April 23, 1974, marked the first anniversary of EPA's jurisdiction over United States industrial and municipal ocean-dumping. In 1968—according to Council on Environmental Quality estimates—some 10 million tons of industrial waste and sewage sludge were disposed of at sea. In 1973—five years, a statute, and a treaty¹ later—that figure has climbed to 12 million tons. How did we get where we are? Where do we go from here?

The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972² was passed in an effort to "prevent or strictly limit" the ocean-dumping of harmful materials and to prevent "unreasonable degradation" of the marine environment. To that end, it places a strict ban on the ocean-dumping of "high-level radioactive wastes" and "chemical and biological warfare agents." Other wastes (with the exception of dredged materials, which fall within the purview of the Army Corps of Engineers) may be ocean-dumped only in accordance with permits issued by EPA following an assessment of dumping need, effects on marine ecosystems and resource values, and the availability of alternative methods and locatlions of waste disposal or recycling. Surveillance of dumpers is assigned to the Coast Guard, while research responsibility and the establishment of "marine sanctuaries" are vested in the Commerce Department's National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).