Clean Boating Act Advances

Passage of the Clean Boating Act of 2008 by Congress before September 30, 2008 would reestablish the exemption for America's recreational boaters dealing with bilge water, engine cooling, livewells and incidental runoff. Congressional action is needed prior to a looming deadline for permit applications that would apply to all recreational and fishing boats, including charter boats.
Congressional Action - Making Progress...
On May 21, 2008, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reported out the Senate version of the legislation, S. 2766 'The Clean Boating Act of 2008' by unanimous voice vote, sending the bill to the full Senate.
On May 15, 2008, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I) approved the House version of the Clean Boating Act, introduced by Representatives Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and Candice Miller (R-MI), Co-Chair of the House Boating Caucus. The bill now goes to the full House for a vote.
Fixing Threats to Recreational Boating 
The Clean Boating Act will ensure recreational boaters will not need federal permits to operate their boats. This legislation will be the solution to a 2006 ruling by a federal judge against recreational boating exemptions to the Clean Water Act. The regulation was originally designed for cargo container ships, cruise ships and supertankers, not recreational boats. For 35 years, the Environmental Protection Agency exempted recreational boaters from the rules and regulations protecting aquatic resources from pollution and invasive plants and animals transported in the ballast water of commercial vessels.
If not corrected by legislation, the ruling would require an unprecedented permitting requirement system for normal incidental discharges such as bilge water, deck runoff and engine cooling water for which there is no current enforcement mechanism in place. September 30, 2008 is the date circled in red by the EPA to begin the permitting process for 18-million recreational boaters.
History
The original House version, introduced in May of 2007 by Boating Caucus Co-Chairmen Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) and Rep. Gene Taylor as H.R. 2550 'The Recreational Boating Act of 2007' gave boaters the out from the permitting process. The Boating and Fishing community BoatBlue Coalition circulated a letter asking for co-sponsors on H.R. 2550. Since then, H. R. 5949 has supplanted H.R. 2550 and was passed by the T&I Committee.
In March of 2008, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Bill Nelson introduced the Senate version of the legislation, S. 2766 'The Clean Boating Act of 2008'. The legislation would restore the EPA exemption for recreational boats. NMMA Press Release
In April, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation held a breakfast briefing for members of Congress to address the issue. Read what the speakers from the EPA, B.A.S.S. and NMMA had to say. Read the Clean Boating Act Press Release