It has been 11 years since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated Rhode Island waters a “No Discharge” zone where it is illegal for boaters to allow wastes to go overboard.

To help boaters comply with the designation, land-based pump-out facilities have been established around Narragansett Bay and several ports even have pump-out boats that will travel out to moored vessels to clean out their holding tanks.

Now, the state Department of Environmental Management has $600,000 available to help marinas, yacht clubs and municipalities build, replace or maintain their pump-out facilities.

The money is part of a Clean Vessel Act authorization that was distributed to the state by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The maximum grant for land-based facilities will be $18,750. The biggest grants for pump-out boats will be $56,250. All grants will require a 25-percent match.

The deadline to submit applications is July 6.

Rhode Island was the first state in the country to receive the EPA’s No Discharge designation for all of its marine waters.

For a copy of the grant application and criteria, go to the DEM’s Web site at www.dem.ri.gov, click on “Offices and Divisions” on the left side of the page, select “Water Resources,” and then “Shellfishing” and then “Pump outs.”

More information may also be obtained by calling the DEM’s Joseph Migliore at (401) 222-3961, ext. 7258 or sending an e-mail to joseph.migliore@dem.ri.gov.

plord@projo.com