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Boatyards
Need Our Help
Boatyards
in the State of Washington are in trouble.
Last December, the Department of Ecology
(DOE) issued new requirements for boatyards
that could put some out of business. The
issue is the new Storm Water Permit that
boatyards must obtain in order to operate
their facilities. “Storm water” is a fancy
way of saying “rain water.”
The
DOE is interested in boatyards because
they remove and apply bottom paint which
has copper in the paint to prevent marine
growth in salt water. Over the years,
copper has built-up in and around boatyards
so when it rains, the storm water that
runs across a boatyard can pick-up copper
and other impurities that contaminate
the adjacent waters.
It
is the DOE’s job to help us clean up our
waterways under the Federal Clean Water
Act and the NMTA has been working with
the DOE on behalf of our boatyard members
since the permit went into effect in 1992.
Every five years, the DOE updates the
permit. Since I took this job in 1999,
the Boatyard Committee has been tracking
this issue and working with the DOE to
make sure that any changes in future permits
were ones that boatyards could live with.
It
is important to say for the record that
the NMTA and our member boatyards want
clean water and have been working with
the DOE to reduce the copper levels in
storm water from boatyards. Unfortunately,
the new five-year permit has some fatal
flaws and as it turns out, an organization
we worked closely with to develop the
new Clean Marina program, the Puget Soundkeepers
Alliance, thinks that the new permit does
not go far enough.
The
Puget Soundkeepers Alliance has appealed
the permit asking the DOE to make the
permit more stringent. Given their appeal,
our Boatyard Committee and the NMTA Board
of Trustees felt we had no alternative
but to also file an appeal… to protect
the parts of the new permit that we supported,
to prevent the permit from becoming so
onerous that it put boatyards out of business
and finally to challenge provisions of
the new permit that would prevent using
grinders.
The
appeal could cost $100,000 in legal and
consulting fees over the next six months.
Over the last four years, the boatyards
have contributed over $20,000 to pay for
environmental engineering advice and now
they are reaching into their pockets for
more money to help fund the appeal.
The
association fiscal year runs from July
1 – June 30. When we put together the
2005-06 budget last spring, we did not
anticipate this appeal nor how expensive
an appeal would be. So just before Christmas,
the Board approved some money for the
appeal but now we need to ask for support
from all members who understand the value
that boatyards provide to the industry.
Below
is a generic check made payable to the
Boatyard Defense Fund. Please fill it
out and send it along with a real check
or credit card number to us today. The
boatyards are all sending in $250 checks
to get the fund started. I hope that each
of you will contribute something to help
us fight the new storm water rules that
could put out boatyards out of business.
Please
call me if you have any questions or call
Scott Anderson, the Chair of our Boatyard
Committee at CSR Marine (206-632-2001).
Either of us would be happy to explain
exactly why we need to appeal the permit
for the sake of our industry.
With
warm regards,
Michael
Campbell
President
michael@nmta.net
CLICK
HERE TO VIEW THE BOATYARD DEFENSE FUND
CHECK
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