# How is sewage disposed of on Naval ships? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2007, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910 "2007-12-22T06:04:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/1 "2007-12-22T06:04:13Z")
Aren’t some of them at sea for up to a year almost? What do they do with their poop? Burn it? Dump it in the ocean? Just curious. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/2 "2007-12-22T08:33:00Z")
Poo and other biodegradable waste goes into the ocean, while non-degradable waste is sorted out and stored until a port call. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/3 "2007-12-22T11:01:46Z")
Haven’t you ever heard of the poop deck? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/4 "2007-12-22T16:35:34Z")
I forget what the distance is from shore, it’s either 6 or 12 miles out and everything goes overboard. Close to shore it’s held in tanks until you dock. Then lines are connected and it’s pumped into the local sewer system. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/5 "2007-12-22T17:30:30Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Goob] I forget what the distance is from shore, it’s either 6 or 12 miles out and everything goes overboard. Close to shore it’s held in tanks until you dock. Then lines are connected and it’s pumped into the local sewer system. [/QUOTE] Not _everything_ is dumped overboard. At least as early as 1990, all plastic garbage was retained for offload in ports. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/6 "2007-12-22T21:58:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Goob] I forget what the distance is from shore, it’s either 6 or 12 miles out and everything goes overboard. Close to shore it’s held in tanks until you dock. Then lines are connected and it’s pumped into the local sewer system. [/QUOTE] IIRC, it was 12 miles in the mid-90s. Submarines dump all of their trash at sea, too. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/7 "2007-12-22T22:28:07Z")
All ships, really. As long as it’s not polluting. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/8 "2007-12-22T22:44:09Z")
This is not quite true. I was on the USS Ranger, a ship commissioned in 1957. I served on her in the late 80s and our Sewage went to CHT tanks to partially break down via Microbial Additives. [Here is some details on it.](http://chemistry.nrl.navy.mil/6110/6113/microbial.php) Actually a lot of incorrect answers exist in this thread. Why not give a question a chanced to be answered before you start wagging. We only dumped trash when we were 50 miles out. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/9 "2007-12-23T01:52:11Z")
[QUOTE=robby] IIRC, it was 12 miles in the mid-90s. Submarines dump all of their trash at sea, too. [/QUOTE] After it is compressed, canned and then sunk to the bottom, no? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/10 "2007-12-23T04:03:24Z")
General rule: > [@](#): > > Currently, ocean dumping is generally banned worldwide. The motivation for banning ocean dumping gained momentum when contaminated wastes from sewage-derived microorganisms were discovered at public beaches, shellfish beds were contaminated with toxic metals, and fish were infected by lesion-causing parasites. Coastal areas continually impacted by nutrients in waste products (primarily nitrogen) that run off the land eventually suffer from increases in toxic algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels, both of which can kill fish populations. [http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/deepeast01/background/dumping/dumping.html](http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/deepeast01/background/dumping/dumping.html) > [@](#): > > In 1972, Congress enacted the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act) to prohibit the dumping of material into the ocean that would unreasonably degrade or endanger human health or the marine environment. See Summary of the MPRSA for an overview of the Act. > > The MPRSA implements the requirements of the London Convention, which is the international treaty governing ocean dumping. > > EPA’s ocean dumping management program regulates ocean dumping to protect the environment from any material that will degrade or endanger human health, welfare, or amenities, or the marine environment, ecological systems, or economic potentialities. > > Virtually all material ocean dumped in the United States today is dredged material (sediments) removed from the bottom of waterbodies in order to maintain navigation channels and berthing areas. Other materials that are currently ocean disposed include fish wastes, human remains, and vessels. Certain materials, such as high-level radioactive waste, medical waste, sewage sludge, and industrial waste, may not be dumped in the ocean. > > Ocean dumping cannot occur unless a permit is issued under the MPRSA. In the case of dredged material, the decision to issue a permit is made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, using EPA’s environmental criteria and subject to EPA’s concurrence. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains an online ocean disposal database for dredged material. For all other materials, EPA is the permitting agency. EPA prepares an annual report of ocean dumping permits for material other than dredged material. EPA is also responsible for designating recommended ocean dumping sites for all types of materials. > > EPA has issued General Permits under the MPRSA for the burial at sea of human remains Exit EPA Disclaimer, the transport of target vessels Exit EPA Disclaimer by the Navy (“SINKEX”), the transportation and disposal of vessels Exit EPA Disclaimer, and the disposal of man-made ice piers in Antarctica. > > The criteria and procedures for ocean dumping permits and for the designation of ocean dumping sites can be found in EPA’s ocean dumping regulations Exit EPA Disclaimer at 40 CFR Parts 220 to 229. [http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/dumpdredged/oceandumping.html](http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/dumpdredged/oceandumping.html) But: > [@](#): > > Sec. 122.3 Exclusions. > > ``` > The following discharges do not require NPDES permits: > (a) Any discharge of sewage from vessels, effluent from properly > > ``` > > functioning marine engines, laundry, shower, and galley sink wastes, or > any other discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. This > exclusion does not apply to rubbish, trash, garbage, or other such > materials discharged overboard; nor to other discharges when the vessel > is operating in a capacity other than as a means of transportation such > as when used as an energy or mining facility, a storage facility or a > seafood processing facility, or when secured to a storage facility or a > seafood processing facility, or when secured to the bed of the ocean, > contiguous zone or waters of the United States for the purpose of > mineral or oil exploration or development. [http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/03jul20071500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr\_2007/julqtr/40cfr122.3.htm](http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/03jul20071500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2007/julqtr/40cfr122.3.htm) _and see,_ Kira Schmidt, “Cruising for Trouble” (2000): [http://www.earthscape.org/p1/sck01/sck01.html](http://www.earthscape.org/p1/sck01/sck01.html) Michael Collins, “Ship of Stools Ocean activists target sewage dumping by Royal Caribbean ‘sludge boats’” Los Angeles City Beat November 2003: [http://69.94.104.186/article.php?IssueNum=25&id=424](http://69.94.104.186/article.php?IssueNum=25&id=424) Regulatory history of ocean dumping: [http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/mprsa/events.html](http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/mprsa/events.html) Laws related to ocean dumping: [http://meso.spawar.navy.mil/law1.html](http://meso.spawar.navy.mil/law1.html) And a summary of the Ocean Dumping Act: [Ncseonline - Magazine d'actualité et d'information](http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/briefingbooks/laws/f.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/11 "2007-12-23T04:15:55Z")
I don’t know if he was pulling my leg, but someone who was on a ship in the Persian Gulf around the time of the First Gulf War told me they had tidal charts and used them to know when to dump sewage overboard so that it washed up on Iranian shores. Really. Can anyone confirm if he was telling me the truth? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/12 "2007-12-23T04:34:52Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I don’t know if he was pulling my leg, but someone who was on a ship in the Persian Gulf around the time of the First Gulf War told me they had tidal charts and used them to know when to dump sewage overboard so that it washed up on Iranian shores. Really. Can anyone confirm if he was telling me the truth? [/QUOTE] Actually, the USS Ranger was in the Persian Gulf for the First Gulf War\* though I was already off the ship, it was shortly after I got out and many of my friends were still onboard. One of them told me this did happen with some of the smaller ships like the Frigates. A very similar story, so it is possible that it is true. Of course he heard it from someone on the smaller ship, so it is a friends retelling of what someone he met once told him. In its favor, he told me the story back in 1991. So, at least it just after the war. Jim - This was a shock to me, I actually went through some training were they explained why a Carrier was never stationed in the Persian Gulf, it was too tight of a space to maneuver herself and her protective fleet properly and made her a much easier target. I was flabbergasted when I realized the Pentagon considered an old conventional fuel carrier to be worth putting at a higher risk. All the Carriers stationed in the Gulf in that war were old conventionals launched in the 50s. Thankfully nothing bad happen and one of the multi-use copters from the USS Ranger actually captured a small defended Island by mistake with no small arms more powerful that a flare gun. They flew over the Island and the Iraqi regular army units surrendered to them. They had to send someone else to get their prisoners-of-war. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/13 "2007-12-23T04:42:31Z")
My time shipboard was 1991-1994, aboard USS _Virginia_. Sewage, at that time, was generally dumped overboard, during normal steaming - so long as we were some distance away from shore. I think the minimum was 6 or 12 miles, not the fifty mentioned up thread. I’m very confident of that because our onboard CHT tanks were good only for about 12 hours of normal use. The absolute worst liberty port my ship ever went to was Montego Bay, Jamaica. We had an admiral embarked and the [del]rat-fucker[/del] gentleman-by-Act-of-Congress wanted to play a few links at the golf course there.\* Montego Bay is not a deep water port, and has no provision for ships to tie up, nor did it have at that time any of the service industries that develop in regular large ship ports: No fresh water barges, no rental liberty launches to bring people ashore, and most especially no honey barge. So, in order for us to satisfy the dual requirement of refraining from overflowing our CHT tanks, and still allowing the blue-shirt scum to eat, drink, and still follow the biological imperatives - we had to keep a full steaming watch onboard, and take the ship out to the minimum dumping distance every eight hours. The trips were about an hour and a half to two hours in length, and while it may have been theoretically possible to reach a 50 mile limit and come back in that time, I can assure you we weren’t setting any speed records. Similarly, keeping all normal waste aboard _Virginia_ until such time as we could get back to port to fill up a honey barge, was impractical, if not often impossible. Waste is always less compact than stored supplies - so there’s the problem of room. Then there’s the simple health hazards of keeping untreated garbage aboard ship. We did have a sheltered, but still open to the environment, space where we