| "They did a good job of assembling a very diverse work group that spearheaded the initiative." | |
| Elisabeth Morgan, NOAA Office of Coastal Resource Management |
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Last winter, Maryland became the first U.S. state or territory to receive full federal approval of its state coastal nonpoint pollution control plan. A clean marina initiative, state coastal resource managers say, has been one of the most successful programs to come out of the process.
"The Clean Marina Initiative is the most direct and positive example" of one of the management measures the state developed to satisfy federal requirements under the Coastal Zone Management Act, says Gwynne Schultz, director of the Maryland Coastal Zone Management Division of the Department of Natural Resources.
The initiative, Schultz says, "promotes and celebrates the voluntary adoption of measures by marinas and recreational boat operators to keep Maryland's waterways free of harmful chemicals, excess nutrients, and debris." It includes distributing a comprehensive pollution prevention guidebook for marinas; recognizing "Clean Marinas" through an awards program; and conducting outreach activities that promote environmentally responsible marina and boating practices.
The Clean Marina Program worked with other agencies in the state's network to develop a "guide of best management practices," says Elysabeth Bonar Bouton, manager of the coastal division's Nonpoint Source Program. The Maryland Clean Marina Guidebook provides a comprehensive review of voluntary and regulatory pollution prevention measures.
A working group with "representatives from all the parties—marina owners and operators, regulatory agencies, everyone with an interest—was established that reviewed all the necessary practices and identified the practices that would be essential to qualify as a Clean Marina," she says.
As the first step toward becoming a certified Clean Marina, Bonar Bouton explains that marina operators are asked to sign a pledge indicating that they will do their part to reduce nonpoint source pollution. To achieve certification, marinas have a year to adopt a number of the recommendations in the Guidebook. Once recognized as a Clean Marina, a special logo can be used in their advertising and on their letterhead.
To kick off the program two years ago, seven workshops were held throughout the state. Whenever a marina signs the pledge or is certified, a press release is issued. An awards ceremony is held each July, and a Web page and quarterly newsletter also are produced. Bonar Bouton notes that 71 marinas from around the state have taken the Clean Marina pledge, and 16 have been certified.
"They did a good job of assembling a very diverse work group that spearheaded the initiative," says Elisabeth Morgan, coastal management specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Coastal Resource Management. "Many of the work group participants were the first to have their marinas certified."
Not only was partnering essential to the success of the Clean Marina Initiative, Schultz says, but it was the coastal program's ability to establish various partnerships that was key to helping the state's nonpoint source program get federal approval. "It was a significant challenge. We were the new kids on the block and our coastal program had never been involved with water quality. Initially we had people saying, 'Don't bother us.' We had to learn how to work with a lot of new partners."
For more information on Maryland's coastal nonpoint pollution control plan, contact Elysabeth Bonar Bouton at (410) 260-8730 or EBOUTON@dnr.state.md.us. For more information on Maryland's Clean Marina Initiative, point your browser to www.dnr.state.md.us/boating.
