8.3 THE ROLE OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT IN BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT IN VICTORIA

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is the nominated lead Victorian agency for ballast water management in the State. The Committee notes, however, that in Victoria, ballast water management is divided between the EPA and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. The EPA has responsibility for prevention of organism introductions into Victoria (ie. at the barrier), while the Department is concerned with management of exotic marine pests once they have been introduced. The Committee discusses DNRE's role in the management of established exotic organisms more fully in Chapter 10.

8.3.1 Prevention of exotic organism introductions

The Environment Protection Authority is established through the Environment Protection Act 1970. The Act defines the EPA's powers, duties and functions, and provides a number of tools used by the EPA, to prevent pollution, minimise wastes and manage other risks to the environment³⁹⁰ The EPA's role in the marine environment includes the development of Statutory State Environment Protection Policies (SEPP's) for the marine environment, and the prevention of marine pollution generally³⁹¹ There are a number of SEPP's which contain specific provisions for the marine environment. These are the;

· Waters of Victoria;
· Waters of Port Phillip Bay; and
· Waters of Westernport Bay and Catchment³⁹²

Currently, SEPP's do not specifically address the issues of exotic organism transfer and ballast water discharge, however, in its submission to the Committee's Inquiry, the EPA states that:

...the beneficial uses and objectives outlined in SEPP's on the marine environment would be breached by any widespread establishment of exotic organisms³⁹³

The EPA also monitors the quality of marine and estuarine waters and conducts research into and reports on the Victorian marine environment generally.

As the lead Victorian agency for ballast water issues, the EPA represents Victoria on the following bodies:

· Australian Ballast Water Management Advisory Council (ABWMAC);
· Australian Ballast Water Research Advisory Group (ABWRAG);
· Coastal Ballast Water Guidelines Working Group (CBBGWG);
· Australian and New Zealand Environmental Conservation Council (ANZECC) (through ANZECC's Maritime Accidents and Pollution Implementation Group); and the
· Victorian Ballast Water Committee (VBWC).

The Victorian Ballast Water Committee comprises:

· Environment Protection Authority (chair);
· Department of Natural Resources and Environment;
· Victorian Channels Authority;
· Department of Human Services; and
· AQIS.

Through cooperation between and joint funding by the EPA, Victorian Channels Authority and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Victorian Ballast Water Committee has initiated a study of ballast water movements through Victoria's ports³⁹⁴ In addition, port surveys for exotic organisms have been carried out in the ports of Hastings and Portland, and a survey of the Port of Geelong is planned for the 1977/78 financial year³⁹⁵

The Victorian Ballast Water Committee has secured the agreement of Shell Australia to develop a trial on-board ship ballast water management plan for one of its vessels³⁹⁶ This will be the first trial application of such an on-board ballast management plan. The plan was developed by the international shipping community as one of the components of the proposed ballast water management Annex to the MARPOL Convention.

During the course of its investigations for this Inquiry, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee visited Hobart to speak to various scientists, industry and government agencies. Following the Committee's visit and subsequent Ministerial requests, a joint meeting of the Victorian and Tasmanian Ballast Water Committees was convened. Outcomes of this meeting included recommendations that³⁹⁷

· Victoria and Tasmania develop port ballast water management plans for Tasmanian and Victorian ports;
· ballast water management plans be drawn up for ships which trade regularly across Bass Strait; and that
· port surveys for marine pests of Tasmanian and Victorian ports are completed.

Victoria and Tasmania subsequently discussed a proposal for trial port ballast management plans between Melbourne and Burnie, and submitted the proposal to the Coastal Ballast Water Guidelines Working Group and the Australian Ballast Water Management Advisory Council. South Australia also expressed its interest in participating in the trials³⁹⁸ As mentioned previously, AQIS are now seeking funding for implementation of the trials.

Although the EPA is responsible for managing the ballast discharges of coastal ships visiting Victoria (with AQIS having responsibility for international shipping), there are no formal protocols for carrying out these management responsibilities. In Victoria, as in all other Australian states and territories, there is no formal monitoring or regulatory scheme in place for ballast water discharges from coastal shipping.

The EPA has, nevertheless, prevented a vessel from discharging ballast in Victorian waters. When informed that a coastal ship en route to Melbourne from Hobart was suspected of carrying ballast containing northern Pacific sea star larvae, the EPA issued a Minor Works Pollution Abatement Notice³⁹⁹ The vessel did not discharge ballast in Victoria. The Committee further discusses the use of such notices in Chapter 5.2.3.

8.3.2 Summary

The EPA is Victoria's lead agency for ballast water issues and represents Victoria on a number of national and State bodies. In conjunction with the Victorian Channels Authority, Victorian ports and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the EPA has provided financial and other support for Victorian port surveys and a major research project into the movement of ballast into Victorian ports.
The EPA has responsibility for prevention of organism introductions at the barrier, and has legislative powers through the Environment Protection Act 1970 to manage ballast water in Victoria.

No formal monitoring or regulatory schemes are currently in place for ballast water discharges from coastal shipping in Victoria. The EPA has once prevented a vessel suspected of carrying contaminated ballast from discharging ballast into Port Phillip Bay.