could store about 24 hours of normal waste accumulation aboard ship, but that got pretty ripe, pretty quickly. Especially in the Caribbean. Finally, in case anyone is curious, radioactive waste. This was dealt with in two general ways. Either it was solid waste, which we stored aboard ship, for transfer to an appropriate rad waste disposal contractor, via a few links, of course. We’d transfer it usually to the tender, then the tender would transfer it to someone, eventually it got to a contractor, who was paid by volume, provided gross activity was no more than some small amount. We were always being told to minimize rad waste, for cost saving measures. (Note: this is low-level rad waste, generally less activity, AIUI, than medical rad waste. Generally longer-lived isotopes, since Co-60, our major isotope of concern is not often used in medical circles, other than as a source for x-rays.) Liquid waste was kept in an onboard storage tank. Where it was allowed to decay towards MDA. This wasn’t precisely a designed feature when the ship was built, but something that quirks of construction and activation made a **Good Idea**. We’d keep the tank going until it was filled to about 75% of capacity, then discharge overboard. The requirement for distance from land before we could do this was far more restrictive than normal trash, or sewage. And we had to mix, sample the tank, and keep a complete record of all fluids pumped overboard. I won’t say the exact number, because I can’t recall whether I’ve ever seen it mentioned in non-classified sources. Activity from this tank was usually detectable, but total activity discharged was really small. It was detectable, but only just, and only with highly sensitive radiation detection equipment - a standard Geiger counter wouldn’t have picked up anything over background activity. Looking again at **Gfactor** ’s post, I would point out that I believe that there is a difference between sewage, and sewage sludge. Okay, doing some quick Googling, I’ve got 40CFR503.9(w) which defines sewage sludge as - > [@](#): > > (w) Sewage sludge is solid, semi-solid, or liquid residue generated > during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Sewage > sludge includes, but is not limited to, domestic septage; scum or solids > removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment > processes; and a material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does > not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage > sludge incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary > treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. I’m not sure, but I think that phrase “generated during the treatment of domestic sewage” may allow for an out for Naval vessels, as well as the specific exclusions I’ve seen elsewhere for fisheries vessels. I’ll admit, I may be wrong about this, but I really do remember things like smelling the CHT discharge pipe when sea action uncovered it, during Muster to Quarters - our muster point was about 30 feet aft of it. And you could tell when the HTs were dumping. \*Not having been privy to the discussions of people that high in the chain, I can’t really say _why_ we got sent to that lousy port, but that was the most popular theory. ETA: There really wasn’t all that much else that was attractive in Montego Bay, but that one resort and it’s obscenely manicured golf course. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/14 "2007-12-23T05:25:47Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Looking again at **Gfactor** ’s post, I would point out that I believe that there is a difference between sewage, and sewage sludge. [/QUOTE] Yes. That’s right. Sorry I wasn’t clear on that. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/15 "2007-12-23T09:49:01Z")
Actually, **Gfactor** your post very largely misses the mark. The London Convention is the international convention controlling the dumping of waste at sea ie it is concerned with _taking material to sea for the purpose of dumping it_. It does not cover operational discharges from ships. Operation discharges from ships are covered by the “International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto” commonly known as MARPOL. MARPOL has a series of annexes: I - oil II - noxious liquid substances in bulk III - harmful substances in packaged form IV - sewage V - garbage VI - air pollution from ships Clearly what we are concerned with here is Annex IV. I don’t know the extent to which the US has implemented Annexe IV: that’s a question I will leave to a US lawyer, but I do note from \*\*Gfactor’s \*\* second to last cite that the US “Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships” 33 U.S.C., Section 1901 et seq. implements" MARPOL. I also know however that internationally many countries have nominally enacted MARPOL but not in its entirety and in some cases with exceptions to cover certain categories of vessel such as naval vessels. What precisely Annex IV allows and prohibits is complicated because there are various protocols which any given jurisdiction may or may not have implemented, and there are grandfathering provisions for older vessels. However, in a few years time countries that are diligently implementing this annex will be enforcing laws that prohibit anything but the discharge of comminuted and disinfected sewage using an approved system at a distance of more than three nautical miles from the nearest land or sewage which is not comminuted or disinfected at a distance of more than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land. ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/16 "2007-12-23T15:21:28Z")
