LaTourette pleased with ballast water plan
Thursday, December 01, 2011
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 opposed a hodgepodge of job-killing standards among
the Great Lakes states. 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."
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