A federal judge called invasive species possibly stored aboard the ballast water of ships an "irreparable" degradation to the nation's coastal environment, and ordered federal regulators to take a much tougher stand, according to a report on www.columbian.com. In a ruling on a lawsuit brought by Portland-based Northwest Environmental Advocates and other environmental groups, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin regulating ballast water just as if it were sewage pouring out of a factory. In doing so, the judge threw out an exemption that had been in effect for three decades. "The EPA regulation is plainly contrary to the congressional intent embodied in the (Clean Water Act)…