Environmental Protection

Mission — Environmental Protection source

This program develops and evaluates processes, hardware, systems, operational procedures, scientific methods, and environmental studies that will allow the Navy to operate in U.S., foreign, and international waters, air, space, and land areas while complying with environmental laws, regulations, Executive Orders, policies and international agreements. Many environmental laws, regulations, and policies impose restrictions on Navy training and testing, vessels, aircraft, and facilities that interfere with operations and/or increase the cost of operations. The Navy must be able to conduct its national security mission in compliance with applicable environmental requirements in the U.S. and abroad without compromising performance, safety, or health, while simultaneously minimizing the cost of compliance. The projects for this Program Element (PE) support the Navy's compliance with the (a) Clean Water Act; (b) Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships; (c) International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships; (d) DoD Manual 4715.06, "Regulations on Vessels Owned or Operated by the Department of Defense," Vol 1-4; (e) Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990; (f) National Invasive Species Act of 1996; (g) Ballast Water Management for Control of Nonindigenous Species in Waters of the United States; (h) Clean Air Act; (i) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; (j) Marine Mammal Protection Act; (k) Endangered Species Act; (l) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; (m) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and (n) American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. References (a) through (n) establish Level I environmental protection requirements. The Shipboard Waste Management Program (Project 0401) supports efforts that enable Navy ships and submarines to comply with laws, regulations, and policies in six major areas: (1) Technical Authority, (2) Liquid Wastes, (3) Ballast Water Management. (4) Solid Waste Management, (5) Hazardous Material Control and Management Solid Waste Management, and (6) Copper-Free and Low Copper Antifouling Environmental Sustainability Development (NESDI) identifies pervasive Navy shore side environmental requirements and develops and validates information, new processes, and technologies that address requirements that pose significant impact on Naval shore activities in complying with environmental laws, regulations, orders, and policies. The goal of the program is to maximize opportunities for significant cost savings while minimizing personnel liabilities, operational costs, and regulatory oversight and preserving or enhancing the ability of Naval shore activities to accomplish their required missions and functions in support of the Navy's transformational strategy. The Marine Mammal Research (MMR) program is responsible for applied research and works to address the Navy's key research needs and transition the results and technologies for use within the Navy's at-sea environmental compliance and permitting processes in compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, with the goals of improving marine species impact analysis (including marine mammal take estimates), mitigation measures and monitoring capabilities. Key points of the MMR mission are: (1) Improve the best available science regarding the potential impacts to marine species from Navy activities, (2) Expand the technology and methods available to the U.S. Navy marine species monitoring program (3) Preserve core Navy readiness capabilities. This funding allows the Navy to avoid or reduce the chances of costly litigation for non-compliance.

Mission — Shipboard Waste Mgmt source

Navy ships and submarines operate and visit U.S. and international waters and ports where shipboard waste management restrictions impact the movements and operations of Navy vessels. The Navy must be able to conduct its national security mission in compliance with applicable waste management requirements in U.S. and international waters without compromising performance, safety, or health, while simultaneously minimizing the cost of compliance. PE 0603721N Project 0401, Shipboard Waste Management, supports efforts that enable Navy ships and submarines to comply with laws, regulations, and policies in six major areas: (1) Technical Authority, (2) Liquid Wastes, (3) Hazardous Material Control and Management, (4) Ballast Water Management, (5) Solid Waste Management, and (6) Copper-Free and Low Copper Antifouling. The Shipboard Waste Management Program supports two designated Technical Warrant Holders for Waste Systems & Materials Engineering, with responsibility and accountability for ensuring that ships and submarines are designed and upgraded, and can be operated, in compliance with existing and anticipated environmental requirements while minimizing total ownership cost and manning. This responsibility encompasses legacy platforms and new vessel designs, as well as fleet operations exercises, and training. Major performers are Naval Surface Warfare Centers at Carderock, MD, and Philadelphia, PA, where engineering agents execute research and development responsibilities for Navy surface ship and submarine environmental engineering, which includes reviewing/updating various military specifications, ship specifications, DoD and Chief of Naval Operations documentations, and maintaining the technology identification and assessment process.

Mission — Environmental Sustainability Development (NESDI) source

The vision outlined in "A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority, Version 2.0" (December 2017) and "2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America" is for our Navy to become more lethal, resilient and a rapidly innovating joint force. We must maintain a fleet that is trained ready to operate and fight decisively. Today's reality requires training and operating within environmental constraints (national and international laws and agreements) and searching for alternatives to comply with and alleviate those constraints. Moreover, as we develop new systems and technologies in support of the National Defense Strategy, the Navy must anticipate and address potential environmental constraints which could in the future adversely impact our ability to protect and sustain our forces at home and abroad. This program identifies pervasive Navy shore side environmental requirements and develops and validates information, new processes, and technologies that address requirements that pose significant impact on Naval shore activities in complying with environmental laws, regulations, orders, and policies. The goal of the program is to maximize opportunities for significant cost savings while minimizing personnel liabilities, operational costs, and regulatory oversight and preserving or enhancing the ability of Naval shore activities to accomplish their required missions and functions in support of the Navy's transformational strategy. Environmental Enabling Capabilities -2 (EEC-2) MAXIMIZE TRAINING AND TESTING RANGE REQUIREMENTS WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS: This capability addresses environmental impacts and restrictions at Navy land and sea ranges, including munitions testing and manufacturing, to ensure Navy ranges are available to conduct required training and testing operations for the Fleet. Investments in EEC-2 provide validated knowledge, models, and processes to mitigate environmental impacts, restrictions, and costs at Navy training and test ranges to maximize the availability and utilization of the ranges. The results support operational readiness by providing the tools and technologies necessary for sustaining and managing Navy land and sea ranges related to unexploded ordnance (UXO) and munitions, encroachment, air quality, airborne noise, water quality, and wetlands. Capabilities gained include the ability to assess and determine the risks from underwater UXO, the evaluation and prioritization of ordnance contaminated sites for evaluation in environmental programs and the implementation of range specific best management practices by evaluating and modeling available process, procedures, and technologies. Environmental Enabling Capabilities-3 (EEC-3) PLATFORM MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR WITH MINIMAL ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT: This capability focuses on minimizing or eliminating environmental impact related to Navy and Marine Corps weapon system repair and maintenance operations. Investments in EEC-3 provide valid knowledge, models, processes, and technologies to minimize regulated emissions, discharges and hazardous material usage during the repair and maintenance of ships, submarines, and surface/sub-surface vehicles and aircraft and air vehicles. The program supports Fleet operational readiness and Navy acquisition communities by investing in information to understand emerging environmental requirements and to develop innovative processes and technologies that result in savings while reducing the fleet environmental constraints related to platform maintenance. Capabilities and benefits gained include, but are not limited to, the reduction in the usage of heavy metals used in metal finishing (chromium and cadmium), the development of best management practices and tools to minimize the use of hazardous materials, and the generation of hazardous wastes associated with maintaining and repairing ships, submarines, aircraft, and unmanned vehicles. Results of program investments will be leveraged across weapon system and platform acquisition to ensure continued reduction in lifecycle costs and long-term environmental compliance burdens to the Fleet. Environmental Enabling Capabilities-4 (EEC-4). SUPPORT SHORE READINESS WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS: This capability supports the continued operation of Navy shore infrastructure including airfields, ports, and maintenance facilities within regulatory limits. NESDI investments under EEC-4 deliver cost-effective solutions to reduce the use of regulated materials and limit discharges from shore-based activities. Focus areas include improvements to water management Environmental Enabling Capabilities-5 (EEC-5). COST-EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS: The environmental compliance regulations require base managers to permit, monitor and report on many processes associated with weapon system and platform operations. Naval shore environmental managers require the capability to efficiently and cost effectively manage these compliance requirements. Under EEC-5, the program invests in improved data collection, methods, and models to assess environmental impacts and ecological risk assessments of Naval Operations on harbors, U.S. waterways, and surrounding communities. Benefits include gaining standardized technical environmental management improvements/techniques related to source control, assessment, and monitoring. EEC-5 also provides validated knowledge, models, processes and technologies to improve environmental monitoring and reporting, and to reduce the cost of compliance with regulations applicable to coastal contamination and contaminated sediments.

Mission — Marine Mammal Research source

The Navy has been and will continue to be subject to litigation with regard to the potential injuring, killing or biologically significant disturbance of marine animals by the use of intense underwater sound. Since Fleet operation and training areas coincide with known or probable habitats, migration routes, or breeding areas of marine mammals and other protected marine species, the possibility exists that such incidents are likely to continue in the future. The increasing public interest and pressure has resulted in escalating Fleet costs. For example, Fleet and SYSCOM development activities have been interrupted; modified, or altogether cancelled and environmental regulations have, among other things, required new ship construction shock trials to obtain Federal permits and conduct extensive environmental planning that can take several years to complete. The incorporation of mitigation measures in Fleet training operations to minimize the potential adverse effects on protected marine animals can significantly reduce the realism of these operations. In addition, the testing, evaluation, and deployment of new sonar detection and monitoring systems that use active acoustics are under intense public scrutiny for their potential adverse effects on whales and other marine mammals. Navy needs scientific evidence to substantiate its claims of limited or inconsequential adverse effects to marine life from operations. This project primarily focuses on the development of planning, monitoring, and mitigating tools to aid the Fleet in minimizing contact with and the potential harassment of protected marine animals during operations, exercises, training, and undersea surveillance and weapons testing. These new capabilities will encompass historical and newly acquired data and analytical models that together can predict marine animal habitats (where they are likely to be), and their natural and expected behavior (diving patterns, prey localization, calling activity, etc.). This project consists of three major areas that will help ensure Navy compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA). These areas are (1) Marine Ecology and Population Dynamics - determine the likelihood of the presence of marine mammals or other protected species by developing habitat and ecological models. Refine marine animal survey techniques to optimize the accuracy of abundance estimates in small ocean regions of Navy interest. (2) Criteria, Thresholds, and Mitigation - Establish criteria and thresholds from which to measure potential impact on marine mammals and other marine species from Navy training operations. Determine the effectiveness and usefulness of various mitigation measures in relation to the potential impact of Navy operations on marine mammals; and (3) Mitigation Methodologies - Determine the observation, detection and classification measures required to develop effective monitoring and mitigation procedures for Fleet and SYSCOM use. Focus on improving marine animal monitoring capabilities over current methods by developing new technologies or improving existing technologies that improve monitoring and mitigation effectiveness, reduce cost and minimize impacts on readiness activities.

Accomplishments & Planned Programs (9)