Region 1: EPA New England

Boating in Maine Should Be Good Clean Fun

By Robert W. Varney July 15, 2003	This column for: CT | ME | MA | NH
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For many of us, boating is the essence of summer in New England. Whether they are used for fishing, cruising or a trip to the beach, the region's lakes and rivers are all abuzz as hundreds of thousands of boating enthusiasts take to the water.

As we savor the summer, we must all keep in mind that fishing, swimming and other boating activities would not be enjoyable without clean and safe water and that each and every person out on the water has a role in keeping these waters clean.

Last month, the Marine Environmental Education Foundation (MEEF) kicked off its sixth annual National Clean Boating Campaign on Boston's waterfront. Participants at the event celebrated the growth and vibrancy of the nation's recreational boating industry, which provides 17,000 full-time jobs and $1.7 billion of economic activity in Massachusetts alone. But it is also gave us a chance to take stock of the industry's performance in keeping the region's waters free from pollution. It let us assess the environmental habits of well over a half million boats registered in New England and the thousands of marinas and boatyards that service those boats.

The campaign coincides with several very successful efforts in Maine.

The Casco Bay Clean Boatyards and Marinas Program recognizes boatyards and marinas that have made their operations ‘greener’ by reducing environmental impacts to one of the state’s most popular boating areas. Certified marinas and boatyards provide pumpout services for boater waste, take measures to curb stormwater pollution discharges into the bay, carefully control wastes and pass a rigorous evaluation. The Maine Marine Trade Association is managing the program with the support of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and local environmental groups such as the Friends of Casco Bay, the Casco Bay Estuary Program and the Ocean Conservancy.

A second partnership involving EPA, the State of Maine and the Maine Marine Trade Association seeks to spur the sale of low-pollution outboard and personal watercraft engines. This equipment replaces conventional two-stroke engines, which discharge up to 30 percent of their gas and oil into the water and air as pollution. More than two-dozen engine dealers are now participating and last year 80 percent of the engines they sold were the cleaner marine engines.

DEP is also promoting services available at more than 73 pumpout stations across the state, including eight stationery stations in the Portland Harbor area alone. Mobile pumpout boat services are available in Casco Bay, Camden, and the Mount Desert Island area and a new pumpout boat is being launched in Boothbay Harbor in early August.

Back in Boston, at this year’s celebration, boaters learned simple techniques to avoid polluting waterways. According to the campaign, boaters can follow some basic steps to help keep lakes, rivers, oceans and harbors clean:

BOAT MAINTENANCE : When caring for your boat, use environmentally friendly products that will not harm the water.

• Physically remove old paint without chemical use.
• Scrape, sand and strip on shore over a drop cloth to catch all debris.
• Use less toxic bottom paints that do not contain tributyltin or copper.
• Avoid cleaners that contain phosphates, ammonia, chlorine, caustic soda or potassium hydroxide.
• Frequently inspect fuel lines for leaks or potential leaks such as cracks and loose connections. Repair as necessary.
• Change oil and transmission fluid with a spill proof pump or vacuum tank; slip a plastic bag over the oil filter before removal.
• Use orange-pink colored propylene antifreeze/coolant, which is less toxic, instead of blue-green ethylene glycol, which is very toxic and kills animals that ingest it.

BILGE CARE:

• Keep a drip pan or absorbent pads under the engine to capture oil and gas drips.
• Use absorbent pads, not detergents, to remove oil from the bilge.
• Never pump bilge water that is oily or has a sheen.
• Avoid using bilge cleaners that are detergents or emulsifiers since these chemicals dissolve the oil and fuel into water, leaving your bilge clean, but the water polluted.

SEWAGE DISPOSAL

• Make sure your boat has a proper, well-maintained waste containment system.
• Familiarize yourself with pump-out stations available for discharging waste, and use these free or inexpensive facilities.

For more information on clean boating, visit EPA New England’s web site at www.epa.gov/ne or the National Clean Boating Campaign’s web site at www.cleanboating.org.

Boating is good clean fun. Let’s keep it that way by doing our part to keep New England’s waters clean!

Robert W. Varney is regional administrator of EPA’s New England Office in Boston.