Overview of Green Boston Harbor Project
Green Boston Harbor Project (GBHP) – Education, Research and Outreach
The vision is to provide EEOS undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to participate in the Green Boston Harbor Project by developing their individual activities, thesis and dissertation project topics that will integrate educational, research and outreach components and support the No Discharge Area (NDA) in Boston Harbor.
The main goal of the educational, research and outreach component of the project is to provide a detailed assessment of the Boston Harbor (BH) commercial boating and Pump-Out (P/O) activities, which will include:
- Assessment of commercial boating activities occurring in the BH area, identifying their boating patterns, the numbers, types, and locations of boats, and their use of the P/O facilities.
- Assessment of the adequacy and/or gaps in existing and planned P/O coverage and capacity in BH area.
- Assessment of public awareness and knowledge about P/O importance and improvement of the coastal water quality.
- Assessment of what the impact of waste discharges from the boats without P/O activities would be.
Based on these assessments the project will than follow up with three key recommendations:
- Improvements in the availability and use of commercial P/O services.
- Monitoring, evaluation and enforcement of the NDA in BH.
- Establishment of guidelines for Sustainable Green Boston Harbor includes the outcomes from the Clean Marina Project and reviews of existing Best Management Practices/BMPs for Harbors.
The recent designation of this NDA within Boston Harbor has made it exceedingly clear there is a need for more comprehensive assessment and analysis of the local environmental, social and economic conditions. This designation also provides an ideal opportunity to develop guidelines for the first “Green Harbor” in the USA.