Washington Administrative Code
Title 220 - Fish and Wildlife, Department of
ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS AND CONSERVATION
Chapter 220-650 - Ballast water
Section 220-650-070 - Interim open sea exchange requirements

(1) Purpose.Until otherwise required to meet performance standards under WAC 220-650-090 and prior to discharging ballast water into Washington waters, vessel owners or operators must exchange their ballast water to meet or exceed state interim open sea exchange requirements or use an approved exchange alternative. An open sea exchange is intended to reduce the number of higher risk coastal organisms in a ballast tank by replacing them with open sea organisms that are less likely to invade waters of the state, and by changing the salinity and other ambient water conditions to further reduce populations of remaining coastal species. Vessel owners or operators who do not discharge ballast water into waters of the state are exempt from this section but must continue to meet the reporting and other requirements under WAC 220-650-030.

(2) Open sea exchange methodology.

(3) Open sea exchange areas.

(4) Common water exemption. Vessels voyaging from a port within the common water zone to a port in Washington state are exempt from having to conduct a ballast water exchange if the ballast water and sediment originated solely from a valid exchange prior to entering the common waters or from uptake within an area that includes only the waters of Washington state, the Oregon portions of the Columbia River system, and the internal waters of British Columbia south of latitude fifty degrees north, including the waters of the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca (Figure 1). The common waters area relates only to vessels voyaging to a Washington state port or place from another Washington state port or place, or from designated Canadian and Oregon waters to waters of the state. It does not imply or provide any regulatory authority for vessels voyaging from waters of the state to Oregon and Canadian waters, or voyages to or between Canada and Oregon. Please refer to Canadian and Oregon ballast water laws for their requirements.

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(5) Safety exemptions. Nothing in this chapter relieves the vessel owner or operator from ensuring the safety and stability of the vessel, its crew, or its passengers. A vessel owner or operator is not required to conduct an open sea exchange, in part or in full, if the vessel owner or operator determines that the operation would threaten the safety of the vessel, its crew, or its passengers. In these situations, the vessel operator must file a ballast water reporting form and is subject to all other provisions under WAC 220-650-030(4).

(6) Alternative discharge areas. The department, in consultation with states of concurrent waters, may identify alternative discharge areas as promulgated by department policy.

(7) Prohibited discharge areas. A vessel may not discharge ballast water or sediment within a marine protected or conservation area as designated under chapter 220-16 WAC.