15
NOTE:
Discharge of raw, untreated sewage is prohibited in all U.S. waters inside the three mile limit except in the Gulf of Mexico
where the limit is nine miles. "Y" valves, if installed, must direct toilet discharge to a U.S.C.G. approved treatment
system or holding tank and must be secured in that position while inside the three-mile limit.
The EPA standards state that in freshwater lakes, freshwater reservoirs or other freshwater impoundments whose inlets or outlets
are such to prevent the ingress or egress by vessel traffic subject to this regulation, or in rivers not capable of navigation by
interstate vessel traffic subject to this regulation, marine sanitation devices certified by the U.S. Coast Guard installed on all
vessels shall be designed and operated to prevent the overboard discharge of sewage, treated or untreated, or any waste derived
from sewage. The EPA standards further state that this shall not be construed to prohibit the carriage of Coast Guard-certified
flow-through treatment devices which have been secured so as to prevent such discharges. They also state that waters where a
Coast Guard-certified marine sanitation device permitting discharge is allowed including coastal water estuaries, the Great
Lakes and interconnected waterways, freshwater lakes and impoundments accessible through locks, and other flowing waters
that are navigable interstate by vessels subject to this regulation (40 CFR 140.3)