September 4, 2009
Vessel operators required to comply with the EPA Vessel General Permit (VGP), and that meet any of the criteria outlined below, must submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to EPA beginning June 19 and no later than September 19. (Vessels subject to the VGP are commercial vessels that operate in U.S. domestic waters, 79 feet or greater in length and all vessels that discharge ballast water.) A new vessel delivered after September 19 must submit an NOI 30 days prior to any discharge.
February 6, 2009
From Holland and Knight:
This is a reminder to the regulated community that the EPA’s Vessel General Permit (VGP) program comes into effect on February 6. Following is the earlier report on this development: (more…)
January 7, 2009
Meeting Scheduled for :
MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2009
3:00-4:00pm EST
A town hall meeting has been scheduled for next Monday, January 12 at K&L Gates in Washington DC to discuss the recent decisions by the EPA regarding the Vessel Discharge Rules. See the below release for more information regarding the meeting:
January 7, 2009
See the below from Holland and Knight regarding the upcoming implementation of the Vessel General Permit (VGP) Program:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice announcing the Vessel General Permit (VGP) program as part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). A federal court previously ruled that the long-standing exemption from the NPDES permitting requirement was invalid and directed that the exemption be vacated as of December 19, 2008. The VGP program has been developed in response to that ruling. The program addresses 28 separate discharges from ships including, but are not limited to, ballast water discharges, deck washdown and runoff, bilge water, gray water, seawater cooling overboard discharge, controllable pitch propeller hydraulic fluid, and hull husbandry. Covered vessels (basically commercial vessels, foreign and domestic, of 79 feet in length and greater) operating on navigable waters of the United States have to adopt best management practices for each of these waste streams. In addition, covered vessels of 300 gross tons and greater will have to submit Notices of Intent (NOIs) relating to these discharges. The EPA also released its 162-page VGP permit and a 125-page Fact Sheet and a 179-page Economic Analysis. Finally, to further complicate an already difficult situation, it released the State and Tribal Certifications related to the VGP program. The EPA also issued a news release stating that the program affects approximately 61,000 domestic vessels and 8,000 foreign vessels. 73 Fed. Reg. 79473
August 4, 2008
The latest from Holland and Knight, for all those vessels under 79 feet…
President Bush signs NPDES moratorium bill
The White House issued a news release stating that President Bush signed into law S. 3298, which provides a two-year moratorium from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirement for certain vessels and directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the impacts of discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels. (7/31/08).
