Great Lakes Water Quality and Swimming/Bathing

  ContinuousWave
  Whaler
  Moderated Discussion Areas
  ContinuousWave: The Whaler GAM or General Area
  Great Lakes Water Quality and Swimming/Bathing

search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author Topic:   Great Lakes Water Quality and Swimming/Bathing

jimh posted 10-14-2014 11:15 AM ET (US)
I am looking for any citation of regulations that would affect swimming from your own boat in the Great Lakes, and, while swimming from your own boat, using soap to bathe.
I have found several recommendations about choosing personal care products, such as soap, lotions, shampoos, and so on, which suggest avoiding certain types of products, such as those containing fragrances, scents, synthetic musk molecules, micro-ballons, and non-bio-degradeable detergents, but I have not found any specific regulatory language. (These products are recommended to not be used on land, so I would assume the recommendation to avoid them applies to use in the water of the Great Lakes.)
To frame the issue most simply: in the USA waters of the Great Lakes, is it legal for me to jump overboard with some type of soap and wash up in the water?
EJO posted 10-14-2014 11:34 AM ET (US)
I and my crews are bad boys, as we have many and many times jumped overboard and washed up in Lake Michigan, Huron and Erie using bio-degradable cleaning supplies as I do with my boats when in the water. I never knew or thought about that there might be rules against it. Just make sure your nakedness doesn't offend anybody.
I don't think that the few people bathing in the Lakes will have an effect on the Eco-system and therefore I assume there wouldn't be anything on the books.
Marsh posted 10-14-2014 06:02 PM ET (US)
Brrrrrr!
Ridge Runner posted 10-14-2014 08:35 PM ET (US)
For camping and washing up in fresh water lakes and ponds I have use Blue Ridge soaps. They are low impact environmentally friendly and are made out of: Olive Oil, Sodium Hydroxide or Lye, Mountain Spring Water.
http://www.soapshed.com/Eco-Bar-Soap-for-Fresh-Water-Bathing.html
Plotman posted 10-15-2014 11:01 PM ET (US)
It would seem that this situation would be covered by the following section of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Rise water from bathing would fall under the definition of graywater.
So you can jump off of a recreational vessel covered in soap, but maybe not a cruise ship or ferry.

quote:
The clean boating act of 2008 - SEC. 2. DISCHARGES INCIDENTAL TO THE NORMAL OPERATION OF RECREATIONAL VESSELS.
This is codified in Paragraph (r) of Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 USC 1342)
(r) Discharges incidental to the normal operation of recreational vessels
No permit shall be required under this chapter by the Administrator (or a State, in the case of a permit program approved under subsection (b)) for the discharge of any graywater, bilge water, cooling water, weather deck runoff, oil water separator effluent, or effluent from properly functioning marine engines, or any other discharge that is incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, if the discharge is from a recreational vessel.
Plotman posted 10-15-2014 11:10 PM ET (US)
The rangers on Isle Royale will tell you that NPS regulations prohibit the discharge of gray water into waters of the Great Lakes that are inside park boundaries, but the only citation for this dates to 2004, which would seem to be superseded by the above.

David Pendleton posted 10-15-2014 11:36 PM ET (US)
I use Ivory Soap.
I don't actually get in the water, though. I wash up on deck, then rinse it overboard via the scuppers.
PeteB88 posted 10-17-2014 10:24 PM ET (US)
Dilution factor, Jim. There is 97,000 square miles of fresh water that was and in some cases remains a sewer for industry and cities on tributaries for decades. I doubt some Dove, Irish Spring, Ivory bar soap or even Axe will make any difference in the ecological balance of the Great Lakes. Take a risk now and then.
jimh posted 10-17-2014 10:44 PM ET (US)
Pete--I think you are confused. I am not asking for permission or encouragement from readers about swimming and bathing in the waters of the Great Lakes. I am looking for a citation of actual regulations covering those activities.
PeteB88 posted 10-17-2014 11:46 PM ET (US)
Oh, let us know if you find regulations.
Hoosier posted 10-18-2014 09:48 AM ET (US)
Didn't plotman just cite the relevant regulation?
Jefecinco posted 10-18-2014 11:23 AM ET (US)
When I kept my boat in a slip in the Upper Potomac River and didn't own a trailer I washed the boat and myself from the river while at anchor. It was effective, refreshing on a hot day, and did no harm with the soaps I used.
Butch
jimh posted 10-19-2014 10:51 AM ET (US)
Plotman notes:

