In their fight against invasive species, Great Lakes states are finding at least one place where they can win -- the courtroom.

In May, the New York Supreme Court upheld ballast water management rules and standards adopted last fall by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. New York’s rules, modeled after California’s and considered the strictest in the Great Lakes region, would begin to take effect in 2012. They would apply to oceangoing vessels and “lakers” (non-oceangoing vessels) using the Great Lakes.

A coalition of shipping interests challenged the New York rules, saying the state had illegally placed additional restrictions on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discharge permit for these vessels. According to this article in the Albany Times Union, New York plans to require ships to treat ballast water on-board with technology that is “under development … but has not been perfected.”

This recent article we did for the CSG Midwest publication Stateline Midwest discusses how previous court decisions have helped lead states to take a more aggressive role in regulating ballast water and combating invasive species.

Key rulings have included a federal court decision upholding Michigan’s pioneering 2005 ballast water law, a federal court decision in California requiring the EPA to regulate ballast water as part of its responsibilities under the Clean Water Act, and a state court decision in Minnesota calling on the state’s Pollution Control Agency to treat ballast-water discharge as a pollutant.

Because of these rulings, along with ongoing concerns about the environmental and economic impact of invasive species, Great Lakes states have established ballast water treatment standards and rules for vessels. They have been implemented through state legislation, state agency-initiated permit programs or “401 certification.” (This term refers to Section 401 of the U.S. Clean Water Act. Under it, states have the authority to protect their waters beyond minimum federal standards).

The treatment standards and permit proposals vary from state to state (see map in the Stateline Midwest article). This “patchwork” of rules has been one of the concerns raised by the shipping industry.

This issues brief, written by Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United, helps explains the history and current status of state and federal ballast water policy and rules.