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Sailing News
Clean Vessel Act Grants
Help Marinas Keep Waters
Clean and Healthy
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acting
Director Rowan Gould announced
on May 7, 2010, $12.8 million will be
awarded to 31 states under the Clean
Vessel Act grant program in 2010. The
grants will be used to fund the construction
and installation of sewage pumpout
facilities and floating restrooms, to purchase
pumpout boats and to provide educational
programs for recreational
boaters, as they have been since the program's
inception in the early 1990s.
"Clean Vessel Act funding supports
the construction of facilities in communities
that depend largely on recreational
boating for their economy - and depend
on clean water for their health and the
health of their environment," said Gould.
"In a time of economic uncertainty, these
grants also provide an immediate investment
in construction jobs and infrastructure
that provide lasting value for recreational
boaters, state agencies, and local
communities."
To date, the program - administered
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -
has awarded more than $172 million to
states to install thousands of sewage
pumpout stations. In addition, many
states now rely upon mobile sewage
pumpout boats to make the sewage collection
process more efficient and convenient
for boaters. A number of states
also have begun installing floating restrooms
and pumpout stations in high use
areas of lakes and coastal waters.
Funding for the CVAprogram comes
from the Sport Fishing and Boating Trust
Fund, formerly known as the Aquatic
Resources Trust Fund, which is supported
by excise taxes levied on certain fishing
and boating equipment and boat fuels.
Some of the major grant program
awards made today include the following:
Indiana: $189,345 - The Indiana
Department of Environmental
Management plans to increase the number
of pumpout stations at a number of
marinas and increase awareness of the
Clean Vessel Act. The Department will
also encourage marinas to increase public
awareness about the importance of
boaters adhering to acceptable sewage
disposal.
Wisconsin: $105,000 - The
Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources will provide financial assistance
awards for the construction or
replacement of sanitary pumpout and
waste reception facilities along coastal
waters of Wisconsin. Wisconsin will continue
educational efforts to improve
pumpout and waste reception facility use
by improving communications with marina
operators.
The complete list of all 31 states
receiving grants and their programs is
online at:
http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/
Subpages/GrantPrograms/CVA/
CVA2010Funding.pdf
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