[Public-List] Great Lakes Head Discharge

[crufone at comcast.net]

Hello all, 

I believe that the rules for the U.S. waters in all of the Great Lakes are similar to what Peter Milley has stated below.  An existing Y valve can remain but it must be capped off and not have any plumbing connected.  So I suppose that a Great Lakes sailor who wishes to go Blue Water cruising can reactivate their Y valve while far off shore. 



I kinda hold the Great Lakes near and dear to my heart.  Having seen the comparison between western Lake Erie in the late fifties and early sixties and now some fifty years later; I appreciate the current condition of the lake over the former. 

Michael #133 
Hi Gord, 
It's interesting to read the latest thread on the legislation applying to 
the discharge of sewage from pleasure craft and holding tanks in Ontario and 
elsewhere. Having enforced and prosecuted this legislation for the past 30 
years this is a topic near and dear to my heart. Regulation 305 made 
pursuant to the Environmental Protection Act is the piece of legislation 
that requires total containment of sewage waste on pleasure craft in Ontario 
waters. In a nutshell the provisions of this regulation require a 
permanently affixed sewage system with a holding tank and no "incongruent" 
plumbing such as a Y valve permitting an option for overboard discharge as 
is permitted 10 miles off shore along the Atlantic in American waters. There 
are set fines for first offences with Provincial Offence Notices (tickets) 
and subsequent offences require a court appearance and the defendant is 
subject to the full penalty provisions of the EPA for a second offence. This 
could be a penalty of $100,000.00 and or imprisonment for 1 year at the 
discretion of the trier of facts. 
Peter Milley