1625-0092 Stat/Authority

§ 159.131

33 CFR Ch. I (7–1–16 Edition)

delivering the explosive mixture. The
component must be placed in a chamber filled with an explosive mixture
and there must be no ignition of the
explosive mixture surrounding the
component when the following tests
are conducted:
(1) Using any overload protection
that is part of the device, the potential
ignition source must be operated for
one half hour at 110 percent of its rated
voltage, one half hour at 50 percent of
its rated voltage and one half hour at
100 percent of its rated voltage with
the motor or armature locked, if the
potential ignition source is a motor or
part of a motor’s electrical circuit.
(2) With the explosive mixture in the
protected void, the test installed ignition source must be activated 50 times.
(3) The tests paragraphs (c) (1) and (2)
of this section must be repeated with
any plugs removed.
(d) Components that are certified as
being intrinsically safe in accordance
with the Instrument Society of America (RP 12.2) or explosion proof in accordance with the Underwriters Laboratories STD 698 in Class I, Group D
hazardous locations (46 CFR 111.80–5(a))
need not be subjected to this testing.

Coast Guard under 46 CFR 159.010 to
perform the tests and inspections required under this part. A list of accepted laboratories is available from the
Commandant (CG–5213).

§ 159.131 Safety: Incinerating device.
An incinerating device must not incinerate unless the combustion chamber is closed, must purge the combustion chamber of combustible fuel vapors before and after incineration must
secure automatically if the burner does
not ignite, must not allow an accumulation of fuel, and must neither
produce a temperature on surfaces adjacent to the incineration chamber
higher than 67 °C nor produce a temperature on surfaces in normal body
contact higher than 41 °C when operating in an ambient temperature of 25
°C. Unitized incineration devices must
completely burn to a dry, inert ash, a
simultaneous defecation and urination
and must not discharge fly ash,
malodors, or toxic substances.

§ 159.303

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Subpart D—Recognition of
Facilities
§ 159.201 Recognition of facilities.
A recognized facility is an independent laboratory accepted by the

[CGD 95–028, 62 FR 51194, Sept. 30, 1997, as
amended by USCG–1999–5832, 64 FR 34715,
June 29, 1999; USCG–2008–0179, 73 FR 35016,
June 19, 2008]

Subpart E—Discharge of Effluents
in Certain Alaskan Waters by
Cruise Vessel Operations
SOURCE: 66 FR 38930, July 26, 2001, unless
otherwise noted.

§ 159.301

Purpose.

The purpose of this subpart is to implement ‘‘Title XIV—Certain Alaskan
Cruise Ship Operations’’ contained in
section 1(a)(4) of Pub. L. 106–554, enacted on December 21, 2000, by prescribing regulations governing the discharges of sewage and graywater from
cruise vessels, require sampling and
testing of sewage and graywater discharges, and establish reporting and
record keeping requirements.
Applicability.

This subpart applies to each cruise
vessel authorized to carry 500 or more
passengers operating in the waters of
the Alexander Archipelago and the
navigable waters of the United States
within the State of Alaska and within
the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve.
§ 159.305

Definitions.

In this subpart:
Administrator—means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Applicable Waters of Alaska—means
the waters of the Alexander Archipelago and the navigable waters of the
United States within the State of Alaska and within the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Captain of the Port—means the Captain of the Port as defined in Subpart
3.85 of this chapter.
Conventional Pollutants—means the
list of pollutants listed in 40 CFR
401.16.

