Tougher Federal Regulations for Ships that Dump Ballast Water in U.S. Harbors

A deal between environmental groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been reached about stricter federal regulations for ships that dump ballast water in U.S. harbors. The dumped ballast water is a leading way in which invasive species are spread (As we were also told in Mr. LaFave's class today!) Cargo ships often carry millions of gallons of water and sediments in ballast tanks to help keep them steady while in the ocean. Fish, bacteria and other organisms are released along with the ballast water while freight is taken on in port. Many of the foreign species spread rapidly, starve out native competitors and upset many ecosystems. EPA issued a 2008 permit requiring shippers to exchange their ballast water at sea or, if the tanks were empty, rinse them with salt water before entering U.S. territory. Several environmental groups sued because they believed the requirement was too weak and violated the federal Clean Water Act. But now after the new deal with the environmental groups, EPA will issue a new industry-wide permit limiting the number of live organisms in ballast water which will require shippers to install sterilization equipment. The rule will apply to commercial ships over 79 feet long, exempting recreational and military craft. The new deal does not specify what EPA's standards will be, but environmentalists say any of the new methods will be an improvement over the 2008 permit. I thought this was really interesting seeing how we just talked about this in class. It makes a whole lot of sense for the EPA to regulate this more. Why should our aquatic ecosystems suffer because of lazy shippers?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110308/ap_on_re_us/us_invasive_species