quote:
The rangers on Isle Royale will tell you that NPS regulations prohibit...
I am beginning to think that rangers on Isle Royale might tell you all sorts of things, even things that are not formalized in regulations for the park.
Regarding Isle Royale National Park, as a boater I would like to know about any regulations that are changed when I cross over the line and enter the park jurisdiction from open water of Lake Superior.
Based on what's been mentioned so far, I think I can jump into Lake Superior with a bar of soap and wash up, at least when outside of the national park.
Incidentally, I am in some correspondence with the National Park Service on this topic, and I will relate what I find.
jimh posted 10-26-2014 09:40 AM ET (US)
As a result of exchanging several emails, I received the following information from the National Park Service regarding swimming and bathing in waters on or near Isle Royale:

quote:
The use of soap is not allowed in any waters in or around Isle Royale National Park. This includes all streams, ponds, lakes, wetlands, and Lake Superior. You can swim in any of these waters - you just cannot use soap.
I was pleased to obtain this information, but it took several emails to draw this out. I am still corresponding with NPS in the hope that I can find some published regulations that contain this information. As a boater approaching Isle Royale National Park, I would hope that these regulations are easily found and readily available on the internet. There ought to be some sort of notice to mariners when they enter a new area of regulation that is separate from the rest of Lake Superior.
I will be looking at some nautical charts with an eye to finding some line of demarcation around Isle Royale that lets me know there is a change in regulations affecting mariners who enter. If anyone sees such a line on a chart, please comment.
Plotman posted 10-26-2014 11:11 AM ET (US)
Jim-
Did they have any comment about the use of soap aboard a boat - in a sink or shower - that then drains overboard?
jimh posted 10-26-2014 11:19 AM ET (US)
No, but the inference I would make is that gray water discharge is similarly prohibited.
jimh posted 10-26-2014 01:19 PM ET (US)
In the COASTAL PILOT No. 6 (Great Lakes) in the section on Chart 14976, the presence of the Isle Royale National Park is mentioned, and the mariner is referred to contact the National Park Service for further details "regarding the island and its use." There is no mention of particular line of demarcation for jurisdiction over the waters surrounding Isle Royale in the Coastal Pilot.
Here are excerpts, which are from pages 472 to 473:

quote:
Charts 14968,14976
(402) Isle Royale is 44 miles long NE and SW and has a maximum width near its SW end of 8.5 miles. Mount Desor, 794 feet above the lake and the highest point on the island, is 12.5 miles from the SW end. The shores of the island have numerous indentations and many detached islets and reefs, almost all with a NE and SW trend. Good lees can be found in many bays and channels.
Isle Royale and its surrounding islands form Isle Royale National Park, established in 1940 under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The park is retained as much as possible in its natural state. There are no roads, only trails for hikers.
Recreational docks operated by concessions for the National Park Service at Rock Harbor, and at Windigo Ranger Station at Washington Harbor, offer groceries, gasoline, and water for the convenience of visitors. Small docks, generally in good repair and in sheltered areas, are maintained at the many campsites around the island. Most of them have from 5 to 10 feet at their outer ends. Lights are operated on the docks at Windigo, Rock Harbor, and the Park Service Headquarters dock on Mott Island on the SW side of Rock Harbor. Complete details regarding the island and its use are available from the Superintendent, Isle Royale National Park, 87 N. Ripley Street, Houghton, MI 49931.
Cf.: http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/coastpilot/archive/6/ CP6-41ed-2011-reduced.pdf
In a map, which is noted to not be used for navigation, published by the Park Service there is a footnote that says the park boundary extends 4.5-miles offshore from Isle Royale and the surrounding islands.

quote:
Isle Royale National Park boundary extends 4.5 miles from Isle Royale and the outer islands or to the international boundary.
Do not use this map for navigation. See Boating and Boaters notes
Cf.: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_parks/isle_royale_park98.pdf
There is a lengthy document known as the
"Superintendent's Compendium Of Designations, Closures, Permit Requirements and Other Restrictions Imposed Under Discretionary Authority"
that gives more details. See
http://www.nps.gov/isro/parkmgmt/upload/ ISROCompendium2014FINAL_with-UASrevisions7-1-14-1.pdf
Within that document, on page 5, the boundary of the park is again mentioned obliquely:

