standards to boatbuilders for the safety aspects of new boats and equipment. 

 The manufacturer will also be required to maintain a list of first purchasers 

 to permit product recall or repair in the event that subsequent safety defects 

 come to light. A landmark provision of the Act is that the builder must do 

 this at his own expense. 



The first of these regulations, expected to become effective next summer, 

 will apply to boats under 26 feet (where most fatalities occur) and will 

 establish minimum requirements for lifesaving devices, safe loading, safe 

 powering, and flotation. Following regulations will deal with the hazards 

 of fire and explosion. 



Other provisions of the Act consider the boat operator. The Coast Guard 

 has been provided resources to increase efforts in motivating the average 

 boatman to safe operation and to require him to follow the boating laws 

 and regulations. It was also authorized to act before the fact in accident 

 prevention. Coast Guard boarding officers now have authority to require 

 operators of boats exhibiting especially hazardous conditions to have those 

 conditions corrected before permitting them to continue. 



Minimizing Effects of Construction and Development 



Passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and recent 

 court decisions have given substantial incentive and support to eliminating 

 or reducing the undesirable consequences of marine environmental altera- 

 tions. During 1971, most Federal agencies expanded their ability to prepare 

 and evaluate Environmental Impact Statements and the scope of their con- 

 sideration. For example, additional emphasis was placed on the potential 

 threat to marine resources from development of the Alaska North Slope and 

 offshore fuel reserves ; alternatives to such development, such as increased oil 

 imports, were also scrutinized with an eye to environmental impact. 



Coastal Engineering 



The Corps of Engineers continued studies initiated in 1968 to evaluate 

 the impact of dredge disposal on the Great Lakes, to improve water quality, 

 and to reduce polluted spoil. A study to identify needed research on the 

 effects of engineering activities on coastal ecology from Maine to Alaska, 

 including the Great Lakes, was completed in 1971. Results of these studies 

 are now being implemented in a number of ways. Recommended research on 

 techniques for creating new marshlands from dredge spoil is being supported 

 at three universities. For the Great Lakes, the Corps received legislative au- 

 thority to construct structures to retain polluted dredge spoil. Currently, 

 potential sites are being evaluated in conjunction with the States of the 

 Great Lakes region. Research at the U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Sta- 

 tion in Vicksburg, Miss., is also underway to develop new technology for 

 maintaining channels and disposing spoil. This program will be generally 

 applicable to all coastal regions of the United States. The Corps' physical 

 models of major estuaries at Vicksburg have also been used to study environ- 

 mental impact problems. For example, design criteria to minimize the impact 



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