40 C.F.R. § 1700.3

Current through October 31, 2024
Section 1700.3 - Definitions

Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency or that person's authorized representative.

Armed Forces vessel means a vessel owned or operated by the United States Department of Defense or the United States Coast Guard, other than vessels that are time or voyage chartered by the Armed Forces, vessels of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or vessels that are memorials or museums.

Bioaccumulative means the opposite of not bioaccumulative.

Biodegradable means the following for purposes of the standards:

(1) Regarding environmentally acceptable lubricants and greases, biodegradable means lubricant formulations that contain at least 90% (weight in weight concentration or w/w) or grease formulations that contain at least 75% (w/w) of a constituent substance or constituent substances (only stated substances present above 0.10% must be assessed) that each demonstrate either the removal of at least 70% of dissolved organic carbon, production of at least 60% of the theoretical carbon dioxide, or consumption of at least 60% of the theoretical oxygen demand within 28 days. Test methods include: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Test Guidelines 301 A-F, 306, and 310, ASTM 5864, ASTM D-7373, OCSPP Harmonized Guideline 835.3110, and International Organization for Standardization 14593:1999. For lubricant formulations, the 10% (w/w) of the formulation that need not meet the above biodegradability requirements, up to 5% (w/w) may be non-biodegradable, but not bioaccumulative, while the remaining 5-10% must be inherently biodegradable. For grease formulations, the 25% (w/w) of the formulation that need not meet the above biodegradability requirement, the constituent substances may be either inherently biodegradable or non-biodegradable, but may not be bioaccumulative. Test methods to demonstrate inherent biodegradability include: OECD Test Guidelines 302C ([GREATER THAN]70% biodegradation after 28 days) or OECD Test Guidelines 301 A-F ([GREATER THAN]20% but [LESS THAN]60% biodegradation after 28 days).
(2) Regarding cleaning products, biodegradable means products that demonstrate either the removal of at least 70% of dissolved organic carbon, production of at least 60% of the theoretical carbon dioxide, or consumption of at least 60% of the theoretical oxygen demand within 28 days. Test methods include: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Test Guidelines 301 A-F, 306, and 310, and International Organization for Standardization 14593:1999.
(3) Regarding biocidal substances, biodegradable means a compound or mixture that yields 60% of theoretical maximum carbon dioxide and demonstrate a removal of at least 70% of dissolved organic carbon within 28 days as described in EPA 712-C-98-075 (OPPTS 835.3100 Aerobic Aquatic Biodegradation).

Discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel means a discharge, including, but not limited to: graywater, bilgewater, cooling water, weather deck runoff, ballast water, oil water separator effluent, and any other pollutant discharge from the operation of a marine propulsion system, shipboard maneuvering system, crew habitability system, or installed major equipment, such as an aircraft carrier elevator or a catapult, or from a protective, preservative, or absorptive application to the hull of a vessel; and a discharge in connection with the testing, maintenance, and repair of any of the aforementioned systems whenever the vessel is waterborne, including pierside. A discharge incidental to normal operation does not include:

(1) Sewage;
(2) A discharge of rubbish, trash, or garbage;
(3) A discharge of air emissions resulting from the operation of a vessel propulsion system, motor driven equipment, or incinerator;
(4) A discharge that requires a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the Clean Water Act; or
(5) A discharge containing source, special nuclear, or byproduct materials regulated by the Atomic Energy Act.

Environmental Protection Agency, abbreviated EPA, means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmentally acceptable lubricants means lubricants that are biodegradable, minimally-toxic, and not bioaccumulative as defined in this subpart. The following labeling programs and organizations meet the definition of being environmentally acceptable lubricants: Blue Angel, European Ecolabel, Nordic Swan, the Swedish Standards SS 155434 and 155470, Safer Choice, and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) requirements.

Federally-protected waters means waters within 12 miles of the United States that are also part of any of the following:

(1) Marine sanctuaries designated under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) or Marine National Monuments designated under the Antiquities Act of 1906;
(2) A unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, including Wetland Management Districts, Waterfowl Production Areas, National Game Preserves, Wildlife Management Areas, and National Fish and Wildlife Refuges;
(3) National Wilderness Areas; and
(4) Any component designated under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Great Lakes means waters of the United States extending to the international maritime boundary with Canada in Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron (including Lake St. Clair), Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior, and the connecting channels (Saint Marys River, Saint Clair River, Detroit River, Niagara River, and Saint Lawrence River to the international maritime boundary with Canada).

