Ban on Big Ships Dumping Sewage
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) _ Under a new federal law, cruise ships and other large commercial vessels will not be allowed to dump sewage within three miles of the California coast.
Regional Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Jared Blumenfeld made the announcement Wednesday at Crissy Field, saying the agency was pushed for eight years to enact this ban.
"We hope that this will be precedent-setting. That others will realize that sewage has no place near our pristine coastline and our bays like the San Francisco Bay," said Blumenfeld.
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The ban includes the Bay and San Joaquin River watershed, up to Sacramento and Stockton.
Russell Long is with Friends of the Earth, one of the groups that pressured the EPA.
"This is great news for the environment and for people who go to the beach and like to take their kids out swimming," said Long. "Because they don't have to worry so much about bacterial pollution and pathogens that may impact their kids or themselves."
The new rule will take effect early next year and adds to the existing state law, which already bans ships from dumping runoff from their showers or sinks, oil or other hazardous substances.
