Op-Ed

No floaters in Nantucket Sound, please

No floaters please…
Nantucket Sound isn't a hole to dump our bowel movements into

By Moses Calouro

It is wonderful to hear that plans are moving apace to declare additional portions of Massachusetts coastal waters as no (boat sewage) discharge areas. Recreational and commercial vessel operators have been allowed to legally dump raw and untreated sewage along the coasts for far too long. It is a disgusting practice that can cause health and environmental issues and is just plain gross.

Unfortunately, Nantucket Sound is missing from the list of planned No-Discharge areas.

According to Robert F. Kennedy , Jr "Nantucket Sound is among the most densely traveled boating corridors in the Atlantic ."  but the sound is still not protected by "No Discharge Area" (NDA} status.

How can this be? And why hasn’t, Mr. Kennedy, the founder of the National Resource Defence Council and the Baykeepers, chimed in?

One would think that Save our Sound (a baykeeper member) would be all over this issue.

Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing between state, and local agencies and  the two ferry companies Hy-Line  and Steamship Authority. What appears to have come out of the discussions is that the ferry lines would have to retrofit their vessels with holding tanks in order to work within a no discharge area.  The costs for retrofitting the fleets could run into the multi-million dollar range.

So in addition to the high fuel costs and SSA fuel overruns, the funds are not readily available to address this issue. Another issue is that local municipalities are concerned about the ability of their shore-side plants to accept and treat this additional sewage.

In short, what this means is that local residents can look forward to at least a few more seasons of raw and minimally treated sewage from millions of boaters and ferry passengers.

You know what they say about a boat? It's a hole in the water you throw money into.  I guess some folks still haven’t figured out that  Nantucket Sound isn’t a hole they should pump their sh*t into…

Moses Calouro, Bristol, RI 02809
Read Mr. Calouro's previous Op Eds on the same subject area;

• The ferries should upgrade their navigation equipment

• Buzzards Bay is protected from a major oil-barge spill but Nantucket Sound is not
  
• Cape Cod Boaters need to clean up their act
• Pollution + Dilution = Solution
• SSA General Manager refutes Moses Calouso
• The Sound as Sewer