Dept. of Environment and Energy
- http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/publications/factsheet-dumping-wastes-seaAustralia regulates the deliberate loading and dumping of waste at sea under the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981.
Petroleum Oil
- https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/what-is-oil-pollution.aspMany people associate oil spills with major incidents like the Gulf of Mexico BP oil rig explosion or the Exxon Valdez grounding. Although these activities do have a significant environmental impact, such catastrophic events are infrequent.
According to the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, of all the oil that enters the environment each year:
37% comes from industrial discharge and urban runoff.
33% comes from general vessels.
12% comes from tanker accidents.
2% comes from the oil and gas industry. - https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/marine-oil-pollution-legislation.aspThe Pollution of Waters by Oil and Noxious Substances Act 1987 (WA), also known as POWBONS, protects the sea and other waters from pollution by oil and other noxious substances.
Eutrophication
- http://www.water.wa.gov.au/water-topics/waterways/threats-to-our-waterways/statewide-river-assessmentEutrophication, is nutrient enrichment; it drives excess primary productivity in waterways. It can be either natural or caused by human impact.
Humans alter the way water moves through the landscape by clearing vegetation for agriculture or urban development and by constructing drainage that moves water quickly off the landscape into the receiving water bodies. These changes to the landscape mean that there is often insufficient vegetation around rivers and estuaries to utilise excess nutrients. This problem is exacerbated when extra nutrients are added onto the land in the form of fertiliser and animal manure, or also by changing the types of plants present.