NC NDZ???

A

amelia

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NC busybody Democrats at it again. If recent email is to be believed, those worthy souls in charge of living my life for me have quietly passed/signed a bill making NC coastal waters, not sure which ones, no-discharge zones. No PuraSan need apply. (Commercial Agricultural Feeding Operations and leaky municipal sewage systems, paper mills, farm runoff and chemical plant effluent, no problem.

Dang... if this is true, it means back to the drawing board, sanitation-wise.
Another reason to throw every last one of the bums out in November.
 
yep, and the EPA is right behind them to do the same for "runoff" and "discharge" waters. You would think at that level of the Gov't, someone in the organization would have been on a recreational boat and had some common sense...it is apparent that no one at the EPA knows (or cares) how a boat with an engine works, given their plans on water, ethanol, etc.

Even the CBF is behind zero discharge, they too fail to understand how MSDs work, or the idea that there are so few working pumpouts along the bay or other accessible water ways.

Just another freedom taken away.

Vote the bums out and strip EPA of anything to do with water.

and NO I DO NOT ADVOCATE dumping sewage, just in case.
 
From Tom Neale's East Coast Alerts:

http://www.boatus.com/cruising/TomNeale/tip_355.asp

Long Island's South Shore Estuary Now a No-Discharge Zone:
The EPA has approved the application for the South Shore (Long Island, NY) Estuary waters to become a No-Discharge Zone (NDZ). While it is already a violation of the Federal Clean Water Act for boaters to discharge untreated sewage, now treated sewage from federally approved MSDs may also not be discharged. Check http://www.boatus.com/cruising/TomNeale/article_156.asp for information on what a NDZ is really about (even though this article concerned the State of Maryland, the information is relevant to other NDZ applications. After many intelligent arguments were presented at public hearings, the Maryland State Legislature did not pass the NDZ law.)
The following article sums up the attitude of the general public and the misinformation often presented by the press:
http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/05/06/south-shore-no-discharge-zone-seeks-cleaner-bays/. The new NDZ area will be policed by various officials, and there will be fines.

North Carolina's New NDZ Law:
The North Carolina legislature recently passed a vague and poorly worded enactment which prohibits any discharge of effluent from onboard treatment devices, not only in areas designated as NDZs with adequate pumpout stations, but also in areas which have merely made application for such designation. In these areas there may be very few, if any, accessible pumpout stations. The law also requires marinas with "large" boats (with no definition of the word "large") to maintain pumpout records and boats with "marine sanitation devices" (with no reference as to which type) to have pumpout records. There are, in fact, large areas in the state where there are no pumpout facilities. The enactment authorizes a plethora of law enforcement officials, including local sheriff deputies, to police the law. The new law takes effect July 1, 2010.
 
quote:
Originally posted by ronbo1

.............. North Carolina's New NDZ Law:
The North Carolina legislature recently passed a vague and poorly worded enactment which prohibits any discharge of effluent from onboard treatment devices, not only in areas designated as NDZs with adequate pumpout stations, but also in areas which have merely made application for such designation. In these areas there may be very few, if any, accessible pumpout stations. The law also requires marinas with "large" boats (with no definition of the word "large") to maintain pumpout records and boats with "marine sanitation devices" (with no reference as to which type) to have pumpout records. There are, in fact, large areas in the state where there are no pumpout facilities. The enactment authorizes a plethora of law enforcement officials, including local sheriff deputies, to police the law. The new law takes effect July 1, 2010.

Click to expand...


And boaters are supposed to maintain a "pumpout log".

I don't live in NC, but I had planned a boat trip there either this spring or this fall.

Until this is cleared up, I'll stay away.
 
Ron and others: Call the North Carolina DNR and their department of tourism and let them know you're staying away - and why! Tell them you'll spend your money somewhere else!
 
