[Rhodes22-list] Expanding Dead Zone and other environmental issues

[Tootle]

FYI -

July 23, 2007

Dear BoatUS Member, 

For 34 years the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exempted
discharges from recreational boats from the Clean Water Act permit system.
Regretfully, a recent court ruling cancelled this permit exemption. EPA is
required by the court decision to develop and implement by September 30,
2008 a national permit system for ALL vessels in the United States for a
variety of normal operational discharges.

We have been working behind the scenes with other boating organizations to
get the exemption reinstated for recreational boats. Fortunately, the
Recreational Boating Act of 2007 (H.R. 2550) has been introduced by
Representatives Gene Taylor (D-Miss) and Candice Miller (R-Mich) which would
protect recreational boats from being swept into this unnecessary and
expensive permitting system. 

It is critically important that H.R. 2550 be passed and your support is
essential. Please contact your Congressman and Senators TODAY and ask that
they co-sponsor or support H.R. 2550. 

""If the permit system becomes a reality, you will be required to pay for a
state permit for each of your boats. EPA will be monitoring your deck
runoff, grey water, bilge water, engine cooling water, and the use of copper
bottom paints."" 

The original lawsuit that led to this court decision sought to address
ballast water discharges from large ocean-going ships, which can introduce
damaging aquatic invasive species into U.S. waters. Keeping our waterways
clean and preventing the spread of invasive species is of utmost importance
to the future of boating. But taking a complex permitting system designed
for industrial dischargers and applying it to recreational boats will not
yield significant environmental benefits and it will come at a very high
cost. Requiring recreational boaters to purchase a permit would not prevent
the spread of invasive species. 

BoatUS has been a leader in educating boaters about Clean Boating practices
for more than a decade. Our nonprofit Foundation has funded local education
projects on invasive species prevention, helped develop voluntary Clean
Marina programs, and authored much of the country's Clean Boating outreach.
These positive education efforts are making a difference. 

Please ask your elected federal representatives to support H.R. 2550. It is
common-sense legislation. As you send your emails to your Members of
Congress, please copy BoatUS at GovtAffairs@ BoatUS.com . We¢d also like to
ask you to send a copy of your correspondence to the EPA, so they can see
how this will affect citizens. However, please know that if you choose to
send it to EPA, it will become a part of the public record. EPA¢s email is
ow-docket at epa. gov , and your email needs to have a subject line with Docket
ID No. OW-2007-0483. 


Ed K
Greenville, SC, USA
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