Portland residents urge council to ban cruise-ship scrubber wash to protect Casco Bay

Dozens of Portland residents told the City of Portland on Monday that the council should pursue a ban on cruise-ship scrubber wash discharge to protect Casco Bay, local fisheries and public health.

Public commenters offered similar arguments during the workshop’s public-comment period, pressing the sustainability and transportation committee to pursue either a municipal ordinance or a change to port tariffs that would require visiting cruise ships to burn cleaner fuel while docked and to stop discharging scrubber wastewater. "We cannot have any entity polluting our pristine bays, shores, and harbors with this chemical cocktail of sulfuric acid, heavy metals, and carcinogens," said Douglas Moore of the Rosemont neighborhood, who represents two local swimming groups.

Speakers cited peer-reviewed studies and international precedents. Carrie Johnson, a West End resident, referenced a National Institutes of Health–indexed study she said showed "severe toxic effects on pelagic copepods" from scrubber effluent and warned that harms to foundational plankton species would reverberate through the food web. Joanne Laktov, cofounder of Portland Cruise Control, pointed to actions taken elsewhere — noting the Port of Seattle and state-level arrangements in Washington — as models Portland could follow by using tariffs or memoranda of understanding to limit scrubber discharge.

Supporters emphasized that the change need not cost the city money and argued cruise companies could absorb the expense. "A cruise ship company that made record third-quarter profit of $1,900,000,000 can afford to burn high marine-grade fuel for the 5% of its time at sea while berthed in Portland," Johnson said.

Several speakers gave local context: Maggie Wolf recalled the city’s earlier climate-emergency declaration and urged follow-through; James Mello, a physician from South Portland, spoke about observed declines in nearshore wildlife and asked the committee to weigh health, ecological and economic impacts; Susanna Richer described the ordinance’s likely effects on the working waterfront and local fisheries.

The council did not take action on the scrubber issue at the workshop. Multiple commenters said the sustainability and transportation committee would meet Wednesday to consider legal options; Joanne Laktov urged the committee to explore tariff changes or a memorandum of understanding with the cruise lines. No ordinance language or vote appeared on Monday’s agenda.

What’s next: The sustainability and transportation committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to review legal options and potential regulatory approaches, according to public comments. Advocates said they would provide draft ordinance language and examples from other jurisdictions for the committee to consider.