Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-29-2017, 12:30 PM   #1
p38
Member
 
City: chicago
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 14
Does Florida allow Y-valves?

In illinois the Y-valves must be permanently sealed which does not allow sewage dump at anytime. What about Florida?
p38 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 12:37 PM   #2
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,119
Yes, no one can disallow y valves, just how they fit into your system.
psneeld is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 12:45 PM   #3
Guru
 
mbevins's Avatar
 
City: Windsor
Vessel Name: Keeper IV
Vessel Model: 44 Viking ACMY
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,350
Quote:
Originally Posted by p38 View Post
In illinois the Y-valves must be permanently sealed which does not allow sewage dump at anytime. What about Florida?
You are allowed to have a Y valve on the Great Lakes. It just has to be mechanically fastened in the " no discharge" position, ie: bolted, pad locked.
Theoretically you could use tie wraps but I'm not sure the USCG is really happy with that solution.
mbevins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 12:46 PM   #4
p38
Member
 
City: chicago
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 14
Ok. Did some research myself. Pls correct me if I am wrong:
1 you can have a Y-valve, doesn't need to be permanently sealed like in chicago.
2 the valve needs to be closed in inland water or NDZ
3 the valve can be opened 3 miles out in atlantic ocean and 9 miles out in the gulf side.
p38 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 12:52 PM   #5
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,119
Yes, and in lieu of wire ties, I just took the nut off the Seacocks and put the handle on to open and close it. An acceptable way by USCG.
psneeld is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 01:06 PM   #6
Guru
 
HeadMistress's Avatar


 
City: AR
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,514
Quote:
Originally Posted by p38 View Post
In illinois the Y-valves must be permanently sealed which does not allow sewage dump at anytime. What about Florida?
It's illegal to discharge a toilet or dump a tank in all INLAND US waters and the Great Lakes. Illinois is inland, and while federal law doesn't prohibit y-valves, any state can do so. NY even goes so far as to ban any overboard discharge plumbing on Lake Champlain.

FL coastal waters provide easy access to "open sea" beyond the "3 mile (12 miles on the Gulf side of the Keys) limit where it's legal to flush directly overboard and/or dump a tank. So y-valves and overboard discharge pumps are legal there provided they're "secured" as described in federal law 33 CFR 159.7 while the vessel is INSIDE the "3 mile limit." The same is true of all coastal states where there's access to waters beyond 3 miles--which, btw, does NOT mean 3 miles from the nearest shore in a Bay or river...it means open ocean at least 3 miles from the nearest point on the whole US coast line or any island that's part of the state.
__________________
© 2024 Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since '87.
Author "The NEW Get Rid of Boat Odors"
HeadMistress is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 01:16 PM   #7
p38
Member
 
City: chicago
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 14
Thanks for the detailed info!
p38 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 01:23 PM   #8
Guru
 
rwidman's Avatar
 
City: North Charleston, SC
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,869
From the above link


Quote:
(c) When operating a vessel on a body of water where the discharge of untreated sewage is prohibited by the Environmental Protection Agency under 40 CFR 140.3, the operator must secure each Type III device in a manner which prevents discharge of sewage. Acceptable methods of securing the device include -
(1) Closing each valve leading to an overboard discharge and removing the handle;
(2) Padlocking each valve leading to an overboard discharge in the closed position; or
(3) Using a non-releasable wire-tie to hold each valve leading to an overboard discharge in the closed position.

Here is my question which I've never been able to get a definitive answer to:

My head empties into the holding tank. From the holding tank there's one hose to the deck pumpout fitting and another to the macerator and then overboard. There is no Y valve or seacock. In the hopes of meeting the requirements of the law, I replaced the switch for the macerator with a key switch and keep the key out of the switch and hidden away. Without the key, it's not possible to empty the holding tank overboard.


Does this meet the requirements of the law?
rwidman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 02:00 PM   #9
Guru
 
HeadMistress's Avatar


 
City: AR
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,514
The law was written before there were key switch macerators and hasn't been updated since. The USCG accepts 'em. But that doesn't mean you can't run into a "local yokel" with an advanced case of Barney Fife syndrome...they're rare, but do exist.

