EPA to Propose ‘No-Discharge Zone’ Off California Coast

U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld is expected to sign a proposed rule today establishing a ban on all sewage discharges from large cruise ships and most other large ocean-going ships to the marine waters along California’s entire coastline. 

The rule would be the largest coastal ‘No Discharge Zone’ in the U.S. and, if established, would eliminate millions of gallons of sewage that large ships discharge every year into local waters. In contrast to prior no-discharge zones under the Clean Water Act, which apply in very small areas, the new ban would apply to all coastal waters out to three miles from the coastline and all bays and estuaries subject to tidal influence. 

“California’s coastal waters are a unique national treasure. The clear waters of the Pacific are central to California’s economic and ecological vitality.  Stopping 20 million gallons of sewage from entering California’s coastal waters and bays protects people and wildlife from dangerous pathogens,” Blumenfeld said in a statement.

EPA is inviting public comment for 60 days on the proposed discharge prohibition. For more information, please visit links on EPA’s website here and here.