585 
the Secretary, the operator may re-
quest a waiver from the Secretary and 
discharge the ballast water in accord-
ance with paragraph (6). A request for 
a waiver under this subparagraph 
shall be submitted to the Secretary at 
such time and in such form and man-
ner as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(B) SUBSTANTIAL
BUSINESS
HARD-
SHIP.—For purposes of subparagraph 
(A), the factors taken into account in 
determining 
substantial 
business 
hardship shall include whether— 
‘‘(i) compliance with the re-
quirements of paragraph (3)(B) 
would require a sufficiently great 
change in routing or scheduling of 
service as to compromise the eco-
nomic or commercial viability of 
the trade or business in which the 
vessel is operated; or 
‘‘(ii) it is reasonable to expect 
that the trade or business or serv-
ice provided will be continued 
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586 
only if a waiver is granted under 
subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(6) PERMISSIBLE DISCHARGE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The discharge 
of ballast water shall be considered to 
be carried out in accordance with this 
paragraph if it is— 
‘‘(i) in an area designated for 
that purpose by the Secretary, 
after consultation with the Under 
Secretary, the heads of other ap-
propriate Federal agencies as de-
termined by the Secretary, and 
representatives of any State that 
may be affected by discharge of 
ballast water in that area; or 
‘‘(ii) into a reception facility 
described in subsection (f)(2). 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION
ON
VOLUME.—The 
volume of any ballast water dis-
charged under this paragraph may 
not exceed the volume necessary to en-
sure the safe operation of the vessel. 
‘‘(7) CERTAIN GEOGRAPHICALLY LIMITED 
ROUTES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
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587 
the operator of a vessel is not required to 
comply with the requirements of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) if the vessel operates exclu-
sively— 
‘‘(i) within the Great Lakes; or 
‘‘(ii) between or among the 
main group of the Hawaiian Is-
lands; or 
‘‘(B) if the vessel operates exclu-
sively within any area with respect to 
which the Secretary has determined, 
after consultation with the Under Sec-
retary, the Administrator, and rep-
resentatives of States the waters of 
which would be affected by the dis-
charge of ballast water from the ves-
sel, that the risk of introducing aquat-
ic nuisance species through ballast 
water discharge in the areas in which 
the vessel operates is insignificant. 
‘‘(8) MARINE
SANCTUARIES
AND
OTHER 
PROHIBITED AREAS.—A vessel may not con-
duct ballast water exchange or discharge 
ballast water under this subsection— 
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588 
‘‘(A) within a national marine 
sanctuary designated under of the Na-
tional Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 
U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 
‘‘(B) in waters that are approved 
by the Administrator as a nondis-
charge zone under section 312(n)(7) of 
the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1322(n)(7)); or 
‘‘(C) in any other waters des-
ignated by the Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Under Secretary and the 
Administrator. 
‘‘(9) VESSELS
WITHOUT
PUMPABLE
BAL-
LAST WATER.— 
‘‘(A) APPLICABILITY
OF
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Ballast water exchange re-
quirements 
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 
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589 
180 days after the date of enactment 
of the Ballast Water Treatment Act of 
2007, that are intended to minimize 
the introduction of nuisance species 
from vessels that enter the navigable 
waters 
without 
pumpable 
ballast 
water, 
including 
the 
requirements 
that apply under subparagraph (A), 
and that are at least as stringent as 
the regulations in effect on the date of 
enactment such Act. 
‘‘(C) APPLICATION OF EXISTING REG-
ULATIONS.—The regulations issued by 
the Secretary under this section, as 
such regulations were in effect on the 
day before the date of enactment of 
the Ballast Water Treatment Act of 
2007, shall continue to apply to vessels 
without pumpable ballast water enter-
ing or operating on the navigable wa-
ters until the earlier of— 
‘‘(i) the date on which such 
vessels are required to conduct 
ballast water treatment, in ac-
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590 
cordance with the requirements of 
subsection (f); or 
‘‘(ii) the effective date of final 
regulations required under this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(f) BALLAST WATER TREATMENT REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—A ves-
sel to which this section applies shall con-
duct ballast water treatment in accord-
ance with the requirements of this sub-
section 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 micrometers in min-
imum dimension; 
‘‘(C) concentrations of indicator 
microbes that are less than— 
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