Provide comprehensive availability of no-cost pumpout services to the boating community through installation of new, and replacement infrastructure, providing funds to operators for operation and…

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 awarded $1,647,614 to the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game Division of Marine Fisheries on July 1, 2026, under the Clean Vessel Act program (CFDA 15.616) for comprehensive no-cost pumpout services across Massachusetts.

The award funds installation of new and replacement pumpout infrastructure, operation and maintenance costs for pumpout stations and waste reception facilities, and education and outreach to boat owners, operators, marina operators, sewage treatment plant operators, governmental authorities, and the general public about Clean Vessel Act benefits and participation. The Division of Marine Fisheries operates a 100-plus member public-private partnership including towns, cities, marinas, yacht clubs, and nonprofits serving Massachusetts' 1,500 miles of navigable rivers and coastline. Over the program's history, participating members have directed over ten million gallons of effluent to sewage treatment plants. The partnership's work contributed to Massachusetts' 100 percent no-discharge zone designation in state waters.

Performance extends through June 30, 2029, with all work conducted in Massachusetts. The Clean Vessel Act program provides funding to states and territories for pumpout infrastructure to safely dispose of recreational boater sewage and maintain water quality; funding comes from excise taxes on motorboat fuel, certain electric motors, fishing equipment, and import duties on fishing tackle and yachts deposited into the Sport Fish Restoration Trust Fund. Facilities constructed, operated, or maintained with CVA funds must remain accessible to the public throughout their useful life and display required signage visible to boaters on the water.

Provide comprehensive availability of no-cost pumpout services to the boating community through installation of new, and replacement infrastructure, providing funds to operators for operation and maintenance costs, and to educate and inform boat owners, operators, and retailers marina owners and operators sewage treatment plant owners and operators federal, state and local governmental authorities and organizations the environmental community and the general public about the clean vessel act and the many benefits to participating in the CVA program. The MA DMF partnership in CVA has allowed for our two basic principles, making pumpouts both free and convenient, to have significant positive impacts on massachusetts fifteen hundred miles of navigable rivers and coastline. This 100-plus member, public private partnership includes towns, cities, marinas, yacht clubs, and non-profits. Over the programs history, participating members have sent over ten million gallons of effluent to sewage treatment plants, keeping massachusetts sensitive coastal waters clean. Continual use in a saltwater environment, coupled with successful outreach, generates a need to provide new and replacement equipment and maintenance. Massachusetts state waters 100% no discharge zone designation is a product of coordinated federal, state, and local teamwork that is sustained by our successful CVA program. This accomplishment is made possible through our partnership with massachusetts coastal zone management, usepa, and massachusetts cities, towns and marinas. Our partnerships help clean up massachusetts waters and have led to increased requests for infrastructure from new and existing operators, enhanced pumpout coverage coast wide and growing awareness of the CVA program among recreational boaters and the public. In 2025 we will continue our programs success, take on new issues, and continue a tradition of clean boating in massachusetts waters.