해양폐기물의 관리 및 처리에 대한 법적 검토 - 개념의 정립과 해양폐기물법안에 대한 검토를 중심으로 -

Abstract

Interest in marine waste has so far been relatively weak compared with that inland wastes. However, since the implementation of the obligations as a contracting state of the London Convention has begun in full-scale, active discussions and activities have recently been made like introducing a bill on marine waste and marine sediments. The first thing to be identified before any study regarding marine waste could be conducted is its concept. Although the concept of marine waste is defined in the Marine Environment Management Act, there have been suggestions that the act should be handled in a manner consistent with the concept of Waste Control Act since the wastes in the Act differ in their scope and representation Accordingly in consideration of the special circumstances of the ocean and having consistency with Waste Control Act, the definition for ocean waste should be adjusted to include “the substances that are not needed for human life or business activities, such as garbage from the ocean or into the ocean, burnt materials, sludge, fish processing residues and shells of shellfish.” On the other hand, because marine waste and marine polluted sediments are overlapped in many respects in terms of shapes and properties, although their nature and disposition are different, they need to be treated within the connotation of a single law. The Marine Waste Bill basically prohibits waste from being disposed of in the sea, without few exceptions, and when it is allowed to be released in the sea, a declaration to the authorities is required. In case of breach of the declaration, penalties are set to be higher than those by the Marine Environment Management Act. In addition, a legal ground on the establishment of an outflow prevention facility is set to stop land wastes from entering the ocean. The bill maintains the basis for collecting marine wastes from the coast, sea, and seabed, and for issuing orders for collection. The bill further provides the possibility of isolating marine wastes onto the ocean floor, like land wastes being taken out for landfill. Also, it supports the chance for the carbon dioxide stream to be stored permanently in the sediments. The legal nature of the carbon dioxide stream is that it is a special form of waste rather than a simple waste or general waste. On the other hand, the bill prescribes the purification of pollutants, just as it is ready with a provision for the administrative office to issue a purge order to the person in charge of purification or to specify a purifier in case it finds the necessity to clean up the waste. The bill also lays the groundwork for maritime deployment in response to changes in the marine environment, such as red tides. The bill divides the marine emission management business into waste ocean discharge business, immersed waste collection business, and marine pollutant sediment purification business, and those involved in these businesses can conduct their businesses through registration in the relevant authorities. Discussions on marine wastes are now at the beginning stages, and this is one of those early studies. I hope that this study will be helpful for more future discussions.