LAWS AND POLICIES

Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (NANCPA)
This Act was the first piece of national legislation to specifically tackle aquatic invasive species in a comprehensive way. The large-scale ecologic and economic costs associated with the zebra mussel invasion prompted the legislation in an effort to prevent future invasions and mitigate the effects of current invasions. NANCPA gave the Coast Guard the authority to regulate ballast water management in the Great Lakes. NANCPA also established the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to coordinate actions regarding invasive species. Additionally, it created programs for monitoring, preventing, and managing invasive aquatic invasions across the United States. (23)
National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA)
NISA re-authorized and broadened the scope of NANCPA. The Act expanded the ballast management program beyond the Great Lakes with the creation of voluntary (and later mandatory, as of September 2004) ballast water exchange program with mandatory reporting for vessels entering U.S. waters. It also authorized a dispersal barrier in the Chicago Shipping and Sanitary Canal to prevent invasive species from moving between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River system.(23)

National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2003 (proposed)
This reauthorization of NISA was introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives in 2003. The Bills were sent to the House and Senate committees and subcommittees but have not been acted upon since March 2003. The Act would require mandatory ballast water management and impose interim performance standards for BWE and BWT. NAISA also addresses intentional species introduction by creating a screening process to for the importation of live aquatic organisms. Researchers would work to identify and manage other pathways according to the risk of species introduction.

Other provisions include increasing funding for the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal Dispersal Barrier Project, education and outreach programs to inform the public of the mechanisms for transporting invasive species (including fouling organisms on recreational boat hulls and dumping bait buckets), funding for early detection and rapid response efforts, and funding for continuous ecological surveys for monitoring invasive species. (23)
 

Bilateral Agreements
The United States works with Canada through the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), the Great Lakes Commission, and the International Joint Commission (IJC). These bilateral efforts address the management of invasive species in a number of ways. The CEC’s “Closing the Pathways of Aquatic Invasive Species across North America” project focused on improving ballast water management. The Great Lakes Commission has worked to coordinate international ballast water management efforts through the “Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species.” The IJC, established by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, addresses the use and quality of boundary waters, including invasive species management.