EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

population and a competitor could easily overgrow native plants with small habitat ranges.
Therefore, ANS invasions are likely to reduce population and species viability of listed plants.
Our Programmatic Summary describes whether and to what degree EPA structured the VGPs to
insure that vessel discharges into waters of the U.S. are not likely to jeopardize the continued
existence of endangered species or threatened species under NMFS’ jurisdiction or result in the
destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat that has been designated for those species.
We concluded:
1. EPA has structured the proposed VGPs so they will know or be able to reliably estimate
the probable number of the discharges that they would be authorizing. The scope of their
action includes issuance and implementation of the VGPs, including monitoring,
compliance, and enforcement.
2. EPA will be in a position to reliably estimate the physical, chemical or biotic stressors
that are likely to be produced as a direct or indirect result of the vessel discharges that
would be authorized by the VGPs and would know or be able to reliably estimate
whether those discharges have occurred in concentrations, frequencies, or for durations
that violate the terms of the proposed VGPs. While there were gaps in EPA’s original
identification of stressors of the action, EPA will implement monitoring programs to fill
these gaps in knowledge.
3. EPA has structured the VGPs so it will know or be able to reliably estimate whether or
what degree specific endangered or threatened species or designated critical habitat are
likely to be exposed to potentially harmful discharges that the proposed permit would
authorize, and to the ecological consequences of these discharges. EPA will use
monitoring programs to estimate exposure of ESA-listed resources to the stressors
produced by the actions it authorizes by the permit throughout the five-year permit cycle.
4. EPA will adequately identify, collect, and analyze information about its authorized
discharges that may expose listed resources to harmful stressors throughout the five-year
permit cycle. For ANS and other pollutants, EPA will summarize data from Annual
Reports (which include all instances of noncompliance and unavoidable discharges
authorized by the VGP) and Discharge Monitoring Reports and provide this summary to
the Services. In addition, EPA, in cooperation with NMFS, will develop and implement a
monitoring and reporting plan specifically for ANS, copper, and selenium discharges.
5. EPA, with the technical assistance of NMFS, will gather data and identify metrics for
assessing specific discharges and pollutants that could pose risks to listed species and
undertake corrective actions as necessary. In doing so, EPA will employ an analytical
methodology that considers (a) the status and trends of endangered or threatened species
or designated critical habitat; (b) the demographic and ecological status of populations
and individuals of those species given their exposure to pre-existing stressors in different
drainages and watersheds; (c) the direct and indirect pathways by which endangered or
threatened species or designated critical habitat might be exposed to the discharges to
waters of the United States; and (d) the physical, physiological, behavior, sociobiological,
326