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Thursday, November 30, 2000

Cleanup program shows results for wildlife at marina

By DINAH VOYLES PULVER | News-Journal Environment Writer

DAYTONA BEACH — Mullet, mallards and minnows splash and swim in the water at Halifax Harbor Marina, enjoying the cleaner water these days.

The wildlife are among the first to benefit from a program that has earned the marina a prestigious new award.

On Wednesday, Halifax Harbor Marina became the first marina on the state's East Coast and only one of a handful in the state to earn the "Clean Marina" designation.

Officials from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection presented the marina with a plaque and a "Clean Marina" flag on Wednesday afternoon.

The award is the culmination of years of hard work, said Harbormaster George Wakefield. The marina first began working with the state to develop the Clean Marina program in 1996.

Now the bright blue flag flying at the harbor office helps give boaters an environmentally sound option for their service and mooring choices, said DEP officials.

"You're a leader in the industry," said Tom Tramel, director of the DEP's Division of Law Enforcement, which oversees the program. "This marina will serve as an example for the other marinas in this area and across the state."

Tramel hopes the marinas will put a little "pier pressure" on each other to improve.

Marinas that participate adopt safeguards to help keep fuel, sewage and solvents out of the water. Marina workers must attend training workshops, perform a self-audit and have state officials review their plans and inspect the marina.

Boaters and the marine industry were involved in planning the program from the beginning. The Clean Marina project grew out of the Clean Vessel program, which was designed to keep boat sewage out of the water.

Boater participation is essential to both programs, Wakefield said. Halifax Harbor is a city-owned marina managed by the Illinois-based Skipper Buds management company.

Marina officials have many projects in place to help educate boaters and visitors to the marina and to make it easy for them to help keep their environment clean:

Handy holders at entryways provide boaters with little doggy bags to use as they walk their pets.

Trash cans are everywhere, making it easy for picnickers and others to dispose of their garbage.

Specially absorbent wipes are stored at the fuel pump to prevent leaks and spills as boaters fill their tanks.

The fueling area also has easy to use cups to prevent backsplash from fueling vents.

To make it easy for boaters to pump their sewage into holding tanks rather than the water, Halifax Harbor made its service free and started a mobile unit. Wakefield said the harbor now collects about 7,000 gallons of sewage a month -- at least 80 percent of it with the mobile unit.

"We went from 30 to 40 boats a month to hundreds," he said.

Now healthy green algae lines the seawalls, a good sign, Wakefield said. "Before we were lucky if we saw the algae a couple of weeks a year. Now it's there all the time."

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