An Effective Ballast Water Management Program for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System

Transcription

1 TRB Joint Summer Meeting - Minneapolis, Minnesota An Effective Ballast Water Management Program for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System Panel on the Future of Great Lakes Shipping July 12, 2010 Craig Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

2 What is the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation? A U.S. Government Corporation that Directly Partners with Canada to Manage and Operate the St. Lawrence Seaway Safety rules and regulations Vessel inspection program Traffic management vessel traffic control Deploy and maintain navigation aids Operate and maintain locks and channels Establish opening and closing dates Trade development and promotion for the Great Lakes Environmental protection Seaway operates 24/7 during the navigation season (March-December), which requires hourly interaction and coordination between U.S. and Canadian Seaway entities.

3 Montreal to Lake Erie: 423 miles and 27 Border Crossings

4 The Great Lakes Seaway System has Unique Attributes The world s largest body of extremely fresh and cold water. A binational waterway with numerous agencies exercising abutting and overlapping authorities. Different fleets with different ships and different voyage patterns regularly transiting the waterway. An effective ballast water management program for the Great Lakes must take into account each of these characteristics.

5 The world s largest body of extremely fresh water. The GLSLS has a long history of seeking to prevent the introduction of Aquatic Non-indigenous Species (ANS) through ballast water. Ballast-water management requirements for ships entering the Seaway are among the strictest in the world: Ballast Water Exchange Saltwater Flushing of NOBOB Tanks Rigorous Vessel Inspection Protocol Civil Penalties for non-compliance Current search for effective ballast-water treatment technology is primarily focused on systems that operate in saltwater environments, not freshwater. GL salinity =.5 ppt IMO freshwater salinity standard = 2-5 ppt 5 of 17

6 Multiple Jurisdictions and Agencies Federal agencies with traditional authority over Ballast Water Management: U.S. United States Coast Guard Canada Transport Canada Additional entities now with a role in Ballast Water Management: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency State environmental protection agencies U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation Impact of 2006 ruling in Northwest Environmental Advocates v. EPA (Clean Water Act)

7 International Fleet comes into the Great Lakes from beyond the 200-mile EEZ. Different Commercial Fleets with Varying Transit Patterns U.S. Flag Fleet stays within the upper Great Lakes. Canadian Flag Fleet transits regularly between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coastal region.

8 Primary BWM Focus on International Vessels Primary focus of BWM to date has been on the international fleet as a means of introducing ANS into the Great Lakes. Of 181 ANS identified in the Great Lakes 65 percent or 118 have been attributed to international vessels. Canadian and U.S. regulations since 2006 require saltwater flushing for international ships prior to entering the Seaway. Growing evidence of the effectiveness of practice of flushing ballast tanks with saltwater. Scientific data indicate that no new ANS has been established in the Great Lakes since 2006.

9 Ballast Water Management in the Seaway The Ballast Water Working Group - A coordinated binational, multi-agency effort to protect the Great Lakes (SLSDC, SLSMC, USCG, Transport Canada). Canadian and U.S. regulations require saltwater flushing on ocean-going ships - every ballast tank containing residual amounts of ballast water and/or sediment. Require all ocean-going ships to exchange their ballast tanks at sea. Ballast tanks must maintain salinity level of 30 ppt. RESULT: No unmanaged ballast water entering the Great Lakes from ocean-going ships.

10 Enforcement and Compliance In 2009, no ballast water with salinity less than 30 ppt was discharged in the Great Lakes Seaway System from ocean-going vessels. 100% of all tanks on every ocean-going vessel are targeted for inspection. Transport Canada, USCG, SLSDC and SLSMC perform these inspections. Authority to enforce these regulations through letters of retention, letters of warning, notices of violation or fines, up to $36, of 17

11 In % of all ocean-going vessels had their tanks and records inspected Summary of Great Lakes Seaway Ballast Water Working Group

12 2009 Compliance Rate 97.9% For the 115 noncompliant tanks a Letter of Retention was issued. The non-compliant tanks were NOT discharged in the Great Lakes Seaway System Summary of Great Lakes Seaway Ballast Water Working Group

13 Current Seaway regulations were developed from sound policy based on hard science Canadian regulations and 2008 U.S. regulations were based on published research and analysis on the efficacy of salt-water flushing. Ruiz and Reid (2007) - Current State of Understanding about the Effectiveness of Ballast Water Exchange (BWE) in Reducing Aquatic Nonindigenous Species (ANS) Introductions to the Great Lakes Basin and Chesapeake Bay, USA: Synthesis and Analysis of Existing Information. Bailey et al. (2006) - Does saltwater flushing reduce viability of diapausing eggs in ship ballast sediment? Duggan et al. (2005) - Invertebrates associated with residual ballast water and sediments of cargo-carrying ships entering the Great Lakes.

14 Effectiveness of Seaway Ballast Water Management Regulations The Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS) indicates that no new species established since 2006 in the Great Lakes. GLANSIS Website: This 3.5-year period represents the longest period of non-establishment since before Effectiveness of current BWM in mitigating/eliminating international transits as a vector of introduction. Despite apparent success, SLSDC actively supports the research and development of new ballast water management and treatment systems.

15 More Focus Today on Role of Lakers There is a growing understanding that the Seaway, as a vector of introduction of ANS, is being managed effectively. As a result, more scrutiny today on the role of laker vessels (U.S. flag and Canadian flag) in dispersing the ANS that have already established themselves in the Great Lakes. Increased efforts to identify location and type of ANS in various Great Lakes ports and whether routes can be identified as high risk or low risk as a dispersal vector. Increased efforts by Laker operators to identify procedures and technologies that will have an immediate impact on mitigating the spread of ANS. 15 of 17

16 The Great Lakes have Significant Positive Attributes for Effective Ballast Water Management The region is home to the only freshwater ballast water treatment testing facility in the world (The Great Ships Initiative in Superior, Wis.) Many of the world s most preeminent ballast water scientists and researchers are located in the Great Lakes region in Canada and the United States. An unprecedented binational and regional commitment to coordinate and collaborate among the key stakeholder groups in the region in the forum of the Ballast Water Collaborative (U.S. and Canadian Federal and state/provincial regulators, scientists, industry representatives, NGOs). Years of experience enforcing some of the most stringent ballast water regulations in the world.

17 Thank You! Many of the reports and other data sources mentioned in this presentation can be obtained from the Seaway s binational website under the tab labeled The Environment :