Hazardous material means any hazardous material as defined in 49 CFR 171.8 .

Marine Pollution Control Device, abbreviated MPCD, means any equipment or management practice installed or used on an Armed Forces vessel that is designed to receive, retain, treat, control, or discharge a discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, and that is determined by the Administrator and Secretary to be the most effective equipment or management practice to reduce the environmental impacts of the discharge consistent with the considerations in Clean Water Act section 312(n)(2)(B).

Minimally-toxic means a substance must pass either OECD 201, 202, and 203 for acute toxicity testing, or OECD 210 and 211 for chronic toxicity testing. For purposes of the standards, equivalent toxicity data for marine species, including methods ISO/DIS 10253 for algae, ISO TC147/SC5/W62 for crustacean, and OSPAR 2005 for fish, may be substituted for OECD 201, 202, and 203. If a substance is evaluated for the formulation and main constituents, the LC50 of fluids must be at least 100 mg/L and the LC50 of greases, two-stroke oils, and all other total loss lubricants must be at least 1000 mg/L. If a substance is evaluated for each constituent substance, rather than the complete formulation and main compounds, then constituents comprising less than 20% of fluids can have an LC50 between 10-100 mg/L or a no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) between 1-10 mg/L, constituents comprising less than 5% of fluids can have an LC50 between 1-10 mg/L or a NOEC between 0.1-1 mg/L, and constituents comprising less than 1% of fluids, can have an LC50 less than 1 mg/L or a NOEC between 0-0.1 mg/L.

Minimally-toxic soaps, cleaners, and detergents means any substance or mixture of substances which has an acute aquatic toxicity value (LC50) corresponding to a concentration greater than 10 parts per million (ppm) and does not produce byproducts with an acute aquatic toxicity value (LC50) corresponding to a concentration less than 10 ppm. Minimally-toxic soaps, cleaners, and detergents typically contain little to no nonylphenols.

No-discharge zone means an area of specified waters established pursuant to this regulation into which one or more specified discharges incidental to the normal operation of Armed Forces vessels, whether treated or untreated, are prohibited.

Not bioaccumulative means any of the following: The partition coefficient in the marine environment is log Kow [LESS THAN]3 or [GREATER THAN]7 using test methods OECD 117 and 107; molecular mass [GREATER THAN]800 Daltons; molecular diameter [GREATER THAN]1.5 nanometer; bioconcentration factor (BCF) or bioaccumulation factor (BAF) is [LESS THAN]100 L/kg, using OECD 305, OCSPP 850.1710 or OCSPP 850.1730, or a field-measured BAF; or polymer with molecular weight (MW) fraction below 1,000 g/mol is [LESS THAN]1%.

Person in charge (PIC) means the single individual named master of the vessel or placed in charge of the vessel, by the U.S. Department of Defense or by the Department in which the U.S. Coast Guard is operating, as appropriate, and who is responsible for the operation, manning, victualing, and supplying of the vessel of the Armed Forces. Examples of a PIC include, but are not limited to:

(1) A Commanding Officer, Officer in Charge, or senior commissioned officer on board the vessel;
(2) A civilian, military, or U.S. Coast Guard person assigned to a shore command or activity that has been designated as the PIC for one or more vessels, such as a group of boats or craft;
(3) A Tugmaster, Craftmaster, Coxswain, or other senior enlisted person onboard the vessel;
(4) A licensed civilian mariner onboard a Military Sealift Command vessel; or
(5) A contracted commercial person at a shore installation that is not part of the Armed Forces but as identified by the U.S. Department of Defense or the Department in which the U.S. Coast Guard is operating.

Phosphate-free soaps, cleaners, and detergents means any substance or mixture of substances which contain, by weight, 0.5% or less of phosphates or derivatives of phosphates.

Secretary means the Secretary of the United States Department of Defense or that person's authorized representative.

Toxic materials means any toxic pollutant identified in 40 CFR 401.15 .

State means a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

United States includes the States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Canal Zone, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Vessel includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on navigable waters of the United States or waters of the contiguous zone, but does not include amphibious vehicles.

Waters subject to UNDS means the navigable waters of the United States, including the territorial seas and the waters of the contiguous zone, as these terms are defined in the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1362 ).

40 C.F.R. §1700.3

64 FR 25134, May 10, 1999, as amended at 82 FR 3182 , Jan. 11, 2017; 85 FR 43475 , July 17, 2020
82 FR 3182 , 2/10/2017; 85 FR 43475 , 8/17/2020