ShareThis
CHICAGO -- The federal government took another tentative step toward protecting the Great Lakes and vulnerable coastal waters from the scourge of invasive species with proposed limitations on their chief delivery vehicle: ballast water dumping by commercial vessels. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new national permit to deal with discharges of ballast water that are a normal part of operating freighters and other large commercial vessels. As a result of a legal settlement, that permit will limit the number of invasive species that vessels can dump in the Great Lakes and other water bodies. Unfortunately, EPA’s new limits are pegged to standards established by the International Maritime Organization, which while supported by the shipping industry, are not strict enough to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive organisms which currently cost the eight Great Lakes states over $1 billion every five years.
"It is hard to see the movement of invasive species until it is too late,” said Thom Cmar, attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Unfortunately, out of sight, out of mind has meant that we have not dealt with the problem of ‘living pollution’ as aggressively as other environmental threats like oil spills or toxic releases. The new proposed ballast water permit is par for that course---it is a start, but nowhere near what is needed to stop these uninvited critters from sapping our most valuable water resources.”
The permit update comes on the heels of a long legal battle to force EPA to regulate ballast water under the Clean Water Act. Protective limits on invasive species in vessels’ ballast discharges are necessary to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species carried in the ballast tanks from overseas ports. Species like the zebra and quagga mussels, spiny water fleas, and round gobies have all arrived to the Great Lakes via the unregulated discharge of contaminated ballast water.
“Since the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Great Lakes has been ground zero for freshwater invasions from overseas vessels,” said Jennifer Nalbone, Director of Navigation and Invasive Species for Great Lakes United. “The EPA’s VGP is a real opportunity to advance protection for the Great Lakes and the nation. After decades of painfully slow progress, our waters deserve a leap forward in protection, not a baby step.”
While the new permit represents an improvement over previous versions, conservation groups and scientists are concerned that the weak international standards are not strict enough to prevent the next major invasive species threat. International Maritime Organization ballast water standards are not scientifically based and offer only a marginal improvement over the current practice of flushing ballast tanks with saltwater.
Complete Post at:
http://www.medioambienteonline.com/web/guest/green_economy_news/article/-/article/iY0h/14137/-1/205571/epa-releases-vessel-general-permit-to-improve-regulations-on-ballast-discharges
No comments:
Post a Comment