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§ 159.309

Cruise Vessel—means a passenger vessel as defined in section 2101(22) of Title
46, United States Code. The term does
not include a vessel of the United
States operated by the federal government or a vessel owned and operated by
the government of a State.
Discharge—means a release, however
caused, from a cruise vessel, and includes, any escape, disposal, spilling,
leaking,
pumping,
emitting
or
emptying.
Environmental Compliance Records—includes the Sewage and Graywater Discharge Record Book, all discharge reports, all discharge sampling test results, as well as any other records that
must be kept under this subpart.
Graywater—means only galley, dishwasher, bath, and laundry waste water.
The term does not include other wastes
or waste streams.
Navigable
Waters—has
the
same
meaning as in section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as
amended.
Person—means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability
company, association, state, municipality, commission or political subdivision of a state, or any federally recognized Indian tribal government.
Priority Pollutant—means the list of
toxic pollutants listed in 40 CFR 401.15.
Sewage—means human body wastes
and the wastes from toilets and other
receptacles intended to receive or retain body waste.
Treated Sewage—means sewage meeting all applicable effluent limitation
standards and processing requirements
of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act, as amended and of Title XIV of
Public Law 106–554 ‘‘Certain Alaskan
Cruise Ship Operations’’, and regulations promulgated under either.
Untreated Sewage—means sewage that
is not treated sewage.
Waters Of The Alexander Archipelago—
means all waters under the sovereignty
of the United States within or near
Southeast Alaska as follows:
(1) Beginning at a point 58°11–44 N,
136°39–25 W [near Cape Spencer Light],
thence southeasterly along a line three
nautical miles seaward of the baseline
from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured in the Pacific
Ocean and the Dixon Entrance, except

where this line intersects geodesics
connecting the following five pairs of
points:
58°05–17 N, 136°33–49 W and 58°11–41
25 W [Cross Sound]
56°09–40 N, 134°40–00 W and 55°49–15
40 W [Chatham Strait]
55°49–15 N, 134°17–40 W and 55°50–30
15 W [Sumner Strait]
54°41–30 N, 132°01–00 W and 54°51–30
45 W [Clarence Strait]
54°51–30 N, 131°20–45 W and 54°46–15
00 W [Revillagigedo Channel]

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N, 133°54–
N, 131°20–
N, 130°52–

(2) The portion of each such geodesic
in paragraph (1) of this definition situated beyond 3 nautical miles from the
baseline from which the breadth of the
territorial seas is measured from the
outer limit of the waters of the Alexander Archipelago in those five locations.
§ 159.307

Untreated sewage.

No person shall discharge any untreated sewage from a cruise vessel
into the applicable waters of Alaska.
§ 159.309 Limitations on discharge of
treated sewage or graywater.
(a) No person shall discharge treated
sewage or graywater from a cruise vessel into the applicable waters of Alaska
unless:
(1) The cruise vessel is underway and
proceeding at a speed of not less than
six knots;
(2) The cruise vessel is not less than
one nautical mile from the nearest
shore, except in areas designated by
the Coast Guard in consultation with
the State of Alaska;
(3) The discharge complies with all
applicable cruise vessel effluent standards established pursuant to Pub. L.
106–554 and any other applicable law,
and
(4) The cruise vessel is not in an area
where the discharge of treated sewage
or graywater is prohibited.
(b) Until such time as the Administrator promulgates regulations addressing effluent quality standards for
cruise vessels operating in the applicable waters of Alaska, treated sewage
and graywater may be discharged from
vessels in circumstances otherwise prohibited under paragraph (a)(1) and (2) of
this section provided that:

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§ 159.311

33 CFR Ch. I (7–1–16 Edition)

(1) Notification to the Captain of the
Port (COTP) is made not less than 30
days prior to the planned discharge,
and such notice includes results of
tests showing compliance with this section;
(2) The discharge satisfies the minimum level of effluent quality specified
in 40 CFR 133.102;
(3) The geometric mean of the samples from the discharge during any 30day period does not exceed 20 fecal coliform/100 milliliters (ml) and not more
than 10 percent of the samples exceed
40 fecal coliform/100 ml;
(4) Concentrations of total residual
chlorine do not exceed 10.0 micrograms
per liter (μgm/l);
(5) Prior to any such discharge occurring, the owner, operator or master, or
other person in charge of a cruise vessel, can demonstrate to the COTP that
test results from at least five samples
taken from the vessel representative of
the effluent to be discharged, on different days over a 30-day period, conducted in accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator in 40 CFR part 136, which confirm that the water quality of the
effluents proposed for discharge is in
compliance with paragraphs (b)(2), (3)
and (4) of this section; and
(6) To the extent not otherwise being
done by the owner, operator, master or
other person in charge of a cruise vessel, pursuant to § 159.317 of this subpart,
the owner, operator, master or other
person in charge of a cruise vessel shall
demonstrate
continued
compliance
through sampling and testing for conventional pollutants and residual chlorine of all treated sewage and
graywater effluents periodically as determined by the COTP.
[66 FR 38930, July 26, 2001, as amended at
USCG–2005–21531, 70 FR 36350, June 23, 2005]

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§ 159.311

Safety exception.

