[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 32 (Thursday, February 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF THE RECREATIONAL WATERS PROTECTION ACT

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                            HON. JIM SAXTON

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2003

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Recreational 
Waters Protection Act.
  I have been working on this issue for some time, and introduced this 
bill in the last session of Congress because its passage would reduce 
pollution from recreational boats by encouraging boaters to use and 
purchase new Type I marine sanitation devices (MSD) instead of 
discharging their waste into the water because pumpout stations are 
either unavailable, inoperative or inconvenient to use.
  This legislation would harness new technology and establish new 
standards for Type I marine sanitation devices that are 100 times more 
stringent than current standards, which have not been revised in over 
twenty years.
  This bill would grant an exemption allowing those who have such Coast 
Guard certified devices to use them in any state-declared no discharge 
zones that are designated after the enactment of this bill into law. It 
would not impact any existing state-declared no discharge zones.
  The available evidence shows that the existing NDZ approach does not 
work to the benefit of the environment. It is highly unlikely that law 
enforcement efforts will ever be sufficient to make the NDZ approach 
work, even if sufficient pump-out stations were accessible and 
operational.
  Giving boat owners the opportunity to improve the operation of their 
vessels and at the same time contribute to improving the aquatic 
environment through their voluntary installation and use of the new 
Type I MSDs is clearly preferable to today's situation.
  When the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was signed into law, 
this type of technology did not exist and therefore simply prohibiting 
dumping via NDZs seemed like the best solution at the time. However, 
with the overall poor performance with pumpout stations and non-
compliance with NDZs, I believe it is time to revisit this bill and 
these issues and recognize if there is a better, more environmentally 
conscious way to fight pollution, we ought to be using it, period.
  I encourage other members to join me in support of this important 
piece of conservation legislation.

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