Consideration for Acceptance of One or More Viability Testing Methods for Type Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>Coast Guard</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. USCG-2024-0501]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Consideration for Acceptance of One or More Viability Testing Methods for Type Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Coast Guard, DHS. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice of intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement; notice of virtual scoping meetings; and request for comments. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Coast Guard, as the lead agency, announces its intent to prepare the <E T="03">Viability Testing Method Consideration for Acceptance Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.</E> Through this document, we will evaluate the potential environmental impact of the Coast Guard's Proposed Action to use the best available science to evaluate one or more viability testing methods submitted for consideration. Through this document, we will also evaluate, and potentially accept, methods that demonstrate that ballast water discharge meets U.S. ballast water discharge performance standards currently under development by the Environmental Protection Agency. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be submitted orally at one of the public meetings or in writing the online docket via <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> on or before October 7, 2024. Virtual public meetings regarding this notice of intent will be held Thursday, September 5, 2024, at 12 p.m. EST, Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 4 p.m. EST, and Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at 7 p.m. EST. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-2024-0501 using the Federal Decision-Making Portal at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> See the “Public Participation and Request for Comments” portion of the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section for further instructions on submitting comments. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For information about this document, call or email Commander Andrew Murphy, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1430; email <E T="03">CG-OES@uscg.mil.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Public Participation and Request for Comments</HD> We encourage you to submit comments and related material on preliminary alternatives to help the Coast Guard identify reasonable alternatives. We will consider all submissions and may adjust our final action based on your comments. If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific item of this document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. <E T="03">Submitting comments.</E> We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal Decision-Making Portal at <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov.</E> To do so, go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> type USCG-2024-0501 in the search box and click “Search.” Next, look for this document in the Search Results column, and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. If your material cannot be submitted using <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov,</E> contact the person in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section of this document for alternate instructions. <E T="03">Viewing material in docket.</E> Public comments will be placed in our online docket and can be viewed by following instructions on the <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> Frequently Asked Questions web page. We review all comments received, but we may choose not to post off-topic, inappropriate, or duplicate comments that we receive. <E T="03">Personal information.</E> We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> will include any personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and submissions in response to this document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020). <HD SOURCE="HD1">Public Meeting</HD> We plan to hold three virtual public scoping meetings to solicit feedback. At these meetings, the Coast Guard will present an overview of the Proposed Action and the environmental review process, followed by a period of listening to oral comments from the public. The Coast Guard will record all oral comments and respond to them in the Draft PEIS. The public meetings will be held virtually in Microsoft Teams at the following dates below. The public meetings can be accessed by either Microsoft Teams or by telephone. <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Thursday, September 5, 2024</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">12:00 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. UTC)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> Meeting Link: <E T="03">https://tinyurl.com/CGVIDAVT1</E> </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Meeting ID: 242 571 871 890</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Passcode: DD7bEW</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Phone-in: +1 202-660-1181</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Phone conference ID: 925 558 1#</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> Tuesday, September 10, 2024 </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">4:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. UTC)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> Meeting Link: <E T="03">https://tinyurl.com/CGVIDAVT2</E> </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Meeting ID: 294 512 529 402</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Passcode: 8wzmy4</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Phone-in: +1 202-660-1181</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Phone conference ID: 567 920 777#</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Wednesday, September 11, 2024</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">7:00 p.m. EST (11:00 p.m. UTC)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> Meeting Link: <E T="03">https://tinyurl.com/CGVIDAVT3</E> </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Meeting ID: 265 269 415 521</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Passcode: jhEUSk</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Phone-in: +1 202-660-1181</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Phone conference ID: 125 105 712#</FP> For information on facilities or services for individuals with disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting, contact the person named in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section, above. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Abbreviations</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ANS Aquatic nuisance species</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ATP Adenosine triphosphate</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">BWMS Ballast Water Management System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CDNA Complementary DNA</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CEQ Council on Environmental Quality</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CMFDA 5-chloromethylfluorescein diacetate</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DHS Department of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EIS Environmental Impact Statement</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EPA Environmental Protection Agency</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ETV Environmental Technology Verification</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FDA Fluorescein diacetate</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IMO International Maritime Organization</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">µm Micrometer</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MPN Most probable number</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NEPA National Environmental Policy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NOI Notice of Intent</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PCR Polymerase chain reaction</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PEIS Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">qPCR Quantitative polymerase chain reaction</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SDC-MPN Serial dilution culture most probable number</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">U.S.C. United States Code</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">VIDA Vessel Incidental Discharge Act</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> Currently, Coast Guard type approval is granted for ballast water management systems (BWMSs) that meet the live/dead standard under protocols described in title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) <E T="03">Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program</E> (EPA 2010), which include the use of cell tracing stains (such as fluorescein diacetate or (FDA) 5-chloromethylfluorescein diacetate (CMFDA), and do not include the use of viability tests. The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) of 2018  <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> allows the Coast Guard to consider the use of viability tests for the type approval of BWMS and directs the Coast Guard to not consider methods for viability that rely on staining to measure the concentrations of organisms that are between (or equivalent to) 10 and 50 micrometers (µm). <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  132 Stat. 4192, Public Law 115-282, Dec. 4, 2018. See Sec. 903, Standards for Discharges Incidental to Normal Operation of Vessels. </FTNT> This Notice of Intent (NOI) is intended to solicit feedback on the scope of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). The Coast Guard intends to host three virtual scoping meetings to provide additional information to the public and to solicit input on potential issues, concerns, and reasonable alternatives that should be considered in the PEIS. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Discussion</HD> Congress, through enacting VIDA required the Coast Guard to consider adding “viability” of organisms as a way of testing compliance with ballast water discharge standards. Ballast water is taken on by a vessel to increase the draft, change the trim, regulate the stability, or maintain stress loads within acceptable operational limits. Introduction of nonindigenous invasive species, also known as aquatic nuisance species (ANS), through ballast water discharge is a global concern. Ballast water discharge may contain water-borne organisms taken up at the last (or several recent) ballasting locations as well as water-borne organisms (especially eggs or larvae) that were produced by adult individuals in the ballast tank. Viable organisms that are discharged and become established in waters outside their native range may have adverse effects on native species and ecosystems, infrastructure, human health, socioeco ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 37k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━