Laws that Protect Beaches and Oceans

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implements several laws that regulate sources of water pollution to our coastal beaches and ocean water.

Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. It was signed into law in 1948 as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act but was renamed the Clean Water Act in 1977. Under the CWA, the EPA has set wastewater standards for industry and water quality standards for contaminants in surface waters.

Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act

The BEACH Act amends the Clean Water Act to better protect public health at our nation’s costal recreation waters. It was signed into law in 2000. The BEACH Act requires the EPA to recommend water quality criteria for pathogens (e.g., bacteria, viruses) that states, territories, and Tribes can adopt into their water quality standards. It also authorizes the EPA to award grants to support microbiological testing and monitoring in coastal and Great Lakes waters. These grants also support programs to notify the public when there is potential for adverse exposure to disease-causing microorganisms.

Clean Boating Act

Congress passed the Clean Boating Act in 2008 as another amendment to the Clean Water Act. The Clean Boating Act requires the EPA to identify discharges incidental to the normal operation of recreational vessels and to develop management practices can help to limit the amount of pollution discharged into our nation's waters. This site is intended to answer many questions the recreational boater may have about the Clean Boating Act, the EPA's responsibilities, and a regulation that affects recreational boaters.

Oil Pollution Act

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 amended the Clean Water Act and addressed the wide range of problems associated with preventing, responding to, and paying for oil pollution incidents in navigable waters of the United States. It created a comprehensive prevention, response, liability, and compensation regime to deal with vessel- and facility-caused oil pollution to U.S. navigable waters. The EPA has regulations for above-ground storage facilities and the Coast Guard has them for oil tankers. This story map examines the events that inspired the Oil Pollution Act.

Marine Debris Research, Prevention and Reduction Act

The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (pdf) established programs within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Coast Guard to identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris. This law also reactivates the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee, chaired by NOAA.

Coastal Zone Management Act

The Coastal Zone Management Act was designed to help protect valuable natural coastal resources such as wetlands, floodplains, estuaries, beaches, dunes, barrier islands, and coral reefs, as well as the fish and wildlife using those habitats. It includes areas bordering the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans, Gulf of America, Long Island Sound, and Great Lakes. The Coastal Zone Management Act is administered by NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

The Coastal Zone Management Act encourages states and tribes to preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, restore or enhance these resources. A unique feature of this law is that participation by states and tribes is voluntary. To encourage states and tribes to participate, the act makes federal financial assistance available.

Shore Protection Act

The Shore Protection Act is applicable to transportation of municipal and commercial wastes in coastal waters. The goals of the regulations are to minimize deposit of waste into coastal waters during vessel loading, transport, and unloading, and to ensure that any deposited waste is reported and cleaned up. The EPA, in consultation with the Coast Guard, is responsible for developing regulations under this law

Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act

The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (pdf) implements provisions of some international protocols from the 1970s and was amended by the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act (MPPRCA) in 1987. The MPPRCA requires the EPA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study the effects of improper disposal of plastics on the environment and methods to reduce or eliminate such adverse effects. MPPRCA also requires the EPA, NOAA, and the U.S. Coast Guard to evaluate the use of volunteer groups in monitoring floatable debris.

Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act

The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (pdf), also called the Ocean Dumping Act, generally prohibits:

transportation of material from the United States for the purpose of ocean dumping;
transportation of material from anywhere for the purpose of ocean dumping by U.S. agencies or U.S.-flagged vessels; and
dumping of material transported from outside the United States into the U.S. territorial sea.