Apparently your tank has two discharge fittings--one to the deck pumpout fitting, the other to the macerator--and your thru-hull above waterline. In systems that discharge below waterline, it's not only any y-valve that must be secured, the seacock must be too. Plastic tie wraps are acceptable on both.
__________________
© 2024 Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since '87.
Author "The NEW Get Rid of Boat Odors"
HeadMistress is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 02:21 PM   #10
Guru
 
High Wire's Avatar
 
City: Cape May, NJ
Vessel Name: Irish Lady
Vessel Model: Monk 36
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,947
In lieu of the keyswitch, two momentary switches where BOTH had to be held for the pump to run used to be acceptable. I remember at least 2 boats that had a dual switch panel from the boat manufacturer set up that way. The whole point was to prevent ACCIDENTAL discharge. It cant be accidental if you have to push and hold 2 seperate buttons. Im out of the Auxiliary now and cannot verify if it is still acccepted.
High Wire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 02:32 PM   #11
Guru
 
rwidman's Avatar
 
City: North Charleston, SC
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,869
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadMistress View Post
The law was written before there were key switch macerators and hasn't been updated since. The USCG accepts 'em. But that doesn't mean you can't run into a "local yokel" with an advanced case of Barney Fife syndrome...they're rare, but do exist.

Apparently your tank has two discharge fittings--one to the deck pumpout fitting, the other to the macerator--and your thru-hull above waterline. In systems that discharge below waterline, it's not only any y-valve that must be secured, the seacock must be too. Plastic tie wraps are acceptable on both.
Yes, two. One for a pumpout station and the other a macerator and above the waterline discharge.

We have been stopped and boarded by the USCG twice on the Chesapeake Bay. They did not check our sanitation system, only paperwork and safety items. One guy asked what was under a floor panel and I said "holding tank". He raised the panel, looked and put it back down.


I figured "Acceptable methods of securing the device include - " was not exclusive. I just wanted a more trusted opinion.
rwidman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 02:46 PM   #12
Guru
 
City: Boston
Vessel Name: Adelante
Vessel Model: IG 30
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,608
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadMistress View Post
It's illegal to discharge a toilet or dump a tank in all INLAND US waters and the Great Lakes. Illinois is inland, and while federal law doesn't prohibit y-valves, any state can do so. NY even goes so far as to ban any overboard discharge plumbing on Lake Champlain.
I believe VT has the same regulation. Any overboard plumbing must must be completely disconnected. (Paper mills and municipal sewage plants are directly connected.)
SoWhat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 03:51 PM   #13
Guru
 
DHeckrotte's Avatar
 
City: Philadelphia, PA
Vessel Name: Revel
Vessel Model: 1984 Fu Hwa 39
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,024
Canada, too, allows no connection between the holding tank and the waters beneath the boat. Since we plan to do the mini-loop this summer in NY, VT and Canadian waters, and my holding tank plumbing looks lousy, ripping out all the offending bits and pump will happen this spring. The seacock will remain, I think left open so that it drains when the boat's pulled, and plumbed with a cap.

I can hardly imagine tootling out to sea to empty the holding tank just to save $5.
DHeckrotte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 04:54 PM   #14
TF Site Team
 
Bacchus's Avatar
 
City: Seneca Lake NY
Vessel Name: Bacchus
Vessel Model: MS 34 HT Trawler
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 7,808
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadMistress View Post
It's illegal to discharge a toilet or dump a tank in all INLAND US waters and the Great Lakes. Illinois is inland, and while federal law doesn't prohibit y-valves, any state can do so. NY even goes so far as to ban any overboard discharge plumbing on Lake Champlain.

