Environmental Protection

The PE 0603721N: Environmental Protection program is a Navy Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) initiative focused on enabling the Navy to meet its operational requirements while complying with a broad spectrum of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. The program's goal is to develop and evaluate processes, hardware, systems, operational procedures, and scientific methods that allow the Navy to operate in diverse environments U.S., foreign, and international waters, air, space, and land without compromising mission performance, safety, or health, and while minimizing the cost of compliance. The program supports compliance with major statutes such as the Clean Water Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and the National Invasive Species Act.

Shipboard Waste Management is the largest component of the Environmental Protection program. Its objectives are to ensure Navy ships and submarines comply with waste management requirements in six areas: technical authority, liquid wastes, ballast water management, solid waste management, hazardous material control, and copper-free/low copper antifouling. The program funds technical warrant holders and Naval Surface Warfare Centers to develop design criteria, system specifications, and guidance for waste stream management, including oil spill prevention, alternative refrigerants, and environmental equipment standards. It also supports research and testing of technologies for oil pollution abatement, non-oily waste management, ballast water treatment systems, solid waste processors, hazardous material alternatives, and advanced antifouling coatings.

Environmental Sustainability Development addresses shore-side environmental requirements and develops technologies to reduce the environmental footprint of Navy shore activities. The program is organized into several Environmental Enabling Capabilities (EECs). EEC-2 focuses on maximizing training and testing range availability within environmental constraints. EEC-3 aims to minimize environmental impacts from platform maintenance and repair. EEC-4 supports shore readiness by improving water management and contaminant detection, and EEC-5 enhances cost-effective management of environmental regulatory requirements. The program invests in projects such as blast mitigation for underwater operations, advanced coating technologies, real-time contaminant detection, PFAS removal, and improved environmental monitoring and reporting systems.

Marine Mammal Research is dedicated to applied research that supports Navy compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act. The program's goals are to improve scientific understanding of the impacts of Navy activities on marine species, expand monitoring and mitigation technologies, and preserve Navy readiness. Research areas include marine ecology and population dynamics, criteria and thresholds for physiological and behavioral effects of sound, and the development of new mitigation methodologies. These efforts help the Navy refine impact analysis, develop effective mitigation measures, and reduce the risk of litigation for non-compliance.

Each line item within PE 0603721N is supported by a network of Navy research centers and laboratories, including the Naval Surface Warfare Centers (Carderock and Philadelphia), Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (Port Hueneme), Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (San Diego), and others. The program utilizes competitive contracts and direct funding for equipment, process changes, and technology demonstrations, with acquisition strategies tailored to the needs of fleet end users, base managers, and regulatory stakeholders.

The FY 2026 budget request reflects adjustments to promote efficiency and workforce optimization, in alignment with executive orders and administration policies. Notable changes include reductions in advisory services and civilian personnel, as well as targeted decreases in specific projects due to task completion or lifecycle transitions. NESDI's EEC-2 saw a decrease following the completion of a blast mitigation demonstration, while EEC-5 received increased funding to support new projects addressing emerging regulatory challenges, such as PFAS detection and treatment.