New Jersey Discharger - Vol. 4 No. 2

	Vol. 4 No. 2 Fall 1996
A Newsletter About New Jersey's Water Quality Programs

New Bill Would Require Treatment Plants to Accept Boating Waste From Pumpout Facilities

In an effort to clean up New Jersey's waterways, Ocean-Monmouth Senator Andrew Ciesla recently proposed legislation that would require municipal wastewater treatment plants to treat marine waste from area pumpout stations.

Ciesla (R-10) unveiled his bill at a news conference held by officials with the New Jersey Clean Vessel Program, who announced the operation of the first sewage pumpout facility funded under a grant program administered by the DEP. The program uses funds from the sale of Shore Protection license plates.

"This bill would speed up the bureaucratic process for marinas to construct sewage pumpout facilities," said Ciesla. "These facilities are needed to encourage our boaters to use these facilities instead of dumping their wastes into our waterways."

Back in 1988, the Legislature adopted a law to prohibit the discharge of these wastes into our coastal waters and to require the DEP to study the need for vessel sewage pumpout facilities. As a result of that study, Ciesla said, the Legislature also established a grant program for the construction of these facilities.

For more information about the bill, please contact Ralph Hahn of Senator Ciesla's office at (908) 840-9028.

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Last revision Monday, September 30, 1996