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RI Coastal Resources Management Council

...to preserve, protect, develop, and restore coastal resources for all Rhode Islanders

CRMC BioSecurity Board
URI Bay Campus Ocean Technology Center
Conference Room
May 29, 2012

MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Mike McGiveney, Robert Rheault, Marta Gomez-Chiarri, Bill Silkes, Mark Gibson, Alisa Richardson, Kevin Cute, and David Beutel

  • Discussion regarding two new national permits that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is intending to issue concerning the discharge of water from vessels. The permits are called Vessel General Permit (VGP) for non-military and non-recreational vessels greater than 79 feet, and small Vessel General Permit (sVGP) for non-military and non-recreational vessels less than 79 feet. The primary concern is for the requirements for the federal permit to discharge ballast water and the potential for exposure to invasive species to Rhode Island.
  • DEM Office of Water Resources must comment by June 30, 2012 on state certification of federal permit
  • There is an effort for coordinated responses from the Northeastern states, prompted by New York. New York is proposing more strict standards than the EPA has proposed.
  • VGPs are renewed every 5 years
  • Discussion regarding the 4 points below from New York. Relative to AIS, NY is requesting that conditions similar to the conditions stated below, be placed into as many State 401’s as possible. They are:
    1. A 100x IMO discharge standard but deferred until the next VGP (likely 2018), pending an evaluation of the commercial availability of suitable technology.
    2. Requirements for mandatory ballast water exchange even if you have installed a ballast water treatment system (allowing for a combination of practices to achieve the standard).
    3. Live organism monitoring – currently compliance is measured by measuring Enterococci, treatment system residuals and physical inspection of the treatment system. No mechanism is currently in place to sample live organisms like phytoplankton and zooplankton which could be a biosecurity threat to the aquatic environment.
    4. Prohibit the discharge of bilge water
  • Biosecurity Board members present agreed with bullet one discharge standard on the 2018 timeline; agreed with the continued mandatory ballast exchange before entering the EEZ; had concerns with bullet three in terms of enforcement, but agreed conceptually; and disagreed with bullet four as an undo burden on the fishing industry
  • The oyster disease SSO situation was briefly discussed and agreed that it will need further examination in July.

Meeting adjourned.

CALENDAR INDEX

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