Connecticut Waters are Cleaner !

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

 

DEEP Announces 1.2 Million Gallons of Recreational Vessel Boat Sewage Removed in 2015, and $1 Million in Grants Awarded for Marine Sewage Disposal Facilities for the 2016 Boating Season

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced that during the 2015 boating season, pumpout facilities and pumpout vessel programs removed a record level of more than 1.2 million gallons of recreational marine sewage from vessels in Long Island Sound and Candlewood Lake.

“At the beginning of 2015, we set our sights on the goal of removing more than 1 million gallons of recreational marine sewage from vessels.  With the support of Connecticut boaters and pumpout facility operators, that milestone was exceeded and the amount of recreational boat waste previously removed was surpassed by 22.5 percent,” said Commissioner Robert Klee.  “The goal is to build on this success to keep our waters clean and healthy, and to provide excellent water-based recreational opportunities in Connecticut.”

For the 2016 boating season, 48 marine facilities will receive $1,122,579.65 in federal funding under the DEEP’s annual Clean Vessel Act (CVA) program.  In an effort to improve water quality in navigable waterways within Connecticut, this program, managed through the DEEP’s Boating Division, provides federally funded matching grants for qualifying projects that provide boat sewage disposal facilities, more commonly known as pumpouts.  Eleven of the 48 grant recipients will receive funding for the construction of new or replacement pumpouts.  The remaining projects fund operation and maintenance of land based pumpouts and mobile pumpout boats.

Funding for the CVA program is made available through the Federal Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, supported by federal excise taxes on certain fishing and boating equipment, import duties on boats and through boat fuels. DEEP partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue grants locally to marine facilities and programs. Each participating marine facility provides 25% of the cost of each project. 

            For more information about this program, visit the DEEP Boating webpage at www.ct.gov/deep/boating or contact Kate Hughes Brown, BIG/CVA Program Coordinator, at (860)