The Legislature finds and declares that only the most contaminated sludges are ocean disposed; that these sludges are generated by sewage treatment plants, which receive large quantities of contaminated industrial wastewater; that land-based disposal of sludge requires the removal of these contaminants from the waste stream; that even if ocean dumping of sludge continues, it is prudent to minimize the presence of contaminants in the sludge; that the removal of contaminants from industrial wastewater requires additional standards, which the Department of Environmental Protection is singularly qualified to develop; and that to develop these stricter standards, the department requires additional resources.

P.L. 1988, c. 63, s. 1.