No Discharge Zones - Defending Penobnsot Bay Water Quality

Defending the water of Maine’s Territorial Sea from megayacht sprawl to the Cruise Ship  industry.

 Ron Huber, Penobscot BayWatch

Global warming and global warfare are directing more and more cruise ships and megayachts to the peaceful Gulf of Maine. Each of these vessels is a significant discharger of graywater and treated sewage, which affects the water habitats of our coastal fishes, clams, mussels, seals, seabirds, and all their kin. With  limited controls at present, such discharges taint the water these must breath and live in, and can close and reclose beaches and clam flats to our own uses.

Fig 1 Existing Maine NDAs. None east of Mt Desert. NH NDA lower left.

It is time for Maine to join New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and commit to designating our state's entire territorial sea a No Discharge Area.

 NDAs are places like Casco Bay and Boothbay Harbor, where, according to NOAA "adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably
available". In those coastal reaches it is forbidden to dump even “treated” boat sewage, sincethe (usually self service) pumper is easily available  

Thus they are called “pumpout stations”. Like those for motorhomes and vacation trailers, a hose is connected to the boat's septage holding tank and its contents are pumped ashore into a landside holding tank for later disposal at a sewage treatment plant.

It can only be designated if "adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available". How is that done? By installing pumpout stations for recreational boaters. 

Pump out stations for boats are the same as those for RV's: a hose is connected and the pumpout is powered up, sending the boat's sewage into a landside holding tank for later disposal at the local sewage treatment plant. 

Existing Maine NDAs are far apart. There are None on the downeast Maine coast from the Canadian border southwest to Mt Desert Island, where one protects Bar Harbor and neighbor towns.

EXISTING MAINE NDAs

Unlike her sister New England states, Maine has designated only  4  portions of her coast as NDAs:

• All of Casco Bay
• All of Boothbay Harbor
• Penobscot Bay’s Camden, Rockport & Rockland adjoining harbors
• Mount Desert/SW Harbor/Tremont water complex. 

Boothbay Harbor, for example, was designated a No Discharge Area in 2009 after the US EPA found that  "The information submitted to EPA by the state of Maine certifies that there are six pumpout facilities located within this area... EPA has determined that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the area covered under this determination. " (full federal register notice)  

The important next step: Designate Penobscot Bay an NDA. 
At present there are NOT enough pumpout stations in Penobscot Bay to provide "adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels".

Fig 2. Penobsot Bay pumpout stations

 As the state's map (Fig 2) shows Vinalhaven, North Haven*, Islesboro and Deer Isle each lack pump out stations. These towns are visited by hundreds of pleasure boaters every year. But boaters stopping there have no place to dump their waste - except into Penobscot Bay!
 (* North Haven's Pulpit Harbor is visited by a pumpout boat from Camden)

What You Can Do:  

* Contact the govts  of Vinalhaven, North Haven, Islesboro and Deer Isle Urge them to get pumpouts. Let them know that giving skippers a place to discharge their septic wastes in an environmentally safe way, is good for their towns' waters and good for Penobscot Bay.   

Tell them that Maine DEP will cover 95% of the purchase cost and operating costs. Ask them to start the process  by requesting Maine DEP to send its expert, Pam Parker,  to give a presentation to their town.  Parker has been running this program successfully for many years and will be able to answer questions in detail. 

Letters to the editor will also help as will discussion of the need for pumpouts on these towns' facebook pages. Here are the FB Pages for Vinalhaven  North Haven, Islesboro  & Deer Isle. 

* Send Friends of Penobscot Bay your photos of pleasure craft tied up at those town's docks and mooring fields, and anchored in their anchorages, over this just-past summer of 2018.  In addition, aerial photos and drone imagery will be very helpful.  Knowing how many pleasure craft are visiting those  towns will help Maine DEP determine if the bay would benefit by having pumpout stations at their town docks.

The Big Picture.  Once these towns have gotten their pumpout operations  set up, there will be enough of these stations  for the state to request EPA to designate the entirety of Penobscot Bay, like Casco Bay and the full coastal waters of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, a No Discharge Area.  This will be a giant step toward designating the entire Maine territorial sea out to three miles a No Discharge Area.

Figure 3. Cruise ship routes, Penobscot Bay to Bar Harbor

This matters now more than ever.  Increases in visits by cruise ships & megayachts means that the amount of treated sewage being pumped into Penobscot Bay is likely increasing  sharply as well. While cruiselines may have policies against dumping in state waters, there are no penalties, so little incentive to refrain. Making it illegal to pump treated sewage into Penobscot Bay will give such policies teeth.

Let's urge Islesboro, North Haven, Vinalhaven and Deer Isle to take the plunge for a clean, productive and healthy Penobscot Bay and Gulf of Maine!

