    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 36 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
    [Pages 1179-1180]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Message to the Senate Transmitting the Protocol to the Convention on the
    Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter

    September 4, 2007

    To the Senate of the United States:

        I transmit herewith, with a view to receiving advice and consent,
    the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine
    Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (the ``London
    Convention''), done in London on November 7, 1996. The Protocol was
    signed by the United States on March 31, 1998, and it entered into force
    on March 24, 2006.
        The Protocol represents the culmination of a thorough and intensive
    effort to update and improve the London Convention. The London
    Convention governs the ocean dumping and incineration at sea of wastes
    and other matter and was a significant early step in international
    protection of the marine environment from pollution caused by these
    activities.

    [[Page 1180]]

        Although the Protocol and the London Convention share many features,
    the Protocol is designed to protect the marine environment more
    effectively. The Protocol moves from a structure of listing substances
    that may not be dumped to a ``reverse list'' approach, which prohibits
    ocean dumping of all wastes or other matter, except for a few specified
    wastes. This approach is combined with detailed criteria for
    environmental assessment of those materials that may be considered for
    dumping and potential dumping sites.
        The Protocol would be implemented through amendments to the Marine
    Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), which currently
    covers London Convention obligations. There will not be any substantive
    changes to existing practices in the United States, and no economic
    impact is expected from implementation of the Protocol. I recommend that
    the Senate give early and favorable consideration to this Protocol and
    give its advice and consent to ratification, with the declaration and
    understanding contained in Articles 3 and 10 respectively in the
    accompanying report of the Department of State.
                                                    George W. Bush
     The White House,
     September 4, 2007.

    Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    September 6.