当前位置：新闻动态
US ballast water bill blocked, pleasing environmentalists
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/05/21 10:20:16
THE US Coast Guard Reauthorisation Bill that would have set a single standard for ballast-water discharges from ships has failed to win a key procedural vote in the US Senate, reported the Detroit Free Press.
Both of Michigan's US senators voted against the bill in request to limit debate on it. While attracting significant opposition, the measure - which has been proposed in successive Congresses without success - had been praised by Lakes shippers and other maritime groups as providing them more certainty, instead of being forced to meet multiple standards for ballast water discharges set up by the various states.
But environmental groups argued that the legislation as written eliminated Clean Water Act protections over ship discharges and could result in weaker standards set mainly by the Coast Guard instead of by the Environmental Protection Agency and pre-empted states from taking greater actions to protect their waters.
"Today's vote by the Senate brought a sigh of relief for the Great Lakes region," theAlliance for the Great Lakes, an environmental group based in Chicago, said. "This means Clean Water Act protections will continue to apply to ballast water discharges, which are the main pathway for aquatic invasive species introductions into the Great Lakes."
Both of Michigan's US senators voted against the bill in request to limit debate on it. While attracting significant opposition, the measure - which has been proposed in successive Congresses without success - had been praised by Lakes shippers and other maritime groups as providing them more certainty, instead of being forced to meet multiple standards for ballast water discharges set up by the various states.
But environmental groups argued that the legislation as written eliminated Clean Water Act protections over ship discharges and could result in weaker standards set mainly by the Coast Guard instead of by the Environmental Protection Agency and pre-empted states from taking greater actions to protect their waters.
"Today's vote by the Senate brought a sigh of relief for the Great Lakes region," theAlliance for the Great Lakes, an environmental group based in Chicago, said. "This means Clean Water Act protections will continue to apply to ballast water discharges, which are the main pathway for aquatic invasive species introductions into the Great Lakes."