100,000,525 gallons of raw sewage and counting....

Baltimore county spills another half a million gallons of raw sewage into the Patapsco River on top of the 100 MILLION gallons spilled recently.

Why is it that if a boater discharges treated waste it is referred to as "dumping" but when a municipality discharges raw waste it's called a "spill"?  Isn't a spill something that happens at a grocery store in isle 6 and is cleaned up with paper towels?

17 million gallons daily to the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant in Baltimore

Don't go near the water in Baltimore.

Hurricane Irene leaves sewage spills in wake

Another Hudson River Problem

More municial raw sewage spills into Hudson River

1.5 million gallons per day!

Raw Sewage Dumped Into Hudson River

Well, isn't this nice.  It seems a fire at a sewage treatment plant in Harlem is allowing thousands of gallons of untreated waste to be dumped into the Hudson River.  Isn't that illegal?  Oh, and here's the best part; this is NORMAL!  From the article:

Crews were working through Wednesday night to get the plant running again as quickly as possible to once again treat all of Upper Manhattan's sewage.

“That would be what we call a 'bypass.' That would be what would happen when you have a combined sewer overflow when it rains. This would be a dry-weather bypass,” said DEP Commissioner Cas Holloway.

So every time it rains the plant dumps raw sewage?  This must be the fault of recreational boaters...somehow...

Poor reporting by CTPost.com

Perhaps the author of this article should do at least a little bit of research before spouting off falsehoods:

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/A-step-toward-a-cleaner-Sound-1351617.php

A No Discharge Zone designation DOES NOT have any impact on stopping boats from discharging WASTE.  It merely makes it illegal for vessels to discharge TREATED waste. Thus, these vessels with their own EPA approved treatment systems must use municipal pump-out stations, where their waste is then (hopefully) treated and dumped into the same waters anyway!

And let's not forget that the discharge of UNTREATED waste in US waters has been illegal since 1972, not 2007 like the author incorrectly states.

State targets boating discharge | CapeCodOnline.com

Here we go again:


State targets boating discharge CapeCodOnline.com


I have spoken with Assitant New Editor, Michael Medwar, about a possible follow-up to this article to further clarify that No Discharge Zone legislation doesn't "stop boats from dumping waste into local waters", but rather prohibits the discharge of TREATED waste by both recreational and commercial vessels.

Maryland Department of the Environment goes after Marinas, Boaters, and Gray Water

From 2010 Proposed Permit


Found at the Maryland Department of the Environment website.


Don't use your bilge pumps or bathe!


"Where the vessel does not have adequate storage capacity to eliminate such

discharges, gray water production and discharge should be minimized while moored or

in nutrient impaired waters subject to this permit (e.g.,the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries).."

"Bilge waters shall not be discharged to waters of the State if solvents, detergents,

emulsifying agents or dispersants have been added to the bilge (this includes soaps)."

Don't clean your bottom!

"Vessel washing can cause discharges of harmful pollutants either directly discharged to waters of the State or intermingling with storm water. The permit identifies specific conditions on where and how vessels are to be washed, where and how maintenance activities are to be performed and how to prevent exposure of storm water to these activities. Washing of boat bottoms painted with soft ablative paints, or paints which create a visible plume, may not be performed in water. Additionally, the removal of any paints while a vessel is in the water is prohibited. Discharges that contain visible oil sheen, persistent foam or floating solids are prohibited from being discharged to waters of the State."


Don't wash your boat!


"Recommend cleaning vessels on land in a non-compact area and for best filtration, at a
distance from surface waters"



Last year they tried to go after treated discharges from Type I and Type II MSDs. I knew gray water would be next. So for all those boaters with Type III MSDs (holding tanks) who think a "no discharge zone" is just fine, think again! They're coming after you next. They want us off the water!


I suggest we boaters start lighting up the switchboard at MDE: (410) 537-3000