Officials seek ban on waste from boats

Mass. regulators want clean waters

State environmental regulators are asking federal officials to ban boats from discharging waste in Boston Harbor and Cape Cod Bay, as part of an effort by the Patrick administration to make the state's entire coastline off-limits to sewage.

The bans, which would extend 3 miles from the coastline, would apply to boats that treat waste before discharge. Federal and state rules prohibit the discharge of untreated waste in navigable waters. The bans could go into effect this summer, pending approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

"I think it will be a real benefit to the Commonwealth and generations to come," said Ian A. Bowles, secretary of the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. "It will reduce pollution in estuaries and improve vitality of shellfish stocks, and in some cases it will remove unsightly sewage nearby. It will produce widespread environmental benefits."

In the case of Boston Harbor, Bowles said cleaner waters created by the ban could accelerate the return of porpoises and seals, which have been appearing in the harbor after a two-decade cleanup effort.

That effort has included building a state-of-the-art waste-water treatment plant at Deer Island, and a 2-mile tunnel to carry storm water and sewage away from beaches.

Environmental officials believe thousands of gallons of sewage are discharged in the harbor every year.

Under current rules, boaters are allowed to discharge treated waste in waterways, although state and environmental officials say boaters customarily avoid doing that near shorelines.

The no-discharge zones would force boaters to get rid of their waste at a station on the shore or on a pump-out boat, both of which send the waste to municipal treatment plants.

Leona Roach, executive director of the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association, applauded the proposed bans, adding that boaters want clean waters. But she said state and federal authorities need to ensure there will be enough pumping stations to serve all boats.

"No one wants to waste a weekend waiting in line," Roach said.

Cape Cod Bay, a 600-square-mile region from Provincetown to Marshfield, is used by more than 3,240 commercial and recreational boats, while Boston Harbor, which extends from Winthrop to Hull, is traveled by thousands of boaters, according to the state.

Bowles believes there will be enough infrastructure. Cape Cod has seven facilities, while Boston Harbor and the Charles River have 23 pump-out stations for recreational boaters and seven for the harbor's commercial fleet. Boston plans to add another three commercial pump-out facilities this year.

Expected federal approvals of the bans in Boston Harbor and Cape Cod, along with other pending approvals or established bans for other waterways, would create no-discharge zones that would extend from the tip of Cape Cod to Winthrop and from Salem Sound to Gloucester.

State regulators are working on applications to prohibit dumping in the remaining areas. The goal is to ban discharge along the entire coastline by 2010. Violators would be fined up to $2,000.

Several local groups and municipal leaders, such as Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, support the bans.

Ann Rodney, an environmental specialist who oversees the no-discharge area program for the EPA's New England region, said having enough pump-out stations is critical in approving the bans.

"We really want to make sure the infrastructure is up and running, so this is easy for the boaters," said Rodney, as she emphasized that "boaters are very environmentally cautious citizens."

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.