본 논문은 해양환경을 종합적이고 체계적으로 관리하기 위해 제정된 해양환경관리법의 주요 내용의 문제점과 개선책을 검토하는 것을 연구의 목표로 하고 있다.
주요내용으로서, 중금속과 유해화학물질이 연안에 유입하지 못하도록 관리를 강화하고 육상에서 나오는 해양오염원을 종합적으로 관리하는 체계를 구축하도록 하고, 국토해양부장관이 해양환경의 훼손 또는 해양오염으로 인한 위해를 예방하고 깨끗하고 안전한 해양환경을 조성하기 위하여 수립·시행하도록 한 10년 단위의 해양환경종합계획을 검토하였다. 또 해양환경분야의 시험·검사 및 해양환경의 관리와 관련된 기술기준과 운영체계 등을 합리화함으로써 환경관리를 효율화하고 시험·검사 관련 기술개발을 촉진하도록 하는 정도관리제도와 폐기물·기름·유해액체물질 및 포장유해물질로 통합해서 규정하고, 기름오염대비·대응 및 국제협력에 관한 국제협약(OPRCP협약)에 따라 기름오염사고에 대비·대응을 위해 수립하는 국가방제긴급계획에 대해서도 검토하였다.
개선방안으로는 폐유에 대한 정의가 법률에 따라 달리 규정되고 있는데 폐유를 폐기물에 포함시킬 것인가에 대해 법률상 해석의 통일이 필요하다는 점, 해양오염의 방제에 있어서 업무분장이 분산되어 있는 해양오염방제지휘체계를 일원화하고 유관기관별 역할 분담 및 책임소재를 명확히 할 수 있도록 법률의 정비가 필요하고, 해양환경관리법의 해양환경영향조사는 그 결과로 제기될 수 있는 해양환경 손해배상과 연계하여 재검토가 필요하다는 점, 최근 해양에서의 이용·개발계획의 증가에 따라 해역이용협의나 해역이용영향평가가 실효성있게 집행되어야 한다는 점을 제시하였다.The purpose of Marine Environment Management Act is to manage marine environment in comprehensive and systematic way. The purpose of this study is to examine the issues in the major contents of Marine Environment Management Act and give improvement suggestions.
The major contents of Marine Environment Management Act are as following.
Control of heavy metals and hazardous chemicals is reinforced so that they would not be discharged to coast. A comprehensive management system to control marine pollutants from land shall be established. Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs shall establish and enforce Marine Environment Comprehensive Plan every 10 years in order to prevent the damage of marine environment and impairment caused by sea pollution so that clean and safe marine environment would be secured. Environment management would be more efficient and test/inspection related technology development would be promoted by enacting regulations on environment-related test/inspection and rationalizing environment management, related technical standards and operation systems. The Marine Environment Management Act also defines waste, oil, harmful liquid and harmful packaging material. It also provides with basis in the establishment of State Disaster Prevention Emergency Plan for the preparedness/response to oil pollution accident in accordance with international convention (OPRC Convention) on the preparedness/response and international cooperation on oil pollution.
The issues and improvement suggestions are as following.
The definition of waste oil is different by regulation and there should be a unified legal interpretation on whether waste oil would be included in waste or not. Non-inflammable waste such as pieces of glass discharged as living waste from ships should follow same discharge method applied on other wastes defined in Article 2-1 of Waste Management Act. The Division of Works in the marine pollution disaster prevention command system is scattered and it should be unified. Regulations should be revised so that role-sharing and accountability among related agencies should be clear. Marine environmental impact assessment under Marine Environment Management Act should be re-examined in connection with marine environment damage compensation, which may be claimed based on the result of marine environmental impact assessment. Considering recent increase in marine utilization/development plans, the sea area utilization discussion or sea area utilization impact assessment should be enforced with more effectiveness.