Boston to ban boaters from harbor dumping

"People have come back to the harbor, and we want to make sure that they stay here," said Jim Hunt, chief of environment and energy for the City of Boston.

The Environmental Protection Agency will announce its approval of the rule change at a press conference today, said David Deegan, a spokesman for the agency. Enforcement will begin immediately. Violators can be fined up to $2,000.

Previously, San Diego had been the largest urban harbor to enforce a "no discharge area," which affects commercial and recreational boaters, according to Hunt and Deegan.

An estimated 8,700 boats dock in the Boston area, and about half of those boats have onboard toilets, or heads.

Outside of New England and parts of California, most cities and states allow boaters to dump sewage near the shore if they have onboard treatment systems. It has long been illegal to dump untreated sewage in waters close to shore. The new rule makes it illegal to dump any sewage within the shoreline boundary.

Cruise ships and other large vessels generally dump their waste out at sea, a practice that will remain legal.

Many boaters are accustomed to having their tanks cleaned either at docks, or by pump-out boats. There are 35 pump-out facilities in the area, with four more on the way.

Recreational boaters usually know where to find facilities to get their toilets pumped, a service that is often free, said Leona Roach, executive director of the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association, which represents marinas and boatyards, and supports the ban.

"Every time I get gas, I have them pump out my head," said Charles Karyanis, 62, a car dealer who keeps his 32-foot Sea Ray, "Julia Rose," docked at Marina Bay in Quincy. "I just tip the guy."

Another boat owner at Marina Bay, Mark McDonough, 49, supports the ban. But he questions whether it will be tough to enforce.

"I can press a button here" to discharge the toilet without detection, he said, pointing to a switch next to the helm of his boat.

Still, McDonough hopes most boaters will obey. "They need something. I've been out here for 20-something years and remember when the water out here was all black," he said.

Deegan said New England states and cities have led the nation in creating no-discharge areas.

Authorities along most of the coast - from Maine through Connecticut - have sought to impose the bans in the past few years. The EPA has granted many of the petitions; others are pending, he said. Cape Cod Bay's petition could be approved by the end of the summer, he said.

Boston's ban extends from Winthrop to Hull. The Coast Guard and local harbormasters will have the authority to enforce it, though officials say educating boaters will be key. "For the most part, a lot of the boaters do the right thing," Hunt said. "This is just making sure that this practice is regulated."

Karyanis and his wife, Susan, were getting ready yesterday to take their young granddaughter and grandson to Spectacle Island and then to the North End for dinner.

"I've got grandchildren, and I don't need to see discharged heads floating," Karyanis said. "It disgusts me."

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.

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