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10/17/2018 09:05 AMWith a quiet whirr of engines and a celebratory group of federal, state and local leaders aboard, the world's first full-sized, zero emissions, fully electric, solar-powered pump-out boat headed out in Branford waters on Monday, Oct. 15.
The "historic moment" marked the culmination of a three-year "adventure," said Michael Pascucilla, Director of Health for East Shore District Health Department (ESDHD), which spearheaded the project.
"Working in collaboration with our many partners, we had a local vision -- and that local vision turned into reality. And today, we are the owners of the world's first full-sized solar electric pump out boat!" Pascucilla exhorted to a pumped-up crowd of supporters gathered at Bruce & Johnsons Marina in Branford, where the new boat will be based thanks to a partnership with the marina.
Noting the world-first was a point that bears repeating, said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who came to town to share in the excitement of the day, as did U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Regional Director Wendi Weber, CT Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Robert Klee, together with Branford First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove. Faces in the crowd included representatives of project partners, from the boat building team at Pilots Point Marina (Westbrook), to Kate Brown of the DEEP Clean Vessel Act Grants Program, to volunteer committee members of ESDHD's Shoreline Regional Pump Out Program, researchers with Yale University's School of Public Health, USFWS Sport Fish Restoration program and many others.
"What this is about today is a vision," said DeLauro, as she named the many partners and supporters of the project, from the federal, state and local level. "They see the added value of what we are doing here today. That is what propels a project and moves it forward until it comes to fruition. What a great achievement we're looking at today -- we use green energy to power an environmental solution, we empower local innovation with federal dollars, and we make government work for people as it must; which is our job."
Three years ago, ESDHD received a Federal Clean Vessel (FCV) act grant, administered through CT DEEP, to fund the $200,000 vessel at 75% and has worked tirelessly, together with the Shoreline Regional Pump Out committee, to meet it's "Mission: Zero Emissions" challenge to raise the remaining 25% of the cost, approximately $50,000 through fundraising events and grants from groups including Branford Community Fund and Guilford Foundation. Currently, a ESDHD is seeking donations to help raise the remaining $10,000 needed with a GoFundMe campaign here
Since 2000, ESDHD has administered a FCV grant to run the free vessel sewage hold pump-out program. The program operates two boats that now serve Branford, Guilford, East Haven, New Haven and West Haven boaters on the water from May - October. Over the past 18 years, the program has kept well over 300,000 gallons of sewage from entering Long Island Sound. The new fully-electric solar-powered pump-out vessel will now not only continue that important work but will leave virtually no carbon footprint by avoiding the use of a traditional gas or diesel engine to power it. The all-electric vessel gathers solar power from panels on top of the boat canopy.
"This is an historic moment for our local shoreline community, for our state and for our country in our effort to reduce our carbon footprint emissions," said Pascucilla. "It also sends a very clear message to our international partners that America does care about climate change and we are doing things here in the United States to address it. "
Cosgrove said Branford has been proactive in addressing environmental concerns and protecting the area's assets and resources.
"The pump-out program, though we've had it in Branford for many years, is an asset not only for Branford but for the region," said Cosgrove. "What we're doing out here is protecting our waterways, ensuring that there are clean waters in the Sound, and we're protecting the aquaculture that occurs here and the economic benefit that comes into this state from Branford and beyond."
CT DEEP Commissioner Klee said the launch of the world's first fully electric, solar-powered pump out vessel in this state underscored the mission of the department he leads, which was merged in 2011 to combine the focus on environmental protection, conservation and energy policy.
"This is a type of day I really love," said Klee. "When this department was created in 2011, it was done to create those synergies between energy policy, environmental quality and the conservation branches of our agency, and that is this project, in a nutshell."
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Regional Director Weber talked about the impact of having vessels of this type active in the 13 states she oversees, from Maine to Virginia, and beyond. She said the new vessel was another sign of the "good partnership" between the efforts of federal, state lead and local leaders and agencies to make an impact in Connecticut.
"Last year alone, one million gallons of sewage in the state of Connecticut was collectively prevented from going into water ways," said Weber.
Boaters and others who enjoy Long Island Sound assist with funding the FCV Act through taxes on fuel, fishing gear and other marine-related items; said Weber, and that funding is then matched with state and local partners to produce "...this kind of innovation, that hopefully grows and spreads," she said. "I look forward to what's to come."