Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency needs to start regulating discharges from ships in U.S. waters.  Pete Springer reports.

In the Northwest, ballast water is blamed for the introduction of Chinese mitten crabs in the Columbia River.

Invasive species can clog intake pipes, harm commercial fishing, and destroy native habitat. 

Nina Bell is with Portland-based Northwest Environmental Advocates. 

That's one of the groups that petitioned the EPA to regulate discharges from ships. 

Bell says the ruling will affect all ship discharges -- not just ballast water.

Nina Bell: “There should be a reduction in chemicals and metals and what are called nutrients that cause a lot of problems, and human pathogens and those kind of things that are also forms of pollution that ships are allowed to discharge but regular businesses in this country are not.”

Bell says the clean-up of unregulated pollution and invasive species from ships costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars annually.