TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- The Obama administration will reconsider a federal permit for oceangoing ships that critics say fails to prevent invasive species from entering the Great Lakes, the new chief of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.
Lisa Jackson also told officials and activists from the region the administration would honor President Obama's campaign pledge to pump more federal money into Great Lakes restoration, despite the staggering budget deficit.
EPA in December released a general permit for cargo vessels entering the lakes or other U.S. waters from overseas. It includes rules for 26 types of discharges, such as ballast, oily bilge water and "gray water" from showers and sinks.
Breaking with the Bush administration, Jackson said the permit "doesn't begin to address some of the concerns that are out there."
"I don't have an answer for you today but I want to you know that's very much on my radar screen," she said during a meeting of the Great Lakes Commission in Washington, D.C.
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No matter what the EPA does, both Minnesota and Wisconsin are moving ahead with their own state plans to regulate ballast water, although regulators in both states said they would prefer a single, comprehensive federal plan.
The Minnesota plan requires permits for all ships entering Minnesota waters starting this year and requires ballast treatment for nearly all ships by 2016. The Wisconsin plan, unveiled last week, affects only saltwater ships and requires ballast treatment by 2013.
Ballast water, which keeps vessels stable in rough seas, is a leading pathway for zebra mussels and other aquatic invaders, which have overwhelmed native species and cost billions in economic damage.
The EPA permit requires vessels heading for U.S. ports with full ballast tanks to exchange the water at least 200 miles from shore. Ships with empty tanks must rinse them with saltwater to kill freshwater organisms lurking in residual puddles or sediment.
But those measures already had been required by Canada and the U.S. Coast Guard, and critics say they still could let some invasives get through.
Several environmental groups sued EPA last month, saying the permit did not meet requirements of the Clean Water Act. They want shippers to install systems for sterilizing tanks, which the maritime industry says are being developed but remain unavailable.
Activists praised Jackson's promise to revisit the issue.
"She recognizes what everyone in the Great Lakes knows: the permit was nowhere close to good enough," said Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United, a U.S.-Canadian group.
