SECTION 4: Management Measures

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## SECTION 4: MANAGEMENT MEASURES

**Section 4 Contents**

**Introduction**

**.................................................................................................................. .**  **.... .**  **4- 1**  **4. 1**  **Marina Fl ushing** 

**....................................................................................................... .**  **4- 7**  **4. 2**  **W ater Quality Assess**  **m ent** 

**.................................................................................... .**  **4-1 3**  **4. 3**  **Habitat Assessm ent** 

**............................................................................................... .**  **4-1 9**  **4. 4**  **Shoreline Stab ilization** 

**.......................................................................................... .**  **4-2 7**  **4. 5**  **Storm W**  **at er Runoff** 

**............................................................................................... .**  **4-3 1**  **4. 6**  **Fueling Station D**  **esig n** 

**.......................................................................................... .**  **4-4 5**  **4. 7**  **Petroleum Control**

**................................................................................................. .**  **4-5 3**  **4. 8**  **Liquid Material M anagement** 

**................................................................................ .**  **4-5 9**  **4. 9**  **Solid W**  **aste Managemen**  **t**

**...................................................................................... .**  **4-6 7**  **4.10 Fis**  **h W**  **aste Managemen t** 

**....................................................................................... .**  **4-7 3**  **4. 1**  **1 Sewage Facility**  **Management**

**............................................................................... .**  **4-7 7**  **4.12 M**  **aintenance of Sewage Facilities**

**....................................................................... .**  **4-8 7**  **4.13 B**  **oat Cleanin g** 

**......................................................................................................... .**  **4-9 1**  **4.14 Boat Operatio**  **n**

**....................................................................................................... .**  **4-9 5**  **4.15 Public Educatio**  **n**

**.................................................................................................... .**  **4-9 9** 



### Introduction
Management measu r es are the best available,economically achievable practices or combinations of practices that can be used to address nonpoint source pollution from marinas and recreational boating. Best management practices (BMPs) are individual activities or structures that can be used alone or in combination to achieve the management measures.

E P A identified 15 measures for implementation within state coastal management areas. From discussions with marina owners and operators at facilities on fresh waters nationwide, these 15 management measures and associated practices have been found generally to be just as applicableto freshwater marinas as to coastal water marinas. They form the basic measures recommended in this guidance. This section discusses the 15management measures for marinas and recreational boating and BMPs that can be used to achieve them. The scope of this guidance is broad, covering diverse nonpoint source pollutants from marinas and recreational boating. Because it applies to alltypes of waterbodies, it cannot provide all practices and techniques suitable to all regional or local marina or waterbody conditions. Also,BMPs are continually being modified and developed as a result of experience gained from their implementation and the innovation of marina owners and operators across the countr y

. The guidance can help marina managers identify potential sources of nonpoint source pollution and offer potential solutions. Finding the best solution to a nonpoint source pollution problem at a marina requires taking into account the many site-specific factors that together compose the setting of a marina and identifying the most applicable BMPs.
Considering management measures and BMPs during marina design will help to ensure that the site has good flushing and water circulation characteristics, avoid encroachment on vital4-2 National Management Measures Guidance

