Alabama headache

Boat/US Magazine, July, 2002 by Elaine Dickinson

Some states go out of their way to help boat owners comply with the law. They launch education campaigns; they make free, updated information readily available to the public; they even invest in facilities that boaters depend upon to keep our waters clean.

Then there is Alabama.

A politician in the Alabama state legislature who has long complained about polluting houseboats on inland lakes, recently rushed through one of the more nonsensical pieces of legislation ever aimed at boaters. The bill does not require marinas to install pump-out facilities but instead, it cracks down on boaters for not using the non-existent facilities.

Sponsored by Rep. Jack Venable (D-Tallassee), the new law requires Alabama boaters to get their installed heads and plumbing inspected by marine police and place a decal on their boats proving that it has passed muster. However, since waterway enforcement officers are not trained to know what to look for, they will have to take a crash course on marine sanitation systems rather than spend their time and resources on boating education or enforcing drunk boating laws.

Alabama's already understaffed marine police will commence their "potty patrol" next year, with no extra staff or funding provided by the politicians who approved H.B. 55. In five years, however, the police are empowered to start collecting a $50 annual fee for this service. BoatU.S. contacted Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman in opposition to the bill, but he signed it and the law goes into effect Oct. 1, 2003.

Another provision in the law that is certain to cause confusion prohibits owners of vessels with holding tanks from docking at any Alabama marina that does not have pump-out facilities. Like falling down a rabbit hole into a netherworld, some boat owners technically may not even be allowed to dock at their own marinas. That the state would deny public access to facilities that may have been paid for with boating taxpayers' money could be a lawsuit waiting to happen.

With only 65 officers to patrol a million acres of recreational waterways, marine police director William B. Garner says the head inspections will have to be done in the winter months.

"That's the only way we can do it," Garner said, adding that it will be a training challenge for his officers to learn about the different models of MSDs. Boaters with heads not passing inspection will get 90 days to get into compliance, he said. "We will not be stopping people on the water," he emphasized.

This is not the first time that Rep. Venable has stirred Alabama's waters. Years ago he pushed legislation that would have charged boaters $500 just for having a boat with a head on board.

To put the boating public at an even greater disadvantage, no law has ever been passed in Alabama that requires marinas to install pump-out facilities, a logical route many other states have taken without much difficulty. Latest information puts the number of available pump-out facilities in the state at about 60. However, they are not listed on the state's boating Web site and to get a copy of a printed guide to pump-outs, boaters must send $7 to the marine dealers association. Even knowing where they are is often not enough as boaters find facilities are "out of service" or inaccessible due to shallow water.

The head of the marine dealers association said marinas have not been notified of this change in the law and he doubted whether any would enforce the docking ban in any case.

"Enforcement is the key and the money is not there to do it," said Byron McCain, head of the Alabama Marine and Motorcycle Dealers Association which has 70 members. "I wish more marinas would participate in the federal Wallop/Breaux Clean Vessel Act pump-out program and use the money that is available. But it still means they may have to incur some expenses they may not be able to recoup."

The Clean Vessel Act, which BoatU.S. helped create in 1996, has provided $77 million in matching grants to the states for marinas to install pump-outs. Marinas, or local municipalities, must match the federal funds with 25% of their own money or in-kind services. A grant administrator for the southern region said many of the grant awards fall through due to lack of interest by local entities in matching the 25%.

BoatU.S. believes there is a better approach to keeping our waterways clean and supports a bill in the U.S. Congress, H.R. 3673 sponsored by Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ), to substantially upgrade the standards for Type I MSDs. This, in turn, would encourage boaters to use onboard waste treatment devices which are more stringent than most municipal treatment plants, rather than rely only on pump-out stations.

A hearing was held on May 1 before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment at which two BoatU.S. National Advisory Council members, Robert Davis, a former member of Congress and senior member of the House Merchant Marine Committee, and Chuck Husick, a former president of Chris-Craft boats, testified in support of the Saxton bill. After hearing from boating experts on the realities of vessel waste management, the subcommittee was receptive to the idea that relying only upon holding tanks ultimately limits many boaters' options to comply with the law, especially in coastal areas.