smittal to the Senate for its advice and consent. By letter 

 of 21 January 1987, the Secretary of State advised the President 

 that Annex V had the support of the Coast Guard, the Marine 

 Mammal Commission, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini- 

 stration, other involved Federal agencies, the environmental 

 community, and the maritime industry. He recommended that 

 the Annex be transmitted to the Senate for its early advice 

 and consent. The President concurred with the recommendation 

 and, on 9 February 1987, transmitted the Annex to the Senate. 

 In so doing, the President noted that its entry into force 

 was an important step for controlling and preventing pollution 

 from disposal of ship-generated garbage at sea. 



On 5 November 1987, the Senate voted unanimously to 

 adopt a resolution that it provide its advice and consent to 

 ratify Annex V. In taking this action, the Senate recognized 

 that Annex V provided for the designation of "Special Areas" 

 in which dumping of all garbage is prohibited, except for 

 food wastes beyond 12 nautical miles from the nearest land. 

 In this regard, the Senate called attention to the large 

 amount of ship- and platform-generated debris washing up on 

 U.S. beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, particularly on the 

 Texas shoreline, and the large numbers of endangered sea 

 turtles that inhabit the Gulf and are susceptible to adverse 

 interactions with debris. In view of this provision and the 

 noted problems, the Senate included an understanding in its 

 resolution that the U.S. Government would make every reasonable 

 effort to designate the Gulf of Mexico as a Special Area 

 under this Annex. 



The final step in the ratification process is depositing 

 the instrument of ratification with the Convention's Secretariat 

 (the International Maritime Organization) , thereby providing 

 official notice that the United States accepts the obligations 

 associated with implementing requirements set forth in the 

 Annex. On 2 December 1987, the President signed the instrument 

 of ratification. However, it is U.S. policy not to deposit 

 such an instrument unless domestic legislation is in place to 

 authorize all actions required to carry out an agreement's 

 provisions. At the time the Senate provided its advice and 

 consent on Annex V, U.S. law did not provide authority for 

 regulating garbage disposal from ships in U.S. waters as set 

 forth in the Annex. 



Therefore, the step of depositing the instrument of 

 ratification was not taken until Congress had passed, and the 

 President had signed, the implementing legislation necessary 

 to carry out the requirements of Annex V. Final Congressional 

 action on the matter was taken on 18 and 19 December 1987 

 when the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, 

 passed H.R. 3674. Title II of the bill, entitled the "Marine 

 Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987," provides 



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