WHO: River Delta Marina
WHAT: Designation ceremony certifying River Delta Marina as a Clean Marina
WHERE: River Delta Marina, 2350 Dead Lake Marina Road, Mobile County, AL Exit 22 off I-65, then follow the signs
WHEN: Wednesday, June 18, 2008, from 4 to 5 p.m.
River Delta Marina in Mobile County will be recognized as a Clean Marina at 4 p.m. June 18 at the marina.
The county-owned marina’s designation as a Clean Marina will mark the first certification in Alabama since Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina. It will be the fourth Clean Marina in the Alabama program. Other Clean Marinas include Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach, Dog River Marina in Mobile and Harbor Pointe Marina in central Alabama.
In order to earn the designation, marina operators implemented specific best management practices aimed at protecting the water, air and land surrounding the marina. Mobile County marina management and staff worked with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management as well as Clean Marina Coordinator Laura Bowie to take the necessary steps to qualify for Clean Marina status. The Clean Marina Program’s best management practices include sewage handling, fuel management, solid waste management, vessel cleaning and repair, stormwater management, staff training and boater education.
There are ll state Clean Marina programs in the United States. About 300 marinas have been certified over the last 12 years. The Clean Marina Program in Alabama was launched in 2004 and has pledges from about a half dozen marinas interested in working toward their own Clean Marina certification.
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium has coordinated this Clean Marina Program from its inception, along with help from Auburn Marine Extension & Research Center, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Coastal Section and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Information about River Delta Marina is available at www.mobilecounty.al.gov/recreation-deadlakemarina.htm.