NY seeks ban on canal dumping

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York officials are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to designate the state's 524-mile canal system as a no-discharge zone, which would outlaw dumping of all treated or untreated sewage from boats.

Under the federal Clean Water Act, boats may discharge sewage from an approved onboard treatment system into waterways that empty into the sea. The state's canal system provides a route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic through the Hudson River.

Jim Tierney, assistant commissioner for water resources in the Department of Environmental Conservation, says 87 pumping stations were installed along the canal system in anticipation of the dumping ban. He says it will likely take effect in 60 to 90 days.