NAHANT — Local boat owners are no longer allowed to pressure wash their vessels at Nahant Wharf after the Board of Selectmen voted to amend the town’s Boat Storage Form Agreement in accordance with state and federal regulations.
On Friday, Nahant’s boat owners pulled their boats from the harbor for storage at the wharf. With the wharf’s drain system discharging directly to the ocean, boaters will not be permitted to power wash their vessels.
Currently, the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Pressure Wash Water Management regulations prohibit pressure washing boats in areas where the water discharges to coastal waters, the ground, or a sewer system without a permit. The practice is also illegal on the federal level, as outlined by similar Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
“We need to make a change to our rules and regulations that really prohibits the use of pressure washing and that waste product going into the harbor because it is not permitted. It is not in accordance with the state law or federal law governed by the DEP and EPA. This isn’t a town decision here,” Town Administrator Tony Barletta said.
Although the amended agreement was approved in accordance with state and federal law, some Nahant boat owners expressed frustration with its timing. Resident Tom Hamilton told the selectmen that he recently spent $285 on a pressure washer and other pieces of boat-maintenance equipment that he is no longer permitted to use.
Hamilton expressed frustration that the town had not yet begun pursuing state or federal pressure-washing permits. He suggested the formation of a boat owner’s subcommittee to plan necessary infrastructure changes, like discharge filtration, at the wharf to qualify for pressure-washing permits.
“If you assembled a committee of boat owners, you can get this sorted out pretty quickly,” Hamilton told the selectmen at last week’s meeting. “This isn’t something I think the voters are against. I think it behooves the town to do something because we pay fees and so forth.”
While the board was receptive to the idea of forming a boat owner’s committee, Chairman Mark Cullinan said the process for applying for a MassDEP permit would require significant work and planning as the wharf currently drains to the town’s stormwater pipe and out into the ocean.
Echoing Cullinan’s remarks, Town Counsel Daniel Skrip said the town cannot apply for a permit until it has sufficiently planned the infrastructure changes necessary to qualify for one.
“We need to come up with a plan before we get a permit because a permit is going to require us to have a plan, at least something we can put on the application to say, ‘This is what we recommend to collect or treat the system,’” Skrip said. “The regulations are in the thousands. To find a particular one that applies is a bit of a chore.”
The Board of Selectmen agreed to delay boat pressure washing until the spring, after the board can find a DEP-approved plan for it.
“Boat ownership in Nahant is part of the fabric of Nahant. We all don’t own boats, but we enjoy watching people who do own boats enjoy their boats down at the harbor every summer and spring. It’s part of our community,” Cullinan said. “I hope we can find a solution to accommodate boat owners in the future because I’m not a boat owner myself, but I do think it’s an important fabric of our community and we should try to help out as much as we can.”
