While the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, commonly called the Ballast Water Management Convention, has not yet entered into force, various governments around the world are working on solving the problem of the spread of invasive species through ballast water by setting up regulations to control the treatment and discharge of these fluids. What needs to be done now? What are the current uncertainties surrounding the USCG and EPA regulations regarding Ballast Water Management systems? Read more here: http://bit.ly/Article_Slideshare_Ballast_Water_USCG_EPA Transport IQ has produced an exclusive article to help answer the current pressing questions; the article also gives an overview of the regulations promulgated in the US for the purposes of controlling the spread of invasive species in their waters and goes into the following points: • Revised US Coast Guard (USCG) Regulations on Ballast Water Management • The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Vessel General Permit Program • Latest Developments in Ballast Water Management Technology

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Ballast Water Regulations under USCG and EPA
By Maryruth Belsey Priebe, Editor
Nuisance species – or invasive aquatic species –
are readily spread through the ballast water used
in shipping vessels as they move through
international waters. While the International
Maritime Organization’s (IMO) International
Convention for the Control and Management of
Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004,
commonly called the Ballast Water Management
Convention, has not yet entered into force,
various governments around the world are
working on solving the problem of the spread of
invasive species through ballast water by setting
up regulations to control the treatment and
discharge of these fluids. The following is a brief
overview of the regulations promulgated in the
US for the purposes of controlling the spread of
invasive species in their waters.
Revised US Coast Guard (USCG) Regulations on Ballast Water Management
The USCG has set up their own regulations for ballast water management, with a revised version of the
rules having come into effect on June 21, 2012. There are managed under the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990, as amended by the National Invasive Species Act of 1996
(NISA). These regulations apply to any vessel entering US waters from outside the US Exclusive Economic
Zone.
In short, the USCG regulations require that all vessels to do one of three things: conduct mid-ocean
ballast water exchange, retain the ballast water onboard the vessel, or use an alternative control method
of which they approve. More technically, under these regulations, all vessels must have type-approved
ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) that meet IMO Ballast Water Management Convention D-2
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