Great Waters Research Collaborative: Great Lakes Ship Ballast Monitoring Project

Abstract

This Technical Report, developed by the Great Waters Research Collaborative (GWRC), presents methods and findings from the Great Lakes Ship Ballast Monitoring Project (Project), a two-year effort supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Great Lakes Restoration Initiative via the Maritime Administration. The Lake Carriers’ Association requested that the GWRC team conduct this project to help it meet a requirement to execute a study evaluating risk associated with laker ballast water discharge in USEPA Vessel General Permit (VGP) 2013 Part 6.15.5.b., in response to Minnesota's 401 certification of VGP2013. The overarching goal of the Project was to characterize aquatic organism densities and community composition in Great Lakes ships’ ballast water (uptake and discharge) and analyze target species presence/absence in selected source water and receiving ports.