Effective from June 30, 2019, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will stop accepting Fuel Oil Non-Availability Reports (FONARs). Failure to make the notifications required by MARPOL Annex VI, 18.2.4 may result in a vessel control and/or enforcement action.
After attending the VIDA webinar the EPA and the USCG co-arranged, Mouawad Consulting has summarised the latest information. Some of the highlights of the discussion regard the fact that the new regulation is not expected to be enforced before December 2022, and that standards are likely to be technology-based and not risk-based.
On March 12, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced enforcement actions involving $530,199 in fines and more than 10,000 engines and vehicles imported into the US. These actions are the result of joint operations between EPA and the US Customs and Border Protection at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, to identify foreign-made engines and vehicles that do not have proper emission controls.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is awarding a grant of US$400,000 to the Alabama State Port Authority in Mobile, Ala., to support efforts to reduce diesel emissions and exposure by replacing one 1982 locomotive with a Tier IV locomotive engine.
Trident Seafoods Corporation has agreed to limit emissions of ozone-depleting substances from refrigeration equipment on its ships, under a proposed settlement with the US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Justice to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. The company will also pay a $900,000 civil penalty.
The 2013 Vessel General Permit that replaced the 2008 Vessel General Permit, has incorporated a new requirements for a submission of an electronically annual report by February 28th covering activities conducted from January 1st, till December 31, of previous year.
On December 4, 2018, US President Trump signed the USCG Authorization Act, S. 140, a new bill which includes measures for USCG operations while incorporates the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act. Namely, with this act, USCG is required to draft a policy letter for testing BWMS within 180 days, followed by a 90 day comment period. Totally, the USCG has 360 days after the date of enactment of the Act to come up with a final policy. What is more, this bill has wide implications on US EPA VGP, due in March 2019.
The US Environmental Protection Agency released its 2017 GHG data collected under the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. US EPA indicated an overall reduction across sectors and that total US greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 2.7% from 2016 to 2017.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has further delayed the release of its new Vessel General Permit (VGP 3.0), which was originally scheduled to be issued for comment in late 2017, but is now expected to be made available in March 2019 – with at least a 30-day comment period.
The Icebreaker Wind energy project proposed for Lake Erie has received a Section 401 water quality certificate of approval by Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency, confirming compliance with marine pollution standards, and marking further a step towards the project implementation.
