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currently are no such facilities in the United States and most 

 vessels are not equipped to discharge ballast water to a shore 

 facility without retrofitting of piping. Other methods such as 

 ultraviolet light and chemical treatment, while possibly 

 effective, may have negative effects on the environment. We hope 

 that all methods are evaluated and that new technical ideas, not 

 yet considered, are developed. 



The Coast Guard allowed for alternatives in the development of 

 its regulations. However, the Coast Guard does not have 

 sufficient scientific resources to evaluate alternatives for 

 their effectiveness. The Coast Guard encourages the formation of 

 a committee or task force, made up of representatives from the 

 Federal government, industry, and the scientific community, with 

 sufficient funding to evaluate alternatives. This committee 

 could then advise the Coast Guard on effective alternative 

 methods to exchange and identify the criteria under which they 

 should be utilized. 



The Coast Guard has begun working through a voluntary consensus 

 standards organization to assess the technical nature of the 

 nonlndigenous species problem and develop technical standards for 

 addressing it. Within the American Society Testing and 

 Measurement (ASTM) Committee F25 on Ships and Marine Technology, 

 task groups will collect information and develop and propose 

 standards for controlling the introduction of nonlndigenous 

 species through a variety of mechanisms, in consideration of 



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