P/O Boat
UMass Boston's Fox Point at Night. Photo: A. Frankic
The Green Boston Harbor (GBH) project had its genesis in large measure as a response to the designation of Boston Harbor as a No Discharge Area (NDA prohibits release of treated or untreated sewage from boats in the Harbor (see details in the Background section).
On October 20, 2008, the NDA monitoring project was initiated by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Boston and UMass Boston’s Division of Marine Operations, EEOS Department and the Urban Harbor Institute. With this agreement, the University will operate a City of Boston pumpout boat (P/O) for a period of five years, and the EEOS department will provide the expertise to support research, education and outreach designed to help increase awareness about the harbor's water quality and the NDA.