Posted by Thomas Wales (twales@…>)
Greetings,
As a member of BoatUS I’m on the email list. Though I’d
pass along this update on what could have been a difficult issue for all of us.
Best,
TW, Pemaquid ME
NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at
<http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp>http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.as
pFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Margaret Podlich, 703-461-2878 x8355, MPodlich@…CONGRESS RESTORES 35-YEAR EXEMPTION FOR RECREATIONAL BOATS
FROM PROPOSED EPA PERMITTING REQUIREMENTSNO NEW PERMIT FOR BOATS REQUIRED
ALEXANDRIA, VA, July 22, 2008 - In a remarkable display of
bipartisan support for recreational boating, both the House and
Senate today passed S. 2766, “The Clean Boating Act of 2008” which
will permanently restore a long-standing exemption for recreational
boats from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. The
legislation now goes to the White House for the President’s signature.Congressional action was spawned by a U.S. District Court decision
in September 2006 under which an estimated 17 million recreational
boats would have fallen under Clean Water Act permit requirements
effective September 30, 2008. The permit would have dictated
maintenance and operation procedures and potentially subjected
boaters to citizen lawsuits as well as a penalty system designed for
industrial polluters.“This is a fabulous victory for common sense and it just goes to
show what can be done when the boating public, the marine industry
and its representatives in Congress row together in a bipartisan
way,” said BoatU.S. President Nancy Michelman.BoatU.S. Government Affairs Director Margaret Podlich was quick to
shower praise on a boatload of legislators who did much of the heavy
lifting including Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
and Representatives Jim Oberstar (D-MN), Steve LaTourette (R-OH),
Candice Miller (R-MI) and Gene Taylor (D-MS). A complete listing of
all legislators involved will be available at
<http://www.BoatUS.com/gov>http://www.BoatUS.com/gov soon.BoatU.S. has worked for more than a year with the National Marine
Manufacturers Association and a broad coalition of stakeholders to
resolve the problem before the permitting deadline.“One of the real keys to success here was our collective ability to
activate the grassroots,” said Podlich, noting that tens of
thousands of letters and e-mails were generated by boaters and
anglers over the course of the past 12 months.BoatU.S. is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boat
owners with over 650,000 members.