EPA Petitioned to Update Sewage Standards for Ships

Friends of the Earth issued a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  urging the EPA to update standards governing sewage dumping from large ships.  The current, outdated standards, adopted in 1976, allow the use of 30-year-old treatment technology and fail to protect water quality.  Far better treatment technology exists and has been in use in some cruise ships for years.   

Inadequately treated sewage discharged from cruise ships and large ocean-going vessels endangers marine environments and public health because it can contain disease-causing microorganisms, viruses and excessive levels of nutrients.  A single large cruise ship on a one-week voyage can generate over 200,000 gallons of raw sewage, which can end up dumped untreated or without adequate treatment into U.S. waters.

We are asking the EPA to finally compel all large ships, especially cruise ships, dumping waste into our oceans and navigable waters to use better technology.  EPA should bring large vessel sewage standards into the 21st century.

Click here for a copy of the Petition |  Read the Press Release