PORTLAND (AP) – A report by Maine environmental regulators recommends restrictions that would give the state more control over wastewater discharged by cruise ships traveling through coastal waters.

If adopted by the Legislature, Casco Bay would become a “no-discharge zone” for sewage and other wastewater from cruise ships.

Vessels carrying 50 or more passengers would have to register with the state and pay a fee. The money would be used to collect information on the ships’ waste treatment systems and the amount of pollution they discharge.

The report also recommends new licensing restrictions on the so-called “graywater” from ships. Maine would become the first state in the nation to require larger ships to pay a licensing fee for dumping the waste in state waters.

Graywater is wastewater from showers, galleys and other sources besides toilets; raw sewage from toilets is called “blackwater.”

The report from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection was requested by state lawmakers, who failed to act on two related bills during the last legislative session. Instead, legislators asked the DEP to convene interested parties and come up with a plan for regulating waste from cruise ships.

Joseph Payne, the Casco Baykeeper and a member of the group, called the new proposal “a good start.”

“It’s definitely past time that we made a start on regulating (cruise ships),” Payne said. “It’s a big industry that can have significant negative impacts on our marine waters.”

The graywater regulations described in the report would apply only to larger ships, those carrying at least 250 passengers.

The ships would be required to pay an annual $1,200 licensing fee if they want to discharge into Maine waters. That’s in addition to the proposed annual registration fee, which would range from $1,000 for smaller ships to $3,100 for larger vessels.

Pam Parker of the DEP’s Bureau of Land and Water Quality said federal law prohibits Maine from regulating blackwater discharges, but the state can apply to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create federal no-discharge zones.

The DEP proposes in the report that most of the state’s major boating harbors, including all of Casco Bay, be included in a first round of applications for no-discharge zones.

Outside of these areas, the DEP suggests following the lead of Alaska and building a case with the EPA that Maine should be given special permission to regulate blackwater discharges. Another option is to try to change federal law.

“Regulating at the federal level by piecemeal is not good policy,” Parker said. “That’s why we say it really should be handled on a national level. You get enough states rabble-rousing, and maybe something would happen.”

Ted Thompson, executive vice president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, participated in the study. He said he had seen only the draft report, but is troubled by some of its recommendations.

Thompson said the call for new licensing fees is “misdirected,” and essentially would be a tax on the cruise industry.

AP-ES-11-11-03 1427EST