Bill Aims to Block Exotic Species Carried in Ships’ Ballast

In an effort to check the advance of harmful foreign species in the state’s harbors and waterways, Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation Friday that will require cargo ships to exchange their ballast water at sea before entering California ports.

The measure, sponsored by Assemblyman Ted Lempert (D- San Carlos), represents the first time a state has created a program to control exotic species that can enter the environment when a ship discharges ballast water it took on in a foreign port.

Ballast is usually released or taken on in port to balance and trim cargo ships during loading and unloading. Large freighters can carry millions of gallons of ballast water, some of it containing potentially disruptive life forms.

“This is the strongest measure in the nation, and it gets us into the issue in a serious way,” Lempert said. “The problem has been steadily increasing over the years.”

The measure, which is a compromise with the shipping industry, calls for the mandatory mid-ocean exchange of ballast water or the use of an equivalent treatment procedure before entering a California port. Exemptions will be granted for safety reasons, such as heavy seas.

Lempert’s bill further requires a host of “good housekeeping” practices to minimize the intake of contaminated ballast, studies to assess the program’s effectiveness, and research funded by the shipping industry to find ways to treat ballast water.

Responsibility for implementing the legislation will rest with the State Lands Commission, whose staff already inspects vessels on pollution-related matters. The program begins Jan. 1, and ends after four years.

“If we are part of the problem, then we want to be part of the solution,” said Kenny Levin, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Assn., which represents major shipping lines. “It has been a long hard fight.”

Although nonnative species arrive by a variety of means, ballast water is a common way exotic animals, microorganisms, bacteria and diseases from the world can reach domestic ports and waterways.

Once released, certain species can create havoc with native aquatic life, fisheries and water systems that supply farms, power plants, industry and metropolitan areas.

In the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, surveys have identified at least 46 nonnative species, but harbor officials say those animals have not caused any problems yet.

The most serious problems in California have been reported in the San Francisco Bay Area, where a host of foreign clams and crabs have disrupted food supplies for native species and burrowed into levees. More than 200 exotic species have been identified there.