Clean Water Act: 110th Congress Legislation on Discharges from Recreational Boats (CRS Report for Congress)
Premium Purchase PDF for $24.95 (10 pages)
add to cart or
subscribe for unlimited access
Pro Premium subscribers have free access to our full library of CRS reports.
Subscribe today, or
request a demo to learn more.
| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 13, 2009 |
| Report Number |
RS22878 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Claudia Copeland, Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium Revised Sept. 17, 2008 (6 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium June 19, 2008 (6 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to develop a regulatory response to a 2006 federal court ruling that vacated a long-standing EPA rule. That rule had exempted discharges associated with the normal operation of vessels from permit requirements of the Clean Water Act. Concern that this ruling could require millions of recreational boaters to obtain permits led to the introduction of legislation in the 110th Congress to exempt these and other types of vessels from water quality regulation. This report discusses background to the issue and bills introduced in the 110th Congress in response, two of which were passed by Congress in July 2008 (S. 2766 and S. 3298). The enacted measures exempted recreational vessels from permit requirements (P.L. 110-288) and delayed permit requirements for many other but not all vessels (P.L. 110-299). EPA finalized a permit for the remaining vessels on December 18, 2008.
