EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

eports in time to make changes for the next permit cycle, if need be), EPA will evaluate
vessel data and identify ports/locations where the metric has been exceeded. If the metric
has been exceeded, EPA will, as appropriate, identify and implement additional actions to
reduce any unacceptable risks.
Potential Selenium Discharges in Exhaust Gas Scrubber (EGS)
Within 1 year of finalization of the VGPs, EPA will develop, in cooperation with the Services,
and implement a monitoring and reporting plan for gas-scrubber discharges. The plan will
contain the following elements:
1) EPA, with the technical assistance of the Services, will identify metrics for assessing
selenium loadings to waters inhabited by ESA-listed species (i.e., using the number of
ships reporting exhaust gas scrubbers in eNOIs for particular areas combined with
expected and/or reported volume and concentration values as proxies).
2) EPA will state that vessel operators should analyze selenium in saline EGS discharges
using methods capable of accurately measuring selenium in saline samples (e.g.,
Octopole Reaction Cell ICP-MS or Hydride generation AA methods or other methods
which reduce matrix interference for selenium).
3) EPA will compile NOI and annual report information regarding the number and type of
vessels that use exhaust gas scrubbers, discharge monitoring data for pollutants including
selenium and copper, their home port/most frequented US port, and US ports anticipated
visiting during the permit term.
4) Twice, once by December 2014 (to summarize eNOI data) and another before EPA
transmits the next draft VGP/sVGP to OMB for interagency review (to evaluate annual
reports in time to make changes for the next permit cycle, if need be), EPA will evaluate
vessel data and identify ports/locations where the metric has been exceeded. If the metric
has been exceeded, EPA will, as appropriate, identify and implement additional actions to
reduce any unacceptable risk.
ANS
Within 1 year of finalization of the VGPs, EPA will develop, in cooperation with the Services,
and implement a monitoring and reporting plan for vessel-mediated ANS invasions. The plan
will contain the following elements:
1) EPA, with the technical assistance of the Services, will identify metrics to evaluate
whether vessel mediated ANS invasion rates are being reduced over time.
2) EPA will track information from ANS invasions that might be potentially tied to vessel
vectors. Information tracked may include:
a. Dr. Greg Ruiz (Smithsonian Institution) conducts systematic surveys for ANS
invasions caused by hull-fouling and ballast water in San Francisco, Chesapeake,
and Tampa Bays to track changes in the rate of ANS invasions.
b. Nationwide NEMESIS database for all newly documented, marine, ballast water
and hull fouling ANS invasions.
http://invasions.si.edu/nemesis/browseDB/searchQuery.jsp
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