Marine Corps base awarded Clean Marina status

Certificate Presentation
Certificate Presentation Anne Smith (R), Marina Technical Specialist, presents Col. Daniel Choike of Quantico Marine Base (Quantico, VA) with a Clean Marina certificate. Janet Krenn
Quantico Marina Staff
Quantico Marina Staff Personnel at Quantico Marina accept the Clean Marina flag. (L to R) Summer Penrose (Dock hand), Dean Atwood (Manager of Quantico Marina), Elizabeth Jansen (former Assistant Harbor Master, current Budget Analyst for Marine War Fighting Laboratory), Bhasker Thacker (Hazardous Waste Specialist), Phil Earhart (Assistant Manager of Quantico Marina), Tara Gallagher (Dock hand). Janet Krenn

Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, VA, was awarded Clean Marina status in Virginia on Wednesday, August 12, 2009. Colonel Daniel Choike accepted the award on behalf of the marina but emphasized the significant effort put forth by marina workers to meet Clean Marina standards.

"Thank you to the people whose hard work went into this," Choike said during the certificate presentation. "They deserve to be recognized."

Quantico's marina had met many of the Clean Marina requirements before they initiated the Clean Marina process, according to Anne Smith, Marina Technical Specialist with Virginia Sea Grant.

"The knowledge [the staff] displayed was impressive," said Smith during the award presentation. "They could answer any question I asked them."

Virginia's Clean Marina program is a voluntary program administered by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in partnership with Virginia Sea Grant. The Clean Marina program promotes best-management practices for environmental stewardship at marinas and boatyards. A marina becomes certified as a Clean Marina once it has taken measures to limit and control water pollution on site. Currently, there are 63 Clean Marinas in Virginia.