Marina Dock Age, November 1999

The Clean Marina Program:
Public Recognition for Environmentally Proactive Marinas
by Ron Brazda

It may not be long before marinas that voluntarily follow recommended best management practices for clean waters will be officially recognized and publicly commended for their efforts. At the Annual Conference of the States Organization for Boating Access (SOBA) in Little Rock, Ark., October 6, 1999, delegates voted to authorize the group’s Clean Vessel Act Committee to develop a model Clean Marina Program. In the program, states would sanction marinas that take the pledge to be environmentally responsible to hoist a distinctive, nationally recognized flag proclaiming them as clean water promoters and practitioners.

This concept has been evolving for the past several years. Even before the 1992 Federal Clean Vessel Act gave private marinas the incentive to install boat sewage pump-out stations with grants in aid, forward-thinking marina operators were taking steps beyond regulatory requirements. They did that because they recognized that providing a clean environment is important to customer satisfaction and community acceptance and is therefore good for business.

Believing that the many unsung heroes of the marina industry deserved some sort of recognition, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) in 1993 inaugurated its Recreational Boating Facilities Environmental Responsibility Award. Though this awards program has generated considerable nationwide publicity, calling favorable public attention to the positive role of marinas in the campaign for clean waters, NMMA came to realize that it was limited by the number of marinas and boatyards it was able to honor as outstanding examples. Casting about for ways of publicizing the countless other worthy facilities, they came across the Blue Flag Program widely used in Europe to certify and credit clean marinas and beaches.  

In 1996, the European Blue Flag Coordinator was invited to the United States to consult with NMMA about adapting the Program for use on American waters. This consultation led to a decision that the Marine Environmental Education Foundation (MEEF), which is a national non-profit broad-based consortium of industry, government, and conservation groups, was probably the best vehicle for credibly judging and awarding marinas as voluntary practitioners and promoters of clean waters. Thus, in 1998, MEEF launched efforts to initiate a National Environmental Excellence Awards program, featuring the presentation of a distinctive Clean Boating Flag bearing the MEEF logo, as the linchpin of the continuation of its highly acclaimed National Clean Boating Campaign. Unfortunately, that initiative foundered due to cutbacks in available federal grants.

Meanwhile, state governments, aware of the importance of marinas to promoting tourism and bolstering local economies and their highly visible profile as role models for clean waters, were individually starting Clean Marina Programs. By the late 1990s, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources were already well into it, and the subject was under active consideration in South Carolina.  

Why not follow the lead of states that have demonstrated a willingness to encourage their marinas to voluntarily follow recommended best management practices for clean waters? Because the government stands behind marinas that they have judged to be clean water practitioners according to their criteria, there is a higher degree of credibility than the recreational marine manufacturing industry or even a national non-profit marine environmental education foundation can provide through their respective award programs.

For optimum public understanding and appreciation, however, it is preferable that whatever the states do be as uniform as possible. Because boating is highly mobile by nature, it is key to the success of the program that boaters be able to recognize what the clean boating flag represents—no matter which state they’re in.

To this end, SOBA proposes that the Florida and Maryland examples be used as a template for fashioning a model Clean Marina Program. Continue »