EPA Vessel General Permit

1. EPA Vessel General Permit Overview of the Final 2013 VGP November 6, 2013

2. Presentation Overview • Background • EPA and the Clean Water Act • VGP basics and key dates • 2008 VGP Overview and Inspection Summary • Final 2013 VGP - Summary of Key Conditions • Ballast Water • Exhaust Gas Scrubber Effluent • Environmentally Preferable Products • Implementation/Efficiencies • State Water Quality Certifications

3. The Clean Water Act (CWA) • Any “point” source” • “discharge of a pollutant” • to “waters of the U.S.” • Established the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program Must obtain NPDES permit coverage (provides legal authority for those discharges of pollutants to waters of the U.S.)

4. NPDES Permitting • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits • Individual permits and general permits • Permit term not to exceed 5 years • For EPA-issued permits, State water quality certification required

5. NPDES Permit Components Cover Page Effluent Limitations • Effluent Guidelines • Best Professional Judgment (BPJ) Technology-Based Water Quality-Based Monitoring & Reporting Requirements Special Conditions Compliance Schedules Special Studies, Evaluations, and Other Requirements • Best Management Practices (BMPs) Standard Conditions

6. 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

7. Implementation and Enforcement • EPA – Implements and administers the VGP • USCG – Inspect vessels for compliance with the VGP • EPA – Conducts enforcement actions for the VGP

8. 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)

9. 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 coverage • Permittee must submit when permanently terminating coverage under the VGP • Permittees do not need to submit NOTs every time they leave waters subject to this permit (e.g. international voyages)

10. 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

11. 2008 VGP – Inspection Summary

12. 2008 VGP – Inspection Observations • 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

13. 2013 Final VGP – Overview • Effective December 19, 2013 • Primarily applies to non-recreational, non-military vessels generally greater than 79 feet • Approximately 70,000 existing VGP vessels plus • ~2,200 commercial fishing vessels greater than 79 feet (if needed) • New NOI and annual report system in development • Target release date – Early Fall 2013 • For those vessels that must submit them, NOIs must be submitted by December 12, 2013 or 7 days before operating in U.S. waters

14. Ballast Water – Effluent Limits • Expressed as instantaneous maximum

15. Ballast Water – Implementation • Four possible options to meet limits: • Use a treatment device (e.g. U.S. type approved system or an AMS) • Use onshore treatment • Use public water supply water (from US and Canada only) • No discharge • Implementation schedule:

16. Ballast Water - Monitoring • Monitoring requirements if using a treatment device • Functional • 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

17. Ballast Water – Interim Requirements • 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 requirements • Mandatory 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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 Report • All unmanned, unpowered barges and other vessels less than 300 gross tons may file a combined annual report if they meet certain conditions • Reduce duplicative reporting • Where immediate notification is reported to the National Response Center, no longer need to also report to EPA regions • Extended Unmanned Period Inspections • Allowed for vessels in lay-up or fleeted (at the vessel owner/operator’s discretion) in lieu of routine visual inspections

21. General Efficiency Improvements • Reduced NOI processing time from 30 to 7 days (for electronic filers only) • Developing electronic tools to submit all information/data • Requiring e-reporting unless specified exemptions apply • Making data submitted to the agency in electronic form available to the public

22. 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

23. Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP) • 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

24. Questions? • Contact information • Kathryn Kelley • 202-564-7004 • kelley.kathryn@epa.gov • General VGP questions • VGP@epa.gov • www.epa.gov/npdes/vessels