Celebrity Cruises Doesn't Understand the Understanding

A little over a month ago a fine was levied against Celebrity Cruises for dumping waste water into Puget Sound. Oh how we wish we could say "for illegally dumping waste water into Puget Sound," but, unfortunately, we can't. Cruise ships operate under a Memorandum of Understanding in the Sound that says what they can dump, where, and what happens to them when they completely disregard those rules. It isn't a law, though. It's just something they signed. California has a law governing cruise ship behavior in California waters. Oregon has a law. British Columbia has a law. Damn Alaska has a law.

In Washington we have an "Understanding."

Yet, apparently even that isn't understood. Celebrity Cruises is complaining about the fine that's been levied (and that they have absolutely no legal obligation to pay). We made an honest mistake, says Celebrity. We didn't know we were still in Washington because while we were in the Sound, we were also three miles from shore. We didn't understand the Understanding! In fact, we never read your wimpy Understanding, and instead wiped our asses with it, threw it in the toilet and flushed it into the Sound, because that's all it's worth until it's a law. Or something to that effect.

The Bluewater Network is one environmental group working to legislate the booming population of cruise ships in the United States, and is cited in the Post Intelligencer's article today:

"The fact that they're still suggesting there is some confusion about it is deeply disturbing," [Bluewater activist Fred] Felleman said.

He suggested that Washington copy the system used in Alaska, where each passenger pays a $50 state fee, $4 of which goes into a program that funds state inspectors riding along on each cruise to monitor wastewater dumping.

"Even with the voluntary (agreement) we still obviously need the ability to verify where and when these discharges occur," Felleman said. "It's trust -- but verify."

Celebrity wants the amount of the $100,000 fine to be decreased, and in fact, that will probably happen. Three of the incidents cited in the Department of Ecology's case against Celebrity Cruises appear to have happened in Canadian waters.

Update: We've recieved an email that attempts to set the record (and Seattlest) straight:

The agreement made it possible for Ecology to inspect the Mercury and gain access to the ship's records. While the agreement is voluntary, and addresses wastewater treatment technology -- and other waste disposal issues -- Washington's clean water act, RCW 90.48, is not voluntary. Ecology issued a penalty for violations of that law.

So, a little over a month ago a fine was levied against Celebrity Cruises for illegally dumping waste water into Puget Sound. That is some consolation.