In 1968, $3 million of losses hit the fishing industry due to pollution in Chesapeake Bay, and then in 1969 it was found that over 41 million fish had been killed due pollution (Moyers); shortly after in 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed as a response to unhealthy water due to pollution. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act has been debated for the past thirty years. The issue of clean, safe water has been plaguing our nation ever since the Clean Water Act’s passing and has been exacerbated by the surge of plastic in our consumer-driven society. There is no doubt that plastic pollution has become a huge nuisance namely in our waterways, but what has been done about it and moreover, what can be done about it? In 1983 the …show more content…
MARPOL is divided into different sections – called Annexes – that each deal with a specific category of ship emissions. In 1988 MARPOL Annex V brought about regulations for garbage dumping by ships and completely banned the dumping of plastics into the oceans. Under MARPOL Annex V ports were equipped with garbage reception facilities to be regulated by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and on top of that Annex V implemented regulations and restrictions on the garbage disposal processes at said facilities. MARPOL Annex V also stressed the importance of marine debris education programs and pointed to the National Oceanic …show more content…
While the EPA can regulate point-source pollution, non-point source pollution – sometimes called “people’s pollution” – still isn’t quite under their control. Under federal jurisdiction 33 U.S.C. §§ 1315(b), states must submit reports biennially on the current status of their water, including analyses of recreational use and wildlife balance. But for the most part, issues with water pollution have fallen to private groups and to the state level. Under 33 U.S.C. §§ 1329 for example the federal government puts an emphasis on state responsibility; the law outlines specific guidelines for the implementation of management programs dealing directly with water pollution. States also have the ability to produce legislation more rapidly than the federal government, especially in response to urgent emerging issues; in 2005 for example the California Coastal Commission published statistics showing that non-point land sources account for eighty percent of marine debris, and nearly ninety percent of floating marine debris was plastic (California Coastal Commission). After this report, environmentalists conducted research published in 2009 that found that Californians use around thirteen billion plastic grocery bags every years then throw away 247 million