quote:
...the waters of the park (which extend for 4.5 miles from Isle Royale and the outer islands, including Passage Island, or to the international boundary)...
More specifically the boundaries are mentioned on page 11:

quote:
...the boundaries of Isle Royale National Park.
The boundaries include those waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States within 4.5 miles of the shore of Isle Royale and immediately surrounding islands, including Passage Island, Gull Islands, and international boundary.
While the Superintendent's Compendium contains a lot of details about regulations, I cannot find any mention of the word "soap" in it.
saumon posted 10-26-2014 01:51 PM ET (US)
Although it's not a law text, their answer to your question seems to contradict what they said in the page titled "Laws & Policies" of their web site ( http://www.nps.gov/isro/parkmgmt/lawsandpolicies.htm ).

quote:
Bathing/Cleaning Clothes
When bathing use soap only if necessary and use it sparingly. Conduct bathing on land at least 200 feet (75 steps) away from water sources or campsites. Rinse water can be carried in collapsible containers or pots. Clothes can be cleaned by taking them away from water sources and campsites and thoroughly rinsing them with plain water.

jimh posted 10-27-2014 09:20 AM ET (US)
That document is not well written. First of all, it seems more like an advisory that a regulation. Next, the sentence,
"Conduct bathing on land at least 200 feet (75 steps) away from water sources or campsites"
is possible to read in two ways. In one sense, it is a command to conduct ALL bathing on land, but it does not explicitly say that. In another sense, it provides advice on how to bath on land, as opposed to how to bath in the water.
I suppose one could make the inference, if you are supposed to be 200-feet away from any water source when bathing on land, then bathing IN THE WATER is certainly not permitted. I believe that is how the National Park Service intends it to be read.
jimh posted 10-27-2014 09:29 AM ET (US)
The National Park Service also has published a document called a Boating Guide. You can find this, with some searching, on the park's website, under the general section of PLAN YOUR VISIT, and from there under the sub-heading BROCHURES.
http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/brochures.htm
http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/upload/Boaters-Guide-2013-2.pdf
This document explicitly defines the park boundaries. It does not mention soap.
Plotman posted 10-27-2014 10:00 AM ET (US)

quote:
No, but the inference I would make is that gray water discharge is similarly prohibited.
My guess is that none of their documents mention soap and boating because they know that under the clean boating act they cannot prohibit its use aboard a boat "incidental to the normal operation" of a recreational vessel.

So I'm guessing that we have a situation where the Park leadership wants to limit the use of soap in park waters, and Rangers will tell the public something is prohibited in the hopes that most of the people they encounter will take them at their word and that will be the end of it.
I do know that within the last 5 years or so, much of Isle Royale and the Apostles Islands have received a designation as a special type wilderness area. Perhaps this carries the ability to impose stricter regulations (including ones that might ban the use of soap in or near water), but this is only a guess on my part.
saumon posted 10-27-2014 10:10 AM ET (US)
I think that this (use of soap) fall under the definition of "gray water".
Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/33/1322 , larger commercials vessels can discharge their gray waters under certains condition if they have the required permit (VGP). There's some restricted zones were no discharge is permitted, Isle Royale being one of them ( http://www.klgates.com/FCWSite/ballast_water/Final_Rule/ EPA_Revised_VGP_020509.pdf ).
However, all this does not apply to recreational boats and there's an ongoing law projet, the Clean Boating Act (CBA), which is an amendment to the Clean Water Act, still under developement ( http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/vessel/CBA/about.cfm ).
That may be the reason why they posted it as an advisory and not a regulation.
saumon posted 10-27-2014 01:28 PM ET (US)

quote:
jimh posted 10-19-2014 10:51 AM ET (US)
I am beginning to think that rangers on Isle Royale might tell you all sorts of things, even things that are not formalized in regulations for the park.
In any doubts, here's the Isle Royale National Park Superintendent's Compendium, AKA Park Rangers tickets reference book: http://www.nps.gov/isro/parkmgmt/upload/ ISROCompendium2014FINAL_with-UASrevisions7-1-14-1.pdf
Not any mention of soap, or even water usage for that matter.

jimh posted 10-28-2014 11:06 AM ET (US)
Saumon--I did mention that compendium in an earlier article.
Yes, I find it odd that the official document fails to mention use restrictions for soap and water. My initial inquiry about them was answered by NPS by citing an article the NPS published in their park newsletter. As a mariner approaching Isle Royal, I am not sure how I would have ever discovered the newsletter and how it should be considered authoritative on my operation of a recreational boat in the waters of Lake Superior.

