Ballast water.

The Marine Invasive Species Act, which generally applies to all vessels carrying or capable of carrying ballast water into the coastal waters of the state after operating outside of the coastal waters of the state and to all ballast water and associated sediments taken on a vessel, imposes specified requirements on the master, owner, operator, or person in charge of one of those vessels to minimize the uptake and release of nonindigenous species, including the removal of hull fouling organisms from the hull, piping, propellers, sea chests, and other submerged portions of a vessel on a regular basis, and the cleaning of the ballast tanks regularly to remove fouling organisms. The act defines terms for its purposes. This bill would define and refer to "biofouling" instead of "hull fouling" as the attachment or association of marine organisms to the "wetted," as defined, instead of "submerged" portion of a vessel or its appurtenances, including, but not limited to, sea chests, propellers, anchors, and associated chains. The bill, instead, would require the master, owner, operator, or person in charge of a vessel arriving at a California port or place to remove biofouling organisms from the hull, piping, propellers, sea chests, and other wetted portions of a vessel on a regular basis. Existing law provides that if an owner or operator of a vessel applies to install an experimental ballast water treatment system and the State Lands Commission approves that application on or before January 1, 2008, the commission would be required to deem the system to be in compliance with any future treatment standard adopted for a specified period of years. This bill would allow that system if the commission approves that application on or before January 1, 2016. The bill would make conforming changes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.