Princess Cruise Lines Fined $20,000. Guess Why.

Jason · January 31, 2013

Princes Cruise Lines has agreed to pay $20,000 in fines for dumping water from on-board swimming pools into Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in 2011.

The fine was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday.

The EPA writes that Princess violated the Clean Water Act in May 2011 when more than 66, 000 gallons of pool water was discharged into the waters of Glacier Bay National Park.

EPA writes there was a software malfunction on the ship the Golden Princess, causing the pool dump valves to open. The malfunction allowed chlorinated water from six of the ship’s pools and spas to dump into Glacier Bay. Princess notified EPA of the discharges by phone the next day.

The EPA said the incident violated the wastewater discharge permit for large cruise ships, which prohibits the discharge of pool or spa water in national parks and refuges. The federal Clean Water Act allows the EPA to fine cruise companies for permit violations.

The Golden Princess can host more than 500 passenger and sails in Alaska during the summer season. It sails to Hawaii, the South Pacific and South America at other times of the year.

By Margaret Friedenauer, KHNS - Haines

Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more

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sailingrose · January 31, 2013

Happy to hear it! We need to be more diligent then ever to protect Alaskas rich waters.

Sarge6870 · January 31, 2013

I'm a little confused and maybe someone can explain this to me. The pools are either fresh or salt (sucked from the sea) water and the hot tubs are fresh water. Unless they contain some type of chemical that is detrimental to species that tread the seas, I do not understand the problem! I could understand if it was waste water (such as toilet) or used cooking grease. But maybe I'm missing something here .......

WeCruiseToo · February 2, 2013

We’re very supportive of anything that protects the environment and any infractions should be sanctioned. However, I can’t help but remember one particularly illuminating analogy. During the horrible BP oil spill, someone pointed out that all that leakage in the Gulf of Mexico was equivalent to 24 ounces of beer being spilled in Cowboys Stadium… I guess no matter what, the Earth will be here long after we’re gone.