def # 95

def # 95 06/27/12

OCEAN COUNTY CONSIDERS 6TH PUMPOUT BOAT

OCEAN COUNTY’S award winning pumpout boat program could be getting a sixth boat to help keep Barnegat Bay and its tributaries clean.

"At this time, we are proposing to apply for a sixth pumpout boat to address service demands in the northern part of Barnegat Bay," said Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari, who serves as liaison to the pumpout boat program. "The Township of Brick, which currently operates the Bay Saver boat, has agreed to operate the new boat when it’s put into service next year."

The cost of the boat is eligible for a grant through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection "Clean Vessel Act Program" to cover 100 percent of the purchase price. The estimated cost of a new boat is between $65,000 and $75,000.

Ocean County’s pumpout boats are all about 21-foot long vessels that are specially equipped to be capable of emptying the on-board toilets and tanks of other boats, thus keeping waste from entering the bay. The five boats currently cover different areas of the bay throughout Ocean County.

Ocean County and the OCUA will continue to provide the operational funds for the boats, so that the service can be provided free of charge to area boaters.

Ocean County is now in the 15th year of the Pumpout Program and last year the program received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

"We are so pleased that this program was recognized," said Freeholder Director Gerry P. Little. "The pumpout boat program has been in the forefront of keeping our bay waters clean. It has been a big benefit to our sensitive environment."

Since the first pumpout boat began operation in 1998, over 41,000 recreational boats have been serviced and over 800,000 gallons of wastewater removed.

The boats operate from Memorial Day weekend to the middle of October and can be contacted by using VHF Radio Channel 9 or calling one of the phone numbers listed in the brochure.

The boats operate on major holidays so they will be in service on the 4th of July.

"I want to encourage the boating public to use this service which again is provided free of charge," Vicari said. "There is no excuse for not using the pumpout boats or one of the many land-based units that are located at marinas throughout Ocean County.

"Without this service we do not know where this sewage may have been released," Vicari said. "Because of this free service we know it wasn’t released into the bay."