"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I had a chance to read further and, according to Boat US

http://www.boatus.com/gov/HR2550FAQ.pdf

the HR 2550 bill, despite the appearance of the bill itself, IS
intended to prevent recreational boats from being dragged into a
permit system that Boat US indicates could cost several hundred
dollars a year.

Sounds like we'd better hope this passes. Permits would be state run
under federal mandate. This might not be a problem in places like
Maine where boating is recognized as essential to the tourist economy
but some states might see the revenue generated by such a permit
system as a quick soak-the-rich fiscal fix.

--
Roger Long


Finally an informed opinion. Thanks.

The bottom line is the gummint can pass any old Draconian legislation
they want to pass but most people will simply ignore it. Take the
existing small vessel sewage laws. They cannot be meaningfully enforced.
Neither can some dumb new law outlawing wash water, deck runoff etc. You
might be able to enforce some of that crap with the shipping industry
because they can be held accountable. There is no way you can enforce
criminal penalties of a private yacht owner for something as vague as
gray water. You could mandate holding tankage, you could mandate
periodic pumpouts, you can mandate this sticker or that sticker but you
can't make people do it. I know I won't. They can stick all their petty
crap right up their arses.

Wilbur Hubbard