Clean Marina Resource Guide

Welcome

Welcome to the Clean Marina Resource Guide — an online resource guide for marina owners and operators interested in pursuing Clean Marina certification. Our guide focuses on best management practices for marina managers and operators to protect water quality. It also provides educational units and a review of relevant laws and regulations that address pollution prevention. 

The Resource Guide is available to any marina owner or operator interested in learning more about the Clean Marina Initiative and the best management practices that could qualify a marina to be certified as a Clean Marina. There is no registration fee. 

The Great Lakes Clean Marina Network suggest you contact your state certification representative and requirements for certification. 

What to Expect 

The Clean Marina Resource Guide consists of nine units that focus on various aspects of marina operation or maintenance. Each unit outlines best management practices (BMPs) and practical ways to implement them. Participants work through each unit, exploring the legal setting and BMPs, while consulting their state-specific checklist throughout.

Michigan Clean Marina Certification Guide cover imageThroughout the course, BMPs from the Great Lakes Clean Marina Best Management Practice Guide (BMP Guide) are indicated with a Regional Best Management Practicessymbol. The BMP Guide consists of an inventory of common marina and boatyard best management practices used in the certification-based Clean Marina programs in the Great Lakes States. As you go through each section of this course considering which BMPs to implement at your marina, pay special attention to the BMPs with the green checkmark symbol; they are a good starting point.

The State Laws pages provide links and important information regarding laws and practices of each state. The Federal Laws page provides an overview of major federal laws that apply to marina operations and maintenance. The Resources & Tools page contains state-specific checklists, videos, the glossary and tip sheets. At the end of each unit, best management practices and major points are highlighted in a unit review.

To organize documents related to your training, you may want to create binder to assist you in organization of the materials pertaining to your certification effort. For example, the Michigan Clean Marina Program provides operators with a binder that includes tabs corresponding to each section of our checklist.