199 



Secretary's actions will be reasonable under the circumstances. Some specific 

 criteria upon which actions must be based are included. 



The Department of State supports this legislation, which will provide the 

 United States Government with the domestic legal authority necessary to com- 

 plete its ratification of the 1969 Intervention Convention. We believe that the 

 entry of this Convention into force is an important step in enabling the United 

 States and other coastal nations to take actions necessary to prevent or mitigate 

 serious oil pollution damage resulting from maritime casualties on the high 

 seas. 



The third bill, S. 1351, would amend the Marine Protection Research, and 

 Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (PL ♦92-532), in order to implement the provisions of 

 the international Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dump- 

 ing 'of Wastes and Other Matter. I would like to provide this Subcommittee 

 more detailed information on this bill as this topic has not been reviewed in 

 such depth by other witnesses. 



The President's communication to the Senate (Executive C. 93rd Congress 

 1st Session of February 29, 1973) requesting advice and consent to ratification 

 of the Convention includes the full text of the Convention, the report of the 

 United States delegation to the 30 October 13-November 1972 London Confer- 

 ence and the report by the Secretary of State, which provides an article-by-article 

 analysis of the Convention. Hearings on the ratification of the Convention were 

 scheduled for June 20, 1973, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

 The Convention will enter into force thirty days after fifteen instruments of 

 ratification have been deposited. 



I would like to briefly note the steps this Department took regarding this 

 Convention in following its implementing guidelines' for environmental impact 

 statements covered under Section 102(2) (C) of PL 91-190, The National Envir- 

 onmental Policy Act. A draft environmental impact statement was prepared and 

 made available on October 11, 1972. Comments were directly solicited from all 

 concerned Federal agencies and from appropriate ofiicers of governments of all 

 coastal states of this country. On October 26. 1972 a public hearing was held on 

 the draft impact statement. A final environmental impact statement was 

 completed and notice of its availability appeared in the February 9, 1973 Federal 

 Register. 



At the pre.'^nt time. 47 nations have signed the Convention since it was open 

 for signature on December 29, 1972. I am submitting for the record a list of the 

 47 nations for the information of this Committee. 



On the specific provisions of S. 1351 : to begin with, the 1972 Act does not 

 apjdy to oil within the meaning of Section 11 of the Federal Water Pollution 

 Control Act. The Convention, however, includes on its list of prohibited mate- 

 rials "crude oil, fuel oil. heavy diesel oil. and lubricating oils, hydraulic fluids, 

 and any mixtures containing any of these, taken on board for the purpose of 

 dumping." Therefore, to make certain that the United States has the authority 

 to control the dumping of such substances. Section 1 of S. 1351 amends the 1972 

 Act to cover any oils taken on board a vessel or aircraft for the purpose of 

 dumping. 



Secondly, the 1972 Act only applies in three types of situations: (1) where 

 waste material is transported from the I'nited States for the purpose of dump- 

 ing it into ocean waters; (2) where the dumping occurs in the territorial sea or 

 contiguous zone of the T'nited States: and (3) where an employee, agent or 

 department of the United States transports materials from any location outside 

 the United States for the purpose of dumping. However, the Convention requires, 

 in addition, that each Party apply appropriate controls over dumping activities 

 by all vessels and aircraft registered in its territory or flying its flag, even though 

 the loading or dumping operations may have occurred outside its jurisdiction. 

 This provision is in line with the responsibility of each flag state to see that its 

 flag vessels take reasonable steps to protect the environment wherever they may' 

 go. 



To accommodate this requirement of the Convention, S. 1351 makes two changes 

 in the language of the 1972 Act. Section 2 of the Bill adds two new subsections 

 to Section 101 of the Act to control the loading of wastes in a foreign country 

 by a United States flag vessel or aircraft. Section 3 grants to the Administrator 

 of the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to grant the necessary 

 permits in such cases for the dumping of wastes other than dredged material, 

 and to the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Corps of Engineers, for 

 the dumping of dredged material. Where the loading occurs in the territory of 

 26-282—74 14 



