Changes to Marine Invasive Species Act

The California States Lands Commission has announced that with effect from 1 January 2020, changes to the Marine Invasive Species Act with respect to ballast water will come into effect. Details of Assembly Bill (AB) 912 are as follows:

1. Delays implementation of the California interim and final ballast water discharge performance standards until January 1, 2030, and January 1, 2040, respectively.

In 2018, the Commission found that no ballast water treatment technologies were available to enable implementation of the California interim ballast water discharge performance standards on January 1, 2020. AB 912 addresses this problem by delaying implementation of the California interim ballast water discharge performance standards until January 1, 2030, and the final standards until January 1, 2040. The Commission is required to prepare a new assessment of the availability of ballast water treatment technologies to meet the California performance standards at least 18 months in advance of each implementation date.

2. Mandates that the Commission adopt regulations to enforce the U.S. Coast Guard ballast water discharge performance standards.

Effective January 1, 2020, AB 912 requires the Commission to adopt regulations that require owners and operators of vessels arriving at California ports to comply with the U.S. Coast Guard ballast water discharge performance standards set forth in Section 151.2030(a) of Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations based on the vessel implementation schedule set forth in Section 151.2035(b) of Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Proposed regulations to implement the performance standards and establish a process to assess vessel discharge compliance will be published for public comment in the California Regulatory Notice Register in early 2020.

3. Changes the boundaries of the Pacific Coast Region (PCR)

AB 912 changes the definition of the Pacific Coast Region to “all coastal waters on the Pacific Coast of North America east of 154 degrees W longitude and north of 20 degrees N latitude, inclusive of the Gulf of California.” For vessel operators who manage their vessel’s ballast water through exchange, this change will decrease the distance from shore that some vessels must travel prior to exchanging ballast water and subsequently discharging ballast water in California waters. As a reminder, vessels whose last port of call is inside the PCR and that are carrying ballast sourced from within the PCR are required to conduct ballast water exchange at least 50 nautical miles from land prior to discharge in California waters.

4. Defines “land” for purposes of the Marine Invasive Species Act

AB 912 defines “land” as “the material of the earth, whether soil, rock, or other substances, that sits landward of, or at an elevation higher than, the mean high-tide line of the ocean, including any rock outcroppings or islands located offshore.” This change is for clarification and consistency with existing regulations. When vessel operators calculate their distance from land for purposes of ballast water exchange, they must consider the presence of islands and rock outcroppings in their calculation.

5. Establishes documentation and notification requirements for the ballast water management safety exemption

Vessels are exempt from California’s ballast water management methods if the vessel master determines that the practice would threaten the safety of the vessel, its crew, or its passengers. If the vessel master determines that the vessel cannot manage ballast water for safety reasons, AB 912 establishes that, in addition to taking all feasible measures to minimize the discharge of ballast water in California waters, the master must:

• document the reason in the ballast water log;
• notify the Commission at the earliest practicable time; and
• make the information in the ballast water log available to Commission staff upon request.

6. Authorizes the Commission to sample ballast water and biofouling for research purposes

Effective January 1, 2020, the Commission will have authority to board vessels to sample ballast water and biofouling for research purposes. Previously, the Commission’s sampling authority was restricted to compliance assessment.

(For information about operations in the United States contact GAC North America at [email protected])