Oil Pollution Act of 1924, United States
Published: September 24, 2008, 4:44 pm
Updated: September 24, 2008, 4:44 pm
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Cutler J. ClevelandThe Oil Pollution Act of 1924 prohibited the intentional release of fuel oil into U.S. navigable coastal waters, defined as an area within three-miles offshore. U.S. Congress passed the Act with the primary goal of protecting aquatic life; however, by the time of enactment, numerous disputes had significantly weakened the originally proposed Act. After Congress made the changes to the original proposal, the Act no longer pertained to discharges within inland navigable water, did not monitor onland polluters, and did not penalize ships for accidental spills. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers became responsible for monitoring these waters, but because of their limited manpower and authority, they had difficulty enforcing the statute. The Act did not require extensive record keeping or recording of any proceedings, making enforcement even more difficult. The Clean Water Act of 1972, which regulates all water sources, repealed the Oil Pollution Act.
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Ida Kubiszewski PhD (Lead Author);Cutler J. Cleveland (Topic Editor) "Oil Pollution Act of 1924, United States". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth September 24, 2008; Last revised Date September 24, 2008; Retrieved May 20, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Oil_Pollution_Act_of_1924,_United_States>
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Dr. Ida Kubiszewski is a Senior Lecturer at the Crawford School of Public Policy at Australian National University. She is also a co-founder and former-Managing Editor the Encyclopedia of Earth. Dr. Kubiszewki is currently working as the Managing Editor for a magazine/journal hybrid called Solutions. Solutions is an outlet for discussions focusing on solutions to the complex problems we are now facing in ... (Full Bio)
The Oil Pollution Act of 1924 prohibited the intentional release of fuel oil into U.S. navigable coastal waters, defined as an area within three-miles offshore. U.S. Congress passed the Act with the primary goal of protecting aquatic life; however, by the time of enactment, numerous disputes had significantly weakened the originally proposed Act. After Congress made the changes to the original proposal, the Act no longer pertained to discharges within inland navigable water, did not monitor onland polluters, and did not penalize ships for accidental spills. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers became responsible for monitoring these waters, but because of their limited manpower and authority, they had difficulty enforcing the statute. The Act did not require extensive record keeping or recording of any proceedings, making enforcement even more difficult. The Clean Water Act of 1972, which regulates all water sources, repealed the Oil Pollution Act.
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