Jim Mooney and Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez join the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, Monroe County Marine Resources Administrator Celia Hitchins, and Monroe County Legislative Affairs Director Lisa Tennyson to present $1 million to the County’s mobile marine vessel pump-out program. The program supports no-charge sewage pump-outs for vessels in Monroe County.

MOONEY AND RODRIGUEZ PRESENT $1 MILLION FOR MONROE COUNTY’S VESSEL PUMP-OUT PROGRAM 

MONROE COUNTY, FL – State Representative Jim Mooney and State Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez, who both represent Monroe County in Tallahassee, presented the Board of County Commissioners with $1 million for the local mobile vessel pump-out program. The program provides free mobile weekly vessel pump-outs at no charge in areas throughout the Florida Keys.

Monroe County implemented a large-scale mobile vessel pump-out service in 2013 to discourage illegal sewage discharges and assist local and transient boaters in protecting the entirety of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary from sewage discharge. The State recognized the contribution of the County’s pump-out program and passed legislation allowing the County to require vessels show proof of pump-out.

Program achievements:

  • Performed more than 163,000 pump-outs since 2013.
  • Serviced more than 700 weekly customers in 2020 (with 4,000 boaters registered in the program since 2013).
  • Diverted and properly disposed of more than 2.4 million gallons since 2013.
  • Operated the largest program in the State serving more than 100 miles of Florida Keys on both the Gulf and Ocean sides.

Monroe County also uses its local Boating Improvement Funds and can also secure Clean Vessel Act funding to support the program and other pump-out initiatives like the Marina Pump-Out Outfitting Program (MPOOP).

“The State of Florida has always demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting the quality of Florida Keys’ waters,” said Monroe County Legislative Affairs Director Lisa Tennyson. “We are appreciative of our delegation’s advocacy and the Legislature’s recurring appropriations to support this program.”

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