Schwarzenegger signs ship pollution bill
A bill that will extend many of California's existing cruise ship pollution laws to all ocean-going vessels was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week.
The bill, Senate Bill 771, prevents all ocean-going ships from conducting onboard incineration while operating within three miles of the California coast. It will also regulate the release of graywater, sewage, sewage sludge, oily bilgewater, hazardous waste, or other waste by ocean-going ships into the marine waters of the state and marine sanctuaries.
The bill will require the master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of an oceangoing ship to provide information relating to ports of call and sewage, graywater, and blackwater discharge, in electronic or written form to the California's State Lands Commission upon the vessel’s departure from its first port or place of call in California beginning in 2006.
Schwarzenegger signs ship pollution bill
