According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new standards that will help reduce invasive species in U.S. waters. Vessels carrying ballast water from foreign waters have become a major problem due to dumping the invasive species-contaminated water in domestic ports.
Several lawsuits filed by environmentalists against the EPA have led to the agency calling for commercial vessels to install technology that kills a proportion of organisms, from fish to viruses, in the collected ballast water. With this major decision, here are some facts about the impacts of invasive species and the events leading up to the EPA's new proposal:
* The Natural Resources Defense Council noted that the EPA's recent proposal was the result of a legal settlement from this past March.
* Ballast water has been the number one source for the spread and introduction of detrimental aquatic invasive species like the spiny water flea, zebra mussels, and fish Ebola.
* These non-native species are often a major threat to ecosystems since many do not have natural predators and can out compete native species for resources, including food and space, according to the EPA.
* In fact, as the Wall Street Journal reports, more than 180 non-native species have been found in the Great Lakes.
* About two-thirds of invasive species in the country's largest lake system are believed to have been carried by contaminated ballast water.
* Several states, including New York and California, are working to implement their own stricter standards, but there has been concern from the shipping industry over whether companies and current technology could meet their standards.
* Over the past 12 years, Northwestern Environmental Advocates filed three separate lawsuits against the EPA, calling for the agency to hold commercial vessels' ballast water to the Clean Water Act Standards.
* Prior to 2008, an EPA rule allowed ships to be exempt from having to obtain permits for discharge but environmentalists claimed the following permits, known as Vessel General Permits, have been too lax.
* Bloomberg Businessweek added that the EPA's new proposal is similar to the standards proposed by the International Maritime Organization in February of 2004.
* The new permits, if approved as proposed, would only apply to commercial vessels, defined as more than 79 feet long, which would exempt recreational and military boats.
* The draft proposal will now be open to public comment and the EPA will be required to issue its final plan, while considering public comments and concerns, in November of next year.
Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.
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