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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1971)
THE BATTALION Pago 4 College Station, Texas Wednesday, November 3, ls; Pollution fighters bicker over clean up of Houston Ship Channel HOUSTON UP) — State and federal pollution fighters bicker ed for hours over the wording of new recommendations for clean ing up Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel Tuesday but adjourned the first day of a conference without reaching total agreement. The debate came at a recon vening of the Galveston Bay En forcement Conference called by the Environmental Protection Agency. The conference was a continuation of a meeting held last June. Federal recommendations pre sented by Richard Vanderhoof of the EPA’s Dallas office called for a minimum allowable bio logical oxygen demand load (a measure of pollution) of 35,000 pounds per day for the Houston Ship Channel. The current amount of BOD is about 100,000. Hugh Yantis of the Texas Wa ter Quality Board, protested vig orously and called for continua tion of the current WQB policies which, he said, have reduced the BOD load in the channel from 400,000 to 100,000. “If Texas were really hurry ing (in its fight against pollu tion) we would be sympathetic,” said Vanderhoof. Yantis said the 35,000 figure was based on “a good guess” of what it would take to produce a level of two parts per million of dissolved oxygen in the Houston Ship Channel. This level is the bare minimum for the survival of fish. The state official said the guess could be wrong and in stead of setting a firm figure, “I would suggest we go back to what we have done and what we can do.” He said a study of Galveston Bay will be finished in two years and a firm figure could be estab-t lished then. “Until the score is in in 1973, what number do you use?” asked Murray Stein, an EPA official in Victims of tidal wave now face food shortages NEW DELHI (A>) — Serious food shortages and widespread water pollution posed a new dan ger Tuesday night to the coastal areas of eastern Orissa state, already devastated by a tidal wave and cyclonic storm that caused thousands of deaths. The official death toll, released by the state government and still based only on sketchy reports, mounted to 6,000. But the Indian government ra dio expressed fears that as many as 25,000 may have perished. A correspondent for United News of India said after touring the hardest-hit districts that at least 10,000 families — or about 50,000 persons — were feared dead. Most of the coastal regions still were inaccessible, leaving doubts as to how many of the nearly five million persons who lived in the 5,000-square-mile area had survived. The 16-foot tidal wave and 100 mile per hour winds struck last Friday night. They left roads filled with fallen trees and the debris of thousands of homes, delaying emergency medical teams. Witnesses said bodies floated in many of the rivers, polluting the only main water supplies in the area. Once fertile fields were vast graveyards littered with the dead, they said. Thousands of boats sank or washed out to sea, further ham pering rescue efforts. There were official fears that many survivors would die un less airplanes began immediate food drops in isolated areas that have been cut off from supplies for the last four days. Officials said mass inoculations also should begin at once to prevent a chol era epidemic. Officials in Orissa confirmed that about 2,500 East Pakistani refugees had died on the off shore Jambu Islands, which bore the initial brunt of the tidal wave. The victims had survived civil strife in their homeland, a cholera outbreak in refugee camps this summer and floods in September. The tidal wave spread tons of salt water from the Bay of Ben gal over the area’s rich farm lands, destroying this year’s rice crop and ruining chances of any new plantings. The government radio said units of the armed forces—which have been on alert for the past two weeks in a show of force along the borders with Pakistan — would be sent to Orissa for rescue and relief work. charge of the conference. “What are we going to get for that 35,000 ? A miserable two parts per million of dissolved oxygen. That’s just scraping above the nuisance level.” Vanderhoof said that by set ting a firm figure for the mini- mumamount of pollution allow able, the agencies would be able then to allocate the amount of discharge permitted each indus-- try along the channel. “The 1968 state permits were over allocated by a factor of 10,” he said. “Existing permits are over allocated by a factor of three.” Yantis countered that it is pos sible to get the channel too clean. The channel, he said should be just clean enough to protect Gal veston Bay from damage and to make it any cleaner “would be a waste of resources.” “We strongly suspect the bay is already near the breaking point,” said Vanderhoof. Later, Vanderhoof told news men that Yantis’ stand “must be a pro industry position.” “The Water Quality Board is not doing its job on the Houston Ship Channel,” he said. “We’re not trying to take the job away from the state. We are trying to encourage the WQB to take up the reins.” Yantis also objected to word ing in the recommendation which called for allocating allowable waste discharges for the 15 larg est sources — most of which are industrial — by Feb. 15, 1972, and for the other sources by June 30, 19i72. Vanderhoof said the disagree ment would eventually be re solved by the Washington offices of the EPA. He noted that the EPA would have the final say in how much waste discharge is permitted because each of the municipalities and industries must get a permit from the U. S. Corps of Engineers to discharge into the Ship Channel or the bay. These permits are issued on the basis of EPA recommendations, he said. The EPA and the WQB also disagreed over allowing the Houston Lighting & Power Co. to discharge cooling water into Trinity Bay, an arm of Galveston Bay. The WQB wants to allow it. The EPA does not. The issue was separated from the general business of the conference, and officials said it will be settled later at a separate ft hearing,, the power company’s federal mit. The state and federal agenti* were able to agree on nine oils recommendations with only nj or changes. ^ a Citizens permitted to talk the conference heatedly attach the Texas Water Quality Boar' State Rep. Rex Braun of Ho® ton called the WQB “a high elm licensing agency for the ini® trial polluters." [Aj SKAGGS > ALBERTSONS V DRUGS & FOODS y MONEY SAVING THERAGAN M $ MULTIVITAMIN AND MINERALS 130 COUNT SUsJ: 1 USTLKINE LISTERINE N0RELG0 SUN HEAT LAMP $ TANNING PLUS HEATING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY Dr.Scholls FOOT MASSAGER $ DUO MODEL RELAXES TIRED FEET Polaroid BIG SHOT CAMERA $ AMAZING LAND CAMERA-COLOR OR BLACK AND WHITE FOOL PROOF MOUTHWASH AND GARGLE 14 OZ. BOTTLE Playing Cards PLASTIC COATED >WllUAHlMIAUAWW«UIWtU(PMU«^tllM(l|UllJilUIIJ||||||||||||||| SPECTACULAR SAVINGS! 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