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Article: Pollutants without half-lives: the role of federal environmental laws in controlling ballast water discharges of exotic species.
- Article from:
- Environmental Law
- Article date:
- January 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Used by ships to increase stability, ballast water is the largest source of
aquatic exotic (i.e., nonindigenous) species in the United States today.
Despite the catastrophic effects on native ecosystems, and the billions of
dollars in economic damage caused by exotic species, ballast water
discharges of exotic species are virtually unregulated by the federal
government. Surprisingly, this lack of federal regulation is not due to a
lack of federal law to apply. This Article asserts that the Clean Water
Act, Ocean Dumping Act, and Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 all restrict
unpermitted ballast water discharges. In addition, because exotic species
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