Hop to:

Contact Us | RETURN to ContinuousWave Top Page

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Freeware Version 2000
Purchase our Licensed Version- which adds many more features!
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998 - 2000.

Author	Topic: Great Lakes Water Quality and Swimming/Bathing
jimh	posted 10-14-2014 11:15 AM ET (US) I am looking for any citation of regulations that would affect swimming from your own boat in the Great Lakes, and, while swimming from your own boat, using soap to bathe. I have found several recommendations about choosing personal care products, such as soap, lotions, shampoos, and so on, which suggest avoiding certain types of products, such as those containing fragrances, scents, synthetic musk molecules, micro-ballons, and non-bio-degradeable detergents, but I have not found any specific regulatory language. (These products are recommended to not be used on land, so I would assume the recommendation to avoid them applies to use in the water of the Great Lakes.) To frame the issue most simply: in the USA waters of the Great Lakes, is it legal for me to jump overboard with some type of soap and wash up in the water?
EJO	posted 10-14-2014 11:34 AM ET (US) I and my crews are bad boys, as we have many and many times jumped overboard and washed up in Lake Michigan, Huron and Erie using bio-degradable cleaning supplies as I do with my boats when in the water. I never knew or thought about that there might be rules against it. Just make sure your nakedness doesn't offend anybody. I don't think that the few people bathing in the Lakes will have an effect on the Eco-system and therefore I assume there wouldn't be anything on the books.
Marsh	posted 10-14-2014 06:02 PM ET (US) Brrrrrr!
Ridge Runner	posted 10-14-2014 08:35 PM ET (US) For camping and washing up in fresh water lakes and ponds I have use Blue Ridge soaps. They are low impact environmentally friendly and are made out of: Olive Oil, Sodium Hydroxide or Lye, Mountain Spring Water. http://www.soapshed.com/Eco-Bar-Soap-for-Fresh-Water-Bathing.html
Plotman	posted 10-15-2014 11:01 PM ET (US) It would seem that this situation would be covered by the following section of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Rise water from bathing would fall under the definition of graywater. So you can jump off of a recreational vessel covered in soap, but maybe not a cruise ship or ferry. quote: The clean boating act of 2008 - SEC. 2. DISCHARGES INCIDENTAL TO THE NORMAL OPERATION OF RECREATIONAL VESSELS. This is codified in Paragraph (r) of Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 USC 1342) (r) Discharges incidental to the normal operation of recreational vessels No permit shall be required under this chapter by the Administrator (or a State, in the case of a permit program approved under subsection (b)) for the discharge of any graywater, bilge water, cooling water, weather deck runoff, oil water separator effluent, or effluent from properly functioning marine engines, or any other discharge that is incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, if the discharge is from a recreational vessel.
Plotman	posted 10-15-2014 11:10 PM ET (US) The rangers on Isle Royale will tell you that NPS regulations prohibit the discharge of gray water into waters of the Great Lakes that are inside park boundaries, but the only citation for this dates to 2004, which would seem to be superseded by the above.
David Pendleton	posted 10-15-2014 11:36 PM ET (US) I use Ivory Soap. I don't actually get in the water, though. I wash up on deck, then rinse it overboard via the scuppers.
PeteB88	posted 10-17-2014 10:24 PM ET (US) Dilution factor, Jim. There is 97,000 square miles of fresh water that was and in some cases remains a sewer for industry and cities on tributaries for decades. I doubt some Dove, Irish Spring, Ivory bar soap or even Axe will make any difference in the ecological balance of the Great Lakes. Take a risk now and then.
jimh	posted 10-17-2014 10:44 PM ET (US) Pete--I think you are confused. I am not asking for permission or encouragement from readers about swimming and bathing in the waters of the Great Lakes. I am looking for a citation of actual regulations covering those activities.
PeteB88	posted 10-17-2014 11:46 PM ET (US) Oh, let us know if you find regulations.
Hoosier	posted 10-18-2014 09:48 AM ET (US) Didn't plotman just cite the relevant regulation?
Jefecinco	posted 10-18-2014 11:23 AM ET (US) When I kept my boat in a slip in the Upper Potomac River and didn't own a trailer I washed the boat and myself from the river while at anchor. It was effective, refreshing on a hot day, and did no harm with the soaps I used. Butch
