[D16ve-l] HELP STOP FEDERAL BOAT PERMITTING!

[Robert Miller]

Bob
________________________________________
From: rbaw-elert at yahoogroups.com [mailto:rbaw-elert at yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of davidjkutz
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 7:17 PM
To: rbaw-elert at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [rbaw-elert] HELP STOP FEDERAL BOAT PERMITTING!

Urgent Message from the Recreational Boating Association of Washington
(RBAW)

WASHINGTON BOATERS: TAKE ACTION!

HELP STOP FEDERAL BOAT PERMITTING! 
(Reproduced Courtesy of NBF & NMMA)

PLEASE URGE U.S. SENATOR CANTWELL AND U.S. SENATOR MURRAY TO CO-SPONSOR S 
2766, the Clean Boating Act of 2008. USE BELOW ADDRESSES OR GO TO: 
www.boatblue.org 

(THE BOAT BLUE WEBSITE HAS ALL THE UPDATES, LETTERS, AND FORMS TO CONTACT 
YOUR SENATORS)

GO TO: WWW.BOATBLUE.ORG.

THE THREAT TO RECREATIONAL BOATING:
Unless Congress acts soon, every recreational boater in the country will
have to obtain a 
federal or state permit in order to operate their boat. This means yearly
fees, bureaucratic 
red tape, confusing and potentially state-by-state regulations, citizen
suits and $32,000 
per day penalties for non-compliance. These permits would apply to deck
run-off, bilge 
water, engine cooling water and any other water-based, operational discharge
from a 
recreational boat. The Environmental Protection Agency, due to a sweeping
court order, is 
already writing this unprecedented new regulation on boaters. 

THE CLEAN BOATING ACT OF 2008:
Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) have just
introduced S. 2766, the 
Clean Boating Act of 2008. S. 2766 would fully and permanently restore a
35-year permit 
exemption for recreational boat incidental discharges, such as weather deck
run-off and 
engine coolant water, and works to protect the health of the nation's
waterways by 
pursuing whether or not reasonable and practicable best management practices
need to 
be put into place for some incidental discharges. This important bill
preserves recreational 
boating and the boating industry, taking a balanced approached that
recognizes that 
pleasure boat discharges are completely different from land-based industrial
facilities and 
commercial ships. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY TO PROTECT BOATING:
All Boaters MUST contact their U.S. Senators and tell them to co-sponsor S.
2766, the 
Clean Boating Act of 2008. You can quickly and easily send a letter to your
Senators by 
visiting: www.boatblue.org

Once, there, it is a simple process to contact your Senators. This is the
most significant 
threat facing Boaters today, and we need your help to solve it. Take 5
minutes to tell 
Congress to support S. 2766.

For more information: WWW.BOATBLUE.ORG This great website has all the
updates, 
sample letters and forms.

If you choose to contact the Senators directly:

Senator Maria Cantwell
Phone: 202-224-3441 
Fax: 202-228-0514
Mail: 915 Second Avenue, Suite 3206, Seattle, WA 98174 
WEBSITE E-MAIL: http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

Senator Patty Murray
Phone: (202) 224-2621 
Fax: (202) 224-0238
Mail: 2988 Jackson Federal Building, 915 2nd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174
WEBSITE E-MAIL: http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm

Thanks from your Crew at RBAW and NBF