Code of Federal Regulations Title 46. Shipping § 46.162.060–26 Land-based testing requirements

(a) Each ballast water management system (BWMS) must undergo land-based tests and evaluations that meet the requirements of the ETV Protocol (incorporated by reference, see § 162.060–5). The land-based testing will determine if the biological efficacy of the BWMS under consideration for approval is sufficient to meet the applicable ballast water discharge standard (BWDS) and validate those aspects of the operating and maintenance parameters presented by the manufacturer that are appropriate for assessment under the relatively short-term, but well-controlled, circumstances of a land-based test.

(b) The test set up must operate as described in the ETV Protocol Test Plan requirements during at least five consecutive, valid, and successful replicate test cycles. No adjustments to the BWMS are permitted unless specifically detailed in the Operation, Maintenance and Safety Manual. The BWMS must be operated by independent laboratory or independent laboratory subcontractor personnel.

(c) Each valid test cycle must include—

(d) The BWMS must be tested in water conditions for which it will be approved. For each set of test cycles, a salinity range must be chosen. With respect to the salinity of water bodies where the BWMS is intended to be used, the challenge water used in the test set-up must have dissolved and particulate content as described in the ETV Protocol.

(e) The approval certificate issued in accordance with § 162.060–10(g) will list the salinity ranges for which the BWMS is approved.

(f) The BWMS must be tested at its rated capacity or as specified in paragraph (f)(1) of this section for each test cycle and must function to the manufacturer's specifications during the test.

(g) The test set-up, TRC, and scaling of all tests (including mathematical and computational fluid dynamics modeling) must be clearly identified in the Experimental Design section of the Test Plan.