Timeline
Click on the dates in photo for more information.
1990
The Navy began preliminary discussions about developing
uniform national standards for military vessel discharges as early
as 1990. The EPA, Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and other Federal agencies were involved in these
discussions. The Navy, as the military service with the most significant
interest and expertise in vessel environmental performance, took
the lead for DoD in drafting the national standards proposal.
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1993-1995
The Navy briefed Congress on the need for national
discharge standards and made a strong effort to win State support
starting in 1993 by briefing high-level environmental officials
of Virginia, Florida, California, and Washington about the national
standards initiative.
Federal agency consensus was first achieved in
1993, when the UNDS initiative was incorporated into the Clinton
Administration's "Green Book" of Clean Water Act reauthorization
issues, a compilation of Administration positions on Clean Water
Act reauthorization. In its discussion of innovative technologies,
the Green Book recommended amending the Clean Water Act to:
- Mandate a review of non-sewage discharges
incidental to the normal operation of DoD vessels and other
vessels designated by the Secretary of Transportation as equivalent
to DoD vessels.
- Determine whether regulation of such discharges
through the application of technology is appropriate, and if
so, establish and periodically review uniform national standards.
- Involve the States, Federal agencies
and other interested parties in the development of standards,
which would be enforceable by Federal (i.e., Coast Guard) and
State authorities.
- Preclude development of vessel discharge
standards inconsistent with the national standards upon the
effective date of such regulations. Preserve State's rights
to establish no-discharge zones, under appropriate circumstances,
such as to protect environmentally-sensitive habitats. Despite
notable effort, Congress was unable to achieve CWA reauthorization
in 1993. However, the Navy continued to discuss the issue with
interested parties such as environmental advocacy groups, through
1994 and 1995.
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1996
On February 10, 1996, President Clinton signed into
law the Fiscal Year 1996 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Section 325 of the NDAA amended Section 312 of the Clean Water Act
(CWA) to provide the DoD and EPA authority to jointly establish
UNDS for incidental liquid discharges from vessels of the Armed
Forces. Previously, Section 312 addressed only the regulation of
sewage. UNDS extends the principle of marine sanitation devices
(MSDs) – devices used to control or process sewage –
to a new class of vessel pollution control options, marine pollution
control devices (MPCDs). An MPCD is any equipment or management
practice designed to treat, retain, or control discharges incidental
to the normal operation of an Armed Forces' vessel. The Secretary
of Defense and the EPA Administrator are authorized to promulgate
standards for discharges requiring control.
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1998
On August 25, 1998, the DoD and the EPA published
the UNDS Phase I proposed rule (63 FR 45297).
The proposed rule described 39 discharges incidental to the normal
operation of Armed Forces vessels, and proposed requiring controls
for 25 of these discharges. It also proposed a mechanism by which
States could petition EPA and DoD to review a discharge for control
or an MPCD performance standard, and proposed processes to be followed
by EPA and States when establishing no-discharge zones.
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1999
DoD and EPA completed Phase I of the UNDS process
by publishing the Phase I final rule
on May 10, 1999 (64 FR 25125). The final rule requires control of
25 discharges from Armed Forces vessels, while exempting 14 discharges
from control. It also finalized procedures for States to petition
EPA and DoD to review controlled and exempted discharges, and establish
no-discharge zones.
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2000 and Beyond
Phase II, currently
in progress, will establish performance standards for controlling
the 25 discharges determined in Phase I as having the potential
to cause an adverse impact on the environment. To facilitate the
rulemaking process, the Navy and EPA have agreed to promulgate Phase
II standards in batches. The batch rulemaking approach allows the
Navy and EPA to conduct technical analyses and develop discharge
standards in batches (approximately five discharges per batch) rather
than conducting analyses and developing standards for all 25 discharges
at one time. The Navy and EPA anticipates Phase II to be complete
in five batches. The Phase III rule will establish requirements
for the design, installation, and operation of MPCDs to meet Phase
II performance standards.
Clear, achievable, and consistent discharge standards
will enable DoD to design and build Armed Forces vessels, and train
its crews in compliance with known requirements. By establishing
specific goals for vessel designs and pollution control technology,
UNDS will promote cost-effective development of environmentally-sound
ships.
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