Located in the Celtic Sea, a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean is called the Bay of Biscay. It is located in the northern coast of Spain and the western coast of France and is named after the Spanish province of Biscay.
VIDA restructures the way EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) regulate incidental discharges, primarily from commercial vessels, into waters of the United States and the contiguous zone. Specifically, VIDA amends Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 312 to include a new subsection (p) titled “Uniform National Standards for Discharges Incidental to Normal Operation of Vessels.” Subsection 312(p) requires EPA to develop new national standards of performance for commercial vessel discharges and the USCG to develop corresponding implementing regulations. VIDA phases out provisions of the VGP (Vessel General Permit) and existing USCG regulations over an approximate time of 4 years.