The regulations in this subpart shall
not apply to discharges made for the
purpose of securing the safety of the
cruise vessel or saving life at sea, provided that all reasonable precautions
have been taken for the purpose of preventing or minimizing the discharge.

§ 159.313 Inspection
and enforcement.

for

compliance

(a) Cruise vessels operating within
the applicable waters of Alaska are
subject to inspection by the Coast
Guard to ensure compliance with this
subpart.
(b) An inspection under this section
shall include an examination of the
Sewage and Graywater Discharge
Record Book required under § 159.315 of
this subpart, environmental compliance records, and a general examination of the vessel. A copy of any entry
in the Sewage and Graywater Discharge Record Book may be made and
the Master of the vessel may be required to certify that the copy is a true
copy of the original entry.
(c) A vessel not in compliance with
this subpart may be subject to the penalties set out in § 159.321, denied entry
into the applicable waters of Alaska,
detained, or restricted in its operations
by order of the COTP.
§ 159.315 Sewage and graywater discharge record book.
(a) While operating in the applicable
waters of Alaska each cruise vessel
shall maintain, in English, a legible
Sewage and Graywater Discharge
Record Book with the vessel’s name
and official number listed on the front
cover and at the top of each page.
(b) Entries shall be made in the Sewage and Graywater Discharge Record
Book whenever any of the following is
released into the applicable waters of
Alaska:
(1) Treated or untreated sewage;
(2) Graywater; or
(3) Sewage and graywater mixture.
(c) Each entry in the Sewage and
Graywater Discharge Record Book
shall, at a minimum, contain the following information:
(1) Name and location of each discharge port within the ship;
(2) Date the start of discharge occurred;
(3) Whether the effluent is treated or
untreated sewage, graywater, or a sewage and graywater mixture and type of
treatment used;
(4) Time discharge port is opened;
(5) Vessel’s latitude and longitude at
the time the discharge port is opened;

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§ 159.317

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(6) Volume discharged in cubic meters;
(7) Flow rate of discharge in liters
per minute;
(8) Time discharge port is secured;
(9) Vessel’s latitude and longitude at
the time the discharge port is secured;
and
(10) Vessel’s minimum speed during
discharge.
(d) In the event of an emergency, accidental or other exceptional discharge
of sewage or graywater, a statement
shall be made in the Sewage and
Graywater Discharge Record Book of
the circumstances and reasons for the
discharge and an immediate notification of the discharge shall be made to
the COTP.
(e) Each entry of a discharge shall be
recorded without delay and signed and
dated by the person or persons in
charge of the discharge concerned and
each completed page shall be signed
and dated by the master or other person having charge of the ship.
(f) The Sewage and Graywater Discharge Record Book shall be kept in
such a place as to be readily available
for inspection at all reasonable times
and shall be kept on board the ship.
(g) The master or other person having charge of a ship required to keep a
Sewage and Graywater Discharge
Record Book shall be responsible for
the maintenance of such record.
(h) The Sewage and Graywater Discharge Record Book shall be maintained on board for not less than three
years.
§ 159.317 Sampling and reporting.
(a) The owner, operator, master or
other person in charge of a cruise vessel that discharges treated sewage and/
or graywater in the applicable waters
of Alaska shall;
(1) Not less than 90 days prior to each
vessel’s initial entry into the applicable waters of Alaska during any calendar year, provide to the COTP certification of participation under a
Quality
Assurance/Quality
Control
Plan (QA/QCP) accepted by the COTP
for sampling and analysis of treated
sewage and/or graywater for the current operating season;
(2) Not less than 30 days nor more
than 120 days prior to each vessel’s ini-

