L. STEWART, CHARLENE A. STURBITTS, E. STEVENS SWAIN, Jr., and SALLY W. WALKER CONTENTS OPENING STATEMENTS Domenici, Hon. Pete V., U.S. Senator from the State of New Mexico___ McClure, Hon. James A., U.S. Senator from the State of Idaho___. Randolph, Hon. Jennings, U.S. Senator from the State of West Virginia____ Stafford, Hon. Robert T., U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont.. Page, Dr. Talbot, and Dr. James W. Sawyer, research associates, quality Darnay, Arsen J., Deputy Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste Manage- ment Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, accompanied by John Parks, Hon. Lyman S., mayor, Grand Rapids, Mich., appearing on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, accompanied by Thomas G. Cooper, associate counsel; and Franchot Buhler, director, solid waste project for the National League of Cities Material Needs and the Environment Today and Tomorrow, final report "The States' Role in Solid Waste Management," task force report of "The National Materials Policy of 1970," from Natural Resources 277 Articles, reprints of: Professional Engineer, June 1973, "Can the United States Hang in Science Magazine, January 18, 1974, "Raw Materials: United States Disposal of Hazardous Wastes, summary and conclusions from_-_- Energy Conservation Through Improved Solid Waste Management_-- National League of Cities-U.S. Conference of Mayors, material supplied by : State constitutional limitations on State borrowing, 1971_. National Solid Wastes Management Association, letter from_- Page 158 150 152 146 46 THE NEED FOR A NATIONAL MATERIALS POLICY TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 1974 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS, PANEL ON MATERIALS POLICY, Washington, D.C. The panel met at 9:30 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 4200, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jennings Randolph (chairman of the full committee) presiding. Present: Senators Randolph, Stafford, McClure, and Domenici. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JENNINGS RANDOLPH, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA Senator RANDOLPH. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have within the Committee on Public Works two panels that operate within the framework of the Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution. One of those panels is chaired by Senator Biden of Delaware. We also recently created a new panel which will operate under the Subcommittee on Environmental Quality. We call it the Panel on Materials Policy. I shall have the responsibility, at least for the beginning months of the panel, to serve as chairman. Senators Muskie, Bentsen, Biden, Stafford, Domenici, and McClure will be the other members of our panel. We open this morning 3 consecutive days of hearings. In beginning I am reminded of the works of Athelstan Spilhaus, former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who once said, "Waste is simply some useful substance we do not yet have the wit to use." I am sure that all of us on the panel know the essentiality of beginning to develop and widely implement the programs that are necessary to recover and reuse large quantities, and I use the word advisedly, "large quantities"-frankly, they are mammoth quantities of what we now designate as waste materials. For the most part, the technology exists to return to use virtually all that we now throw away thoughtlessly. This is done by environmentalists, conservationists and many other men and women who believe in environment quality. It is, let us say, a natural trait of the public to waste because we are, naturally, supplied with an abundance. |