jimh	posted 10-19-2014 10:51 AM ET (US) Plotman notes: quote: The rangers on Isle Royale will tell you that NPS regulations prohibit... I am beginning to think that rangers on Isle Royale might tell you all sorts of things, even things that are not formalized in regulations for the park. Regarding Isle Royale National Park, as a boater I would like to know about any regulations that are changed when I cross over the line and enter the park jurisdiction from open water of Lake Superior. Based on what's been mentioned so far, I think I can jump into Lake Superior with a bar of soap and wash up, at least when outside of the national park. Incidentally, I am in some correspondence with the National Park Service on this topic, and I will relate what I find.
jimh	posted 10-26-2014 09:40 AM ET (US) As a result of exchanging several emails, I received the following information from the National Park Service regarding swimming and bathing in waters on or near Isle Royale: quote: The use of soap is not allowed in any waters in or around Isle Royale National Park. This includes all streams, ponds, lakes, wetlands, and Lake Superior. You can swim in any of these waters - you just cannot use soap. I was pleased to obtain this information, but it took several emails to draw this out. I am still corresponding with NPS in the hope that I can find some published regulations that contain this information. As a boater approaching Isle Royale National Park, I would hope that these regulations are easily found and readily available on the internet. There ought to be some sort of notice to mariners when they enter a new area of regulation that is separate from the rest of Lake Superior. I will be looking at some nautical charts with an eye to finding some line of demarcation around Isle Royale that lets me know there is a change in regulations affecting mariners who enter. If anyone sees such a line on a chart, please comment.
Plotman	posted 10-26-2014 11:11 AM ET (US) Jim- Did they have any comment about the use of soap aboard a boat - in a sink or shower - that then drains overboard?
jimh	posted 10-26-2014 11:19 AM ET (US) No, but the inference I would make is that gray water discharge is similarly prohibited.
jimh	posted 10-26-2014 01:19 PM ET (US) In the COASTAL PILOT No. 6 (Great Lakes) in the section on Chart 14976, the presence of the Isle Royale National Park is mentioned, and the mariner is referred to contact the National Park Service for further details "regarding the island and its use." There is no mention of particular line of demarcation for jurisdiction over the waters surrounding Isle Royale in the Coastal Pilot. Here are excerpts, which are from pages 472 to 473: quote: Charts 14968,14976 (402) Isle Royale is 44 miles long NE and SW and has a maximum width near its SW end of 8.5 miles. Mount Desor, 794 feet above the lake and the highest point on the island, is 12.5 miles from the SW end. The shores of the island have numerous indentations and many detached islets and reefs, almost all with a NE and SW trend. Good lees can be found in many bays and channels. Isle Royale and its surrounding islands form Isle Royale National Park, established in 1940 under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The park is retained as much as possible in its natural state. There are no roads, only trails for hikers. Recreational docks operated by concessions for the National Park Service at Rock Harbor, and at Windigo Ranger Station at Washington Harbor, offer groceries, gasoline, and water for the convenience of visitors. Small docks, generally in good repair and in sheltered areas, are maintained at the many campsites around the island. Most of them have from 5 to 10 feet at their outer ends. Lights are operated on the docks at Windigo, Rock Harbor, and the Park Service Headquarters dock on Mott Island on the SW side of Rock Harbor. Complete details regarding the island and its use are available from the Superintendent, Isle Royale National Park, 87 N. Ripley Street, Houghton, MI 49931. Cf.: http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/coastpilot/archive/6/ CP6-41ed-2011-reduced.pdf In a map, which is noted to not be used for navigation, published by the Park Service there is a footnote that says the park boundary extends 4.5-miles offshore from Isle Royale and the surrounding islands. quote: Isle Royale National Park boundary extends 4.5 miles from Isle Royale and the outer islands or to the international boundary. Do not use this map for navigation. See Boating and Boaters notes Cf.: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_parks/isle_royale_park98.pdf There is a lengthy document known as the "Superintendent's Compendium Of Designations, Closures, Permit Requirements and Other Restrictions Imposed Under Discretionary Authority" that gives more details. See http://www.nps.gov/isro/parkmgmt/upload/ ISROCompendium2014FINAL_with-UASrevisions7-1-14-1.pdf Within that document, on page 5, the boundary of the park is again mentioned obliquely: quote: ...the waters of the park (which extend for 4.5 miles from Isle Royale and the outer islands, including Passage Island, or to the international boundary)... More specifically the boundaries are mentioned on page 11: quote: ...the boundaries of Isle Royale National Park. The boundaries include those waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States within 4.5 miles of the shore of Isle Royale and immediately surrounding islands, including Passage Island, Gull Islands, and international boundary. While the Superintendent's Compendium contains a lot of details about regulations, I cannot find any mention of the word "soap" in it.
