COAST GUARD TO HOLD REGIONAL MEETINGS ABOUT BALLAST MANAGEMENT

COAST GUARD TO HOLD REGIONAL MEETINGS ABOUT BALLAST MANAGEMENT    The U.S. Coast Guard said it will hold four regional meetings this year to seek public input for how to better control aquatic pests found in ships’ ballast water.
   The Coast Guard said this input is needed to make its recommendations to Congress about the future of the national ballast water management program. The program was established under the 1996 National Invasive Species Act.
   The meetings will be held at Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 28; Houston on Sept. 6; Ann Harbor, Mich., on Sept. 11; and Washington on Sept. 18.
   For more information about the meetings, contact Lt. JoAnne Hanson, project manager of the Coast Guard’s Environmental Standards Division, at (202) 267-2079.