In 2010, Alaska Clean Harbors launched a statewide effort to curb harbor pollution. 15 years later, 11 harbors were engaged in the program, helping protect coastal waters

Alaska Clean Harbors is a voluntary statewide program that works with harbor managers, communities and boaters to prevent pollution and reduce waste in Alaska's harbors and marine areas.

As of November 2025, 11 harbors were engaged in the program. Four had achieved certification, three were working toward certification and four had expressed interest.

The program provides free technical assistance, tools and resources to help harbor staff protect water quality. Participating harbors implement best management practices to prevent pollution and reduce waste, while the program also encourages boaters to follow best practices for personal and commercial watercraft.

Alaska's harbors face water quality challenges

Alaska has 33,904 miles of coastal shoreline and 125 small boat harbors, according to the 2021 Report Card for Alaska's Infrastructure.

These harbors provide economic opportunities in tourism and shipping, access to commercial and subsistence fishing, and spaces for cultural and recreational activities.

However, many harbors are in disrepair and lack services and infrastructure because of limited resources. A lack of ongoing investment can affect water quality as facilities struggle to keep up with changing community needs and the demands of the modern maritime environment.

The primary pollutants of concern include pathogens, trash and petroleum products.

A voluntary approach to preventing pollution

Alaska Clean Harbors works with harbormasters and harbor managers through community outreach and one-on-one conversations.

To become certified, a harbor must implement best management practices that help prevent pollution and reduce waste. Facilities must also communicate proactively with customers and provide services and assistance to staff and boaters to help protect water quality.

The certification process is supportive and non-punitive, helping identify barriers to certification or recertification. Many Alaskan harbors require only minor adjustments to achieve Clean Harbors status.

A new tiered certification system

Alaska Sea Grant received a Clean Water Act Section 319 grant to support a Sea Grant fellow representing the Alaska Clean Harbors program in 2023 and 2024.

During that period, several harbors were certified, additional harbors expressed interest and outreach took place in multiple coastal communities.

The project also created a tiered certification checklist designed to provide a more flexible system based on each harbor's capabilities and resources.

The checklist has three levels based on the number of best practices implemented: Silver certification requires three, Gold requires seven and Platinum requires 10.

Harbor projects focused on reducing pollution and waste

Participating harbors installed best management practices and held community events.

The work included 450 bilge socks and spill-prevention fueling bibs, four tons of debris removal through harbor cleanups, including an underwater harbor cleanup in Whittier, 18 outreach events and harbor visits, and seven new pet waste disposal stations.

These efforts aim to address pollution before it leads to water quality impairments.

Eleven harbors were engaged by 2025

As of November 2025, Juneau, Seward, Yakutat and Whittier were certified through the Alaska Clean Harbors program.

Dillingham, Homer and Valdez were working toward certification, while Cordova, Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, Kodiak and Skagway had expressed interest.

Yakutat's small boat harbor became the first rural community to certify using the new tiered checklist.

Interest in the program increased in part because of the Section 319-funded project with Alaska Sea Grant. The Alaska Clean Harbors webpage was also updated to make it more user-friendly for harbormasters and boaters.

Alaska Sea Grant received a new Section 319 grant to continue Alaska Clean Harbors work and harbor certifications from 2025 through 2027, with several additional harbors anticipated to apply for certification during the 2026-2027 project year.