ocean dumping. NOAA's findings are used by EPA in selecting and 

 regulating the use of dump sites. 



The USCG is now testing and evaluating a high-seas ocean-dumping 

 surveillance system. When development is complete, the system will be 

 deployed on dumping vessels to provide USCG with data on the position 

 of the vessels and the time of dumping in order to insure vessel com- 

 pliance with dumping permits. This system will eliminate the very cos- 

 tly requirement for periodic USCG cutter surveillance of dumping 

 vessels and sites. Completion of the prototype system is expected by the 

 latter part of 1976. 



SUPPORTING RESEARCH AND ENVIRONMENTAL 

 MONITORING 



Pollution control programs must be supported by a knowledge of 

 natural environmental systems and how these systems are influenced by 

 different types and levels of pollution. A number of Federal agencies is 

 involved in programs to provide basic environmental research and 

 monitoring data. EPA sponsors a number of studies directed to in- 

 vestigating the eventual fate of pollutants in ocean waters and effects of 

 pollutants on the marine environment. This work includes research by 

 the University of Rhode Island to assess the biological effects of wastes 

 on ecosystems and individual species, studies by Fordham University of 

 factors contributing to massive algal blooms, Harvard University 

 research to determine the ability of marine microorganisms to destroy 

 human pathogens, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology studies of 

 the fate of toxic metal pollutants in the ocean. 



In consequence of its responsibilities for the administration of Federal 

 land, conservation of mineral and water resources, and preservation of 

 fish and wildlife resources, the Department of the Interior (DOI) sup- 

 ports several marine science programs contributing directly or indirectly 

 to environmental quality. 



The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates the National Stream 

 Quality Accounting Network, an important gauging system for provid- 

 ing basic information for pollution abatement and control. The waters 

 measured by this network are not marine waters, but they empty into 

 estuarine and coastal waters, and thus data furnished by this network 

 are essential in the understanding of marine chemistry and pollution 

 dynamics in nearshore areas. USGS operates over 5,000 water quality 

 stations. Of this number, 1,143 are of particular importance to marine 

 environmental quality programs. These are the 369 gauging stations 

 near the mouths of streams to monitor such water characteristics as tem- 

 perature, inorganic and organic constituents, and suspended sediments. 

 The gauging stations also monitor the 774 gauges that measure the flow 

 of fresh water into nearshore marine areas. 



48 



