§ 17-1745 — Sewage from vessels

§ 17-1745. Sewage from vessels.\n 1. Definitions. (a) "Dump station" means any facility designed to\nreceive sewage from any portable toilet carried on any vessel.\n (b) "Marine holding tank" means any container aboard any vessel that\nis designed and used for the purpose of collecting and storing treated\nor untreated sewage from marine toilets.\n (c) "Marine toilet" means any toilet on or within any vessel, except\nthose that have been permanently sealed and made inoperative.\n (d) "Commercial marina" means any installation that is owned by any\nparty other than the state or any of its political subdivisions and\nwhich provides services to the public for more than twenty vessels for a\nfee.\n (e) "Private marina" means any installation that is owned by any party\nother than the state or any of its political subdivisions and which\nserves more than twenty vessels or transient slips for a fee.\n (f) "Public marina" means any installation that is owned by the state\nor any of its political subdivisions and which serves more than twenty\nvessels with or without charge, but shall not include quick launches or\nlaunching ramps intended for trailered vessels.\n (g) "Pumpout facility" means any device, portable or permanent,\ncapable of removing sewage from a marine holding tank.\n (h) "Sewage" means all human body wastes and gray water.\n (i) "Vessel" shall have the same meaning as in subdivision six of\nsection two of the navigation law.\n (j) "Gray water" shall have the same meaning as in subdivision\ntwenty-nine of section two of the navigation law.\n 2. Notice of pumpout facilities and dump stations required. Every\ncommercial marina, public marina and private marina shall post a sign of\nnot less than eighteen inches by twenty-four inches in a conspicuous\nlocation clearly stating the location of a pumpout facility and dump\nstation located at such marina or if no pumpout facility or dump station\nis located at such marina stating the location of and distance to the\nnearest pumpout facility and dump station.\n 3. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to\nestablish and maintain the Hudson River as a "no discharge zone"\npursuant to the federal clean water act and associated programs\nadministered by the federal environmental protection agency.\n 4. Pumpout facilities and dump stations required on the Hudson River.\nThe commissioner shall require that marinas located on the navigable\nwaters of the Hudson River shall provide pumpout facilities and dump\nstations for the transfer and disposal of sewage and gray water from\nmarine holding tanks and portable toilets in accordance with the\nrequirements contained in subdivision three of this section.\n (a) The commissioner shall authorize a grant from funds made available\nin accordance with the clean vessel act of 1992 for the purchase and\ninstallation of pumpout facilities and dump stations at public marinas\nin accordance with the New York state clean vessel act plan.\n (b) The commissioner shall authorize a grant from funds made available\nin accordance with the clean vessel act of 1992 for the purchase and\ninstallation of a pumpout facility and dump station at a commercial\nmarina, provided the owner or operator of such commercial marina agrees\nto maintain the pumpout facility and dump station at no charge to the\nstate and provides pumpout and dump station services to the public at a\ncharge to be established by the commissioner in accordance with federal\nguidelines as required by the clean water act.\n (c) Nothing in this subdivision shall restrict the use of any public\nfunding source for the purchase and installation of a pumpout facility\nand dump station at any public or commercial marina.\n 5. Public information and registry. (a) The commissioner, in\nconsultation with the department of motor vehicles, the department of\nstate, and the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation,\nshall cause to be prepared periodic and timely informational material\nfor distribution regarding the environmental purposes of utilizing\npumpout facilities and dump stations including the location thereof on\nthe navigable waters of the Hudson River, the importance of proper\nmaintenance of vessel sanitation equipment, and information regarding\nfines and penalties for the illegal discharge of sewage and litter from\nvessels. The department of motor vehicles and the office of parks,\nrecreation and historic preservation shall assist in the distribution of\nsuch informational material in the course of ordinary business.\n (b) The commissioner, in consultation with the department of motor\nvehicles, the department of state, and the office of parks, recreation\nand historic preservation, shall create a registry and maintain records,\nupdated annually, of all public, private and commercial marinas that\nidentify which marinas have pumpout facilities and dump stations. The\ncommissioner shall, upon written request, provide such information to\nany interested party.\n 6. Penalties. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section\nshall result in fines of two hundred fifty dollars per day for each\nviolation.\n