Cruise ships, large tankers, and bulk cargo carriers use a tremendous amount of ballast water, which is often taken on in the coastal waters in one region after ships discharge wastewater or unload cargo, and discharged at the next port of call, wherever more cargo is loaded. A cruise ship or cruise liner is a Passenger ship used for pleasure voyages where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience Definition There are various ways to define the term bulk carrier Ballast is used in Sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the Sail. Distinguish from Wastwater (a lake in the Lake District in northwest England Bulk cargo is Commodity Cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo Ballast water discharge typically contains a variety of biological materials, including plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria. Biomass refers to living and recently dead Biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. A virus (from the Latin virus meaning Toxin or Poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have These materials often include non-native, nuisance, exotic species that can cause extensive ecological and economic damage to aquatic ecosystems. An aquatic ecosystem is an Ecosystem located in water bodies. Ballast water discharges are believed to be the leading source of invasive species in U. Introduced species|Weed Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions S. marine waters, thus posing public health and environmental risks, as well as significant economic cost to industries such as water and power utilities, commercial and recreational fisheries, agriculture, and tourism. Health is a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity Commercial fishing, also known as industrial fishing, is the activity of capturing Fish and other Seafood for commercial Profit, mostly Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is Fishing for Pleasure or Competition. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel [1] Studies suggest that the economic cost just from introduction of pest mollusks (zebra mussels, the Asian clam, and others) to U. Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a Species of small freshwater Mussel, an Aquatic Bivalve Mollusk. Corbicula fluminea is a Freshwater Clam of originally mainly Asian origin which has been introduced into many parts of the world for example S. aquatic ecosystems is more than $6 billion per year. [2]
United States regulation of ballast water discharge
Clean Water Act regulations currently exempt ballast water discharges incidental to the normal operation of cruise ships and other vessels from NPDES permit requirements (see above discussions concerning sewage and graywater). The Clean Water Act is the primary Federal law in the United States governing Water pollution. A cruise ship or cruise liner is a Passenger ship used for pleasure voyages where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience Sewage is the mainly liquid Waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water Feces, Urine, laundry waste and other Greywater, also known as sullage, is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing Because of the growing problem of introduction of invasive species into U. S. waters via ballast water, in January 1999, a number of conservation organizations, fishing groups, native American tribes, and water agencies petitioned EPA to repeal its 1973 regulation exempting ballast water discharge, arguing that ballast water should be regulated as the “discharge of a pollutant” under the Clean Water Act’s Section 402 permit program. For the computer security term see Phishing. Fishing is the activity of catching Fish. Native American tribe means any Indigenous peoples in the United States tribe band nation or other organized group or community extant or historical EPA rejected the petition in September 2003, saying that the “normal operation” exclusion is long-standing agency policy, to which Congress has acquiesced twice (in 1979 and 1996) when it considered the issue of aquatic nuisance species in ballast water and did not alter EPA’s CWA interpretation. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses 32 Further, EPA said that other ongoing federal activities related to control of invasive species in ballast water are likely to be more effective than changing the NPDES rules. 33 Until recently, these efforts to limit ballast water discharges by cruise ships and other vessels were primarily voluntary, except in the Great Lakes. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. Since 2004, all vessels equipped with ballast water tanks must have a ballast water management plan. 34
After the denial of their administrative petition, the environmental groups filed a lawsuit seeking to force EPA to rescind the regulation that exempts ballast water discharges from CWA permitting. In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy In March 2005, a federal district court ruled in favor of the groups, and in September 2006, the court remanded the matter to EPA with an order that the challenged regulation be set aside by September 30, 2008 (Northwest Environmental Advocates v. The term remand may be used to describe an action by an Appellate court in which it remands or sends back a case to the Trial court or lower appellate court for EPA, No. C 03-05760 SI (N. D. Cal, September 18, 2006)). The district court rejected EPA’s contention that Congress had previously acquiesced in exempting the “normal operation” of vessels from CWA permitting and disagreed with EPA’s argument that the court’s two-year deadline creates practical difficulties for the agency and the affected industry. Significantly, while the focus of the environmental groups’ challenge was principally to EPA’s permitting exemption for ballast water discharges, the court’s ruling — and its mandate to EPA to rescind the exemption in 40 CFR §122. 3(a) — applies fully to other types of vessel discharges that are covered by the regulatory exemption, including graywater and bilge water. Greywater, also known as sullage, is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing The bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship where the two sides meet
The government has appealed the district court’s ruling, and the parties are waiting for a ruling from the appeals court. Court of Appeal, Court of Appeals, and Appellate Division redirect here for a list of specific courts using those titles see Court of Appeal However, in June 2007, EPA also initiated steps seeking public comment on regulating ballast water discharges from ships, an information-gathering prelude to a potential rulemaking in response to the district court’s order.
The 110th Congress has been considering ballast water discharge issues, specifically legislation to provide a uniform national approach for addressing aquatic nuisance species from ballast water under a program administered by the Coast Guard (S. 1578, ordered reported by the Senate Commerce Committee on September 27, 2007, and H. R. 2830 (H. Rept. 110-338)). Some groups oppose S. 1578 and H. R. 2830, because the legislation would preempt states from enacting ballast water management programs more stringent than Coast Guard requirements, while the CWA does allow states to adopt requirements more stringent than in federal rules. Also, while the CWA permits citizen suits to enforce the law, the pending legislation includes no citizen suit provisions. In America a citizen suit is a Lawsuit by a private citizen to enforce a Statute.
References
- ^ Statement of Catherine Hazelwood, The Ocean Conservancy, “Ballast Water Management: New International Standards and NISA Reauthorization,” Hearing, House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, 108th Cong., 2nd sess. The Ocean Conservancy (founded as The Center for Environmental Education) is a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington D , March 25, 2004.
- ^ David Pimentel, Lori Lach, Rodolfo Zuniga, and Doug Morrison, “Environmental and Economic Costs Associated with Non-indigenous Species in the United States,” presented at AAAS Conference, Anaheim, CA, January 24, 1999.
This article is based on a public domain Congressional Research Service report: Copeland, Claudia. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Congressional Research Service (CRS is the Public policy research arm of the United States Congress. "Cruise Ship Pollution: Background, Laws and Regulations, and Key Issues" (Order Code RL32450). Congressional Research Service (Updated February 6, 2008). The Congressional Research Service (CRS is the Public policy research arm of the United States Congress.
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