1998 Year of the Ocean Perspectives on Marine Environmental Quality 



standards and regulations promulgated under section 312. Section 312 also allows establishment of 

 zones where discharge of sewage from vessels is completely prohibited. Amendments made to 

 section 312 in 1996 will require, where appropriate, the use of marine pollution control devices for 

 operational, non-sewage, discharges from vessels of the Armed Forces. 



Publicly owned sewage treatment facilities must, at a minimum, meet effluent reductions by 

 secondary treatment, except for certain facilities discharging to coastal waters for which EPA has 

 approved a waiver under section 301(h). 



Section 320 of the CWA establishes the National Estuary Program, which uses a consensus-based 

 approach for protecting and restoring estuaries. There are currently 28 estuaries in the program. 



The Army Corps of Engineers (COE) implements the section 404 permit program. Under section 

 404, a permit is required for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into the waters of the U.S. 

 that lie inside of the baseline for the territorial seas and fill materials into the territorial seas within 

 three miles of shore. Although COE has the permitting responsibility under the section 404 

 program except in certain waters of two states (Michigan and New Jersey), which have assumed the 

 authority, EPA is authorized to review and comment on the impact of proposed dredge and fill 

 activities and to prohibit discharges that would have an unacceptable impact on municipal water 

 supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife and recreafional areas. EPA, in consultation with 

 COE, is charged with developing guidelines to be used in evaluating discharges subject to section 

 404. ( See 40 C.F.R. Part 230.) The section 404 permit requirement is the cornerstone for the current 

 wetlands regulatory program. If COE or EPA determines that a certain property is a jurisdictional 

 wetlands, no one can discharge dredged or fill materials into it without a section 404 permit. COE 

 and EPA also have cooperative agreements with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and 

 rely on its determinations as to the presence of wetlands on agricultural lands. 



Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act . 16 U.S.C. §§ 661 et seq. 



The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act requires that whenever a federal agency proposes to 

 impound, divert or otherwise control or modify a body of water for any purpose (including issuing 

 permits or licenses), the agency must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service and the relevant state wildlife resource agency regarding prevention of 

 loss or injury to wildlife resources. 



National Coastal Monitoring Act , as amended, 33 U.S.C. §§ 2801 et seq. 



The National Coastal Monitoring Act, also known as title V of the Marine Protection, Research, 

 and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, provides joint authority for the Environmental Protection Agency and 

 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a comprehensive national 

 program for consistent monitoring of the nation's coastal ecosystems. The title provides that the 

 program is to include, but is not limited to: identification and analysis of the status of 



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