Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) Control Program

Marinas and Recreational Boating

Marinas and recreational boating are very popular uses of coastal waters. The growth of recreational boating, along with the growth of coastal development in general, has led to an increased awareness of the need to protect the environmental quality of our waterways. Because marinas are located right at the water's edge, there is a strong potential for marina waters to become contaminated with pollutants generated from the various activities that occur at marinas – such as boat cleaning, fueling operations and marine head discharge –or from the entry of stormwater runoff from parking lots and hull maintenance and repair areas into marina basins.

Proposed Coastal Marinas Permit

Status on Proposed Coastal Marinas Permit
Currently, the State Water Board is temporarily suspending the release of a draft Coastal Marinas Permit. Ongoing developments will continue to be communicated and vetted to stakeholders. For more information, see the letter issued by the Department of Water Quality dated July 2010.

    • Presentation - Purpose Statement for the Coastal Marinas Permit (May 20, 2009)
    • Presentation - Framework for the Development of a California-Coastal Marinas Permit issued by the State Water Boards (April 2 , 2009)

Copper Antifouling Strategy Workgroup

The Water Boards work with the Department of Pesticide Regulation to promote management practices that reduce pesticide runoff. The goal of the Copper Antifouling Paint Strategies (AFS) workgroup is to assess the degree and geographical distribution of copper pollution caused by copper antifouling paint pesticides in California’s aquatic environments.

More Information on AFS Workgroup – find meeting notes here for the AFS workgroup meeting.

Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) Surface Water Protection Program – overview of goal and description of the Department of Pesticide Regulation’s surface water protection program.

Marinas and Recreational Boating Interagency Coordinating Committee (Marina IACC)

The goals of this IACC are to: 1) Develop partnerships among entities (e.g., state, federal and local agencies) responsible for addressing NPS pollution related to boating and marinas; 2) Make efficient use of state, federal and local resources to address this pollution by sharing information, avoiding duplicative efforts and identifying technical and policy gaps; and 3) promote improvements to marina water quality through implementation of management practices.

Meeting Notes - California Coastal Commission coordinates with the NPS Program. Recent meeting notes and associated files are located on the California Coastal Commission website.