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> We would like to spend several days in the San Juan Islands and at one of
> the marinas in the Anacortes area. Can someone tell me if there are US
> regulations re holding tanks and what they are?
>
> Cheers, Garrett
Hi Garrett,
Sorry to inform you that when in US waters (within 3 miles) you must either
use your holding tank or have a Coast Guard approved sanitation device (such
as the Lexsan - we used to have one on our sailboat but I forget how to
spell it). You also must have the Y valve wired in a closed position. I
checked the internet and came up with the page with the regulations if you
are interested. Hopefully, it is www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mse/regs/cfr159.htm.
The Coast Guard does enforce these regulations. We were boarded in Juan de
Fuca Strait last September for a "safety check" by the Bennett which is from
Port Townsend and followed us out of the boat haven. Since we keep our boat
there I wondered why they chose us from the three that left. They said it
was random. Then this August while crossing Dixon Entrance the Alaskan USCG
raced up to us just before we passed the border into Canada and wanted to do
a "safety check". However we still had the paper saying we were inspected
last September and we had no violations so we didn't have to succumb to
another check. I mention this only to emphasize that the "Potty Patrol" as
they are sometimes referred to does do random checks.
If the above website doesn't work I found it in a search for "USCG
sanitation devices"
Hope this is helpful.
Anne & Bob
Seabird
45' CHB
Port Townsend, WA
