Court Ruling Poses Serious Threat To Boating

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Schumer, Army Corps discuss dredging in shrinking Oswego harbor

Associated Press
Last updated: 2:43 p.m., Thursday, December 6, 2007

OSWEGO, N.Y. -- Army Corps of Engineers representatives met Thursday with Port of Oswego officials who are concerned that a delay in dredging the Oswego harbor could have crippling economic consequences.

The port -- the only deep water port on the U.S. shores of Lake Ontario -- was supposed to be dredged this year, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. But Congress failed to fund the project.

Last month, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer complained that the harbor has gone without dredging since 2004, allowing silt and sediment accumulation at nearly five times the recommended level and impeding the movement of ships.

Schumer insisted that corps officials come to Oswego to get a firsthand look at the port's increasingly shallow and dangerous waterways. The senator called on the Army Corps to immediately make dredging the port a top-priority and for the federal agency to steer emergency money to fund the project.

"We felt good that the Army Corps heard and understood our concerns and now we will be able to put in place a process that will allow us to get the dredging done no later than the 2009-2010 shipping season," said Jonathan Daniels, the port's executive director.

At this time, dredging isn't in the federal budget for next year either, said Michael Asquith, the Corps' dredging program manager for the Buffalo district. Corps planners expected the port to be dredged in 2007 so they didn't put it in 2008's budget, added Asquith, who visited Oswego Thursday along with Raymond Lewis, chief of the Corps' New York-Pennsylvania area.

Dredging the port would cost about $700,000, according to Schumer's office. The longer the dredging is delayed, the more expensive the project, Schumer emphasized.

If emergency funds are not found for the project, any dredging will have to wait until the passage of the federal 2009 budget. By the time those funds are available, it could be another two years until the dredging is performed, Schumer said.

"Bringing a ship into the narrow, silted channels of Port of Oswego shouldn't be as difficult as threading a needle," Schumer said.

After consistently losing money for years and seeing minimal activity, the port has undergone a startling rebound in recent years, adding capacity and providing an economic boost across the region, Daniels said.

The bulk commodities -- soybeans, windmill components, cement, chemicals, ores and road salt -- that pass through Oswego Harbor generate approximately $5.9 million annually in direct revenue and support about 78 jobs.

The Oswego River continuously deposits silt in the port, building up shoals that were made worse this year by low lake levels.

The Army Corp's maintenance dredging plans call for dredging approximately 33,000 cubic yards of material from the port area every two to four years. Today, there is currently an estimated excess of about 159,000 cubic yards of sediment, which has decreased the depths of shipping berths and channels between 6 inches and several feet, Daniels said.

Corps data shows that the main channel has shrunk to half its size because of silt. Water levels around the docks are four- to five-feet below the recommended 21 feet.

This decrease in water level has meant that ships must carry lighter loads. Port officials noted several instances where companies had to add another ship because cargo had to spread out among several vessels, Daniels said.

The area targeted for dredging includes a 280-acre outer harbor, 3,000 feet of channel in the Oswego River and the area directly next to the port's piers.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

New Amendment from Albany

Draft Amend Pesticed Law (pdf)
2006

ESMTA Tech Amend Chapter 274 Laws of 2006 (pdf)
2006

Renew New York Agenda (pdf)
2007
 

Issue Date: 9/28/2007, Posted On: 9/28/2007
Boating industry gains favor with Democratic Senators

The boating industry claimed a key victory in the Senate yesterday with ballast water legislation.

U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., unequivocally committed themselves to resolve the issue before a September 2008 permitting deadline.

A recent court ruling has cast doubt on whether recreational boaters "people going out for a day of fishing, or waterskiing" can continue to operate without a permit from the EPA, Nelson said in a statement. "They've never been required to have such a permit, and there's no reason for that to change. You shouldn't have to ask the EPA before you take your boat out on the water."

Environmental groups and several states' Attorney Generals successfully argued in a U.S. District Court case last fall that ballast water should not be exempted from government regulation as a pollutant because it introduces harmful invasive species into U.S. waters. Large ocean-going ships use ballast water for stability, taking on water to weigh the vessel down.

However, the court's ruling also includes boat-engine cooling water, bilge water, gray water and common deck runoff. The court directed the Environmental Protection Agency to develop what the NMMA says is "a complex and costly permitting scheme" for the nation's estimated 18 million boats by September 2008.

"I don't think they should have to get these permits," said Boxer, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, in a statement. "I've committed with Senator Nelson to make sure we fix this before that time. We are going to make sure that individual boaters do not need permits "that's as simple as it gets. That's my commitment, and it will happen."
 

