New York Ballast Water Victory Brings Added Hope For Strong Federal Action

Today, we received word of a final victory upholding New York’s tough new ballast water standard against a legal challenge from the ports and shipping industries!  The New York Court of Appeals, which is New York’s highest court, declined the industry parties’ request for leave to appeal a February decision of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division upholding the standard.  I was lead counsel for NRDC on this case, representing NRDC and the National Wildlife Federation – and working alongside some great partners at the New York Attorney General’s Office.

Here is what I wrote about the case in February: 

Fundamentally, the court’s decision recognizes what we have been arguing all along:  that there is “ample scientific evidence and expert opinion” that invasive species must be prevented from entering and being spread throughout the Great Lakes ecosystem through vessels’ ballast water.  The New York appeals court’s decision affirms the ruling of the trial court in our favor in June 2009, a victory I blogged about over at the Great Lakes Law Blog.  The decision is also consistent with the decision of the federal appeals court in Cincinnati upholding Michigan’s ballast water statute from a similar industry legal challenge, a case that I was also involved in litigating.  At the same time, these victories in individual states only highlight the need for a comprehensive federal solution, and we are continuing to push hard through litigation and advocacy for a strong federal program that combines the relevant expertise and authority of both EPA and the Coast Guard.

NRDC, NWF, and our many other partners are still fighting to ensure that a strong federal program is implemented that will finally deal with the threat of invasive species discharged through ballast water.  Many have tried for many years to get adequate ballast water regulations in place to protect our Great Lakes and coastal waters from invasive species.  And as long as states like New York continue to lead the way by establishing their own protective standards, I am optimistic that we will finally get there soon.

Just a couple weeks ago, I was in Washington, DC, at the offices of the National Academy of Sciences to attend the opening public session of the National Research Council’s committee on “Assessing Numeric Limits for Living Organisms in Ballast Water.”  I am excited and pleased that this committee has been established to study how to establish environmentally protective numeric ballast water discharge limits for consideration by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Coast Guard.

It was inspiring to be there for this event, in a room full of brilliant and accomplished scientists, engaged in serious debate over the scientific questions that need to be answered to ensure that the agencies are going to act based on the best scientific information that is available.  Could it be that we are finally going to see real science determine federal ballast water policy?

(Notice how I only said “ballast water policy.”  I started to say “invasive species policy,” but then I remembered what’s going on with the Asian carp…)

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