Connecticut becomes third state to ban boat discharges

Connecticut has joined Rhode Island and New Hampshire as the third state in the U.S. to ban boaters from discharging sewage in its coastal waters, Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced Thursday.
Rell was joined by state and federal environmental officials at a ceremony Thursday in Norwalk, where she announced the creation of the “no discharge” area that covers the state’s entire portion of Long Island Sound.

 

“Eliminating sewage discharges from boats means cleaner beaches, cleaner shellfish beds and cleaner boating,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office.

To qualify for the no-discharge area designation, Connecticut had to demonstrate that enough pump-out facilities existed in the area where boaters could empty their holding tanks.

Rhode Island and New Hampshire also have statewide no-discharge areas covering their coastal waters, while several other regions in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and New York have local no-discharge areas.