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Connecticut’s Second “ No Discharge Area” Designated off the Coast of Groton/Mystic

Release Date: 09/27/04
Contact Information:

Contacts: Dwayne Gardner, CTDEP, (860) 424-4100,

Peyton Fleming, USEPA, (617) 918-1008

September 27, 2004; Release # 04-09-15

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque, Jr. and Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) – New England today announced that the coastal waters from Wamphassuc Point in Stonington to Eastern Point is Groton have been designated as Connecticut’s second “No Discharge Area.” This area is adjacent to Connecticut’s first designated “No Discharge Area,” the Pawcatuck River, Little Narragansett Bay and Stonington Harbor.

The “No Discharge Area" designation makes it illegal for boaters to discharge treated or untreated sewage from their vessels into these coastal waters. “No Discharge Areas” improve water quality by prohibiting the discharge of both treated and untreated boat sewage within the designated area. Instead, boaters are required to use pumpout facilities or pumpout boats in No Discharge Areas. Currently, the release of untreated boat sewage is prohibited in all of Connecticut’s coastal and inland waters.

“This No Discharge designation will result in tangible water quality improvements in the Mystic/Groton area,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA's New England Office. “And that means cleaner beaches, cleaner shellfish beds and cleaner boating for the throngs of Connecticut residents and out-of-state visitors who frequent this region every summer.”

“Connecticut continues to explore every approach possible to improve the health and habitat of Long Island Sound,” said DEP Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque, Jr. “These No Discharge Area designations are another important component to the state’s comprehensive strategy of restoring the overall health of the Sound.”

DEP initiated the No Discharge Area designation for the Groton Mystic area in the spring of 2003 to safeguard local marine resources. DEP held an informational meeting in Groton where staff presented an overview of the proposed area for designation, outlined the designation process, described the beneficial environmental impacts of establishing the No Discharge Area and received input from the public.

To qualify for a No Discharge Area designation, an area must have enough pump-out facilities where boaters can get their holding tanks pumped out. This particular area has about 3,700 boats, of which only 1,300 are large enough to have a “head” or toilet on board. The area has nine pump-out facilities that are fixed or shore-based, two that are mobile carts, one dump station and one pump-out boat.

Related Information:
No Discharge Areas
Long Island Sound
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