115 
‘‘(ii) between or among the main group 
of the Hawaiian Islands; or 
‘‘(B) if the vessel operates exclusively within 
any area with respect to which the Secretary has 
determined, after consultation with the Under 
Secretary, the Administrator, and representa-
tives of States the waters of which would be af-
fected by the discharge of ballast water from the 
vessel, that the risk of introducing aquatic nui-
sance species through ballast water discharge in 
the areas in which the vessel operates is insig-
nificant. 
‘‘(8) MARINE SANCTUARIES AND OTHER PROHIB-
ITED AREAS.—A vessel may not conduct ballast water 
exchange or discharge ballast water under this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) within a national marine sanctuary 
designated under of the National Marine Sanc-
tuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 
‘‘(B) in waters that are approved by the 
Administrator as a nondischarge zone under sec-
tion 312(n)(7) of the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1322(n)(7)); or 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00115
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
116 
‘‘(C) in any other waters designated by the 
Secretary, in consultation with the Under Sec-
retary and the Administrator. 
‘‘(9) VESSELS
WITHOUT
PUMPABLE
BALLAST 
WATER.— 
‘‘(A) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS.— 
Ballast water exchange requirements under this 
subsection shall apply to vessels that are 
equipped with ballast water tanks and that enter 
a port of the United States without pumpable 
ballast water. 
‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 
issue regulations, not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of the Ballast Water Treat-
ment Act of 2007, that are intended to minimize 
the introduction of nuisance species from vessels 
that enter the navigable waters without pump-
able ballast water, including the requirements 
that apply under subparagraph (A), and that 
are at least as stringent as the regulations in ef-
fect on the date of enactment such Act. 
‘‘(C) APPLICATION
OF
EXISTING
REGULA-
TIONS.—The regulations issued by the Secretary 
under this section, as such regulations were in 
effect on the day before the date of enactment of 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00116
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
117 
the Ballast Water Treatment Act of 2007, shall 
continue to apply to vessels without pumpable 
ballast water entering or operating on the navi-
gable waters until the earlier of— 
‘‘(i) the date on which such vessels are 
required to conduct ballast water treatment, 
in accordance with the requirements of sub-
section (f); or 
‘‘(ii) the effective date of final regula-
tions required under this paragraph. 
‘‘(f) BALLAST WATER TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE
STANDARDS.—A vessel to 
which this section applies shall conduct ballast water 
treatment in accordance with the requirements of this 
subsection before discharging ballast water in waters 
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States so that 
the ballast water discharged will contain— 
‘‘(A) less than 1 living organism per 10 
cubic meters that is 50 or more micrometers in 
minimum dimension; 
‘‘(B) less than 1 living organism per 10 
milliliters that is less than 50 micrometers in 
minimum dimension and more than 10 microm-
eters in minimum dimension; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00117
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
118 
‘‘(C) concentrations of indicator microbes 
that are less than— 
‘‘(i) 
colony-forming 
unit 
of 
toxicogenic Vibrio cholera (serotypes O1 and 
O139) per 100 milliliters or less than 1 col-
ony-forming unit of that microbe per gram 
of wet weight of zoological samples; 
‘‘(ii) 126 colony-forming units of esch-
erichia coli per 100 milliliters; and 
‘‘(iii) 33 colony-forming units of intes-
tinal enterococci per 100 milliliters; and 
‘‘(D) concentrations of such additional indi-
cator microbes as may be specified in regulations 
issued by the Secretary, after consultation with 
other appropriate Federal agencies as determined 
by the Secretary, that are less than the amount 
specified in those regulations. 
‘‘(2) RECEPTION FACILITY EXCEPTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) does not 
apply to a vessel that discharges ballast water 
into— 
‘‘(i) a land-based facility for the recep-
tion of ballast water that meets standards 
issued by the Administrator; or 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00118
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
119 
‘‘(ii) a water-based facility for the re-
ception of ballast water that meets stand-
ards issued by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF STANDARDS.—Not later 
than one year after the date of enactment of the 
Ballast Water Treatment Act of 2007, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the heads of other 
appropriate Federal agencies as determined by 
the Secretary, shall issue standards for— 
‘‘(i) the reception of ballast water in 
land-based and water-based reception facili-
ties; and 
‘‘(ii) the disposal or treatment of such 
ballast water in a way that does not impair 
or damage the environment, human health, 
property, or resources. 
‘‘(3) TREATMENT
SYSTEM
IMPLEMENTATION.— 
Paragraph (1) applies to a vessel to which this section 
applies beginning on the date of the first dry-docking 
of the vessel after December 31, 2008, but not later 
than December 31, 2013. 
‘‘(4) 
TREATMENT
SYSTEM
APPROVAL
RE-
QUIRED.—The operator of a vessel to which this sec-
tion applies may not use a ballast water treatment 
system to comply with the requirements of this sub-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00119
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
120 
section unless the system is approved by the Sec-
retary. The Secretary shall issue regulations estab-
lishing a process for such approval, after consultation 
with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies 
as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) RELIANCE
ON
CERTAIN
REPORTS, DOCU-
MENTS, AND RECORDS.—In approving a ballast water 
treatment system under this subsection, the Secretary 
may rely on reports, documents, and records of per-
sons that meet such requirements as the Secretary 
may prescribe. 
