Aquatic Nuisance Species in Ballast Water Discharges : Issues and Options

By Environmental Protection Agency

Book Id: WPLBN0000025278
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 0.5 MB
Reproduction Date: 2007

Title:	Aquatic Nuisance Species in Ballast Water Discharges : Issues and Options
Author:	Environmental Protection Agency
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Ecology, Natural resource issues, Environemtal protection
Collections:	Environmental Awareness Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	United States Environmental Protection Agency


Citation APA MLA Chicago Protection Agency, B. E. (n.d.). Aquatic Nuisance Species in Ballast Water Discharges : Issues and Options. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Excerpt: This draft report, Aquatic Nuisance Species in Ballast Water Discharges: Issues and Options was prepared in response to a petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received on January 13, 1999, from the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center. The petition was filed on behalf of fifteen nongovernmental and State and Tribal governmental organizations. The petition asked that EPA eliminate a regulatory exemption that currently prevents ballast water discharges from vessels from needing permits under EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. The petition was closely followed by a letter from eighteen members of Congress, requesting that EPA examine whether the Clean Water Act can be used to provide effective regulation of aquatic nuisance species in vessel ballast water.

Table of Contents
CONTENTS 1.. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a. Purpose of Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 b. Summary of Draft Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 c. Other Options for Addressing Ballast Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2.. BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 a. Petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 b. Ballast Water ANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 c. Other Pathways for ANS Introductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 d. Vessel Traffic Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 i. Description of Vessels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ii. Economics of Vessel Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 iii. Potential Costs of Controlling Ballast Water ANS . . . . . . . . . . 8 iv. Potential Costs of Not Controlling Ballast Water ANS . . . . . . . 9 e. Ballast Water Management Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 i. Mid-ocean Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ii. Special-Case Ballast Water Management Methods . . . . . . . . . 10 iii. Alternative Methods in Research, Development or Demonstration Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3.. CURRENT ACTIONS TO ADDRESS ANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 a. Federal Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 i. Executive Order 13112 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 ii. National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA) . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 (1) NISA’s Ballast Water Regulations (33 CFR 15117) (2) National Ballast Water Clearinghouse . . . . . . 17 (3) Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 (4) Ballast Technology Demonstration Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 (5) Environmental Protection Agency’s Role under NISA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 iii. Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 iv. Current Activities Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) . . . . . . 20 (1) Section 303 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 (2) Section 311 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 (3) Section 312 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 v. Other Federal Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 b. International Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 i. Foreign Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ii. International Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 (1) International Maritime Organization (IMO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 (2) International Joint Commission (IJC) . . . . . . 22 (3) Other Treaties and Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . 22 c. State And Regional Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 i. State ANS Management Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 (1) Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 (2) Washington