EPA Seeking Public Comments On Proposal To Ban Boats From Dumping Sewage Into Lake Erie

In an effort to improve the water quality in Lake Erie and taking boaters needs account, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said, last week, that it has explored the issue and has made some “tentatively” determinations.

The EPA said that “there are adequate facilities around Lake Erie for boats to pump out their sewage, allowing for the establishment of a ‘no discharge zone’ for 593 square miles of the lake, its tributaries and bays, and 84 miles of shoreline that comprise the New York State portion of the lake.”

A small boat harbor on Lake Erie in Buffalo, NY. Stock photo from 123rf.com.

In more detail, the proposed no discharge zone includes waters from the Pennsylvania-New York State boundary, as well as the Upper Niagara River and harbors including Barcelona Harbor, Dunkirk Harbor, and the Buffalo Outer Harbor.

The no discharge zone – which was proposed by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation – means that boats would be banned from discharging sewage into the water, and instead would have to dispose of their sewage at specially-designed pump-out stations.

This action is part of a joint EPA/New York State strategy to eliminate the discharge of sewage from boats into the state’s waterways, with the EPA saying that the “discharges of sewage from boats can contain harmful levels of pathogens and chemicals such as formaldehyde, phenols, and chlorine, which have a negative impact on water quality, pose a risk to people’s health, and impair marine life.”

EPA is encouraging public comment on its proposed approval until January 6, 2013. To comment on the proposed EPA approval, email, fax or mail comments to Moses Chang at chang.moses@epa.gov; fax: (212) 637-3891; mailing address: Moses Chang, U.S. EPA Region 2, 290 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866.

Additional Resources

• New York/New Jersey ‘No Discharge Zones.’

Reader comments and input are always welcomed!