December 11, 2014 — Fishermen can safely hose down their decks without fear of violating the Clean Water Act. Congress yesterday voted unanimously to extend a moratorium for three years that exempts commercial fishing vessels from needing incidental discharge permits. Senator Lisa Murkowski spearheaded the bipartisan push –
This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Fishermen won’t need permits to hose down their decks, and the Coast Guard bill flies through Congress. More with Senators Murkowski and Begich after this —
Fishermen can safely hose down their decks without fear of violating the Clean Water Act. Congress yesterday voted unanimously to extend a moratorium for three years that exempts commercial fishing vessels from needing incidental discharge permits. Senator Lisa Murkowski spearheaded the bipartisan push –
This is something that every commercial fishing vessel under 79 feet would have been required to deal with an EPA permit to effectively allow them to hose the decks off.
The current moratorium- which affects 8,500 Alaska vessels – was set to expire in one week. The EPA regulation is aimed at preventing fuels or hazardous wastes from entering the water. That makes sense, Murkowski says, but needing permits for deck wash is going overboard – especially when it doesn’t apply to recreational boats, even 300 foot yachts.
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