ICC URGES EPA TO AVOID ?UNILATERAL? VESSEL ENGING EMISSION RULES

ICC URGES EPA TO AVOID ôUNILATERALö VESSEL ENGING EMISSION RULES    The International Chamber of Commerce’s Maritime Transport Committee has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to avoid creating “unilateral” vessel engine emission rules.
   “Our members feel strongly that unilateral regulation of vessel air emissions will harm efforts to bring an international solution to this international problem,” said the Paris-based organization.
   In 1997, the United States and other maritime nations concluded an international agreement at the International Maritime Organization to regulate air emissions from large marine diesel engines. The agreement was adopted as Annex VI to the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The U.S. government said it’s prepared to ratify MARPOL Annex VI.
   The EPA, however, recently proposed emission standards that would further lower the acceptable level of nitrogen oxide emission from marine diesel engines.
   ICC called this proposed rulemaking “inconsistent” with the goals of MARPOL Annex VI. “If the United States ratifies Annex VI and the Convention enters into force, which appears likely as more countries move toward ratification, any U.S. regulation that is inconsistent with Annex VI will cause conflicts and confusion, and will undermine the benefits of the Convention,” the ICC said.