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| giant cruise ship in San Diego harbor |
All sewage from large cruise liners and cargo ships is to be banned from entering California coastal waters under new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The ban would be the largest no discharge zone in the US and is expected to spare the seawater from diluting 20 million gallons of untreated sewage dumped by ships every year.
ENS tells us that 434 California beaches monitored in 2009 showed forty percent were put under advisories for exceeding pathogen standards. All fifty LA beaches, 85% of San Francisco's beaches and 75% of San Diego's were issued advisories. The State of California asked EPA to establish the ban to improve water quality under the federal Clean Water Act. The ban applies to ships over 300 tons displacement and covers coastal waters within 3 miles of shore. The state is also attempting to improve the regulation of sewage discharge from smaller vessels including private recreational boats. The EPA is inviting
public comment for sixty days on the proposed rule, EPA-R09-OW-2010-0438.
