timely prediction of a hurricane approaching the Gulf of Mexico 

 permitted the oil industry to shut down operations and move all 

 personnel to shore. As a result, the hurricane caused no loss of life or 

 identifiable pollution related to offshore petroleum operations. 

 NOAA has now given high priority to the placement of data buoys 

 (described elsewhere] in areas of present and proposed offshore 

 leasing to aid in making weather and oceanographic forecasts. 



In joint efforts with others, NASA is conducting a variety of 

 studies to apply remote-sensing techniques and principles to the 

 analysis of wave geometries, knowledge of which is necessary in the 

 planning and design of offshore drilling and production structures. 

 Examples include NASA support of a project at the Virginia 

 Institute of Marine Sciences, funded by the NOAA Sea Grant Office, 

 and completed during 1974, to produce a continental-shelf wave- 

 refraction model for the east coast between Delaware and North 

 Carolina; the development of a comparable model for the proposed 

 Baltimore Canyon Trough exploration area, scheduled for comple- 

 tion during mid-1975; a cooperative study with the Naval 

 Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) on the use of laser 

 profilometers and aerial photography in analyzing relations 

 between sea-floor relief and wave geometries; and the testing of 

 microwave-imaging radar systems that may be used to achieve day- 

 night, all-weather wave-measurement capability. 



Regulatory and enforcement programs of EPA also provide direct 

 support for marine science and engineering activities. The primary 

 components of enforcement activity involve monitoring and 

 enforcing compliance with oil-spill-prevention requirements; toxic, 

 pretreatment and marine sanitation requirements, aquaculture and 

 sewage sludge disposal permits under the Federal Water Pollution 

 Control Administration [FWPCA], as well as enforcing the ocean 

 dumping regulations of the Maritime Protection, Research and 

 Sanctuaries Act of 1972. In addition, significant progress was made 

 in fiscal year 1975 in implementing the National Pollutant Discharge 

 Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Program to regulate all major 

 industrial, municipal, and other source point discharges of 

 pollutants into the navigable water of the United States, including 

 the contiguous zone. 



In addition to its review role in the preparation of environmental 

 impact assessments, EPA sets discharge and pollution standards, 

 issues permits for any planned waste discharge from offshore 

 installations, conducts special field investigations for enforcement 

 actions, and aids in the preparation of pertinent operating 

 regulations and orders administered by USGS. For example, EPA 

 has established Federal standards of performance for marine 

 sanitation devices. Coast Guard certified marine sanitation devices 



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