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EPA Vessel General PermitOverview of the Final 2013 VGP
November 6, 2013
Presentation Overview Background
EPA and the Clean Water ActVGP basics and key dates
2008 VGP Overview and Inspection Summary Final 2013 VGP - Summary of Key Conditions
Ballast WaterExhaust Gas Scrubber EffluentEnvironmentally Preferable Products Implementation/Efficiencies
State Water Quality Certifications
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Any “point” source”
“discharge of a pollutant”
to “waters of the U.S.”
Must obtain NPDES permit coverage (provides legal authority for those discharges of pollutants to waters of the U.S.)
The Clean Water Act (CWA) Established the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit program
NPDES Permitting National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) PermitsIndividual permits and general permitsPermit term not to exceed 5 yearsFor EPA-issued permits, State water quality
certification required
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NPDES Permit ComponentsCover Page
Effluent Limitations
Technology-Based
Water Quality-Based
Monitoring & ReportingRequirements
Special Conditions
Compliance SchedulesSpecial Studies,
Evaluations, and Other Requirements
Standard Conditions
• Effluent Guidelines• Best Professional Judgment (BPJ)
• Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Vessel General Permit - Key Dates September 18, 2006: a U.S District Court issued an order
revoking regulation (40 CFR 122.3(a)) which meant that incidental discharges from vessels were required to have NPDES permits, consistent with the Clean Water Act
December 18, 2008: EPA finalizes first Vessel General Permit (2008 VGP)
2009-2011: EPA develops technical information for next VGP and gathers information from the regulated community
November 30, 2011: EPA releases draft 2013 VGP February 21, 2012: Close of public comment period March 2012: USCG finalizes Ballast Water Discharge Standard
Regulation March 28, 2013: EPA issues 2013 VGP December 19, 2013: Effective date of the 2013 VGP
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EPA – Implements and administers the VGP USCG – Inspect vessels for compliance with
the VGP EPA – Conducts enforcement actions for the
VGP
Implementation and Enforcement
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Permit Applicability Jurisdiction of the permit
Inland waters, territorial sea up to 3 nautical miles (nm)
Discharge coverage 27 discharge types incidental to the normal
operation of a non-recreational and non military vessels 79 feet or longer, except commercial fishing vessels, and all ballast water discharges, regardless of size
Has additional vessel class-specific conditions for 8 classes of vessels
Vessel discharges not eligible for coverage(e.g., sewage)
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Coverage Under the Permit Notice of Intent (NOI) for coverage
For the VGP, NOI is required only for certain vessels: Greater than or equal to 300 gross tons; or Have a ballast water capacity of at least 8 cubic meters.
Visit www.epa.gov/npdes/vessels/eNOI to access system
Notice of Termination (NOT) of coveragePermittee must submit when permanently
terminating coverage under the VGPPermittees do not need to submit NOTs every time
they leave waters subject to this permit (e.g. international voyages)
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2008 VGP - Overview VGP effective February 6, 2009 Estimated to cover approx. 61,000 US flagged
commercial vessels and 8,000 foreign flagged Vessels that are greater than or equal to 300 gross tons or
with more than 8 cubic meters ballast water capacity had to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to EPA by September 19, 2009
New vessels or vessels newly entering US waters must submit an NOI to EPA 30 days prior to discharging into waters covered by the VGP
Currently, approximately 50,000 vessels have submitted NOIs
Reporting requirements – One Time Report and Annual Non-Compliance report
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2008 VGP – Inspection Summary
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TOTAL US Flag% of US
IOCForeign Flagged
% of FF IOC
Total Reported Inspection Result Items of Note (non-compliance TBD) 364
94 (25.8% of
Total) - -
270 (74.2% of
Total) - -
No NOI 184 45 47.9% 139 51.5%
Routine Visual Inspections 145 41 43.6% 104 38.5%
Ballast Water Management Plans 9 0 0.0% 9 3.3%
2.2.3.5 5 1 1.1% 4 1.5%
Corrective Action Assessment 5 2 2.1% 3 1.1%
Ballast Water and Additional Recordkeeping 4 0 0.0% 4 1.5%
Deck Washdown 3 1 1.1% 2 0.7%
Annual Inspections 3 1 1.1% 2 0.7%
Material Storage 2 0 0.0% 2 0.7%
Drydock Inspection Reports 2 2 2.1% 0 0.0%
Bilgewater 1 1 1.1% 0 0.0%
Bilgewater Additional Recordkeeping 1 0 0.0% 1 0.4%
NOI requirements (No. 1 deficiency)Certifying NOIs within the eNOI system
Terminating vs. Updating NOIs Routine inspections (No. 2 deficiency)
Routine inspections; conduct before crossing the 3 mile threshold
Compliance binders
2008 VGP – Inspection Observations
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2013 Final VGP – Overview Effective December 19, 2013 Primarily applies to non-recreational, non-
military vessels generally greater than 79 feetApproximately 70,000 existing VGP vessels plus
~2,200 commercial fishing vessels greater than 79 feet (if needed)
New NOI and annual report system in developmentTarget release date – Early Fall 2013For those vessels that must submit them, NOIs must
be submitted by December 12, 2013 or 7 days before operating in U.S. waters
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Expressed as instantaneous maximum
Ballast Water – Effluent Limits
Large Organisms(> 50μm)
Small Organisms(>10μ and ≤50 μm)
Toxigenic Vibrio
cholerae (O1 & O139)
Eschericia coliIntestinal
enterococci
< 10 per m3 < 10 per ml <1 cfu per 100 ml
