RIs No-Discharge Controversy

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This isn’t an item youve likely read about in your local newspaper, but here in Rhode Island, the EPAs designation of all Rhode Island waters as a no-discharge zone (NDZ) has caused more than a ripple.

The move has been in the works for more than five years, over which time $40 million from Wallop-Breaux fish restoration funds have been made available through federal Fish and Wildlife Service for states to install pump-out stations. According to an utterly simplistic formula, once there are a sufficient number of pump-out stations to handle the number of registered boats in a given geographical area, the state can apply for, and EPA may grant, no-discharge status. In 1998, it happened in Rhode Island.

Never mind that dumping untreated sewage within the 3-mile limit has been against the law for 26 years. What no-discharge status essentially does is to outlaw the use of Type I and II MSDs (marine sanitation devices) that in one manner or another kill bacteria and macerate waste prior to overboard discharge. The best known of these is the Lectra/San, marketed by Raritan Engineering.

An article in the May 1998 issue of Cruising World magazine castigated the EPA and the states for ignoring the efficacy of Type I and II MSDs. The public is led to believe that NDZs outlaw raw-waste discharge, when in fact this is already illegal, and the effect of NDZs is to outlaw use of onboard treatment systems, wrote author Tom Neale. Those who question this solution are condemned as environmentally incorrect.

Those on both sides of the issue are well entrenched.

Type I and II proponents say the devices have been around for 20 years, are simple to operate and effective.

Opponents say most boat owners don’t have Type I or II MSDs installed, consider pump-out stations a hassle, and so just discharge overboard anyway.

Proponents say there still arent enough pump-out stations and many of those that are operational are leaky and poorly maintained. Further, they cite the fact that waste from pump-outs is taken to city waste treatment plants where all too often accidents occur or heavy rainfall overwhelms the plant, sending raw sewage into the bay in much worse form than if it had been treated by a MSD.

Proponents also note that coliform washed into the bay by rainfall far exceed any inadvertent dumping from boats, and that a single major treatment plant spill (which happens in Rhode Island all too frequently), can dump millions of gallons of sewage into the water. It happened in Narragansett Bay last summer, closing shellfish beds and beaches.

Opponents say, well, yeah, thats true, but we all have to do our part.

Where do we stand?

First, we grew up sailing on Lake Michigan where holding tanks were mandatory and Y-valves illegal. But state facilities for pump-out were plentiful and first class. Holding tanks and pump-outs were simply facts of life and accepted as such. Therefore, we do not consider pumping out a big deal, so long as facilities are available.

Second, we, like most sailors and their kids, like to swim when the boat is at anchor. A turd in the water is repugnant as well as unhealthy.

Third, we see no reason why Type I and II MSDs should be made illegal. Due to their size and electrical current draw, however, it is illogical to expect small boats to have one installed.

Fourth, no-discharge status should be limited to areas where the waters are not well flushed by the tides, or where many boats congregate.

Lastly, if you don’t have a Type I or II MSD, use a holding tank and pump-out. Holding tanks should be mandatory on all boats regardless of toilet type, as they should be used in crowded anchorages and may serve as a back-up to a failed MSD.

What do you think?

-Dan Spurr

Darrell Nicholson
Practical Sailor has been independently testing and reporting on sailboats and sailing gear for more than 50 years. Supported entirely by subscribers, Practical Sailor accepts no advertising. Its independent tests are carried out by experienced sailors and marine industry professionals dedicated to providing objective evaluation and reporting about boats, gear, and the skills required to cross oceans. Practical Sailor is edited by Darrell Nicholson, a long-time liveaboard sailor and trans-Pacific cruiser who has been director of Belvoir Media Group's marine division since 2005. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton Master license, has logged tens of thousands of miles in three oceans, and has skippered everything from pilot boats to day charter cats. His weekly blog Inside Practical Sailor offers an inside look at current research and gear tests at Practical Sailor, while his award-winning column,"Rhumb Lines," tracks boating trends and reflects upon the sailing life. He sails a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Yankee 30 out of St. Petersburg, Florida. You can reach him by email at practicalsailor@belvoir.com.