Oswego, NY -- State regulations to increase the treatment of ballast water in international ships and Canadian lakers could cripple business at the Port of Oswego the port’s top official said Thursday. “We are not 100 percent dependent on our marine component, but we would see a significant dropoff of business,” port Executive Director Jonathan Daniels said. This would come...
Oswego, NY -- State regulations to increase the treatment of ballast water in international ships and Canadian lakers could cripple business at the Port of Oswego the port’s top official said Thursday.
“We are not 100 percent dependent on our marine component, but we would see a significant dropoff of business,” port Executive Director Jonathan Daniels said.
This would come after three years of increasing business — from about 850,000 tons to 1.1 million tons, he said.
The regulations were enacted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation in December 2008 and go into effect Jan. 1, 2012.
The DEC wants ballast water in ships treated at a level 100 times more than the International Maritime Organization requires to eliminate the presence of invasive species before the water is discharged into New York waterways.
“These regulations will protect us from invasive species and viruses and ongoing threats like Asian carp that test the ways to get into our state,” said Maureen Wren, speaking for the DEC. “We are looking at the long term protection of New York waters and the Great Lakes.”
Terry Johnson, administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, was in Oswego Thursday to discuss what he called the ill effects of the regulations on shipping at the Port of Oswego and other New York ports.
He said the regulations require shipping companies to spend from $500,000 to $4 million per ship to install water treatment equipment. He said the International Maritime Organization’s standards are sufficient.
“If the water was treated to IMO standards, (trying to find an invasive species) would be like trying to find 10 golf balls in 577 Empire State Buildings,” Johnson said.
Ballast water is taken in by a ship to provide stability or to keep its propeller at the proper water depth. Ships release some of the water as they move through a river or lake.
The DEC’s concern is this ballast water could contain species that are not native to New York waterways, such as zebra mussels and gobies, which can cut fish numbers and result in large growths of algae.
Daniels said the Port of Oswego is fortunate in that not all of its business comes from shipping. It also does rail and trucking business. But he said 95 percent of the ships coming into the Port of Oswego would be subject to the regulations.
The Port of Oswego and others sued the DEC concerning the regulations, but lost.
The Port of Oswego employs 100 people and has a wider annual economic impact of more than $6 million, Daniels said.