The Clean Cruise
Ship Act of 2005, introduced on April 15 in both the Senate (as
S.793) and the House of Representatives (as H.R.1636), will stop
cruise ships from flushing sewage and dirty water into pristine
coastal waters. We need your support to get it passed! Please send
a letter to your Members of Congress urging them to co-sponsor the
Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2005.
Find your Senators and Representative
at www.congress.org and cut
and paste the sample letter below to the same
web site.
Background
Every year, cruise
ships transport millions of people through our nation’s most
pristine marine environments. These floating cities generate enormous
volumes of waste, and most of it is dumped into the oceans. Cruise
ships are exempt from key environmental laws that govern other industries
and municipalities. These laws were implemented before the rapid
expansion in both the number and size of cruise ships, and they
need to be updated in order to keep the environmental impacts of
the burgeoning cruise industry in check.
Bluewater
Network was a primary drafter of the Clean Cruise Ship Act,
writing key provisions that will stop cruise ships from dumping
in coastal waters and implement a rigorous oversight program
to permanently curb cruise ship pollution.
The Clean
Cruise Ship Act of 2005 has bi-partisan support with Senator
Durbin (D-IL) leading the charge in the Senate and Representatives
Farr (D-CA) and Shays (R-CT) in the House. The Clean Cruise
Ship Act of 2005 will:
• prohibit discharges of sewage, graywater and oily bilge
water within 12 miles of shore and in the Great Lakes;
• authorize the Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to develop and enforce effluent standards for sewage and graywater
discharged beyond 12 miles;
• provide for inspection of pollution control operations and
equipment, including sampling and monitoring; and
• empower citizens to commence a civil action against anyone
in violation of the Act.
This bill will help to make the cruise ship pollution problem
a thing of the past. However, to get off the ground, the bill
needs your help. Please contact your Members of Congress and
ask them to co-sponsor the Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2005.
With your help we are making the difference!
- Bluewater Network – a division of Friends of the Earth
Sample Letter
Dear Senator/Representative
__________:
As
your constituent, I am writing to urge you to support the Clean
Cruise Ship Act of 2005 (H.R. 1636 in the House; S. 793 in the Senate),
a measure that will prohibit large cruise ships from dumping sewage
and polluted wastewater into our nation's waters. This bill is essential
to protect our coastal waters, beaches, coral reefs and communities
from the large and growing volumes of polluted water that are currently
being dumped into the seas by cruise ships.
Under current laws and regulations, untreated sewage can be discharged
just three miles from our shores. "Graywater," wastewater
from showers, sinks, galleys and laundry can be dumped legally anywhere
but the Great Lakes and Alaska. Cruise ships are not required to
obtain permits or monitor or report what they discharge into our
waters, as other industries are required to do under the Clean Water
Act.
The Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2005 will finally bring cruise ship
pollution under control. It will prohibit discharges of sewage,
graywater and oily water within 12 miles of our shores and in the
Great Lakes, and set effluent standards for discharges beyond 12
miles. It will also provide for monitoring, sampling and inspections,
promote the development of innovative marine pollution technology,
and institute enforcement provisions to ensure compliance and accountability
by the cruise industry. Please sign on as a co-sponsor of this important
legislation!
