Get involved or break out your check books.

AWADawg · 03-21-2008, 01:41 PM

AWA Alert: Your U.S. Senator needs to hear from you.
Legislative Fix In for Federal Boating Permit Debacle.

For a quick video explanation on this ridiculous issue visit www.awahq.org

With six months to go, Congress has finally acted on the issue surrounding “federal boating permits.” Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Barbara Boxer and Senator Bill Nelson have introduced S. 2766, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, which will fully and permanently restore the longstanding regulatory exemption for recreational boats and recreational boats used for charter fishing expeditions from any federal or state permitting under the Clean Water Act.

From previous AWA alerts, you already know environmental extremists convinced a San Francisco judge to eliminate the EPA’s 30 year old common sense exemption for recreational boating.

Without this new protection in place, the EPA will be forced to implement a “Federal Boating Permit” system where you will be forced to purchase “permission” to do exactly what you do right now; boating.

This isn’t a “maybe” “might” or a “could.” Instead, this will happen unless congress passes this important pro-people legislation.

Every boater needs to contact their Senator today and strongly urge them to support this common sense measure. For an easy and free way to contact your Senator please click on the following link: www.boatblue.org

Make the call, and stand with us as we preserve and expand boating access to America’s public waterways.

For more information, contact the AWA at 800-913-AWA1.

Think Free. Live Free. Ride Free.

Shawn Alladio · 03-21-2008, 01:45 PM

Fight for What is Right!
Every single person who has an account on Pwctoday.com has the responsbility to respond to this!
We must be held accountable to speak out against additional layers of government that take away our Constitutional right to freedom, to our recreational pursuit that creates yet another cost increase! We are taxed enough!!!

Aren't you sick of this yet? Invest 2 minutes into your future...don't be apathetic....united we can make a difference...

count yourself in...

Shonuff · 03-21-2008, 04:07 PM

How will it be enforced?

Could the measure weed out some of the fools?

CaptnKirk · 03-21-2008, 04:37 PM

Message sent!!

I urge EVERYONE in Michigan to do this. We already have problems with invasive species destroying our waterways..a couple examples: zebra mussels & gobys. Not only is this great for recreational boaters, it will aid in the fight against the influx of these species that hitch hike in the ballast tanks.

Dale Kildee, Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow are great people to send this information to.

Captn---

AWADawg · 03-21-2008, 04:58 PM

Shonuf:

If you own a PWC, you will have to buy a permission slip from the Govt. to do exactly what you do already: Ride.

It starts this September... 6 months away. Even worse, it's not clear how this system will run. You already pay taxes, you pay boat fees, so why should your PWC be compared to an ocean going ship?

For 30 years, the EPA has exempted, rightfully, Rec boating...but now because of a lawsuit brought by envrio's, we have this problem facing us.

This is nothing more than an effort to "punish" boaters....for....boating. AWA thinks boaters pay enough as is.

Chris Manthos
AWA

Shonuff · 03-21-2008, 05:01 PM

I am willing to pay to ride my JetSkis if it means safer boating. That's why I was wondering how it would be enforced. If no one but me is willing to pay twelve bucks and no enforcement agency will check, then why bother legislating it.

jet ski man · 03-21-2008, 05:59 PM

There is NOWAY that the boating industry or our congressman,are going to let that law be passed on to rec boaters,it"s called votes and the boat industry is huge business in this country.Look at the number of PWC sites and how many people use them everyday,now go to thoses same PWC sites, and look at the interest that was generated by the AWA call for help, might be 10 people total,what does that tell you,GOV"T huge, AWA means nothing,boating industry HUGE,AWA still means nothing,boaters who vote,HUGE AWA still nothing,so to me we have already taken care of this problem when we voted in our elected officals, and if not there is nothing the AWA can do about it anyways.

Shonuff · 03-21-2008, 06:15 PM

I have to pay to use the ramp everytime I ride.

Three bucks.

I don't want to but them's the berries. The three dollars goes toward the care and maintenance of the ramp and its surrounding facilities.

Where will this money go? How will the Federal Boating Permit revenue be spent?

AWADawg · 03-21-2008, 07:40 PM

Shonuff,

The money would not go to anything boating related. It would most likely end up in the big pot. This is another word for TAX, it's as simple as that.

Safety is always important, but that's not what this is about; instead, it's about one small group of wing dings wanting to burden boaters with more taxes, fees, forms to fill out and mail away... it's crap.

This is a few people in San Fran, who took a legal case about large ships and the ballast water they contain, and had it applied to every single boater in the country. They're saying when you ride your PWC, that you're just as bad as some cargo ship dumping the ballast water it picked up in Asia! It's crazy!

None of these new taxes will go for more enforcment, or boat ramps, or education, nothing... not a dime. The entire boating industry is freaked about this, and we formed a group to fight it. We're doing our part to reach as many PWC owners as possible. That's what we do; when riders are informed of the royal screwing over they're getting, maybe they'll decide to get involved.
We're asking folks to contact their U.S. Senator and tell them to support this corrective bill, so good people like us won't have to shell out even more of our hard earned cash to do what we've always done: Ride.

Chris Manthos
AWA

'Crockett · 03-21-2008, 08:06 PM

I am absolutely NOT a fan of Barbara Boxer or anything she stands for . . . . are you sure this is what it is cracked up to be and not tied to some other crap that we'll regret later ? . . . . . . .