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Discharges from Vessels of the Armed Forces Glossary

Description:

Glossary contains terms used to describe discharges from vessels of the Armed Forces, which are regulated under the Uniform National Discharge Standards (UNDS).

Publishing Organization:

Office of Water

Last Update:

February 6, 2017

Program Site:

https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-and-ports/uniform-national-discharge-standards-unds-vessels-armed-forces

Terms & Acronyms

	Term
	Aqueous Film-Forming Foam	Definition: The firefighting foam and seawater mixture discharged during training, testing, or maintenance operations.
	Catapult Water Brake Tank & Post-Launch Retraction Exhaust	Definition: Discharge from the water brake and from retracting catapults on aircraft carriers during aircraft launching operations and testing. Lubricating oil that is applied to the catapult cylinder collects in the water brake tank during these operations.
	Chain Locker Effluent	Definition: The accumulated precipitation and seawater that is emptied from the compartment used to store the vessel's anchor chain.
	Clean Ballast	Definition: Either seawater or freshwater that is transferred into and out of dedicated tanks to adjust a surface ship's draft and to improve stability under various operating conditions. On submarines, seawater taken aboard into the main ballast system to control buoyancy and into the variable ballast system to control trim, list, and to adjust buoyancy. The discharge is generated when the ballast is no longer required and the tanks are partially or completely emptied.
	Compensated Fuel Ballast	Definition: Seawater that is introduced into fuel tanks to maintain the stability of a vessel by compensating for the weight of the expended fuel that is consumed. During refueling, this seawater is displaced overboard.
	Controllable Pitch Propeller Hydraulic Fluid	Definition: Hydraulic oil that is released from controllable pitch propeller (CPP) systems under three conditions: leakage through CPP seals, releases during underwater CPP repair and maintenance, or releases from equipment used for CPP blade replacement.
	Deck Runoff	Definition: Water runoff from precipitation, freshwater washdowns, and seawater that falls on the exposed decks of a vessel such as a weather deck or flight deck. This water washes off residues from the deck and topside equipment, can be contaminated with materials from other deck activities, and is discharged overboard to receiving waters.
	Dirty Ballast	Definition: Seawater that is occasionally pumped into empty fuel tanks for the specific purpose of improving ship stability. Before taking on seawater, fuel in the tank to be ballasted is transferred to another fuel tank or holding tank. Dirty ballast is comprised of residual fuel mixed with seawater. The discharge is generated when the ballast is no longer required and the tanks are partially or completely emptied.
	Distillation & Reverse Osmosis Brine	Definition: The concentrated seawater (brine) produced as a byproduct of the processes used to generate freshwater from seawater.
	Elevator Pit Effluent	Definition: The liquid that accumulates in, and is discharged from, the sumps of elevator wells on vessels.
	Firemain Systems	Definition: Seawater distributed for firefighting and other services aboard ships. Discharges of firemain water from normal operations occur during firemain testing, maintenance and training activities, anchor chain washdown, and cooling of auxiliary machinery.
	Gas Turbine Water Wash	Definition: The water released from washing gas turbine components.
	Graywater	Definition: Wastewater from showers, galleys, laundries, deck drains, lavatories, interior deck drains, water fountains, miscellaneous shop sinks, and similar sources.
	Hull Coating Leachate	Definition: Antifouling agents that leach into surrounding waters from hull coatings designed to prevent corrosion and to inhibit biological growth on the hull surface.
	Motor Gasoline Compensating Discharge	Definition: Seawater used to compensate for expended motor gasoline (MOGAS) used to operate equipment stored on some Navy vessels. MOGAS is stored in a compensating tank system to which seawater is added to fuel tanks as fuel is consumed. The discharge occurs as a result of refueling when the displaced water is discharged overboard.
	Non-oily Machinery Wastewater	Definition: The combined wastewater from the operation of distilling plants, water chillers, valve packings, water piping, low- and high-pressure air compressors, and propulsion engine jacket coolers.
	Photographic Laboratory Drains	Definition: The laboratory wastewater resulting from processing of photographic film.
	Seawater Cooling Overboard Discharge	Definition: The discharge of seawater from a dedicated system that provides noncontact cooling water for other vessel systems.
	Seawater Piping Biofouling Prevention	Definition: The discharge of seawater containing additives used to prevent the growth and attachment of biofouling organisms in dedicated seawater cooling systems on selected vessels.
	Small Boat Engine Wet Exhaust	Definition: The seawater that is mixed and discharged with small boat propulsion engine exhaust to cool the exhaust and quiet the engine.
	Sonar Dome Discharge	Definition: Some domes that house detection, navigation, and ranging equipment are filled with freshwater and/or seawater to maintain their shape and pressure. The discharge occurs when water from inside the dome is pumped out before performing maintenance or repair on the dome and when materials leach from the dome exterior.
	Submarine Bilgewater	Definition: Sources of bilgewater include seawater accumulation, normal leakage from machinery, and fresh water washdowns that collect in the bilge.
	Surface Vessel Bilgewater/Oil-Water Separator	Definition: Sources include condensate from steam systems, boiler blowdowns, water fountains, and machinery space sinks that drain to the bilge.
	Underwater Ship Husbandry	Definition: Discharge from the grooming, maintenance, and repair of hulls and hull appendages performed while a vessel is waterborne. Underwater ship husbandry includes hull cleaning, fiberglass repair, welding, sonar dome repair, non-destructive testing, masker belt repairs, and painting operations.
	Welldeck Discharge	Definition: The water that accumulates from seawater flooding of the docking well (welldeck) of a vessel used to transport, load, and unload amphibious vessels, and from maintenance and freshwater washings of the welldeck and equipment and vessels stored in the welldeck.

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