Maine petitions EPA to designate all of Casco Bay as a No Discharge Area.
02.28.2006

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has petitioned the EPA to establish its first No Discharge Area (NDA) in Casco Bay. In 1990 the EPA designated Casco Bay as an "estuary of national significance." As part of its No Discharge Area Implementation Plan, the EPA will most likely approve Maine's petition early this spring. Under the new law, it will be illegal to discharge sewerage or treated sewerage from any vessels in the NDA.
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The proposed NDA includes all contiguous waters north and east of Cape Elizabeth Light to Bald Point in Phippsburg. It also includes the Fore River, Presumpscot River, Royal River, Cousins River, harraseeket River, and the New Meadows River. Towns bordering the area are Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Portland, Long Island, Falmouth, Cumberland, Yarmouth, Freeport, Brunswick, Harpswell, West Bath, and Phippsburg.
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The EPA estimates that there are 1420 commercial vessels and 3476 recreational vessels in the proposed NDA. In addition, they estimate 1288 transient vessels, for a total of 4896 vessels. Of that total, 80%, or 3897, are presumed to have some type of marine sanitation device. These vessels will be served by 20 pumpout facilities: 11 shore based, 7 portable, one pumpout boat, and one dump station. These figures are within the EPA's target ratio of 300-600 vessels/pumpout facility.
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Future plans call for extending the No Discharge Area from Casco Bay to Frenchman's Bay, including the Midcoast and all of Penobscot Bay.

Comments about this proposal may be submitted before April 17, 2006 to Ann Rodney, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency New England Region, Suite 1100, COP, Boston, MA 02114-2023 or by calling 617-918-1538.

Maine's pumpout program can be seen here. Questions can be addressed to Pamela Parker at 207-287-7905 or by e-mail.