saumon	posted 10-26-2014 01:51 PM ET (US) Although it's not a law text, their answer to your question seems to contradict what they said in the page titled "Laws & Policies" of their web site ( http://www.nps.gov/isro/parkmgmt/lawsandpolicies.htm ). quote: Bathing/Cleaning Clothes When bathing use soap only if necessary and use it sparingly. Conduct bathing on land at least 200 feet (75 steps) away from water sources or campsites. Rinse water can be carried in collapsible containers or pots. Clothes can be cleaned by taking them away from water sources and campsites and thoroughly rinsing them with plain water.
jimh	posted 10-27-2014 09:20 AM ET (US) That document is not well written. First of all, it seems more like an advisory that a regulation. Next, the sentence, "Conduct bathing on land at least 200 feet (75 steps) away from water sources or campsites" is possible to read in two ways. In one sense, it is a command to conduct ALL bathing on land, but it does not explicitly say that. In another sense, it provides advice on how to bath on land, as opposed to how to bath in the water. I suppose one could make the inference, if you are supposed to be 200-feet away from any water source when bathing on land, then bathing IN THE WATER is certainly not permitted. I believe that is how the National Park Service intends it to be read.
jimh	posted 10-27-2014 09:29 AM ET (US) The National Park Service also has published a document called a Boating Guide. You can find this, with some searching, on the park's website, under the general section of PLAN YOUR VISIT, and from there under the sub-heading BROCHURES. http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/index.htm http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/brochures.htm http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/upload/Boaters-Guide-2013-2.pdf This document explicitly defines the park boundaries. It does not mention soap.
Plotman	posted 10-27-2014 10:00 AM ET (US) quote: No, but the inference I would make is that gray water discharge is similarly prohibited. My guess is that none of their documents mention soap and boating because they know that under the clean boating act they cannot prohibit its use aboard a boat "incidental to the normal operation" of a recreational vessel. So I'm guessing that we have a situation where the Park leadership wants to limit the use of soap in park waters, and Rangers will tell the public something is prohibited in the hopes that most of the people they encounter will take them at their word and that will be the end of it. I do know that within the last 5 years or so, much of Isle Royale and the Apostles Islands have received a designation as a special type wilderness area. Perhaps this carries the ability to impose stricter regulations (including ones that might ban the use of soap in or near water), but this is only a guess on my part.
saumon	posted 10-27-2014 10:10 AM ET (US) I think that this (use of soap) fall under the definition of "gray water". Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/33/1322 , larger commercials vessels can discharge their gray waters under certains condition if they have the required permit (VGP). There's some restricted zones were no discharge is permitted, Isle Royale being one of them ( http://www.klgates.com/FCWSite/ballast_water/Final_Rule/ EPA_Revised_VGP_020509.pdf ). However, all this does not apply to recreational boats and there's an ongoing law projet, the Clean Boating Act (CBA), which is an amendment to the Clean Water Act, still under developement ( http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/vessel/CBA/about.cfm ). That may be the reason why they posted it as an advisory and not a regulation.
saumon	posted 10-27-2014 01:28 PM ET (US) quote: jimh posted 10-19-2014 10:51 AM ET (US) I am beginning to think that rangers on Isle Royale might tell you all sorts of things, even things that are not formalized in regulations for the park. In any doubts, here's the Isle Royale National Park Superintendent's Compendium, AKA Park Rangers tickets reference book: http://www.nps.gov/isro/parkmgmt/upload/ ISROCompendium2014FINAL_with-UASrevisions7-1-14-1.pdf Not any mention of soap, or even water usage for that matter.
jimh	posted 10-28-2014 11:06 AM ET (US) Saumon--I did mention that compendium in an earlier article. Yes, I find it odd that the official document fails to mention use restrictions for soap and water. My initial inquiry about them was answered by NPS by citing an article the NPS published in their park newsletter. As a mariner approaching Isle Royal, I am not sure how I would have ever discovered the newsletter and how it should be considered authoritative on my operation of a recreational boat in the waters of Lake Superior.