Ample pump-out sites available to boaters, state says

If the state is successful in getting Boston Harbor turned into a no-discharge zone, boaters on the South Shore should have no trouble finding proper ways to dispose of their treated sewage.

The discharge ban, proposed by the state two weeks ago, would affect Braintree, Hingham, Hull, Milton, Quincy, and Weymouth. Coastal riverways such as the Neponset and Charles rivers are included. Federal action on the harbor ban could occur before the end of the summer.

Todd Callaghan, No Discharge Area coordinator for the state Office of Coastal Zone Management, said his agency analyzed the availability of boat sewage pump-out facilities before making the no-discharge recommendation to make sure that boaters could access a facility either in their own harbor or on a nearby navigation route.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency rule, Callaghan said, is one facility - either land-based or a pump-out boat - for every 450 boats. Altogether Boston Harbor has 23 pump-out stations for recreational boaters and seven for commercial boats. Hull has one boat disposal facility with plans to put in another at Nantasket Pier. There are two in Hingham (a pump-out boat, plus one at a marina); one at Wessagusset Yacht Club in Weymouth; and five in Quincy.

While Boston Harbor has approximately 9,000 boats, only half are large enough to have marine sanitation devices that would have to be pumped out. Locally, the number of moored boats in that category are 25 in Milton, 112 in Braintree, 151 in Weymouth, 649 in Hingham, 369 in Hull, and 969 in Quincy. Officials believe there should be adequate pumping services in the area for these boats.

The campaign to ban boat sewage throughout Massachusetts coastal waters extends up the region's coastline. Federal action also is due soon on a proposal to ban boat sewage disposal from Marshfield to Cohasset.

Federal and state rules already prohibit the discharge of untreated waste in navigable waters. The proposed bans, which would extend 3 miles from the coastline, would apply to boats that treat waste before discharge.

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 require 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.

Environmentalists say that even treated sewage discharge may contain bacteria, viruses, nutrients, and chemicals harmful to water quality. These pollutants degrade water quality and can produce algae blooms, which can produce toxins and choke off sunlight and oxygen to other sea life, leading to the closing of beaches to swimming and shellfishing.

The Boston Harbor request was initiated last year by the mayors of Quincy and Boston. Both cities have made major efforts to clean up harbor waters, from keeping faulty sewer connections out of the harbor to public education. Quincy, the first Boston Harbor community to request the ban, has spent millions of dollars in recent years to reduce storm-water pollution of its offshore waters and restore Wollaston Beach water quality to levels that permit swimming on most days.

These efforts have made a difference, said Ian Bowles, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs. "Boston Harbor is cleaner now than it has been for generations, thanks to decades of work by federal, state, and local authorities, and clean-water advocates."

When state officials suggested expanding the zone to the full harbor, a region of shared waterways and facilities from Hull up to Winthrop, South Shore communities jumped in with support, according to Callaghan.

Regional support for the discharge ban came from the Quincy City Council, the Friends of Wollaston Beach, harbormasters in all affected communities, the Hull Conservation Commission, and the mayor of Weymouth.

No opposition to the ban has been expressed by boaters, Callaghan said. Federal officials have stated that private boat associations, whose members use coastal waters regularly, have regularly supported no-discharge areas as a means of protecting a valuable resource from pollution.

State officials held meetings with various segments of the Boston Harbor's large commercial fleet - commercial fishers, tugboats, ferry lines, whale-watch boats - to advise them of the plan.

"It's a big outreach event," Callaghan said. "We try to make people aware of existing pump-out facilities. Make sure the communities keep them up running. Make sure boaters know to pump out even treated waste."

Meanwhile, EPA approval is expected shortly for the ban on boat sewage proposed this year for the Marshfield-Norwell-Scituate-Cohasset coastal area.

Following expressions of support from local government and environmental groups in those towns, the EPA closed its consideration of that ban last month. If approved, the ban would extend the no-discharge area up the coast from waters off Plymouth, Kingston, and Duxbury, where the ban was instituted two years ago.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.