SHIPBOARD SEWAGE AND WASTE
DISPOSAL
The environmental harm caused by sewage
discharges into rivers, harbors, and coastal waters by
naval ships is of great concern. Secretary of Defense
regulations require the Navy to control sewage
discharges. Navy policies and responsibilities are
defined in the Environmental and Natural Resources
Program Manual, OPNAVINST 5090.1.
The Navy intends that all naval ships will be
equipped with marine sanitation devices (MSD) that
will allow them to comply with the sewage discharge
standards without compromising mission capability.
However, sewage discharge regulations do not forbid
overboard discharge during an emergency when there is
danger to the health and safety of personnel. In the past,
shipboard sewage has been discharged overboard
routinely. We changed that practice when evidence
showed that concentrations of sewage in inland waters,
ports, harbors, and coastal waters of the United States
were bad for the environment.
In 1972 the Chief of Naval Operations decided that
the Navy would install the sewage collection, holding,
and transfer (CHT) system (a type of MSD) aboard
Figure 6-2.-Comminutor-type CHT system.
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