Coast Guard issues standard for living organisms in ships' discharged ballast water. The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday the final rule for standards for living organisms in ships' ballast water discharged into waters of the United States is scheduled for publication March 23 in the Federal Register. A public inspection copy of the final rule is available online. The Coast Guard is amending its regulations on ballast water management by establishing a standard for the allowable concentration of living organisms in ballast water discharged from ships in waters of the United States. The Coast Guard is also amending its regulations for engineering equipment by establishing an approval process for ballast water management systems.