FMI Friends of Penobscot Bay 207-691-4634,  coastwatch@gmail.com

Ad Hoc Rockland Harbor Management Plan Committee meetings audio

Ad Hoc Rockland Harbor Management Plan Committee  

Meeting audio recordings

9/6/18 Ad Hoc Harbor Mgmt Plan Committee 3rd mtg 

Draft guidelines discussion document.  Meeting with its consultant Noel Musson at city hall, the committee finalized its formal purpose, set groundrules, elected officers, & got presentations on 1)  the Ad Hoc Harbor Management Plan Committee webpage set up by the city webmaster and (2) the final draft of the city survey of cruiseship passengers.
Attendees Ed Glaser, David Leon, Celia Knight, John Jeffers, Bella Feracci, David Grima, Matt Ripley, Noel Musson, Calley Black,  Christos Calivas, Julie Hashem, Ron Huber.

8/22/18  Ad Hoc Harbor Mgmt plan Committee 2nd mtg 

Committee members and others met for two hours in the Rockland Library's Boardroom, hearing from and questioning environmental & economic development consultant Noel Musson on parameters of a new city harbor management plan. Musson's  8/3/18 signed agreement with Rockland. 

Attendees: Ed Glaser City Council , David Grima, ME Dept of Labor & Rockland Maine Street; Matt Ripley Harbormaster; David Troupe,  Farnsworth Museum, Ron Huber WRFR;  Casey Ohara, Ohara Corp & Journeys End Marina; Christos Calivas Rockland resident; Calley Black, Comp Planning Commission,  Julie Hashem, Rockland Comunity Development Director; Noel Musson, Musson Group; Bella Feracci exec dir Apprentice Shop & interested citizen; John Jeffers,  economic development commission. 

7/25/18 Ad Hoc Harbor Mgmt Plan Committee (first mtg)

Attendees introduced , discuss hiring of Noel Musson who is sid to have a good references including Belfast work. Hashem as "staff" says he's the chosen consultant.  Discuss consensus and not only our many competing single interests. Cruise ships, marina expansion, fisheries, pollution, harbor change working waterfront versus tourist town.

Attendees Ed Glaser, City Councilor; Lynne Barnard, Rockland resident; David Leon, Harbor Mgmt Commission; David Grima, Dept of Labor; Matt Ripley, Harbormaster; John Jeffers,  Julie Hashem,Rockland Comunity Development Director; Casey O'Hara ,O'Hara Corp, Journeys End; Celia Knight, Knight Marine, Ron Huber, WRFR Community Radio

GAC Chemical continues acidifying Penobscot Bay. August & September 2018 test results.

9/9/18 GAC shore acid sampling Sites  were selected along the beach/clamflat interface below their abandoned sulfuric acid plant and acid tank. Dark red acidic leachate oozes out at the beach/mudflat interface. See results below photo  White line across the upper middle is foam leaking  into the bay from 1/4 mile down the GAC property.

GAC Chemical Abandoned Sulfuric Acid Plant,  shore remediation site and tainted flats.

9/9/18 pH test results show acid still leaching out along the interface. From left to right in the photo,  samples showed pH 6.0 at left end of photo, dropped to 3.5 then to pH 3.2, then rose slightly to 3.7 for the next two samples , finally rising to p 4.2 at the right end of photo

==========================================================

082618 GAC shore acid sampling 

826/18 sample sites. Satellite image taken May 10 2018

Sites  were selected  going diagonally from he beach/clamflat interface below the abandoned  acid plant  and across several of the plumes emanating from the shore

pH test results Sample sites  red dots show acid continues leaching out along the interface and onto the flats in a plume.  Top site 5.6; next 4.4,  next 4.3; lower one  a startling pH 2.8!

Discussion: any pH below five will kill fish or damage their reproductive system. Low pH will also liberate  dissolved aluminum and other metals into the water column, freeing them from the silt particles they are stuck to. In this  low pH environment  aluminum ions tend to adhere to the gills of water breathers. Woe to the young salmon venturing forth from the river, that has the misfortune of imbibing that mixture" Her gills will get glazed, and she will exhibit erratic behavior that attracts predators

Tainted flats below remediation site.

