1998 Year of the Ocean Perspectives on Marine Environmental Quality 



Ocean Dumping Act , as amended, (ODA) (Titles I and II of the Marine Protection, Research, and 

 Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as amended), 33 U.S.C. §§ 1401 et seq. 



The ODA provides the basic authority for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the 

 Corps of Engineers (COE) to regulate ocean dumping (Title I) and for the Department of 

 Commerce (DOC), through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to carry out 

 research on the effects on ocean systems of ocean dumping and other man-induced changes (Title 

 II). 



Title I of the ODA: 1) prohibits any person, without a permit, from transporting from the U.S. any 

 material for the purpose of dumping it into ocean waters (defined to mean those waters of the open 

 seas lying seaward of the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured), and 2) in the case of a 

 vessel or aircraft registered in the U.S. or flying the U.S. flag or in the case of a U.S. agency, 

 prohibits any person, without a permit, from transporting from any location any material for the 

 purpose of dumping it into ocean waters. Title I also prohibits any person, without a permit, from 

 dumping any material transported from a location outside the U.S. into the territorial sea, or the 

 contiguous zone extending 12 nautical miles seaward from the baseline of the territorial sea to the 

 extent that it may affect the territorial sea or the territory of the U.S. EPA issues permhs regulating 

 the ocean dumping of all material except dredged material, which is permitted by COE. COE 

 permits are subject to EPA review and concurrence. The specific environmental criteria used to 

 evaluate permit applications are developed by EPA; in the case of dredged material, this is done in 

 coordination with COE. 



In developing criteria for the evaluation of permit applications, the statute provides that the 

 following must be considered: 1) the need for the proposed dumping; 2) the effect of the dumping 

 on human health and welfare, fisheries resources, marine ecosystems, and shorelines; 3) the 

 persistence and permanence of the effects of the dumping; 4) the effect of dumping particular 

 volumes and concentrations; 5) appropriate locations and methods of disposal or recycling, 

 including land-based alternatives; and 6) the effect on alternate uses of the oceans. 



The ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste is prohibited. In addition, radiological, 

 chemical or biological warfare agents, high-level radioactive waste, or medical waste may not be 

 dumped. States may generally adopt and enforce requirements for ocean dumping activities that 

 occur in their jurisdictional waters. 



Title II of the ODA requires the DOC, in coordination with the department in which the U.S. Coast 

 Guard is operating and EPA, to conduct a comprehensive and continuing program of monitoring 

 and research on the effects of dumping of material into ocean or other coastal waters or into the 

 Great Lakes. The title further requires the DOC, in close consultation with other appropriate 

 departments, to conduct a comprehensive and continuing program of research into the possible 

 long-range effects of pollution, overfishing and man-induced changes of ocean ecosystems. The 

 title specifies that the program must include continuing monitoring programs to assess the health of 

 the marine environment, including but not limited to the monitoring of bottom oxygen 



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