How many categories of discharge does the Vessel General Permit identify?

• A. 25
• B. 27
• C. 30
• D. 32

Answer: (B)

Discharges from vessels are organized into a fixed set of categories under the Vessel General Permit, and this item asks how many categories are identified. The permit lists 27 distinct categories of discharges that require coverage, so the correct choice is 27. This fixed count comes from the permit language itself, which helps determine whether a given discharge falls under permit coverage. You’ll see categories such as ballast water, bilge water, graywater, sewage, deck runoff, and various washwaters from machinery and treatment systems, among others. The other numbers don’t match what the current Vessel General Permit specifies, so they aren’t the correct count for this question.