Environmental Activities of the U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guards environmental activities focus on prevention programs, accompanied by enforcement and educational activities. A key component of the Coast Guards environmental activities involves maritime oil spill prevention. As required by several environmental statutes, including the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act, the Coast Guards pollution preparedness and response activities aim to reduce the impact of oil and hazardous substances spills. Related to this duty, the Coast Guard inspects U.S. and foreign-flagged ships to ensure compliance with U.S. laws and international agreements. In addition, the Coast Guards National Pollution Funds Center NPFC manages the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund OSLTF, which is primarily used to finance prompt responses to oil spills and to reimburse parties for applicable costs associated with oil spills e.g., cleanup costs, natural resource damages, economic losses. The Coast Guards approach to marine debris e.g., discarded fishing lines or nets is preventive, promoting compliance by boarding and inspecting vessels, and working with local port agencies to ensure there are facilities to receive garbage from vessels. With other agencies, the Coast Guard monitors and measures marine debris.