New sewage regulations to restrict Puget Sound boaters

Boaters heading to the San Juan Islands and the rest of Puget Sound will soon face new restrictions on what they do with their waste.

Starting in May new regulations will completely ban the discharge of any marine sewage on the other side of the International border. Instead of dumping raw or treated waste, they'll have to use a pump-out station or wait until they return to Canadian waters.

"It's just a great opportunity for boaters to protect Puget Sound," says Amy Jankowiak, an environmental specialist with the Washington State Department of Ecology.

The new regulation will protect salmon and orcas and open up 1,000 acres for shellfish harvesting, she says.

"A lot of those areas have been closed because of vessels moored nearby or in marinas, and so, with these extra protections, those areas can be opened up." said Jankowiak.

Recently, Canadian officials shut down two Vancouver Island oyster farms over concerns the shellfish had been contaminated with norovirus from sewage.

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While the source of that contamination is not known, Jankowiak says studies have shown that sewage from cruise ships has the potential to infect shellfish beds.

"Anytime you have human waste coming out into water there is a risk associated with norovirus or anytime type of pathogen from humans."

Dumping still legal in Canada

Currently Canadian regulations only prohibit the dumping of sewage within three miles of the shoreline. That means boaters are still allowed to pump their raw sewage into large areas of Georgia Strait and other coastal waters.

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"It just shows that on the other side of the border there are just higher standards for how we want to reduce pollution. They are ahead of the curve," said ChristianneWilhelmson, the executive director of the Georgia Strait Alliance,

Furthermore, a loophole in Canada's regulations allows boaters to dump raw sewage closer to shore if their tanks are full, and they can't reach a pump-out facility, notes Wilhelmson.

In order stop sewage dumping, Canada needs to invest in more pump-out facilities for boater and then tighten the regulations, she says.

"I think most boaters understand that they can have a negative impact on the environment, but it's also about the government being willing to invest. Pump-outs are expensive for marinas. It's really about a partnership and right now the government is not leading the way."

She notes that while recreation boaters might think a little sewage from their boats might not have much impact, that's no longer the case.

"Unfortunately, our sewage is not just organic anymore. We take pharmaceuticals. There are contaminates in our own bodies that come out through our waste. That can have a big impact on an area that is not flushed by the tides."

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Large vessels skirt the rules

Most large vessels, such as BC Ferries and cruise ships, have their own sewage treatment facilities onboard, says Wilhelmson,

But she says a lack of tighter controls in Canadian waters means many ships heading to Alaska and back have an incentive to empty their tanks off the Canadian coast to avoid having to pay pump-out fees when they hit U.S. waters.

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"We really have to become more responsible for the waste we create," she says.