10.41 The Committee endorsed, subject to MSC's concurrent decision, the Sub-Committee's decision to issue BLG/Circ.17 on Use of the correct product name in the shipping document for bulk liquid cargoes, which was issued on 24 May 2006, and reminds Parties of the importance of the use of the Proper Shipping Name when products are offered for bulk shipment.

　

10.42 The Committee also endorsed, subject to MSC's concurrent decision, the Sub-Committee's decision to issue BLG/Circ.18 on Example of an optional shipping document for the purposes of MARPOL Annex II and the IBC Code, which was issued on 24 May 2006.

　

10.43 The Committee endorsed, subject to MSC's concurrent decision, the Sub-Committee's decision to issue BLG/Circ.19 on Products which have been classified or re-classified since the adoption of the amended IBC Code in 2004, which was issued on 20 June 2006. In this regard, the Committee noted that this circular lists the amendments which would be made to chapters 17 and 18 of the IBC Code as they were adopted in 2004.

　

　

10.44 The Committee noted that these amendments were proposed in relation to paragraph 2 of the Intervention Protocol and arose as a consequence of the revision to MARPOL Annex II.

　

10.45 The Committee approved the proposed amendments to the Protocol relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Pollution by Substances other than Oil, 1973 (resolution MEPC.100(48)) agreed to by the BLG 10 (BLG 10/19, annex 2), as set out at annex 25, and requested that the proposed amendments should be circulated by the Secretary-General as soon as possible after this session for adoption at MEPC 56.

　

　

10.46 The Committee recalled that MEPC 49 had agreed to review the "Recommendations on international effluent standards and guidelines for performance tests for sewage treatment plants" adopted by resolution MEPC.2(VI) in 1976.

　

10.47 The Committee also recalled that MEPC 51 had agreed that the resolution should be amended to reflect the current trends for the protection of the marine environment, developments in the design and effectiveness of available sewage treatment plants and to avoid any potential proliferation of different standards, and had referred the matter to the BLG Sub-Committee as a high-priority item with a target completion date of 2006.

　

10.48 The Committee noted that this issue was considered by BLG 9 and subsequently by a correspondence group, following which BLG 10 agreed to the draft Revised Guidelines and the associated draft MEPC resolution (BLG 10/19, annex 7).

　

10.49 The Committee further noted that document MEPC 55/10/4 (Ireland) proposed changes to the text of the Guidelines which, in effect, would require that two ISO standard test methods were employed for the determination of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and for the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) with the aim that the use of consistent standard testing methods would result in consistent and reliable results, on which the approval of sewage treatment plants could be based.

　

10.50 Furthermore, the Committee noted that an additional performance test was being proposed for inclusion for the Total Suspended Solids, with a maximum allowed level of 35 mg/l, with a view that such a test would give a more complete picture of the effectiveness of the treatment plant.

　

10.51 The Committee agreed to establish an informal group to develop text to be included in the proposed resolution based on the proposal in document MEPC 55/10/4.

　

10.52 Having considered the report of the informal group, the Committee agreed to:

　

　

10.53 The Committee recalled that BLG 10 had invited it to consider the application date for the Guidelines. In this connection, the Committee noted that manufacturers would normally require three years to ensure availability of approved equipment, and therefore the application date could be 1 January 2010.

　

10.54 The Committee noted that the operative paragraph 2(a) of the associated draft MEPC resolution: "INVITES Governments to implement the Revised Guidelines on Implementation of Effluent Standards and Performance Tests for Sewage Treatment Plants and apply them so that all equipment installed on board on or after [DD/MM/YYYY] meets the Revised Guidelines in so far as is reasonable and practicable."

　

10.55 The Committee, however, further noted that paragraph 1.3 of the Guidelines states: "These Guidelines apply to sewage treatment plants fitted to ships, the keel of which was laid or which is at a similar stage of construction on or after [DD/MM/YY]."

