[ComputerJoe]

FROM LAKELAND BOATING
SEPT. 27...
Environmental groups and several state Attorney Generals successfully argued in a U.S. District Court case last fall that ballast water should not be exempted from government regulation as a pollutant because it introduces harmful invasive species into U.S. waters. Large ocean-going ships use ballast water for stability, taking on water to weigh the vessel down.

Unfortunately for the nation’s 73 million boaters, the court’s ruling also includes boat engine cooling water, bilge water, gray water and common deck runoff—none of which was considered by the court, as the case focused solely on commercial ship ballast water. The court has directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a new, complex and costly permitting scheme for the nation’s estimated 18 million boats by September 2008.

MAY 29...
Last week, Representatives Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) and Candice Miller (R-Mich.) introduced legislation to prevent commercial shipping regulations from expanding and burdening family boaters. Unless Congress passes this legislation, boaters could spend future Memorial Day weekends waiting in long lines to pay for expensive new permits.

Call your US Representitives and urge for support for (H.R. 2550) & S. 2067, the Recreational Boating Act of 2007.