Taking Care of the Environment Together

Ocean County Commissioners joined with Seaside Park officials, representatives from the Ocean County Utilities Authority, the Clean Vessel Act Program, the Tuckerton Seaport, Brick Township and a host of others to recognize Ocean County’s Pumpout Boat program and the dedication of all the stakeholders and in particular the boat captains, all having a hand in the success of the program. As part of the July 18 ceremony hosted at the Seaside Park Yacht Club, Ocean County introduced two new pumpout boats to the program bringing the number of boats to 8 – six full time and two part-time, making it the largest pumpout boat program in the state.   The Brick Veterans Memorial Middle School Eighth Grade Sustainable Energy Club under the direction of advisor Terry Stephenson was recognized during the ceremony, for providing the name for one of the new boats – the Waste Knot. “Our other new boat, the Circle of Life II, brings the pumpout boat program full circle,” said Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Barbara Jo Crea, who serves as liaison to the pumpout boat program. “The Circle of Life, the first pumpout boat in the state, had its home right here in Seaside Park. Captained by Jerry Golembeski, it’s what set this program on the best course possible. And from there it just kept moving forward.” Crea joined with Commissioners Virginia E. Haines and Gary Quinn and Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson in presenting County certificates to all the captains commending them for their dedication to the program. The Rev. Pastor Peter M. Hartney Jr provided a blessing of the boats to conclude the ceremony. Ocean County’s pumpout boats are specially equipped vessels capable of emptying the on-board toilets and tanks of other boats, keeping waste from entering Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor. Since the program began in 1998, about 119,620 recreational boaters have used the free service and about 2.6 million gallons of effluent have been disposed of properly. The boats operate from Memorial Day weekend through October each year and can be contacted on VHF Radio Channel 9.