December 2000 - NC Marine TradeWinds Newsletter
Happy Holidays
Deaton’s
Yacht Services in Oriental is the first marina/boatyard to sign up for, and
successfully complete the Clean Marina program. The facility voluntarily
completed the program checklist and invited us (MTS) to conduct an onsite
facility review. They proved to be using best management practices in all areas
of their business and will soon be flying a Clean Marina flag. Congratulations.
With
a second mailing of the program being sent out in January, we expect to see many
more facilities sign up for this worthwhile initiative. This designation will
help you distinguish your facility from those that may not be up to clean
standards, help you attract environmentally conscious boaters, and show
regulators that you are environmentally aware.
Reasonable
Push for Allowing Discharge of Treated Boat Sewage
The Recreational Waters Protection Act bill recently introduced, proposes to change the national Marine Sanitation Device standards to allow the use of onboard sewage treatment systems in waters that are now designated No Discharge Zones. The bill was introduced by New Jersey Congressman, James Saxton, chairman of the House Fisheries, Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans subcommittee. The proposed act calls for an EPA review of existing marine sanitation technology, and the publishing of revised standards for on-board marine sanitation devices (MSD’s). The new standards would require a baseline effluent water quality of 10 or less fecal coliform per 100 ml. The current law would be amended so that states couldn’t prohibit the discharge of sewage from vessels that operate Type I or II MSD, as long as those vessels met the revised standards of baseline effluent.
EPA’s
Marina and Boating Guidelines Drafted
EPA has released for review the National Guidance for Marinas and Recreational Boating: Controlling Nonpoint Sources of Pollution to Surface Waters. This is a technical document that can be used by state and local agencies in implementing non-point source pollution management programs. It contains information on quality and economical means to reduce runoff, with the goal of this being the one easy-to-understand pollution management guide for all coastal and inland waters in the nation. The 15 listed management measures have been in use along the coasts since 1993, but they are new to inland waters. Also new are the listed Best Management Practices (BMP’s). The new BMP’s based on successful measures that marinas have taken to protect water quality, with the overly costly or unworkable BMP’s being taken out of the document. This sounds promising. You can review this document at http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/mmsp/index.html and send comments to the EPA before February 28th of 2001. We(MTS) will be reviewing and commenting, and will provide information and updates here.
Boat
Builders:
If
your small business is building boats under 20 foot and using HCFC floatation
foam (not HFC foam), read on. According to John McKnight of NMMA (202-861-1180), you may
want to be aware of EPA – Small Business Administration discord related to the
fact that EPA wants to eliminate the use of HCFC but did not properly consider
the impact on small businesses according to the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement and Flexibility Act (SBREFA). This may mean that this will be
resolved in the near future and you may be forced to change foam product. Check
with your provider and pay attention to notices and items in this newsletter
that provide new information. If your company DOES use HCFC, call me at (252)
728-2144 and I will make sure you get word.
MarineEXPO
Information on Our Website
To
view contact information on our exhibitors, sponsors, and seminar speakers,
visit our NCMTA website, found on the web at http://www.ncmta.com/ExpoInfo.htm.
This
is the time of year when marine business owners across the state get 10 minutes
to try to assess the status of their business and plan for the coming year. Here
are some suggestions, many of which utilize our personalized assistance – at
no cost, but requiring you to formally request our help. Over 70,000 North
Carolina business owners have sought our confidential management counseling
services since our inception in 1984. You can also obtain a range of assistance
by using our two main websites: www.SBTDC.org
and www.NCMTA.com.
Getting
Your Business On the Web and Using the Internet
Understanding
what is involved, what the costs are, and how you can employ
the Internet, is something you will be doing – now or when your competition
has forced you into it. Here are simple suggestions and information on what we
can do to help: contact Mike Bradley and get help analyzing what your
requirements are based on what you want to do. On your own, go to the library or
to a friend with Internet access and find
this site: http://www.sbtdc.org/e-BRG/e-BRG.htm,
which has an overview of new-to-net answers. It will help you understand the
steps to take for simple promotional sites and/or e-commerce sites.
Marketing,
Change Management, Business Assessment and Training Workshops
Successfully
used
by a hundreds of NC industry and business leaders, our tailored off-site
retreats, on-site business workshops, and focused educational seminars provide
professional and tested management and education products for businesses of all
sizes. To learn more, contact Dan Parks at (336) 299-5189 or go to http://www.sbtdc.org/mes/mes.htm.
Selling
Products and Services to Government Agencies and Internationally
More
and more boat builders and marine product providers are gaining sales and leads
by using our assistance with International Sales and Government Procurement. Our
procurement
counselors can help you line up and stay connected with Federal, State, and
Municipality buying opportunities, and our international
counseling team will help businesses
explore, identify, and enter overseas markets. For the closest counselor,
contact our headquarters office at (800) 258-0862 or at www.sbtdc.org/procure/procure.htm
and www.sbtdc.org/ibd/ibd.htm.
Cash
Flow Analysis and a Look at Where the Money Comes In and Goes Out
Analyzing
cash flow is a painful exercise, especially for non-accountants
like most business owners. Your accountant or tax person provides you the data,
but the tale told by the date isn’t always easy to understand and use. Our
business counselors help you understand what you have, where it is going and
where it comes from – with confidential assistance and suggestions. They know
how to assess trends, trouble, and tomorrow, and help you see what they see. You
can contact assistance by going through our Marine Trades Services or locating
the office nearest you at (http://www.sbtdc.org/offices/offices.htm)
or calling (800) 258-0862 to request your local office.
Need
Maritime-Specific Information, Research, Economic Data?
We
spend considerable time researching answers for North Carolina marine industry
representatives who want to know more about the competition, the regulations,
the permits, the costs, the vendors, the technology, the options, etc. For North
Carolina marine businesses to take advantage of our knowledge base and research
expertise, call Wendy Larimer at (910) 962-3351 [Wlarimer@SBTDC.org]
and visit our SBTDC Marketing Services web page at www.sbtdc.org/research/research.htm#busres
Coming
up for North Carolina marine businesses are ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEYS for
NC boatbuilders, boatyards, marinas, and related sub-contractors and vendors; INDUSTRY
INFORMATION EVENTS for Legislators and Community Leaders; WORKSHOPS for
regulators related to new EPA marina guidelines; a range of REGULATORY
UNKNOWNS including OSHA ergonomics; OSHA visits to marinas; USCG visits to
boatbuilders; confusion regarding waterfront permits due to conflicting
information from CAMA, Water Quality, Fisheries, Corps of Engineers;
boatbuilding MACT implementations for resin styrene content, carpet and adhesive
VOC, gelcoat applications, open and closed molding processes, and numerous other
manufacturing and building guidelines and rules; renewed efforts to classify
more waters as no discharge zones; new noise and wake restrictions on waterways
across the state; and many more; new PROMOTE NC BOATS AND BOATING EFFORTS,
visible through this program, www.NCWaterways.com,
and the 2001 NC DOT Boating Guide and map distribution; SEMINARS AND
WORKSHOPS on hiring, benefits, safety and communication issues associated
with non-English-speaking employees, on marine industry certification options,
and on topics responding to requested issues; and CLEAN MARINA kickoff
and implementation.