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Congressmen pushing for cruise ship pollution law
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
Citizen Staff Writer
Federal
legislators introduced bills in the House of Representatives and Senate
on Thursday that would limit how close to shore cruise ships could
legally dump sewage, bilge water and other pollutants.
The Clean
Cruise Ship Act is intended to bring cruise companies into compliance
with the federal Clean Water Act. Congressional sponsors say the
legislation closes existing loopholes in federal law by creating a
12-mile-wide coastal zone in which cruise ships are prohibited from
dumping.
The
legislation also would require ships to treat their wastewater wherever
they operate, and authorize greater enforcement authority to ensure
compliance. The proposed law would provide federal whistle-blower
protections for employees who report employers' noncompliance.
House and
Senate versions of the bill are sponsored by Rep. Sam Farr of
California, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Christopher Shays
of Connecticut. The congressmen plan to hold public hearings on the
issue this year.
The
legislation would provide for inspection, sampling and testing — the
Coast Guard would establish a three-year program in which independent
observers would be placed onboard cruise vessels to monitor compliance.
The bills are
moving through congressional committees as the Key West City Commission
is asking city staff to create an ordinance that would require cruise
ships to close wastewater release systems between Key West and prior
ports, and force them to pump out sewage into the city's treatment
system. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council also
is recommending that there be no discharge anywhere within the
sanctuary.
The typical
ship produces 30,000 gallons of sewage a day, according to Ross Klein,
author of the book Cruise Ship Blues. Ships can legally dump sewage
three miles from emergent land. Sand Key and Pelican Shoal off Key West
are considered emergent land, so the three miles out would start from
that point, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Billy
Causey said.
Cruise lines
have agreed to dump sewage 12 miles offshore in Florida waters, but
there is no mechanism in place to monitor for compliance.
A ship can
generate 360,000 gallons a day of detergent-laced water from sinks,
showers, laundry washing machines and dishwashers, according to Klein.
There are no laws or agreements on where this can be dumped.
International
Council of Cruise Lines members have agreements with the state of
Florida, Hawaii and Washington that their ships won't discharge
wastewater within four miles of shore. In Hawaii, cruise ship companies
violated the agreement on 16 separate occasions in the first year of its
inception, Klein said. In California, environmentalists and government
officials were outraged after authorities found out that the cruise ship
Crystal Harmony had discharged 36,000 gallons of sewage and
detergent-tainted water in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in
2002. They found out seven months after the incident happened, Klein
said.
"As the
residents of the Central Coast know from experience, voluntary
agreements with cruise ship operators aren't enough to guarantee cruise
ships will not dump in sensitive marine environments," said Rep. Farr,
who represents residents in the Monterey Bay area. "Some states like
California have already enacted legislation to protect their own waters,
and our bill takes the next step of extending that protection to the
entire nation's coastline. The ocean is a public trust and it deserves
protection by the federal government."
Michael Cry,
president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, called the
proposed legislation unnecessary. Eighty percent of coastal water
contamination problems are from land-based sources, Cry said, citing a
Pew Oceans Commission report. Cruise ships make up 1 percent of the
remaining 20 percent, he said.
tohara@keysnews.com |
