Canadian Sewage Discharge Rules

[hummingway]

Steveston Marine just sent this out, along with and ad for a holding tank of course:


New Sewage Discharge Regulations - May 5th 2012 Deadline
Sewage Discharge regulations, introduced in 2007 with a five-year moratorium on enforcement, will be in effect and enforced as of May 5th. Fines are $250 and will apply for non-compliance.
The following highlights specifics of the Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and for Dangerous Chemicals that are important for members to know and to share with their customers. Additional highlights can be viewed at: Updated Sewage Bulletin

1. All boats fitted with a toilet must have and use a holding tank and it must have a means of shore discharge. Portable toilets are acceptable but they must be attached to the vessel and have a means of dockside pump out.
2. An approved treatment device that meets the strict coliform count maximum set out in the regulations is a permitted option. Members should know that this option may be considered costly and impractical.
3. Pump-out facilities must be used where available.
4. In the event that a pump-out facility is not available, there are conditions under which untreated waste may be discharged:
i. The discharge is made at a distance of at least three nautical miles from shore while the vessel is en route at the fastest possible speed, or
ii. If it is not possible to meet the requirements of sub paragraph (i) because the vessel is located in waters that are less than 6 miles from shore to shore, the discharge is made while the vessel is en route at a speed of at least four knots or, if the discharge is not feasible at that speed, the discharge is made:
a. During an ebb tide, while the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed and into the deepest waters that are located farthest from shore, or
b. While the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed and into the deepest and fastest moving waters that are located the farthest from shore

There aren't many pumpouts around BC waters so for the most part the minimum requirement appears to be that the boat has to be moving. It often bothers me, in Degnan Bay, that I know there are boats where people stay aboard but you never see them move. My guess is the RCMP aren't going to do anything in general about the rules but may use them with regards to liveaboards in boats that aren't sea worthy. At the very least they will be required to move out into a channel to dump.

[roverhi]

It looks like they are crucifying boats while still dumping an entire cities sewage into the Gulf. At least looks like they have made provision for Type 1 and 2 sewage treatment devices. They warn that they may be expensive but actually cheap compared to having a floating cesspool that you get to take with you on every sail. If it's as much of a pain to put in a holding system as it was to take mine out, can't see how retrofitting holding tanks will be anywhere near as cheap as an Electro Scan unit.

[AuroraGH]

I would take this seriously only when Victoria starts treating their sewage rather than simply piping it into the middle of the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Seriously.

[hummingway]

Like I wrote, I don't read this as being about most sailboats but rather about the boats that discharge in harbours. In other words the derelicts. I can't see the RCMP boarding and checking boats, there just isn't enough maritime enforcement. I could be wrong but the only presence I've seen since the Olympics has been around derelicts, whether abandoned or being used as liveaboards.

[Cheechako]

A LOT better thought out than the USA standard! I've been amazed that Canada hasnt had any protection in the past.

[hummingway]

I actually thought these rules were already in place. There really is a lack of pumpouts here on the west coast though. Tsehum Harbour has one and there are something like 1400 boats. I don't think there's a pumpout at Canoe Cove either so there's another 200 boats anyway. That's just the resident population.

Here's a list of the punpouts and a few are actually on freshwater. We have a lot of boats on the water every summer and there is a lot of liveaboards. At the south end of the island there is maybe 200 official liveaboard slips with on dock pumpouts.

It's not hard to figure out where all the waste is going!

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

A LOT better thought out than the USA standard! I've been amazed that Canada hasnt had any protection in the past.

+1

[bobconnie]

This is well thought out ??? Few if any pump outs so if ya can't go 3 miles out ya just pick a spot and run 4 or 5 NMH and dump away ?? or ya find some fast running water and dump it there ?? wow thats really well thought out !!Come on as said most all of the citys up there dump at least semi treated waste into the waters up there already, so I guess a little more is ok ?? then to say msds may be to expensive right in the rules! Yep this is gonna help the Marine stores with holding tank sales but I don't see how it will help the water out at all !!just my 2 cents

[nwdiver]

Canada is very green minded, we directly fertilize the ocean to promote plankton blooms and increase atmospheric oxygen, didn’t you see the special on Discovery Channel

[Cheechako]

From my standpoint, if there are no resources to pump out and you are allowed to get underway , out of harbor and pump out.... it's a great plan for boaters..... compared with the US.
Yeah.... it's not a big ecology boost, but Canada has a lot of open water and heavy currents flushing the toilet! Why force the boaters until the cities and pulp mills clean up their act? When Victoria stops dumping millions of gallons of raw sewage out, and the PCB's have been cleaned up.... then it's time to start picking on the boaters.... JMHO

[hummingway]

Victoria will be treating their sewage in the not too distant future and it is currently pumped at anaerobic depths which is different then dumping at the surface but I do agree that it is a reasonable solution since it address the real issue which is dumping in non moving waters and poorly flushed basins.

[HappySeagull]

I see it as good intent: They're trying to keep the Blind Mullet away from the beaches and the slime/algae bloom out of the coves without being ridiculous about it .
Unfortunately (or not?) despite the big tides on the "inside" here, I've read there's very little "flushing". The water just goes back and forth, up and down and that the Straits and inlets actually "turn over" only about once in 10 years or more. Wherever Vancouver and Victoria are putting the sludge, I'm guessing it's still there...

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

I see it as good intent: They're trying to keep the Blind Mullet away from the beaches and the slime/algae bloom out of the coves without being ridiculous about it .
Unfortunately (or not?) despite the big tides on the "inside" here, I've read there's very little "flushing". The water just goes back and forth, up and down and that the Straits and inlets actually "turn over" only about once in 10 years or more. Wherever Vancouver and Victoria are putting the sludge, I'm guessing it's still there...

Vancouver has five treatment plants but Victoria is pumping into Juan de Fuca.

It does seem with high tides every 12.5 hours or so the water can't be going to far.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by hummingway

Vancouver has five treatment plants but Victoria is pumping into Juan de Fuca.

It does seem with high tides every 12.5 hours or so the water can't be going to far.

Andrew Weaver one of the authors of the IPCC has said.

As an example, he said, scientists have shown that a $782-million secondary-treatment plant upgrade is unnecessary for Victoria sewage due to the ocean’s strong flushing action. However, issues such as tourism and the desire to take advantage of provincial-federal cost sharing mean that the project is going ahead anyway.

Read more: World science experts gather at AAAS conference in Vancouver Feb. 16 to 20

Climate change scientist Andrew Weaver has paid a price for bringing his research to the public.

His University of Victoria office contains a Wall of Hate, filled with the “vitriolic diatribes” of people who cannot accept the overwhelming conclusion of the scientific community that burning fossil fuels is responsible for global warming.

One man even stood in front of UVic with a placard calling Weaver a “practising liar” over concerns the professor was interfering with the natural course of religion.

“He thinks that by talking about climate science people might change their behaviour, and ... you might prevent the Rapture from occurring, and that would be against God’s will,” Weaver said.



Read more: World science experts gather at AAAS conference in Vancouver Feb. 16 to 20

[markpierce]

This is consistent with earlier observations that Canada's environmental laws are more lax than the USA's.