PrintEPA Imposes Silly, Confusing and Unneeded Regulations on Recreational Boaters
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published the Clean Water Act proposal in the Federal Register that will impose new requirements on recreational boaters to learn about and follow specific practices mandated by the federal government to operate their boats and manage their everyday, overboard water discharges.
In the EPA's proposals, recreational vessels have been arbitrarily cut in half, with one permit applying to boats under 79 feet and the other applying to boats as 80 feet (and functionally treating them as commercial vessels).
EPA's Clean Water Act proposal unnecessarily creates a cumbersome and complex permitting scheme for recreational boaters, throwing them into a regulatory regime designed for land-based industrial facilities like sewer treatment plants. As a result, America's 18 million recreational boat owners will be required to observe a multitude of new rules and practices, yet they won't be provided clear information as to how to comply with these new federal requirements by EPA, exposing them to a high degree of regulatory uncertainty, compliance issues and legal jeopardy. At the end of the day, this is a silly, unneeded regulation that is compounded by extremely severe penalties for non-compliance of up to $32,500 per violation per day, demonstrating the urgent need to pass the Clean Boating Act of 2008 (S. 2766 and H. R. 5949) as these new regulations will take effect on October 1, 2008.
Clean Boating Act
The Clean Boating Act (S. 2766/H.R. 5949) is ready to be scheduled for a vote at any time. The BoatBlue Coalition is working vigorously to move forward on getting the bill added to expedited procedures in the Senate and House. The Clean Boating Act has 39 bipartisan cosponsors, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. CSF is a member of the BoatBlue Coalition and has been working closely with them to educate and inform members of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus on the issues impacting recreational boating.
Read the CSF Clean Boating Act Press Release
