California adopts federal ballast water discharge standards

Further to our previous update on the California ballast water discharge regulations back in 2019, the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) has adopted regulatory amendments that will implement the federal ballast water discharge standards for vessels arriving at California ports, among other provisions. These amendments will become effective on 1 January 2022.

The changes incorporate the federal ballast water discharge standards and implementation schedule into California law (2 CCR Section 2293 (a) and amends sections 2291, 2292, 2293, 2294, 2295, 2296, and 2297 of Article 4.7 of Title 2, Division 3, Chapter 1 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR).

The amended regulations:

• Delay the compliance dates for the existing interim and final California ballast water discharge performance standards to 2030 and 2040, respectively (2 CCR Sections 2293 (b) and (c)).
• Establish operational monitoring and recordkeeping requirements for vessels that use a ballast water treatment system to meet ballast water discharge performance standards (2 CCR Sections 2295 and 2297).
• Authorize Commission staff to collect ballast water and sediment samples for research purposes and compliance assessment (2 CCR Section 2294).
  
  CSLC has prepared an information sheet which is attached below for reference.

Members are encouraged to register for the two webinars being arranged by CSLC by contacting the Marine Invasive Species Program at cslc.mepdmisp@slc.ca.gov.
 
Webinar 1: 18 November 2021. 10:00 to 11:00 (PST). This webinar will provide information about the new requirements.
 
Webinar 2: 16 December 2021. 10:00 to 11:00 (PST). This webinar will provide further clarity on the new requirements, and staff will answer any remaining questions from the 18 November webinar.
 
Both webinars will be recorded and posted on the Commission’s website.
 

Categories: Loss Prevention, Pollution, Sustainability