Did you know?

There are 11 day cruise gambling ships in Florida?
Gambling boats transport an average of 800 people per ship, twice a day, out to international waters – about 3 miles.
NOAA report estimates – 26,600 gallons of blackwater and 53,200 gallons of gray water per week (per ship) are dumped
There are no inspections or tests of the sewage being dumped
There are no laws regulating sewage being dumped past 3 miles from the coast.
Current MOU's (Memorandum of Understanding) are ineffective – Hawaii reported 18 violations in one year following implementation of their MOU

Well a few people apparently do because they gathered this past Saturday to denounce the dumping of partially treated sewage just 3 miles off the coast by the Palm Beach Princess Gambling Ship.

Here's the short version of how the whole thing went down.


7:00 am meet up at publix in Eau Gallie

Then onward and forward to the Port of West Palm Beach

On last huddle-up to make sure we have the plan straight.

Time to get the banners on the boats

and the duck in the water

and here we go

at this point they probably thought they had gotten by us

but we had a secondary crew waiting at the Jetty....and a bull horn


They might as well start planning to pump and not dump or else we'll come back every weekend for the next year.

SUPPORT THE CLEAN OCEAN ACT HB 57 / SB 444

Description of HB 57 / SB 444 - PDF

Overall Goal:

Regulates Releases from Gambling Vessels

Basic Description:

* Register with the FDEP

* Get ports to establish procedures for pump out stations

* Get ports to establish pump out fees and collect them

* Require reporting of dumping within 3 miles to FDEP

* Established penalties for violations - up to $50,000 per violation plus civil penalty

* Requires FDEP to adopt rules for enforcement

* Asks FDEP to petition the Feds to prohibit dumping within 12 miles

More detailed explanation of the bill:

3a ** Requires gambling vessels operating in coastal waters to register with the
Department of Environmental Protection and gives requirements for vessel registration:
- Vessel Owner's Business name and address
- A designated agent who lives in the state, domestic corporation, or foreign corporation autorized to do business in this state
- Name of vessel, port of registry, passenger and crew capacity
- Description of waste treatment systems - type, design, operation, location of all discharge pipes and valves, number and capacity of all storage areas and holding tanks

4a ** Requires ports to establish procedures for the release of certain substances by gambling vessels at port facilities
- Procedures process to verify the contents released of blackwater, greywater, hazardous waste, biomedical waste, and oily bilge water

4b ** Requires ports to establish and collect certain fees
- The fee is not to exceed the costs associated with disposal of the required releases

5 ** Requires the reporting of the release of certain substances into coastal waters (<3 miles) by gambling vessels to FDEP
- Date, time, location, volume, source, remedial actions taken

6a ** Provides civil penalties for violations
- up to $50,000 for each violation plus civil penalty

6c ** Provides exemptions
- considers amount released and toxicity, extent of harm, ability to pay, voluntary cleanup efforts
7 - securing the safety of the vessel or life at sea

8a ** Requires the department (FDEP) to adopt rules

8b ** Directs the department to petition the Federal Government to prohibit certain
releases within the federal territorial waters off the shores of this state.

8c ** Provides an effective date for implentation - July 1, 2007