Ballast water regulation in the United States

[1] Studies suggest that the economic cost just from introduction of pest mollusks (zebra mussels, the Asian clam, and others) to U.S. aquatic ecosystems is more than $6 billion per year.

Further, EPA said that other ongoing federal activities related to control of invasive species in ballast water are likely to be more effective than changing the NPDES rules.

[3] Until recently, these efforts to limit ballast water discharges by cruise ships and other vessels were primarily voluntary, except in the Great Lakes.

[4] After the denial of their administrative petition, the environmental groups filed a lawsuit seeking to force EPA to rescind the regulation that exempts ballast water discharges from CWA permitting.

[6] In June 2007, EPA requested public comment on regulating ballast water discharges from ships, an information-gathering prelude to a potential rulemaking in response to the district court's order.

The permit required the use of best management practices (BMPs) for controlling ballast water, but did not include numeric pollutant discharge limits.

[8] A 2011 National Research Council study provided advice on developing data and methodologies for setting numeric permit limits.

To minimize the spread of invasive species in U.S. waterways, EPA and the Coast Guard developed plans to regulate the concentration of living organisms discharged in the ballast water of ships.

[17] The new regulations have the same requirements for avoiding uptake and discharge in sensitive areas and for recording and reporting ballast water in vessels.

The management of ballast water were expanded to include training and safety procedures as well as maintenance and removal practices of foulding species and sediment.

Independent laboratories vetted by USCG test the equipment, incorporating EPA Environmental Technology Verification Program land-based protocols.

[19][20] This ruling's jurisdiction covers the US territorial sea (12 nautical miles), and vessels that depart the Great Lakes, go beyond the EEZ, and return, passing upstream of Snell Lock.