Oil and fuel: no sheen, and report every spill

Oil, garbage & sewage · Power & sail

Federal law bans putting oil or fuel into US waters in any amount that leaves a sheen, film or sludge. If your boat causes one, the person in charge must call the National Response Center at once. Soap or chemicals on a sheen are banned, and oily bilge water stays aboard for disposal ashore. Applies to every boat.

What counts as an illegal discharge

• The Clean Water Act bans discharging oil into US navigable waters, onto adjoining shorelines, or into the contiguous zone in quantities that may be harmful (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(3)). "Oil" means oil of any kind, including petroleum, fuel, sludge and oil mixed with other wastes (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(1)).
• EPA's test for "harmful" is simple: a discharge that breaks water-quality standards, or leaves a film, sheen or discoloration on the water or shoreline, or a sludge or emulsion below the surface (40 CFR 110.3). A sheen means an iridescent, rainbow look on the water (40 CFR 110.1).
• So even a small fuel-vent overflow at the pump or an oily bilge pump-out that leaves a rainbow sheen is a violation. The size of the spill does not matter; the sheen does.
• Discharges from a properly working engine are not treated as harmful, and neither is bilge oil discharged in full compliance with the MARPOL Annex I rules in 33 CFR part 151 (40 CFR 110.5). That exemption does not cover pumping an oily bilge overboard without approved separating equipment.

Reporting a spill

• The person in charge of a boat must notify the National Response Center (NRC) immediately on learning of an illegal oil discharge from it: toll-free 800-424-8802 (40 CFR 110.6; 33 CFR 153.203). The Coast Guard staffs the NRC 24 hours a day.
• If you cannot reach the NRC directly, report to the Coast Guard or EPA On-Scene Coordinator for the area, or failing that the nearest Coast Guard unit, and then notify the NRC as soon as possible (40 CFR 110.6; 33 CFR 153.203).
• Failing to report is a crime: a fine under Title 18 and up to 5 years in prison (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(5); 33 CFR 153.205). The statute says your notice cannot be used against you in a criminal case, except for perjury or a false statement.
• Have ready: where you are, the source, the size and color of the sheen, what the substance is, and when it happened. Many states also want a report to their own spill line, so check your state boating or environmental agency.

No soap, detergent or dispersant on a sheen

• Adding any chemical or biological agent, or any other substance, to oil being discharged to get around these rules is prohibited (40 CFR 110.4). That includes dish soap squirted on a sheen or into an oily bilge before pumping.
• Soap does not remove oil; it breaks it up so it sinks and mixes into the water and sediment, and the soap is a pollutant itself. Use oil-absorbent pads or socks instead, and dispose of them ashore under local rules.

Oily bilge water

• A US boat that is not oceangoing must be able to keep all oily mixtures aboard and be equipped to discharge them to a shore reception facility. Keeping them in the bilge is allowed; no separate sludge tank is needed (33 CFR 155.330).
• An oceangoing boat (one that goes out to sea) must either do the same or have approved oily-water separating equipment and discharge only as 33 CFR 151.10 allows (33 CFR 155.350). Few recreational boats carry that equipment.
• In practice: keep an absorbent pad in the bilge, check before the bilge pump runs, and take oily water and used pads to a marina or waste-oil collection point. Louisiana, for example, says boaters with oily bilge water must be able to show how they will dispose of it properly.

The oil-discharge placard

• Boats 26 feet and longer must carry a durable "Discharge of Oil Prohibited" placard at least 5 by 8 inches, fixed in a conspicuous place in each machinery space or at the bilge pump control station, in a language the crew understands (33 CFR 155.450). This is already on the safety-equipment checklist.
• The rule prescribes the wording: the Federal Water Pollution Control Act bans discharging oil or oily waste that causes a film, discoloration, sludge or emulsion, and violators face civil penalties and criminal sanctions. An existing placard may be used for its life (33 CFR 155.450(a)-(b)).

The rules: 33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(1) · 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(3) · 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(5) · 40 CFR 110.1 · 40 CFR 110.3 · 40 CFR 110.4 · 40 CFR 110.5 · 40 CFR 110.6 · 33 CFR 153.203 · 33 CFR 153.205 · 33 CFR 155.330 · 33 CFR 155.350 · 33 CFR 155.450

Sources disagree on NRC direct (Washington, DC area) phone number — left out rather than guessed. Check your local authority.

A plain-language summary of federal rules for recreational boats, checked against the rules’ own text and a second source, and written in our own words. It isn’t legal advice. States add rules of their own, and rules change — the links above go to the current official text.