Possible New Law News

One of the first cruise ships to visit southeast Alaskan ports this season was cited for illegally dumping concentrated sewage into the scenic Inside Passage, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday. The Norwegian Sky, owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines, discharged the sewage for 20 to 30 minutes while it was traveling between Juneau and Ketchikan, the Coast Guard said. With the ship, (known as the first large cruise ship to dock this year in Juneau) traveling at about 17 knots, that means a waste stream of half to three-quarters of a mile, said a Coast Guard Commander. Tests performed by an independent laboratory on effluent samples from the ship showed fecal coliform 3,500 times the allowable federal standard and suspended solids 180 times the standard, the Coast Guard said.