US Senators introduce "Clean Boating Act"
By IBI Magazine
US Senators Barbara Boxer and Bill Nelson have introduced legislation called the Clean Boating Act of 2008. The legislation, prompted by the National Marine Manufacturers' concerns over an EPA permitting scheme, was applauded by the association. If passed by Congress and signed by President Bush, the Clean Boating Act would permanently restore a longstanding regulation that excludes recreational boaters and anglers from discharge permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. "This issue has been a cloud hanging over our industry and, as promised, Senators Boxer and Nelson have worked to address it," said Scott Gudes, vice president of government relations for NMMA, in a statement. "We call on Congress to swiftly adopt this bill well in advance of the September 2008 permitting deadline." In September 2006, a US District Court in California ordered that the EPA regulate ballast water discharges because of the danger of transporting invasive species. The judge told the EPA to have a permitting system in place within two years. The proposed legislation would restore a 35-year-old EPA exemption for non-polluting incidental discharges like weather deck run-off and engine coolant water. "Unfortunately, the court's decision to overturn the entire exemption unintentionally tossed recreational boats into the same category as commercial ships," said Thom Dammrich, president of the NMMA, in the statement. "While minimizing the exchange of ballast water from one international port to another is very important in reducing the spread of aquatic invasive species, it is equally important not to sweep small recreational boats into the same regulatory scheme." The NMMA is worried that millions of boaters may suddenly have to be permitted, and even the EPA has told IBI that they have never instituted a permitting scheme of this magnitude. Gudes said that recreational boats are already "heavily regulated" under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Vessel Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and other federal and state laws. "Without legislative relief soon, everyday boaters would be required by federal law to apply for the same expensive permits as ocean-going commercial vessels and land-based industrial facilities," Gudes said. Gudes said that NMMA has been working with other organizations like BoatU.S. as well as a bipartisan group of Senators and Congressmen to push the legislation through. "Congress must now enact this legislation before the clock runs out on America's recreational boaters," Gudes said in the statement.
(14 March 2008)
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