566 
SEC. 419. COAST GUARD ASSETS FOR UNITED STATES VIR-
GIN ISLANDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security may station additional Coast 
Guard assets in the United States Virgin Is-
lands for port security and other associated 
purposes. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary for fiscal year 2008 such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this section. 
TITLE V—BALLAST WATER 
TREATMENT 
SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Ballast 
Water Treatment Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 502. DECLARATION OF GOALS AND PURPOSES. 
Section 1002 of the Nonindigenous Aquatic 
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 
(16 U.S.C. 4701) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as 
subsection (c); 
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) 
the following: 
‘‘(b) DECLARATION
OF
GOALS
AND
PUR-
POSES.—The objective of this Act is to eliminate 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00566
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
567 
the threat and impacts of nonindigenous 
aquatic nuisance species in the waters of the 
United States. In order to achieve this objec-
tive, it is declared that, consistent with the 
provisions of this Act— 
‘‘(1) it is the national goal that ballast 
water discharged into the waters of the 
United States will contain no living (via-
ble) organisms by the year 2015; 
‘‘(2) it is the national policy that the 
introduction of nonindigenous aquatic 
nuisance species in the waters of the 
United States be prohibited; and 
‘‘(3) it is the national policy that Fed-
eral, State, and local governments and 
the private sector identify the most effec-
tive ways to coordinate prevention efforts, 
and harmonize environmentally sound 
methods to prevent, detect, monitor, and 
control nonindigenous aquatic nuisance 
species, in an expeditious manner.’’. 
(3) in subsection (c)(1) (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1) of this section)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘prevent’’ and in-
serting ‘‘eliminate’’; and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00567
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
568 
(B) by inserting ‘‘treatment’’ after 
‘‘ballast water’’; 
(4) in subsection (c)(2) (as so redesig-
nated)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘, detection, moni-
toring,’’ after ‘‘prevention’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘the zebra mussel 
and other’’; 
(5) in subsection (c)(3) (as so redesig-
nated)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘detect,’’ after 
‘‘prevent,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘from pathways 
other than ballast water exchange’’; 
(6) in subsection (c)(4) (as so redesig-
nated) by striking ‘‘, including the zebra 
mussel’’; and 
(7) in subsection (c)(5) (as so redesig-
nated)— 
(A) 
by 
inserting 
‘‘prevention,’’ 
after ‘‘in the’’; 
(B) by inserting a comma after 
‘‘management’’; and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00568
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
569 
(C) by striking ‘‘zebra mussels’’ 
and inserting ‘‘aquatic nuisance spe-
cies’’. 
SEC. 503. BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1101 of the Non-
indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and 
Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4711) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 1101. BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT. 
‘‘(a) VESSELS TO WHICH THIS SECTION AP-
PLIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5), this 
section applies to a vessel that— 
‘‘(A) is designed, constructed, or 
adapted to carry ballast water; and 
‘‘(B)(i) is a vessel of the United 
States; or 
‘‘(ii) is a foreign vessel that— 
‘‘(I) is en route to a United 
States port or place; or 
‘‘(II) has departed from a 
United States port or place and is 
within waters subject to the juris-
diction of the United States. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00569
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
570 
‘‘(2) PERMANENT
BALLAST
WATER
VES-
SELS.—This section does not apply to a 
vessel that carries all of its permanent 
ballast water in sealed tanks that are not 
subject to discharge. 
‘‘(3) ARMED FORCES VESSELS.— 
‘‘(A) EXEMPTION.—Except as pro-
vided in subparagraph (B), this sec-
tion does not apply to a vessel of the 
Armed Forces. 
