Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) Stakeholder Engagement Opportunities
The EPA is committed to stakeholder outreach and engagement throughout regulatory development. As such, the agency hosted both pre- and post-proposal engagement opportunities for stakeholders to learn about and inform the development of the new national standards of performance that were ultimately promulgated in 2024. The agency also consulted with Governors, states and federally-recognized Tribes during the course of the rulemaking.
On this page:
Public Meetings and Webinars
November 2023 - Virtual Public Meetings for Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
On October 18, 2023, the EPA published a Supplemental Notice to the Vessel Incidental Discharge National Standards of Performance for a 60-day public comment period. The Supplemental Notice shared new ballast water data that the EPA received from the U.S. Coast Guard since the proposed rule and discussed additional regulatory options for ballast tanks, hulls and associated niche areas, and graywater systems that the EPA was considering for the final rule.
During the comment period, the EPA hosted two virtual public meetings (November 8 and 16, 2023) to introduce the Supplemental Notice, highlight additional regulatory options that the EPA was considering for the final rule and provide information on the comment submission process. The same information was be presented at both meetings.
Presentation Slides: Presentation on Vessel Incidental Discharge National Standards of Performance - Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (pdf)
Recordings:
November 2020 - Virtual Public Meetings for Post-Proposal Outreach
On October 26, 2020, the EPA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a 30-day public comment period. The proposed rule included proposed national standards of performance pursuant to the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act.
During the comment period, the EPA hosted three virtual public meetings (November 9, 10 and 17, 2020) to introduce the proposed rule, highlight changes from existing requirements and provide information on the public comment submission process. The same information was presented at all three meetings.
Presentation Slides: EPA Public Meeting Presentation on Vessel Incidental Discharge Proposed Rule (pdf)
Recordings:
Background Presentation Slides: Introduction to the EPA Proposed Vessel Incidental Discharge National Standards of Performance (pdf) .
May 2019 - In-Person 2-Day Listening Session for Pre-Proposal Outreach
During the development of the proposed rule, the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard hosted a two-day in-person listening session (May 29-30, 2019) at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY to provide a general overview of VIDA and a summary of regulatory considerations for specific incidental discharges, including an opportunity for public input.
Agenda: VIDA Listening Session Agenda (pdf)
Presentation Slides: VIDA Public Listening Session Discharge Presentations (pdf)
May 2019 - Webinars for Pre-Proposal Outreach
During the development of the proposed rule, the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard also hosted two webinars (May 7 and 15, 2019) to provide a general overview of VIDA, discuss interim and future discharge requirements, describe future state and public engagement opportunities and answer clarifying questions raised by the audience.
Recordings:
- May 7, 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDaptqGwJdQ&feature=youtu.be
- May 15, 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC1bCcGekoc&feature=youtu.be
Presentation Slides: VIDA Overview (pdf)
Consultations
During the rulemaking process, the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard also consulted with Governors, states and federally-recognized Tribes. Detailed documentation of the consultations is available in the docket associated with this rulemaking on Regulations.gov (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0482).
Federalism Consultation:
Pursuant to the terms of Executive Order 13132, the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a federalism consultation briefing on July 9, 2019, in Washington, D.C., to allow states and local officials to have meaningful and timely input into the EPA rulemaking for the development of the national standards of performance.
After the public comment period concluded for the proposed rule, the EPA met with state representatives to discuss topics of interest between June and October 2021 to inform the development of the Supplemental Notice and final rule.
Governors Input Process:
Clean Water Act section 312(p)(4)(A)(iii)(II) directs the EPA to develop a process for soliciting input from interested Governors, including sharing information relevant to the process, to allow interested Governors to inform the development of the national standards of performance. On July 10 and 18, 2019, the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard, with the support and assistance of the National Governors Association, held meetings with Governor representatives to provide an overview of VIDA, discuss state authorities under VIDA and solicit input on a process that would meet both the statutory requirements and state needs.
The Governors’ input process included three regional, web-based forums for Governors and their representatives to inform the EPA on the challenges and concerns associated with existing requirements under the Vessel General Permit and discuss potential considerations for key discharges of interest. Additionally, the EPA held follow-up calls with representatives from the Great Lakes states on December 18, 2019, and with representatives from the West Coast states on January 15, 2020, to address comments submitted to the EPA.
Tribal Consultation:
The EPA also consulted with Tribal officials under the EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes early in developing this regulation to allow Tribes to have meaningful and timely input into its development. The EPA held an informational webinar for Tribal representatives on July 11, 2019. As requested by the Region 10 Regional Tribal Operations Committee, the EPA also provided an overview of VIDA during the committee call on July 18, 2019. In addition, the EPA held one consultation meeting with the leadership of a Tribe, at the Tribe’s request, to obtain pre-proposal input and answer questions regarding the forthcoming rule.
Several Tribes requested additional consultation in comments submitted during the public comment period of the proposed rule. As such, the EPA offered additional consultation opportunities to those Tribes and ultimately met with Tribal representatives of the Gun Lake Tribe and Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority in September and October 2021, respectively, to inform development of the Supplemental Notice and final rule.