Impact on the Antarctic Environment: A Procedure for Evaluating 

 Impacts from Scientific and Logistic Activities" — was con- 

 sidered by the 13th Consultative Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 

 in 1985. The meeting was unable to reach agreement on adoption 

 of standard guidelines or procedures for environmental impact 

 assessment, but did agree that the matter should be considered 

 further at the 14th Consultative Meeting. 



At the 14th Consultative Meeting, it was agreed that, in 

 the process of planning Antarctic scientific and logistic 

 support activities, the national organizations responsible 

 for planning should evaluate the possible impacts of the activi- 

 ties using guidelines set forth in the agreed recommendation. 

 The guidelines are an amalgamation of those proposed in the 

 previously mentioned SCAR report and in the "Goals and Prin- 

 ciples on Environmental Impact Assessment" adopted by the 

 Governing Council of the United Nations Environmental Program 

 in June 1987. They are also consistent with the environmental 

 impact assessment procedures established by the U.S. Council 

 on Environmental Quality to help implement the U.S. National 

 Environmental Policy Act. If applied as recommended, the 

 guidelines will help to minimize the impact of human activities 

 on the Antarctic environment. 



Waste management : The 8th Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

 Meeting, held in 1975, developed and recommended adoption of 

 a Code of Conduct for Antarctic Expedition and Station Activi- 

 ties, including recommended procedures for waste disposal. In 

 1985, the 13th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting requested 

 that SCAR undertake a comprehensive review of waste disposal 

 practices and provide advice on standards that would be desir- 

 able to achieve at coastal and inland stations and field camps 

 and ways that the standards can be met. SCAR was unable to 

 complete its review before the 14th Consultative Meeting, due 

 in part to incomplete responses from national program operators 

 to requests for information concerning waste disposal practices 

 at existing Antarctic stations and field camps. Recognizing 

 the importance of identifying and using the best available 

 technology and practices, the 14th Consultative Meeting urged 

 national operating agencies to respond promptly and fully to 

 the request for information concerning national practices. 

 Pending receipt of SCAR's advice on the matter, the Meeting 

 urged all parties to consider: (1) the clean-up of existing 

 waste disposal sites; (2) minimizing the amount of waste gene- 

 rated; (3) reuse or recycling of waste materials; and (4) 

 removal of all waste from the Treaty area that cannot otherwise 

 be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. 



The United States should lead the way in developing and 

 implementing environmentally sound waste disposal practices 

 in the Antarctic and, in 1988, the Commission will work with 

 the National Science Foundation, the National Marine Fisheries 



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