Clean Marinas

Clean Marinas is a voluntary, incentive-based program promoted by the EPA and others to encourage marina operators and boaters to protect coastal water quality by engaging in environmentally sound operating and maintenance procedures. The program offers information, guidance, and technical assistance to marina operators, local governments and boaters on best management practices.

The goal of this program is to protect and improve coastal water quality.

Many marinas and boatyards have discovered economic benefits from cleaner business operations. Here are two examples of marinas that found unexpected environmental savings and profits after changing to cleaner operations:
-When a full service marina, on a middle America lake, switched to dustless vacuum sanders, bottom work productivity jumped over 60 percent.
-A New England coastal boatyard, after installing a pumpout station installed with a government grant, saves $2,000 annually off sewer bills by metering the waste sent to the municipal sewer plant.
Each benefited five ways: increased productivity or cost saving, environmental guideline compliance, pride in accomplishment, happier customers, and cleaner waters. And because their marinas are cleaner, they work harder to make them cleaner still, AND that has attracted more new customers, who feel better about being part of the solution to water pollution.