Clean Ships, Clean Ports, Clean Oceans: Controlling Garbage and Plastic Wastes at Sea (1995)
Chapter: Coast Guard
Sustained Education and Training
The Congress should charter and endow a foundation to coordinate a sustained, long-term, national program that would assure development and execution of focused Annex V education and training programs for all maritime sectors as well as non-traditional target groups and provide for domestic and international exchange of information on Annex V compliance strategies. The program should include research, execution, and evaluation components and should promote innovation. To develop and carry out projects, the foundation should award grants to private industry and associations, academic institutions, public agencies, and non-profit organizations.
Model Programs
The Congress should require that federal and federally supported fleets, to set an example, work systematically toward full Annex V compliance, upgrade crew training and provisioning practices, and encourage transfer of successful experiences to commercial fleets.
Federal Agency Actions
Coast Guard
The Coast Guard should require cargo and cruise ships lacking comprehensive on-board garbage management systems to off-load garbage at each U.S. port call. Vessel garbage logs and on-board garbage handling and treatment technologies should be examined during routine inspections. The Coast Guard also should require vessel operators to report inadequate port reception facilities using the IMO forms and Should follow up these reports to ensure that the necessary changes are made. If ports are required to issue receipts for garbage discharged into their reception facilities, then the Coast Guard should examine these receipts when reviewing vessel garbage logs. In addition, the Coast Guard should require ports to have the necessary state permits as a condition of granting a COA. And, unless and until the COA program is merged with EPA's vessel garbage management effort, the Coast Guard should incorporate into the program requirements that port reception facilities meet EPA technical standards and have any requisite state and EPA approvals.
The Coast Guard, together with the Department of State (DOS) and Department of Justice, should continue, consistent with the nation's international obligations, to enforce Annex V aggressively against foreign-flag violators and should pursue efforts at the international level to resolve any outstanding ambiguities concerning the rights and obligations of port states with respect to control of pollution from vessels. Requirements for garbage logs should be extended to
