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MERC – DRAFT Test Plan
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1. Background and Objectives of MERC Technology Evaluations
The Maritime Environmental Resource Center (MERC) is a State of Maryland initiative
that provides test facilities, information, and decision tools to address key environmental issues
facing the international maritime industry. The primary focus is to evaluate the mechanical and
biological efficacy, costs, and logistical aspects of ballast water treatment systems and to assess
the economic impacts of ballast water regulations and management approaches. A full
description of MERC structure, products, and services can be found at www.maritime-
enviro.org.
To address the need for effective, safe, and reliable ballast water treatment systems to
prevent the introduction of non-native species, MERC has developed as a partnership between
the Maryland Port Administration (MPA), Chesapeake Biological Laboratory/ University of
Maryland Center for Environmental Science (CBL/UMCES), U.S. Maritime Administration
(MARAD), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center (SERC), and University of Maryland (UM) to provide
independent performance testing and to help facilitate the transition of new treatments to
operations. Treatment evaluation efforts will also take advantage of expertise and the rigorous
technology evaluation format/process developed by the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT,
www.act-us.info). ACT is NOAA-funded distributed testbed, headquartered at CBL/UMCES,
dedicated to fostering the development and adoption of effective and reliable sensors for
studying and monitoring coastal environments.
The following protocols describe how MERC will evaluate the performance
characteristics of the Maritime Solutions, Inc. (MSI) Ballast Water Treatment System through
objective and quality assured “pilot-scale” testing (dockside testing at a flow rate of 200m
3
/hr).
This new test plan is a follow-on to initial MERC evaluations conducted in 2008 and includes
refinements to protocols and testing facilities. Results from valid tests in 2008 will be combined
with data collected during the spring of 2009 (described below) and presented in a final report.
The goal of this specific MERC evaluation is to provide shipping lines, regulators, and
flag states with an independent and credible assessment of treatment performance under realistic
conditions. Therefore, the data and information on performance characteristics will cover
legitimate information that users need and will compare performance against the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) D2 regulatory discharge standards.
It is important to note that MERC itself does not certify technologies or guarantee that a
technology will always, or under circumstances other than those used in testing, operate at the
levels verified. MERC does not label or list technologies as acceptable or unacceptable but will
present results in a way that can be used to determine regulatory compliance by appropriate
agencies of certification societies. Final reports on technology performance will be reviewed by
the MERC Advisory Board and provided to MSI and the MERC funding agencies prior to public
release.