[QUOTE=Koxinga] Haven’t you ever heard of the poop deck? [/QUOTE] Except that the poop deck isn’t where sailors went to poop. They went up front near the bowsprit and sat on toilet seats that simply hung out over the bow. The poop deck is the upper most deck at the rear of a large ship. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/17 "2007-12-23T16:33:28Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] Actually, **Gfactor** your post very largely misses the mark. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/18 "2007-12-23T16:51:44Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] Clearly what we are concerned with here is Annex IV. I don’t know the extent to which the US has implemented Annexe IV: that’s a question I will leave to a US lawyer, but I do note from \*\*Gfactor’s \*\* second to last cite that the US “Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships” 33 U.S.C., Section 1901 et seq. implements" MARPOL. I also know however that internationally many countries have nominally enacted MARPOL but not in its entirety and in some cases with exceptions to cover certain categories of vessel such as naval vessels. [/QUOTE] At the risk of screwing this up again I’ll try to underscore **Princhester** ’s last sentence. Here is part of the second section of the statute: > [@](#): > > ((b) Excluded vessels > (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2)\*, this chapter shall not apply to— > (A) a warship, naval auxiliary, or other ship owned or operated by the United States when engaged in noncommercial service; or > (B) any other ship specifically excluded by the MARPOL Protocol or the Antarctic Protocol. > (2) > (A) Notwithstanding any provision of the MARPOL Protocol, and subject to subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the requirements of Annex V to the Convention shall apply as follows: > (i) After December 31, 1993, to all ships referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection other than those owned or operated by the Department of the Navy. > (ii) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, after December 31, 1998, to all ships referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection other than submersibles owned or operated by the Department of the Navy. > (iii) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, after December 31, 2008, to all ships referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection. > (B) This paragraph shall not apply during time of war or a declared national emergency. > (c) Discharges in special areas > (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), not later than December 31, 2000, all surface ships owned or operated by the Department of the Navy, and not later than December 31, 2008, all submersibles owned or operated by the Department of the Navy, shall comply with the special area requirements of Regulation 5 of Annex V to the Convention. > (2) > (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), any ship described in subparagraph (C) may discharge, without regard to the special area requirements of Regulation 5 of Annex V to the Convention, the following non-plastic, non-floating garbage: > (i) A slurry of seawater, paper, cardboard, or food waste that is capable of passing through a screen with openings no larger than 12 millimeters in diameter. > (ii) Metal and glass that have been shredded and bagged so as to ensure negative buoyancy. > (iii) With regard to a submersible, nonplastic garbage that has been compacted and weighted to ensure negative buoyancy. > (B) > (i) Garbage described in subparagraph (A)(i) may not be discharged within 3 nautical miles of land. > (ii) Garbage described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A) may not be discharged within 12 nautical miles of land. > (C) This paragraph applies to any ship that is owned or operated by the Department of the Navy that, as determined by the Secretary of the Navy— > (i) has unique military design, construction, manning, or operating requirements; and > (ii) cannot fully comply with the special area requirements of Regulation 5 of Annex V to the Convention because compliance is not technologically feasible or would impair the operations or operational capability of the ship. > (3) > (A) Not later than December 31, 2000, the Secretary of the Navy shall prescribe and publish in the Federal Register standards to ensure that each ship described in subparagraph (B) is, to the maximum extent practicable without impairing the operations or operational capabilities of the ship, operated in a manner that is consistent with the special area requirements of Regulation 5 of Annex V to the Convention. > (B) Subparagraph (A) applies to surface ships that are owned or operated by the Department of the Navy that the Secretary plans to decommission during the period beginning on January 1, 2001, and ending on December 31, 2005. > (C) At the same time that the Secretary publishes standards under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a list of the ships covered by subparagraph (B). > **[33 U.S. Code § 1902 - Ships subject to preventive measures](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/33/1902)** \*paragraph (2) applies the dumping rules: > [@](#): > > with respect to Annexes I and II to the Convention, to a ship, other than a ship referred to in paragraph (1)\*\*, while in the navigable waters of the United States; \*\*paragraph (1): > [@](#): > > to a ship of United States registry or nationality, or one operated under the authority of the United States, wherever located Thanks again for the corrections **Princhester**. It’s been a long time since I looked at this stuff, and I’m looking at it under less than optimal conditions just now. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-sewage-disposed-of-on-naval-ships/430910/19 "2007-12-23T19:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=Euthanasiast] Except that the poop deck isn’t where sailors went to poop. They went up front near the bowsprit and sat on toilet seats that simply hung out over the bow. The poop deck is the upper most deck at the rear of a large ship. [/QUOTE] That’s true, and it’s where we get “pooped”, meaning exhausted and beaten up. The helmsman works up there. When a sailing vessel was running with a gale at her back, sometimes a big wave crashes over the poop deck. It’s terribly dangerous to the ship to get pooped. If the helmsman survives at all, :eek: he’s feeling truly pooped. I’ve paraphrased from Olivia Isil’s _When A Loose Cannon Flogs A Dead Horse, There’s The Devil To Pay._