Title 33

SECTION 159.317

159.317 Sampling and reporting.

§ 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 initial 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;

(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.

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