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July 22, 2016
DES MOINES (AP) — All recreational and commercial vessels would be banned from releasing sewage, treated or untreated, into Puget Sound waters under a proposal announced Thursday by state regulators.
The Department of Ecology asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to designate about 2,300 square miles as a “no discharge zone” in an effort to improve water quality and protect shellfish beds and swimming beaches from harmful bacteria.
If approved, boats would be prohibited from pumping sewage into waters from near Sequim to south Puget Sound to the Canadian border, and include Lake Washington and Lake Union.
Critics say the proposal will be costly for many who would have to retrofit their vessels to accommodate sewage holding tanks.