Indiana legislature wants Congress to pass stringent ballast controls

Indiana legislature wants Congress to pass stringent ballast controls    The Indiana General Assembly released final copies of a resolution Thursday urging Congress to pass legislation to strengthen the nation’s ballast water controls.
   Indiana ranks 14th in the country for waterborne shipping and moves about half of its cargo via ships on the Great Lakes. Primary commodities include grain, fertilizer, iron ore and large amounts of steel products. The Ports of Indiana handled $1.53 billion in cargo in 2005.
   The Indiana legislature’s resolution stated that aquatic pests have caused significant damage to native environments and industrial operations in the Great Lakes and around the world. The legislature said U.S. controls for ballast water are inadequate.
   The resolution also supports efforts by the Coast Guard and International Maritime Organization to put in place an international ballast water treatment and regulatory program.
   The Coast Guard requires ships to flush all ballast tanks before entering U.S. waters, but some aquatic species still enter the system.
   Congress is considering legislation, the 2005 National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (S.770), that would establish U.S. standards and regulations for ballast water management.
   Indiana’s shipping industry backs the state’s resolution. “We support more stringent national ballast regulation,” said Rich Cooper, executive director for the Ports of Indiana, in a statement.
   Since the United States has not yet approved ballast treatment standards, the industry warned that vendors have been reluctant to develop treatment standards without knowing what standards they will have to meet.