Six Wisconsin Marinas Certified Clean

Mayor Ralph Brzezinski of Washburn and Mayor Larry MacDonald of Bayfield recently announced six newly-certified Clean Marinas at a press conference late last week at a workshop at Pike Bay Marina in Bayfield.

The newly certified Wisconsin marinas are: Pikes Bay Marina of Bayfield, Bayfield City Docks, Washburn Marina, South Bay Marina of Green Bay, McKinley Marina of Milwaukee and St. Croix Marina of Hudson. Wisconsin now has 17 Clean Marinas, all named as such since July 2010.

The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant reports that many Wisconsin marinas have taken steps to voluntarily adopt practices to become certified and adopt up to 100 "best management practices" depending of the type of facility, ranging from docks only to full service businesses with fueling, storage and repair and maintenance capabilities. The marinas have typically improved practices such as procedures for preventing and cleaning up gas spills, installing better hazardous waste containment, boat bottom washing, filter systems, managing stormwater and improving vessel maintenance practices.

"The Clean Marina Program provides technical assistance and training for marina managers and recognizes marinas that are good stewards of Wisconsin's environment," said Victoria Harris, water quality specialist with UW Sea Grant. The Clean Marina Program is a partnership between the Wisconsin Marina Association, the UW Sea Grant Institute and the UW Extension Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center, with support from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program.