An Act concerning certain discharges of untreated sewage, and amending P.L.1988, c.117.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 1 of P.L.1988, c.117 (C.58:10A-56) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. No person shall discharge raw, untreated sewage into any waters of the State from any device that is installed on a watercraft, and which is designed to hold or contain such waste.

b. No person [may] shall discharge sewage of any kind, whether raw or treated, from a watercraft into any coastal water area designated as a "no discharge" area by the Administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to an application filed by the Department of Environmental Protection in accordance with 33 U.S.C. s.1322.

(cf: P.L.1988, c.117, s.1)

2. Section 4 of P.L.1988, c.117 (C.58:10A-59) is amended to read as follows:

4. [A] a. Any person who purposely, knowingly, or recklessly violates the provisions of subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.1988, c.117 (C.58:10A-56) shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree and, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:43-3 to the contrary, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $50,000 per offense. Each day on which such a violation takes place shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense.

b. Any person who violates the provisions of subsection b. of section 1 of [this act] P.L.1988, c.117 (C.58:10A-56), or who violates the provisions of any rule [and] or regulation adopted by the department pursuant to section 2 of [this act] P.L.1988, c.117 (C.58:10A-57), shall be subject to the penalty provisions of section 10 of P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-10).

(cf: P.L.1988, c.117, s.4)

3. This act shall take effect on the 30th day following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill would prohibit the purposeful, knowing, or reckless discharge of untreated sewage into the waters of the State from any device that is installed on a watercraft and that is designed to contain such waste. The bill would further provide that any person who violates this prohibition would be guilty of a crime of the third degree, which would be punishable by a fine of up to $50,000, notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in addition to any other applicable penalties for a third degree crime under the Criminal Justice Code. Each day on which a violation takes place would constitute a separate and distinct offense.

The bill would address a gap that exists in the law with regard to discharges of raw sewage from water-going vessels. State law currently prohibits any discharge of raw or treated sewage from a watercraft in an area that has been designated as a "no discharge" zone by the Administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to an application filed by the Department of Environmental Protection in accordance with the Clean Water Act. Only a handful of waterways in the State, however, have been designated as "no discharge" zones. These areas include Barnegat Bay, Manasquan River, Navesink River, Shark River, and Shrewsbury River. While the law, therefore, currently prohibits and penalizes discharges of raw sewage in these particular areas, there is no provision in State law that similarly and clearly prohibits or provides a penalty for discharges of raw, untreated sewage into any other waters of the State. The Department of Environmental Protection, moreover, has explicitly exempted from NJPDES permitting requirements, "[a]ny direct discharge of sewage from vessels, . . . or any other discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel." As a result, a vessel owner or operator is not prohibited by State law from discharging into State waters, raw sewage from a sewage containment device that has been installed on the vessel.

Accordingly, in order to prevent the State's waterways from becoming a dumping ground for large amounts of raw sewage, which may be contained in the holding tanks of water-going vessels, it is both reasonable and necessary to amend the law so as to explicitly prohibit such discharges and to impose criminal penalties therefor.