Issue Date: 9/24/2007, Posted On: 9/24/2007
NOAA says ships can reduce invasive species supply

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center released a technical report today that says ship captains can dramatically reduce the supply of invasive aquatic species delivered to U.S. ports, if they flush and refill ballast tanks with ocean water before arrival.

The report describes the effectiveness of ballast water exchange procedures as a way to reduce aquatic invasive species discharged into U.S. waters, including the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay.

If ports are exposed to nonnative species, these organisms may establish themselves in the new habitat, like zebra mussels and gobies in the Great Lakes, and potentially cause harm to native populations of aquatic animals and plants. An estimated 70 million metric tons - roughly 50 million gallons per day - of ballast water is discharged in U.S. waters annually.

"Research and development to produce alternative ballast treatment methods and technology-based ballast treatment systems should continue to be pursued as a high priority toward the reduction of organism transfers," said Richard Spinrad, assistant administrator for NOAA.

In addition, the report addresses a potential gap in the coastal ballast management protection framework: ships traveling less than 200 miles from the U.S. coast are not covered.

The report is available on the Web at: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/techrept.html

 

Issue Date: 9/24/2007, Posted On: 9/24/2007
NMMA backs Recreational Boating Act

The Recreational Boating Act, designed to protect recreational boaters from new commercial ballast water permitting regulations, was introduced in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., last week introduced the Senate version of H.R.2550.  Requiring family boaters to secure a Clean Water Act permit so they can wash their boat, fish or go water skiing is ridiculous, Martinez said in a statement. This permit requirement is unnecessary and onerous.

For 34 years the federal Environmental Protection Agency has exempted discharges from recreational boats from the Clean Water Act permit system. However, a recent court ruling (Sept. 26 U.S. District Court) intended to address the ballast water issue permitting issue cancelled this exemption.

Without congressional approval of the Recreational Boating Act, the courts existing decision means that everyday boaters will have to apply for the same expensive permits as ocean-going commercial vessels said Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, in a statement.
Large ocean-going vessels are blamed for some 10,000 invasive species introduced into U.S. waters.

NMMA is strongly backing passage of the Recreational Boating Act of 2007 and encourages the public to take action before the ruling goes into effect next year. A court-mandated deadline is set for September 2008, which would require the EPA to have the permitting requirements in place.

We now have the enormous task ahead of passing a legislative fix before time runs out, said Dammrich.

The NMMA, in partnership with the Boat Owners Association of the United States and other outdoor recreation partners, created a grassroots Web site at www.boatblue.org to mobilize the boating community on the ballast water permitting issue.
 

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2004,  New York State requires every PWC operator to have a boat/jet-ski certificate, and that means taking a boater safety course.

The requirement has been hasped in over years by age, and applies to all PWC operators beginning the first day of this year.  A Watertown Power Squadron course leading to certification begins at 7 pm Tuesday, March 9th to be held on four consecutive Tuesdays at the Jeff-Lewis board of Cooperative Educational Services on outer Arsenal Street in Watertown. It's a course meant for all boaters teaching rules of the road, reading buoys, boat handling and other safety topics. The Power Squadron says PWC's may provide thrills but they also present some special operating challenges. Although they make up less than 10 percent of the state's registered boats, they are involved in nearly 30 percent of all accidents.

Boating certificates will be presented after a proctored exam on March 30th, the last day of the course. There is a small fee for the instruction book and exam. Those interested may call Chris Johnston at 788-8194 or your local U.S. Power Squadron member.

 

If you own a marine related business, and would like to become a member of the Central New York Boating Industries Association, please e-mail us at: bia@twcny.rr.com.

In Saratoga Springs, visitors can step back into the Victorian Era at the legendary Saratoga Race Course or witness the site of the famous battle of Saratoga. Families can rediscover the time-honored classic, “The Wizard of Oz” by visiting author L. Frank Baum’s home in Chittenango or see the structural frame of an original Erie Canal packet boat entombed in an archeological excavation at the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum. Take a ride up the legendary Champlain Canal and pass more famous battlefields. When you arrive in Whitehall, view ship models from 1776, and discover the birthplace of the American Navy at the Skenesborough Museum. Whether visiting historic locks, browsing through museums, enjoying authentic festivals with the nostalgic flavor of year’s past, there are more miles of historic sights than you’ll find anywhere else in the United States
 

CNY BOAT SHOW

IT'S SOONER THAN YOU THINK.

February is just around the corner and the great annual Central New York Boat Show will be rolling into the New York State Fairgrounds.

All members are encouraged to reserve your space for the show now.

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