Maryland Proposed changes for Chesapeake Bay

The Ches has some real good crabs. Hate to see them go the way of the L.I. blue claws or Peconic Bay scallops. If some slob dumps his black water I'd vote for seizing his boat and keel hauling him.

So, who should go first? The city managers, the water treatment chief, the mayor, the governor?

Just Google "sewage spill Maryland." They just had a 22 million gallon spill and that was only the 18th largest ... this is "feel good" legislation at best and is probably nothing more than cynical political maneuvering aimed at getting a few more federal dollars.

That works. Reality, I'm not naive enough to believe it will actually have a major impact, but if it scares a slob (and every marina seems to have at least one) into closing his Y-valve in their marina it's good.

The problems (unintended and otherwise) arising as a consequence from this proposal would be deleterious on so many fronts, not the least of which would be more burden on boaters and the agency who implements the enforcement.

Obviously folks want to see the beauty of the bay enhanced and preserved. I doubt anyone would refute the need to be diligent in their relationship with cleaner water, and responsible boaters do comply with the laws currently on the books. The concern this legislation puts forth is the assertion that the so called inert discharge is rich in nitrogen, a natural nutrient overstimulating bottom growth among other concerns. ( Incidentally, our atmosphere is comprised of over 70% nitrogen.) The argument further implies that it is boaters and their type I & II treatment systems who are responsible for waning oyster and crab populations. This is a hugely disingenuous and hypocritical argument. In fact, the largest contributor to raw and treated sewage into the bay are municipal and regional treatment plants, by the millions of metric tons! Up to 30% of effluent emitted by waste water plants along the bay (within Maryland waters) is raw and under processed sewage. And, legislators have made it all neat and legal via an elaborate fee system of discharge credits virtually identical to the proposed Cap & Trade for air quality. Neither actually prevents pollutants from being discharged, rather, legislators have found a powerful method of engorging their coffers on a commercial scale. Do not be fooled for a second. This current proposal targeting boaters is exactly this; a new vehicle for increased government revenue and a basis for expanding regulatory and enforcement budgets.

Because boaters are already a captive market with respect to fees and compliance, we are naturally the easiest and next target for more burdensome regulation and revenue. This applies to ALL boaters, not just vessels with type I & II MSD's. It has been suggested that the Maryland DNR's new charge is to move away from response/assistance oriented activity toward strictly enforcing environmental/fishing codes. Their budgets are already strained with rounds of lay-offs effected and more looming. This proposed new revenue scheme is a direct answer to that and very little more. The consequence in passing this proposal will have very little, if any, effect on water quality in relation and comparison to the discharge of treatment plants, but will enact a new level of harassment and tedious compliance testing which boaters will pay for. What fun!

Again, responsible boaters are already doing their part within the law, a law that is in balance with the greater picture of contributing factors. Wrongly singling out the boating community for further burdensome fees and compulsory inspection compliance is just another infringement by government gone wild.

I think the proposed law is long overdue. Don't poop in the bay regardless of what sewage spills have occured it is just wrong. I own 2 boats that are early 80's vintage. Both have holding tanks only with the discharge plumbing removed. Too many boats have raw overboard discharge. No discharge is the answer.

The following was taken from an article in the Nor'easter magazine, I edited out the opinion and kept the facts as presented in the article.
If you google the magazine you can see the entire article.

(Begin quoted magazine article)
[ “Maryland Senator Joan Carter Conway introduced a bill, Vessels – No Discharge Designation for Maryland Waters , to help reduce nutrient loads in the Chesapeake Bay.
Under current law it is already illegal to discharge raw sewage from a vessel in Maryland. So the change to a bay wide “ no discharge” zone would strive to stop treated sewage from boats from being discharged in the bay. MTAM estimates that there are about 4500 out of more than 200,000 registered vessels in Maryland that currently have sanitation devices that treat to current EPA standards, then discharge waste. We further estimate that about half of those boats have a combination system that includes a holding tank. From that estimate the amount contributed to the total annual Bay nutrient loas would be about .00034 or three thousandths of 1% of the annual nutrient load to the Bay.
As noted above it is already illegal to dump raw sewage in the Bay. So we store it in our holding tanks and pump it out ashore. From there it goes to a sewage treatment plant. Those plants experienced 1,599 reported incidents of sewer overflow resulting in an estimated 393,006,788 gallons of wastewater being dumped in the Bay in 2009 alone…….

That does not even begin to account for the pollution from agricultural runoff, excess fertilizer from lawns and gardens and even salt we use to treat our roads.” ] ( end quoted magazine article)

The real issues are being ignored.

The big fines. Now it's a lot cheaper to do the right thing.

It is already illegal to discharge raw sewage from a boat and it has been for ages.

Linking the two issues together is political BS. Blowing smoke up the public's butt doesn't clean up the Bay. Stopping the municipalities from playing games to avoiding building the infrastructure that our taxes paid for is a large part of the solution. This "new" law is a fraud and a political charade. Where is your "just wrong" outrage when Bal'mur flushes its collective head into the Bay?

What part of it is already illegal by state and federal law don't you understand?

Yes it is political posturing, i.e. looking like they're doing something without actually doing anything. Will it do diddly toward cleaning up the bay? No. But it will keep many from having to watch raw sewage float past their boat while enjoying a nice day at the marina. Unfortunately many think it's only illegal if you get caught and a $1,000 fine is worth the convenience of not taking one's boat to the pump out facility and paying $15. $15,000 will have an effect. Lowlifes don't like to pay for their actions. This will probably put those people out of boating. No loss.
It should also be noted that this has zero effect on those who handle their waste properly and the general boating population so it's really a non-issue except for the lowlifes. Now, about increasing the fines against municipalities who dump....

No need to punish the taxpayer for the failure of the politicians.

All you have to do is to make sure the water pitchers at all meetings of city councils and state legislative assemblies are filled with water taken at random from the discharge of randomly selected sewage treatment plants and require them to drink it in front of the audience.

I wonder what the politicans are going to do when all the boats everywhere have no overboard discharge facilities, a good friend of mine was a very senior Government inspector in the shipping industry and told me that civil servants have to continually make new rules or their position and department may be disbanded, so, they are forever adding odd and unfair rules to combat what apprears to be irresponsible actions by the public, good law is a good idea but if unfairly applied then is actually counterproductive and just aggrivates the public.

In NYC today some idiot proposed the banning of salt in all restaurant meals, with heavy fines.

There is nothing new in the minds of those who have our "best interests" in mind. Back when you were a young deckhand the same morons banned alcohol.

Sometimes we give the rest of the world a good laugh.

I'm getting a bit older, but I'm not Dorian Gray.

Read the Bill

Read the Bill

Read the Bill

To paraphrase an old proverb: Examiner, educate thyself.

Boss Hogg has always existed. You can have your Lexus seized these days if you teenager happens to be carrying a joint when you drive him to his friends house. Clueless is no excuse, but guaranteed they won't be clueless twice. Besides, we all know where this will be directed...the dock queen who thinks it's a condo and the marina is their sewer. The rest is just paranoia. You know that anybody can be busted in a dozen different ways every single day. Ever notice how nobody ever gets busted on a single count of anything. That's the world we live in and it's not getting better anytime soon. There are just that many laws. Keep it in mind on election day.

Or the overzealous Marine Patrol or Coastie, that doesn't even really know what he is looking at and over-using his power.