Newly proposed EPA rule would exempt offshore fishing vessels from pollution requirements

A proposed rule from the Environmental Protection Agency would exempt certain offshore seafood processing vessels from the Clean Water Act’s pollution discharge permitting requirements, reports Katie Reuther for KUCB. The Clean Water Act's requirements limit how much pollution permitted vessels can release into waters and in which bodies of water they can do so.

Under the Sept. 4 proposal, a vessel that is three miles offshore in federal waters and not attached to the seabed would be exempt.

"That means that most offshore seafood processors would no longer have to keep track of their pollution release,” Reuther writes. “However, an EPA spokesperson said in an email that other federal rules would still apply to offshore processors."

Because pollution emissions from these vessels would not be held to the same monitoring standards as they are now, the information available for public review may be reduced, Reuther writes.

The rule would apply nationwide, but would primarily affect 80 permit holders in Alaska, Washington and Oregon. If enacted, the EPA estimates it could save processors $1.7 million and the agency $50,000 in pollution monitoring and administrative costs.

Submissions for public comment are available here through Oct. 19.