The Defense of the Great Lakes Against the Invasion of Nonindigenous Species in Ballast Water

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (02) ◽  
pp. 92-100
Author(s):  
Katherine Weathers ◽  
Eric Reeves
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Nonindigenous Species ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Engineering Changes

The Great Lakes is the first place where the United States has established a defense against the introduction of nonindigenous species carried in ballast water. U.S. regulations controlling the discharge of ballast from all vessels entering from outside the Exclusive Economic Zone into the Great Lakes went into effect in early 1993 and are enforced by the United States Coast Guard, with active assistance from the Canadians and the Seaway authorities. The Great Lakes are a unique, valuable, and sensitive resource which have already suffered significant damage from nonindigenous species and are under continuing threat from new invasions. The Great Lakes also have some unique defensive advantages because vessel traffic can be controlled at the Saint Lawrence Seaway and open ocean exchange with salt water can be used as a verifiable, reasonably cheap, and safe method for impeding the invasion of new freshwater species. However, more effective defenses are needed in order to prevent new invasions over the long term. Development of these new defenses will probably require engineering changes in ballast systems in all vessels engaged in transoceanic trade, whether going to fresh or saltwater ports.

scholarly journals Planning and Responding to a Petrochemical Disaster in the North American Inland Seas

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas N. Monacelli
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Current Response ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Coast Guard ◽  
Response Policy

The Great Lakes represent the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world along a 1,500 mile international boundary between the United States and Canada. A source of drinking water for 35 million people and a hub of unique biodiversity, a major petrochemical spill would be devastating. With the increase in pipeline activity due to regional tar sands drilling and the navigationally challenging waterways hosting an increasing stream of petrochemical commerce, risk to the Lakes is higher than ever. Given the Lake's closed-system nature and their geographic remoteness relative to current US and Canadian government and private sector assets, the current response posture is inadequate. As the primary maritime spill response agency in the United States, the US Coast Guard retains the mantle of prevention and planning for a Great Lakes petrochemical disaster. This paper seeks to examine the historic, current, and future states of the Great Lakes' oil-spill risk, in light of increased maritime commerce and recent spill “near-misses” regarding submerged pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac. The US Congress and the US Coast Guard have identified that the Great Lakes are not prepared for a large scale spill. Current resourcing levels and technology are insufficient, especially given the challenge of responding while the Lakes are frozen for a substantial portion of the year. With resources focused on the prospect of disaster in salt water regions, the “inland seas” of the Great Lakes receive too little attention. After identifying the evolution of Great Lakes spill prevention and response policy, this paper will apply the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon spill as a case study into what spill response would look like on the Great Lakes. Given the authors' expansive experience as an operator during that historic spill and current commander of one of two US oil spill response assets in the Great Lakes, this paper will also identify remaining challenges to an effective spill response policy, and conclude with recommendations on how to tackle the response issues identified. The US Congress recently established the US Coast Guard's National Center of Expertise for the Great Lakes and one of their primary tasks is to analyze the effect of a spill in freshwater and develop an appropriate response plan. By attempting to identify critical gaps, this paper seeks to advance government and industry's ability to posture the region swiftly in the face of a growing threat and assist in the Center's work.

Options for Nonindigenous Species Control and Their Economic Impact on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway: A Survey

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (01) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Anastassios N. Perakis ◽  
Zhiyong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Compliance Rate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nonindigenous Species ◽  
Decision Problems ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Adverse Side Effects ◽  
Ecological Problems

Nonindigenous species (NIS) cause substantial economic and ecological problems in the United States and other countries with marine trade. Current legislation and regulations require mandatory ballast water exchange for those ships entering the Great Lakes. Due to the low compliance rate, and some inherent defects of legislation, the current status of NIS control is not very encouraging. Several technical and legislative options have been proposed to improve the efficiency of NIS control. The most promising methods include filtration with ultraviolet, heat, and ballast water exchange. No one method, however, can 100% effectively solve the NIS problem. Moreover, the mandatory requirements may induce modal shifts from marine to rail or truck mode on the Great Lakes, which may cause several adverse side effects on the economy and the environment. The decision problems for the cargo owners and the legislative body are also formulated.

scholarly journals Navigating in Uncertain Waters: 2006 Update on the Regulation of Ballast Water Discharge in the United States

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie A. Aquino
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Water Discharge ◽  
Federal District ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
District Court ◽  
Statutory Authority

Every day more than 10,000 marine species are swept up in the ballast water of ships and make their way across the globe. 1 When discharged into non-native waters, these species are able to damage infrastructure, disrupt commerce, out compete native species, reduce biodiversity, and threaten human health.2 The ecological losses are difficult to quantify; however, the direct and indirect economic costs have been measured at billions of dollars per year in the United States alone.3 Recognizing the severity of the problem, Congress directed the Coast Guard in 1996 to administer a ballast water program and issue guidelines.4 According to various interest groups, the aquatic invasive species problem persists today despite Coast Guard involvement because of inherent and technological limitations surrounding ballast water management (BWM).5 However, other groups believe that the crux of the problem is that the Coast Guard has simply not acted aggressively enough to address the problem. In March 2005, an environmental advocacy group, joined by six states, convinced a federal district court for the Northern District of California that the EPA had exceeded its statutory authority by exempting the discharge of ballast water from the control of the Clean Water Act (CWA)6 in the case of Northwest Environmental Advocates v. EPA.

