Green Marinas, Inc.  PO Box 1151, Seabrook, TX 77586.  Tel. 281-923-2152 email greenmarinas@gmail.com, www.greenmarinas.com

A grass roots approach to sustainable

Galveston Bay marinas

Water Quality Law for Texas Mariners

Two major pieces of legislation establish state and federal water quality law.  On the federal side is the Clean Water Act of 1972.  On the state side is the Texas Water Code.  We will begin with the Clean Water Act of 1972.  Vessel sewage discharge is regulated under Section 312.

  • The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972 and then got its unofficial name.  The CWA required states to set water quality standards for point and non-point pollution sources.
  • Under the Clean Water Act, at a states request, EPA can designate a water body as a “No Discharge Zone or NDZ.”  That means all sewage effluent must be pumped out from a holding tank on the vessel to a proper shore station. The waters of Clear Lake are designated as a No Discharge Zone.

On the state side, things become more confusing.  We try to simplify. 

Until September 2009, sewage discharge in coastal waters was legal under state law.  We know that seems utterly ridiculous but its true.  The 2009 Texas legislature passed SB 2445 to amend the Chapter 26 of the Texas Water Code as it pertains to boater sewage discharge to change the term "inland freshwaters of the state" to "all surface waters of the state."

Let's try to put this in context.  A generation has grown middle aged since the Clean Water Act of 1972 was enacted and there has been no enforcement of illegal boater sewage discharge at any Galveston Bay marina.

SB2445 changes everything when it comes to boater sewage discharge law in Texas.  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is charged with enforcing the water code and the agency is engaged in a rulemaking process that will determine how the new law will be enforced.

Key components of SB2445 also include:

"A game warden or peace officer who is certified as a marine safety enforcement officer under Section 31.121 may enforce a rule of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality concerning the disposal of sewage from boats."

 

"A marine safety enforcement officer who reasonably suspects that a boat is discharging sewage in an area where discharge is prohibited may, if the owner or operator is aboard, board the boat for the purpose of inspecting the marine sanitation device for proper operation and testing the sanitation and holding devices, including placing a dye tablet in the holding tank."

To Joe boaters like us, this means that you can be hanging out at your dock enjoying the day and there is a possiblity that you might be boarded by law enforcement to inspect your MSD and see if your toilet discharges into your holding tank.  More on that in the law enforcement section.