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EPA, STATE DESIGNATE HARWICH COASTLINE A "NO DISCHARGE AREA"

Release Date: 08/19/1998
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, (617)918-4154

BOSTON -- During a ceremony held in Harwich today, EPA-New England Deputy Administrator Mindy Lubber officially designated Allen, Wychmere and Saquatucket harbors, and the Herring River "No Discharge Areas," prohibiting boats from dumping treated or untreated sewage into the waterways.
The designation covers the harbors, the river and 400 feet out from all of the contiguous beaches in between. The roughly 750 boats homeported in the area will now be required to use a shore pumpout facility in Saquatucket Municipal Marina, or a boat that is usually docked in the marina. In addition, there are public restrooms in Allen and Saquatucket harbors.

Boat sewage can lead to health problems for swimmers, closed shellfish beds and the overall degradation of marine habitats. In 1993, the town formed a shellfish and marine water quality committee whose members monitor and study water quality with the Division of Marine Fisheries.

"This designation seeks to preserve one of the state's most coveted economic and recreational resources," Lubber said. "By making the harbors and surrounding coastline a 'No Discharge Area,' we'll bring cleaner waters and safer beaches to everyone from the casual beachcomber to the commercial fisherman in this area of the Cape. I look forward to the day when we can designate the entire New England coastline a 'No Discharge Area'."

"This is the Commonwealth's seventh NDA and I am proud to say that we lead the nation in these designations. I would like to thank Tom Leach, the Harwich Harbormaster, and all of the volunteers on the Harwich Shellfish and Marine Water Quality Committee for the tremendous effort they have made to make this No Discharge Area designation a reality," said Massachusetts Environmental Affairs Secretary Trudy Coxe. "Harwich's dedication to this effort underscores your commitment to clean and healthy coastal waters for the benefit of all those who enjoy your wonderful beaches, excellent boating harbors and abundant shellfishing areas."

Last week, the EPA designated the entire Rhode Island coastline a "No Discharge Area," the first coastal state in the country to receive such status.

"No Discharge Area" designations are currently in place for 155 miles of Massachusetts coastal waters, including Chatham Harbor, Wareham, Waquoit Bay, Westport, Nantucket Harbors, and Wellfleet. Other No Discharge Areas in New England are: Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Lake Menphremagog in Vermont and New York; and Great Salt Pond on Block Island, R.I.

Harwich Harbormaster Tom Leach and other members of the Shellfish and Marine Water Quality Committee initiated the application process last year in order to place safeguards on the local marine resources, which includes a shellfish lab that produces more than 2 million quahogs annually. The EPA approved the state's request for the designation today.

Before granting such status, the EPA makes sure that there are adequate pumpout facilities available so that boaters are not inconvenienced by the new rules. The boaters connect a hose to a fitting on the boat's sanitation device and empty the contents into a tank for treatment at a sewage treatment plant.