‘‘(6) FEASIBILITY REVIEW.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO REVIEW.—The Sec-
retary shall periodically conduct a review to de-
termine whether appropriate technologies are 
available to achieve the standards set forth in 
paragraph (1). In reviewing technologies under 
this subparagraph, the Secretary, after consulta-
tion with the heads of other appropriate Federal 
agencies as determined by the Secretary, shall 
consider— 
‘‘(i) the effectiveness of a technology in 
achieving the standards; 
‘‘(ii) feasibility in terms of compat-
ibility with ship design and operations; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00120
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
121 
‘‘(iii) safety considerations; 
‘‘(iv) whether a technology has an ad-
verse impact on the environment; and 
‘‘(v) cost effectiveness. 
‘‘(B) DEADLINES.—The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) complete an initial review of tech-
nologies under subparagraph (A) within 12 
months after the date of the enactment of 
the Ballast Water Treatment Act of 2007; 
and 
‘‘(ii) carry out subsequent reviews of 
technologies under subparagraph (A) no 
later than 24 months after the date that the 
previous review was completed. 
‘‘(C) DELAY
IN
SCHEDULED
APPLICA-
TION.—If the Secretary determines, on the basis 
of the initial review or any subsequent review 
conducted under this paragraph, that compliance 
with the standards set forth in paragraph (1) is 
not feasible for any class of vessels, the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(i) delay the date on which such 
standards apply to that class of vessels for 
a period of not more than 24 months; and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00121
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
122 
‘‘(ii) recommend action to ensure such 
compliance in accordance with the revised 
implementation schedule for that class of 
vessels by the date established under clause 
(i). 
‘‘(7) DELAY OF APPLICATION FOR VESSEL PAR-
TICIPATING
IN
PROMISING
TECHNOLOGY
EVALUA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a vessel participates 
in a program, including the Shipboard Tech-
nology Evaluation Program established under 
section 1104, using a technology approved by the 
Secretary to test and evaluate promising ballast 
water treatment technologies that are likely to 
result in treatment technologies achieving a 
standard that is the same as or more stringent 
than the standard that applies under paragraph 
(1) before the first date on which paragraph (1) 
applies to that vessel, the Secretary shall allow 
the vessel to use that technology for a 10-year pe-
riod and such vessel shall be deemed to be in 
compliance with the requirements of paragraph 
(1) during that 10-year period. 
‘‘(B) VESSEL DIVERSITY.—The Secretary— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00122
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
123 
‘‘(i) shall seek to ensure that a wide 
variety of vessel types and voyages are in-
cluded in the program; but 
‘‘(ii) may not grant a delay under this 
paragraph to more than 5 percent of the 
vessels to which this section applies. 
‘‘(C) TERMINATION
OF
GRACE
PERIOD.— 
The Secretary may terminate the 10-year grace 
period of a vessel under subparagraph (A) if— 
‘‘(i) the participation of the vessel in 
the program is terminated without the con-
sent of the Secretary; 
‘‘(ii) the vessel does not comply with 
manufacturer’s standards for operating the 
ballast water treatment technology used on 
such vessel; or 
‘‘(iii) the Secretary determines that the 
approved technology is insufficiently effec-
tive or is causing harm to the environment. 
‘‘(8) REVIEW OF STANDARDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In December 2012 and 
every third year thereafter, the Secretary shall 
complete review of ballast water treatment stand-
ards in effect under this subsection to determine, 
after consultation with the Administrator and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00123
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
124 
the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies 
determined by the Secretary, if the standards 
under this subsection should be revised to reduce 
the amount of organisms or microbes allowed to 
be discharged, taking into account improvements 
in the scientific understanding of biological proc-
esses leading to the spread of aquatic nuisance 
species and improvements in ballast water treat-
ment technology. The Secretary shall revise, by 
regulation, the requirements of this subsection as 
necessary. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION
OF
ADJUSTED
STAND-
ARDS.—In the regulations, the Secretary shall 
provide for the prospective application of the ad-
justed standards issued under this paragraph to 
vessels constructed after the date on which the 
adjusted standards apply and for an orderly 
phase-in of the adjusted standards to existing 
vessels. 
‘‘(9) HIGH-RISK VESSELS.— 
‘‘(A) VESSEL
LIST.—Not later than one 
year after the date of enactment of the Ballast 
Water Treatment Act of 2007, the Secretary shall 
publish and regularly update a list of vessels 
identified by the States that, due to factors such 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00124
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
125 
as the origin of their voyages, the frequency of 
their voyages, the volume of ballast water they 
carry, the biological makeup of the ballast water, 
and the fact that they frequently discharge bal-
last water under an exception to subsection (e), 
pose a high risk of introducing aquatic nuisance 
species into the waters of those States. 
‘‘(B) INCENTIVE PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 
shall give priority to vessels on the list for par-
ticipation in a program described in paragraph 
(7). Any Federal agency, and any State agency 
with respect to vessels identified by such State to 
the Secretary for inclusion on a list under sub-
paragraph (A), may develop and implement 
technology development programs or other incen-
tives (whether positive or negative) in order to 
encourage the adoption of ballast water treat-
ment technology by those vessels consistent with 
the requirements of this section on an expedited 
basis. 
‘‘(10) NONAPPLICABILITY
OF
VESSELS
OPER-
ATING EXCLUSIVELY IN DETERMINED AREA.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (D), paragraph (1) does not apply 
to a vessel that operates exclusively within an 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00125
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS