ministrator flexibility in developing an ocean dumping policy which would take 

 account of such special circumstances. 



5. EPA is opi)Osed to the provisions of the hill which would prohibit the Ad- 

 ministrator from issuing permits to dump sewage or industrial wastes Avhich 

 have received less than a specified level of treatment. This provision appears to be 

 concerned witli effluents from municipal and industrial waste treatment plants — 

 a category of discharge apparently within the Act's definition of "dumping." EPA 

 believes that such continuous discharges should continue to be regulated by the 

 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, rather than by a bill concerned primarily 

 with ocean dumping. Furthermore, a requirement of a specified level of treatment 

 for all discharges by a specified date fails to take into account variations in water 

 use designations, the quality or characteristics of the receiving waters, or other 

 factors which bear on the appropriate level of treatment in a given instance. The 

 provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act governing the establish- 

 ment of water quality sitandards provide a more flexible and responsive vehicle 

 for the establishment of base levels of treatment. 



6. While subsection (e) (2) of the bill provides that "nothing in this section 

 shall be consftrued as abrogating or negating any existing responsibility or au- 

 thority contained in the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899," any outstanding per- 

 mits authorizing dumping issued under that Act would apparently not survive 

 the enactment of this proposal, in view of subsection (e) (1) which provides for 

 the termination of such permits. 



H.R. 4359 ( also 4S60, 4361 ) 



This bill provides that no citizen of the United States or "other person" may 

 dispose of waste materials (comprehensively deflned) into the oceans, coastal 

 waters, or estuarine waters of the United States or into the Great Lakes without 

 a permit from the Adminisitrator of EPA. "Other person" is defined to mean 

 resident oflScers, directors or managers of foreign partnerships, associations, or 

 corporations doing business in the United States. The Administrator would be au- 

 thorized to issue permits under such terms as he determines necessary to insure 

 that the dumping will not damage the ecology of the marine environment. The 

 Administrator would not be authorized to issue i)ermits for the dumping of radio- 

 active wastes, toxic industrial wastes, or chemical or biological warfare agents. 

 In the case of permits for the dumping of sewage or industrial wasites, he would 

 not be authorized to issue a permit ( 1 ) after January 1, 1972, unless such wastes 

 had received primary treatment; (2) after January 1, 1974, unless they had also 

 received secondary treatment; or (3) after January 1, 1976, unless they had also 

 received tertiary treatment. The Administrator would be authorized to prohibit 

 by regulation the disposal of any waste material which he determines may dam- 

 age the ecology of the marine environment. The Act would authorize the imiwsi- 

 tion of criminal fines as follows : fines of $2,000 to $10,000 per day of violation 

 for first offenses, and fines of $10,000 to $20,000 per day of violation for subse- 

 quent offenses. Vessels involved in violations would be forfeited to the United 

 States. The permit provisions of the Adt would be enforced by EPA, the Secretary 

 of Transportation (Coast Guard), and the Secretary of the Army (Corps of En- 

 gineers) under regulations and operational directives jointly agreed to. The 

 Coast Guard would be empowered to stop, search and detain vessels, and district 

 courts would have jurisdiction to restrain violations. 



The Secretary of Commerce, acting through NOAA, after consultation with 

 the Secretary of the Interior, EPA, and CEQ, would be directed to designate 

 as marine sanctuaries those areas of the Nation's tidelands, Outer Continental 

 Shelf, seaward areas, and land and waters of the Great Lakes, which the Secre- 

 tary determines should be preserved or restored for their recreation, conserva- 

 tion, ecologic, or aesthetic values. The Secretary of the Interior would be pre- 

 cluded from issuing or renewing any license for the exploration, mining or re- 

 moval of any minerals, including oil and gas, from any area designated or under 

 study for possible designation as a marine sanctuary. EPA would be precluded 

 from issuing or renewing permits for dumping in such areas. $5,(X)0,000 would be 

 authorized to be appropriated for studies in connection with the designation of 

 marine sanctuaries. 



EPA is generally favorable to the provisions of this proposal, with, the follow- 

 ing major reservations : 



