2.2.8 15 U.S.C. 272 (National Bureau of Standards Act) 



Under this Act, the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) is authorized to: 

 (1) cooperate with other Federal agencies in the establishment of standard 

 detection and measurements practices, (2) maintain and develop National 

 Standard Reference Materials for the measurement of chemical species, and 

 (3) conduct comparative studies of laboratory procedures between 

 governmental, commercial laboratories and educational institutions. 



2.2.9 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 



The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) , 91-190, declared a national 

 policy which encourages productive and enjoyable harmony between mankind 

 and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate 

 damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and wel- 

 fare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and 

 natural resources important to the Nation and established the Council on 

 Environmental Quality (CEQ) . This Act requires that all agencies of the 

 Federal Government shall utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach 

 which will insure the integrated use of environmental, social and economic 

 information in planning and decision-making to assess the impact of man- 

 kind's activities on the environment, and that unguantified environmental 

 amenities and values may be given appropriate consideration in deci- 

 sion-making along with economic and technical considerations, and that a 

 detailed statement of the action, commonly referred to as an Environmental 

 Impact Statement (EIS) , which details the environmental impact of the pro- 

 posed action, including identifying alternatives to the proposed action, 

 and identification of any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of 

 resources. The U.S. Navy prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) which 

 is the first step in fulfilling the requirements of NEPA and issued and 

 Interim Finding of No Significant Impact (Interim FONSI) for the proposed 

 fleetwide implementation of organotin antifouling hull paints (Federal 

 Register, Vol. 50, No. 120, P- 25748). This decision was based on ten 

 years of Navy studies and comprehensive environmental assessment (U.S. 

 Naval Sea Systems Command, 1984) . When the Navy issued its Interim FONSI, 

 it made commitments to monitor initial implementation operations, continue 

 environmental studies, and reassess in 1988 its decision to proceed with 

 full fleetwide implementation (U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, 1986) . 



2.3 REGUIATORY ACTIONS PROPOSED OR PENDING WITH RESPECT TO ORGANOTTNS IN 

 THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT 



The following sections have been prepared to review and summarize Federal, 

 State, and international regulatory actions proposed, pending or enacted. 



2.3.1 Federal Regulatory Actions 



Among the many regulatory options that are available for policy & decision 

 makers to consider for the regulation of organotins in the aquatic 

 environment, there are four which have or are currently receiving the most 



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