By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - sterry@starbeacon.com
ASHTABULA — The Ashtabula Yacht Club and Sutherland Marine were two of 11 Lake Erie marinas certified to be Ohio Clean Marinas under a state-sponsored program in 2007.
The program’s coordinator, Gary L. Comer Jr., wants to see more marinas join in the growing effort to help improve Lake Erie’s water quality.
“It’s exciting,” Comer said. “We want to encourage more direct participation from the recreational boating industry across northern Ohio.”
Thirty-six Lake Erie marinas have attained their Ohio Clean Marinas program certifications since the program’s inception in 2004. Their participation in adopting a best-management-practices approach to marina operations began with their attending an informational workshop. There, they learned they had to bring their marinas into compliance with all state and federal regulations applicable to their marinas, with required management goals identified by the advisory board and with 50 percent of additional management goals included in the Clean Marinas Guidebook. They had one year to do all this, Comer said.
At the Ashtabula Yacht Club, 970 W. Fifth St., Commodore Bob Harris praised the club’s members, including Fred Leiter, specifically, for his hard work and determination.
“He was very instrumental in our certification,” Harris said.
Jim Brown, owner of Sutherland Marine, 970 Bridge St., said: “Our river has been cleaned up, and our lake is getting cleaner every year. It’s a responsibility that we have to our community.”
The Ohio Clean Marinas Program is a pro-active partnership designed to encourage marinas and boaters to use simple innovative solutions to keep Ohio’s coastal and inland waterway resources clean. The program is administered by the Ohio Sea Grant College Program in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio Department of Commerce, State Fire Marshal’s Division, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, Greater Cleveland Boating Association, and other local public agencies, yacht clubs and marinas.
