BY JOHN O'BRIEN SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Six Great Lakes states have won a court order prohibiting oceangoing freight ships from discharging ballast water -- without a permit.
The decision, affirmed Wednesday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, requires freighters to comply with the federal Clean Water Act. Ballast water discharges occur when a vessel is moved from one body of water to another and the old water it carries is released in the new body of water.
onsin, Illinois and Michigan) contributed.

AP SAN FRANCISCO—A federal appeals judge says the US Environmental Protection Agency must regulate the water discharged from ships to prevent invasion by

ALBANY—The Attorney General’s office has announced what they deem a major victory in its efforts to protect New York state’s Great Lakes from environmental damage caused by the dumping of contaminated ballast water by large commercial ships.
New York, together with five other Great Lakes states and several environmental groups, won a court decision stipulating that large vessels and other oceangoing freight ships can no longer discharge pollutant-containing ballast water without a permit.
ter Act. Beginning Sept. 30, ships will no longer be able to discharge pollutant-containing ballast water without a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA

ALBANY, NY (07/23/2008; - A federal appeals court today upheld New York's challenge to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's failure to set stringent standards for the discharge of ballast water by ocean-going ships, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today.
"This is a critical victory that will help protect our waters from invasive species and their damaging impacts to our environment and economy," Commissioner Grannis said. "Today we renew our call for EPA to uphold its responsibility under the law and implement effective controls to address these present and growing threats to our native ecosystems."
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