The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act of 2018 (VIDA) was passed into law as part of the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 and established the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain Invasive Species Program (GLLCISP). The GLLCISP has several stated purposes related to ballast water management including:
- Early detection monitoring of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) within the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain Systems;
- Rapid response to ANS introduction and transport within the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain Systems;
- Monitor ballast water operations likely to be contributing to the introduction or spread of ANS; and
- Develop, achieve type approval for, and pilot shipboard or land-based ballast water management systems (BWMS) applicable to commercial vessels operating solely within the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain Systems.
To address some of the stated purposes of GLLCISP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD). The Lake Superior Research Institute’s Great Waters Research Collaborative (LSRI-GWRC), in collaboration with MARAD, have prepared a Great Lakes Ballast Water Research and Development Plan (R&D Plan). The primary goal of this R&D Plan is to identify approaches, methods, and best available technologies that are effective at reducing propagules in Great Lakes ballast water, thereby decreasing the environmental risk associated with the ballast water vector from vessels operating within the Great Lakes System. The first year of R&D Plan implementation is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Stakeholder Group Involvement
Project 1: Stakeholder Group Formation and Kick-Off
- The R&D Plan Stakeholder Group is comprised of 26 representatives from U.S. and Canadian federal entities, Great Lakes states, binational organizations, U.S. and Canadian shipping companies, the ballast water equipment manufacturing industry, Great Lakes ports, St. Lawrence Seaway organizations, non-governmental/non-profit organizations, and academia.
- The R&D Plan Stakeholder Group Kick-Off Meeting was held via video conference on 06 January 2021. The first meeting of the Research Area Project Planning Teams was held concurrently with this meeting.
Project 2: Formation of the Data Working Group
- The R&D Plan Data Working Group consists of 17 organizations with representatives from the larger Stakeholder Group.
- The inaugural meeting of the Data Working Group was held 06 January 2021 in conjunction with the R&D Plan Stakeholder Group Kick-Off Meeting.