OCEAN DUMPING IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT: 

 AN ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES 



by 



George Pararas-Carayannis 



SECTION I. INTRODUCTION 



1. Summary of Legislation Related to Ocean Dumping 



Little legislation controlled ocean dumping until passage of the 

 Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act in October 1972, dumping. 

 Section 13 (Refuse Act) of the River and Harbor Act of March 5, 1899 , 

 (33 use 407) authorizes the Secretary of the Army to controll by permit 

 the discharge or depositing of refuse into navigable waters of the United 

 States. This applies to the territorial seas, but it is not applicable 

 to dumping in the oceans. 



Similarly, Section 4 of the River and Harbor Act of 1905 provides 

 for regulations on disposal of certain types of refuse matter in terri- 

 torial seas. This authority was used by the Corps of Engineers in es- 

 tablishing dumping grounds. 



The New York Harbor Act of June 29, 1888 , as amended (33 USC 441 et 

 seq) , provides for the issuance of permits by the Supervisors of the 

 New York, Baltimore, and Hampton Roads Harbors for the transportation 

 upon and/or discharge in those harbors of a variety of materials includ- 

 ing dredgings, sludge and acid. The District Engineers of New York, 

 Baltimore and Norfolk have been designated the Supervisors of these har- 

 bors respectively. 



A number of laws enacted since 1905 provided for environmental con- 

 siderations of water quality and therefore relate indirectly to ocean 

 dumping. The Public Health Service Act of 1912 and the Oil Pollution 

 Act of 1924 (Public Law 68-238) are two such public laws. 



In 1948, the Water Pollution Control Act (PL 80-845) was aimed 

 specifically at enhancing water quality and value of water resources 

 and establishing a national policy for the prevention, control, and 

 abatement of water pollution. This law also established the Federal 

 Water Pollution Advisory Board. 



The Water Pollution Control Act Extension of 1952 (Public Law 82- 

 579) extended the duration of the Water Pollution Control Act for 8 

 years. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1956 (Public Law 84- 

 660) promoted Federal-State cooperation in developing programs support- 

 ing research, and modified and simplified enforcement measures for 

 controlling pollution of interstate waters. 



