318 
2. OCEAN DUMPSITE DESIGNATION 
Background: 
Section 102(c) of the Ocean Dumping Law authorizes the EPA 
Administrator to designate recommended sites for dumping, but only 
after consideration of the environmental effects criteria established 
pursuant to section 102(a). Article IV(2) of the London Dumping 
Convention allows dumping permits to be issued "only after careful 
consideration of all the factors set forth in Annex III, including 
prior studies of the characteristics of the citing S@tericcus 
Determining a site's suitability for dumping and its compatibility 
with particular wastes proposed to be deposited there is a matter of 
simple prudence and common sense. Yet, it has been honored far more 
in the breach than in the observance. 
In 1977, EPA blankéetly designated as "interim approved" without 
prior study some 140 historically utilized ocean dumpsites, giving 
itself 3 years to complete the site study process (40 C.F.R. §228.12(a), 
42 Fed. Reg. 2484-87, January 11, 1977). Three years later, with only 
a small handful of sites studied, EPA blanketly extended the interim- 
approved status of a few dozen sites for another three years and of a 
much larger number of additional sites into the indefinite future 
(beyond three years) (45 Fed. Reg. 3053-55, January 16, 1980}. An 
NWF lawsuit filed in February 1980 led to a court-approved settlement 
agreement (NWF v. Costle II, Civ. No. 80-0405, Stipulation of Settlement 
and Dismissal, D.D.C. September 25, 1980), later embodied in a Federal 
Register notice (i.e., a regulation) (45 Fed. Reg. 81042-44, December 
9, 1980), requiring completion of site designation studies (and supporting 
site designation environmental impact statements) in accordance with a 
