[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.