‘‘(B) BALLAST
WATER
MANAGEMENT 
PROGRAM.—The Secretary and the Sec-
retary of Defense, after consultation 
with each other and with the Under 
Secretary and the heads of other ap-
propriate Federal agencies as deter-
mined by the Secretary, shall imple-
ment a ballast water management 
program, including the issuance of 
standards for ballast water exchange 
and treatment and for sediment man-
agement, for vessels of the Armed 
Forces under their respective jurisdic-
tions designed, constructed, or adapt-
ed to carry ballast water that are— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00570
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
571 
‘‘(i) consistent with the re-
quirements of this section, includ-
ing the deadlines established by 
this section; and 
‘‘(ii) at least as stringent as 
the requirements issued for such 
vessels under section 312 of the 
Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1322). 
‘‘(4) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
SMALL
REC-
REATIONAL VESSELS.—In applying this sec-
tion to recreational vessels less than 50 
meters in length that have a maximum 
ballast water capacity of 8 cubic meters, 
the Secretary may issue alternative meas-
ures for managing ballast water in a 
manner that is consistent with the re-
quirements of this section. 
‘‘(5) MARAD
VESSELS.—Subsection (f) 
does not apply to any vessel in the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet that is sched-
uled to be disposed of through scrapping 
or sinking. 
‘‘(b) UPTAKE
AND DISCHARGE
OF BALLAST 
WATER OR SEDIMENT.— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00571
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
572 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—The operator of a 
vessel to which this section applies may 
not conduct the uptake or discharge of 
ballast water or sediment in waters sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States except as provided in this section. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does 
not apply to the uptake or discharge of 
ballast water or sediment in the following 
circumstances: 
‘‘(A) The uptake or discharge is 
solely for the purpose of— 
‘‘(i) ensuring the safety of the 
vessel in an emergency situation; 
or 
‘‘(ii) saving a life at sea. 
‘‘(B) The uptake or discharge is 
accidental and the result of damage 
to the vessel or its equipment and— 
‘‘(i) all reasonable precautions 
to prevent or minimize ballast 
water 
and 
sediment 
discharge 
have been taken before and after 
the damage occurs, the discovery 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00572
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
573 
of the damage, and the discharge; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the owner or officer in 
charge of the vessel did not will-
fully or recklessly cause the dam-
age. 
‘‘(C) The uptake or discharge is 
solely for the purpose of avoiding or 
minimizing the discharge from the 
vessel of pollution that would other-
wise violate applicable Federal or 
State law. 
‘‘(D) The uptake or discharge of 
ballast water and sediment occurs at 
the same location where the whole of 
that ballast water and that sediment 
originated and there is no mixing 
with ballast water and sediment from 
another area that has not been man-
aged in accordance with the require-
ments of this section. 
‘‘(c) VESSEL BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT 
PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The operator of a 
vessel to which this section applies shall 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00573
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
574 
conduct all ballast water management op-
erations of that vessel in accordance with 
a ballast water management plan de-
signed to minimize the discharge of 
aquatic nuisance species that— 
‘‘(A) meets the requirements pre-
scribed by the Secretary by regulation; 
and 
‘‘(B) is approved by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL CRITERIA.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
may not approve a ballast water man-
agement plan unless the Secretary de-
termines that the plan— 
‘‘(i) describes in detail the ac-
tions to be taken to implement the 
ballast 
water 
management 
re-
quirements established under this 
section; 
‘‘(ii) describes in detail the 
procedures to be used for disposal 
of sediment at sea and on shore in 
accordance with the requirements 
of this section; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00574
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
575 
‘‘(iii) describes in detail safety 
procedures for the vessel and crew 
associated 
with 
ballast 
water 
management; 
‘‘(iv) designates the officer on 
board the vessel in charge of en-
suring that the plan is properly 
implemented; 
‘‘(v) contains the reporting re-
quirements for vessels established 
under this section and a copy of 
each form necessary to meet those 
requirements; and 
‘‘(vi) meets all other require-
ments prescribed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) FOREIGN
VESSELS.—The Sec-
retary may approve a ballast water 
management plan for a foreign vessel 
on the basis of a certificate of compli-
ance with the criteria described in 
subparagraph (A) issued by the ves-
sel’s country of registration in accord-
ance with regulations issued by the 
Secretary. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00575
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
576 
‘‘(3) COPY OF PLAN ON BOARD VESSEL.— 
The owner or operator of a vessel to which 
this section applies shall— 
‘‘(A) maintain a copy of the ves-
sel’s ballast water management plan 
on board at all times; and 
‘‘(B) keep the plan readily avail-
able for examination by the Secretary 
and the head of the appropriate agen-
cy of the State in which the vessel is 
located at all reasonable times. 
