IWLA Applauds Passage of Clean Boating Act of 2008
The IWLA (named after Izaak Walton) have just helped push through the Clean Boating Act of 2008. The good news is that the act will help cleanup our waterways by forcing such codes such as having to clean you boat entirely (yes the bottom) before you are able to transfer from one body of water to the next. This helps prevent the spread of “invasive species” that might be coming along for the ride. The better news is that recreational boaters like you and me are exempt from these new regulations. The major infiltrator seems to be boats traveling internationally for shipping purposes. Obviously this doesn’t include your recreational weekend warrior boater. It is nice to see that they are doing something to keep the waterways clean, and that they aren’t just throwing a “blanket” rule over everyone, but instead pin-pointing the probelm and attacking it from there.
[full press release after the break]
Press release:
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Recreational boaters across America scored a significant victory this week as President Bush signed the Clean Boating Act of 2008. This legislation restores a Clean Water Act exemption for recreational boaters so that they don’t have to comply with the same complex permitting requirements that apply to commercial ships and water treatment facilities.
“We applaud Congress and the President for recognizing that it is not appropriate to regulate recreational boats under the same provisions that apply to sewage treatment plants and factories,” says Leah Miller, director of Watershed Programs for the Izaak Walton League of America. “This legislation not only protects recreational boaters from unprecedented regulations and confusion, it also helps protect water quality by requiring boaters to follow best management practices developed by the EPA, the Coast Guard, and the states to control certain incidental discharges.”
Following the League’s long-standing tradition of practicing ethical outdoor behavior, boaters are eager to protect the nation’s waterways by voluntarily following recommended practices to prevent incidental discharges of pollutants. For example, the League’s Clean Boats Campaign engages boaters in stopping the spread of invasive species by cleaning their boats before moving them between different bodies of water. More details about the campaign are available online at www.cleanboats.org.