Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2018)

VGP

Vessel General Permit Update

The Vessel General Permit (VGP) and have been successfully challenged include, but are not limited to, the fol-

About the Author falls under the National Pollutant Dis- in court. lowing administered by the US Coast

Dennis L. Bryant is with Bryant’s Mari-

GOVERNMENT UPDATE charge Elimination System (NPDES) of The VGP itself is a general permit is- Guard: (1) ballast water management; time Consulting, and a regular contribu- the Federal Water Pollution Control Act sued under the NPDES program. Vessels (2) oil pollution prevention; (3) sewage tor to Maritime Reporter & Engineering (FWPCA), better known as the Clean do not receive an individualized copy discharge; (4) the Act for the Prevention

News as well as online at MaritimePro-

Water Act. It is administered by the of the permit and it is not mandatory of Pollution from Ships [implementing fessional.com. t: 1 352 692 5493

US Environmental Protection Agency to keep a copy on board. However, the MARPOL provisions]; (5) the Oil Pollu- e: [email protected] (EPA), an agency not well known or un- EPA recommends that a copy of the VGP tion Act of 1990 [OPA 90]; and the Clean derstood by the maritime industry. be kept on board the vessel for reference Hull Act.

For years, the EPA had adopted a poli- and to ensure that all requirements are cy of broadly exempting discharges into being met. Recordkeeping, Reporting & lines for resolving the issues and failure the water that were incidental to normal Under the EPA regulations, the opera- Inspections to take corrective action within the spec- operation of vessels. That changed af- tor of a facility is generally responsible Numerous records must be kept to i? ed time period is another permit viola- ter environmental advocacy groups pre- to compliance with environmental re- comply with the VGP. These include tion. The VGP contains a full descrip- vailed in a judicial challenge. The ? rst quirements. If a covered vessel is in the owner/operator and voyage information, tion of the corrective action process. iteration of the VGP entered into effect care or custody of an entity other than a voyage log, records of any violation of The allowed time for minor changes is in 2008 and remained in effect until re- the owner for a period of time (such as any ef? uent limit and corrective action two weeks, for major changes requiring placed by the current iteration in 2013. being under charter), it is recommended taken, a record of routine inspections and new parts three months, and for major

That second iteration is due to be re- that the agreement specify which party any de? ciencies or problems found, ana- renovations before relaunching from the placed in December 2018, but the pro- is responsible for compliance with appli- lytical monitoring results, a log of ? nd- next drydocking. A record must be kept posed replacement has yet to be shared cable requirements under the VGP. ings from annual inspections, a record of of all corrective actions.

with the regulated community. Vessels that are 300 or more gross any speci? c requirements given to the Various types of inspections are re- tons (GT) as measured under the Inter- vessel by the EPA or state/tribal agen- quired under the VGP, including routine

Incidental Discharges national Tonnage Convention measure- cies, and additional maintenance, certi? - visual inspections of all accessible ar-

The VGP program establishes require- ment system or have more than eight cation, and safety exemption claims. eas of the vessel in order to verify that ments relating to 27 types of vessel dis- cubic meters (2,113 gallons) of ballast Certain discharges must always be re- ef? uent limits are being met. A more charges for the purpose of minimizing water capacity are required to submit a ported, including ballast water release, comprehensive annual inspection must their impacts on surrounding waters. All Notice of Intent (NOI) using the EPA’s spills that endanger health or welfare, be conducted once every 12 months commercial vessels of 79 feet or more eNOI system to receive coverage under spills of oily materials, and a report of that must focus on areas likely to gen- in length being operated as a means of the permit. Smaller vessels covered by annual noncompliance. An annual re- erate harmful pollution or violate ef? u- transport must comply when operating the VGP program are still required to port is also required for all covered ves- ent limits. Drydock inspections are also in US inland and coastal waters (includ- maintain the appropriate records includ- sels. required. Special monitoring is also re- ing the US Great Lakes) inside the US ing a copy of the Permit Authorization While the amount of record keeping is quired for select cruise ships and vessels territorial sea (3nm). Vessels of less and Record of Inspection (PARI) form potentially onerous, the EPA does state with experimental ballast water treat- than 79 feet must comply with the bal- and make it available upon request. that it does not intend to require separate ment systems. The ? ndings of each rou- last water discharge requirements. The records from that which is already re- tine visual inspection and annual inspec-

VGP requirements include best manage- Overlap quired by the Coast Guard. Rather, ves- tion must be documented in the of? cial ment practices (BMPs) for each of the 27 Many of the BMPs may overlap with sels can harmonize their recordkeeping ship logbook or as a component of other discharges, as well as requirements for standard marine practices, making them practices, where appropriate, so that re- recordkeeping documentation.

corrective actions, inspections, record- mandatory. Others are new to most ves- cords are not unnecessarily duplicative. keeping, and reporting. sels and operators and require incorpora- For example, information can be logged Conclusion

Complicating matters, the NPDES al- tion into standard operating procedures. with maintenance records, the ship’s log, As previously stated, the current ver- lows individual states and Native Ameri- In addition, the VGP program has pa- in existing ISM/SMS plans or other ad- sion of the VGP program expires in De- can tribes to establish additional water perwork aspects that will require special ditional recordkeeping documentation cember 2018. The EPA has yet to share quality standards that are included in the attention. The paperwork aspects are already maintained by the vessel. Also, its proposal for the next iteration, as of

VGP. These standards, which vary from important as they are the means to dem- records may be kept electronically. mid-June 2018. Court decisions lead state to state and tribe to tribe and are onstrate compliance if requested by the If any of the ef? uent discharge limits one to expect that the new program will often more stringent, create additional EPA or an authorized agent, such as the in the VGP are violated, corrective ac- add new requirements. On the other headaches for vessel operators. For in- U.S. Coast Guard. tion must be taken. This includes an as- hand, recent EPA actions in other areas stance, several states include various Compliance with the VGP does not sessment investigating the nature, cause, lead one to expect a reduction in require- ballast water treatment standards and relieve entities of compliance with other and potential options for eliminating the ments. Time will tell, but the window is requirements. Some of these require- existing laws and regulations. Other problems. Depending upon the extent narrowing and covered vessels may have ments have been deemed unachievable potentially overlapping requirements of the problem, the VGP provides dead- to scramble to adapt to the changes.

10 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • JULY 2018

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