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and preserving the Nation’s water resources. However, these provi- 
sions were restricted to interstate waters. Following extensions and 
amendments of this Act in 1952 and 1956, an amendment titled The 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1961 (Public Law 87-88) 
extended pollution abatement procedures to all navigable waters 
including coastal waters. This Act provides grants to local communi- 
ties for sewage control and funds for research and development of 
pollution control and treatment. Enforcement of pollution control 
measures is left to the states, but provision is made for limited Federal 
enforcement in the case of pollution endangering the health or welfare 
of persons where the State has not taken action. 
Oil Pollution Control Act of 1961 
An additional major piece of environmental legislation passed in 
1961 was the. Oil Pollution Act (Public Law 87-167) which imple- 
mented the provisions of the International Convention for the Pre- 
vention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954. The 1954 Oil Pollution 
Convention provided for signatory countries to enact enabling legis- 
lation in ratification of the Convention. Through the Oil Pollution 
Control Act, Congress provided specific penalties for noncompliance 
with the provisions of the Convention within U.S. jurisdiction. The 
United States became party to the Convention on December 8, 1961. 
In 1966, amendments to the 1961 Oil Pollution Control Act were 
enacted (Public Law 89-551) to implement amendments to the 1954 
Oil Pollution Convention adopted in London April 11, 1962 (The 
amendments to the Convention were discussed in the previous 
chapter). The 1966 Amendments to the Oil Pollution Control Act 
also provided penalties for violations occurring within the U.S. 
jusisdiction. 
Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 
In June 1966, Congress passed the Marine Resources and Engi 
neering Development Act which became Public Law 89-454. This 
Act provided for a comprehensive, long-range, and coordinated 
national program in marine science, and established a National 
Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development in the 
Executive Office of the President. In addition to the Council, a 
Commission on Marine Science, Engineering and Resources was 
formed to recommend an organizational structure suitable for fulfilling 
the aims of the national oceanographic program set forth in this 
Act. The duties of the Council were to assist and advise the President 
in surveying all marine science activities, develop a program in 
marine activities including exploitation and conservation of the 
resources of the marine environment, and to aid in coordinating marine 
activities of Federal agencies. For the purposes of this Act the term 
“marine environment” was defined to include the oceans, Continental 
Shelf of the United States, the Great Lakes, the seabed and subsoil 
of the submarine areas adjacent to the coasts of the United States 
to a depth of 200 meters or beyond to the limit of exploitation. 
This Act was amended in January 1968 (Public Law 90-242) to 
extend the lifetime of both the Council and Commission to allow 
additional time to complete their work. The Commission’s task was 
completed with the publication of its final report titled Our Nation 
and the Sea, which was submitted to Congress in January 1969. It was 
