For Release: Thursday, October 29, 2009
NY Call on U.S. Coast Guard to Expedite Action to Stop Invasive Species
Stricter Standards for Ballast Water Discharge Can Curb Invasive Species Pathways
Looking to stop the rapid spread of invasive species, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today urged the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to expedite new restrictions on the ability of ships to discharge ballast water in America's waters.
"The establishment of a strong, environmentally protective, national ballast water discharge standard is a critical and necessary component of the nation's invasive species programs," said Grannis.
One of the principal ways that aquatic invasive species move around the globe is by figuratively hitchhiking in the ballast tanks of ships. Most of the 180 known species that have invaded the Great Lakes arrived via ballast water from international shipping. Some of the well-known species include zebra and quagga mussels, round gobies, spiny and fishhook waterfleas, and bloody red shrimp.
The USCG is currently accepting public comments on draft regulations on the treatment standards for ballast water used by ships ("Standards for Living Organisms in Ship's Ballast Water Discharged into U.S. Waters") through Dec. 4.
"New York State and its many partners are striving to put effective prevention measures in place for all invasive species," said Grannis. "We do this one pathway at a time - by understanding the ways plants and animals are moved around the globe by humans and then finding practical ways to shut off those pathways. Ballast water has been long-recognized as a major conduit for an ever-growing list of aquatic invasive species and we must constrict the flow as soon as we can.
New York has supported a federal proposal to require ships to treat ballast water before it is discharged (a standard known as "1000 X IMO" or one-thousand times the International Maritime Organization standard). New York issued a water quality certification making this standard appliable for all vessels traveling in New York Waters. However, Commissioner Grannis raised concerns that the time frame for implementing the standard set forth in the Coast Guard draft regulations is too long - for some ships, it wouldn't be fully phased in until 2025 - to adequately protect our waters.
Currently, New York is one of three states to enact a ballast-water standard that is more protective than federal standards. In the submitted testimony, Commissioner Grannis said that to ensure uniformity across the board, ballast water should be regulated under a strong federal program and not on a state-by-state basis. The establishment of a national discharge standard equivalent to the most stringent state standards currently in place would result in a consistent national regulatory framework for vessels that navigate in U.S. waters. In addition, the establishment of a strong, environmentally protective standard will result in the development and production of advanced technology to meet product demand, the commissioner said.
DEC has worked collaboratively with the state Attorney General's Office, as well as other states, especially the Great Lakes states and California, in efforts to influence federal actions to address the risks and dangers associated with ballast water and the need for stricter federal regulations.
Additional information about these regulations is available at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg522/cg5224/bwm.asp on the USCG website.