aquatic habitats, improve habitat quality in and around the marina basin, and reduce the potential for water quality problems in the marina basin. Considering pollution prevention possibilities when planning a marina can help ensure that the design of the marina and activities at the marina do not lead to degraded water quality in the basin once the marina is operational. Incorporating pollution prevention and source reduction measures into an existing marina can help improve and protect water quality at the marina. Good water quality can help any marina keep operational costs low and improve customer satisfaction.
Marina siting and design play important roles in determining how good water quality in a marina basin will be. Marina location ( open —sited directly on a river, lake, bay, or barrier island, or semi-enclosed —sited on an embayment, cove, or other protected area) affects circulation in a marina basin and, therefore, how well it flushes. The depth of a marina basin affects circulation of deep water in the basin and how often it needs maintenance dredging, if at all. Dredging stirs contaminants from the bottom and can disturb bottom habitats. Marina design, especially the configuration of the basin and its orientation to prevailing winds, waves, tides, and currents, affects the retention of pollutants in a marina basin and the movement of pollutants out of a basin. Some marinas may be affected by storm water runoff from upland areas in the watershed.
Existing marinas can improve water and habitat quality in the marina basin through application of these management measures. Circulation and flushing may be improved in a marina basin by creating an additional opening in a breakwater.Shoreline stabilization may reduce the sedimentation rate and sediment levels in a marina basin, provide an area for patron activities, and make shoreline habitats more suitable for a variety ofaquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. Improvements to storm water runoff patterns,fueling stations, sewage facilities, hull maintenance areas, or other areas or aspects of a marina where pollutants are generated can reduce pollutant inputs to the marina basin from these sources and improve water quality. A marina designed with the important points of the management measures in mind—including physical location, flushing and circulation, aquatichabitat, shoreline stability, and pollution prevention—will probably have better water quality and fewer water-pollution-related problems during its life of operation, and economic benefits may result from making such improvements. 1 This applies whether the management measures are applied while the marina is being designed or incorporated into the marina after it is operational.
Subsections 4.1 through 4.15 of this section discuss each of the management measures. It is best to plan to apply management measures comprehensively by first evaluating pollution problems throughout the marina and incorporatingthose elements of different management measures that will most efficiently and effectively address the specific pollution issues at the marina. With a comprehensive approach to management measure application, any marina can achieve or maintain good water quality and maintain healthy shorelines and aquatic habitats.
In addition to the management measures, BMPs are also described. EPA has found the BMPs described in this guidance to be representative ofthe types of BMPs that can be applied successfully to achieve the management measures. Sitespecific or regional circumstances, however, should be considered in the selection of BMPs for a particular marina. Circumstances such as type of adjacent waterbody, climate, and type of workperformed at the marina affect the design constraints and pollution control effectiveness of BMPs. The list of practices for each management measure is not all-inclusive, and marina operators are encouraged to use other BMPs where they would be as effective as or more effective than those discussed in this guidance.
The management measures for marinas and recreational boating are applicable to the facilities and their associated shore-based services that support recreational boats and boats for hire. Generally, the following types of operations and facilities would be expected to benefit by use of

1 See USEPA, 1996: Clean marinas—Clear Value: Environmental and Business Success Stories

.SECTION 4: Management Measures

4-3 the management measures and BMPs in this guidance:

• Any facility that contains 10 or more slips,

piers where 10 or more boats may tie up, or any facility where a boat for hire is docked.
• Boat maintenance or repair yards that are

adjacent to the water.
• Any federal, state, or local facility where

recreational boat maintenance or repair is done on or near the water.
• Public or commercial boat ramps.
• Any residential or planned community marina

with 10 or more slips.
• Any mooring field where 10 or more boats

are moored.
Facilities with fewer than 10 slips, where fewer than 10 boats are moored, or where piers have a capacity of fewer than 10 boats might also benefit from the management measures and BMPs described in this guidance, and operators of such facilities are encouraged to review the informationpresented here and consider its possible application to their situations.
Some of the management measures (e.g., marina flushing) are more applicable to the siting and design phase of marina construction or expansion, while others (e.g., maintenance of sewagefacilities) concern marina operation and maintenance and are more applicable to operational marinas. Still others (e.g., storm water runoff) are applicable to all marinas, whether in the design phase, already operational, or in the process of expanding.
Following the discussion of each management measure and its associated BMPs is a table thatrestates the management measure and summarizes the environmental concerns that the management measure addresses, the BMPs applicable to the management measure, and information pertinent to the implementation of each BMP. The table that follows here, Key to BMP Tables

, describes the type of content in each column in the tables. The tables (beginning with BMP Summary Table 1 , p. 4-11) are organized as follows:

• The first column, Best Management Practice

Examples, lists the BMPs mentioned in this guidance that can be used to achieve the management measure. Where appropriate, BMPs are divided by category, either pollution prevention or source reduction, as described in the Key to BMP Tables.
• The second column, Marina Location &

Usage , identifies where in the marina the BMP would usually be located and the purpose for its use. The applicability of each BMP is categorized as universal, general, or recommended, as described in the Key to BMP Tables.
• The third column, Benefits to Marina

,

describes the benefits that marina owners and operators and boat owners at the marina could expect from using the BMP. The magnitude of the benefits is categorized as high, moderate, or low, as described in the Key to BMP Tables.
• The fourth column, Projected Environmental

Benefits , describes the environmental benefits that can be expected from using the BMP. These are also categorized as high, moderate, or low, as described in the Key to BMP Tables.
• The fifth column, Initial Cost Estimate , is an

estimate of the cost of initially installing the BMP (e.g., a structural BMP) or establishing the practice (e.g., a recycling program) at the marina. A cost range, as described in the Key to BMP Tables , is provided for each BMP.
• The sixth column, Annual Operation &

Maintenance Cost Estimate , is an estimateof the ongoing cost, if any, of using or maintaining the BMP at a marina. The cost ofannual operation and maintenance is estimated as for the initial cost estimate. See the Key to BMP Tables.
• The last column, Notes, provides descriptions

of additional benefits or other information pertinent to the BMP.4-4 National Management Measures GuidanceSECTION 4: Management Measures

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