Yachtfish Marine, a boat repair facility and marina in Port Orchard, recently received a five-star EnviroStars rating, becoming the only boat-repair yard in Kitsap County that’s certified by the program. The five-star level is the highest available in the program, which is voluntary.

The business (formerly called Dockside Sales & Service), was purchased last September by Steve Yadvish, who owns a similar facility on Lake Union. Since he took over, the company has invested heavily in environmental upgrades.

Among the improvements is a new stormwater-filtration system, which collects and filters runoff. A new pressure-washing recycling system also catches runoff from boat washing, then filters all the hazardous materials and most the water is reused.

Jonothan Saunders, general manager of the Port Orchard yard, said the quality of the water (tested monthly by law) from both systems far surpasses requirements. “Our levels are way below the benchmarks because of the quality of the system we bought,” he said. “…Some of them don’t even measure because they’re so low.”

After being hired by Yachtfish, Saunders pursued various eco-improvements, along with the EnviroStars certification. “I wanted to come in at the top, or close, and I was extremely happy we got five stars,” he said.

Changes he implemented included the new recycling program. That includes cardboard, paper and old zincs, even things like reusing scratch paper. He estimates that the company’s garbage output was reduced by about half.

“It was drastic, and it lowered our costs and stopped stuff from going into the landfill,” he said.

Part of the effort is ongoing education of employees, who have regular meetings focused on health and safety, as well as education of customers. Yachtfish enforces strict rules for boat owners who lease the marina slips; those requirements also go beyond what’s required by law and Saunders actually goes over best-management practices and expectations with each tenant.

“They have very good communication programs in place for their tenants and employees regarding waste management and outdoor practices,” said Niels Nicolaisen, Kitsap County Health District environmental health specialist who coordinates the EnviroStars program.

Nicolaisen said it’s important for the boat repair industry to have good waste-management and stormwater-management practices.

“This is mainly due to the proximity to the (Puget) Sound and the nature of the work being done — there is a huge potential for pollution directly to the waters of the Sound if good, sound waste-management practices are not in place,” he said. “Yachtfish Marine’s Port Orchard facility has a very good stormwater management system in place that uses state-of-the-art water treatment…In addition, they have a very good spills-response plan, and many spill-response materials and equipment located throughout the facility, and have trained staff how to employ these devices in the event of a spill whether in their marina, or in their boatyard.”

The spill-response preparedness includes a 400-foot containment boom for oil spills that is ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Saunders said the boom is available for use at other marinas and local bays, which is especially important since there’s no other oil-spill response team in West Puget Sound.

Yachtfish Marine has grown in the past few months, adding six new employees and a new travel lift that allows the facility to haul larger yachts. To handle the biggest boats, the pier needs to be expanded as well. Current plans call for the removal of the highly-toxic creosote pilings, replacing them with steel ones. The pier will be designed with the least amount of shading so it’s more fish-friendly.

Saunders said the efforts to be more environmentally conscious are ongoing, and he has even put a little competitive pressure on the Seattle site to pursue an EnviroStar certification. He said being “green” makes sense from many perspectives.

“I wanted to do what was right for the environment by lowering waste, No. 1. It also puts out a very good message in the community that we’re looking after our property,” he said.