How seriously is the 2M dumping policy enforced? (Yet another poo question)

[jholovacs]

Originally Posted by Ambler

The popularity of composting toilets is increasing and certainly worth consideration.

Yeah, I've been reading up on that with some interest, though they really seem too large to comfortably fit in my head.

[thinwater]

Yes, I have been boarded several times (about every 3 years) and the Y-valve was always checked (secure it with a cable tie or lock). Big fine. Chesapeake Bay.


If sewage treatment didn't matter, we wouldn't have sewage treatment plants. You wouldn't like that and probably would not choose to be a boater. In the ICW or harbor, any other argument is hand-waving. The minimum distance offshore is arguable, and 3 miles was just a simple default value for legality.


Cetaceans don't carry human pathogens.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by jholovacs

.....
1) It's nasty... sure. But it's also nasty when a dolphin or manatee or whale does it, right? Why is human poo special in this regard?
2) What is "very unhealthy" in this context? an acre of water a foot deep has almost 400,000 gallons in it... even in the narrowest section of the ICW we're looking at a concentration of less than 1ppm. And why isn't it unhealthy offshore?

IMO these aren't good, practical arguments against. I was hoping for something a bit more fact-driven, something about the bacterial content in human sewage in contrast to marine sewage, or the likelihood of getting caught doing this by the Poo Police, or how harshly punishments are meted out, not something like "eww gross"...

1. Marine life feces contains little or nothing that somebody else could become ill from. Human feces on the other hand ....

2. For some pathogens ppm will still make your neighbors ill.

Both local and USCG can issue fines. If you are boarded, they will almost certainly check your head. I’ve heard that they are putting dye in heads and pumping to see if anything shows up in the water. At which point fines start.

Federal fines are up to $2,000
Local fines vary.

https://dbw.parks.ca.gov/pages/28702...ev_for_web.pdf

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by thomm225

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It simply isn't that hard to take care of the right way......

What if there are NO pump out stations? As in NONE, nada, zip, zero.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

What if there are NO pump out stations? As in NONE, nada, zip, zero.

Take it offshore 3 miles or stop using the onboard "facility."

A direct deposit here and there like the animals do is much better than some "person" dumping 20 gallons or more of crap in one spot in slow moving shallow water

[Moody46CC]

There are pump out facilities at every town or stop in the ICW.

Where I boat, the Chesapeake Bay (a NDZ), the USCG boards and checks the Y-valve which must be securely shut off so that effluent does not go overboard. Just having it in the holding tank position is insufficient--must be a lock of some sort. A cable tie will do. They will drop a dye pack in a head and flush it. If the dye comes up in the water next to your boat, have your checkbook in your hand.

[jholovacs]

Hmm I wonder if it makes sense to install a type I MSD. I saw this nifty little device: https://www.anchorexpress.com/Rarita...1_p_75624.html
...which could control one of these: https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1&id=4066839... with my battery and solar upgrades, the draw should definitely be manageable, and it doesn't seem to take up a bunch of space...

[Woodland Hills]

So what is the etiquette for pumping waste overboard in the Bahamas?
What if I am in a marina with no pumpout facilities, have an overflowing tank and for mechanical reasons cannot leave, what do I do?
What if I have problems with the black tank pump, have the system repaired by installing a different type pump and need to test the system before paying the service tech?
Does it make a difference if you are in a closed marina with one opening to the sea or if you are in one with one opening to the sea and one to the bank with a strong current?
Just what are the unwritten rules?

[cabo_sailor]

This is a question I have dealt with for many years. If at my marina, I go ashore and use their facilities. Unless it’s an “emergency “ I don’t use the boat head. Offshore the tidal currents are strong and if needs must it goes over. In 25 years I’ve never been inspected by LEO.
Part of my problem is that despite what the cruising guides state there is only one pump out on the river. I don’t mind the cost but hovering in line for a pump out at a narrow point with lots of traffic is not on my list of fun for the weekend. Not when I can be out nine miles in the same time.
Yes it’s not legal but I do the best I can.

[newhaul]

Look at it this way
Penalties for illegal dumping/discharge of a Marine Sanitation Device in Florida Non-criminal infraction with a $250 penalty.Nov 19, 2015
And that was 5 years ago do you think its gotten cheaper???
Think of all the beer and rum that will buy .

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by Adelie

1. Marine life feces contains little or nothing that somebody else could become ill from. Human feces on the other hand ....

2. For some pathogens ppm will still make your neighbors ill.

Both local and USCG can issue fines. If you are boarded, they will almost certainly check your head. I’ve heard that they are putting dye in heads and pumping to see if anything shows up in the water. At which point fines start.

Federal fines are up to $2,000
Local fines vary.

https://dbw.parks.ca.gov/pages/28702...ev_for_web.pdf

Yeah, that line of thinking always infuriates me. After all using that logic... foxes defecate in driveways in my neighborhood all the time, why is it any different if I defecate in driveways in my neighborhood?

[Chotu]

I got boarded. Paid my $250. I had just bought a boat that day. Had a pee jug in the cockpit single handing to a different spot off the broker's dock. . Hadn't stopped to see how to work the head plumbing yet.

They zoomed up behind me and one of them jumped right aboard the boat. Told me to hold speed and course. Went below and flushed through some dye. Didn't care that I had never used the head and was actively using a jug in the cockpit. Head even still had that nasty "it's been sitting with water in it for months" scum.

$250 fine. New Symrnia Beach.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Yes, I have been boarded several times (about every 3 years) and the Y-valve was always checked (secure it with a cable tie or lock). Big fine. Chesapeake Bay.


If sewage treatment didn't matter, we wouldn't have sewage treatment plants. You wouldn't like that and probably would not choose to be a boater. In the ICW or harbor, any other argument is hand-waving. The minimum distance offshore is arguable, and 3 miles was just a simple default value for legality.


Cetaceans don't carry human pathogens.

actually it was not just an arbitrary number it goes back to the 1700's when the range of shore batteries ( canons) was 3 miles therefore they decided that would be a countries sovern offshore territory.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

Yeah, that line of thinking always infuriates me. After all using that logic... foxes defecate in driveways in my neighborhood all the time, why is it any different if I defecate in driveways in my neighborhood?

for the most part animal feces doesn't carry pathogens that are easily transmittable cross species to humans.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by jholovacs

Hmm I wonder if it makes sense to install a type I MSD.

To me, no.

They're implementing NDZ's anywhere they can. It's only a matter of time before it'll be illegal to dump treated waste anywhere that it's illegal to dump untreated waste. This would make a treatment system sort of pointless.

Let's go back to the analogy to speeding. Yes, everyone speeds by a few MPH. And it's sort of tolerated when you're just keeping up with traffic.

But they'll still come down hard on that one driver who's passing everyone 20+ MPH over the limit.

The analogy here is that the vast majority boaters do their best to follow the letter of the law, even if they maybe don't make it ALL the way out to 3 miles EVERY time.

But the person who dumps in the ICW isn't like the casual speeder following traffic. They're the a-hole who weaves in and out of traffic, passing everyone at a high rate of speed. And yes, they will get a ticket.