Seafood Industry Applauds Coast Guard Bill that Ends Much Uncertainty for Fishing Vessels
The Senate has passed a bi-partisan Coast Guard Reauthorization bill 94-6 that includes many regulatory updates that were critical to US fishing interests. Charter and commercial fishing businesses in Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii have been working on this issue for several years.
The bill permanently removes all vessels under 79 feet from being subject to EPA incidental discharge regulations regarding ballast water and deck washing. It also removes all fishing vessels, fish processing vessels, or tenders of any length from the EPA discharge requirements. The EPA rules applying to ballast water and deck water discharge were put in place in 2008, ...
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