RECENT
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
(published June 2000)
More Ballast Water Regulations
The California legislature recently passed new regulations on the discharge of ship ballast water to combat foreign species destructive to local marine environments. On June 1, 2000, the new regulations on the exchange of ballast water will take effect, covering: (1) any vessel carrying ballast water into California waters which was operated further than 200 nautical miles offshore and (2) all ballast water and sediment taken on a vessel in areas less than 200 nautical miles from any shore, or within water that is less than 2,000 meters deep.
A management program must be implemented by the master, owner, operator, or person in charge ("P.I.C.") of any subject vessel, by doing one of the following:
• Exchange ballast water beyond 200 nautical miles from any shore, and in waters more than 2,000 meters deep, before entering California waters.
• Retain ballast water on board the vessel.
• Use an alternative method of ballast water management approved by the State Lands Commission.
• Discharge ballast water to an approved facility on shore.
• Under extraordinary conditions, exchange ballast water in an area agreed to by the State Lands Commission.
Further, the P.I.C. is required to take additional precautions, including special procedures in taking on ballast water and cleaning ballast tanks for sediment. Ballast exchange or compliance with other procedures is not required if it would render the vessel unsafe at the time, but the P.I.C. is accountable to justify any decision not to comply.
Compliance is enforced by the State Lands Commission and the Coast Guard, through sampling of ballast water and sediment, examination of documents, and other assessments -only civil penalties may be imposed. Vessels not subject to this regulation are: (1) crude oil tankers in U.S. coastwise trade; (2) vessels in innocent passage; (3) passenger vessels equipped with a functioning treatment system designed to kill nonindigenous species (if such system is at least as effective as ballast exchange); (4) U.S. Coast Guard or armed forces vessels; and (5) vessels that discharge ballast water only where the ballast water originated, if the ballast water does not mix with ballast water from areas other than mid-ocean waters.
The legislation also creates an Exotic Species Control Fund to aid in regulation and research. Funding is predominantly provided by fees (not exceeding $1,000) charged to vessels entering California ports with ballast water from outside 200 miles offshore. Government and industry have been tasked with conducting further research on alternative methods and reporting to the legislature by December 31,2002. Unless reauthorized, the act will remain in effect until January 1, 2004.
California Assembly Bill Targets Cruise Lines
The California Assembly very recently approved A.B. 2746 (amended last on May 26, 2000). The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, would create a special new program to track the volume of waste and pollutants discharged during cruise ship operations throughout California waters. The bill, as presently written, requires owners or operators to report information on pollutants released from a cruise ship in state waters to the California State Water Resources Control Board. A cruise ship is defined as any passenger vessel of at least 300 gross registered tons.
Each quarterly report must itemize information about the offloading or release of waste material, including the time, location, amount, and the pretreatment thereof, and remedial actions taken in response to accidental releases. It must also encompass stack emissions, monitor data of sewage and gray water release, and the location, date and amount of hazardous and non-hazardous pollutants discharged. Operators who do not comply are subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $500 per day for each day in which any violation occurs. A falsified report may result in a $5,000 fine. The bill also authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to inspect a vessel in the waters of California for purposes of enforcing this new statute.
For purposes of the bill, waste materials broadly include air contaminants, biological materials, chemical wastes, gray water, hazardous substances, hazardous waste, industrial waste, incinerator residue, medical waste, munitions, oil, radioactive materials, sewage, sewage sludge, solid wastes, toxic wastes, and wrecked or discarded equipment. A release for purposes of the bill means spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, leaching, dumping, placing, or disposing of pollutants.
As of this printing the bill has yet to be voted on in the state Senate. The International Council of Cruise Lines recently joined representatives from California ports and a California-based member cruise line in opposition to A.B. 2746. Among the arguments offered are the existence of numerous other similar laws, as well as the inequity of focusing so heavily on cruise ships. We will continue to monitor and report developments on this front.
