What goes wrong

The copy was wrong

On this page11

The cleaner was sold as making oil disappear Which is a copy problem with a legal shape The concentrate was labeled like a ready-to-use A claim was made about in-water use Environmentally safe was asserted Biodegradable was used without a basis The placard requirement was assumed not to apply Or the placard was printed on paper One placard on a twin-engine boat The fix for all of it is the same References

Dispersing oil is not removing it. The clause anticipated that.

The cleaner was sold as making oil disappear

The second limb of the clause reaches a discharge that causes "a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water". An emulsifier moves the oil rather than removing it.

Which is a copy problem with a legal shape

A product whose marketing describes dispersing oil into the water is describing something the regulation names. Read the clause before writing the claim.

The concentrate was labeled like a ready-to-use

And applied neat to a gelcoat or a canvas. The dilution is part of the product and it belongs on the panel in the same size as the name.

A claim was made about in-water use

Whether a product may be used in the water depends on the product, the water body and often a permit. This property does not answer it and neither should a label.

Environmentally safe was asserted

Which is an absolute claim about a product going into water, and the kind of claim that invites scrutiny from more than one direction. Say what it is and what it does not contain.

Biodegradable was used without a basis

A measurable property with test methods behind it, not an adjective. Either there is a result or there is not.

The placard requirement was assumed not to apply

26 feet is the threshold and it is shorter than most owners expect. A boat with a machinery space and a bilge pump is the intended subject.

Or the placard was printed on paper

"At least 5 by 8 inches, made of durable material." Paper taped to a bulkhead in an engine space is not durable material and will not be there next season.

One placard on a twin-engine boat

The requirement is a conspicuous place "in each machinery space". Two spaces, two placards.

The fix for all of it is the same

Write the claim from the clause, state the dilution, and put the honest limits of use on the label. None of that costs anything at the point it is decided.

References

40 CFR 110.3, discharge of oil in such quantities as "may be harmful" under section 311(b)(4) of the Clean Water Act. Such discharges are those that "(a) Violate applicable water quality standards" or "(b) Cause a film or sheen upon or discoloration of the surface of the water or adjoining shorelines or cause a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines". law.cornell.edu

33 CFR 155.450. "A ship, except a ship of less than 26 feet in length, must have a placard", "at least 5 by 8 inches, made of durable material", fixed "in a conspicuous place in each machinery space, or at the bilge and ballast pump control station", stating "Discharge of Oil Prohibited" and setting out that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act prohibits the discharge of oil into the navigable waters of the United States, on pain of "substantial civil penalties and/or criminal sanctions including fines and imprisonment". The placard "must be printed in the language or languages understood by the crew". law.cornell.edu

Written from 40 CFR 110.3 and 33 CFR 155.450, and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. The Vessel General Permit, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act and in-water hull cleaning rules are named and not summarized; state and local rules on boat washing and marina discharge vary by water body. Whether a specific product may be used in the water is a question about that product and that water.