Implementation of the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA)

To comply with the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA), the Coast Guard proposes both regulations and voluntary guidelines to control the invasion of aquatic nuisance species (ANS). Ballast water from ships is the largest pathway for the intercontinental introduction and spread of ANS. This rulemaking would amend existing regulations for the Great Lakes ecosystem, establish voluntary ballast water exchange guidelines for all other waters of the United States, and establish mandatory reporting and sampling procedures for nearly all vessels entering U.S. waters. Under this proposed rule, a self-policing program would be established where ballast water exchange is initially voluntary outside of the Great Lakes ecosystem. However, if the rate of compliance is found to be inadequate, or if vessel operators fail to submit mandatory ballast water reports to the U.S. Coast Guard, the voluntary guidelines will become mandatory and will carry civil and criminal penalties. Also, the requirements of subpart C of 33 CFR part 151, which implements the provisions of NISA, would be rewritten in a question and answer format and narrative text would be reformatted into a more user-friendly table to help owners, operators, and others find out which requirements of subpart C apply to them.