*<>	THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
NATIONAL
COASTAL AND MARINE POLICY
The nation's coastal and marine waters are unique, irreplaceable
resources that must be protected.
Policy Statement:
The Environmental Protection Agency will protect, restore, and maintain the
Nation's coastal and marine waters to protect human health and sustain living
resources. We will take actions to further reduce pollution of these waters and
limit the effects of increasing coastal populations. Future uses of these resources
that are vital to the Nation's growth, economy, and security can and must be
conducted in an environmentally sound manner.
Goals:
Protection of the Nation's coastal and marine waters is a shared responsibility of
the governments and people of this nation. Therefore, we are committed both to
public education and involvement and to establishing partnerships among federal
agencies, state and local governments, interest groups, and private citizens to
achieve the following goals:
•	Recovery of full recreational use of shores, beaches, and water by
reducing sources of bacterial and other contamination, plastics,
floatables, and debris.
•	Restoration of the Nation's shellflsheries and salt-water fisheries and
protection of marine mammals and living resources by controlling
pollution and causes of habitat degradation and loss.
Minimize the use of coastal and marine waters for waste disposal by
Jl]' strictly limiting ocean dumping, tightening controls on land-based
^'sources, and establishing aggressive programs to reduce the amount of
waste generated by our society.
•	Greater understanding of the effects of pollution on complex coastal and .
marine ecosystems by expanding scientific research and monitoring
programs, and the development of new technology.
•	Leadership by the United States in protection of the world's oceans by
aggressively promoting international efforts to stop pollution and protect
critical marine habitats and living resources.

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As a nation we are too accustomed to using coastal and marine waters for the
disposal of our wastes. We must enforce existing laws, and where laws limit our
ability to take action, we must seek solutions, establish stronger policies, and pass
new laws if necessary. Aggressive programs which seek to reduce the total volume
of pollutants disposed of in coastal and marine waters will motivate the Nation to
find more acceptable resource recovery, waste minimization and disposal
alternatives.
Implementation:
We have identified specific objectives to achieve the goals of our coastal and
marine policy. These objectives are set with the knowledge that the solutions to
coastal and marine pollution are complex and will require the commitment of
people and governments at all levels. Commitment means time, energy, money,
and, the understanding and will to change personal habits and to make hard
decisions to manage growth.
GOAL: Recovery of full recreational use of shores, beaches, and water by reducing
sources of bacterial and other contamination, plastics, floatables, and debris.
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Objectives:
1.	To Control Medical Wastes and Other Marine Refuse:
Medical Waste Management: We will control disposal of medical wastes
and aggressively enforce laws to protect the public from exposure to
them.
Plastics/Floatables/Debris: We will accelerate efforts to identify the
sources of floatables, debris, and plastics. We will control these
materials through new technologies and substitutes, permitting, and
enforcement, as well as aggressive source reduction and waste
minimization programs.
2.	To Control Sources of Bacterial and Other Contamination:
Point Sources of Pollution: We will revise and reissue permits, and
enforce permit terms and conditions to control bacterial and other
contamination from sewage treatment facilities and combined sewer
overflows whenever contamination threatens or limits water use.
Through technical assistance and other available means, we will assist
state and local governments in upgrading, building, and permitting
treatment facilities.
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Nonpoint Sources of Pollution: We will assist state and local
governments and coastal zone management agencies in carrying out
programs to control bacterial and other contamination from agricultural
and stormwater runoff, failing septic systems, and other nonpoint
sources that threaten or limit water use.
GOAL: Restoration of the nation's shellfisheries and salt-water fisheries, and
protection of marine mammals and living resources by controlling pollution and
causes of habitat degradation and loss.
Objectives:
1. To Control Pollution:
Land-Based Sources: We will control pollutants that harm coastal and marine
organisms and their habitats, including both toxic and conventional pollutants
and nutrients from point and nonpoint sources.
Nonpoint Sources: We will develop and demonstrate with other federal
agencies and state and local governments special agricultural and
stormwater control techniques. We will assist state and local
governments in identifying and implementing the most protective
measures for coastal areas through State Nonpoint Source Management
Programs.
Conservation Reserve: We will work under the Conservation Reserve
Program to increase the amount of agricultural land used as filter strips
around lakes, streams, and wetlands which are tributaries to coastal and
marine waters. The use of filter strips reduces sediments and other
pollutants that enter our watersheds and threaten coastal waters.
Ocean Discharge Criteria: We will issue and reissue permits for point
sources to coastal waters only after an analysis of the impacts of the
discharge on the marine community. Where necessary, these permits
will require alternatives to discharges at the site and the monitoring of
living resources to ensure that the permits are protective.
New Sources: We will not allow degradation of coastal waters from new
sources. A decision to permit a new source will be based on an
evaluation of the current health of the receiving water and the impact
additional pollution will have on water quality and the diversity and
productivity of living resources. We will achieve the lowest possible
discharge rate, volume, and toxicity, and evaluate alternatives to
discharges at the site. Waste minimization and reduction programs will
be required whenever feasible.
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Offshore Sources: We will issue permits to offshore facilities which specify
special limits, operating conditions, monitoring, and reporting to ensure no
unreasonable degradation of the marine environment. If unreasonable
degradation appears possible, we will require evaluations of the alternatives to
discharges at the site and additional permit conditions.
Criteria and Standards: We will develop and implement water quality
advisories and criteria for pollutants of concern in coastal and marine waters.
We will focus on two kinds of pollutants in particular: those pollutants that
persist and accumulate, threatening to degrade water and sediment quality; and
those pollutants that concentrate in the tissues of living resources or affect their
productivity.
In-PIace Contaminated Sediments: We will improve our ability to determine
the effects of in-place toxic pollutants on coastal and marine environments.
Where coastal and marine waters are threatened by toxic pollutants in the
sediments, we will investigate and apply techniques for site cleanup. We will
also develop criteria establishing limits on the concentrations of certain
pollutants in sediments for use in source controls and permitting.
Atmospheric Deposition: We will accelerate efforts to determine the effects
that atmospheric deposition of both nutrients and toxics has on coastal and
marine waters. We will vigorously enforce existing standards, continue to
develop new standards, and require the application of appropriate controls on
new sources of concern.
2. To Limit Habitat Degradation and Loss:
Sanctuaries: We will work to expand the number and extent of estuarine
sanctuaries under the National Estuarine Research Reserves and marine
sanctuaries under the National Marine Sanctuaries.
Coastal Barrier Resources Act: We will increase efforts to protect
sensitive coastal areas from development by expanding the areas set
aside for protection under the Coastal Barrier Reserve System to include
wetlands, critical aquatic habitats, and other non-developed coastal areas.
Wetlands/Habitat Protection: We will work with other federal agencies
and state and local governments to ensure no overall net loss of
wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, tidal flats, and other critical
habitats. We will avoid the loss of critical habitats, and where such loss
cannot be avoided, we will require full functional compensation. In
addition, we will work to increase habitat by restoring damaged areas
and creating new habitat.
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Subsidies: We will work with federal agencies, state, and local
governments to identify and eliminate federal, state, and local programs
which provide incentives or expenditures that adversely affect coastal
areas.
Coastal Zone Management Program: We will work at the federal, state,
and local levels to use the Coastal Zone Management Program, and
other land use authorities, to prevent new growth and development in
coastal areas that threatens to degrade coastal environments. We will
foster education programs about the impacts that growth and
development can have on water quality and living resources, as well as
provide information about mitigation techniques.
3. To Reduce Risks and Impacts of Accidental Discharges:
Prediction: We will improve environmental prediction and management
techniques to limit the possibility of accidental releases of pollutants to
coastal and ocean resources.
Emergency Response: We will ensure that clean up actions under the
National Contingency Plan attain or exceed federal environmental
standards for habitat protection and loss mitigation.
GOAL: Minimize the use of coastal and marine waters for waste disposal by strictly
limiting ocean dumping, tightening controls on land-based sources, and establishing
aggressive programs to reduce the amount of waste generated by our society.
Objectives:
1. To Address Ocean Dumping:
Industrial Wastes and Sewage Sludge: We will eliminate ocean dumping
and incineration at sea of industrial wastes and sewage sludge. We will
strictly limit the dumping or incineration at sea of all other materials and
we will actively seek demonstrations of alternatives, including source
reduction, recycling, reuse, waste minimization and reduction, as well as
land disposal.
Dredged Materials: We will maintain strict standards to ensure that
disposal of all dredged materials will not degrade coastal and marine
waters. The use of clean dredged materials for beach nourishment,
marsh creation and restoration will be encouraged.
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Radioactive Wastes: We will continue the prohibition on the disposal of
high-level radioactive wastes and we will continue to support the current
international voluntary moratorium on the disposal of low-level
radioactive wastes in coastal and marine waters under the London
Dumping Convention.
2.	To Tighten Controls on Land-Based Sources:
Enforcement: We will ensure timely and appropriate enforcement
actions for permitted facilities that are not in compliance.
