PWCs Banned from Towns at Cape Cod
Park advocates celebrate the ban of the loud, polluting watercraft
CAPE COD N.S., MASS.—The waters off Cape Cod National Seashore will be a little quieter and a little cleaner this summer, following a move by Massachusetts officials to approve ordinances banning personal watercraft use in four towns surrounding the seashore.
The decision by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts culminates a multi-year effort by NPCA and other groups to ban the noisy, polluting thrill craft from the seashore and surrounding towns.
The campaign began in 1999 when the Park Service agreed to ban the use of personal watercraft (PWC) at Cape Cod National Seashore. Because local waters are contiguous with federal waters and considered ecologically sensitive, NPCA launched a Cape-wide campaign to pass ordinances banning PWCs in the towns surrounding the park, said Eileen Woodford, NPCA's Northeast regional director.
Although five towns voted last May to ban the machines, the director of the Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) has final authority over any local by-laws governing watercraft. In early February, MEP's director approved the ordinances banning PWCs in four towns—Eastham, Orleans, Chatham, and Harwich.
The fifth, Provincetown, remains in negotiations with the state. Woodford said she is hopeful a Provincetown ban will be in place by the end of the spring.
"This is an excellent example of trans-boundary resource protection," she said. "The Park Service collaborated with the towns to solve a problem of mutual concern that upholds the integrity of the park while addressing local concerns."
The use of PWCs, often known by the brand names Jet Ski or Waverunner, has increased over the last several years on many of America's waterways, including several within the park system. Opponents of PWCs in parks say they are too polluting and too loud, sharply diminishing park visitor enjoyment. An Environmental Protection Agency study concluded that most PWCs emit up to 30 percent of their fuel directly into the air and water.
PWCs also hold a poor safety record. Although they account for only 11 percent of the vessels registered in the United States, they account for more than 35 percent of the accidents.
NPCA has maintained that PWCs should be prohibited from parks, and that any effort to allow use in a particular park should require a full environmental review. NPS has banned PWC use in most national parks, but it exempted 21 parks, primarily seashores and lakeshores, from an immediate ban. According to the Park Service's ruling, exempt park units that have not completed an environmental impact statement or issued a ruling to allow them as of April 22, must ban all PWC use.
