my point was when this happens (pollution in a river/lake), the legal jurisdiction is a little more black/white. by that i mean it's in one country or one stat

my point was when this happens (pollution in a river/lake), the legal jurisdiction is a little more black/white. by that i mean it's in one country or one state or one county or whatever so from a government perspective jurisdiction isn't hazy. when it's 1000s of miles from any government in the ocean how does that work legally? who makes the companies pay?