Federal EPA Postpones Final Vessel Permit

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has notified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit it will not be able to finalize a draft vessel general discharge permit until March 15 (Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 09-1089 11/30/12).   EPA’s website states that it expects to issue a final 2013 Vessel General Permit by March 15, 2013, with an effective date of Dec. 19, 2013. The draft permit, which EPA proposed Nov. 30, 2011, for the first time would set numeric effluent limits for ballast water discharges. EPA issued the draft permit after the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups sued the agency in 2008 for its failure to properly regulate ballast discharges under the Clean Water Act. EPA settled the lawsuit in March 2011, agreeing to finalize the vessel general permit by Nov. 30, 2012.  On that day, however, EPA notified the court it would need more time. The vessel permit applies to ships at least 79 feet long, at least 300 gross tons, and with the capability to discharge or hold at least eight cubic meters of ballast water.  EPA also has proposed a smaller vessel general permit for boats less than 79 feet long. The new permits aim to reduce the spread of invasive species.  Both new permits would replace the one that expires Dec. 18, 2013. For more information, visit EPA’s website at http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/vessels/vgpermit.cfm.