11 



have to be careful you do not stress that hull girder and break it 

 £uid lose life. 



Simply put, then, ballast water carriage and discharge into the 

 navigable waters will have to take place as long as ships are carry- 

 ing cargo to and from ports throughout the United States and the 

 entire world. The entire commerce of the United States depends 

 upon ballast water. 



In addition to ballast water management control, there have 

 been numerous other proposals to control the spread of the nonin- 

 digenous species, and certainly Dr. Carlton's study outlines them 

 very well. I have noted some of them in my complete paper. 



But many of these suggestions are quite impractical from an 

 operational viewpoint given the volumes of water we are dealing 

 with. Just imagine trying to handle optically or sonically or chemi- 

 cally or heating thermally the water in the volumes we are talking 

 about. 



A ballast water management study directed at the Great Lakes 

 and other inland waterways will help fill that gap of knowledge 

 that we have to minimize the spread of nuisance species once found 

 in the system. I think the Coast Guard has proven very capable of 

 managing such a study, as they have done in the past. 



And the proposed legislation also calls for the identification of 

 technologies and practices for demonstration. This must be done, 

 and I would pledge that vessels in our membership would be avail- 

 able as test platforms, and personnel would be available to assist in 

 that demonstration. We think the Maritime Administration is a 

 very fine organization and could also manage that demonstration 

 program. 



Thank you very much. 



Mr. LiPiNSKi. Thank you, Mr. Ryan, for your testimony. 



[The statement of Mr. Ryan may be found at end of hearing.] 



Mr. LiPiNSKi. Next we will hear from Captain Donohoe. 



STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN MICHAEL J. DONOHOE, CHIEF, MARINE 

 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION, U.S. COAST GUARD 



Captain Donohoe. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and distin- 

 guished members of the subcommittees. Thank you for this oppor- 

 tunity to talk about a few of our activities on the important issue 

 of ballast water management aiid the need for alternatives to 

 reduce the future introduction of aquatic nuisance species. 



I have prepared a formal statement which has been submitted 

 for the record, and I would like to take a few moments to summa- 

 rize that statement for you this morning. 



On April 8, 1993, the Coast Guard published regulations that re- 

 quire ballast water management for ships which have operated out- 

 side the exclusive economic zone and are bound for a U.S. port in 

 the Great Lakes. In concert with the regulations we established, we 

 are conducting an educational program consisting of a Coast 

 Guard-produced video and pamphlet on the problems of aquatic 

 nuisance introduction. I brought a limited number of these tapes 

 and pamphlets for distribution to each interested subcommittee 

 member following the hearing. 



