Don’t Blame the EPA
A 2006 U.S. District Court ruling is forcing the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a ‘discharge permit’ for every recreational boat in the U.S. — including sailboats, kayaks and rubber inner tubes. The ruling came about because of a lawsuit addressing the issue of commerical ships dumping potentially polluted ballast water into local waters, possibly introducing invasive species (the zebra mussel is a good example). The EPA has historically exempted rec boats from ‘clean water’ laws applied to commercial shipping.
BoatUS has been screaming long and loud about the ruling, which is slated to go into effect September 30, and we think you should too. Here’s an excerpt of their latest press release:
"In response to a federal court order, the EPA has issued a draft permit for millions of recreational vessels for ‘normal operational discharges’ that could open a Pandora’s box of compliance problems and unfairly subject recreational boaters to potential nuisance lawsuits.
"The EPA draft puts boaters and anglers squarely under new Clean Water Act regulations that go into effect September 30, 2008. The permit requires boaters to comply with a set of worrisome national requirements as well as additional state requirements ‘to be determined.’ Penalties carry up to a $32,500 daily fine for each violation.
“The draft permit would allow the EPA, the US Coast Guard, a state authority or some private contractor to inspect a boat and take discharge samples. If requested, a boater would be required to provide such government officials with information to determine permit compliance.
“Also included in the draft EPA permit is the onerous requirement that every state must approve the federal permit before this September 30. Each state may add on its own regulations, potentially creating multiple requirements for boaters cruising between states. After the initial permit this fall, the EPA will then outline for the states how they can implement their own permit systems, which could result in additional state modifications of the permit requirements as well as fees for boaters.
"BoatUS is urging all boaters and anglers to contact their federal lawmakers to bring corrective legislation to the Senate and House floor for a full vote as soon as possible. The Clean Boating Act of 2008 — S. 2766 in the Senate and H.R. 5949 in the House of Representatives — would restore the federal exemption for recreational vessels for ‘normal operational discharges’ that has been in existence for the past 35 years until the federal courts recently determined otherwise.
"To contact your federal legislators, learn more about the Clean Boating Act of 2008, or to make comments on the draft EPA permit by August 1 go to BoatBlue.org or BoatUS.com/gov."