Washington, D.C.  -  U.S. Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) is backing bipartisan legislation that will exempt the nation’s 73 million recreational boaters from having to purchase costly federal permits for normal, recreational boat water discharge.

Today, English announced his support for H.R. 5949, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, legislation to restore the longstanding regulation that excludes recreational boaters and anglers from federal and state permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act.  The Act was designed for land-based industrial facilities and ocean-going commercial ships.

“Local families and friends have long joined together for boating activities and water sports on the Great Lakes, but because of an obscure federal court ruling, these families may soon be forced to foot the bill for an additional, costly permit to continue to operate their vessels, ” English said. “At a time when local boaters are already facing steep fuel costs, it is absurd to hit them with the cost of an additional permit that has been exempted for over 30 years.”

Since 1973, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exempted recreational boaters from provisions in the Clean Water Act that pertain to incidental discharges of water such as weather deck run-off and bilage water.    However, in September 2006 this exemption was overturned by a federal court in a case focused exclusively on ballast water from commercial vessels.  As a result, the EPA is required to create a permitting system for recreational boats by September 30, 2008.

Although the EPA has yet to implement a permit process for recreational boaters, English noted that estimates on the cost of the permits range from hundreds of dollars to as much as $1,500 annually.  In addition, boaters that fail to obtain the required permit could face fines of up to $32,500 a day, per boater. 

“By restoring a longstanding EPA exemption for recreational boaters, this initiative provides a balanced approach that will not only help keep recreational boating alive but also continue to protect and preserve our water resources,” English said.  “We are going to continue to push for House action on this common sense initiative and fight to make sure this legislation is enacted into law before the September deadline.”

H.R. 5949 was formally introduced by U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) in May and was approved by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on May 15, 2008.

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