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MARATHON ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION:
SPECIFIC BOOT KEY HARBOR ISSUES
Several important issues arise with Boot Key
Harbor groups. Any management regulations affect not only liveaboard boaters,
but waterfront homes and boats docked in the canals as well. Water quality and
sewage pumpout is a central issue, even more
important to boaters than the landside community. The regulation of
mooring fields and "licensed" anchorages become an issue of
controlled length of stay in the harbor. Almost universally, no one wants the abandoned "Junk"
vessels that are left in anchored storage in the harbor, only to sink at some
later date. Seaworthy, but otherwise vacant and "stored-at-anchor" vessels, are
another concern. This should not imply however that because a boat is simply
anchored long term that it is either unseaworthy or should be banned from the
Harbor. The overriding goal of the Harbor should be to integrate the
credible long term interests of the Marathon landside, transient boaters and liveaboard communities.
This can be accomplished through a practical
management plan for mooring buoys, unrestricted anchorages, "honey barges" and pumpouts, and marina based support services for liveaboards and
transients.
- Water Quality - Sewage Pumpouts - and EPA "No Discharge Zones"
According to the EPA reports cited on the pages below
(and available through the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary), boats account for less than
1.5% of all Keys water pollutants. All of the rest
is from shore side sources, including the 7 million gallons per day of
"almost raw" sewage that Key West pumps in the water about 100
yards off the beaches. We want the water quality of Boot Key Harbor to be
maintained to a high degree so we can all fish and swim in the harbor. We
believe the way to achieve this is to provide more pumpout services
including a honey barge, and - importantly - to open up some of the "dead-end"
creeks and culverts into the Harbor that were closed long ago. This will
dramatically improve the flow of tidal water through the harbor to keep it
clean. As of 12/28/99 there is only one pumpout station in the harbor
available (Burdine's). The County's proposed pumpout is not yet operational.
We'd encourage a boater education program for the proper disposal of
waste, and initiate tracing and enforcement actions for violators under
existing laws. EPA No Discharge zones are not required to enforce existing
boating sewage laws.
*Note: Sept 2000, by GT Absten: Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ), chair of the
Fisheries, Conservation, Wildlife & Oceans subcommittee of the US House
of Representatives has recently introduced a bill, H.R. 4917 which
addresses the inconsistencies of no discharge zones and onboard treatment
systems. Several states including RI have declared all of its waters
"no discharge" zones. Boat U.S. National Advisory Council
member Chuck Husick has for a number of years tried to inform officials
that effluent from today's properly operating marine sanitation devices (msd)
is cleaner than that discharged by most onshore sewage treatment facilities
(and absolutely better than that of Key West's). Rep. Saxtons bill upgrades
the 20 year old MSD standards to reduce the allowable fecal coliform count
from 1,000 per 100 ml to 10 per 100 ml, and allow boatowners that use such
devices to be exempt from a state's "no treatment" zone. This
level of current technology is far superior to that even envisioned by the
Clean Water Act of 1972.
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The Clean Vessel Act of 1992
(Click on the Icon to the Left)
This is one of the brochures put out by
the US Fish & Wildlife Service on the legislation that ALREADY
prohibits boaters from dumping sewage into near shore waters. If this is
enforced, then there is no need for the EPA "No Discharge
Zone" which would significantly affect waterfront properties. Click on
the symbol at the left to view and read a copy of this brochure.
This is primarily a public education brochure.
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- Mooring Buoy Fields
A limited Mooring Field is very useful for the Harbor. The
Boot Key Harbor Ad Hoc Committee, appointed by the County Commissioners,
recommended that NO MORE THAN 25 MOORING BUOYS be initially placed. The
County plan begins at 149 with the stated intention of increasing these
numbers. We believe this is extreme and unnecessary. It's apparent intent is
simply as a forced, major revenue source for the County Marina, regardless
of it's effect on the Harbor and Community as a whole. The County plan
allows for use of excess funds generated by these buoys to be used for the
county park. We believe these issues should be separated. We suggest the
placement of no more than 25 Mooring Buoys as recommended by the County's
original committee. Further placement may be determined by demand and
effects on water quality. The entire purpose of a mooring field in this
context, as defined in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary plan, is
simply to keep boats in one geographical area so that pumpout services
(marina or honey barge) are more easily provided. Because the Harbor is
already confined geographically the mooring fields have little impact on
keeping the fleet together for easier sanitation purposes, unlike Key West
where anchored boats may be strung out over miles in various small harbors
and creeks. For Boot Key Harbor then the mooring field has minimal impact on
water quality issues and becomes one of convenience for boaters and revenue generation
for the county marina.
- "Regulated" anchorages
The County plan includes a very restricted and temporary
anchorage area. It includes a 72 hour limit on anchoring and requires ALL
anchored vessels to be registered and regulated. We believe that this is
both unnecessary and unreasonable. Most cruising boaters would consider a 3
day limit to be extremely short. Boat time becomes different from land time.
A cruising boater pulls in to the harbor to relax from a demanding cruising
schedule, wait for weather, reprovision and make repairs. Many of these
cruisers would consider a month as a minimal stopping time for a harbor such
as ours. Many wait 2-3 months for the crossing to the Bahamas or the
Caribbean. We think this is reasonable in boating terms. Anchored boats
should not be required to register or "check-in" in any way,
though they should observe all maritime laws. We also don't believe that
every boater should be forced to take and pay for a mooring buoy. The
ultimate intention of the county plan is to eliminate anchorage entirely and
require ANY boat coming into the harbor to take a mooring buoy, at a fee
paid to the county marina, or go to a marina. Boot Key Harbor is very large.
We believe that significant available anchorage should remain available in
the harbor, for cruisers and liveaboards alike. If the demand for the moorings
exceeds the supply at some point in the future, then further expansion into
anchorage areas should be considered, but not until then. The present county
plan already discusses replacing the one smaller anchorage in their plan
with a mooring field at some point, and states that no overnight anchorage
would be allowed in the Harbor at all - for anyone.
- Harbor Master - Ambassador for the City of Marathon
We would change the emphasis and purpose of the Harbor
Master (Operator) as stated in the County's plan from that as primary
regulator and enforcer, to that of ambassador and host for the City of
Marathon. A Harbor Master (their representative) should visit every boat (moored or anchored,
registered or not) as a kind of harbor "Welcome Wagon". They would
provide an information packet to each boat which informed them of available
services and regulations within the harbor. They would certainly be
responsible for management and collection of fees from the mooring fields
and other services, and oversee reasonable enforcement of harbor
regulations.
- Derelict Vessels (partially or fully sunk) - no provision in the
County Plan
- Stored or Abandoned Vessels - no provision in the County Plan
- No Wake Zone - already implemented (Thank You)
- Site still under Construction - please check back -
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