Regulatory insanity

[hemingray]

Well, one court ruling created the Route Designation Project everywhere. None of our recreating is safe - here's another court ruling. Does anyone think the judiciary is maybe getting a bit out of hand?

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 [BoatUS] 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.

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.

Fortunately I have only one of the above conditions (cooling water) - but it would appear that one might require a permit just to say so!

[MrPolaris]

give me a freaking break. . . so not only do I have to pay a luxury tax for the boat, now I will have to pay for a special use permit. . . another tax in essence. . . and who will run this permitting branch of our flat efficient bureaucracy. . . that is right, another slow moving government department who ends up costing more than the revenue they generate.. .

[Ken]

OMG....

There is NO way that could be effectively monitored, no matter how much money you tossed at it.

[MrPolaris]

watch them try. . .

[hemingray]

Write your Congress Critters and ask them to support the Recreational Boating Act of 2007 (H.R. 2550).

Do we see a pattern here? Judicial decision, then legislative action to counteract it...