§ 33-C — Regulating disposal of sewage; littering of waterways

New York § 33-C

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law NAV: Navigation
• Art. 3: Navigable Waters of the State

Text

§ 33-c. Regulating disposal of sewage; littering of waterways. 1. As\nused in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:\n (a) The term "watercraft" means any contrivance used or capable of\nbeing used for navigation upon water whether or not capable of\nself-propulsion, except passenger or cargo-carrying vessels subject to\nthe Quarantine Regulations of the United States Public Health Service\nadopted pursuant to Title forty-two of the United States Code.\n (b) The term "marina" means any installation which provides any\naccommodations or facilities for watercraft, including mooring, docking,\nstoring, leasing, sale, or servicing of watercraft, located adjacent to\nwaters of the state.\n (c) The term "sewage" means all human body wastes.\n (d) The term "litter" means any bottles, glass, crockery, cans, scrap\nmetal, junk, paper, garbage, rubbish, trash, or similar refuse.\n (e) The term "marine toilet" means any toilet on or within any\nwatercraft, except those that have been permanently sealed and made\ninoperative.\n (f) The term "waters of this state" means all of the waterways, or\nbodies of water located within New York state or that part of any body\nof water which is adjacent to New York state over which the state has\nterritorial jurisdictions on which watercraft may be used or operated.\n (g) The term "person" means an individual, partnership, firm,\ncorporation, association, or other entity.\n (h) The term "department" means the state department of environmental\nconservation, except as otherwise provided in this section.\n (i) The term "marine holding tank" means any container aboard any\nvessel that is designed and used for the purpose of collecting and\nstoring treated or untreated sewage from marine toilets.\n (j) The term "pumpout facility" means any device, portable or\npermanent, capable of removing sewage from a marine holding tank.\n 2. (a) No person, whether engaged in commerce or otherwise, shall\nplace, throw, deposit, or discharge, or cause to be placed, thrown,\ndeposited, or discharged into the waters of this state, from any\nwatercraft, marina or mooring, any sewage, or other liquid or solid\nmaterials which render the water unsightly, noxious or otherwise\nunwholesome so as to be detrimental to the public health or welfare or\nto the enjoyment of the water for recreational purposes.\n (b) No person, whether engaged in commerce or otherwise, shall place,\nthrow, deposit or discharge, or cause to be placed, thrown, deposited,\nor discharged, any litter into the waters of this state or upon any\npublic lands contiguous to and within one hundred feet of such waters or\nupon any private lands contiguous to and within one hundred feet of such\nwaters unless such lands are owned by such person or unless such person\nenters or remains with the permission of the owner of record or his\nrepresentative or agent.\n 3. (a) No marine toilet on any watercraft used or operated upon waters\nof this state shall be operated so as to discharge any untreated sewage\ninto said waters directly or indirectly.\n (b) No person owning or operating a watercraft with a marine toilet\nshall use, or permit the use of, such toilet on the waters of this state\nunless the toilet is equipped with facilities that will adequately\ntreat, hold, incinerate or otherwise handle sewage in a manner that is\ncapable of preventing water pollution, as required by this section.\n (c) Except as provided in subdivisions four and seven of this section,\nno container of sewage shall be placed, left, discharged or caused to be\nplaced, left or discharged in or bordering any waters of this state by\nany person at any time.\n 4. (a) Every marine toilet on watercraft used or operated upon the\nwaters of this state shall be equipped with a pollution control device,\neither for the treatment or holding of sewage, in operating condition,\nof a type approved by the state health department, in conformance with\napplicable public health standards and rules and regulations; and\napproved by the department in conformance with the boating safety\nstandards and rules and regulations adopted by the department. Pollution\ncontrol devices shall be securely affixed to the interior discharge\nopening of marine toilets and all sewage passing into or through such\ntoilets shall pass solely through such treatment facilities.\n (b) Sewage passing through a marine toilet equipped with a chlorinator\nor chemical treatment facility shall be deemed untreated unless the\neffluent meets standards established by the state commissioner of\nhealth.\n (c) The disinfecting agent used in the facility shall be of a kind\nwhich when discharged as a part of the effluent is not toxic to humans,\nfish or wildlife.\n (d) The active ingredient in deodorizers used in marine toilets may\nonly consist of formaldehyde, enzymes, bacterial cultures or any other\ningredient which would not interfere with the operation of sewage\ntreatment plants. No zinc or other heavy metal or phenol may be used in\nany marine toilet.\n 5. No marine toilet pollution control device shall be used, sold or\nphysically offered for sale in this state unless it is of a type which\nhas officially been approved by the department. The department approval\nshall be issued only after approval of such devices by the state\ndepartment of health, as required by subdivision four of this section.