Drafter
Clerk 4/4/2007
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A MOTION providing for a study of the potential for directing wastewater generated by the marine cruise ships which visit local port facilities into the county's wastewater management and disposal system.
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WHEREAS, on February 16, 2007, the Port of Seattle Commission approved development of Pier 91 in North Elliott Bay as a cruise ship terminal , and
WHEREAS, the marine cruise ship industry makes over one hundred fifty vessel visits annually at Port of Seattle facilities, and services more than a half million passengers annually, and
WHEREAS, a three-thousand-passenger cruise ship can generate two hundred ten thousand gallons of sewage, one million gallons of "greywater" and thirty-seven thousand gallons of bilge water each week, according to the Pew Ocean Commission's report, America's Living Oceans, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to a 2004 memorandum of understanding between the cruise ship industry, the Port of Seattle and the state Department of Ecology, the parties agreed to prohibit the discharge of cruise ship-generated untreated wastewater in Washington waters, further agreeing that wastewater discharge would be allowed only by vessels equipped with "advanced wastewater treatment systems," and
WHEREAS, that 2004 memorandum of understanding utilizes self reporting of noncompliance to the Department of Ecology, and
WHEREAS, while the marine cruise ship industry is subject to international conventions, United States Coast Guard regulations and Washington state requirements, the federal Clean Water Act provides an exemption for these vessels from the act's point source discharge permitting system, and
WHEREAS, current regulations permit a vessel equipped with approved "advanced waste treatment" facilities, to discharge treated wastewater solids a minimum of twelve miles from land, at a speed of at least six knots, and
WHEREAS, the Port of Seattle Commission passed a motion on February 16, 2007, directing Port C...

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