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Everyone Needs Clean Water
Marinas can play an important role in preventing marine pollution and recycling boat supplies. Some marinas have enacted green (a.k.a. clean) policies intended to avoid water contamination. Green marinas also spend less on waste removal and become more desirable to boaters.
US States Participating in the Initiative
(click here to learn how to become a GREEN Marina)
Some sources of marina-based pollution include dock fuel pumps, boat repair stations, boat cleaning, and parking areas. Rain can wash pollutants into the adjacent body of water, if they do not enter it directly. Green marina policies have the potential to prevent or limit much of this pollution.
Aside from decreasing direct pollution, marina operators can also help boaters reduce their environmental impact. Offering sewage removal and recycling services are a couple ways of accomplishing this. Owners may gain additional income from some types of recyclable materials and containers.
Marinas have shown increasing receptiveness to this concept. According to a report (PDF) from Marine Dock Age, about 8.4 percent were certified “Clean” as of late 2006 in states with Clean Marina programs, an increase from 6.7% the year before. States with the highest percentages include CA, MD, VA, TX, ME, and WA.
There are also many marinas which apply some environmentally friendly policies, but not enough to qualify as green/clean. Despite this, their actions still have some positive impact and they are in a better position to expand such efforts in the future. More may be able to afford taking these measures if the recession comes to an end.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study on green marinas found that, although some improvements are expensive initially, most such establishments have increased their overall income because they drew more customers, were able to increase prices a small amount, and reduced various ongoing expenses.
Sometimes the “greener” option is actually less expensive to begin with. For example, the EPA study pointed to a marina owner who used recycled crushed concrete for the parking lot rather than asphalt pavement. This not only prevented runoff from going in the water but cost less as well.
Applying green practices also helps marinas avoid government fines for spills and other accidental pollution. Fines can be substantial; for example, a marina in Rhode Island was fined over $52,000 dollars for contaminating the soil with lead, storing unidentified hazardous waste containers, and other violations.
The concept of clean/green marinas has been spreading in other countries as well. New Zealand and Australia have established Clean Marina certification programs. Australia has certified thirty-seven so far. Canada offers a similar Clean Marine Program which applies to both marina and boat owners.
Various state and national government agencies have helped to promote green practices by distributing information and certifying marinas which qualify for green status. See certified green marinas. Agencies occasionally provide grants to help pay for certain facility upgrades.
For example, the Louisiana Clean Marina Program certifies marinas which have taken various environment-friendly steps. The state supplies these facilities with a flag, certificate, and free promotion. They are allowed to print the Clean Marina symbol in correspondence and advertisements.
Green practices also benefit marinas by helping to preserve the water quality, which promotes fishing and other marine recreational activities. Marine environmental conditions will improve as more marinas recognize the great importance of protecting the environment.
MarineFuel.com provides extensive marina listings through its online marina finder tool, E-Marina™.
To see the growing list of Green Marina Listings via E-Marina™, click here…
SOURCES:
1. Louisiana Clean Marina Program
2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
3. Environmental Protection Agency
4. Marina Industries Association of Australia
5. Ontario Marine Operators Association
Tags: clean marina, green marina