United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-02-28 monographic deposited born digital 75 p. GA 1.13:RCED-00-48 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48 P0b002ee18037b4c9 f:rc00048 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48 RCED-00-48 Waste disposal Marine transportation operations Law enforcement Water pollution control Wastewater management Sanctions Environmental monitoring Ships Environmental law Noncompliance Puerto Rico NOAA National Marine Debris Monitoring Program Letter Report RCED

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the actions being taken by federal regulators and the cruise ship industry to prevent future illegal discharges of waste, focusing on: (1) the nature and extent of reported illegal discharge cases for foreign-flagged cruise ships from 1993 through 1998; (2) federal agencies' efforts to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute illegal discharges from foreign-flagged cruise ships; (3) the actions cruise ship companies with proven illegal discharge violations have taken to prevent future illegal discharges; and (4) the views of relevant federal agencies and third-party interest groups regarding the actions that cruise ship companies have taken, and what issues, if any, they believe require further attention.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) federal data indicate foreign-flagged cruise ships were involved in 87 confirmed illegal discharge cases in U.S. waters from 1993 through 1998; (2) overall, the number of confirmed illegal discharge cases by cruise ships in U.S. waters generally declined during this period; (3) oil or related chemicals were discharged in 81 cases and 6 cases involved discharges of garbage or plastic; (4) GAO determined that about three-fourths of these cases were accidental, while the remainder were either intentional or their cause could not be determined; (5) the Coast Guard, the Department of Justice, and other agencies undertake a variety of efforts to prevent, detect, investigate, or prosecute illegal marine discharges by foreign-flagged cruise ships; (6) the Coast Guard inspects ships in port, watches them as part of aircraft surveillance in the open sea, investigates reported incidents and adjudicates cases under its civil penalty procedures; (7) however, the Coast Guard's ability to detect and resolve violations is constrained by the narrow scope of its routine inspections, a significant reduction in aircraft surveillance for marine pollution purposes, and a breakdown of the process for identifying and resolving alleged violations referred to flag states; (8) twelve cruise ship companies that have been involved in nonaccidental pollution cases have implemented new or updated environmental plans designed to enhance ship safety and prevent pollution; (9) the plans, which were prepared pursuant to new international standards or were mandated by U.S. district courts after the companies pled guilty to pollution violations, call for such steps as regular third-party verification of ships' compliance with environmental procedures; (10) officials from the Coast Guard, the Department of Justice, and the Center for Marine Conservation said that cruise ship companies were making progress toward changing a maritime culture that once permitted discharges of garbage and oil from ships before international standards and U.S. laws to control such discharges were adopted; (11) however, cruise ship companies must demonstrate a sustained commitment to eliminate illegal discharges at sea; and (12) some officials expressed concern about the large volume of wastewater from sinks, showers, drains, and sewage systems that cruise ships legally discharge at sea and the possible effects of these discharges on sensitive marine life. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48.pdf GAO/RCED-00-48 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-48 Letter Report GAO/RCED-00-48; Marine Pollution: Progress Made to Reduce Marine Pollution; Waste disposal Marine transportation operations Law enforcement Water pollution control Wastewater management Sanctions Environmental monitoring Ships Environmental law Noncompliance Puerto Rico NOAA National Marine Debris Monitoring Program Title 33 Section 1319 Title 33 Section 1321 Title 33 Section 1322 Title 33 Section 1901-1911 33 U.S.C. 1319 33 U.S.C. 1321 33 U.S.C. 1322 33 U.S.C. 1901-1911