LaTourette pleased EPA seeks national ballast water standard consistent with existing international standard
Thursday, December 01, 2011
LaTourette pleased EPA seeks national ballast water
standard consistent with existing international
standard
U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) today said he's pleased
the EPA is seeking to establish a national ballast water standard
consistent with one already in place from the UN's International
Maritime Organization (IMO). LaTourette said adoption of the
IMO standard will not devastate waterborne commerce on the Great
Lakes, as another proposal could.
"Eight states are guardians of the magnificent Great Lakes, and
we need to be on the same page when it comes to issues like ballast
water. We need to focus on saving jobs, not putting them and
waterborne commerce at risk," said LaTourette, former co-chair of
the Great Lakes Task Force and author of the National Invasive
Species Act of 1996 with former U.S. Sen. John Glenn.
LaTourette has been a leader in the effort to oppose a
hodgepodge of Great Lakes ballast water standards and adopt a
national standard in line with the IMO standard. His position
has at times put him at odds with the state of New York, which
wants a much higher standard than the IMO, making it virtually
impossible for Great Lakes freighters and carriers to enter the
Great Lakes through New York's St. Lawrence Seaway.
LaTourette said the NY standard is technologically unattainable
now, and would be a crushing blow to Great Lakes commerce. He
was pleased when amendments favoring the New York standard failed
in the House last month, and said he's been awaiting the EPA's
thoughts on a national ballast water standard, which was released
late yesterday afternoon.
Ships take in or discharge ballast water as they load or unload
cargo to maintain the ship's stability. LaTourette said the
Great Lakes already have tough ballast water standards that have
been very effective in preventing the introduction of new invasive
species into the Great Lakes through ballast water on ships.
"One study says there hasn't been an invasive species introduced
into the Great Lakes since 2006 via ballast water," he said, adding
that Asian Carp did not arrive in the U.S. that way.
LaTourette said even the EPA has acknowledged that the standard
sought in New York cannot be met at this time because the
technology doesn't exist to meet it. He said the NY standard
is 100 times greater than the current international standard and
eventually would be 1,000 times greater.
The Coast Guard is also working on developing a national ballast
water standard, and the one proposed by the EPA would only apply to
commercial ships longer than 79 feet. It would not apply to
recreational boats or military vessels.
The EPA will accept comments on the proposed ballast
water/vessel general permit for 75 days, and is expected to issue
its final plan in November 2012. You can post anonymous
comments on www.regulations.gov by using
the Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0141. You can also email
comments -- but not anonymously -- to ow-docket@epa.gov. With
the latter option, you should indicate it's for Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW- 2011-0141.
In its announcement about a national ballast water standard, the
EPA said the new ballast water standard is "generally consistent
with those contained in the International Maritime Organization's
2004 Ballast Water Convention" and "is expected to substantially
reduce the risk of introduction and establishment of non-indigenous
invasive species in U.S. waters."