Ballast Water Discharge General Permit

Basics

Effective February 1, 2010, the DNR started regulating large oceangoing ships to prevent them from accidentally introducing harmful new invasive species to Wisconsin's Great Lakes waters, and in turn, our inland lakes and rivers. The DNR permit supplements the current federal general permit that scientists have concluded does not provide significant protection to the Great Lakes.

The DNR permit requires oceangoing ships to meet numerical standards for live organisms left in ballast water after it has been treated and requires ballast water exchange or flushing in the open water. Exchanging ballast water at sea can reduce by up to 95 percent the number of invasive species that have the greatest chance of surviving and causing trouble in freshwater bodies, according to Canadian researchers.

The ballast water these large oceangoing commercial ships carry to steady themselves is the main source of new invaders to the Great Lakes, although the pace is slowing as ships exchange or flush their ballast water in the open water under current U.S. Coast Guard rules. Zebra mussels, sea lampreys, and round gobies are among invaders brought in ballast water, and they have disrupted the food chain, harmed fisheries, fouled beaches, clogged water and utility infrastructure, and cost citizens, governments and businesses billions. "Lakers," the large commercial vessels that travel between Great Lakes ports, play a role in spreading aquatic invasive species from one Great Lake to another. They are covered by the general permit as well but not subject to ballast water treatment standards.

Wisconsin joins Great Lakes states New York, Michigan and Minnesota in regulating ballast water discharges. Importantly, all ships entering the Great Lakes must pass through New York waters, where they must meet the most stringent standards, and at the earliest date.

These states were among groups that sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this decade, frustrated with its inaction and weak rules by the U.S. Coast Guard as the economic and ecological toll from invasive species mounted. To meet a 2005 decision in that court case that sided with the states and environmental groups, EPA issued a general permit (Vessel Discharges - Final Vessel General Permit) in late 2008. That federal permit doesn't include treatment requirements nor numerical standards that the discharge must meet.

The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed more protective regulations and the comment period on them ended December 4, 2009. The final rules were expected in 2010 but had not yet been released as of September 2011.

• See the comments DNR submitted on these proposed rules [PDF 538KB]
• See Ballast Water Management [exit DNR]

The Permit

Wisconsin's general permit for ballast water discharges becomes effective February 1, 2010, and affects oceangoing ships, also known as "salties," and lakers, the big ships that travel between Great Lakes ports.

General permits are designed to cover discharges from a category of activities that are similar in character. Ballast water dischargers will receive from DNR the same permit spelling out the same conditions and requirements for them to meet, instead of each discharger having an individually tailored permit from the DNR.

New General Permit

Under the DNR's new general permit:

• Effective February 1, 2010, large commercial vessels are prohibited from discharging ballast tank sediment, seawater, and certain other substances. They must adopt best management practices for handling these substances to reduce the risk of releasing new invaders into the Great Lakes. Oceangoing ships and "lakers," the big vessels that travel between Great Lakes ports and can spread invasives among the lakes, both must meet these requirements.
• Oceangoing vessels must exchange ballast water or flush their tanks in the open water.
• Effective January. 1, 2012, any oceangoing vessel built on or after that date must treat their ballast water to reduce the number of live plants, animals and organisms in it to meet specific numerical standards that are the same standards proposed by the International Maritime Organization.
• Effective January. 1, 2014, existing oceangoing ships must meet these same standards for the number of organisms remaining in the ballast water they've treated before discharging.
• Lakers will not be required to treat their ballast water to meet standards under the current general permit, which will be valid for five years. The vast majority of ships arriving in Lake Superior's Duluth/Superior harbors are lakers.
• If the U.S. Coast Guard or EPA adopts numerical standards that Wisconsin regards as adequately protective, Wisconsin will examine whether a state permit is still necessary.

Photos

Photo credit: Susan Sylvester & Jim Hansen
Ballast water discharges will be regulated by Wisconsin effective February 1, 2010, to curb the introduction of new invasive species to the Great Lakes and their spread to inland lakes. "Lakers," like the one shown at left, which travel between Great Lakes ports, and "salties," oceangoing boats, are both subject to requirements spelled out in a general permit.

Map credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
More than 180 invasive aquatic species have been introduced to the Great Lakes since the 1800s, most via ballast water from ocean-going ships entering the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway.

Zebra mussels, brought to the Great Lakes via ballast water discharges, cost the U.S. an estimated $1-5 billion annually in damages and control costs.

Contacts

DNR Contacts

Ballast Water

• Ken Johnson, Water Division Administrator
• Mike Lemcke, Permits Section Chief (608) 266-2666
• Laura Madsen, Permit Drafter (608) 264-6285

Aquatic Invasive Species

• Jeff Bode, Lakes and Wetlands section chief (608) 266-0502

Other Wisconsin Contacts

• Phil Moy, UW-Sea Grant Institute (920) 683-4697
• Jake Vander Zanden, UW Center for Limnology, (608) 262-9464

More Resources

Other Institutions Regulating Ballast Water

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [exit DNR]
• U.S. Coast Guard [exit DNR]
• International Maritime Organization [exit DNR]

Reports and Research

• Predicting Future Introductions of Nonindigenous Species to the Great Lakes [exit DNR] - November 2008 report of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Great Lakes Shipping, Trade and Aquatic Invasive Species [exit DNR] - Commissioned Papers Transportation Research Board Special Report 291 Links to eight commissioned papers used by the National Academies of Science for the report.
• Aquatic Invasive Species - DNR factsheets and other information on aquatic invasive species

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