House says states can’t regulate ballast

WASHINGTON — New York’s strict new standards for keeping invasive species out of ships’ ballast on the St. Lawrence Seaway took a hit in Congress, and probably won’t get a second chance on Capitol Hill, a congressional source said Monday.

The House handily defeated a measure by Rep. Tim Bishop, D-Long Island, that could have cleared the way for states to adopt ballast standards stricter than federal rules. A spokesman for Mr. Bishop said it is unlikely, given that defeat, that the Senate would take up the issue.

As of Monday, said the spokesman, Oliver Longfellow, the congressman’s office was not aware of any senator prepared to carry the issue on the other side of the Capitol. That means the regulation of ballast water will probably fall to negotiations between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and New York state, as well as other Great Lakes states and Canada.

The mostly party-line vote was on an amendment Mr. Bishop offered to a bill authorizing Coast Guard and maritime programs. A final version will be determined by a House-Senate conference committee. A few Republicans voted for Mr. Bishop’s proposal, including Rep. Christopher P. Gibson, R-Kinderhook, essentially backing up the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which had adopted the tough regulations.

Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, said he would have voted for it. He missed Friday’s session to attend the change of command ceremony at Fort Drum.

“It’s a balancing act,” Mr. Owens said in a telephone interview, referring to environmental and commercial interests along the inland shipping route. “There’s not going to be a perfect resolution.”

New York’s rules haven’t taken effect, as shipping interests say they cannot meet the standard with currently available technology. The Cuomo administration has shown some sympathy for that argument, putting off the rules’s enforcement while federal officials craft a new standard. New York’s rules in effect become those for the entire system because ships cannot enter the Seaway without passing through New York.

Mr. Bishop said during floor debate that his measure would only give states the right to petition the EPA for tougher standards within state waters, which the federal agency could either accept or deny. But critics said it would allow states to ban the release of ballast entirely, effectively shutting down shipping in certain areas.

Ships take on ballast to achieve balance in the water. When released in the Seaway, it can transport foreign creatures into the water. Federal rules require ballast exchange at sea, but ballast tanks are never completely free of organisms, scientists say.

Environmental groups such as Save the River, in Clayton, have argued for on-board ballast treatment systems. But ship builders are reluctant to go forward with plans until a reliable federal standard is in place, shipping groups say.

Mr. Bishop, too, believes in a federal standard, his spokesman said. But the congressman also believes states should be able to set rules for ships in their own waters, he said.

Mr. Owens said he believes the federal government, not the state, should have jurisdiction over ballast regulation on the Seaway — and that treaties with Canada must be respected as well. Any regulation by New York that hurts Canadian commerce would probably lead Ottawa to seek redress, he said.

Save the River is pushing lawmakers to vote against the Coast Guard bill next week because of the ballast issue, said the group’s executive director, Jennifer Caddick.