tial entry into the applicable waters of
Alaska during any calendar year, provide a certification to the COTP that
the vessel’s treated sewage and
graywater effluents meet the minimum
standards established by the Administrator, or in the absence of such standards, meet the minimum established in
§ 159.319 of this subpart;
(3) Within 30 days of each vessel’s initial entry into the applicable waters of
Alaska during any calendar year, provide to the COTP a Vessel Specific
Sampling Plan (VSSP) for review and
acceptance, and undergo sampling and
testing for conventional pollutants of
all treated sewage and graywater
effluents as directed by the COTP;
(4) While operating in the applicable
waters of Alaska be subject to unannounced sampling of treated sewage
and graywater discharge effluents, or
combined treated sewage/graywater
discharge effluents for the purpose of
testing for a limited suite, as determined by the Coast Guard, of priority
pollutants;
(5) While operating in the applicable
waters of Alaska be subject to additional random sampling events, in addition to all other required sampling,
of some or all treated sewage and
graywater discharge effluents for conventional and/or priority pollutant
testing as directed by the COTP;
(6) Ensure all samples, as required by
this section, are collected and tested
by a laboratory accepted by the Coast
Guard for the testing of conventional
and priority pollutants, as defined by
this subpart, and in accordance with
the cruise vessel’s Coast Guard accepted QA/QCP and VSSP;
(7) Pay all costs associated with development of an acceptable QA/QCP
and VSSP, sampling and testing of
effluents, reporting of results, and any
additional environmental record keeping as required by this subpart, not to
include cost of federal regulatory oversight.
(b) A QA/QCP must, at a minimum
include:
(1) Sampling techniques and equipment, sampling preservation methods
and holding times, and transportation
protocols, including chain of custody;

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§ 159.319

33 CFR Ch. I (7–1–16 Edition)

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(2) Laboratory analytical information including methods used, calibration, detection limits, and the laboratory’s internal QA/QC procedures;
(3) Quality assurance audits used to
determine the effectiveness of the QA
program; and
(4) Procedures and deliverables for
data validation used to assess data precision and accuracy, the representative
nature of the samples drawn, comparability, and completeness of measure parameters.
(c) A VSSP is a working document
used during the sampling events required under this section and must, at
a minimum, include:
(1) Vessel name;
(2) Passenger and crew capacity of
the vessel;
(3) Daily water use of the vessel;
(4) Holding tank capacities for treated sewage and graywater;
(5) Vessel schematic of discharge
ports and corresponding sampling
ports;
(6) Description of discharges; and
(7) A table documenting the type of
discharge, type of sample drawn (grab
or composite), parameters to test for
(conventional or priority pollutants),
vessel location when sample drawn,
date and time of the sampling event.
(d) Test results for conventional pollutants shall be submitted within 15
calendar days of the date the sample
was collected, and for priority pollutants within 30 calendar days of the
date the sample was collected, to the
COTP directly by the laboratory conducting the testing and in accordance
with the Coast Guard accepted QA/
QCP.
(e) Samples collected for analysis
under this subpart shall be held by the
laboratory contracted to do the analysis for not less than six months, or as
directed by the COTP.
(f) Reports required under this section may be written or electronic. If
electronic, the reports must be in a format readable by Coast Guard and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation data systems.
§ 159.319 Fecal coliform and total suspended solids standards.
(a) Treated sewage effluent discharges.
Until such time as the Administrator

promulgates effluent discharge standards for treated sewage, treated sewage
effluent discharges in the applicable
waters of Alaska shall not have a fecal
coliform bacterial count of greater
than 200 per 100 ml nor total suspended
solids greater than 150 mg/l.
(b) Graywater effluent discharges. [Reserved]
§ 159.321 Enforcement.
(a) Administrative Penalties—(1) Violations. Any person who violates this subpart may be assessed a class I or class
II civil penalty by the Secretary or his
delegatee.
(2) Classes of penalties. (i) Class I. The
amount of a class I civil penalty under
this section may not exceed $10,000 per
violation, except that the maximum
amount of any class I civil penalty
under this section shall not exceed
$25,000. Before assessing a civil penalty
under this subparagraph, the Secretary
or his delegatee shall give to the person to be assessed such penalty written
notice of the Secretary’s proposal to
assess the penalty and the opportunity
to request, within 30 days of the date
the notice is received by such person, a
hearing on the proposed penalty. Such
hearing shall not be subject to 5 U.S.C.
554 or 556, but shall provide a reasonable opportunity to be heard and to
present evidence.
(ii) Class II. The amount of a class II
civil penalty under this section may
not exceed $10,000 per day for each day
during which the violation continues,
except that the maximum amount of
any class II civil penalty under this
section shall not exceed $125,000. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (a) of this section, a class II civil
penalty shall be assessed and collected
in the same manner, and subject to the
same provisions as in the case of civil
penalties assessed and collected after
notice and an opportunity for hearing
on the record in accordance with 5
U.S.C. 554. Proceedings to assess a class
II administrative civil penalty under
this section will be governed by 33 CFR
Part 20.
(3) Rights of interested persons. (i) Public notice. Before issuing an order assessing a class II civil penalty under
this paragraph, the Secretary shall
provide public notice of and reasonable

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§ 159.321

opportunity to comment on the proposed issuance of each order.
(ii) Presentation of evidence. Any person who comments on a proposed assessment of a class II civil penalty
under this section shall be given notice
of any hearing held under paragraph (a)
of this section, and of the order assessing such penalty. In any hearing held
under paragraph (a)(3) of this section,
such person shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard and present evidence.
(iii) Rights of interested persons to a
hearing. If no hearing is held under
paragraph (a)(2) of this section before
issuance of an order assessing a class II
civil penalty under this section, any
person who commented on the proposed
assessment may petition, within 30
days after the issuance of such an
order, the Secretary or his delegatee to
set aside such order and provide a hearing on the penalty. If the evidence presented by the petitioner in support of
the petition is material and was not
considered in the issuance of the order,
the Secretary, or his delegatee, shall
immediately set aside such order and
provide a hearing in accordance with
paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section. If
the Secretary or his delegatee denies a
hearing under this clause, the Secretary or his delegatee shall provide to
the petitioner and publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER notice of and the reasons for such denial.
(b) Civil judicial penalties—(1) Generally. Any person who violates this
subpart shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 per day for
each violation. Each day a violation
continues constitutes a separate violation.
(2) Limitation. A person is not liable
for a civil judicial penalty under this
paragraph for a violation if the person
has been assessed a civil administrative penalty under paragraph (a) of this
section for the violation.
(c) Determination of amount. In determining the amount of a civil penalty
under paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section, the court or the Secretary or his
delegatee shall consider the seriousness of the violation, any history of
such violations, any good-faith efforts
to comply with applicable requirements, the economic impact of the pen-

alty on the violator, and other such
matters as justice may require.
(d) Criminal penalties—(1) Negligent
violations. Any person who negligently
violates this subpart commits a Class
A misdemeanor.
(2) Knowing violations. Any person
who knowingly violates this subpart
commits a Class D felony.
(3) False statements. Any person who
knowingly makes any false statement,
representation, or certification in any
record, report or other document filed
or required to be maintained under this
subpart, or who falsifies, tampers with,
or knowingly renders inaccurate any
testing or monitoring device or method
required to be maintained under this
subpart commits a Class D felony.
(e) Awards. (1) The Secretary or his
delegatee or the court, when assessing
any fines or civil penalties, as the case
may be, may pay from any fines or
civil penalties collected under this section an amount not to exceed one-half
of the penalty or fine collected to any
individual who furnished information
which leads to the payment of the penalty or fine. If several individuals provide such information, the amount
shall be divided equitably among such
individuals. No officer or employee of
the United States, the State of Alaska
or any Federally recognized Tribe who
furnishes information or renders service in the performance of his or her official duties shall be eligible for payment under this paragraph.
(2) The Secretary, his delegatee, or a
court, when assessing any fines or civil
penalties, as the case may be, may pay,
from any fines or civil penalties collected under this section, to the State
of Alaska or any Federally recognized
Tribe providing information or investigative assistance which leads to payment of the penalty or fine, an amount
which reflects the level of information
or investigative assistance provided.
Should the State of Alaska or a Federally recognized Tribe and an individual
under paragraph (e)(1) of this section
be eligible for an award, the Secretary,
his delegatee, or the court, as the case
may be, shall divide the amount equitably.
(f) Liability in rem. A cruise vessel operated in violation of this subpart is
liable in rem for any fine imposed

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33 CFR Ch. I (7–1–16 Edition)

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under paragraph (c) of this section or
for any civil penalty imposed under
paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section,
and may be proceeded against in the

United States district court of any district in which the cruise vessel may be
found.

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