Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I am writing concerning the article about No Discharge Zones written by Quinton Sheppard in the Aug. 16 edition of this paper.

It is currently illegal to discharge untreated sewage into the waters of the U.S. inside of three miles of our coastline. So the Chesapeake Bay is already a no discharge zone for this illegal practice. No Discharge Zones (NDZs) outlaw the use of Type I (recreational vessels) and Type II (commercial vessels) Marine Sanitation Devices (MSDs). These units treat the waste aboard the vessel, and the new recreational versions can reduce the fecal coliform level to a level less than 10 ppm according to the EPA’s testing—14 ppm is an acceptable level for shellfish harvesting. (See the BoatUS article on these units—http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2012/april/TakingCareOfBusiness.asp.)

Studies and industry opinion indicate that only 5%-10% of recreational boaters have the Type I devices installed. So that is the extent of ...