Press Releases
Rep. Young Works to Stop California District Courts from Crippling Alaska’s Fishing Industry
Washington, D.C.,
June 12, 2008
For video of today’s hearing follow links from this site For video of Rep. Young at a mark-up on May 15, 2008 on this issue click here Alaskan Congressman Don Young attended and spoke at a hearing today in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, on Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operations of a Commercial Vessel. On March 11, 2008, Rep. Young introduced H.R. 5594, the Vessel Discharge Evaluation and Review Act, which would exempt not only all recreational boats from the permitting process allowing discharge of boats, but also commercial vessels less than 125 feet in length. This bill came in response to a ruling by the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California which would require that all vessels apply for a discharge permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This ruling would take effect on September 30, 2008. During the hearing, William Walker, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources said of Rep. Young’s bill, "To my knowledge, at least four bills have been introduced to date…Of these four, Congressman Young’s bill is the most comprehensive and fair. All small boats, whether commercial or recreational, need to be exempted." Said Rep. Young at the hearing: "This is a crucially important issue and what I’m concerned with Madame Chairwoman, is how this affects the fishing industry, and what can we do to make sure that the EPA goes along with the court ruling that we can make sure our fisherman can continue to fish without a problem…are brine tanks (used to store fish) considered discharge and do they need permits and who will supervise that?" After the hearing, Rep. Young continued, "This is an incredibly important issue, especially in Alaska where many Alaskans make an honest living on commercial fishing vessels. Introducing levels upon levels of bureaucracy to this process is going to do nothing but encourage the litigation process and put the fishing industry out of business. I will not stand by and let Congress and the Administration put Alaskans out of work because of some Federal District Court Judge in California, and will continue to work with my good friend, Chairman Oberstar and the other Members of the Transportation Committee to ensure that we are responsible in our delegation of new rules and regulations."
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