No More Boating Pollution Allowed in NYC’s Jamaica Bay With New Environmental Law

In an effort to improve the water quality around New York City’s Jamaica Bay, a multi-agency decision has designated the majority of the bay as a “no discharge zone,” which bans boats from discharging sewage into the bay.

No Discharge Zone Map - Jamaica Bay, NY. Image courtesy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The new agreement between the city, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency bans all boats from discharging sewage into area of 20,000 acres of open water.

The area has an expanse of facilities for boats to pump out their sewage, and boaters must now dispose of their sewage at specially-designated pump-out stations. The Clean Vessel Assistance Program (CVAP) has provided both a map of all the CVAP-funded pump-out locations, as well as a spreadsheet list of operational pump-out facilities by county.

Specifically, the no discharge zone encompasses 17,177 acres of open water, and 2,695 acres of upland islands and salt marshes in Brooklyn and Queens.

To get a better understanding of the area involved, consider that the northeastern and southeastern parts of Jamaica Bay reach Nassau County, while the northern shore of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens forms the southern boundary of the bay.

Jamaica Bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Rockaway Inlet and eight tributaries that empty into the bay. These tributaries are: Sheepshead Bay, the Paerdegat Basin, Fresh Creek, Hendrix Creek, Spring Creek, Shellbank Basin, Bergen Basin, and Thurston Basin.

In announcing the agreement, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “Discharge of sewage from boats can contain harmful levels of pathogens and chemicals such as formaldehyde, phenols, and chlorine, which have a negative impact on water quality, pose a risk to health, and impair marine life.

“With the new no discharge zone enforced by the EPA, we are going to improve the water quality throughout the bay. It’s all in keeping with PlaNYC, and our ongoing transformation of the city’s waterfront as a place where New Yorkers can live, work, and play.”

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