BYC is Recognized for its Environmental Program and Environmentally Responsible Behavior

During its first General Meeting in October, BYC had two welcomed visitors: Niels Nicolaisen and Chris Wilke had come to present the Club with two coveted environmental awards, a Certificate of Achievement from the Clean Water program ... and a Four-Star Citation for reducing hazardous waste from the EnviroStars program.

Niels Nicolaisen, an Environmental Health Specialist in Kitsap County's Solid & Hazardous Waste Program is presenting the 4-Star "EnviroStar" Recognition to BYC's Rear Commodore Mike Dunn (with microphone) and Commodore Ron Morse.
The goal of the EnviroStars Program is to give businesses incentives and recognition for reducing hazardous waste, while giving consumers an objective way to identify environmentally sound businesses. The program was started in 1995 for King County and later expanded to surrounding counties and Whatcom County. The program is additionally assisted and supported by the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. The program itself won the Governor's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pollution Prevention in 1999. In 2006, its work won recognition by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable [ Source]. BYC was awarded a four-star citation for having "taken comprehensive actions to reduce waste in all aspects of their operations." [Source] The fifth star is awarded to marinas that are willing to outreach with the county, making presentations to other organizations on behalf of the program.

Chris Wilke (Pollution Prevention Director at the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Program Manager of the Clean Marina Program) presents the Certificate of Achievement to BYC's Bridge officers. This certification as a "Clean Marina" is based on BYC's "efforts to protect water quality, properly manage waste, and promote clean boating." [see Letter of Certification] and, similar to the 5 EnviroStars, encourages recipients to strive for more, in this case the Clean Marina Leadership Award. BYC was also presented with a "Clean Water" Burgee that will be proudly displayed at the Club. Clean Marina Washington is administered by the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and partners with the Northwest Trade Association, the EnviroStars Cooperative, Sea Grant Washington, Washington (State) Departments of Ecology and Natural Resources.

The mission of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, according to its webpage is "to protect and preserve Puget Sound by tracking down and stopping the discharge of toxic pollutants into its waters. The Alliance is the only organization that actively monitors and patrols the waters of Puget Sound to detect and document sources of illegal pollution," and thereby assists in the enforcement of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (which represents amendments to the earlier Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. Changes to the Clean Water Act phased out an earlier construction grants program in 1987 and replaced it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund. Commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, it addresses water quality needs by building on EPA-State partnerships. "Clean Marina Washington was created in 2005 as an expansion of the EnviroStars program, which provides incentives for businesses to reduce and better manage their hazardous waste. Clean Marina Washington is an incentive-based certification program in which marinas assess their operations and implement improvements to better protect the environment. When they reach the qualification standards of Clean Marina Washington they earn the right to "fly the flag." [Source]