This paper elaborates on the tasks of the public administration regarding the counteraction of risks and hazards associated with shipwrecks (in particular, the fuel contained therein) and containers with chemical warfare agents accumulated on the bed of the Baltic Sea within the area under Polish jurisdiction. The main aim of the paper is to determine which tasks specifically rest on the public administration in this respect, and on which legal grounds they should be executed. The analysis refers predominantly to the acts of Polish internal law, but it also considers the larger framework of international agreements and the European Union law. The conclusions drawn point to the need to supplement the regulatory provisions and marine and emergency response management systems for marine and coastal pollution events.