"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
...
For many years the EPA exempted pleasure boats from complying with a
law that was drafted to prevent foreign ships from discharging
"ballast water" in US harbors. That law, applied to foreign ships, is
a good one.
Sometimes the ballast water is seriously polluted, or it may contain
foreign organisms that become invasive in a new environment.

An environmental group in Portland Oregon was suing the EPA over some
matter or another, and in the course of pronouncing a ruling the judge
also (and very surprisingly) included a statement that the EPA does
not have the authority to exempt pleasure boats from the same
discharge regulations that apply to commercial shipping. Even the
environmentalists bringing the suit were shocked at the ruling, as
this was not the outcome they were pursuing. If this ruling is
literally applied, *nothing* (!) can enter the water from a boat,
unless the boater has purchased a permit allowing it. By "nothing",
the rules will include
"those discharges incidental to the normal operation of a boat".

If you have an inboard or even an outboard engine, you cannot operate
it without discharging cooling water in the process. You would need a
permit to do so- so you would be reduced to rowing or sailing under
all circumstances without a pemit.

If you begin taking on water and need to activate your bilge pump,
forget it. Before you can begin evacuating water from the bilge you
must be certain that your permit is up to date, as the fines can run
as high as $32,000 per day if it is not.

Wash you boat? Heavens no. Not even with municipal water from a hose
and using no soap. That wash water will be carrying dirt from the hull
and decks into the lake or ocean below- and that's considered a
polluting discharge from a boat.

This is not an "anti clean water bill". Discharges of sewage, garbage,
petroleum products, etc will continue to be covered by existing rules
and regulations. The Clean Boating Act will simply prevent discharges
incidental to the normal operation of a boat (and not already
prohibited by law) from becoming subject to additional permits and
taxation.

The bill specifically authorizes the EPA to exempt pleasure boats from
the requirements that will still apply to commercial ships.


Thank you, sir. Even Cindy fluff for brains might be able to understand the
situation now. You provided a most accurate and excellent summary! How is it
that there are so many stupid, liberal judges around to cause problems with
our liberties?

Wilbur Hubbard