Aquatic Nuisance

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to Meet

The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force/National Invasive Species Council (NISC) Prevention Committee, sponsored by the Fish and Wildlife Service, will meet in Washington, DC on May 4. Items on the agenda include review and approval of the Roles and Responsibilities draft document; identification of the Prevention Committee member’s responsibilities to the five working groups; and discussion of actions required to get working groups functioning. 69 Fed. Reg. 21569 (HK Law).

Great Ships Initiative to Combat Aquatic Nuisance Species

Ports of Indiana officials will join industry and government leaders in Duluth on Wednesday to announce the launch of the Great Ships Initiative, a $3.5m research center that is the first in the Great Lakes region designed to specifically focus on developing the technology necessary to prevent the introduction of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes by ocean-going ships. Leaders of over a dozen major U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes ports will be joined by scientists and federal agency

Michigan to Regulate Ballast Water Discharges

The State of Michigan enacted two laws intended to regulate discharges in the state of ballast water from ocean-going ships. Act No. 32 broadly prohibits injurious discharges and specifically prohibits unauthorized discharges of ballast water from oceangoing ships. Act No. 33 provides that, effective January 1, 2007, an ocean-going ship may not engage in port operations in the state unless it has a permit and that, to obtain a permit

Bill introduced re ballast water management

Senator Inouye (D-HI) introduced the Ballast Water Management Act of 2004 (S. 2490) to amend the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish vessel ballast water management requirements, and for other purposes. This lengthy bill raises various issues, including its inconsistency with the recently developed international convention on ballast water management. Source; HK Law

Hyde OptiMarin System Controls Aquatic Nuisances

Hyde OptiMarin LLC, a joint venture of Hyde Marine Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio and OptiMarin A/S of Stavanger Norway, is delivering four new full-scale OptiMar Ballast Water Treatment Systems during 2001, systems designed to control the spread of Aquatic Nuisance Species in ship's ballast water. Hyde OptiMarin delivered the first ever full-scale ballast water treatment system using ultraviolet light with cyclonic separation pretreatment for installation aboard the cruise ship "Regal Princess"

Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal Safety Zone

The US Coast Guard issued a notice stating that, from 6:00 a.m. on November 3 through 6:00 p.m. on November 5, it will enforce the safety zone from Mile Marker 296.1 to Mile Marker 296.7 on the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal. This action is necessary to reduce risks associated with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) installation of parasitic structures intended to help control the spread of aquatic nuisance species. 75 Fed. Reg. 64673 (October 20, 2010).

Shipping Industry Ballast Water Coalition Files Remedy Brief

Intertanko has filed a remedy brief in the North California District Court case of Northwest Environmental Advocates against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a Shipping Industry Ballast Water Coalition, which consists of INTERTANKO, the American Waterways Operators, Chamber of Shipping of America, International Council of Cruise Lines, Lake Carriers’ Association, and the World Shipping Council. This brief, whose four main arguments are detailed below

A Tidal Wave of New Regulations

  Ballast Water Management The management ballast water discharges began with the enactment of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (NANPCA) as an effort to prevent the introduction of additional invasive species into the Great Lakes.  Since then, NANPCA was amended by the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 and the issue has progressed over the intervening years to a much larger campaign to regulate all vessel discharges into U.S. waters

Ballast Water Inspections Improve, GL/Seaway

A new U.S. government report released March 13 showed a notable increase in the number of ballast tank inspections of oceangoing commercial ships entering the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System from outside U.S. or Canadian waters.  Ship operators also improved their compliance with ballast water requirements in 2008 compared with 2007, the report says. The 2008 Summary of Great Lakes Seaway Ballast Water Working Group released by the U.S. Coast Guard examined the U.S

NAMEPA Present Award to U.S. Coast Guard

September 21, 2009 Clay Maitland, Founding Chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), announced that the United States Coast Guard is the recipient of NAMEPA’s 2009 Marine Environment Protection Award.  The award will be presented at NAMEPA’s Awards Dinner to be held in New York in conjunction with the 2009 World Maritime Day Parallel Event on October 16th. Commandant Allen will be present to accept the award.