activities must meet both federal and state standards for preventing air pollution. The Navy has begun taking steps to help meet the nation’s goal of reducing air pollution. One step has been the conversion of its power plants ashore and afloat to use more efficient pollution control systems for stack emissions. When  required  by  state  or  local  regulations, activities have set up a program for monitoring and analyzing the exhaust from each vehicle. Vehicles that do not meet emission standards must have corrective maintenance before being returned to service. Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act, as amended, represents a clear  goal  to  restore  and  maintain  the  chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. To help reach that goal, the Navy uses municipal treatment plants where possible for its wastewater and sewage.  (NOTE:  Operators  of  municipal  treatment p l a n t s   m u s t   m e e t   t h e   o p e r a t o r- c e r t i fi c a t i o n requirements of the state in which the Navy facility is located.)  Whenever  use  of  a  municipal  facility  is impractical, the Navy provides, installs, and operates its own  wastewater  treatment  and  disposal  systems. (NOTE:  The  Navy  complies  with  water  pollution control standards that govern the types of pollutants that can be introduced into a treatment facility.) The Navy has installed marine sanitation devices (MSDs) aboard most of its ships. Some of those devices treat  sewage  to  a  level  acceptable  for  overboard discharge.  Others  (collection,  holding  and  transfer [CHT]  systems)  retain  sewage  on  board  for  later discharge ashore or in waters in which discharge is allowed. No untreated or inadequately treated sewage may be discharged into navigable waters of the United States. In foreign waters, Navy vessels comply with the applicable  Status  of  Forces  Agreement  (SOFA)  in operating MSDs. If no SOFA exists, vessels operate MSDs  based  on  the  sewage-discharge  standards observed by the host country’s military forces. Some of the guidelines followed by the Navy are shown below: Navy  vessels  may  not  discharge  hazardous substances in harmful quantities into or upon navigable waters of the United States. They also may not discharge those substances upon adjoining shorelines or into or upon waters of the contiguous zone (12 nautical miles [nm] from shore). Since Navy vessels use many substances they cannot dispose of at sea outside the contiguous zone,  they  must  store  them  in  containers  for shore disposal. Vessels may not discharge unpulped trash at sea within 25 nautical miles (nm) from the U. S. coastline and pulped trash within 12 nm of the U.S. coastline. They must make every effort to package all trash for  negative  buoyancy  before  overboard discharge. Submarines may discharge negatively buoyant compacted trash not less than 12 nm from the U.S. coastline only if the water depth is greater than 1,000 fathoms. Vessels may not discharge any trash within 25 nm of any foreign coastline. Overboard discharge of plastic waste material is prohibited. Noise Prevention Ashore The  Noise  Prevention  Program  directs  federal facilities, including naval shore stations, to comply with all substantive or procedural requirements that apply  to  environmental  noise  reduction.  Therefore, whenever  feasible,  the  Navy  procures  (buys) l ow - n o i s e   e m i s s i o n   p r o d u c t s   a n d   p r o v i d e s soundproofing of Navy-owned/operated schools and hospitals affected by noisy operations. It also locates housing  and  other  developments  away  from  major noise sources and cooperates with and in support of neighborhood self-help programs. Aviation facilities consider remote siting, sound suppression equipment, and sound barriers when developing new systems. To 1-3 Student Notes: