March 3, 2014 — The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association:
The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on March 4 on Maritime Transportation Regulations: Impacts on Safety, Security, Jobs and the Environment: Part II. U.S. Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-02), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, applauded inclusion by the Committee of his amendment (co-sponsored by Rep. Rick Larsen of WA State) to place a permanent moratorium from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state regulations and fines governing incidental discharges on commercial fishing and charter fishing vessels regardless of size, and all other commercial vessels less than 79 feet.
“Starting this December, commercial fishermen, charter and tour boat operators, and owners of other commercial vessels less than 79 feet will have to apply for and receive individual permits from the EPA to discharge from their vessels such things as deck wash, bilge water, and the condensation from air conditioning units. Vessels that operate without these permits could be subject to citizen lawsuits and daily fines that exceed $32,000 per violation,” said LoBiondo.
Central to the LoBiondo/Larsen addition to H.R. 4005 would be the sheltering of fishing and other small commercial vessels from citizen lawsuits. These suits, while ostensibly brought to protect water quality, would more realistically be used as another weapon by anti-fishing activists in their ongoing assault on commercial fishermen. Testifying on the second panel was James Roussos, Vice President of Boat Operations, LaMonica Fine Food LLC in Milleville, New Jersey.
In his testimony he stated to the Subcommittee “please understand that those of us in the business of harvesting food for the benefit of this nation do so in a hostile environment. We are under constant scrutiny by environmentalists who petition or sue the federal government on a regular basis to increase environmental protection and restrict fishing activities…. Environmental regulation by litigation is out of control and could potentially cripple our industry.” He added “The VGP, if inflicted upon the fishing industry will only add more paperwork to the bureaucracy, further demoralize an important industry’s workforce, and cause economic hardship for little if any environmental benefit.
According to Jeff Reichle, president of Lund's Fisheries in Cape May, New Jersey “the exemption avoids an unnecessary burden and potential serious fines on the U.S. fishing fleet while not reducing EPA’s duties to protect our waters from serious pollutants.”
***On March 28, 2013 the EPA published requirements for permitting ballast water and other discharges incidental to the normal operations of vessels (VGP) greater than or equal to 79-feet in length. The VGP ballast water requirements went into effect in December 2013 while the incidental discharge permit requirements will be implemented by EPA in December 2014. On November 30, 2011, the EPA released a draft Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP) to cover commercial vessels less than 79 feet in length that are currently subject to a permit moratorium that expires on December 18, 2014. The draft sVGP requires these vessels to comply with best management practices for the same 27 incidental discharges as the 2013 VGP. The EPA estimates that approximately 138,000 vessels will need to comply with the draft sVGP at a cost of up to $12 million annually. This estimate does not include the cost of additional regulatory requirements which may be added by the states. A final sVGP is currently in agency review and is expected to be published in the coming months.***
For further information contact Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director
(gregdidomenico@gmail.com, or 609-675 0202)