Greenbytes: June 18, 2003 Edition

Greetings from EPA New England. We hope you find this edition of Greenbytes useful and we encourage you to give us feedback. Please send an email to Paul Wintrob with your thoughts, comments or suggestions: wintrob.paul@epa.gov

Feature: Making Our Waters Cleaner for Swimming, Boating and Fishing

As summer gets underway, New Englanders should all keep in mind that fishing, swimming and boating would not be enjoyable without clean and safe water – and that each and every person out on the water has a role in keeping our waters clean.

This Saturday, June 21, EPA NE Regional Administrator Robert Varney will be joining marina operators, boating industry officials and environmental advocates in kicking off the sixth annual National Cleaning Boating Campaign on Boston’s waterfront.

The campaign celebrates 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 also gives us a chance to take stock of the industry’s performance – including that of New England’s 500,000-plus boat owners – in keeping the region’s waters free from pollution.

The campaign kicks off in Boston for good reason. Marinas and boatyards on the city’s waterfront have made their operations ‘greener’ to reduce environmental impacts to Boston Harbor, which now boasts a $4 billion a year tourism industry. Marinas and boatyards now provide pump-out services for boater waste, free litter pickups and recycle shrink wrap for protecting boats in winter. These efforts have all helped in the historic cleanup of Boston Harbor.

Many of these ‘green’ services are the result of close partnerships forged between EPA, the state of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Marine Trade Association and environmental groups such as Save The Harbor/Save The Bay.

These organizations are all working on a voluntary initiative to spur sales of low-pollution outboard and personal watercraft engines. These engines replace conventional two-stroke engines which discharge up to 30% of their gas and oil into the water and air as pollution. More than two-dozen engine dealers in Massachusetts are participating so far and last year 80% of the engines they sold were the cleaner marine engines. Similar results are being reported by other dealers across New England.

EPA and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management are also pushing aggressively to ensure that boaters take advantage of discharge services available at more than 100 pump-out stations across the state. More than a dozen pump-out facilities and pump-out boats are up and running in Boston Harbor and dozens more are available on Cape Cod, where many water bodies have been designated by EPA as no-discharge zones where boat discharges are illegal.

To learn more about these and other ‘green’ boating practices, visit the National Clean Boating Campaign’s web site at www.cleanboating.org

We’re also working to make our swimming beaches cleaner. Last week, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman visited New England to announce dramatic improvements in water quality at New England beaches last summer and an additional $1.1 million of federal funds that is available to help the region’s five coastal states boost their beach monitoring programs.

Joined by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Whitman visited Wollaston Beach in Quincy to announce a 50% reduction in pollution-related ‘closure days' at the region's 350-plus coastal beaches last summer compared to 2001. Among the swimming areas seeing big improvements were the Boston Harbor beaches and Quincy's Wollaston Beach, which was closed nine days last summer compared to 22 days in 2001.

Whitman credited the improvements to last summer’s dry weather and aggressive efforts by beach operators to reduce pollution sources at their beaches. Wollaston Beach is one of a dozen New England beaches designated as "Flagship" beaches last year by EPA NE as part of its Clean New England Beaches Initiative. Flagship beaches are designed to serve as models for improving beach water quality.

To learn more about these and other programs to improve water quality, visit our “On the Water” web page at http://www.epa.gov/region1/topics/water/onthewater.html

To learn more about the National Clean Boating Campaign and ‘green’ boating practices, visit www.cleanboating.org

Press Releases

EPA Releases Human Health Risk Assessment for GE Pittsfield / Housatonic River Site

EPA Orders City of Brockton to Improve Wastewater Treatment Plant

EPA Announces Public Meeting Re: W.R. Grace Superfund Site in Acton, MA

EPA to Honor New Hampshire Students Today for Environmental Art and Poetry

Events and conferences are not archived. Please refer to the Regional Calendar for upcoming events and conferences.

Brownfields - what’s new

Charles River - updated clean charles 2005 update

Enforcement and Assistance - pages completely redesigned

Enforcement and Assistance - new fy2002 annual report

Mercury - epa regional mercury model added

On The Water Safe Boating, Fishing & Swimming - new information and links

State Implementation Plans (SIPS) - new rhode island info

Storm Water Wastewater Virtual Tradeshow - new companies added

Title V Permits - clickable maps of title v facilities in nh, ri, vt

Urban Environmental Program - new chelsea creek report

"In The News" is a free daily service that provides links to today's top newspaper stories about the New England environment and links to related EPA New England information.

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