EPA – Professional Mariner

29 Oct

EPA to award ‘historic’ $3 billion for clean port projects

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsEnvironment, EPA, Ports

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced the selection of 55 applicants across 27 states and territories to receive nearly $3 billion through the EPA’s Clean Ports Program. These grants will support the deployment of zero-emission equipment, as well as infrastructure and climate and air quality planning projects at ports across the country. The grants are funded…

24 Oct

AWO, unions: California harbor craft rule puts mariner lives at risk

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towingemissions, EPA, U.S. Coast Guard

(ARLINGTON, Va.) — The American Waterways Operators (AWO) and maritime labor unions have written a joint letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, asking the agency to deny California's request for a waiver from the Clean Air Act to enforce its Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) rule. In an attempt to lower emissions from the maritime sector, the…

09 Aug

AWO presses Coast Guard on vessel discharge rules

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & TowingEnvironment, EPA

(ARLINGTON, Va.) — In response to the U.S. Coast Guard's request for information on vessel discharge recordkeeping and reporting requirements, the American Waterways Operators (AWO) has urged the service to critically evaluate what information is necessary to evaluate and enforce environmental compliance; create a recordkeeping and reporting framework narrowly tailored to meet those needs; and reconsider regulations that impose costs…

21 Nov

EPA seeks to revise ballast water discharge requirements

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsEPA, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Regulation, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) in the Federal Register, requesting public comment on modifications to the agency's 2020 proposed rule implementing the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA). The law seeks to regulate a variety of discharges from commercial vessels, including ballast water discharges. Since the late 1980s, ships' ballast…

01 Nov

EPA provides first look at $3 billion Clean Ports Program

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsClimate change, EPA, Ports

(WASHINGTON) — On Tuesday, the Enivornmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave stakeholders a first look at the agency's plans to implement a new $3 billion port emission reduction program. During a two-hour webinar, agency staff provided an outline of the newly named Clean Ports Program, which was authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as the Grants to Reduce Air…

22 Dec

Industry applauds as EPA unveils coordinated vessel discharge rules

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsballast water, desalination, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, federal, marine transportation, regulations, vessel discharge

Maritime officials and organizations are lauding proposed vessel discharge regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), saying they’re sorely needed to harmonize a mix of conflicting federal and state rules. Congress required the EPA to establish new performance standards by the end of 2020 under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) of 2018, which also requires the U.S. Coast Guard…