\nNotice of such approval may be required by the department to be\ndisplayed on the pollution control device.\n 6. The department shall require persons making application for a boat\nregistration certificate for a watercraft pursuant to section\nseventy-one of the navigation law to disclose whether such watercraft\nhas within or on it a marine toilet, and if so, to certify that such\ntoilet is equipped with a pollution control device as required by this\nsection. The department is further empowered to direct that the issuance\nof a boat registration certificate or a renewal thereof be withheld if\nsuch device had not been installed as provided in this section.\n 7. The owner or whoever is lawfully vested with the possession,\nmanagement or control of a marina shall be required to provide suitable\ntrash receptacles or similar devices designed for the depositing of\nlitter at locations where they can be conveniently utilized by\nwatercraft users.\n 8. All marinas that provide pumpout facilities and dump stations for\nthe handling and disposal of sewage from marine holding tanks and\nportable toilets shall do so in a manner that will prevent the pollution\nof the surface waters of the state. The facilities for unloading and\ndisposal of such sewage shall be approved by either the local or the\nstate health department in accordance with guidelines set forth by the\ndepartment in consultation with the department of health. The department\nof environmental conservation shall require that municipal sewage\ntreatment facilities accept such waste originating from marine holding\ntanks and portable toilets unless the commissioner determines that such\naction would cause an unacceptable threat to human health or the\nenvironment or the operation of a sewage treatment plant.\n 9. All watercraft located upon waters of this state shall be subject\nto boarding and inspection by the department or health department or any\nlawfully designated agents or inspectors thereof, for the purpose of\ndetermining whether such watercraft is equipped with approved marina\ntoilet pollution control facilities operated in compliance herewith.\n 10. Any municipality within which a vessel waste no-discharge zone has\nbeen designated pursuant to subdivision one of section thirty-three-e of\nthis article or any municipality adjacent to which a vessel waste\nno-discharge zone has been designated pursuant to subdivision one of\nsection thirty-three-e of this article, may adopt and enforce local\nlaws, not inconsistent with section thirty-three-e of this article,\nprohibiting the discharge of vessel wastes in waters within such\nmunicipality, or in waters adjacent to such municipality to a distance\nof one thousand five hundred feet from shore. Nothing in this section\nshall preclude the political subdivisions of Nassau and Suffolk counties\nfrom regulating gray water discharge from residential vessels moored on\ntidewaters bordering on and lying within the boundaries of Nassau or\nSuffolk county.\n 11. The department is hereby authorized and empowered to make, adopt,\npromulgate, amend and repeal such standards and rules and regulations as\nare necessary, or convenient for the carrying out of duties and\nobligations and powers conferred on the department by this section.\n 12. A copy of the regulations adopted pursuant to this section and any\nof the amendments thereto, shall be filed in the office of the\ndepartment, the health department, the water resources commission, and\nin the office of the secretary of state. Rules and regulations and\nstandards shall be published by the department in convenient form.\n 13. (a) Any person who violates paragraph (b) of subdivision two of\nthis section, shall be guilty of an offense and upon conviction shall be\npunished with a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars, or by\nimprisonment of not more than sixty days, or by both such fine and\nimprisonment; provided, however, that in the event any person violates\nthis section more than twice during the same calendar year and is\nconvicted of more than two such violations, the third and each\nsubsequent violation shall be deemed a misdemeanor.\n (b) Any person who violates any other provision of this section or\nregulations of the department adopted pursuant hereto shall be deemed\nguilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished with a\nfine of not more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment of not\nmore than sixty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.\n 14. Any action taken by the department or the state department of\nhealth pursuant to subdivisions five or six of this section shall be\nsubject to review by the supreme court in the manner provided by article\nseventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules provided that no stay\nshall be granted pending the determination of the matter except on\nnotice to the department and the state department of health and for a\nperiod not exceeding thirty days.\n Proceedings to review any action enumerated herein shall be entitled\nto a preference.\n 15. If any court shall find any subdivision or subdivisions of this\nsection to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such findings shall\nnot affect the validity of any sections of this act which can be given\neffect.\n 16. Nothing in this section, shall be deemed to repeal, amend, modify\nor alter the provisions of article twelve of the public health law or\nthe provisions of sections thirty-three-a and thirty-three-b of the\nnavigation law.\n