Holding tank requirements USA

[boatman12]

Originally Posted by Bean Counter

See RYA summary
Holding Tanks | Boating Abroad | Knowledge & Advice | Knowledge & Advice | RYA

My head is spinning!

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by boatman12

My head is spinning!

That's an interesting installation Boatie! [emoji1]

Clockwise or Counterclockwise?

Can you reverse depending on which hemisphere your in

[Jubilee39]

Holding tanks seem to be a requirement only in the USA and Turkey. Traveling across the Pacific and into the Med a few marinas said they were required, never checked and from the condition of the waters inside these marinas, rarely used.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Some are proposing that the OP lock his head through hull and use a composting toilet or porta potty. It appears that this cannot be done as his boat has an installed head.

I would think with a 43 ft boat you could rig a small composter that you could tuck in someplace. Much easier than installing a holding tank.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Every time I read this I wait for the poster to prove it by hanging their butt over the side and dropping a load in front of a water cop type.

I just find it such an insulting and twisted “taking the high ground” position

They won't fine you for discharge but they will fine you for indecent exposure...which can actually be worse as you can wind up on the sexual predator lists.

[valhalla360]

I wouldn't count on just locking the thru-hull valve if it's the only head on-board.

Locking works with the standard system (INCLUDING a HOLDING TANK) because it is presumed that you use the holding tank and pump out facilities or wait until you are 3 miles out to dump.

If you have no holding tank and no other head, the authorities are likely to make the logical conclusion that you don't squeeze your cheeks together for days at a time so you must be unlocking prior to every use and then re-locking.

Sure you could do that with a holding tank but at least it's plausible that you are complying. Without a holding tank, it's not plausible.

Reality is you need to plan on either:
- adding a holding tank
- installing a composting head.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by boatman12

I find it odd that boats in the UK aren't equipped with holding tanks or sewage treatment systems. A livaboards marina must be an unpleasant place.

All marina's I have been in do not allow using the head when in the harbour. That solves the problem.

From the first time I set foot on board a yacht it has been like this: dumping sewage overboard is largely an esthetic/public health problem. Unproblematic when at sea, or even on lakes or rivers. But in harbors you do not use the head, you go on shore.

[CaptJimFrei]

You are not allowed to discharge treated or untreated sewage while in North Carolina coastal waters per NC General Statute Chapter 77 Article 9. Coastal Waters extend one marine league away from the extreme low water mark, or approximately 3.4 miles offshore.

Therefore, if your boat is equipped with a MSD, the discharge valve must be locked or otherwise secured. If boarded by the USCG, this item will be checked.

Its possible other states have similar rules which override the USEPA's NDZ rules. The original NDZ rules were established to give the federal or states the authority to classify certain water bodies or zones as "no discharge" regards sewage.

[CaptJimFrei]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

All marina's I have been in do not allow using the head when in the harbour. That solves the problem.

From the first time I set foot on board a yacht it has been like this: dumping sewage overboard is largely an esthetic/public health problem. Unproblematic when at sea, or even on lakes or rivers. But in harbors you do not use the head, you go on shore.

Per Section 312 of the Clean Water Act (promulgated at 40 CFR 140.3), all fresh water bodies are NDZ.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Jubilee39

Holding tanks seem to be a requirement only in the USA and Turkey. Traveling across the Pacific and into the Med a few marinas said they were required, never checked and from the condition of the waters inside these marinas, rarely used.

Add Canada to this list. We basically have the same laws as the USA. That said, we seem to be a bit less anal about it all — at least in my experience. I’ve never, ever been checked or questioned about my head. Up until recently I cruised in the Great Lakes, which is 100% zero-discharge zone.

I cruise with a composting head. Great solution for a crew of two to three.

When I’ve bothered to look into this whole head question (usually when engaged in one of these poop threads), my reading of the laws show that the restrictions on overboard dumping are growing in most developed countries. If you plan to cruise in coastal waters of developed countries, or like to hang out in small low-flow anchorages, then having some sort of holding or treatment system on board just seems like a good idea.

[boatman12]

Originally Posted by CaptJimFrei

You are not allowed to discharge treated or untreated sewage while in North Carolina coastal waters per NC General Statute Chapter 77 Article 9. Coastal Waters extend one marine league away from the extreme low water mark, or approximately 3.4 miles offshore.

Therefore, if your boat is equipped with a MSD, the discharge valve must be locked or otherwise secured. If boarded by the USCG, this item will be checked.

Its possible other states have similar rules which override the USEPA's NDZ rules. The original NDZ rules were established to give the federal or states the authority to classify certain water bodies or zones as "no discharge" regards sewage.

The USCG will not be enforcing state laws, only Federal.

I have been boarded twice by the USCG (in MD). They did not check the holding tank, valves, heads, etc. They checked for documentation, our personal IDs and safety equipment.

[boatman12]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

All marina's I have been in do not allow using the head when in the harbour. That solves the problem........... .

I can't imagine how they would know.

We use the marina heads when practical but not in the middle of the night.

[boatman12]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

They won't fine you for discharge but they will fine you for indecent exposure...which can actually be worse as you can wind up on the sexual predator lists.

It would take an extreme dumbass to pee or poop into the water with people watching, especially LEOs.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatman12

It would take an extreme dumbass to pee or poop into the water with people watching, especially LEOs.

More common then you might think.

Google: Jobbie Nooner

But don't do it on your work computer.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

I would think with a 43 ft boat you could rig a small composter that you could tuck in someplace. Much easier than installing a holding tank.

You missed the point. Here's the regs. thanks to freaktiki:

The Federal Clean Water Act requires that all boats with an installed head have one of three types of Coast Guard approved marine sanitation devices (MSD's) attached to the toilet. Failure to comply can result in a $2,000 fine. Type I and II MSD's are flow-through systems that treat the sewage using chemical, electrical and/or incineration methods before discharging the waste overboard; i.e., Lectra-San or Microphor. A macerator pump is not an MSD. Type III MSD's are holding tanks that store sewage on the boat. The waste is not treated in a Type III device, even if odor-reducing chemicals are added. It is illegal to discharge or empty the contents of your boat's holding tank in U.S. territorial water ( within a three-mile limit)

My point was that if the OP has an installed head (which he has) he must have a holding tank to comply. A porta potty will not do the job. He would have to rip out his installed head if he wishes to go to a porta potty.