On Jul 22, 6:57*pm, JimH wrote:
On Jul 22, 6:50*pm, Chuck Gould wrote:





We can probably assume that Bush will approve this.

CONGRESS RESTORES 35-YEAR EXEMPTION FOR RECREATIONAL BOATS
FROM PROPOSED EPA PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS

NO NEW PERMIT FOR BOATS REQUIRED

ALEXANDRIA, VA, July 22, 2008 - In a remarkable display of bipartisan
support for recreational boating, both the House and Senate today
passed S. 2766, "The Clean Boating Act of 2008" which will permanently
restore a long-standing exemption for recreational boats from
permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. The legislation now
goes to the White House for the President's signature.

Congressional action was spawned by a U.S. District Court decision in
September 2006 under which an estimated 17 million recreational boats
would have fallen under Clean Water Act permit requirements effective
September 30, 2008. The permit would have dictated maintenance and
operation procedures and potentially subjected boaters to citizen
lawsuits as well as a penalty system designed for industrial
polluters.

"This is a fabulous victory for common sense and it just goes to show
what can be done when the boating public, the marine industry and its
representatives in Congress row together in a bipartisan way," said
BoatU.S. President Nancy Michelman.

BoatU.S. Government Affairs Director Margaret Podlich was quick to
shower praise on a boatload of legislators who did much of the heavy
lifting including Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
and Representatives Jim Oberstar (D-MN), Steve LaTourette (R-OH),
Candice Miller (R-MI) and Gene Taylor (D-MS). A complete listing of
all legislators involved will be available athttp://www.BoatUS.com/gov
soon.

BoatU.S. has worked for more than a year with the National Marine
Manufacturers Association and a broad coalition of stakeholders to
resolve the problem before the permitting deadline.

"One of the real keys to success here was our collective ability to
activate the grassroots," said Podlich, noting that tens of thousands
of letters and e-mails were generated by boaters and anglers over the
course of the past 12 months.

BoatU.S. is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boat owners
with over 650,000 members.

###

I think Bush is waiting to see how the Congress responds to the
lifting of the ban for offshore drilling, a far more important issue
to the majority of Americans. *;-)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yeah, it's been noted that the price of gasoline at the pump may
actually go down a few cents because of offshore drilling, that is,
after about 10 years.