EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

USC §1001 or 18 USC §1519.
To monitor and insure compliance with its VGP, EPA will develop and implement a monitoring
and compliance plan by December 2013 to assess the performance of the permit in protecting
listed resources. Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard conducts all inspections of vessels covered
under the VGP using EPA’s Job Aide, i.e., “Guidelines for Coast Guard Evaluations of
Compliance with the US 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 early input of the Services, to update the Job
Aide 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 points of contact, including
the title, office name, current address and phone number for employees at headquarters
offices and in each EPA Region (and USCG District) who can be contacted with
questions regarding inspection protocols.
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.
Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP)
The proposed sVGP authorizes owners/operators of eligible vessels less than 79 feet in length to
release discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel into waters of the U.S. The
following narrative describes the discharges authorized or prohibited should EPA issue the
sVGP. It also describes the activities that EPA requires of vessel owners/operators for vessels
covered under the sVGP, including reporting and compliance requirements.
For vessels covered under the sVGP, the EPA authorizes discharges incidental to the normal
operation of a vessel when operating as a means of transportation, including: anti-foulant hull
coating leachate, bilgewater, deck runoff, fish hold effluent, graywater, non-contact engine
cooling water, packing gland effluent, and underwater hull husbandry.
The EPA does not authorize discharges that are not incidental to the normal operation of a vessel
when operating as a means of transportation. They do not authorize the following discharges:
industrial operations waste, medical waste, noxious liquid substance residue, sewage, used or
spent oil, garbage or trash, tetrachloroethylene degreasers, and discharges covered by another
NPDES permit.
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