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MERC STDN Test Plan
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1. MERC Background and Objectives
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 Severn Trent De Nora (STDN) BalPure™ BP-2000 Ballast Water
Treatment Systems through objective and quality assured land-based testing (dockside at a flow
rate of 200m
3
/hr). The goal of this specific 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 does not certify technologies or guarantee that a
treatment will always, or under circumstances other than those used in testing, operate at the
levels verified. Treatment systems are not labeled or listed as acceptable or unacceptable but
tests and presented results are in a format consistent with that requested by specific regulations
(e.g., IMO D2, G8 and G9) so 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 STDN and the MERC funding agencies
prior to public release. All specific terms of a testing program associated with a particular
treatment system, including management of test findings, are outlined in a Participation
Agreement executed between the treatment developer and MERC/University of Maryland Center
for Environmental Science.