New Law Addresses Ballast Water Discharge Standards

摘要

Prior to the political impasse that led to the partial U.S. government shutdown, Congress passed and the President signed The Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 on December 4, 2018. While the legislation authorized appropriations for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, it also contained the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), which changes the regulatory landscape for ballast water management in the U.S. by trying to address what some have called "an overlapping patchwork of federal and state regulations."