tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4510056950479922035.post3614088714248232505..comments2023-10-25T01:54:52.399-07:00Comments on Washington Department of Ecology: Puget Sound officially a No Discharge ZoneWA Department of Ecologyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17211353558094402510noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4510056950479922035.post-20461437238309715942018-04-19T09:06:05.229-07:002018-04-19T09:06:05.229-07:00As much as I love Puget Sound, this NDZ will do NO...As much as I love Puget Sound, this NDZ will do NOTHING for the health of Puget Sound. All vessels have been prohibited from discharging untreated sewage into the Sound since the 70's. The NDZ prohibits the use of EPA and USCG approved marine sanitation devices, which treat the sewage before being discharged. The effect on the environment from vessels is so miniscule, Ecology's own study had to put a crew of 8 BILLION persons on a tug anchored 1 mile off a beach all discharging untreated waste into the water at once to have any effect on the water quality. A typical tug will spend $250,000 to $ 1,000,000 to retrofit tankage to comply with the NDZ, while a single storm overflow event from the West Point plant will discharge 3 years worth of vessel effluent at once, and they will get fined less than $50,000.00.<br /><br />I suppose Ms. Bellon needed something like this on her resume when she runs for Governor, but the need for the NDZ and the availability of pump out facilities to serve the commercial vessel community were misrepresented by Ecology in the petition, and the commercial vessel community will pay a very high price for this "feel good" environmental measure which has already been proven in Ecology's own study to do nothing to improve water quality.Not All Facts Are Factshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06304135677593067524noreply@blogger.com