1998 Year of the Ocean Perspectives on Marine Environmental Quality 



Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 . as amended, (RHA), 33 U.S.C. §§ 401 et sea- 



The RHA prohibits the unauthorized obstruction of navigable waters of the United States. The 

 construction of any structure or the excavation or fill in the navigable waters of the United States is 

 prohibited without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Act also prohibits the 

 discharge of refuse and other substances into navigable waters, but has been largely superseded by 

 the Clean Water Act. 



Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 , 16 U.S.C. § 

 1455b 



Section 6217 of Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 required the 29 coastal 

 states with federally approved coastal zone management plans in 1 990 to develop and submit 

 coastal non-point source (NPS) pollution control programs for approval by the National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 

 submissions were to lay out a state program to restore and protect coastal waters by providing for 

 the implementation of management measures developed by EPA. The statute gave states 30 months 

 fi-om the date of publication of the final EPA guidance to submit a program to NOAA and EPA for 

 approval. The statute required that penalties be levied if a state failed to submit an approvable 

 program within the allotted time. There has been no need to assess penalties as yet, as all the states 

 have submitted programs found to be conditionally approvable. 



Shore Protection Act of 1988 . 33 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq. 



Under the Shore Protection Act of 1988, municipal or commercial waste cannot be transported by a 

 vessel in coastal waters without a permit fi-om the Department of Transportation. Municipal or 

 commercial waste includes solid waste as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 

 but excludes waste generated by the vessel during normal operations, construction debris, dredged 

 or fill material, and sewage sludge. The loading, securing and offloading of these wastes must be 

 conducted in a manner to minimize any waste deposited into coastal waters. 



Title IV of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 , as amended, 1 6 

 U.S.C. §§ 1447a to 1447f 



The purpose of Titie IV of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as 

 amended, is to establish regional research programs, under effective Federal oversight, to: 1) set 

 priorities for regional marine and coastal research in support of efforts to safeguard the water 

 quality and ecosystem health of each region; and 2) carry out such research through grants and 

 improved coordination. The regions are: the Gulf of Maine, greater New York bight, mid- Atlantic, 

 South Atiantic, Gulf of Mexico, California, North Pacific, Alaska and insular Pacific. 



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