Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act

Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972
Citations

Other short titles	Comprehensive Research on Ocean Dumping Act Marine Sanctuaries Act
Long title	An Act to regulate the transportation for dumping, and the dumping, of material into ocean waters, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	MPRSA, ODA
Nicknames	Ocean Dumping Act
Enacted by	the 92nd United States Congress
Effective	October 23, 1972
Public law	92-532
Statutes at Large	86 Stat. 1052
Codification
Titles amended	16 U.S.C.: Conservation 33 U.S.C.: Navigable Waters
U.S.C. sections created	16 U.S.C. ch. 32 §§ 1431 - 1445. 16 U.S.C. ch. 32a §§ 1447 - 1447f. 33 U.S.C. ch. 27 §§ 1401 - 1445. 33 U.S.C. ch. 41 §§ 2801 - 2805.
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 9727 Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on October 23, 1972
Major amendments
Pub.L. 100–627, 102 Stat. 3213, enacted November 7, 1988 Pub.L. 100–688, 102 Stat. 4139, enacted November 18, 1988

Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (MPRSA) or 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. The act regulates the ocean dumping of all material beyond the territorial limit (3 miles (4.8 km) from shore) 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 (EPA) to regulate ocean dumping of materials including, but not limited to, industrial waste, sewage sludge, biological agents, radioactive agents, NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical), 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.

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

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 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 are 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 (NOAA) 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.

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