‘‘(d) 
VESSEL
BALLAST
WATER
RECORD 
BOOK.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The owner or oper-
ator of a vessel to which this section ap-
plies shall maintain, in English on board 
the vessel, a ballast water record book in 
which each operation of the vessel involv-
ing ballast water or sediment discharge is 
recorded in accordance with regulations 
issued by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—The ballast water 
record book— 
‘‘(A) shall be kept readily avail-
able for examination by the Secretary 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00576
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
577 
and the head of the appropriate agen-
cy of the State in which the vessel is 
located at all reasonable times; and 
‘‘(B) notwithstanding paragraph 
(1), may be kept on the towing vessel 
in the case of an unmanned vessel 
under tow. 
‘‘(3) RETENTION
PERIOD.—The ballast 
water record book shall be retained— 
‘‘(A) on board the vessel for a pe-
riod of 3 years after the date on which 
the last entry in the book is made; and 
‘‘(B) under the control of the ves-
sel’s owner for an additional period of 
3 years. 
‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—In the regulations 
issued under this section, the Secretary 
shall require, at a minimum, that— 
‘‘(A) each entry in the ballast 
water record book be signed and 
dated by the officer in charge of the 
ballast water operation recorded; 
‘‘(B) each completed page in the 
ballast water record book be signed 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00577
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
578 
and dated by the master of the vessel; 
and 
‘‘(C) the owner or operator of the 
vessel transmit such information to 
the Secretary regarding the ballast 
operations of the vessel as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(5) ALTERNATIVE
MEANS
OF
RECORD-
KEEPING.—The Secretary may provide, by 
regulation, for alternative methods of rec-
ordkeeping, including electronic record-
keeping, to comply with the requirements 
of this subsection. Any electronic record-
keeping method authorized by the Sec-
retary shall support the inspection and 
enforcement provisions of this Act and 
shall comply with applicable standards of 
the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology and the Office of Management 
and Budget governing reliability, integ-
rity, identity authentication, and non-
repudiation of stored electronic data. 
‘‘(e) BALLAST WATER EXCHANGE REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00578
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
579 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Until a vessel 
is required to conduct ballast water 
treatment in accordance with sub-
section (f), the operator of a vessel to 
which this section applies may not 
discharge ballast water in waters sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States, except after— 
‘‘(i) conducting ballast water 
exchange as required by this sub-
section, in accordance with regu-
lations issued by the Secretary; 
‘‘(ii) using ballast water treat-
ment technology that meets the 
performance standards of sub-
section (f); or 
‘‘(iii) 
using 
environmentally 
sound alternative ballast water 
treatment technology if the Sec-
retary determines that such treat-
ment technology is at least as ef-
fective as the ballast water ex-
change required by clause (i) in 
preventing and controlling the in-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00579
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
580 
troduction of aquatic nuisance 
species. 
‘‘(B) TECHNOLOGY
EFFICACY.—For 
purposes of this paragraph, a ballast 
water treatment technology shall be 
considered to be at least as effective 
as the ballast water exchange re-
quired by clause (i) in preventing and 
controlling 
the 
introduction 
of 
aquatice nuisance species if prelimi-
nary experiments prior to installation 
of the technology aboard the vessel 
demonstrate that the technology re-
moved or killed at least 98 percent of 
organisms larger than 50 microns. 
‘‘(2) GUIDANCE; 5-YEAR USAGE.— 
‘‘(A) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 
one year after the date of enactment of 
the Ballast Water Treatment Act of 
2007, the Secretary shall develop and 
issue guidance on technology that 
may 
be 
used 
under 
paragraph 
(1)(A)(iii). 