Targeting: We will work with the states to target inspections and audits to
further protect near coastal waters. Inspections will be used to not only
assess compliance, but to identify best management practices and proper
operation and maintenance which can further reduce pollution. Illegal
direct and indirect discharges will be identified and eliminated, minor
sources evaluated, and permits revised as needed.
3.	To Foster Alternatives:
Waste Reduction: Reducing volumes and toxicity of waste generated will
be a top priority in every waste management program. We will foster the
development of new technologies to reduce the amount of waste
generated, increase the recycling of products and byproducts, and
expand the use of safe, biodegradable products.
Hazardous Waste Minimization Policy: We will work to reduce the
volume and toxicity of all hazardous materials.
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GOAL: Greater understanding of the effects of pollution on complex coastal and
marine ecosystems by expanding scientific research and monitoring programs, and
the development of new technology.
One of the primary problems we face in addressing degradation of coastal waters is
the fact that we know too little about them. We need to increase our knowledge of
the various pollution sources and how each of these sources, alone or in
combination, affects our coastal resources. Pollution control programs have
traditionally focused on the protection of human health and therefore, principally
fresh water. The marine sciences have focused on "blue waters", the open oceans,
instead of coastal waters.
Therefore, one of our highest priorities is to add a new focus for coastal science
and coastal programs. In coastal and marine waters, living resources should serve
as the indicators of the health of the ecosystem and of our success or failure in
controlling pollution. To learn more, we must combine the talents of research
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scientists, coastal engineers and land use planners, with those of environmental
resource managers at all levels of government. And, we must combine the efforts
of governments with the efforts of the scientific and academic communities.
Objectives:
1.	To Promote Greater Attention to Coastal Science Needs:
Research and Monitoring: We will expand the federal and state coastal
and marine research and monitoring programs through an interagency
strategic plan to:
(a)	determine the current health of the Nation's coastal and marine
waters;
(b)	identify and understand the impacts of all types of pollution on
the coastal and marine environments;
(c)	understand how estuarine and marine organisms are affected by
pollution;
(d)	develop methods to pick up early indications of stress and
recovery in estuarine and marine organisms;
(e)	develop and evaluate methods to restore and create coastal
habitats; and
(f)	establish a national monitoring and reporting network for
scientists and resource managers to determine if pollution control
programs work.
2.	To Develop and Apply New Technology:
National Estuary Program and Geographic Initiatives: We will expand the
National Estuary Program and special initiatives such as the Gulf of
Mexico Initiative. These programs are primary means to achieve our
goals in selected estuaries and coastal areas. They are also critical for
developing new management techniques, new technologies, targeted
scientific studies, and financing mechanisms at the federal, state, and
local levels.
Technology Transfer: It is imperative that our coastal science agenda be
translated into an action agenda. Therefore, we must also educate and
inform those who use coastal resources about balancing amongst
conflicting uses. We will expand our efforts nationally to educate,
inform, and train scientists and environmental resource managers at all
levels to help them acquire the skills needed to deal with complex
environmental problems and difficult management decisions.
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National Public Forum on Land Use: We will convene a national public
forum of federal, state, and local governments and private experts to
determine the best way to reduce land-use impacts on coastal and
marine waters.
GOAL: Leadership by the United States in protection of the world's oceans by
aggressively promoting international efforts to stop pollution and protect critical
marine habitats and living resources.
v			—	 )
Objectives:
1.	Land-Based Sources of Pollution: We will support the development and
implementation of international agreements that strengthen control of land-based
sources of pollution through the U.N. Environment Program, and the Caribbean
and South Pacific Regional Seas Programs.
2.	Ocean Disposal of Wastes: We will promote the acceptance of existing world
agreements, such as the London Dumping Convention, that control the disposal of
wastes at sea.
3.	Pollution from Ships: We will promote the acceptance of regional and global
agreements, such as the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution
from Ships (MARPOL) that control and prevent the discharge or spill of oils,
hazardous substances, and other materials from ships.
4.	Specially Protected Areas and Endangered Species: We will support the
development, implementation, and enforcement of international agreements that
protect critical habitat and endangered species, such as a protocol for specially
protected areas and wildlife in the Caribbean through the U.N. Environment
Programs.
5.	Coastal and Marine Science: We will support and participate in: (a)
international science organizations, such as the Group of Experts on the Scientific
Aspects of Marine Pollution, the World Meteorological Organization, the
International Council of Scientific Unions, and the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission, and (b) bilateral agreements with other nations to
investigate marine pollution, global climate warming, and sea-level rise.
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