BALLAST WATER 



MANAGEMENT INFORMATION 



In 1990, Congress directed the U.S. Coast Guard, then under the Department of 

 Transportation, to establish a mandatory national ballast water management program 



for vessels entering the Great Lakes. 



Then, in 1996, Congress directed the Coast 

 Guard to establish a national ballast water 

 management program that included a voluntary 

 mid-ocean exchange initiative for transoceanic 

 vessels — with mandatory reporting. However, 

 compliance is sketchy at best. 



When the Coast Guard was transferred to 

 the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, 

 ballast water management became a priority. 



At the urging of both the Coast Guard and 

 the American Association of Ports Authorities, 

 the department published a "Notice of Proposed 

 "The Coast Guard proposes mandatory ballast 

 water management practices for all vessels equipped with ballast tanks bound for 

 ports or places within the U.S. and/or entering U.S. Waters. The Great Lakes (manda- 

 tory) ballast water management program would remain unchanged. The proposed 

 rulemaking would increase the Coast Guard's ability to protect U.S. waters against the 

 introduction of NIS (nonindigenous species) via ballast water discharges." 



Currently the Department of Homeland Security is reviewing comments and is 

 expected to develop the final rule in 2004. 



Along with mid-ocean ballast water exchange and reporting, the rules would 

 approve alternative "environmentally sound" methods of ballast water management as 

 they are developed and tested for effectiveness. 



In addition, the International Maritime Organization currently is negotiating a 

 binding international agreement for mandatory ballast water management by member 

 nations. Adoption is expected in 2004, with ratification and implementation by 2006. 



For a complete overview of the ballast water issue, here are a few resources: 

 American Association of Ports Authorities: www.aapa-port.org 

 Click on "Government Relations". 



Science News article, with a discussion of ANS and the Tonsina project: 

 www.phschool.com/science/science news/articles/stemming the tide.htm 

 Alaska Journal of Commerce article on the Tonsina and ozone: 

 www.alaska i ournal.com/stories/042902/loc tiny hitchhikers.shtml 

 Alaska Sea Grant radio story on the Tonsina: 



www.uaf.edu/seagrant/NewsMedia/02ASJ/ll.22.02ballast-invaders.html 



West Coast Ballast Project: http://Ballast-outreach-ucsgep.ucdavis.edu 



Washington Sea Grant: www.wsg.washington.edu/ 



Northeast Midwest Institute: www.nemw.org/biopollute.htm#laws 



For an overview of the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA) and the 



National Invasive Species Act (NISA). 



National Sea Grant research initiatives: 



www.nsgo.seagrant.org/research/nonindigenous/index.html 



Russ Herwig and Bill Cooper 



Photo by Robyn Ricks, Washington Sea Grant 



Rulemaking" in the National Register: 



One thing is certain, however: industry 

 approval is key. "Wherever our research takes 

 us, it's essential that we work closely with the 

 shipping industry," Herwig notes. "There's no 

 point in coming up with measures that are too 

 impractical to be implemented. What shipping 

 company would be eager to adopt a technology 

 that took up three-fourths of a cargo hold? 

 Understanding and solving the problems 

 associated with ballast water also requires a 

 multidisciplinary approach, teams of scientists, 

 engineers and representatives from the shipping 

 and regulatory communities." 



Cooper agrees with Herwig's assessment. 

 "The industrial component of this is very large 

 and very cooperative," he says. "This particular 

 project is an example of multi-institution 

 academic and private industry cooperation and 

 collaboration, which has led to some astounding 

 results that we would not have been able to 

 obtain if this cooperation wasn't in place." 



Collaborators on this project currendy 

 include Gregory Ruiz from the Smithsonian 

 Environmental Research Center, Robert 

 Gensemer from Parametrix, Inc., Paul Dinnel 

 from Western Washington University, and Jeffery 

 Cordell from the University of Washington. 



Industry partners come from BP Oil 

 Shipping Company, the Alaska Tanker Company, 

 Nutech , Inc., and Northeast Technical Services 

 Company, Inc. of Olmstead Falls, Ohio. 



Each Thursday, a conference call 

 connects scientists and executives from all of 

 the participating institutions. "No one is left out," 

 Cooper says. "Everybody has an equal say. 

 We all decide where we're going and how 

 we're going to get there most efficiently, and 

 then we charge off." 



Cooper also emphasizes that, though cost 

 is of course a consideration, the group holds its 

 work to high scientific standards. 



"The most important thing is that we do 

 research that's scientifically defensible. That's 

 been the philosophy of our collective group ever 

 since we started," he says. 



"We're doing it because we want to get 

 answers to solve real problems." □ 



David G. Gordon is a science writer with 

 Washington Sea Grant, where Melissa Lee 

 Phillips is a communications intern. 



COASTWATCH 11 



