SECTION 4: Management Measures

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SECTION 4: MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Section 4 Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................4-1

4.1 Marina Flushing ........................................................................................................4-7

4.2 Water Quality Assessment .....................................................................................4-13

4.3 Habitat Assessment ................................................................................................4-19

4.4 Shoreline Stabilization ...........................................................................................4-27

4.5 Storm Water Runoff ................................................................................................4-31

4.6 Fueling Station Design...........................................................................................4-45

4.7 Petroleum Control ..................................................................................................4-53

4.8 Liquid Material Management .................................................................................4-59

4.9 Solid Waste Management.......................................................................................4-67

4.10 Fish Waste Management ........................................................................................4-73

4.11 Sewage Facility Management ................................................................................4-77

4.12 Maintenance of Sewage Facilities ........................................................................4-87

4.13 Boat Cleaning..........................................................................................................4-91

4.14 Boat Operation........................................................................................................4-95

4.15 Public Education .....................................................................................................4-99

Introduction

Management measures 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.

EPA 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 applicable

to freshwater marinas as to coastal water marinas. They form the basic measures recommended

in this guidance. This section discusses the 15

management 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 all

types 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 country.

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 vital
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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 of

aquatic 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, aquatic

habitat, 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 incorporating

those 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 of

the 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 work

performed 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

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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 information

presented 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 sewage

facilities) 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 that

restates 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 estimate

of the ongoing cost, if any, of using or maintaining the BMP at a marina. The cost of

annual 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.
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