Clean Boating Act clears US Congress
By IBI Magazine
Both houses of the US Congress yesterday passed the Clean Boating Act of 2008. The combined bills, which will exclude recreational boaters from a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permitting plan, will now go to President George W. Bush. "The Senate and House have acted swiftly, and we appreciate the bipartisan nature of their action to protect the recreational marine industry," said Scott Gudes, NMMA vice president of government relations, in a statement. "This is an historic victory for our 1,700 members and for boaters across the nation who just love being out on the water unencumbered by unnecessary government red tape and significant legal jeopardy." The statement noted that the Clean Boating Act of 2008 will prevent permitting of "water-based, non-polluting incidental discharges that occur in the normal operation of a recreational boat." Boaters could face fines of up to US$32,500 per day. The EPA regulation is still set to become law on October 1, 2008 if Bush does not sign the Clean Boating Act into law. "Both the House and Senate have sent a positive message to the nation's 73 million boaters through the passage of these critical pieces of legislation," said Thom Dammrich, NMMA president in the statement. "We encourage the President to act fast in signing this bill to stave off unprecedented and unnecessary new regulations on America's boaters and anglers."
(23 July 2008)
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