Estuary one step closer to No Discharge designation

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Advocates pushing for a cleaner and healthier South Shore Estuary are one step closer to achieving their objective, according to Peconic Baykeeper Kevin McAllister, who said the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation just signed off on a petition to designate the estuary as a no-discharge zone.

Representatives from the Fire Island National Seashore, the Association of Marine Industries and officials from the towns and villages along the estuary supported the petition, Mr. McAllister said.

Now, the petition is going to the Environmental Protection Agency for final approval. If sanctioned by the EPA, 
boaters will no longer be allowed to discharge waste from onboard toilets anywhere in the estuary, which 
stretches some 75 miles from Long 
Beach to Shinnecock Bay.

As of now, though it is illegal to dump untreated sewage into the estuary, flushing treated sewage—such as the waste from boat toilets—is allowed. The chemicals that treat boat discharges, such as formaldehyde, phenols and chlorine, harm the water, Mr. McAllister said, as does the waste.

“This is not a very complex issue,” he added. “This is a no-brainer. We shouldn’t be allowing boaters to flush their waste into the water.”

Mr. McAllister hopes the EPA assigns the no-discharge classification to the estuary by the summer when more boaters—and more potential waste—are on the water. “I believe we need to seize the moment and inform the public of this issue at the height of the season when everybody’s tuned in,” he said.

Mr. McAllister may receive some help with that effort as U.S. Representative Tim Bishop will be sending a letter to the EPA encouraging the no discharge designation, according to Will Jenkins, the congressman’s aide in Washington.

“Congressman Bishop does support this petition and will be sending a letter to the secretary of the EPA to encourage approval,” Mr. Jenkins said in an e-mail.

Achieving the DEC’s blessing was an important milestone, Mr. McAllister said, and was reached by clearing two benchmarks set in the Clean Water Act, established by Congress in 1972: Demonstrating that the estuary—as well as the aquatic life in the estuary—needed greater protection and that there were adequate pump-out facilities available to boaters.

According to the baykeeper, there are more than enough pump-out facilities along the South Shore estuary.

If enacted, policing the no-discharge zone will be aided by the fact that boaters will not have to be “caught in the act” of dumping waste into the water, Mr. McAllister said.

“Boaters will have to demonstrate to the authorities that they are incapable of discharging waste. They will have to show that the waste is being properly stored on board in a holding tank,” he said.

Whether the EPA imposes the no-discharge zone by summer remains to be seen, but in Mr. McAllister’s view, EPA approval of the designation is inevitable.

“This isn’t so much about the law as it is about being good stewards of the bay,” Mr. McAllister said. “Dumping boat waste into the bay, creeks and marinas is pollution. There’s already too many stresses on our waters. This is the responsible thing to do.”