![]() Generally speaking, penalties arising from non-compliance with regulations like the VGP scheme are not covered under a ship’s P&I insurance. Vessels that do not comply with their discharge permits can have significant environmental impacts on US waterways, says the EPA, and adds that because VGP compliance relies on self-inspection and reporting, violations of this kind are considered to undermine the VGP program and are therefore taken very seriously.Įasy to follow procedures are key to VGP compliance Similarly, penalties totalling USD 15,000 were levied against a bulk carrier that had failed to perform monthly functionality monitoring and an annual calibration of the ballast water treatment system before discharging ballast water into VGP waters, and to conduct the required biological monitoring of samples taken during the discharge. A container ship was fined USD 66,474 for failing to conduct routine visual inspections and submit timely annual reports during the period 2016 through 2019. ![]() While the consequence for our member in this particular case is not yet clear, we are aware that significant financial penalties have been issued in the recent past for similar violations of the VGP scheme.įor instance, in November 2021 the EPA announced that it had levied penalties totalling USD 81,474 against two commercial ships over VGP inspection, monitoring, and reporting violations. The EPA claimed that the named vessels had not completed their annual reports nor recorded non-compliances and corrective actions as required in order to maintain their permits. ![]() Not long ago, a Gard member was notified by the EPA that three of its vessels had violated the inspection and reporting requirements under the VGP scheme. On the contrary, the agency seems to have strengthened its inspection and enforcement efforts to ensure compliance with the extended VGP scheme and warns that non-compliance can result in significant penalties. The delayed implementation of new federal discharge standards in the US does not mean leniency and lack of commitment by the EPA. Is the EPA strengthening its VGP enforcement efforts? Thus, if the USCG spends the full two years to finalise the corresponding enforcement standards, the current 2013 VGP scheme will remain in force until 2026. A recent announcement on the EPA website indicates that a final rule on the discharge standards may be ready in the autumn of 2024. While EPA did issue a notice of proposed rulemaking in October 2020, a final rule on new discharge standards has still not been promulgated – which also means that a complete replacement scheme for the VGP is still some time away. VIDA also specifies that the provisions of the 2013 VGP will continue to apply until EPA and the USCG publishes their final regulations, regardless of how long that takes, and that the permit cannot be modified during that time. ![]() VIDA gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) two years to develop new national discharge standards for vessels and the US Coast Guard (USCG) another two years to develop regulations and best management practices to implement and enforce those standards. ![]() The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) was signed into US law in December 2018, intending to replace the Vessel General Permit (VGP) scheme and streamline the patchwork of federal, state, and local requirements for the commercial vessel community. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |