33 CFR § 151.10 - Control of oil discharges.
(a) When more than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land, any discharge of oil or oily mixtures into the sea from a ship other than an oil tanker or from machinery space bilges of an oil tanker is prohibited except when all of the following conditions are satisfied—
(1) The oil or oily mixture does not originate from cargo pump room bilges;
(2) The oil or oily mixture is not mixed with oil cargo residues;
(3) The ship is not within a special area;
(4) The ship is proceeding enroute;
(5) The oil content of the effluent without dilution is less than 15 parts per million (ppm); and
(6) The ship has in operation oily-water separating equipment, a bilge monitor, bilge alarm, or combination thereof as required by part 155 subpart B of this chapter.
(b) When within 12 nautical miles of the nearest land, any discharge of oil or oily mixtures into the sea from a ship other than an oil tanker or from machinery space bilges of an oil tanker is prohibited except when all of the following conditions are satisfied—
(1) The oil or oily mixture does not originate from cargo pump room bilges;
(2) The oil or oily mixture is not mixed with oil cargo residues;
(3) The oil content of the effluent without dilution does not exceed 15 ppm;
(4) The ship has in operation oily-water separating equipment, a bilge monitor, bilge alarm, or combination thereof as required by part 155 subpart B of this chapter; and
(5) The oily-water separating equipment is equipped with a 15 ppm bilge alarm; for U.S. inspected ships, approved under 46 CFR 162.050 and for U.S. uninspected ships and foreign ships, either approved under 46 CFR 162.050 or listed in the current International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) Circular summary of MARPOL 73/78 approved equipment.
In the navigable waters of the United States, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), section 311(b)(3) and 40 CFR Part 110 govern all discharges of oil or oily-mixtures.
(c) The overboard discharge of any oil cargo residues and oily mixtures that include oil cargo residues from an oil tanker is prohibited, unless discharged in compliance with part 157 of this chapter.
(d) When more than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land, any discharge of oil or oily mixtures into the sea from a ship other than an oil tanker or from machinery space bilges of an oil tanker; that is not proceeding enroute; shall be in accordance with paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), and (b)(5) of this section.
(e) The provisions of paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this section do not apply to the discharge of clean or segregated ballast.
(f) The person in charge of an oceangoing ship that cannot discharge oily mixtures into the sea in compliance with paragraphs (a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section must ensure that those oily mixtures are—
(1) Retained on board; or
(2) Discharged to a reception facility. If the reception facility is in a port or terminal in the United States, each person who is in charge of each oceangoing tanker or any other oceangoing ship of 400 gross tons or more shall notify the port or terminal, at least 24 hours before entering the port or terminal, of—
(i) The estimated time of day the ship will discharge oily mixtures;
(ii) The type of oily mixtures to be discharged; and
(iii) The volume of oily mixtures to be discharged.
There are Federal, state, or local laws or regulations that could require a written description of the oil residues and oily mixtures to be discharged. For example, a residue or mixture containing oil might have a flashpoint less than 60 °C (140 °F) and thus have the characteristic of ignitability under 40 CFR 261.21, which might require a description of the waste for a manifest under 40 CFR Part 262, subpart B. Occupational safety and health concerns may be covered, as well as environmental ones.
The notice required in this section is in addition to those required by other Federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Affected persons should contact the appropriate Federal, state, or local agency to determine whether other notice and information requirements, including 40 CFR Parts 262 and 263, apply to them.
(g) No discharge into the sea shall contain chemicals or other substances introduced for the purpose of circumventing the conditions of discharge specified in this regulation.
(h) This section does not apply to a fixed or floating drilling rig or other platform that is operating under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.