Federal Consistency Determination has been submitted to the Delaware Coastal Management Program for the following:

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing regulations under the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended by the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) of 2018, to establish national standards of performance for marine pollution control devices for discharges incidental to the normal operation of primarily commercial vessels at least 79 feet in length. The proposed rule would establish general and specific technology-based discharge standards of performance for approximately 82,000 domestic and international non-military and non-recreational vessels operating in the waters of the U.S. or waters of the contiguous zone. Discharges from commercial vessels have been regulated under the CWA Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System through the 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP). The principal effect of the VIDA is to transfer the authority for establishing discharge requirements for commercial vessels from the VGP program to the new uniform national regulation-based program under CWA Section 312(p). With limited exceptions, the VIDA requires the standards to be at least as stringent as the general requirements contained within the VGP.

Comments concerning this Federal Consistency Determination will be accepted for 20 days from the date of this notice. Comments may be sent to: Delaware Coastal Programs, Ms. Kimberly Cole, Administrator, 100 W. Water Street, Suite 7B, Dover, DE, 19904, or electronically to DNREC_DCP_PublicComment@delaware.gov. For additional information please call (302) 739-9283.

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