Statement on Signing a Bill Terminating Ocean Dumping of Sewage, Sludge, and Industrial Waste

Today I am signing S. 2030, which, together with the Medical Waste Tracking Act, represents a significant step toward a cleaner and safer environment.

Section 4202(b) of S. 2030 requires Title IV, The Shore Protection Act of 1988, to be carried out with respect to foreign vessels in the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone of the United States consistent with the obligations of the United States under international law. Consequently, The Shore Protection Act of 1988 should not be applied to impair the rights of innocent passage and transit passage by foreign vessels in the United States territorial sea, to impair the high seas freedom of navigation by foreign vessels in the United States exclusive economic zone, or in any other manner inconsistent with international law as reflected in the applicable provisions of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.

RONALD REAGAN

The White House,

November 18, 1988.