Vill. U.S. ACTIVITIES FOR CONTROLLING OCEAN 
POLLUTION 
The United States was early to recognize the potential danger of 
pollution of the marine environment. This nation was one of the first 
to. enact pollution control measures within its territorial waters in 
addition to actively promoting international cooperation in pollution 
control on the high seas. 
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 
Early Congressional interest in controlling the pollution of the 
Nation’s waters was concerned primarily with internal waters. One 
of the earliest pieces of legislation, which still stands as a landmark to 
pollution abatement in navigable waters, was the Rivers and Harbors 
Act of 1899 (Public Law 55-425). This Act states that ‘it shall not 
be lawful to throw, discharge, or deposit, or cause, suffer, or procure 
to be thrown, discharged, or deposited either from or out of any ship, 
barge, or other floating craft of any kind, or from the shore, wharf, 
manufacturing establishment, or mill of any kind, any refuse matter 
of any kind or description whatever other than that flowing from 
streets and sewers and passing therefrom in a liquid state, into any 
navigable water of the United States, or into any tributary of any 
navigable water from which the same shall float or be washed into 
such navigable water.’”’ Since much of the pollution found in the oceans. 
is brought there by the rivers and streams flowing out of the surround- 
ing land masses, this legislation, passed nearly three-quarters of a 
century ago, can be regarded as the first step toward U.S. legislative 
action to prevent ocean pollution. 
Ou Pollution Control Act of 1924 
Shortly following World War I, with the increased use and develop- 
ment of oil-fueled and oil-carrying ships, Congress enacted Public: 
Law 68-238. This law, titled the Oil Pollution Control Act of 1924, 
prohibited the willful discharge of oil into the coastal waters of the 
United States. Fines up to $2,500 and imprisonment up to one year 
were provided for persons guilty of this offense. Discharge was per- 
mitted under certain conditions provided it was deemed not dele-» 
terious to health, sea food, a menace to navigation, or dangerous to 
persons or property engaged in commerce on such waters. This Act 
was updated and strengthened by amendments in 1966 making the 
guilty party liable for the cost of cleaning up an oil discharge, and 
revising the fines to a maximum of $2, 500 per person and $10,000 
per vessel. 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1961 
Water pollution control gained new impetus in 1948 when legisla- 
tive action targeted this as a primary national concern. The first, bill 
passed was Public Law 80-845 which provided measures for restoring: 
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