Michigan challenges EPA ballast discharge standards

Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy director Phil Roos linked the brief to public interest outcomes around water quality and long-term stewardship.

“The Great Lakes are part of who we are as Michiganders, and protecting them is something we all share,” Mr Roos said, “Strong safeguards against invasive species are critical to keeping these waters clean and healthy for our communities.”

In a statement, the Michigan Attorney Office described ballast water as a pathway for harmful organisms to move between ports, and stated that invasive species, including zebra mussels, had damaged infrastructure, threatened native ecosystems, and cost the Great Lakes region an estimated US$200M per year.

It also set out the coalition’s legal argument under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, which Congress added to the Clean Water Act in 2018.

The statement said VIDA directed EPA to issue ballast water discharge standards that were “as protective as the existing permit”, unless new information unavailable at the time of the permit demonstrated a requirement was unnecessary.

The coalition argued EPA ignored that direction and relied on justifications not permitted under VIDA, while states had shown the uptake requirement had been successfully enforced.

The statement added that, following EPA’s changes, golden mussels were discovered at a California port and “could reach the Great Lakes through contaminated ballast water.”

It said the coalition urged the court to reject what it described as an unlawful weakening of protections and require standards that safeguarded the Great Lakes from invasive species.

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