July 24, 2008
Congress Passes Clean Boating Act!
Yesterday, NMMA hailed passage of H.R. 5949/S. 2766, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Passage of this legislation, which has been the top legislative priority for NMMA during the 110th Congress, will permanently and fully restore a longstanding, commonsense regulation that excludes recreational boaters and anglers from the federal and state permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act designed for land-based industrial facilities and ocean-going commercial ships.

Introduced by Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in the Senate and by Representatives Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) and Candice Miller (R-Mich.) in the House, the Clean Boating Act of 2008 will prevent federal and state permitting of water-based, non-polluting incidental discharges that occur in the normal operation of a recreational boat, such as weather deck run-off and engine coolant water.

The Senate and House have acted swiftly, and we appreciate the bipartisan nature of their action to protect the recreational marine industry, the American boating public and our natural resources. This is an historic victory for our 1,700 members and for boaters across the nation.

Special recognition should go out to BoatU.S., West Marine, the National Federation of Boating and all NMMA members (including members of the NMMA Government Relations and Communications staff) who worked diligently and swiftly to spread the word about passing this all-important legislation and made its likely signature into law a reality.

After a long road on Capitol Hill, the bill is now ready for the Presidents signature. We encourage the President to act fast in signing this key piece of legislation!

NMMA News

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