RV Toilet Chemicals and Politics

September 22, 2010

LOG NEWS SERVICE — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Aug. 18 vetoed a bill that would have prohibited, industry sources say, the sale and use of the most effective and widely employed holding tank deodorants utilized in toilets on boats and recreational vehicles. Schwarzenegger in his veto message said he was returning Assembly Bill 1824 unsigned because current law already gives the Department of Toxic Substances Control the ability to address the issue of chemical toilet products. “Neither I nor members of the legislature are best equipped to answer these questions. We need science and scientists to undertake this challenge and develop a solution that both addresses the chemical problem and provides the consumer with a product that is both economical and effective for the intended purpose.” AB 1824 by Assemblymember William W. Monning (D-Santa Cruz) would have added six chemicals to the existing list of 19 chemicals that are already banned because they are deemed detrimental to a sewage disposal system. The California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, which supported the measure, said environmentally friendly alternatives that do not harm sewage disposal systems are available and work just as well as those Monning’s bill would have banned. Kevin Phillips, vice president of sales and marketing for Thetford — a supplier of sanitation products for recreational vehicles and boats, which had opposed the measure — said that the veto preserves consumer choice.