Section 1043.95 - Great Lakes provisionsThe provisions of this section apply for vessels operating exclusively in the Great Lakes.
(a) Notwithstanding other provisions of this part, the requirements of this part do not apply for vessels propelled by steam turbine engines or reciprocating steam engines (also known as steamships), provided they were propelled by steam engines and operated within the Great Lakes before October 30, 2009 and continue to operate exclusively within the Great Lakes.(b) The following exemption provisions apply for ships qualifying under paragraph (a) of this section: (1) The fuel-use requirements of this part do not apply through December 31, 2025, if we approved an exemption under this section before March 27, 2023 based on the use of replacement engines certified to applicable standards under 40 CFR part 1042 corresponding to the date the vessel entered dry dock for service. All other requirements under this part 1043 continue to apply to exempted vessels, including requirements related to bunker delivery notes.(2) A marine diesel engine installed to repower a steamship may be certified to the Tier II NOX standard instead of the Tier III NOX standard pursuant to Regulation 13 of Annex VI.(c) In cases of serious economic hardship, we may exempt Great Lakes vessels from the otherwise applicable fuel use requirements under this part. (1) To be eligible, you must demonstrate that all of the following are true:(i) Unusual circumstances exist that impose serious economic hardship and significantly affect your ability to comply.(ii) You have taken all reasonable steps to minimize the extent of the nonconformity.(iii) No other allowances are available under the regulations in this chapter to avoid the impending violation.(2) Send the Designated Certification Officer a written request for an exemption no later than January 1, 2014.(3) Applicants must provide, at a minimum, the following information: (i) Detailed description of existing contract freight rates, the additional operating costs attributed to complying with the regulations, any loan covenants or other requirements regarding vessel financial instruments or agreements.(ii) Bond rating of entity that owns the vessels in question (in the case of joint ventures, include the bond rating of the joint venture entity and the bond ratings of all partners; in the case of corporations, include the bond ratings of any parent or subsidiary corporations).(iii) Estimated capital investment needed to comply with the requirements of this part by the applicable date.(4) In determining whether to grant the exemptions, we will consider all relevant factors, including the following:(i) The number of vessels to be exempted.(ii) The size of your company and your ability to endure the hardship.(iii) The length of time a vessel is expected to remain out of compliance with this part.(iv) The ability of an individual vessel to recover capital investments incurred to repower or otherwise modify a vessel to reduce air emissions.(5) In addition to the application requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) through (4) of this section, your application for temporary relief under this paragraph (b) must also include a compliance plan that shows the period over which the waiver is needed.(6) We may impose conditions on the waiver, including conditions to limit or recover any environmental loss.(d) Prior to January 1, 2015, it is not a violation of this part for vessels operating exclusively in the Great Lakes to use a residual fuel not meeting the sulfur limits of Regulation 14.4.2 of Annex VI, where the operator bunkers with the lowest sulfur marine residual fuel that was available within the port area where the vessel bunkered the fuel. For purposes of this paragraph (c), port area means the geographic limits of the port as specified by the Army Corps of Engineers. The reporting and recordkeeping requirements of this part continue to apply for such operation. In addition, if you operate using a residual fuel not meeting the sulfur limits of Regulation 14.4.2 under this paragraph (c), you must send a report to the Designated Certification Officer that identifies the fuel that was used and documents how you determined that no compliant fuel was available. You must send this report within three months after the fueling event.75 FR 23013, Apr. 30, 2010, as amended at 77 FR 2478, Jan. 18, 2012; 80 FR 9113, Feb. 19, 2015; 88 FR 4664, Jan. 24, 2023