Washington State Department of Ecology Prohibition of Discharges of Vessel Sewage; Final Affirmative Determination

The Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, has determined that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for all marine waters of Washington State inward from the line between New Dungeness Lighthouse and the Discovery Island Lighthouse to the Canadian border, and fresh waters of Lake Washington, Lake Union, and connecting waters between and to Puget Sound. This notice constitutes EPA's final determination on the petition submitted by the Washington State Department of Ecology on July 21, 2016, pursuant to Section 312(f)(3) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1322, for a determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the waters of Puget Sound. This determination does not itself constitute the designation of a no-discharge zone, rather, the State of Washington may now in its discretion finalize its proposed designation in accordance with state law and take the steps it deems appropriate to implement and enforce the discharge prohibition.