Good News 
bluntman
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Created: 5/16/2008 1:23:53 PM Updated:5/16/2008 1:24:18 PM
WASHINGTON D.C. - House panel OKs LaTourette bill to help recreational boatersA House panel today approved a bill authored by U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) that will exempt millions of recreational boaters from costly federal pollution permits that will be required at the end of September.
LaTourette, a senior member of the House Committee of Transportation and Infrastructure, said H.R. 5949, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, addresses a looming crisis that pits a federal court ruling against millions of recreational boaters. If Congress doesn?t intervene, as many as 18 million recreational boaters will need expensive federal pollution permits by the end of September in order to comply with the Clean Water Act. Failure to obtain a permit could subject boaters to fines of $32,500 per day, LaTourette said.
?Congress has to fix this problem and we have to fix it soon,? LaTourette said. ?Nobody in their right mind thinks Congress intended for recreational boaters to have pollution permits, and we must put a stop to this baffling, renegade court ruling.?
For more than 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exempted recreational boats from provisions of the Clean Water Act that pertain to incidental discharges of water, such as water that sloshes over a boat deck, bilge or engine cooling water. A federal court in 2006 ruled that Congress has effectively misinterpreted the Clean Water Act for more than three decades and ordered the EPA to come up with a permitting system for recreational boats by September 30, 2008.
LaTourette said his bill, which he introduced with U.S. Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), is identical to one introduced in the Senate by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL). Both H.R. 5949 and S. 2766 will permanently restore the pollution permit exemption that recreational boaters have enjoyed for more than 30 years. LaTourette?s bill was approved today in the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and now is ready for consideration on the House Floor.
LaTourette said legislation is needed because a court order mandates that National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for recreational boats be ready by the end of September. He said the EPA appealed the September 2006 ruling, but an appellate court has yet to rule. Currently, no permits are available and no one knows how much they will cost or where they will be available. Some believe the permits could range from hundreds of dollars to as much as $1,500 each, and boaters would need to obtain a new permit each year.
LaTourette said failure to obtain a permit and abide by the court?s new interpretation of the Clean Water Act could result in fines of up to $32,500 a day, per boater, for something as simple as having water slosh over the boat?s deck. The discharge of oil, sewage, hazardous pollutants and garbage is already illegal for all boats.
The court case stems from a lawsuit brought by several West Coast environmental groups over a Clean Water Act exemption for the shipping industry. The group was concerned about the spread of invasive species, such as zebra mussels, when large ships dump ballast water. Invasive species often hitch a ride in the ballasts of large vessels, and were introduced into the Great Lakes and other waterways this way. Large ships often hold water in their ballasts to level the ship as it travels.
LaTourette, who chaired the House Great Lakes Task Force for more than a decade and authored the reauthorization of the National Invasive Species Act with Sen. John Glenn, said the federal judge was correct that invasive species are an environmental and economic menace. He called the court ruling a ?wild overreaction?.
?No reputable scientist thinks invasive species were introduced into the Great Lakes or other inland waters by hitching a ride on a ski boat or fishing boat,? LaTourette said. ?I don?t know how a judge could have missed the key fact that 99 percent of recreational boats don?t even have ballast tanks that hold water.?
The Senate is expected to move the Senate version of the bill out of committee next week.
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FlashDance
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RE: Good News
2008/05/18 09:31:43
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It's good news that they are acting. Now, they need to finalize it by passing it.
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pghmarty
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RE: Good News
2008/06/10 13:37:58
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ROCKHARD
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RE: Good News
2008/06/10 17:10:45
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the big problem seems to be west coast envirimentalists
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE,, SOME MEN YOU JUST CANT REACH
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Kokanee Killer
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RE: Good News
2008/06/10 19:28:48
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ORIGINAL: ROCKHARD
the big problem seems to be west coast envirimentalists
yeah i agree darn liberal,me generation granolas.
I have become comfortably numb
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elephanthead
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RE: Good News
2008/06/12 11:32:22
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did the e-mail thing and got canned responses from Sen. Casey & Gov. Rendell. Hope they read what it said..
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