Boater Alert! Please Contact Congress
 

If you guys haven't heard yet, there's a measure being toted in congress right now to eliminate ALL discharge from private vessels - this includes engine cooling water and bilge water, etc. - and in order to operate any vessel on any U.S. body of water (inland and coastal), this measure would require each and every one of us to purchase a permit every year at great cost. WE MUST STOP THIS!!

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November 28, 2007


Dear BoatUS Member,

Your voice counts! And we need it to make sure the Recreational Boating Act of 2007 is passed quickly. Without this federal legislation you will need to apply and pay for a discharge permit to legally operate each of your boats, starting September 30, 2008.

Please take a few minutes and contact your one Representative and two Senators, even if you have already done so. We need them to support and co-sponsor "The Recreational Boating Act of 2007" (House Bill #2550 and Senate Bill #2067).

BoatUS has been working with other boating groups to pass this legislation which will eliminate (for recreational boats only) the new court-imposed EPA permit. We know that boating depends on clean water and healthy natural resources. However, a boat permit will not create a tangible environmental benefit, and it will be another inconvenience and tax for you.

It is important to note that all current environmental restrictions on the overboard discharge of oil, fuel, garbage, and sewage still stand, and will not be altered by this legislation.

Help boating by contacting your Representative and Senators:

* Ask that they co-sponsor and support House Bill #2550 and Senate Bill #2067 which reinstate the common sense discharge permit exemption for recreational boats.


* Help them understand the looming permit deadline of 9/30/08.


* If one of your Members of Congress is co-sponsoring the bill, please say thanks!


Click Here to See Co-Sponsors of the House Bill

The 10 co-sponsors on the Senate Bill are: Martinez (FL), Bunning (KY), Chambliss (GA), Dole and Burr (NC), Isakson (GA), Sessions (AL), Cornyn and Hutchison (TX), and Lott (MS).


Click Here to email your representatives

Click Here to email your Senators

Click Here to read the House Bill

Click here to read the Senate Bill


For background information:

www.boatus.com/gov/fed_alert.asp

Click here to pass this along to your boating/fishing clubs.


Thanks for adding your voice to this critical boating issue.

Margaret Podlich
Vice President, Government Affairs
BoatUS
[email protected]
703-461-2878 x8363

I am composing my letters and faxes as I speak. GREAT WAKE UP CALL HERE!!
I also have learned something thru the years in dealing with these kind of enviromental protection laws.
You have got to get the real facts compiled and ready to present to the media as a counterpoint for the distortions that these EPA people use to justify their "GRAVEYTRAIN" jobs. I have already read and will forward to this thread the names and addresses of two congress persons who are sponsoring a bill to exempt smaller recreational boats from this measure as this bill was really trying to address large ship discharge which really is a BIG enviromental problem!
We need to get a few highly recognized expert professionals in discharge and present the total recreational discharge numbers versus the commercial large shipping discharge numbers and when shown as a percentage of total discharge, the contribution from recreational interests versus commercial will be so small it should support this exemption!
(kinda a run on sentence-C in English 1A)

Wake up Boaters! Your elected politicians are awake tonight!!

Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

I do environmental consulting with FDEP, and private firms.
It's absolutely mind boggling to see the feds allowing major,, and I MEAN MAJOR offshore discharge of every $hit you can imagine, by large industry, and have them pay a minimal measly find. And yet.. go after every little grandma and grandpa and anybody else in the small and med private sector for environmental clean up and picking up natural fertilizers like dog poop... Putting it in a plastic bag that will remain plastic for about 15000 years.
I'm writing a nasty gram to the feds. and the liberal @ssholes TODAY.
:angry-smiley-038:

Thanks guys! Glad to see we're in the same boat here. I'm surprised though at the limited response to this. Folks, this is big...we need to get involved here in large quantities.

Thanks for posting this Nick. I missed this item, and wouldn't have known. I let my BoatUS membership expire when they sent the 3,168th Christmas Card sample mailing.

Maybe this should be emailed to every member, like when an expensive boat is stolen. Because the threat of the loss of all our boats is greater than the threat of losing one. And the rewards of knocking down this potential legislation is greater than a max 50k from an insurance company.

Or... try posting a link to this thread on a really important thread, like one about whether or not an individual member is a loser. That would get it more views.

Another idea: Name the thread "Apaches will have to get a permit and not discharge anything under new law." Then you can explain that this will effect all boats, not just Apaches.

As you can tell, I am also surprised that this thread hasn't had more play.

But underneath the kidding I am seriously with you about the importance of beating this back before it gains any momentum.

We need to sticky this thread!

The ironic part is that the Ocean, at least around the US is much much cleaner than it has been for the last 100 yrs or so...

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=160659

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=164251

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=164329

I'm obviously not opposed to the desired outcome, but if you read my responses I was a bit cynical about this effort. As much as we'd like to hate the EPA, for once they themselves don't want this any more than us recreational boaters. I see there is still no follow up on the legal effort to get the court ruling amended, which was mentioned in the original video that I believe NMMA had on their site. Now that there's a Senate bill to go along with the original house bill, it should be a no brainer. But don't let that keep you from contacting your House and Senate leaders.

Just emailed both of our Senators and Congressman.

Also emailed both Senators and Congressman. It was easy with the links. Took less than five minutes, and could save hours of future hassle and $$$ with permits.

Michael