Overboard Discharges

An overboard discharge (OBD) is the discharge of wastewater from residential, commercial, and publicly owned facilities to Maine's streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Commercial and residential discharges of sanitary waste have been regulated since the mid-1970's when most direct discharges of untreated waste were banned. Between 1974 and 1987 most of the "straight pipes" were connected to publicly owned treatment works or replaced with standard septic systems.

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