Alien Invasion
The Great Lakes are under attack. Ships carry invasive species, such as zebra mussels and round gobies, in their ballast water, then typically discharge this creature-laden water in the ports where they dock. The disposal of ballast water was not regulated under the Clean Water Act until 2008; the EPA had assumed it posed no significant environmental threat. But the ecological price has been very real, as these invaders threaten native animals and plants, cause structural damage, and degrade the overall health of the ecosystem. Repairing and managing this damage has cost the eight states bordering the Great Lakes more than $1 billion over the past five years.
Now, as the result of a lawsuit brought by NRDC and its partners, the EPA has proposed a new national rule that would limit the amount of ballast water commercial vessels can dump. The standards would also require ships to install systems that filter or disinfect ballast water before it is released into the water. "Requiring vessels to comply with a set of discharge standards is a paradigm shift in how the federal government has addressed the economic and environmental harm associated with invasive species," says Thom Cmar, an attorney for NRDC.
Although Cmar considers the standards too lax, he believes they represent "a step forward from where we are now. And we expect over time that they will get stronger."