　

10.56 In order to resolve this quandary, the Committee agreed to base the implementation date of the new Guidelines on the installation date, as specified in the operative paragraph 2(a) of the draft resolution, and not on the keel-laying date, as specified in paragraph 1.3 of the Guidelines. Consequently, the Committee agreed to replace paragraph 1.3 in the Guidelines with the following text: "These Guidelines apply to sewage treatment plants installed onboard on or after 1 January 2010."

　

10.57 With regard to the potential adverse effects of disinfectant residuals, the Committee noted that it had been invited by BLG 10 to give due consideration to the maximum level for residual chlorine in effluent when chlorine is used as disinfectant. In this regard, the Committee, taking into consideration the information provided by a number of delegations and NGOs, agreed to a maximum concentration of 0.5 mg/l for the residual chlorine content in effluent when chlorine is used as disinfectant.

　

10.58 The Committee noted that the operative paragraph 3 of the associated draft MEPC resolution states: "REQUESTS the Secretariat, on the basis of information received, to maintain and update a list of approved equipment and to circulate it once a year to Governments."

　

10.59 The Committee recalled that MEPC 54 had agreed (MEPC 54/21, paragraph 14.12) that the Secretariat should develop an electronic database for pollution prevention equipment (PPE) within IMO's Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS). The Committee noted that this development served the purpose of operative paragraph 3, and hence agreed to delete paragraph 3 from the draft resolution and to renumber the remaining paragraphs accordingly.

　

10.60 Taking into account the issues raised above, the Committee approved the MEPC resolution (MEPC.159(56)) on the Revised Guidelines on implementation of effluent standards and performance tests for sewage treatment plants, which is set out at annex 26.

　

　

10.61 The Committee noted that there were two issues to be considered: firstly, to approve the proposed standard for the maximum rate of discharge, and secondly, to consider appropriate means for disseminating this standard.

　

10.62 In considering the first issue, the Committee recalled that MEPC 49 agreed that there was an urgent need to develop standards for the establishment of the rate of discharge of untreated sewage stored in holding tanks as required by regulation 11.1.1 of the revised MARPOL Annex IV, and invited delegations to submit proposals to MEPC 51 for consideration.

　

10.63 The Committee further recalled that MEPC 51, recognizing that this issue needed careful consideration from the viewpoint of sewage generated by humans as well as effluent produced by livestock on board ships, had decided to refer the matter to the BLG Sub-Committee as a high-priority item with a target completion date of 2006. The issue was considered at BLG 9 and subsequently by a correspondence group.

　

10.64 The Committee noted that BLG 10 agreed to a standard rate of discharge of 1/200,000 of hourly swept volume as the maximum permissible rate of discharge of untreated and undiluted sewage from holding tanks when at a distance equal or greater than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land. The Sub-Committee also agreed to the definition of swept volume as: "ship breadth x draught x distance travelled".

　

10.65 The Committee further noted that the BLG Sub-Committee, in agreeing to the above maximum rate of discharge for undiluted sewage, had considered the results of calculations showing that, whereas most merchant ship types would comfortably meet the standard, on the other hand, passenger ships utilizing holding tanks and livestock carriers, under a draft amendment to regulation 11.1.1 of Annex IV, may encounter difficulties achieving the standard.

　

10.66 Having noted the above discussions, the Committee approved the standard for the maximum rate of discharge of untreated sewage from holding tanks when at a distance equal or greater than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land.

　

10.67 In considering what were the appropriate means for disseminating the standard for the rate of discharge, the Committee noted that whereas BLG 10 agreed that it should appear as a footnote to regulation 11.1.1 of the revised MARPOL Annex IV, document MEPC 55/10/3, submitted by Australia, proposed that it would be more appropriate to adopt the outcome of the BLG discussions in the form of an MEPC resolution incorporating the agreed standard rate of discharge and also providing guidance on its application. In this connection, the Committee noted that the 2006 consolidated version of MARPOL had been published so that the option of a footnote was no longer timely.

