NEW YORK, July 15 (UPI) -- Seven Great Lakes states want the Coast Guard to control discharges of ballast water from oceangoing vessels to keep invasive species out of U.S. waterways.
The states -- New York, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- all border the Great Lakes, the world's largest source of surface fresh water. Invasive aquatic species like the lampreys, round goby, zebra mussel, spiny water flea and species of Asian carp are threatening the $4.5 billion Great Lakes fishery.
"Ballast water ought to be considered a significant pollutant," said New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. "The exotic species of fish, mussels and plants contained in these discharges multiply at fantastic rates and overwhelm our ecosystem."
Ballast water is used to balance large oceangoing vessels but can carry foreign organisms from port to port.
The states are challenging the U.S. EPA's decision to exempt ballast water discharges from federal water pollution rules.
