Operators are reminded that the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) will enter into force on 1 August 2012. While the US will enforce the regulation from day one, Canada has announced that they will delay its implementation. The date for Canada is anticipated to be sometime in November 2012, thanks in part to the slower bureaucratic process required for such an implementation. The North American ECA includes areas around  Hawaii Islands but does not include the US Caribbean ECA, which will come into force on 1 January 2014. Details on the North American ECA can be seen in IMO Circular MEPC.1/Circ.723
Operators are strongly advised to plan in advance so that ships entering, or happen to be inside, the defined ECA waters have a fuel onboard with a sulphur content of a maximum of 1.00% by weight, and that they start using it as of 1 August 2012.
Care should also be taken given that ships going to US ports on the Great Lakes would probably be expected to use compliant ECA fuel all the way into the ECA waters, even though these might be partially Canadian waters.
Source : INTERTANKO