Solid Waste
and
Storm Water Run-Off
Education
Summary
Use pamphlets, flyers, newsletters, inserts, and meetings to convey the importance of any environmental precautions that have been instituted in the marina.
Provide information to your tenants about the BMPs in this section. Topics that particularly affect them may include recycling, fish cleaning, boat maintenance, and boat washing. When new practices are implemented, be sure that the tenants are aware of the changes and are ready to comply. Distribute to your customers fact sheets and flyers on the topics, many of which have already been prepared and are available free for distribution. Circulate the material in special environmental mailings or include them in current mailings.
Invite lecturers from local academic institutions and state regulatory agencies to speak about nonpoint source pollution to your customers. This is an effective method for both the audience and the guest to discuss potential problems and attempt to identify solutions. Inviting outside experts to speak shifts some of the pressure for explaining change from the marina manager to the visiting expert.
Education must not stop with the tenants, but must also be applied to the facility's staff. Every member of the staff (administrative, grounds keepers, maintenance, painters, mechanics, etc.) must understand and comply with any new initiatives.
Educate boaters regarding the importance of proper fish-cleaning practices.
Let boaters know that disposing of fish waste within the facility's waters is not appropriate. This book provides some handouts that can be duplicated and distributed among boaters informing them why it is important to properly dispose of fish wastes.