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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR PUMPOUT FACILITIES PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management announces that it is now accepting applications from qualified public and private marinas, yacht clubs, and municipalities to construct, replace, retrofit, and maintain marine pumpout boats and shoreside pumpout facilities. Up to $15,000 is available for each shoreside facility grant, and up to $56,250 is available for each pumpout boat. Each type requires a 25 percent match. Close to $200,000 is available from US Fish and Wildlife Service Clean Vessel Act funds awarded to DEM.Boaters have been prohibited from discharging sewage into Rhode Island waters since 1998, when Rhode Island became the first state in the country to receive a statewide "no discharge" designation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Boat sewage can degrade water quality by introducing bacteria, pathogens, and chemicals, harmful to humans and marine life, and by introducing excess nutrients that stimulate algae blooms which deplete oxygen. Over the past nine years, DEM has been educating boaters about the law, boosting efforts to enforce the law, and working to assure a sufficient number of pumpout facilities for boaters' convenience. To date, DEM has awarded close to $800,000 in Clean Vessel Act funds for pumpout facilities to make it convenient for boaters to discharge boat sewage properly. There are currently 12 pumpout boats and 53 shoreside facilities available to boaters in Rhode Island waters. However, additional facilities are needed to serve the estimated 54,000 boats that use Rhode Island waters each year, including more than 44,000 registered in Rhode Island. Applications for the current round of funding are available on DEM's website, www.dem.ri.gov, by clicking on "Topics", then "Sewage Treatment", then "Marine Pumpouts". They are also available at DEM's Office of Water Resources at 235 Promenade Street in Providence weekdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The deadline for submitting applications is January 31. DEM expects to announce selected projects and begin issuing grant agreements by mid-March. For further information, contact Joseph Migliore at DEM's Office of Water Resources, at 222-3961 ext. 7258 or via e-mail at joseph.migliore@dem.ri.gov. -30- |
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