Attn all Boaters!!!! New permits?????

[captbones]

I was reading in the monthly fishing publication tonight that congress is looking to pass a clean water act in September that could affect everyone that owns and operates a boat! This piece of proposed legislature would require all boats to possess a permit for any water that comes out of or off their boat. This includes water from the exhaust for cooling, any water that passes off the deck through the scuppers, and any water out of the bilge from cleaning or rough days at sea.

It looks like we could be required to have one for each state that we boat in. So if you travel the ICW you could have to have several. No info on fees is available yet but of course I did see a section that states fines for non-compliance could be excessive up to 32,000 per day. It looks like we would be treated like larger ocean going vessel such as tankers and cruise ships.

There was a site posted that has all this info and more at www.boatblue.org. I would encourage everyone to at least look at this info and hopefully some of you brains on here can sort the info for the rest of us. Has anyone else heard anything about this yet? How about you Admin?

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

EPA= Extra Pain in Ass give me a fucking break soon to come a permit to wipe your ass but first you must posses a permit to take a shit and a permit to flush said shit.

[Dads Dream]

Sounds just like the TWIC card that everyone was talking about earlier this season.

I've paid for mine....and it's waiting for me in Portland, Maine- I just gotta burn $50 in fuel to go & pick it up......

And now.....since they can't get card readers that work under the harsh saltwater extremes......among other BS reasons.......it sounds like the TWIC has been mothballed for another year or more?

Anybody heard about these 2 issues?

[LuckyLady]

Here is a press release on the subject

EPA releases boat permit proposal

[LuckyLady]

My opinion would be for them to do away with the permit idea and put in to effect annual vessel safety inspections looking for obvious illegal discharges and punish the people that have problems and leave the people that take care of thier boats and such alone and give them a coast sticker pass.