<250 cfu per 100 ml
<100 cfu per 100 ml
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Four possible options to meet limits:Use a treatment device (e.g. U.S. type approved system or an AMS) Use onshore treatmentUse public water supply water (from US and Canada only)No discharge
Implementation schedule:
Ballast Water – Implementation
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Vessel’s Ballast Water Capacity Date Constructed Vessel’s Compliance
Date
Newvessels
After December 1,2013
On delivery
Existingvessels
Less than1500 m3
Before December 1,2013
First scheduled drydocking after January 1, 2016
1500-5000 m3 Before December 1,2013
First scheduled drydocking after January 1, 2014
Greater than5000 m3
Before December 1,2013
First scheduled drydocking after January 1, 2016
Monitoring requirements if using a treatment deviceFunctional
Goal is to test if the system functioning as designed (e.g., applying chlorine dose, filtering water)
Biological E. coli, enterococci, and total heterotrophic bacteria
Active substance and residuals (for systems that use them) Numeric limits for systems using chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone,
and peracetic acid Other parameters set at Gold Book values (if such systems were to
be developed)Reduced frequency monitoring schedule available if system is
one for which US government has high quality efficacy/toxicity type approval data from flag administration or vendor
Ballast Water - Monitoring
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Interim requirements must be met until numeric limits apply Requirements fundamentally the same as the 2008 VGP
Interim requirements include: Incorporating existing U.S. Coast Guard mandatory
management and exchange requirementsMandatory saltwater flushing for all vessels with
residual ballast water and sediment (NOBOBs) coming from outside the USEEZ and 200 nm from shore
Mandatory exchange and flushing for vessels engaged in Pacific nearshore voyages
Conducting exchange as early as practicable
Ballast Water – Interim Requirements
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Exhaust Gas Scrubber Effluent Exhaust gas scrubber effluent is wash water that has
been used in cleaning vessel exhaust gases Consistent with IMO voluntary guidelines
Guidelines include limits for pH, turbidity, nitrates, and one PAH compound
Require monitoring Assure systems capable of meeting limits
Currently applicable to a handful of vessels EPA trying to establish clear limits to provide certainty for system
operators and assure that discharges are not left uncontrolled
Changes from the Proposed to Final VGP: Based on comments received, EPA lowered pH limit from 6.5 to 6.0 Updated monitoring schedule and approach
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Environmentally Preferable Products Increasing mandate for use of “environmentally
acceptable lubricants” (EALs) in US waters (vegetable oils, synthetic esters, and polyalkylene glycols)Stern tubes alone have been estimated to leak between
4.6 to 28.6 million liters of oil annually into ports worldwide
Oil to Sea interfaces include stern tubes, thrusters, hydraulic pitch propellers, wire rope lubrication, etc.
Must use unless technically infeasible
Minimally toxic cleaners and detergents
Phosphate free soaps and detergents
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Reporting and Inspection Improvements Annual Report
Eliminate One-Time Report and Annual Non-Compliance Report and consolidate into Annual Report
Report all analytical monitoring as part of Annual ReportAll unmanned, unpowered barges and other vessels less than
300 gross tons may file a combined annual report if they meet certain conditions
Reduce duplicative reportingWhere immediate notification is reported to the National
Response Center, no longer need to also report to EPA regionsExtended Unmanned Period Inspections
Allowed for vessels in lay-up or fleeted (at the vessel owner/operator’s discretion) in lieu of routine visual inspections
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General Efficiency Improvements
Reduced NOI processing time from 30 to 7 days (for electronic filers only)
Developing electronic tools to submit all information/dataRequiring e-reporting unless specified
exemptions apply
Making data submitted to the agency in electronic form available to the public
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State Water Quality Certifications Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act,
States have the right to add additional requirements to any U.S. Federal permit
Two “numeric” limits potentially applicable in permit term California – “no detectable living organisms”IMO D-2 equivalent (same as EPA and USCG)
Some state-specific monitoring requirements applicable for specific vessel types in certain states
See Part 6 of the VGP for State conditions
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Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP)
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Part 1 - Overview of Permit
Part 2 – Effluent Limitations and Related Requirements
Part 3 – Monitoring and Recordkeeping
Part 4 – Additional Requirements
Part 5 – State Specific Requirements
Part 6 – Definitions Part 7 – sVGP contacts Appendix A– Permit
Authorization and Record of Inspection Form
Temporary moratorium for incidental discharges from commercial fishing vessels and vessels less than 79 feet in length Moratorium originally until July 2010
(P.L. 110-299). Subsequently extended to December
19, 2013 (P.L. 111-215) and later December 19, 2014 (112-213)
In the event moratorium is not extended, EPA proposed the sVGP in November 2011 EPA intends to finalize that permit
later this year
Questions? Contact information
Kathryn [email protected]
General VGP [email protected]/npdes/vessels
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