Congress letting anti-invader ballast bill die

Congress letting anti-invader ballast bill die

12/9 - Washington, D.C. - Federal legislation that would require ocean freighters to disinfect ballast water before entering the Great Lakes will die at the end of the month, forcing lawmakers back to square one next year on the politically divisive issue.

The U.S. House of Representatives in April passed legislation requiring all transoceanic freighters to sanitize ballast tanks before entering U.S. waters. It would have required all freighters by 2015 to install treatment systems capable of killing all living organisms in ballast tanks, including pathogens. But the legislation ran into a brick wall in the U.S. Senate. Critics blocked a vote on the legislation because it contained a pre-emption clause that would have prevented individual states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from adopting tougher ballast treatment standards.

The bill officially will die when the current congressional session ends Dec. 31. Congress is expected to revisit the ballast water treatment legislation next year, but some officials familiar with the negotiations predicted the proposed treatment rules will remain paralyzed by politics. "I'm pretty pessimistic about the chances of Congress passing national ballast water treatment legislation," said Steve Fisher, executive director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. "I think the House of Representatives will pass the legislation but I don't think it will pass the Senate. I haven't seen any change in the political dynamics."

The federal legislation was the most comprehensive effort to stem the flow of invasive species sneaking into the Great Lakes in the ballast tanks of transoceanic freighters. Foreign ships have imported more than 60 invasive species into the lakes since the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. Those species cause an estimated $200 million damage annually in the lakes.

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, said he is optimistic that Congress and the administration of president-elect Barack Obama will pass federal ballast water treatment standards. "Invasive species are one of the greatest economic and environmental threats to the region because once introduced, they are nearly impossible to eliminate," Hoekstra said.

Jennifer Nalbone, campaign director for the environmental advocacy group Great Lakes United, said Congress made significant progress this year on ballast treatment standards. "Everyone wants to see this problem solved, and there is enough common ground that we should be able to solve this in the next session of Congress," Nalbone said. "It's clear that we need a strong national ballast treatment standard and a timeline for implementation -- we have to get treatment systems on ships."

New invasive species are currently being discovered in the lakes at the rate of one every seven months.

The U.S. and Canada recently adopted rules requiring every transoceanic freighter destined for the Great Lakes to flush ballast tanks with sea water before entering the St. Lawrence River. Studies have shown that procedure reduces the number of viable organisms in the tanks by 95 percent. Treatment systems that use filtration, chemicals, heat and pressure chambers can kill an even greater percentage of organisms and pathogens in ballast water.

Michigan and several other states have adopted their own ballast water regulations, creating a variety of rules. The shipping industry wants a single national standard to avoid creating confusion and logistical problems for shippers. Fisher said he believes states like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio -- where most transoceanic ships discharge ballast water -- are on the right track in developing treatment standards. Those states recently adopted similar regulations based on ballast treatment standards proposed by the International Maritime Organization.

Given the recent state laws passed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio, Fisher said it is likely all ocean freighters plying the Great Lakes will be required to have ballast treatment systems on board by 2016.

From the Muskegon Chronicle