[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 224 (Friday, November 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64466-64467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31055]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Garbage Discharges for Navy Ships Into the International Maritime 
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (MARPOL) Annex V 
Special Areas

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Defense must report annually on the amount 
and nature of garbage discharges from Navy ships operating in special 
areas, when such discharges are not otherwise authorized under the Act 
to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), 33 U.S.C. 1901, et seq. This 
notice is the fifth annual report.


[[Page 64467]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Louis Maiuri, Office of the Chief 
of Naval Operations Environmental Protection, Safety and Occupational 
Health Division, Crystal Plaza #5, Room 654, 2211 South Clark Place, 
Arlington, Virginia, 22244-5108; 703-602-2602.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The International Maritime Convention on the 
Prevention of Pollution from ships (MARPOL) as amended by the MARPOL 
Protocol of 1978, protects the ocean environment by prohibiting some 
discharges altogether, restricting other discharges to particular 
distances from land, and establishing ``special areas'' within which 
additional discharge limitations apply. Special areas are particular 
bodies of water, which, because of their oceanographic characteristics 
and ecological significance, require protective measures more strict 
than other areas of the ocean. Within special areas that are in effect 
internationally, except under emergency circumstances, the only 
authorized garbage discharge from vessels is food waste. At present, 
three special areas are in effect: the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and 
the Antarctic Region.
    The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships established deadlines for 
compliance by U.S. Navy ships with the Annex V special area 
requirements. Surface ships must comply with the special area 
requirements by December 31, 2000. Submarines must comply with the 
special area requirements by December 31, 2008. APPS further requires 
the Secretary of Defense to report in the Federal Register the amount 
and nature of Navy ship discharges in special areas, not otherwise 
authorized under MARPOL Annex V.
    This Federal Register notice is the fifth of the required annual 
reports. This report covers the period between August 1, 1997, and 
September 30, 1998. During the period August 1, 1997, through September 
30, 1998, there were no garbage discharges from Navy ships into MARPOL 
Annex V special areas that were not authorized under MARPOL Annex V.

    Dated: November 9, 1998.
Ralph W. Corey,
Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 
Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-31055 Filed 11-19-98; 8:45 am]
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