States to Receive Grants to Pump Up Sewage Disposal in Recreational Waterways
U.S. Fish and Service Director H. Dale Hall today announced that 28 states will receive more than $13.2 million in Clean Vessel Act (CVA) grants, made available to state agencies and partners to construct and operate facilities for sewage disposal for recreational boaters. Texas will receive more than $700,000 for a project.
The CVA program is paid for by the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, which is supported by excise taxes on fishing and boating equipment and on boat fuels.
The CVA program has awarded more than $130 million to states that have installed thousands of sewage pump-out stations since the program’s inception in the early 1990s. In addition, many states now rely upon mobile sewage pump-out boats to make the sewage collection process more efficient and convenient.
Several states have begun installing floating restrooms and pump-out stations in high-use areas of lakes and coastal locations. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will receive $782,437 to purchase or install 16 sewage pump-out stations, purchase floating restrooms for boaters and continue its educational efforts.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices, and 81 ecological services field stations.
The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
