No Discharge Zone To Improve Water Quality in Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover County Waterways and Coastal Areas

Boaters who are eager to get out on the water as the weather improves will need to pay special attention to a recent rezoning by the Environmental Protection Agency.  After a lengthy eighteen month approval process, the EPA has rezoned New Hanover county-area waters as a 'No Discharge Zone'.

The zoning bars all boats from emptying waste, including chemically treated waste, into the coastal waterways and up to three miles out into the Atlantic Ocean along the county coastline.  New Hanover county's thousands of boat owners and operators will now be required to hold all waste on board until it can be pumped out at any of 11 designated pump-out stations.

Alderman Susan Collins, who is among several having campaigned on preserving water quality, said, "It is our first step at Wrightsville Beach to encourage and educate people to be responsible boaters. This No Discharge Zone shows the determination of Wrightsville Beach town officials and staff, working with many others, to make progress."  She continued, "Testing waterways, with high bacteria levels, needs our immediate attention to prepare for the summer of 2010," hoping to raise concern for the enforcement of the new restriction.


The lengthy approval process was initiated by the Town of Wrightsville Beach and was endorsed by New Hanover County, NCDENR and Governor Beverly Perdue before reaching the EPA, who favored the designation which is effective as of this past Monday.


Related Links: No discharge zone is now in effect