Florida Keys 'No Treatment' Zone Proposed

The federal Environmental Protection Agency filed a petition in late July to make all of the Florida state waters within the federal Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary a designated "no discharge" zone. Such a zone, encompassing some 2,900 nautical square miles of Florida waters, would prohibit the use of Coast Guard-approved boat waste treatment systems. (All U.S. waters are already "no discharge" for untreated sewage from boats.)

Because of the huge scope of the Florida Keys petition and the fact that compliance by recreational boaters will be extremely difficult, BoatU.S. asked for and got an extension of the public comment period for an additional 60 days, until Oct. 26.

The petition has drawn criticism from boaters as well as the boating industry, mainly because of the scarcity of available sewage pump-out facilities in the Keys. According to latest estimates, there are less than 30 facilities to serve boaters in this vast area.

BoatU.S. believes onboard waste treatment systems are a viable alternative that should be allowed, even encouraged, as devices on the market today can treat waste to 10 parts fecal coliform per 100 ml of water -- 100 times better than the current Coast Guard requirement. The Lectra-San MSD currently meets that standard. (The level for closing beaches to swimming is 200 parts per 100 ml.) "Nutrients discharged are negligible and equal to about three oak leaves. When a flush of about two quarts is dispersed into the surrounding water column, the effect is so minute it is immeasurable," said BoatUS. National Advisory Council member Chuck Husick.

To help promote better technological solutions for boat waste, BoatU.S. is supporting H.R. 1730, sponsored by Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and currently before the House Committee on Resources. MSDs meeting the higher standard would be exempted from "no treatment" zones.

The irony of the Florida Keys petition is that the restrictions on MSDs are intended to address a real problem of too many nutrients flowing into Keys waters, which, it is almost universally agreed, are coming from land-based sources such as failing septic systems and land runoff.