[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 22]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR220.1]

[Page 187-188]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 220--GENERAL--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 220.1  Purpose and scope.

    (a) General. This subchapter H establishes procedures and criteria 
for the issuance of permits by EPA pursuant to section 102 of the Act. 
This subchapter H also establishes the criteria to be applied by the 
Corps of Engineers in its review of activities involving the 
transportation of dredged material for the purpose of dumping it in 
ocean waters pursuant to section 103 of the Act. Except as may be 
authorized by a permit issued pursuant to this subchapter H, or pursuant 
to section 103 of the Act, and subject to other applicable regulations 
promulgated pursuant to section 108 of the Act:
    (1) No person shall transport from the United States any material 
for the purpose of dumping it into ocean waters;
    (2) In the case of a vessel or aircraft registered in the United 
States or flying the United States flag or in the case of a United 
States department, agency, or instrumentality, no person shall transport 
from any location any material for the purpose of dumping it into ocean 
waters; and
    (3) No person shall dump any material transported from a location 
outside the United States:
    (i) Into the territorial sea of the United States; or
    (ii) Into a zone contiguous to the territorial sea of the United 
States, extending to a line twelve nautical miles seaward from the base 
line from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, to the 
extent that it may affect the territorial sea or the territory of the 
United States.
    (b) Relationship to international agreements. In accordance with 
section 102(a) of the Act, the regulations and criteria included in this 
subchapter H apply the standards and criteria binding upon the United 
States under the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by 
Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter to the extent that application of 
such standards and criteria do not relax the requirements of the Act.
    (c) Exclusions--(1) Fish wastes. This subchapter H does not apply 
to, and no permit hereunder shall be required for, the transportation 
for the purpose of dumping or the dumping in ocean waters of fish wastes 
unless such dumping occurs in:
    (i) Harbors or other protected or enclosed coastal waters; or
    (ii) Any other location where the Administrator finds that such 
dumping may reasonably be anticipated to endanger health, the 
environment or ecological systems.
    (2) Fisheries resources. This subchapter H does not apply to, and no 
permit hereunder shall be required for, the placement or deposit of 
oyster shells or other materials for the purpose of developing, 
maintaining or harvesting fisheries resources; provided, such placement 
or deposit is regulated under or is a part of an authorized State or 
Federal program certified to EPA by the agency authorized to enforce the 
regulation, or to administer the program, as the case may be; and 
provided further, that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers concur in such placement or deposit as it may affect their 
responsibilities and such concurrence is evidenced by letters of 
concurrence from these agencies.
    (3) Vessel propulsion and fixed structures. This subchapter H does 
not apply to, and no permit hereunder shall be required for:
    (i) Routine discharges of effluent incidental to the propulsion of 
vessels or the operation of motor-driven equipment on vessels; or
    (ii) Construction of any fixed structure or artificial island, or 
the intentional placement of any device in ocean waters or on or in the 
submerged

[[Page 188]]

land beneath such waters, for a purpose other than disposal when such 
construction or such placement is otherwise regulated by Federal or 
State law or made pursuant to an authorized Federal or State program 
certified to EPA by the agency authorized to enforce the regulations or 
to administer the program, as the case may be.
    (4) Emergency to safeguard life at sea. This subchapter H does not 
apply to, and no permit hereunder shall be required for, the dumping of 
material into ocean waters from a vessel or aircraft in an emergency to 
safeguard life at sea to the extent that the person owning or operating 
such vessel or aircraft files timely reports required by Sec. 224.2(b).