THE
MARINE
PROTECTION,
RESEARCH AND
SANCTUARIES ACT
OF 1972
(Ocean Dumping)
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
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''"Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean—
roll!
10,000 fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin—
His control stops with the shore."
—Byron
"The moving waters at their priest-like
task
Of pure ablution round earth's human
shores."
—Keats
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T
Ahroughout countless millennia the mighty
ocean has been impervious to man's weak as-
saults. The boast of Byron and the respect of
Keats were well-deserved. But time has brought
change. Today, man, armed with pollutants—
sewage, chemicals, garbage, oil, debris, explo-
sives, radioactive materials—has the power to
destroy the life-giving and cleansing capabilities
of the ocean.
The ocean's only natural defense had been its
size. Now that man can defeat this size, it re-
mains to him to protect ttte ocean.
That protection is a new law, the Marine
Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of
1972, passed by Congress on October 13 and
signed by President Nixon on October 23. In
legend, Neptune, the God of Waters, carried a
trident, a three-pronged spear, as a weapon.
Fittingly, man's weapon is also a trident. It has
three main thrusts: regulation of dumping, re-
search aimed at finding ways to end all ocean
dumping and the creation of marine sanctuaries.
The Federal agencies given responsibility for
protecting the oceans are the Department of
Commerce, the Army Corps of Engineers, the
Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (EPA).
HOW BIG A PROBLEM?
Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the
earth's surface, a total area of about 140 million
square miles. In fact, our planet is habitable
only because so much of its surface is water.
Oceans are a critical environmental factor, con-
tributing to the atmospheric balance of oxygen
and carbon dioxide, affecting the global climate
and providing the base for the world's hydro-
logic system. They are an important source of
indispensable protein for many countries. An
estimated 63 million metric tons of fish came
from the sea in 1969.
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The coastlines of the United States are long
and diverse, ranging from the tropical waters of
Florida to Alaska's Arctic shore, from rock-
bound Maine to sandy Hawaiian beaches. These
areas are the habitat for much of our fish and
wildlife, places of recreation and psychic re-
vitalization and sources of employment. Regret-
tably, these waters are also the final receptacle
for wastes carried by our rivers or dumped
directly from barges, ships and pipelines. But
unlike rivers and lakes, the oceans have no
outlet for the refuse dumped into them.
Direct dumping off the U.S. coasts accounts
for more than 50 million tons of wastes each
year. About 80 percent is dredge spoils, 10
percent is industrial wastes and 9 percent is
sewage sludge. The remaining one percent is
made up of construction and demolition debris,
solid waste, explosives, chemical munitions,
radioactive wastes and miscellaneous materials.
Up to now, the amount of wastes dumped
directly into the ocean has been a small portion
of the total volume of its pollutants. Most pollut-
ants are brought by rivers and streams, but
the new Federal Water Pollution Control Act of
1972 will limit the amount of pollution that may
be discharged into rivers and streams. Every in-
dication, however, pointed to a substantial in-
crease in direct ocean dumping if this disposal
method had been left uncontrolled. For example,
in 1959, industrial wastes disposed of by ocean
dumping approximated 2.2 million tons. By
1968, the amount had increased to over 4.7 mil-
lion tons, a 114 percent increase in nine years.
In the same period, the amount of sewage sludge
dumped increased by 61 percent, from 2.8 mil-
lion tons to 4.5 millions tons.
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanc-
tuaries Act should help to solve this problem.
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REGULATION OF DUMPING
The new law absolutely bans dumping of
radiological, chemical or biological warfare
agents and high-level radioactive wastes. With
one exception, permits are required for trans-
porting materials for ocean dumping and for
the dumping itself. The Corps of Engineers
issues permits for dredge spoils; EPA for all.
other materials.
The exception is fish wastes. Since they are
a natural ocean waste product, no permit is
required unless harbors or other protected waters
as the receiving waters are involved, or unless
the EPA Administrator finds that such deposits
in certain offshore areas could endanger health,
the environment or ecological systems.
Dumping sites are designated by the EPA
Administrator and, wherever possible, will be
located beyond the Continental Shelf. This is a
vital provision since about 90 percent of known
marine life is concentrated above the Continental
Shelf.
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Citizen Action: An individual may initiate
a civil suit to enjoin any person, including
any Federal, SJate or local government or
agency, who is alleged to be violating any
prohibition, limitation, criterion or permit es-
tablished or issued under this law.
An individual, however, cannot go to court
until at least 60 days after notice of violation
has been given to the violator and to either
the EPA Administrator or the Secretary of
the Army. Also, no action can be started if
the government is already diligently prosecut-
ing the violator.
Whenever it deems appropriate, the court
may award litigation costs, including reason-
able attorney and expert witness fees, to any
party.
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In evaluating permit applications, both EPA
and the Corps of Engineers must consider:
¦The need for the proposed dumping.
¦The effect on human health and welfare, in-
cluding economic, esthetic and recreational
values.
¦The effect on fisheries, resources, plankton,
fish, shellfish, wildlife, shorelines, beaches
and marine ecosystems.
¦The effect of dumping particular, volumes
and concentrations of materials and the per-
sistence of the effect.
¦The effect on other ocean uses such as scien-
tific study, fishing and other resource exploi-
tation.
¦Appropriate locations and methods of dis-
posal or recycling, including land-based alter-
natives and the probable impact of requiring
the use of such alternate locations or methods.
The law provides for both civil and criminal
penalties for violations, but there is no penalty
for dumping materials from a vessel as emergency
action to safeguard life at sea. The Coast Guard
is responsible for surveillance and enforcement
necessary to prevent unlawful transportation of
material for dumping or unlawful dumping.
RESEARCH TO END ALL OCEAN DUMPING
The basic research objective of the law is to
find ways to minimize or to end all ocean dump-
ing within five years. It will cover the effects of
dumping materials into ocean or coastal waters
and into the Great Lakes or their connecting
waters.
I
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The law charges the Secretary of Commerce
with responsibility for a comprehensive and con-
tinuing research program involving the possible
long-range effects of pollution, overfishing or
man-induced changes in ocean ecosystems. Re-
search efforts are to be coordinated with EPA
and the Coast Guard.
MARINE SANCTUARIES
The Secretary of Commerce is also authorized
to designate as marine sanctuaries those areas
that should be preserved or restored for their
conservation, recreational, ecological or esthetic
values. These may be situated in ocean waters
as far as the outer edge of the Continental Shelf,
in other coastal waters or the Great Lakes and
their connecting waters.
Once an area is designated a marine sanctuary,
no permits, licenses or other authorizations can
be issued unless the Secretary of Commerce de-
termines that the permitted activity is consistent
kwith the purposes of the Sanctuary.
The oceans are man's common heritage, his
fortune and, indeed, his future. For if man is
to survive, the oceans must be able to go about
their endless "task of pure ablution round earth's
human shores."
The reader is free to quote or reproduce any part
of this publication without further permission.
December 1972
For sale bv the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
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