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tion Strategy. It was signed at a ministerial level meeting in 

 Rovaniemi, Finland in Jxine of 1991. 



The Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy is a plan for co- 

 operation and coordination of Arctic countries' efforts to protect the 

 environment. It is based on state of the environment reports pre- 

 pared by individual lead countries and reviewed by all participants. 

 These focus on six specific areas: oil, acids, persistent chlorinated 

 organics, noise, and heavy metals, and radioactives. The strategy 

 summarizes these reports and calls for specific actions. 



Obviously the focus on radioactivity may prove useful as a tool 

 in the situation with which we are concerned today. In particular, 

 the strategy's Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, AMAP, 

 may prove useful. Its goals are to coordinate existing and future 

 monitoring efforts and to develop an Arctic data directory. Coun- 

 tries recognize that this first step of cooperation is essential to the 

 future coordination of our response to pollution treats. Norway has 

 volunteered to host the secretariat which is now located in Oslo. 

 The Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanographic 

 Atmospheric Administration are the lead U.S. agencies for this pro- 

 gram. It is important that they both devote the necessary resources 

 and priorities to implement AMAP effectively. In particular, we 

 would request AMAP to undertake a long-term monitoring pro- 

 gram, a progr£im to monitor these dumped nuclear materials. 



Mr. Chairman, there are also two other relevant bilateral agree- 

 ments with Russia which bear on the problem of marine pollution. 

 One is the 1972 U.S.AJSSR agreement on cooperation in the field 

 of environmental protection which will be discussed by my col- 

 league from EPA. The other concerns oil pollution. It is the agree- 

 ment between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning 

 cooperation in combating pollution in the Bring and Chukchi Seas, 

 which was developed under the umbrella of the 1972 agreement 

 and signed in May of 1989. The purpose of the agreement is to es- 

 tablish a mechanism to deal with the risk to the marine environ- 

 ment posed by potential oil development in the Bering Sea by both 

 countries, and tanker traffic associated with such development and 

 with the development of oil production in the Beaufort Sea. It's also 

 designed to deal with pollution risks associated with the transport 

 of other hazardous substances. 



Pursuant to the agreement, both countries established a joint 

 marine pollution contingency plan to facilitate a coordinated re- 

 sponse to a pollution accident threatening one or both countries 

 and to provide a communication net work and command structure 

 for dealing with such incidents. The plan provides for prior agree- 

 ment on procedures and responsibilities including customs £uid im- 

 migration clearances for personnel to enable response teams to 

 move more quickly and effectively to contain or clean up a pollution 

 incident. The plan also provides for regular coordination meetings 

 and exercises. The plan is implemented and maintained by the U.S. 

 Coast Guard and their Russian counterparts in the field of pollu- 

 tion response. While one might question what an oil pollution 

 agreement has to do with nuclear waste dumping, the fact is that 

 the agreement is a useful precedent. It demonstrates that the U.S. 

 and Russia can reach agreement on an effective umbrella arrange- 

 ment for dealing with environmental issues. 



