We're down to 54 days to get this straightened out.

From Boat/US this morning:

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: August 8, 2007

U.S. DISTRICT COURT RULING THREATENS RECREATIONAL BOATING

Legislative Solution, H.R. 2550, Gains Steam in Congress with 27 Co-
sponsors

Without Congressional approval of corrective legislation or a
successful legal appeal, a September 2006 court decision by the U.S.
District Court for Northern California designed to hold the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable for the regulation
of the discharge of ballast water from ocean going commercial ships
will have unintended and serious consequences for recreational
boating, according to Boat Owners Association of The United States
(BoatU.S.).

"As it stands now, a permit will be required for 'normal operational
discharges' on every recreational boat - even your dinghy - in every
state where you boat," said BoatU.S. Vice President of Government
Affairs Margaret Podlich. "This is an attempt to apply a complex
permitting system designed for industrial dischargers to recreational
boats that will not yield significant environmental benefits."

Instead, BoatU.S. is pushing for passage of H.R. 2550 "The
Recreational Boating Act of 2007." It would continue a 34-year-old
exemption applied to recreational boats and release the EPA from
having to implement an expensive and bureaucratic national permit
system for all recreational boats by September 30, 2008.

The original lawsuit was brought against EPA in an effort to control
the spread of invasive species contained in commercial ships' ballast
water tanks. The tanks, which add stability, are filled overseas and
then discharged in U.S. waters when cargo is uploaded. Ballast water
is a primary pathway for non-native species, such as the Zebra Mussel,
to invade U.S. waters.

However, 99% of recreational boats do not have ballast tanks, nor do
they cross oceans in any significant numbers. For over three decades
the EPA understood that everyday deck runoff, bilge water, engine
cooling water, or grey water from sinks or showers, was not the same
as commercial vessels discharging millions of gallons of imported
ballast tank water. As a result, it exempted these normal operational
discharges from the Clean Water Act permit system. But in 2006 the
District Court ruled that EPA overstepped its authority, and started
the clock on the September 30, 2008 permit implementation deadline.

BoatU.S. is urging all boaters to contact their legislators to co-
sponsor H.R. 2550 which is a common sense solution designed to make
the previous exemption for recreational boats permanent. "It's
important to know that H.R. 2550 does not weaken any existing
environmental regulations for recreational boaters. The main sources
of potential pollution from boats - oil, fuel, sewage and trash - are
already regulated and will remain so," added Podlich.

For more information on this issue, or for help contacting your
legislators, go to http://www.BoatUS.com/gov BoatU.S. is the nation's
leading advocate for recreational boaters with over 650,000 members.