Aquaculture operations in Penobscot Bay and its tributaries

Maine DMR's current (9/20/18) list of aquaculture operations in Penobscot Bay and its tributaries. Click each entry for a pdf of their permit approval decision.  Map of sites

• Desaulniers, Paul [WES BC] Oysters. Weskeag River, South Thomaston (2014)

• Weskeag River Shellfish Farms, LLC [WES UR] Oysters, soft & hard clams. Weskeag River, South Thomaston (2010)

• Bayside Mussel Farm [PEN BB] Mussels, sugar kelp. Belfast Bay, Penobscot Bay, Northport (2014)

• Campbell, Adam and Michelle [PHSP NH] Oysters. Pulpit Harbor Salt Pond, N. Haven (2014)

• Campbell, Adam and Michelle [PHSP NH2] Oysters suspended & bottom. Pulpit Harbor Mill Street, North Haven (2011)

• Islesboro Marine Enterprises [PEN FIx] Blue Mussels.  northeast of Flat Island, Penobscot Bay, Islesboro, ME (2018) 
• 
  
• Leach, Jesse [BAG SB]   American & Euro flat oysters  surf/hen clams  soft clams and green sea urchins Upper Bagaduce River, Brooksville, Penobscott & Sedgwick (2009)     
• Little Island Oyster Company [BAG BH2 and BAG BH3] American Oysters  Bagaduce River, Brooksville (2013)

• Brewer, Robert E. [PEN AIx).  Atlantic Sea Scallops SW of Andrews Island, Penobscot Bay, Stonington (2017)

• Peasley, Frank S. [BAG BH] American & European oysters. Bagaduce River, Brooksville (2011) 

• Acadia Aqua Farms, LLC [PEN SN3] Bottom Culture mussels   Stinson Neck, Deer Isle (2015) 

• Barrows, Abigail [PEN LD3] Oysters, scallops, sugar kelp Long Cove, Deer Isle (2015) 

• Dickinson, Jonathan [DLW Enterprises, Inc. [PEN LD2]  American & European oysters, blue mussels. Long Cove, Deer Isle (2014) 

• DLW Enterprises, Inc. (PEN LD2) American & European oysters, mussels Long Cove, Penobscot Bay, Deer Isle (2016)

• Brewer, Robert E. [PEN AIx).  suspended sea scallops. southwest of Andrews Island, Penobscot Bay, Stonington (2017) 1,895 kb

• Pemaquid Mussel Farms, LLC [PEN STH2]  Mussel rafts St. Helena Island, Stonington (2010) 

Bay History, Stockton Harbor tainted flats. Test results from 9/14/16 samples

A succession of chemical and fertilizer factories were built on Stockton Harbor's Kidder Point from the early 20th century to the 1970s.  The waste products from at least two onsite processes: sulfuric acid  and aluminum sulfate manufacturing, were dumped along the Stockton Harbor shore.
Earlier pH testing of site: 1984 * 1990

 09/14/16 Sample Collection Results . Numbers refer to locations on Map 1.

1. Aluminum, 10,600 mg/kg.      Sulfur: 25,400 mg/kg.  pH 5.40

2. Aluminum: 3,545 mg/kg.
Sulfur: 289,7000 mg/kg. pH 3.50.

3.Aluminum: 3,023 mg/kg.
Sulfur 50,400 mg/kg.  pH: 3.12.

4. Aluminum: 1,927 mg/kg.
   Sulfur: 235,500 mg/kg.  pH: 3.40

5. Aluminum: 2,980 mg/kg. Sulfur:150,500 g/kg.  pH: 3.20.

6. Aluminum:  2,805 mg/kg. Sulfur 163,800 mg/kg.  pH:  5.08

7. Aluminum:  9,506 mg/kg.  Sulfur 11,500 mg/kg.  pH:  6.65

8. Aluminum: 11,400 mg/kg. Sulfur 17,500 mg/kg.  pH:  6.31

Rockland Ad Hoc Harbor Management Plan Committee meeting 9/6/18 AUDIO

On September 6, 2018, Rockland's Ad Hoc Harbor Management Plan Committee, and its consultant Noel Musson met at city hall. 

The committee finalized its formal purpose, set groundrules, elected officers, and got presentations on (1)  the Ad Hoc Harbor Management Plan Committee webpage set up by the city webmaster and (2) the final draft of the city survey of cruiseship passengers, 

Callie Black, Christos Calivas, Julie Hashem

* Ad Hoc Harbor Management Plan Committee meeting start 4min 37sec 

* Nate Davis on committee's webpage on city website 12min

* Committee guidelines  3min 12 sec

* Committee members number  pt 1  6min

* Committee composition and number part 2  2min 41sec

Celia Knight * John Jrefers

* Committee Purpose Statement. 1min 26sec

* Committee officers' duties described 10min 5sec 

* Committee officers duties defined 7min 5sec

David Leon & Ed Glaser

* Committee groundrules 17min

* Elections of chair David Grima, deputy chair Calley Black and secretary  Ed  Glaser

* Cruise ship survey plan discussion, approval  27min 43sec     Read survey

Bella Feracci

* Harbor Mapping  & data 7 min 57sec

* Organizing harbor outings for committee members, land and sea. 4min 51sec

* Ad Hoc Harbor Management Plan Committee meeting adjourns, audience chatter 65sec

David Grima