I've whined to my state 'Representative' (D), who seems to represent mainly himself and whoever is inclined to contribute generously to his 'retirement fund.' He hasn't answered my letter or my questions. Surprise! A letter to the editor of the local weekly is next. But I have no doubt that this is all a waste of perfectly good electrons and skull sweat. In this district honesty, intelligence and responsiveness don't matter nearly as much as the (D). And of course, the Good-Ole-Boy factor.

Next question: Although I have never met a more responsive customer service man than Vic Willman, and had all but whipped my credit card out for The Works from Raritan, as soon as The Project was far enough along to merit the investment, now I'm faced with a back-to-the-drawing-board situation. (further partisan political commentary deleted.... snort!!!)

I do NOT want to deal with a holding tank, required pump-out log, or water cops who have a quota to meet.

Anybody here ever deal with the composting heads? Like AirHead or Nature'sHead? (I already have a conveniently-located compost heap for yard waste and kitchen scraps... adding a third bin for aging already mostly composted 'humanure' wouldn't be a big deal... maybe.
 
Amelia; I think you will still have problem with the compositing heads. The urine is seperated only #2 is composted. You still have a small self contained holding tank for the urine. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
I'm not sure how much time you spend on the boat or how many people are on it? The compositing head my not be able to meet the demands because of the process time of compositing.
Bill
 
Bill, thanks so much for your thoughts. We will be, mostly, two souls on board, and mostly, at least at first, just for long weekends. I expect we would use shoreside facilities when such are convenient, and would anticipate having a second jug for swapping out if it should become necessary. Perish the thought that any sterile used beer be simply poured overboard or down the drain when far away from civilization... that would never happen on MY boat.

Have any of y'all talked to people who have owned either brand? Wonder how to choose one over the other, if we decide that's a logical way to go?
 
quote:
Originally posted by amelia

........... I do NOT want to deal with a holding tank, required pump-out log, or water cops who have a quota to meet.........
Click to expand...


I don't think you'll find any "water cops who have a quota to meet".

Of couse, if you're home base is in one of these no discharge zones, you may have to be creative, but keeping a log is not the same as keeping receipts. And who is to say you didn't leave the NDZ to empty your tank? Who is to say you dou even use the head for that matter? You use marina facilities or just "go" over the side?

I will agree though, that this is a poorly thought out and poorly worded proposal, likely created to shut up nutty envirnonmentalists or perhaps waterfront property owners who see the same boats anchored off their property for days without moving and without a visit from a pumpout boat.
 
Quote: "I don't think you'll find any "water cops who have a quota to meet".

Right, Rawhidman- Very likely you're right about the stupid law's genesis. About the cops? Not where YOU live, surely-- but I can say for fairly certain, that there are traffic cops who prey on unwary tourists, yea, even near your fair village. Ever hear rumors of Mt. Pleasant budget shortfalls being alleviated by visitors who didn't see the sudden and silly slowdown to the 17 off-ramp, or the police sitting there waiting at the bottom of the ramp, pickin' 'em off like flies? Who's to say the speed-trap cop-shop in Columbia NC won't find money for a potty patrol? I fear yet more abuse of power, and abuse of unwary cruisers, especially with so many counties in NC hurting for funds.

I have several beefs about laws like this: First, its basis is not scientifically sound. Second, it encourages the scoff-law behavior you allude to: pencil-whipped 'pumpout logs', forced blatant lying to LEOs, which may produce exactly the behavior they hope to avoid, i.e. dumping of raw sewage. Third, it'll discourage cruising tourist dollars our hard-hit state desperately needs. What were those dimwits thinking? Lord alone knows. And neither He nor my representative is sharing.
 
While I: A) boat in North Carolina and B) think the law is stupid, I C) think that keeping a pump out log is a no brainer because I D) do it anyway. But, unfortunately E) something had to be done.

This legislative over reaction is the result of the worst attitude of boaters I have seen on the entire US east coast about keeping the water clean. So now, people who have done the right thing and have installed high quality MSDs on their boats are paying the price for the general populations slovenliness. Maybe the gov will get around to doing something about the pig farms while they are at it.
 
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