At the request of the Chester River Association, the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources and the Environment will apply to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for designation of the Chester River and its tributaries as a No Discharge Zone (NDZ). Public comments will be accepted through October 2014 at the Chester River Association. The EPA regional administrator will make a determination within 90 days of receipt of the application. Following this, notice will appear in the Federal and Maryland Registers. If approved, the NDZ may take effect during the 2015 boating season.
A No Discharge Zone is an area in which both treated and untreated sewage discharges from vessels are prohibited. It is already illegal to discharge raw/untreated sewage within 3 miles of the U.S. Coast. Within NDZ boundaries, vessel operators are required to retain their sewage discharges onboard for disposal at sea (beyond three miles from shore) or onshore at a pumpout facility.
The Chester River is classified as impaired by Maryland Department of Environment because of low dissolved oxygen related to excess nutrients. Under the total daily maximum load qualifications, 100% of the Chester River is considered impaired for either nutrients, sediment, bacteria, or a combination. The river is an important economic driver for the region, providing jobs and revenue through tourism, commercial and recreational fishing, and boating. Providing greater environmental protection with an NDZ will help improve the health of the water and protect the important ecological, economical, and cultural resources of the Chester River.
Interested members of the public are invited to two public meetings to ask questions, provide comments, and learn more about the proposed Chester River NDZ. The first meeting will be at the Chestertown Town Hall Tuesday September 23 at 6 p.m. The second meeting will be at the Rock Hall Town Hall October 2, 2014 at 6 p.m.
The public may also send comments or questions to Albert Leavell of the Chester River Association at:
[email protected]
Chester River Association
400 S. Cross St., Suite 2
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-810-7556
Information on an NDZ on the Chester River can be found at https://www.chesterriverassociation.org/programs/riverkeeper/no-discharge-zone
Information on EPA designation of NDZ’s can be found at https://water.epa.gov/polwaste/vwd/index.cfm
Information on vessel sewage laws and pumpout locations in Maryland is available at https://www.dnr.state.md.us/boating/pumpout/
Gren Whitman says
I was unpleasantly surprised two weeks ago!
Surprise No. 1: Learning there are “Marine Sanitation Devices”; and
Surprise No. 2: Learning a vessel with an “MSD” is permitted to discharge human wastewater—along with untreated bacteria and chemicals—into the water anywhere into the Chester River.
Here’s my opinion: No wastewater discharge should be permitted from any boat anywhere. Wastewater discharges are permitted from land only after sophisticated and thorough treatment, and under close and daily scrutiny, from our Maryland Department of the Environment. No treatment system on any boat can meet the MDE’s requirements and standards for discharging treated wastewater, so why should less-adequately-treated wastewater discharges be permitted from a boat?
Here’s my second opinion: If you can afford a boat with a toilet—afford to buy, store, maintain, and operate such a boat—you can easily afford to have your wastewater pumped out at a marina. My 24-foot sailboat has a porta-potty, which I empty out and clean at my home.
I support the CRA/DNR proposal to designate the Chester River as a No Discharge Zone.