No Discharge Zones

Description

A No Discharge Zone (NDZ, also known as No Discharge Area, NDA), is a designated body of water in which the discharge of all boat sewage, even if it is treated, is prohibited. Federal Law prohibits the discharge of untreated sewage from vessels within all navigable waters of the U.S, including coastal waters (within three miles of shore). Boats with functioning Type I and Type II Marine Sanitation Devices (MSDs) may discharge treated effluent in coastal waters unless they are in an NDA. A Type III MSD or "holding tank" is the only type that can be used legally within an NDZ.

Applicability

Freshwater lakes, freshwater reservoirs, or other freshwater impoundments whose entrance points and exit points are too shallow to support traffic by vessels with installed toilets, and rivers that do not support interstate vessel traffic are all, by default, designated NDZs. Additional waterbodies can be designated as NDZs by States and EPA, including: coastal waters and estuaries, the Great Lakes and their interconnected waterways, fresh-water lakes and impoundments accessible through locks or other secondary waterways, and other flowing waters that are navigable interstate by vessels subject to regulation (Woodley 1999).

The State can formally request that a waterbody or a portion of a waterbody be designated a NDZ by the EPA. There are currently seven NDZs in Massachusetts: all of Buzzards Bay, Waquoit Bay in Falmouth, the Coastal Waters of Harwich, Three Bays/ Centerville Harbor in Barnstable, Stage Harbor in Chatham, Wellfleet Harbor, and the Coastal Waters of Nantucket from Muskeget Island to Great Point, including Nantucket Harbor (CZM 2002). Marina owners can also prohibit use and discharge of Type I and II MSDs at slips or moorings. While all Coast Guard approved Type I and II MSDs are legal to use on some waters and do treat sewage to approved standards, the discharge still contains nutrients and chemical disinfectants that may impact water quality and marine life in coastal harbors, coves and bays. In designated No Discharge Areas, all discharge is illegal.

Marinas should provide all customers with information regarding proper sewage management, NDZ regulations and regulated areas. To promote cleaner water and prevent odor and algal blooms, marinas are also strongly encouraged to prohibit discharge of any sewage from Type I and Type II MSDs in the marina basin as part of the slip rental contract.

Effectiveness

The effectiveness of a NDZ is highly dependent on the degree of enforcement and the public education effort. Marina owners can contribute to these efforts by properly maintaining sewage pumpout facilities and launching a public education effort for marina customers.

Costs

Costs for participating marina owners may include dye tablets (approximately $30 per 200 tablets) and public education materials. Financial assistance is available for implementing companion BMPs (see sewage pumpout facilities). Costs for applying for a NDZ are low, as CZM assists in the writing of the application, provides resources and information to interested communities, coordinates with EPA, and helps to ensure that the proposed NDA has adequate pumpout facilities. Communities interested in establishing an NDZ should view the CZM NDZ template that can assist those interested in creating an NDZ. For additional information, interested parties can contact CZM’s No Discharge Zone Coordinator, Todd Callaghan at 617-626-1233 or Ann Rodney at EPA New England at 617-918-1538.

Maintenance

Maintenance on the part of marina owners to improve the effectiveness of the NDZs includes the following (Woodley 1999):

1. Educating boaters about the impact of improper vessel discharges on beach closures, shellfish contamination, loss of recreational opportunities and aesthetic losses and loss of marina industry revenue.

2. Providing clean and safe on-shore sanitary restroom facilities for boaters.

3. Encouraging boaters to install and use a Coast Guard certified Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) that is appropriate for their vessel (see http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/ );

4. Encouraging boaters to learn how to use and maintain their MSDs properly, and to learning how to use marina pumpout stations for Type III MSDs;

5. Providing and maintaining sewage pumpout facilities and dump facilities and encouraging their use; and

6. Using dye tablets to detect illegal discharges and reporting violations of the MSD program to the local Coast Guard station.

Design Considerations

There are seven requirements pursuant to section 312 (f )(3) of the Clean Water Act and Chapter 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 140.4 that the applicant must provide:

1. A certification that the protection and enhancement of the waters described in the petition require greater environmental protection than the applicable Federal standards.

2. A map showing the location of commercial and recreational pumpout facilities.

3. A description of the location of pumpout facilities within waters nominated for a "No Discharge Area".

4. The general schedule of operating hours of the pumpout facilities.

5. The draft requirements on the vessels that may be excluded from a pumpout facility because of insufficient water depth adjacent to the facility.

6. Information indicating that the treatment of waste from such pumpout facilities is in conformance with Federal law.

7. Information on vessel population and vessel usage of the subject waters (CZM 2002). In addition to these seven requirements, EPA New England reviews the type of outreach campaign planned for boaters when evaluating an area for an NDA designation.

References

CZM. 2001. Massachusetts Clean Marina Guide. Prepared by Epsilon Associates, Inc. for the Massachusetts Department of Coastal Zone Management, http://www.state.ma.us/czm/marinas/guide/macleanmarinaguide.htm

CZM. 2002. No Discharge Areas. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. Accessed 7/15/02. http://www.state.ma.us/czm/nda.htm

Woodley, J. September/October 1999. No Discharge Zones: How They Work. http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/

Recommended Fact Sheets and Resources

CZM. Application for a State Designated, Federally Approved No Discharge Area (Template). Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Boston, MA. http://www.state.ma.us/czm/ndatemplate.doc

USEPA. Marine Pollution Control Programs. US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water. Accessed 7/15/02. http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/