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The Nature Conservancy Urges House to Pass Ballast Water Legislation

Ballast Water Treatment Act will protect our waters from destructive invaders

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — April 24, 2008 — The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote April 24 on legislation supported by The Nature Conservancy that will block one of the top pathways through which invasive species are introduced to our nation’s lakes, rivers and seas.  If passed, the Ballast Water Treatment Act will go a long way toward halting further invasions which have already cost our economy billions in control efforts.

“Here in the Great Lakes region, aquatic invasive species pose a serious threat to our economy and our native wildlife. Maritime shipping has played a major role in the spread and introduction of invasives into our inland freshwaters, so adoption of new ballast water legislation will not only benefit marine environments but also the Great Lakes and connected streams and rivers,” said Lindsay Chadderton, director of invasive species for The Nature Conservancy’s Great Lakes Program. “In many cases the Great Lakes have acted as a point of entry for invasions due to shipping. Urgent action is needed to stop new introductions and I welcome this legislation as a means to block one of the most important pathways through which invasive species are introduced.”

The Ballast Water Treatment Act, being considered as part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act, will stop the spread of invasive species through shipping by 2015. Sponsored by Congressman Oberstar (D-MN), and LaTourette (R-OH), the legislation requires ships in U.S. waters to install ballast treatment systems to eradicate invasive species carried in ships ballast water, and to implement best management practices to address other ways in which invasive species can be spread from ships.  The legislation also creates new authority coordinated across federal agencies to quickly detect and respond to aquatic invasive species from all sources.

“The Ballast Water Treatment Act of 2008 will establish national ballast water discharge standards that will protect our lakes, rivers and coastal waters from future introductions of environmentally harmful invasive species,” said U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, Ranking Republican of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee.  “In the Great Lakes, we have experienced the effects that invasive species can have on natural ecosystems and fisheries.  This bill includes measures that will further minimize the possibility of any future invasion taking place.”

The nation’s oceans, lakes, rivers and ponds are increasingly at risk from invasive species – these are non-native species which when introduced to a new area by human intervention, can spread unchecked, displacing native plants and animals. The impacts of some species already introduced through shipping have proved devastating:

For example: A Caspian Sea tanker dumped its ballast water—and the Eurasian zebra mussel—into the Great Lakes a little more than a decade ago. Now the tiny mussels threaten to smother 140 native mussel species, and waterfront industries, like dams and power plants, must pay billions in on-going maintenance to clear clogged pipes while passing the cost to consumers.

If passed, this legislation will slow the rate of new introductions to the Nation and help prevent the spread of the harmful invasive species already established elsewhere in United States. 

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.