March 14, 2014 — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has signed onto proposed federal legislation that would develop uniform standards for vessel discharges and restore an exemption from portions of the Clean Water Act previously enjoyed by commercial fishing boats.
Warren is co-sponsoring the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act legislation filed by U.S. Sens. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., that is meant to streamline regulations and eliminate redundancies.
Rubio initially filed the bill in 2012, but it died in committee.
A similar bill, supported by the Northeast Seafood Coalition, was filed in the House last year by Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J. That bill, which would place a moratorium on fines for incidental discharges from commercial vessels under 79 feet, was incorporated into the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 and passed last month by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The House bill pointed out that, beginning in December, commercial fishermen, charter and tour boat operators must obtain individual permits from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to discharge, among other items, deck wash, bilge water and condensation from air conditioning systems or face fines of up to $32,000 per violation.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times