EVOLVING POLLUTION-RELATED REQUIREMENTS INTERNATIONALLY AND IN THE UNITED STATES

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 865-868
Author(s):  
Jonathan K. Waldron
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Maritime Transportation ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Control And Management ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
Ship’S Ballast Water

ABSTRACT This paper will analyze the domestic and international pollution-related requirements for vessels that have recently come into force, or will likely soon affect, vessel owners and operators. In particular, the international requirements reviewed include: MARPOL Annex I, Annex IV, Annex VI, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water, the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems, and the London Convention and its 1996 Protocol. The analysis of changing domestic law reviews the pollution related amendments to the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 (CGMTA), Pub. L. No. 108-293, which was signed into law on August 9, 2004, which made numerous amendments relating to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), Pub. L. No. 101-380. Vessel owners and operators should continue to monitor evolving pollution related regulations in order to comply with new requirements.

Implications of the 2012 U.S. Election for U.S. Policy in Africa’s Great Lakes Region

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-191
Author(s):  
Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Security Sector ◽  
White House ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
The U.S

Abstract:While Africans are generally satisfied that a person of African descent was reelected to the White House following a campaign in which vicious and racist attacks were made against him, the U.S. Africa policy under President Barack Obama will continue to be guided by the strategic interests of the United States, which are not necessarily compatible with the popular aspirations for democracy, peace, and prosperity in Africa. Obama’s policy in the Great Lakes region provides an excellent illustration of this point. Since Rwanda and Uganda are Washington’s allies in the “war against terror” in Darfur and Somalia, respectively, the Obama administration has done little to stop Kigali and Kampala from destabilizing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and looting its natural resources, either directly or through proxies. Rwanda and Uganda have even been included in an international oversight mechanism that is supposed to guide governance and security sector reforms in the DRC, but whose real objective is to facilitate Western access to the enormous natural wealth of the Congo and the Great Lakes region.

Considerations in the Design of the Primary Treatment for Ballast Systems

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (01) ◽  
pp. 49-60
Author(s):  
Michael G. Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Water Treatment ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Primary Treatment ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Secondary Treatment ◽  
Bulk Carrier ◽  
Ballast Water Treatment ◽  
Mechanical Separation ◽  
Hierarchy Process

Investigations are currently underway to establish effective primary and secondary ballast water treatment methods to minimize the potential for the introduction of additional nonindigenous aquatic species into the Great Lakes and other U.S. coastal waters. This treatment could be used in place of mid-ocean ballast exchange currently required by the U.S. Coast Guard for all vessels entering the Great Lakes in ballast from beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Primary and secondary treatment could provide environmental protection for both Ballast On Board (BOB) vessels, which are required to perform mid-ocean ballast exchange before entering the Great Lakes, and No Ballast On Board (NOBOB) vessels, which are currently exempt from any ballast exchange requirements. Primary treatment using some form of mechanical separation to 100 urn or 50 um followed by secondary treatment using 254 nm UV irradiation or some form of chemical treatment are currently leading candidates. Over the past six years, the Great Lakes Ballast Technology Demonstration Project (GLBTDP) has undertaken the full-scale evaluation of 340 m3/h (1500 U.S. gpm) ballast water mechanical separation using an automatic backwashing screen filter, hydrocyclone, and automatic backwashing disk filter. This experience provides the basis for the investigation of various ballast system design issues that must be considered in the selection and design of the primary ballast water treatment. This investigation is based upon the ballast system of a typical Seaway size bulk carrier using port and starboard 2000 m3/h (8800 U.S. gpm) main ballast pumps. A discrete multicriterion optimization tradeoff study using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is also presented to illustrate a rational method for determining the best choice for primary ballast water treatment for such a Seaway size bulk carrier.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Langston
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Joint Commission ◽  
International Joint Commission ◽  
International Joint ◽  
The 1960S

By the 1960s, the failures of research and cooperative pragmatism to control Great Lakes pollution were becoming painfully evident. In 1972 Canada and the United States signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The agreement was groundbreaking in its focus on cleaning up existing pollution and preventing new pollutants, but the International Joint Commission has no authority to force the two nations to implement recommendations. Therefore, when Canada or the United States refuses to abide by the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (in its various revisions), very little happens in response—besides calls for more research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document