Although other ports and marinas also must provide facilities to 

 receive and dispose of garbage generated by the vessels that use 

 them, they are not required to obtain a Certificate of Adequacy. 



When the Coast Guard published its interim regulations, it 

 reserved three sections under which it intended to propose 

 additional requirements at a later date. The three reserved 

 sections addressed record-keeping requirements, vessel waste 

 management plans, and the posting of placards aboard ships. On 

 6 September 1989, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed 

 rulemaking under the three reserved sections and requested 

 comments. 



In its notice, the Coast Guard proposed the following 

 requirements for ships documented in the United States: ocean- 

 going ships 7 feet or longer that engage in commerce must keep 

 records of garbage discharges; oceangoing ships 4 feet or longer 

 that are equipped with galleys and berths and engage in commerce 

 must maintain a waste management plan on board; and all ships 26 

 feet or longer must prominently post information placards to 

 advise crew and passengers of the restrictions and fines 

 regarding the disposal of plastics and other garbage. 



The Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scien- 

 tific Advisors, reviewed the proposed rule and, on 2 November 

 1989, provided comments to the Coast Guard. It noted that the 

 proposed rules should help reduce the amount of potentially 

 hazardous marine debris that might otherwise enter the ocean and 

 it expressed its full support for adopting them. 



With respect to the proposed record-keeping requirements for 

 ships longer than 70 feet, the Commission recommended that either 

 a new section be added to the regulations to ensure that vessel 

 operators record certain types of data (including, at a minimum, 

 the date, location, and method of discharge as well as the type 

 and quantity of garbage discarded) or that the format of the 

 record books be established to ensure the entry of that data. 



International Activities in 1989 



Plastic debris enters the world's oceans from ships and 

 shores of all coastal nations. Much of this pollution may drift 

 with ocean currents hundreds or thousands of miles from its point 

 of origin. Therefore, to successfully address plastic debris 

 pollution will require international cooperation. To facilitate 

 appropriate action, the Commission, in cooperation with other 

 agencies and organizations, undertook the following actions in 

 1989. 



126 



