EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Vessel General Permit (VGP) for Discharges
Incidental to the Normal Operation of Vessels.” To insure that the inspections assess new
requirements of the proposed VGP, EPA will:
� Work with the U.S. Coast Guard, with the input of the Services, to update the Job Aid to
reflect requirements included in the new VGP.
� Create an online training and/or a webinar training regarding the VGP
requirements/prohibitions, within one year of final permit issuance.
� Create a comprehensive checklist of requirements for inspector training in conjunction
with the U.S. EPA National Enforcement Training Institute, within one year of final
permit issuance.
� Provide and continue to provide the U.S. Coast Guard with the title, office name, current
address and phone number for points of contact at headquarters offices and in each EPA
Region and USCG District.
In addition, EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance will meet with the
Services to discuss enforcement under the VGP. The EPA will gather, review and analyze
inspection data submitted by the Coast Guard; the results will be summarized (by type of vessel,
location when available, type of deficiencies, and number of deficiencies) and provided to the
Services annually.
To monitor and insure compliance with its sVGP, EPA will develop and implement a monitoring
and compliance plan by December 2013 to assess the performance of the permit in protecting
listed resources. To insure inspection of a sample of small vessels, EPA will:
� Organize a meeting with their Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance for the
Services to discuss and provide input to OECA’s inspection and enforcement plans for
the sVGP.
� Work with USCG, with the input of the Services, to update the inspection and
enforcement document inspection checklist (i.e., Job Aide) to reflect sVGP requirements
� Conduct outreach to the states to raise awareness about small vessel requirements; EPA
will encourage States to check records of quarterly self-inspection records and visible
portions of the hull while inspecting vessels when implementing their own programs.
� Develop trainings covering the small vessel requirements and share these with the Coast
Guard and States
The EPA will provide the Services with a yearly summary of the number of inspections (by
EPA, the Coast Guard, States or other sources) and results (including number of inspections by
type of vessel, location when available and number and type of deficiencies).
Unanticipated, low levels of compliance for either the VGP or sVGP constitute new information.
In the VGPs, EPA includes a “Permit Reopener Clause.” This clause allows EPA to modify its
permits or require individual permits if new information becomes available. This information
would also allow EPA to determine whether to request reinititation of formal ESA Section 7
consultation as provided in 50 CFR 402.16 and described in the Fact Sheets.
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