Clean Boating - How to do Your Part
Fill tanks to no more than 90 percent capacity--gas that is drawn from cool storage tanks will expand as it warms up onboard your vessel. To determine when the tank is 90 percent full, listen to the filler pipe, use a sounding stick (if possible), and be aware of your tank's volume. Rather than filling your tank upon your return to port, wait and fill it just before leaving on your next trip. This practice will reduce spills due to thermal expansion because the fuel will be used before it has a chance to warm up.
Fill portable tanks ashore where spills are less likely to occur and easier to clean up.
Use oil absorbent pads to catch all drips. Slow down at the beginning and end of fueling.
Bilge Maintenance and Oil Changes
Engine oil tends to accumulate in bilges. If no precautions are taken, the oil is pumped overboard along with the bilge water. Discharging oily water is illegal. To avoid fines and to protect water quality, follow these tips:
Keep your engine well tuned to minimize the amount of oil that is released. Be sure there are no leaking seals, gaskets or hoses.
If you change your own oil, purchase a non-spill pump to draw crankcase oils out through the dipstick tube and slip a plastic bag over used oil filters prior to their removal to capture any drips.
Hot drain the filter by punching a hole in the dome end and draining for 24 hours.
Recycle the collected oil.
Recycle the metal canister if practical. If not, dispose in your regular trash. Place oil absorbent materials or a bioremediating bilge boom in the bilge.
Place an oil absorbent pad under the engine.
Replace oil absorbent materials regularly. Look for contractors or marinas that offer a bilge pumpout service.
Do not treat oily water with detergents. Soaps pollute and make clean up impossible. You may be fined up to $25,000 for using soaps to dissipate oil.
Disposal of Oil Absorbent Materials
The disposal of used oil absorbent material depends on what type of product it is and how it was used:
Standard absorbents that are saturated with gasoline may be air dried and reused.
Standard absorbents saturated with oil or diesel may be wrung out over oil recycling bins (if they are saturated with oil or diesel only!) and reused. Alternatively, they should be double bagged with one plastic bag sealed
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