Learn about Ocean Dumping | US EPA

What was dumped into the ocean before 1972?

In the by, communities around the global used the ocean for barren administration, including the disposal of chemical and industrial wastes, radioactive wastes, trash, munitions, sewage sludge, and contaminated dredged material. little attention was given to the negative impacts of barren disposal on the marine environment. even less care was focused on opportunities to recycle or reuse such materials. Wastes were frequently dumped in coastal and ocean waters based on the premise that marine waters had an inexhaustible capacity to mix and disperse wastes. Although no complete records exist of the volumes and types of materials disposed in ocean waters in the United States anterior to 1972, several reports indicate a huge magnitude of historic ocean dump :

• In 1968, the National Academy of Sciences estimated annual volumes of ocean dumping by vessel or pipes:
  • 100 million tons of petroleum products;
  • two to four million tons of acid chemical wastes from pulp mills;
  • more than one million tons of heavy metals in industrial wastes; and
  • more than 100,000 tons of organic chemical wastes.
• A 1970 Report to the President from the Council on Environmental Quality on ocean dumping described that in 1968 the following were dumped in the ocean in the United States:
  • 38 million tons of dredged material (34 percent of which was polluted),
  • 4.5 million tons of industrial wastes,
  • 4.5 million tons of sewage sludge (significantly contaminated with heavy metals), and
  • 0.5 million tons of construction and demolition debris.
• EPA records indicate that more than 55,000 containers of radioactive wastes were dumped at three ocean sites in the Pacific Ocean between 1946 and 1970. Almost 34,000 containers of radioactive wastes were dumped at three ocean sites off the East Coast of the United States from 1951 to 1962. 

Following decades of uncontrolled dump, some areas of the ocean became demonstrably contaminated with high concentrations of harmful pollutants including heavy metals, inorganic nutrients, and chlorinated petrochemicals. The uncontrolled ocean dumping caused hard depletion of oxygen levels in some ocean waters. In the New York Bight ( ocean waters off the mouth of the Hudson River ), where New York City dumped sewage sludge and early materials, oxygen concentrations in waters near the seafloor declined significantly between 1949 and 1969.

What is the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act?

In October 1972, Congress enacted the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act ( MPRSA ), sometimes referred to as the Ocean Dumping Act, declaring that it is the policy of the United States to regulate the dump of all materials which would adversely affect human health, benefit or amenities, or the marine environment, ecological systems or economic potentialities. The MPRSA implements the requirements of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter of 1972, known as the London Convention. The London Convention is one of the inaugural international agreements for the protective covering of the marine environment from human activities. Title I of the MPRSA contains the allow and enforcement provisions for regulating ocean dumping. Title II of the MPRSA authorizes marine research. The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act ( PDF ) ( 23 pp, 232 K, About PDF )

How does EPA implement the MPRSA?

Under the MPRSA, EPA is responsible for establishing criteria for reviewing and evaluating permit applications. EPA is responsible for issuing ocean dumping permits for materials early than dredged substantial. In the case of dredged substantial, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE ) is responsible for issuing ocean dumping permits, using EPA ’ s environmental criteria. Permits for ocean dump of dredged fabric are subject to EPA review and written concurrence. EPA is besides creditworthy for designating and managing ocean disposal sites for all types of materials. EPA and USACE in concert develop site management and monitor plans ( SMMPs ) for each designated ocean dredged material disposal site. EPA ’ s Ocean Dumping Management Program, often in coordination with USACE, conducts oceanographic surveys at these ocean disposal sites to evaluate environmental conditions at the web site and to determine what management actions may be needed. EPA ’ s ocean dump regulations are published at 40 Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ) 220-229, and include the criteria and procedures for ocean dumping permits and for the appointment and management of ocean administration sites under the MPRSA. In addition, USACE has published regulations under diverse provisions of 33 CFR 320, 322, 324, 325, 329, 331, and 335-337 .

Why is regulating ocean dumping important? How does EPA help protect the ocean?

Unregulated disposal of wastes and other materials into the ocean degrades nautical and natural resources and poses human health risks. For about 50 years, EPA ’ s Ocean Dumping Management Program has stopped many harmful materials from being ocean dumped, worked to limit ocean dumping generally, and worked to prevent adverse impacts to human health, the marine environment, and other legitimate uses of the ocean ( for example, navigation, fishing ) from contamination caused by ocean dump. Learn more about how environmental protection agency protects the oceans from dumping in the United States on the Protecting Our Oceans from Pollution Web page .

Besides EPA, what are other federal agencies’ roles with respect to ocean dumping?

Four federal agencies have responsibilities under the MPRSA : EPA, USACE, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) and the U.S. Coast Guard ( USCG ).

• EPA has primary authority for regulating ocean disposal of all materials except dredged materials. 
• USACE and EPA share responsibility for the regulation of dredged material disposal in ocean.
• USCG maintains surveillance of ocean dumping.
• Under Title II of the MPRSA, NOAA is responsible for some long-range research on the effects of human-induced changes to the marine environment.

