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Rules · Florida

No-discharge zones and holding tanks

F.S. 327.53

Raw sewage may not be discharged from any vessel in Florida waters, and four designated no-discharge zones cover Destin Harbor, the waters of the City of Key West, the state waters of the Florida Keys sanctuary and the Indian River–Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve.

Last checked 21 Oct 2026Not legal advice.

The rule that needs no map

Raw sewage may not be discharged from any vessel, houseboats included, or any floating structure in Florida waters. That is the state rule, and it holds everywhere — inside a designated zone and outside one.

Two things follow from it on a cruising boat. Where the plumbing could discharge, the valve has to be set to prevent it and then locked or otherwise secured so it cannot be reset. And a live-aboard or houseboat keeps a record of the date and place of each pump-out, held for a year after each one. The section sets no interval between pump-outs and asks for a record, not a receipt.

The four zones

Four Florida no-discharge zones stand on EPA’s list, each with a Federal Register citation: Destin Harbor, the waters of the City of Key West, the state waters within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the Indian River–Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve. Each entry on that list carries its own Federal Register citation, which is the document to read before relying on where a zone’s boundary runs.

Why there is no “in force since” on this page

EPA’s table gives each zone a date, and it is tempting to read those as start dates. For the newest zone that date belongs to a notice which is a final affirmative determination: the finding that enough pump-out capacity exists, after which Florida may designate the waters under state law. The day the zone itself began is in neither the notice nor the table, and a date we cannot show is not a date we print.

A last distinction, because the two get mixed: the pump-out proof measured in the last 30 days is the Monroe County anchoring rule, not this section.

Worth knowing

  • The statewide rule needs no zone. Raw sewage may not be discharged from any vessel, houseboats included, or any floating structure in Florida waters. The zones add to that; they are not where it begins.F.S. 327.53(4)(a)
  • The valve has to be secured. Where a vessel is plumbed so that it could discharge, the valve is set to prevent it and then locked or otherwise secured so it cannot be reset.F.S. 327.53(4)(a)
  • A live-aboard keeps a record. Date and place of each pump-out, kept for a year after each one. A composting toilet meeting the Coast Guard requirement is excepted.F.S. 327.53(8)
  • The section sets no interval and asks for no receipts. 327.53 does not say how often a tank must be emptied. It asks for a record, which is not the same as a receipt.F.S. 327.53(8)
  • The dates are listing dates, not start dates. EPA's table gives each zone a date and a Federal Register citation. For the newest one that notice is a final affirmative determination — the finding after which Florida may designate the waters under state law. The date on which that zone began is in neither document, so this page carries none.CWA 312(f)
  • The 30-day pump-out proof is somewhere else. That figure belongs to the Monroe County subsection of the anchoring limitation areas, not to the marine sanitation section.F.S. 327.4108(3) Anchoring limitation areas at night

What changed on this rule

  1. 1 Oct 2024
    89 FR 79912 · CWA 312(f)(3)
    Indian River no-discharge zonein force

    EPA lists the Indian River–Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve as a no-discharge zone with the date 10-01-2024, the fourth and newest of Florida's four designated zones.

    Federal rule

Questions

Where in Florida may I not discharge?

Raw sewage may not be discharged from any vessel anywhere in Florida waters. On top of that, four designated no-discharge zones are listed by EPA: Destin Harbor, the waters of the City of Key West, the state waters within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the Indian River–Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve.

What does "secure the valve" mean in practice?

The statute asks that a valve which could discharge be set to prevent discharge and then locked or otherwise secured against resetting. How that is done is the owner's business; that it is done is the section's.

How often do I have to pump out?

327.53 sets no interval. It asks a live-aboard or houseboat to keep a record of the date and place of each pump-out for a year after each one. The 30-day figure often quoted alongside this comes from the Monroe County anchoring rule instead.

Since when is the Indian River zone a zone?

This page gives no start date. EPA lists it with a 2024 date and the citation 89 FR 79912, but that notice is a final affirmative determination — the step after which Florida may designate — and no document read here names the day the zone began.

Sources & checks

Written by buoya editorial from the sources above. Every figure was checked against its source on 21 Oct 2026. Found something wrong? Report a correction.