Current New England Coastal No Discharge Areas:
Nantucket, MA (1992)
Waquoit Bay, MA (1994)
Wellfleet, MA (1995)
Chatham, MA (1997)
Harwich, MA (1998)
Rhode Island marine waters (1998)
- incorporates Block Island (1993)
Buzzards Bay, MA (2000)
- incorporates Wareham (1991) and Westport (1994)
Barnstable, MA (2001)
Stonington, CT (2003)
Groton/Mystic, CT (2004)
New Hampshire coastal waters (2005)
Plymouth/Kingston/Duxbury harbors, MA (2006)
Groton/Guilford, CT (2006)
Casco Bay, ME (2006)
Branford/Greenwich, CT (2007)
j
A No Discharge Area: A designated waterbody where discharging treated/untreated
boat sewage is prohibited (doesn't include grey/sink water). Under the federal Clean
Water Act it's illegal to discharge untreated (raw) sewage from a vessel in US waters:
3 miles from US shore; Great Lakes; and navigable rivers. No Discharge Area
designations ensure better water quality in ourwaterbodies, harbors and coves.
,- ..,,,,
NS*
Cnaital No Pitchargo Aroai
In Hew England
* ~
A Boaters Guide
to No Discharge Areas
in New England
€> printed on fully recyclable paper
May 2007 EPA 901-F-07-005
For more information, please refer to the following websites:
CT: www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2705&a=323750
ME: www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/topic/vessel/index.htm
MA: www.mass.gov/czm/potoc.htm
NH: www.des.state.nh.us/wmb/cva/dir_map.htm
Rl: www.dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/shellfsh/pump/index.htm
For all of New England: www.epa.gov/ne/eco/nodiscrg/index.html
4>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency New England
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Health Protection
Sewage wastes discharged from boats may degrade water quality by introducing
microorganisms, nutrients, and chemical products into the marine environment.
•Microorganisms, which include pathogens like viruses, bacteria and
protozoans may introduce diseases like hepatitis, and gastroentritis to
people in contact with the water, and can contaminate shellfish beds and
cause beach closures.
•Nutrients are necessary for the growth of both microscopic and larger
plants (seaweeds and eelgrass). However, when nutrients become too
abundant they stimulate algae blooms which may lead to loss of eelgrass
and depletion of oxygen in the water. Depletion of oxygen in water
(called hypoxia) can stress and even kill fish and other aquatic animals.
•Chemical products can be toxic to marine and estuarine life and could pose a
problem in areas where boats congregate and where there is little tidal flushing.
Complying with vessel sewage discharge
laws and regulations and using pumpout facilities,
are necessary steps in protecting public health,
water quality and the marine environment.
Marine Sanitation Devices (Boat Toilets)
Recreational boats are not required to be equipped with a toilet, but if they are, the
Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) must be Coast Guard approved. The approved
design holds sewage for shore-based disposal or treats the sewage prior to dis-
charge. The three types of MSDs are:
Type I MSDs discharge treated effluent having a fecal coliform bacterial count
not greater than 1000 per 100 milliliters of water and no visible floating solids.
Type II MSDs discharge treated effluent having a fecal coliform bacterial count
of less than 200 per 100 milliliters and suspended solids not greater than 150
milligrams per liter.
Type III MSDs are devices designed to store sewage (usually with disinfec-
tants and deodorants added) until it can be pumped out at a pumpout facility or
discharged outside the territorial seas boundary of three miles from shore. These
are commonly known as holding tanks.
Vessels 65 feet and under may install a Type I, Type II, or Type III MSD.
Vessels over 65 feet in length must install a Type II or Type III.
Portable toilets or "porta-potties" are not considered installed toilets and are not
subject to the MSD regulations. They are however, subject to the disposal regula-
tions, which prohibit the disposal of raw sewage within the 3 mile limit or territorial
waters of the United States, the Great Lakes or navigable rivers.
Shellfish beds are closed when fecal counts exceed 14 per 100 milliliters (this is the
number of colony-forming units of fecal coliform per 100 milliliters — or about
one teacup of water) . Historically, swimming was not advised when fecal coliform
counts exceeded 200 per 100 milliliters. Coastal recreational water standards are
now based on enterococci bacteria, instead of fecal coliform. Swimming is not
advised when enterococci densities exceed an average of 35 organisms per 100 ml
(based on at least five samples over a 30 day period), or 104 organisms per 100 ml
for a single sample.
Type III MSB's and "porta-potties" are the only sanitary equipment that can be
used in a No Discharge Area.
Managing Boat Waste in a No Discharge Area
When operating in a No Discharge Area Type I, Type II and Type III Marine
Sanitation Devices can not be discharged. In No Discharge Areas, the US Coast
Guard regulations state that MSDs Type I and Type II must be secured to
prevent discharge.
Sufficient examples from the US Coast Guard to secure Type I and Type II MSDs
include closing the seacock and padlocking it, using a non-releasable wire tie, using
a door handle lock, or removing the seacock handle (with the seacock closed).
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