From the Star Tribune, by Tom Meersman
In a decision that could have a far-reaching effect on the Great Lakes, a federal judge has ruled that ships dumping foreign mussels, fish and other organisms into U.S. waters from their ballast tanks are sources of pollution and must be regulated.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco ruled late Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made a mistake by exceeding its authority more than three decades ago when it exempted ships from regulation. The Clean Water Act "requires that discharges of pollutants from non-military vessels into the nation's lakes, rivers and harbors occur only under the regulation of a [water] permit," she concluded.
Environmental leaders called the decision a victory. They have been pressing the EPA since 1999 to control ships that dump billions of gallons of ballast water annually into harbors across the nation as they take on cargo. The ballast water, essential for stability in oceangoing vessels, can contain millions of eggs, spores, plants and organisms from foreign ports.
Zebra mussels, round gobies, Eurasian ruffe and other foreign species have invaded Duluth harbor and other waterways, disrupted the ecology and caused billions of dollars in damage to industries, sport fisheries and taxpayers.
"The magnitude of this decision cannot be understated," said Jordan Lubetkin, spokesman for the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office in Ann Arbor, Mich. "Invasive species are the single greatest threat to the Great Lakes and its aquatic wildlife, and this will go a long way toward shutting the door to them."
The EPA issued a two-sentence reaction to the ruling late Friday. "The agency is currently reviewing the decision and discussing available options," it said. "EPA has 60 days to file an appeal with the court."
Several environmental groups filed the suit in late 2003 after petitioning the agency unsuccessfully for years to regulate ballast-water dumping. They were especially concerned about ecological damage from foreign species in San Francisco Bay and other coastal areas. Attorneys general from Minnesota and six other Great Lakes states filed a friend-of-the-court brief last July.
Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch was pleased with the decision, especially for its effect on the Great Lakes, in which an invasive species has been discovered about once every eight months in recent years. "It's extraordinarily important that state, federal and international entities protect these valuable bodies of water," he said.
Last year, the Star Tribune reported that 40 percent of the 179 foreign species discovered in the Great Lakes entered since 1959, and that most probably arrived in the ballast tanks of ships.
Joseph Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America, said the shipping industry wants federal officials to set a reasonable standard for killing or removing foreign species from ballast water. Cox, whose association represents 24 companies that own or operate oceangoing vessels, said the problem is that treatment technology is not available or affordable, and that "zero discharge" will be impossible to achieve for many years. "To me this seems rather simple to understand," he said, "but the question is how do you do it."
The EPA has argued in the past that a permit system is not an efficient way to control such dumping, and that a better approach would be collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, which already inspects ships for safety and homeland security. Congress authorized the Coast Guard to develop ballast-water standards in 1996, but so far the agency has not done so.
The judge's ruling also ordered the EPA and other parties in the suit to appear in court April 15 to discuss further proceedings. The suit was brought by the Ocean Conservancy, Waterkeepers Northern California, and Northwest Environmental Advocates of Portland, Ore.
