File this under Laws you Thought Existed Already. As of today
the Environmental Protection Agency has banned pumping out boat sewage into
Boston Harbor. Cape Cod Bay has been proposed as a "No Discharge Area"
and may be similarly protected soon. At this time there is no EPA proposal to
ban the discharge of sewage into Nantucket Sound. Maybe it's because strong currents... ahem... flush the Sound regularly.
Here's the EPA press release:
Boston Harbor Takes Major Step to Limit Boat Pollution with “No
Discharge” Designation -- Largest Urban Port in U.S. to Ban Boat Sewage
Boston, Mass. – July 7, 2008 – With state and
local backing, EPA is designating Boston Harbor as a “No Discharge”
area. This status means that discharges of treated and untreated boat
sewage are prohibited within these Massachusetts state waters, including the
Towns and Cities of Boston, Braintree, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Hingham,
Hull, Milton, Newton, Quincy, Watertown, Weymouth, and Winthrop.
In May, the Mass. Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), in partnership with
the Cities of Boston and Quincy, and the Urban Harbor Institute, petitioned
EPA to approve the No Discharge designation. Following consideration of the
request, and a 30-day public review and comment period, EPA will approve the
request to protect these coastal waters from boat sewage.
“Designating a major urban shipping waterway like Boston Harbor as a
no discharge area is an important milestone in EPA’s effort to protect
the entire New England coastline from boat sewage,” said Robert W. Varney,
regional administrator of EPA's New England Office. “Once again, we are
seeing forward-looking New Englanders showing the way to the rest of the country
about how we can better protect our environment.”
City of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said, “Designation of Boston Harbor
as a No-Discharge Area puts an exclamation point on the work that’s already
been done to bring this jewel of our city back. This summer more than ever,
Boston’s beaches and islands will be a destination for residents trying
to beat the heat and show the kids a fun time without having to fill the tank.
The City of Boston has committed to providing more pumpout facilities
including a new pumpout boat to ensure that, from the beaches of South
Boston to Spectacle Island, Boston Harbor is an even cleaner and more vibrant
place for our residents, families and visitors to enjoy.”
"As a Charlestown resident and a recreational boater, I know what an asset
a clean Boston Harbor is, and this designation will help keep these waters clean,"
said Ian Bowles, Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental
Affairs, which includes the Office of Coastal Zone Management. "One-third
of the Massachusetts coast is now designated as NDA, and we are well on our
way to Governor Patrick's goal of all of the Commonwealth's coastal waters becoming
discharge-free."
To quality for a No Discharge designation, the applicant must show there are
enough “pumpout” facilities where boaters can get their sewage holding
tanks pumped out. This particular area has an estimated 8,720 boats, of which
only 4,047 are large enough to have a head or toilet on board. There are a total
of 35 pumpout facilities in the designated area available to the boating community.
In addition, there are four pending pumpout facilities which should be operational
this boating season.
Boat sewage can lead to health problems for swimmers, closed shellfish beds
and the overall degradation of marine habitats.
The Urban Harbors Institute, the City of Boston, and the City of Quincy initiated
the No Discharge Area designation process in the summer of 2007 to safeguard
local marine resources.
Many other areas in New England already have designated their coastal waters
as No Discharge areas, or are in the process of doing so. These include:
- All state marine waters of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire;
- In Massachusetts: Harwich, Waquoit Bay, Nantucket Harbor, Wellfleet, Barnstable,
and Buzzards Bay (including Wareham and Westport), Plymouth/Duxbury/Kingston
area; the Harbors of Scituate/Marshfield/Cohasset, and Salem Sound;
- In Maine, Casco Bay;
- Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog in Vermont.
More information: No Discharge Areas
in New England
