For each of the past six years, Congress has introduced legislation to tighten cruise ship discharge laws. Last year is no exception. Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) co-sponsored yet another version of the Clean Cruise Ship Act. The intent is simple: to bring sewage and other gray water discharges under the Clean Water Act and require ships to install advanced treatment systems and travel farther than 12 nautical miles offshore before discharging any sewage.
Check out this great 2 part article:
http://dcbureau.org/20100104305/Natural-Resources-News-Service/dirty-waters-cashing-in-on-ocean-pollution.html (Part 1)
http://dcbureau.org/20100104306/Natural-Resources-News-Service/dirty-waters-the-politics-of-ocean-pollution.html (Part 2)