Please Schedule and Pass the Clean Boating Act this Summer

[Capt. Mike]

 Tell Congress to Schedule a Vote on Clean Boating Act
H.R. 5949/ S, 2766 Must Pass by Sept. 30, 2008 to Avoid New Regulations on Boaters 
 
Unless Congress passes the Clean Boating Act before September 30, 2008, every recreational boater in the country will have to obtain a federal or state permit just to operate their boat.

Without passage of the Clean Boating Act (H.R. 5949/S. 2766) before Sept. 2008, boaters will face yearly fees, bureaucratic red tape, confusing and potential state-by-state regulations, citizen lawsuits and $32,000 per day penalties for non-compliance. These permits would apply to deck run-off, bilge water, engine cooling water and any other water-based, operational discharge from a recreational boat, which have never been considered pollutants in 35 years of the Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency, due to a sweeping court order, is already writing this unprecedented new regulation for these everyday overboard water discharges.

Tell Congress to quickly schedule and pass the S. 2766/H.R. 5949, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, TODAY to prevent this new regulation!

The bill passed out of the House and Senate Committees unanimously in May 2008. Boaters need to encouarge their elected officials to bring the bill for a vote in the full House and Senate NOW!! 
 

Go to: http://www.boatblue.org/takeaction.aspx

Then copy the leter and paste it to Corzine:
http://www.nj.gov/governor/govmail.html

Main topic drop down box: Natural Resources
Sub Topic: Clean Water

Subject line: Please Schedule and Pass the Clean Boating Act this Summer

This just take a few minutes!

[mboy]

Yes, maybe we can get Corzine to vote for it in Congress too. 

[Capt. Mike]

This was sent to me by West Marine “Tow Boat US”. I think they did their homework for us here…
We can either choose to be proactive or not.

[wb]

good post we don't need no more stinkin permits/licenses/endorsements/certificates/fees

CAN YOU SAY
bu·reauc·ra·cy   [byoo-rok-ruh-see] –noun, plural -cies. 1. government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials. 
2. the body of officials and administrators, esp. of a government or government department. 
3. excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators. 
4. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine. 

[IrishAyes]

Good info Capt Mike. They will try to regulate us until someone decides enough is enough.

A revolution is on the horizon in this country. Not simply because of fishing regulations but every thing the pols shove down our throats.

[Capt. Mike]

I hear you Capt. Joe

[IrishAyes]

Below is an email I got from BoatUS as a member.



Dear BoatU.S. Member, 

    Thanks to some great teamwork, the threat of a new EPA discharge permit for all your boats is gone!
 
    On Tuesday night, President Bush signed into law "The Clean Boating Act of 2008," which gives recreational boats a permanent exemption for the court imposed EPA discharge permit.
 
    I thank each of you for helping create this victory for boating.  Every time we asked for your help, you were there to push the legislation further down the path towards successful passage. You contacted your Members of Congress and helped them understand the importance of boating in your life.  And Congress heard the loud voices of tens of thousands of boaters!  Nice work!
   
    Enjoy the rest of the summer on the water!
 
    Margaret Podlich
    Vice President of Government Affairs
    BoatU.S.
    Govtaffairs@boatus.com 
 For more information on this topic please visit www.boatus.com/gov.

[brickken]

I got the same email Joe. One for the good guys it would seem! 

[Pfishingruven]

Nice work!!  I was not one of the people who sent emails to politicians(only because I did not know about it), but for those who did, it shows a that we have a little bit of a voice in this democracy!!

 

[wb]

good thing the lame duck did not veto it- wouldn't that have been a hoot...

here's to clean boats for all

get ready for the saltwater fishing license now 

[IrishAyes]

Warren, shame on you. It's not a license, it's a registry. Some people just don't trust our government. (He said tongue in cheek)  

I know, call it what you want and it still amounts to the same damn thing. 

The license/registry is a given. That will happen in 09, unless the state jumps in on it before then.