Water Issues - Ocean Protection

Throughout history humans have used the oceans virtually as they pleased. Ocean waters have long served as highways and harvest grounds. Now, however, humankind is at a threshold. Marine debris (garbage created by humans) is a problem of global proportions and is extremely evident in countries like the United States where there is extensive recreational and commercial use of coastal waterways. The oceans have become overfished and badly polluted. An estimated half of fish species in the United States are overexploited—more are being caught than can be replenished by natural reproduction. Coastal wetlands are decreasing. Louisiana, for example, loses about 50 square miles of estuaries each year. Sewage, wastewater, and runoff foul the remaining wetlands and ocean waters and trash is piling up on many shorelines. Toxic chemicals contaminate fish caught for food.

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships

Established in 1973, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships regulates numerous materials that are dumped at sea. The international treaty has been in effect in the United States only since its ratification in 1998. Although 83 countries have ratified the treaty, they have not necessarily complied, as evidenced by the current level of marine debris.

Ocean Dumping Act

Congress enacted the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act in 1972 (PL 92-532) to regulate intentional ocean disposal of materials and to authorize research. Title 1 of the act, known as the Ocean Dumping Act, contains permit and enforcement provisions for ocean dumping. Four federal agencies have authority under the act—the EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Title 1 prohibits all ocean dumping, except that allowed by permits, in any ocean waters under U.S. jurisdiction by any U.S. vessel or by any vessel sailing from a U.S. port. The act bans dumping of radiological, chemical, and biological warfare agents, high-level radioactive waste, and medical wastes. In 1997 Congress amended the act to ban dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial waste.

The act authorizes the EPA to assess civil penalties of up to $50,000 for each violation, as well as criminal penalties (seizure and forfeiture of vessels). For dumping of medical wastes the act authorizes civil penalties of up to $125,000, criminal penalties of up to $250,000 and five years in prison, or both.

In July 1999 the world's second largest cruise line pleaded guilty in federal court to criminal charges of dumping oil and hazardous chemicals in U.S. waters and lying about it to the Coast Guard. Royal Caribbean agreed to pay a record $18 million fine, the largest ever paid by a cruise line for polluting waters, in addition to the $9 million in criminal fines the company agreed to pay in a previous plea agreement. Six other cruise lines have pleaded guilty to illegal waste dumping since 1993 and have paid fines ranging up to $1 million. The cases have focused attention on the difficulties of regulating the fast growing cruise line industry in which most major ships sailing out of U.S. ports are registered in foreign countries.

Oil Pollution Act

In 1989 the oil freighter Exxon Valdez ran into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of oil into one of the richest and most ecologically pristine areas in North America. An oil slick the size of Rhode Island killed wildlife and marine species. A $5 billion damage penalty was levied against Exxon, whose ship captain was found to be at fault in the wreck.

In response to the Valdez oil spill, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (PL 101-380) that went into effect in 1993. The law requires companies involved in storing and transporting petroleum to have standby plans for cleaning up oil spills on land or in water. Under the act a company that does not adequately take care of a spill is vulnerable to almost unlimited litigation and expense. The law makes the Coast Guard responsible for approving cleanup plans and procedures for coastal and seaport oil spills, while the EPA oversees cleanups on land and in inland waterways. The law also requires that oil tankers be built with double hulls to better secure the oil in event of a hull breach.