　

10.68 The Committee agreed to task the Drafting Group set up under agenda item 5 on the consideration and adoption of amendments to MEPC mandatory instruments to finalize the MEPC resolution using document MEPC 55/10/3 as a basis (see also paragraph 5.12).

　

10.69 The Committee recalled that BLG 10 had recognized that the effluent generated by animals on board livestock carriers needed to be disposed of in a practical, effective and environmentally friendly manner.

　

10.70 The Committee also recalled that BLG 10 had therefore agreed to a draft amendment (BLG 10/19, annex 8) which would incorporate the words "...or sewage originating from spaces containing living animals" into regulation 11.1.1 of MARPOL Annex IV, and which amendment would require, in effect, that animal effluent is discharged not instantaneously but at a moderate rate, as was already required by the same regulation for the discharge of untreated sewage from holding tanks.

　

10.71 The Committee further recalled that the Sub-Committee agreed that recording requirements in log books for the discharge of sewage were not necessary.

　

10.72 The Committee approved the proposed amendment to regulation 11 of the revised MARPOL Annex IV to include untreated sewage from spaces containing living animals agreed to by BLG 10, as set out at annex 27, and requested that the proposed amendments should be circulated by the Secretary-General as soon as possible after this session for adoption at MEPC 56.

　

　

10.73 The Committee recalled that MEPC 54 had decided that in order to progress on the revision work on air pollution matters, it had instructed BLG 10 to make arrangements for an intersessional working group meeting to be held before the end of 2006. In this regard, the Committee approved the terms of reference for the Intersessional Meeting of the Working Group on Air Pollution with a view that it continued the work on the revision of MARPOL Annex VI, the NOx Technical Code and related guidelines under its terms of reference, outlined in annex 10 to document BLG 10/19.

　

10.74 The delegation of Norway informed the Committee that the preparations for the Intersessional Meeting of the Working Group on Air Pollution were well underway and that it would be held from 13 to 17 November 2006 in Oslo. Following further information by Norway, the Committee noted that the Intersessional Meeting would be opened by the Minister of Environment and the Secretary-General of IMO and agreed that the press would be invited to attend the opening ceremony.

　

10.75 With regard to the Unified interpretations concerning implementation of MARPOL Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code and related implementation issues (annex 13 of document BLG 10/19), the Committee dealt with them under item 4 on air pollution (see paragraph 4.19).

　

　

10.76 The Committee recalled that during the discussions at BLG 10 on the issue of the proposed amendments to MARPOL Annex I for the prevention of marine pollution during oil transfer operations between ships at sea, several delegations had proposed that products subject to MARPOL Annex II should be included in the scope of the proposed regulations. The BLG Sub-Committee concluded that this was outside its terms of reference, but acknowledged that the proposal might merit further consideration and had agreed to ask the Committee to give consideration to the proposal.

　

10.77 The Committee agreed that at this stage there was no justification to expand the scope of this work to include noxious liquid substances (NLS). Spain, as Co-ordinator of the intersessional correspondence group, informed the Committee that none of the participants in the group expressed a need to expand the work to include NLS.

　

10.78 The Committee recalled that during the discussions at BLG 10, it had been suggested that the Legal Committee should be consulted on the scope and contents of the proposed regulations on STS oil transfer at sea, particularly where issues under the purview of UNCLOS might be touched upon.

　

10.79 The Committee agreed with the Sub-Committee's opinion that the Legal Committee should not be treated as a "dumping ground", emphasizing that when proposed new legislation is to be discussed under the MEPC's remit, delegations to the MEPC should include the necessary legal expertise.

　

10.80 The Committee noted that the work of the intersessional correspondence group set up for the drafting of proposed amendments to MARPOL Annex I for the prevention of marine pollution during oil transfer operations between ships at sea is well underway.