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 plants   must   meet   the   operator-certification 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) low-noise emission products and provides 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 the extent possible,  the  Navy  limits  the  use  of  noisy  tools, machinery, and equipment to normal working hours. Afloat,  the  design  of  new  ship  systems  and equipment  is  reducing  noise  emissions.  The 1-3 Student Notes: