Endangered Species Act Section 7(a)(2) Biological Opinion on the Uniform National Discharge Standards for Vessels of the Armed Forces Uniform National Discharge Standards for Vessels of the Armed Forces - Phase II Batch Two Rule

The action agencies for this consultation are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) represented by the U.S. Navy (Navy). The EPA and DoD propose to promulgate the Uniform National Discharge Standards (UNDS) for vessels of the armed forces – Phase II Batch Two rule under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The UNDS Phase II Batch Two rule will amend Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 1700 to establish performance standards for 11 discharges that are incidental to the normal operation of vessels of the armed forces. The 11 discharges addressed by this rule are: catapult brake water tank and post-launch retraction exhaust, controllable pitch propeller (CPP) hydraulic fluid, deck runoff, firemain system discharge, graywater, hull coating leachate, motor gasoline (MOGAS) compensating discharge, sonar dome discharge, submarine bilgewater, surface vessel bilgewater/oil-water separator (OWS) effluent, and underwater ship husbandry.