eqc202311itemEslides

DETP/23/2004

Item E: Ballast Water Rulemaking (Action) DEQ proposes to extend the sunset date of its “exchange plus treatment" rule which requires commercial vessels carrying freshwater ballast sourced outside the Pacific Northwest to use a two-step management strategy in order to discharge that ballast in Oregon waters. The current rule has been adopted federally for application to the entire Pacific Coast, but is not yet in force. Delays in rule implementation at the federal level have created a scenario in which the federal requirement will not be in effect by the time Oregon's rule expires on Dec. 19, 2023. Extending the sunset of Oregon's state-level rule will prevent a regulatory gap until the federal rule is fully adopted.