Invasive Species

Federal ballast legislation passes House of Representatives

In a landslide vote, the U.S. House of Representatives made a huge step in protecting the Great Lakes, passing legislation to stop invasive species discharged from ocean-going vessels.

The Great Lakes region as a whole has been demanding this sort of action for many years, as wave upon wave of invasive species continue to spill from the ballast tanks of ocean vessels.

Included as part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008, the ballast program passed 395 to 7.

To protect the Great Lakes and all U.S. waters, the legislation requires that, as early as next year, ocean vessels destined to any U.S. port install treatment technology that will meet International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards.

The passed bill also closed a loophole in earlier drafts that could have resulted in long-term delays in implementing more rigorous onboard treatment. Instead, the bill says, by 2014 at the latest, ships would be required to install treatment equipment that is one hundred times more stringent than the IMO standard. These rigorous standards place the United States in position to set a global precedence in protecting waters from the invasive species that lurk in the ballast tanks of ocean vessels.

Canada has already adopted the IMO standard as its national standard, though disappointingly, it has yet to set a national timeline for implementation onboard vessels destined for Canadian ports. Canada has previously indicated that it will work to harmonize regulations with the U.S. for ocean-vessels coming to the Great Lakes..

The legislation also included several key provisions, including an enhanced role for the Environmental Protection Agency to review and improve discharge standards, and a provision that allows for citizens to petition the government if the program is not being implemented. It also includes a new national rapid response program developed in coordination with states, to best control new species from spreading across the country once detected.

The bill remains silent on the controversial issue of whether the U.S. Coast Guard led ballast program would supersede the authority of the EPA under the Clean Water Act. West coast Environmental groups successfully brought forward litigation against the EPA, arguing that ballast discharges are pollutants that must be regulated under the Clean Water Act. The court ruled in favor of the environment saying that the EPA must develop a permit for ballast discharges by September 30, 2008. As such, some groups expressed objections that the ballast legislation does not specifically save the authority of the EPA under the Clean Water Act. At the heart of the controversy appears to be the risk of losing the Clean Water Act’s superior enforcement provisions and over thirty years of case history.

The bill comes in the wake of several states working to develop their own discharge standards. This seems to be the biggest concern of the shipping industry who fear being crippled by a patchwork of varying regulations as they pass from one state to the next. Attempting to address this, the bill allows states with programs in existence now, like Michigan and California, to continue running them. As the bill is currently drafted, states like Minnesota, who don’t have a state program but are currently working diligently to set one up by the end of this year, would not be allowed to run their program. Once the federal program is under implementation, states are preempted from setting standards more stringent than the federal standard, but are given opportunities to complement and strengthen the federal program.

The next step is for the Coast Guard bill to pass in the Senate, where a ballast program is notably absent. The two bills will then be reconciled in conference before going to the president for signature. During conference final decisions will be made over lasting concerns of how the Coast Guard program will interact with EPA and the states.

The biggest threat to the ballast program is the nearing fall election. Representative Oberstar, a leading champion of the ballast legislation and chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, stated on the floor that he was optimistic that the Coast Guard bill will go to conference by the beginning of the summer. Getting final resolution on controversial issues in the Coast Guard bill by then is essential if we want to see strong federal ballast legislation in the United States this year.

© 2008 Great Lakes News.