.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoWhat View Post
I believe VT has the same regulation. Any overboard plumbing must must be completely disconnected. (Paper mills and municipal sewage plants are directly connected.)
There is a thread with lots of info on this very topic
Overboard Discharge of Holding tank

There is a lot of incorrect info on the net about Lk Champlain...
The Lake Champlain Committee publishes a brochure and publishes on the net that grey discharge is not permitted on Lk Champlain - That is NOT TRUE - I have researched NY regs and contacted them twice to request they cite any NY or VT regs that substantiate what they publish and they will not (can not?) respond to any correspondence on this topic.
They appear to have extrapolated the Fed no discharge to include grey water which is absolutely false and the wrong interpretation of a NO DISCHARGE zone.

NY regs do cite the need to disconnect any BLACK overboard discharge hose vs just securing (locking) the valve. Peggy Hall (Headmistress) has indicated that states cannot supersede federal regs but it's probably easier to comply that risk a court fight w/ either NY or Vt.

I've traversed Lk Champlain twice and was never checked - never known or heard of anyone that was checked and cited for a connected hose that otherwise complied w/ the Fed regs for securing the valve.
__________________
Don
2008 MS 34 HT Trawler
"Bacchus"
Bacchus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 05:05 PM   #15
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,119
Quote:
Originally Posted by DHeckrotte View Post
Canada, too, allows no connection between the holding tank and the waters beneath the boat. Since we plan to do the mini-loop this summer in NY, VT and Canadian waters, and my holding tank plumbing looks lousy, ripping out all the offending bits and pump will happen this spring. The seacock will remain, I think left open so that it drains when the boat's pulled, and plumbed with a cap.

I can hardly imagine tootling out to sea to empty the holding tank just to save $5.
In some places it might be a 15 mile run to the only working pumpout and a $20 charge when you get there as opposed to a 3 mile dash outside the close by inlet.

There are plenty of reasons not to use a pumpout facility as opposed to dumping.

A little imagination on long distance cruising and choosing to loiter in places is all that is needed to imagine where dumping is lots easier than motoring to a pumpout that the person on the phone days sure it's working .....until you get there.
psneeld is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 05:29 PM   #16
Guru
 
HeadMistress's Avatar


 
City: AR
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,514
They appear to have extrapolated the Fed no discharge to include grey water which is absolutely false and the wrong interpretation of a NO DISCHARGE zone.

Or, as I've seen many people do, they think that "gray water" is sewage. So I'd contact 'em one more time and ask them to define "gray water." If they answer, I'd bet real money they'll tell you it's toilet waste/sewage.

They wouldn't be the only people who make that kind of mistake...I was a consultant to the state of AR in the '90s when they were writing the legislation to enforce marine sanitation laws on their inland lakes. For some reason the powers-that-be decided to put the AR Health Department in charge of the program instead of Natural Resources or Fish and Wildlife where it really belongs...and to them anything that goes down a sewer pipe from any source is "sewage." They had an awful time wrapping their heads around the idea that the CFR definition of sewage on a vessel is limited to "human body wastes and the wastes from toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain body waste" and that it's the only definition that can be applied to marine sanitation laws.
__________________
© 2024 Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since '87.
Author "The NEW Get Rid of Boat Odors"
HeadMistress is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 07:26 PM   #17
Veteran Member
 
City: panama city
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 30
Just wondering, what does a pod of 30 300lb dolphin do with there poop?
calimari is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 07:29 PM   #18
Veteran Member
 
City: panama city
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 30
Just wondering, what does a pod of 30, 300lb dolphin do with there poop?
calimari is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 07:43 PM   #19
Guru
 
Bigsfish's Avatar
 
City: Miami River
Vessel Name: Gotcha
Vessel Model: Grand Banks. Heritage. 54
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,988
All this begs the question, have you been checked to see if you comply with the law? I've boated 50 + years mostly in Florida and I've only been checked ONCE and that was in Hilton Head where they added dye to my toilet and they flushed while checking outside the boat.
Bigsfish is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2017, 08:00 PM   #20
Enigma
 
RT Firefly's Avatar
 
City: Slicker?
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 16,540
Greetings,
Mr. cal. Is that a rhetorical question or do you have a porpoise for asking?

__________________
RTF
RT Firefly is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:25 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012