‘‘(B) 5-YEAR USAGE.—The Secretary 
shall allow a vessel using environ-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00580
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
581 
mentally-sound 
alternative 
ballast 
treatment 
technology 
under 
para-
graph (1)(A)(iii) to continue to use 
that technology for 5 years after the 
date on which the environmentally- 
sound alternative ballast water treat-
ment technology was first placed in 
service on the vessel or the date on 
which treatment requirements under 
subsection 
(f) 
become 
applicable, 
whichever is later. 
‘‘(3) EXCHANGE AREAS.— 
‘‘(A) VESSELS OUTSIDE THE UNITED 
STATES EEZ.—The operator of a vessel 
en route to a United States port or 
place from a port or place outside the 
waters subject to the jurisdiction of 
the United States shall conduct bal-
last water exchange— 
‘‘(i) 
before 
arriving 
at 
a 
United States port or place; 
‘‘(ii) at least 200 nautical 
miles from the nearest point of 
land; and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00581
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
582 
‘‘(iii) in water at least 200 me-
ters in depth. 
‘‘(B) COASTAL VOYAGES.—The oper-
ator of a vessel originating from a 
port or place within the United States 
exclusive economic zone, or from a 
port within 200 nautical miles of the 
United States in Canada, Mexico, or 
other ports designated by the Sec-
retary for purposes of this section, 
shall 
conduct 
ballast 
water 
ex-
change— 
‘‘(i) at least 50 nautical miles 
from the nearest point of land; 
and 
‘‘(ii) in water at least 200 me-
ters in depth. 
‘‘(4) SAFETY OR STABILITY EXCEPTION.— 
‘‘(A) 
SECRETARIAL
DETERMINA-
TION.—Paragraph (3) does not apply 
to the discharge of ballast water if the 
Secretary determines that compliance 
with that paragraph would threaten 
the safety or stability of the vessel, its 
crew, or is passengers. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00582
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
583 
‘‘(B) MASTER OF THE VESSEL DETER-
MINATION.—Paragraph (3) does not 
apply to the discharge of ballast 
water if the master of a vessel deter-
mines 
that 
compliance 
with 
that 
paragraph would threaten the safety 
or stability of the vessel, its crew, or 
its passengers because of adverse 
weather, equipment failure, or any 
other relevant condition. 
‘‘(C) 
NOTIFICATION
REQUIRED.— 
Whenever the master of a vessel is un-
able to comply with the requirements 
of paragraph (3) because of a deter-
mination made under subparagraph 
(B), the master of the vessel shall— 
‘‘(i) notify the Secretary as 
soon as practicable thereafter but 
no later than 24 hours after mak-
ing that determination and shall 
ensure that the determination, the 
reasons 
for 
the 
determination, 
and the notice are recorded in the 
vessel’s ballast water record book; 
and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00583
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
584 
‘‘(ii) undertake ballast water 
exchange 
in 
accordance 
with 
paragraph (6) if safety or stability 
concerns prevent undertaking bal-
last water exchange in the alter-
native area. 
‘‘(D) REVIEW OF CIRCUMSTANCES.—If 
the master of a vessel conducts a bal-
last water discharge under the provi-
sions of this paragraph, the Secretary 
shall review the circumstances to de-
termine whether the discharge met the 
requirements of this paragraph. The 
review under this clause shall be in 
addition to any other enforcement au-
thority of the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) DISCHARGE UNDER WAIVER.— 
‘‘(A) SUBSTANTIAL
BUSINESS
HARD-
SHIP WAIVER.—If, because of the short 
length of a voyage, the operator of a 
vessel is unable to discharge ballast 
water in accordance with the require-
ments of paragraph (3)(B) without 
substantial business hardship, as de-
termined under regulations issued by 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:01 Jan 31, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00584
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6204
E:\BILLS\H2830.RH
H2830
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS