FEBRUARY 2001 NC Marine TradeWinds Newsletter
A
Memorandum of Agreement was made between the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and
the Coast Guard to establish a formal process for Coast Guard evaluation and
recommendation on permits for existing structures or new projects. Structures
include: piers, docks, boat ramps, wharfs, dolphins, weirs, booms, breakwaters,
bulkheads, moorings, riprap, jetties, pilings, and any other potential obstacles
to navigation. The goal is to allow the Coast Guard to address port and waterway
safety concerns associated with structures in or near navigable waters.
While
the Coast Guard has always been able to make comments during the public review
of permit applications, they were never formally invited to do so, and many
public comment times slipped by. Now the Coast Guard will receive a copy of the
permit application directly and complete a risk assessment of the proposed
project if they deem it necessary. The Coast Guard must notify the COE within 10
days if a risk assessment is warranted and the assessment must be completed
within 30 days of the date of public notice. If future changes in traffic
pattern or marine casualties in the vicinity of the permitted project occur, the
Coast Guard can re-evaluate the project and approach the COE if modifications to
the permitted structure are recommended.
NCMTA
and NC Marine Trades Services, in conjunction with Stellar Sales Training, are
sponsoring the Marine Industry Certification (MIC) sales seminar, “Natural
Selling Concepts”. This 16-hour selling seminar was designed for boat dealers
and sales personnel and covers all aspects of selling boats – from
prospecting, to closing, to sales growth, and it provides attendees with credit
time towards the national MIC certification. Stellar Sales Training guarantees
their program with money given back if individuals are not convinced they will
quickly achieve excellent results.
The 2-day registration is $249 for NCMTA members and $275 for non-members. Bring more than two people and the rates are discounted. Registration and course information are available by calling (800) 480-5482. This training will be held March 26-27 at the Brownstone Hotel (919) 828-0811 in Raleigh where the room rate is $69.00. Boat sales businesses should receive an application soon – check your mail or register by phone. Additional information is also available on our website - Boat Sales Seminar.
The
only way to define legal and non-legal No Wake Zone signs is by written rule.
Anyone can put up a No Wake Zone sign, but if it is not legal it is viewed as
a courtesy zone.
Those
stopped for not obeying No Wake Zones can only be issued warnings and not
citations unless they are repeat offenders.
One
out of every 6 jobs in the US is marine-related
One
third of the GDP is produced in coastal areas through fishing, transportation
or recreation.
Coastal
states earn 85% of all tourism dollars
The
US Marine Transportation System is used annually by 20,000,000 recreational
vessels or 77,000,000 recreational boaters who spend 17 billion dollars
The
US Coast Guard is running a Preparedness for Response Exercise Program on oil
spills in Wilmington, in back of the Coast Line Inn on March 21 and 22nd.
As part of this they are offering an observer program, where anyone can sign up
to see how the Coast Guard confines and cleans up an oil spill. Besides the in
water clean up, the Tri-state Bird Rescue and US Fish and Wildlife Service will
be on hand to conduct wildlife response and training. To be an observer contact
Bob Scruggs or Kerry Field at the Coast Guard office 910-772-2206 or
910-772-2207.
So
much for the Boating Infrastructure Grant Program. We told you last month that
it was moving ahead and proposals would be accepted beginning this month.
Scratch that. President Bush has tabled the program for 60 days for review, but
with the US Fish and Wildlife Services still lacking a chief, it looks like BIG
Program could be back on the shelf for quite some time.
The National Marine
Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has asked its members to urge the US Senate to
reject the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) ergonomics
regulation. The extensive ergonomics program is for "general" industry
to prevent musculoskelotal disorders. OSHA's final ergonomics regulation is the
most far-reaching and costly rule in the agency's history and makes employers
liable for complaints aggravated, but not caused by, work, according to the
NMMA. The concern is that the 'Favored injury' status attached to the regulation
may override existing Workers' Compensation laws and create a "most-favored
injury" status for ergonomics. According to NMMS, manufacturers have
estimated this regulation will cost companies at least US$6.7 billion in the
first year.
Following up on last months article in the NC Marine
TradeWinds newsletter, the Federal statutes that authorize the U. S. Coast
Guard to regulate the manufacture of recreational boats appear in Title
46, United States Code and the safety standards and regulations
applicable to manufacturers of recreational boats and associated equipment are
found in Title
33 of the Code of Federal Regulations and in Title
46 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
These
regulations govern the design and construction of recreational boats and include
manufacturer certification, identification of boats, display of capacity
information, safe loading, safe powering, flotation, electrical systems, fuel
systems, ventilation, start-in-gear protection, navigation lights, and backfire
flame control. These will come into play when the USCG begins inspections of
boat builders – scheduled in this calendar year. A written warning will be
provided if you are to be inspected.
Marinas, coastal businesses and tourism agencies can
order case lots of the Coastal Boating Guides over the internet by going to the
Bulk or Commercial section of the Order Map section of the NCWaterways
website or directly to the following web address: http://icw.net/maps/nc/order/
or you can call 1-877-368-4968.
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or Mike at 252/728-2144 mbradley@sbtdc.org.