Swantown Marina Recertifies as Clean Marina and Leadership Clean Boatyard

Swantown Marina and Boatworks has been re-certified as a Clean Marina under the Clean Marina Washington program and recertified as a Leadership Clean Boatyard by the Clean Boating Foundation of Washington. The marina is part of the Port of Olympia.

Created in 2005, the Clean Marina program helps marinas assess their operations and make improvements to better protect the environment. Facilities must achieve a set of qualification standards to be certified.

Clean Boating Foundation is a similar program, with a mission to create cleaner waters in Washington State. Incorporating boaters, boatyards, environmental groups, the Washington state Department of Ecology and scientific experts, the Clean Boating Foundation is a voluntary, market-driven effort to improve Puget Sound and surrounding waterways.

Swantown Marina, which was first certified as a Clean Marina in 2007 and again in 2012, has exceeded the Clean Marina requirements. Its five-star, Leadership Clean Marina designation is the highest rating available in Washington State.

Bruce Marshall, Port of Olympia harbor director said, “I am proud of all the hard work the staff at the marina and boatyard performs on a daily basis to ensure our facilities and operations operate at the highest level of efficiency while also remaining environmentally sustainable.”

The Clean Boating Foundation highlighted Swantown’s annual half-day oil spill response drill for staff as one of the reasons the facility was certified. This training entails deploying its 700-foot boom and simulating an oil spill at the dock.

The facility also has plans to ban sandblasting and spray painting and create a vacuum sander inspection program, all aimed at reducing heavy metals and other pollutants entering the waterways.