wrote in message
oups.com...

JimH wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...

JimH wrote:


You can't.

http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/R...ect/info4c.htm


Jim, you just posted a link to a site that *contradicts* your point!

Direct quote from your link:

Type One MSDs are treatment systems that reduce bacteria and
discharge
no visible floating solids.

(Not legal in some state boating areas as well. Check local laws
before
installing. Type One MSD systems, such as a head coupled with a
Lectra-San, are legal on vessels less than 65 feet that boat in an
area
not declared a Federal No-Discharge Zone.


The fact is that *properly treated* waste can be discharged in any
waters not designated a no-discharge zone.

You are correct regarding untreated waste. It cannot be discharged
in
inland waters or less than three miles offshore.


Sorry if I misinterpreted it. I read the table under Sewage System
Options
to say that it was illegal for Type I or II to discharge even treated
waste
in inland lakes.

Perhaps I need a lesson from Peggy on the fine art and operation of
Type I
and II systems. I have always had either Type III or portable
systems.

I have never discharged my waste water tank in the past regardless of
how
many miles off shore I was.

Regardless, I would not think it would ever be advisable to dump
treated or
untreated waste into the water systems in inland lakes.


Part of that depends, I think, on the inland lake in question. If
you're going to create a brown haze with even a legal discharge in a
1-acre duck pond, I'd personally recommend not. Same with dockside in a
marina, regardless of the body of water in question. But Lake Superior?
Maybe a different matter.

Riddle me this, (since you live back there in lake country). When the
local sewage utility collects and treats flush water from houses (and
boats) in your community, what does it do with the liquid volume
following treatment? If you don't know, you might want to look into it.
I'd personally be very surprised if your sewage treatment plant doesn't
drain right back into the same body of water upon which a lot of people
boat. (Sometimes back into a stream of water from which people
downstream actually drink!) The only difference between waste that is
properly treated on board to meet the federal standards and then dumped
back into the waterway and waste that is pumped out, directed to the
municipal sewage plant, treated to meet the federal standards and then
dumped back into the waterway is where it's treated- not whether.

That last statement is utterly and completely untrue. Check the
standards for wastewater treatment, secondary and tertiary. Here in
Rochester, the discharge from the sewage plant is arguable cleaner than
the river it goes into. One can not say that for finely ground
sterilized stuff from any treatment on a boat. Municipal treatment first
settles the solids, then treats the liquid with an activated sludge
process to remove organic pollutants. In some places it is further
treated to remove Phosphorus. Only then is it discharged.

Here is the regulation for Minnesota...
Under state law, toilets on board vessels must be no-discharge devices
(see exceptions below). Waste must be retained on board for proper
disposal after returning to shore. If you have a recreational vessel with
installed toilet facilities, it must have an operable marine sanitation
device (MSD) on board......Type I and II USCG-certified
treatment/discharge marine sanitation devices are currently legal on the
Mississippi River below Lock and Dam #2 (at Hastings) and on Lake
Superior. This is a result of the federal preemption of state law. MSDs
on boats less than 65 feet in length must be USCG-certified Type I or II.

del cecchi