According to the EPA's press release: "The creation of an ECA
would save up to 8,300 American and Canadian lives every year by
2020 by imposing stricter standards on oil tankers and other
large ships that spew harmful emissions into the air near
coastal communities where tens of millions of Americans live,
work, play and learn. The United States is proposing a 230-mile
buffer zone around the nation's coastline in order to provide
air quality benefits as far inland as Kansas." However, EPA has
not extended the protection of the buffer zone to Alaska's
Arctic waters. Earthjustice, on behalf of a coalition of
environmental and indigenous organizations has asked EPA to
amend the application to include this fragile marine ecosystem.
Sarah Burt, an attorney with Earthjustice's international law
program, said: By initiating this process, EPA has taken an
important step forward in protecting the health of port
communities and the coastal environment from harmful ship
pollution. However, by failing to include most of