Clean Marine Solutions

http://www.wwaytv3.com/node/17669

Vanish 300 featured on WWAY  TV Evening News.

In the new (NC) Boating Service Industry News, Mike Bradley offers an excellent summary of the state’s tough new NCG19 permitting requirements.

He notes that:

“…  it now appears that every company using a powerwash system will have to be permitted.”

See full article and pertinent links at:

http://www.ncwaterways.com/BusinessAssistance/TradeWinds/2009TW/09-8/stormwater.htm

If you are in the marine industry in NC , we strongly advise that you sign up for the free newsletter at:

NCWaterways.com

Clean Marine Solutions, LLC (CMS) has been awarded a North Carolina Green Business Fund Grant of $84,600 to fund their business concept that offers an affordable solution for boat yards and marinas to meet environmental compliance standards. The grant is administered by the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology.  Governor Bev Perdue announced the award at a press conference at the corporate headquarters of Innovatech in Morrisville, NC on August 7.

David Flagler, Clean Marine Solutions President, says the goal of the project is to reduce the negative environmental impact caused by discharge of copper-laden, toxic wastewater that is generated from power washing boats. “Our unique ‘no-discharge’ prototype reduces a 50 gallon drum of toxic wastewater to less than a cup of dry particulate that is easily permitted for disposal.”

CMS, based in Wilmington, North Carolina, designs and manufactures wastewater treatment systems and offers environmental compliance consulting services for marine service facilities that decide to take the next step in their “Go Green” initiatives and bring their power wash operations in alignment with the Federal Clean Water Act.

“Copper is the most common heavy metal found in marina waters,” Flagler says. ”It negatively impacts the marine eco-system in a variety of ways.”

For example, a healthy oyster removes oxygen-depleting nitrogen as it filters more than 50 gallons of water a day. But copper reduces the natural cleansing ability of oysters and other mollusks, and affects their ability to reproduce.

“The impact of toxic wastewater discharge increases exponentially as mollusks and algae are eaten by animals higher on the food chain,” says Flagler.

There are presently few service boat yards or marinas in North Carolina, and relatively few nation-wide, whose power washing operations are in compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act.

According to Flagler, the grant will provide money for custom systems at four North Carolina marine service facilities.   The goal of Clean Marine Solutions is to help boat yards and marinas comply with the Federal Clean Water Act.

Flagler was formerly a tenured professor and director of the Marine Education and Training Center at Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai’i. He is also the former director of the North Carolina Marine Training and Education Center at Carteret Community College.

Flagler studied chemistry at the University of North Carolina and conducted his first experiments in marine wastewater treatment at Cape Fear Community College 20 years ago.

For sixteen years, he taught hands-on classes in the broad array of skills necessary to manufacture and service pleasure craft and trained marina operators and students in environmental compliance and marine wastewater treatment system operation.

The seminar is sponsored by the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association and is titled:

Clean Water for Boatyards and Marinas

Why go green? For starters, many boatyards and marinas are presently in violation of the Federal Clean Water Act. The wastewater generated by pressure-washing boat bottoms contains toxic heavy metals. Tests by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality indicate that the copper in that wastewater is typically 69,000 times the EPA standard. Although individual states are charged with enforcement, it is federal law that is enforced. With the Obama administration, the EPA will be given the green light to enforce the law. Do you want to be the first facility in your service area to be fined? How would it affect your bottom line if you were ordered to cease pressure-washing activities until you achieved compliance? The good news: marine publications and local media are giving front-page publicity to compliant yards and marinas. A boatyard that is clean and green will earn a lot more than just positive publicity; it will bring in increased business from a better-informed public. Your employees and slip owners or renters will take pride in being part of a green marina. This seminar will give you a heads-up on compliance challenges you’ll find hard to believe, and introduce affordable wastewater compliance solutions.

Speakers: David Flagler (Clean Marine Solutions LLC), Kellie Thornell-Crete (Ink Inc.)

Link – http://ibexshow.com/