by David Codrea
[email protected]

June 25, 2002

Dear EPA Director Whitman,

Per the news account at: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/3508890.htm,

�The .38-caliber Taurus revolver that was used to kill Tejano music sensation Selena lies in pieces at the bottom of Corpus Christi Bay...State District Judge Jose Longoria ordered the destruction of the handgun on June 10; it was sawed into bits on June 11 and then ferried aboard a patrol boat to the site where the Nueces County sheriff scattered the fragments in the water.�

May I, as a private citizen, also dump metal fragments into navigable waters? Are there other materials that I can dump (or am prohibited from dumping) as well? Also, how much junk metal do I need to dump before I am committing an illegal act? If I do scrap my junk in coastal waters and am caught, will I be charged with an environmental crime or any infraction? What penalties might I incur?

If I cannot dump scrap into marine habitats, by what authority can a state district judge order a county sheriff to do so? If they can dump one gun, are they free to dump more? Can they dump all guns they impound and destroy, and can other police agencies follow suit? I would appreciate a response to this -- because if there is no law to keep me from dumping scrap materials, then I have several rusty old bikes and a toy electric jeep with a dead battery that I need to get rid of -- and nearby Santa Monica Bay is much more convenient than trying to haul them to a junkyard.

By the same token, if such actions are prohibited, is there any reason that you would not investigate the above-referenced news account, and hold the judge and sheriff to the same standards you would impose on the rest of us?

Sincerely,

David Codrea