Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972

Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, Ocean Dumping Act is one of several key environmental laws passed by the US Congress in 1972. The Act has two essential aims: to regulate intentional ocean disposal of materials, and to authorize any related research. While the MPRSA regulates the ocean dumping of waste and provides for a research program on ocean dumping, it also provides for the designation and regulation of marine sanctuaries referred to as the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. The act regulates the ocean dumping of all material beyond the territorial limit and prevents or strictly limits dumping material that "would adversely affect human health, welfare, or amenities, or the marine environment, ecological systems, or economic potentialities". The MPRSA authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate ocean dumping of materials including, but not limited to, industrial waste, sewage sludge, biological agents, radioactive agents, NBC, garbage, chemicals, and biological and laboratory, as well as other wastes, into the territorial waters of the United States through a permit program. The EPA can issue permits for dumping of materials other than dredge spoils if the agency determines, through a full public notice and process, that the discharge will not unreasonably degrade or endanger human health or welfare or the marine environment. The law also has provisions related to creating marine sanctuaries, conducting ocean disposal research and monitoring coastal water quality.

Ocean Dumping Code

	Section Title	Ocean Dumping Act
33 U.S.C	-	-
1401	Congressional findings, declaration of policy	Sec. 2
1401	Definitions	Sec. 3
Title I - Permit Program	-	-
1411	Prohibited acts	Sec. 101
1412	Environmental Protection Agency permits	Sec. 102
1413	Corps of Engineers permits	Sec. 103
1414	Permit conditions	Sec. 104
1414a	Special provisions regarding certain dumping sites	Sec. 104A
1414b	Ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste	Sec. 104B
1414c	Prohibition on disposal of sewage sludge at landfills on Staten Island	Sec. 104C
1415	Penalties	Sec. 105
1416	Relationship to other laws	Sec. 106
1417	Enforcement	Sec. 107
1418	Regulations	Sec. 108
1419	International cooperation	Sec. 109
1420	Authorization of appropriations	Sec. 111
1421	Annual report to Congress	Sec. 112
Title II - Research Programs	-	-
1441	Monitoring and research programs	Sec. 201
1442	Research on long-term effects	Sec. 202
1443	Research program - ocean dumping and other methods	Sec. 203
1444	Annual reports	Sec. 204
1445	Authorization of appropriations	Sec. 205
Title III - Marine Sanctuaries	National Marine Sanctuaries Act	-
Title IV - Regional Marine Research Programs	-	-
16 U.S.C.	-	-
1447	Purposes	Sec. 401
1447a	Definitions	Sec. 402
1447b	Regional marine research boards	Sec. 403
1447c	Regional research plans	Sec. 404
1447d	Research grant program	Sec. 405
1447e	Report on research program	Sec. 406
1447f	Authorization of appropriations	Sec. 407
Title V - National Coastal Monitoring System	-	-
33 U.S.C.	-	-
2801	Purposes	Sec. 501
2802	Definitions	Sec. 502
2803	Comprehensive coastal water quality monitoring program	Sec. 503
2804	Report to Congress	Sec. 504
2805	Authorization of appropriations	Sec. 505

Responsible agencies

There are four federal agencies that share responsibilities under the Ocean Dumping Act:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the primary agency that is in charge of regulating the disposal of all substances that are disposed in the ocean; this agency also authorize the research and demonstration of activities that have to do with phasing out sewage and industrial waste disposing. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agency is in charge of dredged spoils. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is in charge of the research on the changes of the marine environment that are caused by humans. The U.S. Coast Guard is in charge of the surveillance of ocean dumping.
The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary program manages a network of underwater areas that are protected by the US. These special bodies of water, like oceans and lakes, are protected by Congress to keep natural and cultural resources while allowing people to enjoy the waters. The Marine Protection, Research, Sanctuaries Act gives way for a national network of marine sanctuaries that are administered by NOAA. The NOAA was created in 1970 after an oil spill 30 miles of the coast of California released 235,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean. As time passes and technology advances, the NOAA has added sanctuaries all over the US. Three sites followed from 1992, with Congress designating Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Massachusetts and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in California.

Title I - Permit Program

Title I of the MPRSA prohibits all ocean dumping, except that allowed by permits issued by the EPA Administrator pursuant to Section 102 of the MPRSA, in any ocean waters under U.S. jurisdiction, by any U.S. vessel, or by any vessel sailing from a U.S. port. EPA designates sites for ocean dumping and specifies in each permit where the material is to be disposed.
In 1973, the EPA permitted two interim chemical disposal sites in the Gulf of Mexico, as described in the report, Assessing Potential Ocean Pollutants, published by the National Academy of Sciences . At Site A, uncontained wastes were discharged through a submerged pipe into the turbulent wake of a barge. At Site B, waste materials were placed in barrels before discharge. Chemical wastes discharged at these sites reportedly had various concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons, calcium and sodium metals, formaldehyde, cyanide and other metals. Seven permits issued by the EPA in 1973 for the period of May 1 to November 1 allowed for the disposal of 84,500 tons of uncontained waste at Site A and 208,500 waste barrels at Site B, of which 55,000 barrels contained chlorinated hydrocarbons. By July 1973, four companies with plants at 7 locations were using Sites A and B.
Nearly all of the ocean dumping that takes place today is dredged materials at the hands of the Corps of Engineers and due to the fact that they are the entity primarily responsible for the dredging, they issue permits for ocean dumping of such materials. The dredged materials are sediments removed from the bottom of water bodies, but before they are dumped in the ocean, they must be evaluated to ensure that they are not harmful to human health or to the marine environment.
The basic objective of the permit program is to "prevent or strictly limit the dumping into ocean waters of any material that would adversely affect human health, welfare, or amenities, or the marine environment, ecosystems, or economic potentialities." The Secretary of the Army is authorized to issue permits for dredged material disposal, and EPA is authorized to designate appropriate dump sites.
Dumping restrictions were enacted for both U.S. flag vessels and materials transported from a location outside the U.S. With respect to the latter category, dumping was prohibited within the U.S. territorial sea and the U.S. contiguous zone. A specific dumping prohibition was included for radiological, chemical and biological warfare agents, high-level radioactive waste and medical wastes. Restrictions have since been placed on dumping activities in the New York Bight Apex, and sewage sludge dumping at the "106-Mile Site" offshore of New Jersey ended in 1992.
In order for anyone to dump on US waters, they must follow certain laws. Public Law 97-424, enacted in 1983, placed a 2-year prohibition on ocean dumping of any low-level radioactive waste. Public Law 100-688 terminated the dumping of sewage sludge and waste from industrial companies under certain conditions. After December 31, 1991, it was prohibited to dump any type of sewage sludge and industrial waste. This law gives EPA the authority to issue emergency permits for the dumping of industrial waste into ocean waters if an unacceptable human health risk exists and no other alternative is available.
Statutes authorizing appropriations to implement Title I were enacted annually through 1977 and, thereafter, in 1980, 1981, and 1988. The 1988 amendments authorized appropriations of $12 million for Title I for each of Fiscal Years 1989 through 1991.