SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Comments

We encourage you to submit comments (or related material) on the retrospective analysis. We will consider all submissions and may adjust our final report based on your comments. If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation.

Submitting comments. We encourage you to submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov. To do so, go to https://www.regulations.gov, type USCG-2026-0111 in the search box and click “Search.” Next, look for this document in the Search Results column, and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. If your material cannot be submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions.

Viewing material in docket. To view documents mentioned in this notice as being available in the docket, find the docket as described in the previous paragraph, and then select “Supporting & Related Material” in the Document Type column. Public comments will also be placed in our online docket and can be viewed by following instructions on the https://www.regulations.gov Frequently Asked Questions web page.

Personal information. We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to https://www.regulations.gov will include any personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and submissions in response to this document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020).

Discussion

The Coast Guard is making available the “Retrospective Analysis of USCG 2012 Ballast Water Discharge Standards,” prepared by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. A copy of this report is available in the docket where indicated under the “Public Participation and Comments” section of this notice. In 2012, the Coast Guard issued a rule titled “Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters” (77 FR 17254, March 23, 2012) (2012 rule) to reduce the introduction and spread of non-indigenous species (NIS) via ballast water.

This retrospective analysis serves two primary purposes:

1. Update 2012 RIA Parameters: It updates key parameters used in the 2012 rule Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) using new data sources developed over the last decade, including the CABI Invasive Species Compendium, the Smithsonian's National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System (NEMESIS), and the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (NBIC).

2. Reevaluate Costs and Benefits: It reevaluates the costs and benefits of the 2012 rule by leveraging historical data on Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) adoption and NIS establishment.

Key findings of the report indicate that the 2012 rule is likely to be net beneficial in the long term. While the analysis found that equipping the fleet with BWMS involved significant upfront costs, particularly for retrofitting, the annual benefits of avoided NIS accumulation are projected to grow and eventually surpass annual costs by the year 2050. This finding was robust to a variety of sensitivity cases.

We request your comments on the data, methodology, and findings presented in the Retrospective Analysis. We request comments on the estimated invasion rates, BWMS cost models, and the assumptions regarding fleet growth and retrofitting costs.

This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552, Executive Order 12866, and OMB Circular A-4.

91 FR 35491