Environmental Analysis of U.S. Navy Submarine Solid Waste Discharges. Report of Findings

• Other Authors: NAVAL COMMAND CONTROL AND OCEAN SURVEILLANCE CENTER RDT AND E DIV SAN DIEGO CA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1997
• Subjects: Submarine Engineering; Solid Wastes Pollution and Control; *NAVAL VESSELS; *SOLID WASTES; *SUBMARINES; *WASTE DISPOSAL; *ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT; REGULATIONS; WATER POLLUTION; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA528708; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA528708

International regulations negotiated through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have imposed restrictions pertaining to pollution from vessels in international waters. Regulation 5 of Annex V to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78) prohibits the discharge of non-food solid wastes into oceanographic and ecological areas, known as Special Areas. These Special Areas include the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Wider Caribbean Region (including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea), the Antarctic area, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the "Gulfs" area (including the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman). Currently, only the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Antarctic areas are in force. The U.S. Congress, through provisions of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act (MPPRC) of 1987 and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (DAA-94), required that the U.S. Navy come into full compliance with MARPOL 73/78. The provisions called for compliance of all U.S. Navy surface ships in all enforced Special Areas by December 31,2000, and for submarines by December 31, 2008. Subsequently, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (DAA-97) modified the law to allow for the discharge of processed solid waste from Navy in Special Areas.