AMO Currents - U.S Coast Guard publishes final rule for ballast water

AMO Currents - Posted: April 5, 2012

U.S Coast Guard publishes final rule for ballast water

The U.S. Coast Guard in March published in the Federal Register the final rule for standards for living organisms in ships' ballast water. While the International Maritime Organization's Convention on Ballast Water has not yet been ratified, the new rule reflects the IMO standards.

"The new rule has some substantial changes from the proposal published last year," said AMO National Vice President for Government Relations Mike Murphy. "These changes take into account the 662 comments on the proposal during the comment period. The final rule is not all we had hoped for, but it is a substantial move forward."

The final rule sets ballast water standards that align with those of the IMO. The Coast Guard consulted reports from the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board to create "the most stringent [standards] that vessels can practicably implement and that the Coast Guard can enforce at this time."

The Coast Guard stated it "still fully intends to issue a later rule that will establish a more stringent phase-two discharge standard once the additional research and analysis necessary to support this more stringent standard has been completed."

The rule provides significant exemptions for Great Lakes, inland and offshore vessels working in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which refers to an area 200 nautical miles out to sea from a point on the U.S. mainland.

Several other important changes from the previous notice of proposed rulemaking will have impacts on mariners and operators working domestically. Compliance for newly-constructed vessels was moved from Jan. 1, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2013, an acknowledgement of the lengthy rule-making and comment period. Vessels in reduced operating status (ROS) are addressed in the final rule but are not given blanket exclusion. Additionally, the ballast water discharge systems (BWDS), installed to meet the USCG standard for living organisms, will have to be tested every six months, instead of the originally proposed 12 months - and the equipment must be operated by ship's crew only.

Murphy further noted this rule does not supersede, but is intended to work with, the new Vessel General Permit 2013, which regulates 23 waste streams from vessels. This is unfortunate, as the VGP can be altered with local regulations by states and tribal areas, even though the new VGP is proposing the same IMO standards contained in the Coast Guard rule, Murphy said.

Installation of ballast discharge systems will be required on large vessels (over 5,000 cubic meters of ballast) and small vessels (less than 1,500 cubic meters of ballast) by first dry-docking after Jan. 1, 2016. All other vessels (1,500 to 5,000 cubic meters of ballast) must install by first dry-docking after Jan. 1, 2014. The BWDS must be certified in the U.S. through independent laboratories sanctioned by the Coast Guard, even if the vessels' systems have been approved by other governments. This process will take until 2015 to implement, Murphy said.

Vessels opting to install ballast discharge systems prior to Coast Guard approval may do so under an "alternate management system" if another government or the IMO approves the system. However, the system may only be operated for five years after installation.

In the new rule, the USCG is required to do a practicality review of the program, including the feasibility of tightening the standards, with a report to Congress not later than Jan. 1, 2016.

"The most positive thing about the new rule is it appears that all states except California are aligning their regulations to these standards," Murphy said. California and New York recently enacted onerous ballast water standards that would be impossible to meet with current technology. "California is still studying the standards, and as of now, has not changed its regulations."