In accession, EPA ’ s Ocean Dumping Management Program coordinates with partners at the international, federal, state of matter and local levels, and through interagency groups, including National and Regional Dredging Teams, on ocean plunge, dredged fabric management, befoulment prevention and marine auspices activities .

What materials are dumped into the ocean today?

nowadays, the huge majority of material disposed in the ocean is uncontaminated sediment ( dredged substantial ) removed from our nation ’ sulfur waterways to support a network of coastal ports and harbors for commercial, transportation, home defense and amateur purposes. other materials disposed in the ocean include human remains for burial at ocean, vessels, man-made ice piers in Antarctica, and fish wastes. To see locations of ocean disposal sites, ocean discard vessels, marine mammal carcase disposals, and materials disposed under an MPRSA hand brake license, please visit our Ocean Disposal Map .

What materials cannot be dumped in the ocean?

The MPRSA and EPA ’ s ocean dumping regulations prohibit ocean deck of certain materials, such as :

• high-level radioactive wastes;
• radiological, chemical and biological warfare agents;
• persistent inert synthetic or natural materials which may float or remain in suspension in the ocean in such a manner that they may interfere materially with fishing navigation or other legitimate uses of the ocean;
• materials insufficiently described to permit application of the environmental impact criteria of 40 CFR 227 subpart B;
• sewage sludge;
• medical wastes (isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes and potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, dialysis wastes);
• industrial wastes, specifically liquid, solid, or semi-solid wastes from a manufacturing or processing plant (except on an emergency basis); and
• materials containing the following constituents in greater than trace amounts (except on an emergency basis):
  • Organohalogen compounds.
  • Mercury and mercury compounds.
  • Cadmium and cadmium compounds.
  • Oil of any kind or in any form.
  • Known carcinogens, mutagens, or teratogens.

Can wastes be incinerated at sea?

incineration at ocean is considered to be ocean deck because the emissions from the stack will deposit into the surrounding ocean waters. The Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988 banned the dump of industrial wastes, such as those previously permitted for incineration at sea. In the 1970s and 1980s, several types of liquid constituent wastes, including herbicide orange and polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCBs ), were incinerated at sea using shipboard incinerators. These incineration at sea activities were conducted under MPRSA permits issued by EPA. In 1985, EPA proposed specific regulations to better develop and manage incineration at sea under MPRSA permits, but the regulations were never finalized and the incineration-at-sea program was discontinued in 1988. Internationally, incineration at ocean is besides regulated under the London Convention and London Protocol, which are ocean dumping treaties. The United States is a Contracting Party to the London Convention. The United States has signed the London Protocol, which is intended to modernize and finally replace the London Convention ; however, the Senate has not ratified the treaty. Under the London Convention, incineration at ocean of industrial neutralize and sewage sludge is prohibited. The London Convention defines “ incineration at ocean ” as the debate burning of wastes and other topic on marine incineration facilities for the function of their thermal destruction. Combustion associated with activities incidental to the normal operation of vessels, platforms and early manmade structures is excluded from the scope of this definition. Marine incineration facility means a vessel, chopine, or early manmade structure operating for the purpose of incineration at ocean. Under the London Protocol, incineration at sea and the export of wastes and other materials for incineration at sea is prohibited. The London Protocol defines “ incineration at ocean ” as the combustion on board a vessel, platform or other man-made structure at sea of wastes or other matter for the determination of their consider disposal by thermal destruction. The banned incineration at sea does not include the incineration of wastes or other matter on display panel a vessel, platform, or early man-made structure at ocean if such wastes or early substantial were generated during the normal operation of that vessel, platform, or other manmade structure at sea .

How have ocean protections improved since enactment of the 1972 MPRSA?

The passage of the MPRSA in 1972 marked a major milestone in the protection of the marine environment. nowadays, the United States is at the vanguard of protecting coastal and ocean waters from adverse impacts due to ocean dump. The ocean is no long considered an appropriate disposal placement for most wastes. Ocean dump of certain harmful wastes is banned.

• The Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988 amended the MPRSA and now prohibits the ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial wastes, such as wastes from plastics and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants and from petrochemical refineries.
• The 1988 amendment also banned the ocean disposal of “medical waste.”
• Other ocean dumping practices, such as wood burning at sea and the disposal of construction and demolition debris, have stopped as a matter of environmentally sound practice.

Those few materials that are ocean dumped are cautiously evaluated to ensure that they will not pose a danger to human health or the environment and that there are no better alternatives for their recycle or disposal. The Water Resources Development Act of 1992 amended the MPRSA and now requires that ocean dumping permits, including for ocean disposal of dredge substantial, conform to long-run management plans to ensure that permit activities are consistent with expect uses of delegate ocean disposal sites. While many challenges remain to protecting and managing our coastal and ocean resources, including historic contaminant and continuous degradation from land-based sources, we can be gallant of the great strides we have made under the MPRSA. To learn more, please visit our Ocean Dumping Timeline .

Where can I learn more about EPA’s Ocean Dumping Management Program?

To learn more about the EPA ’ s Ocean Dumping Management Program, including MPRSA ( ocean deck ) permits, ocean disposal sites and international connections, please return to our Ocean Dumping home page .