EPA Proposes New Standards For Ballast Water Treatment

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed regulations focusing on the prevention of invasive and destructive species from entering American waters via commercial ships. The species include zebra mussels, Asian carp and more.

Ocean-going ships fill internal tanks with pumped-in water to act as a ballast to maintain stability while at sea. This water can also harbor marine species and will transport them into non-native environments, such as the Great Lakes, if untreated water is then discharged. This will not only harm the ecosystem in that area, but will cost the economy billions to control the problem.

This proposal would set the first cap on ballast water dumping for most commercial vessels. It will also ease the administrative duties that ship operators are responsible for by implementing electronic recordkeeping. Commercial vessels would have to install new technologies strong enough to kill at least some fish, mussels and microorganisms. However, nothing will take effect until 2013.

The U.S. Coast Guard also has jurisdiction over the ships’ ballast water and is actively preparing standards. Environmentalists are still stating that the new proposal is largely inadequate.