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March 2002 NC Marine TradeWinds Newsletter
Boatyard Operators-Project Your Future Revenues and Expenses
Post Your Waterfront Event, Fishing Tournament, Sailboat Race, Etc.
Post a Job Opening - Find a Job or a New Employee
NCWaterways.com now offers another FREE service to the NC marine industry. Any marine business can now post job openings under the Job Market tab of the web page. And anyone looking for a job in the marine industry can post a resume. After opening the job market tab, the user will find two sections, one for employers and one for employees. To get your information listed you need to complete a simple on-line form, which will be reviewed by the web master for legitimacy, and then posted. Anonymous postings are an available option. The only rule is that all potential employers and employees must have NC addresses. Just go to http://www.ncwaterways.com/JobMarket/.
In lieu of holding a training
seminar on Tier II, EPA has agreed to mail out information packages to all NC
marinas on why and how to report the hazardous substances at your facility. If
you do not receive this information in the next few weeks, please call Wendy
910/962-3351. The NCWaterways.com website, now has a six page instruction
and reporting form, which we’ve found to be the best method for reporting. Go
to the web page; click on the “business assistance tab”, then on “marina
& boatyard permits and rules”, and then on “Tier II for NC”. Or
click here: http://www.epa.gov/swercepp/pubs/t2-instr.doc
UST
Upgrades Make Another Appearance
If you upgraded your UST under the
rules requiring upgrades by 1998, you may have to add secondary containment to
any tanks that are near drinking wells, or high quality waters.
The NCDENR Division of Waste Management UST Section put out the following
requirements:
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UST
Systems Near Wells that Serve Public Water Supplies |
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Within
100 feet NO system allowed unless installed before 1991 and
immediately upgraded to secondary containment |
Between
100-500 feet Upgrade immediately to secondary containment OR begin
enhanced leak detection |
Beyond
500 feet Secondary containment not
required |
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UST
Systems Near Other Wells Used for Human Consumption |
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Within
50 feet No system allowed unless installed before 1991 and
immediately upgraded to secondary containment |
Between
50-100 feet Upgrade immediately to secondary containment OR begin
enhanced leak detection |
Beyond
100 feet Secondary containment not
required |
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UST
Systems Near Surface Waters Designated High Quality Water, Outstanding
Resource Water, Water Supply I, Water Supply II, or Shellfishing |
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Within
500 feet Upgrade immediately to secondary containment OR begin
enhanced leak detection |
Beyond
500 feet Secondary containment not
required |
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The deadline for installing
secondary containment will only be extended if enhanced leak detection methods
were installed or under construction by October 2000. An automatic tank gauge,
electronic line leak detector, line tightness testing for suction piping and
annual sampling are all required of enhanced leak detection, making it cost
prohibitive to many facilities. Even if you go through the cost of adding
enhanced leak detection, all tanks will be required to have secondary
containment by the year 2016. For more information call 919/733-8486 or visit http://ust.ehnr.state.nc.us/docs/TankTrendsDec01.PDF
page 5.
The good news is oil spills of 100
barrels or less, and Spill Prevention and Control Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan
violations may soon carry lower fines and require less time-consuming
administrative actions. The catch is that the fines will be non-negotiable and
will be payable within 30 days. The EPA programs
are known as SEEP I, covering SPCC violations, and SEEP II for oil spills. SEEP
I fines range from $400-$2500 depending on the type and number of violations to
the SPCC plan. (An SPCC plan is required if you store 1320 gallons aggregate of
fuel oil above ground or 660 gallons in a single aboveground tank, or 42,000
gallons underground). SEEP II fines are from $500-$5000 depending on the volume
of the oil spill. Under this expedited settlement agreement, the guilty party
has 30 days to correct the violation and pay the fine or the case will move into
a more costly and time consuming federal administrative action. One 30-day
extension can be requested in writing to EPA and will be granted for a valid
reason. This is a big improvement over fines ranging from $11,000-$137,000 plus
all the legal expenses and time needed for conducting administrative cases.
Tax
Credits Available for Research and Development
Expenses related to the creation or
redesign of products or business processes may qualify for a tax credit. The
Research and Experimentation (R&E) tax credit is a means for both federal
and state governments to invest in improvements to US made products potentially
increasing US marketability. The requirements are that improvements to products
must involve 1) uncertainty at a project’s outset; 2) technology such as
computers or engineering; and 3) use of experimentation or trial and error in
development. Costs qualifying for
the credit are wages, non-capitalized materials and supplies, and 65% of the
cost of an outside consultant for research and development. The boating industry
seems a prime candidate for this credit as it works to keep up with new
environmental regulations, and keep ahead of the competition. Talk to your tax
advisor for more details and to see if you can qualify for this reduction in
yearly taxes. This information provided by Jeff Coronado
jeff_coronado@rsmi.com of RSM McGladrey
in New Bern – 252-672-7670.
Boatyard
Operators-Project Your Future Revenues and Expenses
NCMTA has purchased software called
Break-even Analysis for Marine Repair (BAMR) to aid boat yards in determining
the minimum sales needed to cover costs. The program will also project future
revenues and expenses. The objective of the model will be to provide the user
with a simple analytic tool for year-to-year analysis of their operation. The
business plugs in costs, revenues, labor hours and rates, and the computer
program will do the calculations to determine where more should be charged, or
less should be paid to have a profitable business. One of the most revealing
features of this model is its ability to calculate what percent of hours worked
are actually billed to the customer. If you are interested in testing the model
for your business, contact Wendy 910/962-3351.
We have now activated our Waterfront Events Calendar on NCwaterways.com and you can add the events at your marina or in your region according to the event, date, and other criteria. Just go to http://www.ncwaterways.com/boating/events.htm and fill in the form.
Of Prop Guards and Recreational Marine Diesel Engine Rules
There
is current concern about proposed Department of Transportation/USCG rules (66
Fed. Reg. 237, December 10, 2001) that recommend "propeller avoidance
measures" or prop guards be installed as safety precautions for houseboats.
NMMA (National Marine Manufacturing Association) and the Houseboat
Industry Association (HIA) have submitted over 50 pages of comments from industry
representatives that negate the need for such a ruling. In short, the safety
benefits are not demonstrated, the cost of implementation is underestimated, and
the USCG failed to evaluate the significant impact that this rule will have
on small businesses. And, it is not unrealistic to assume that this could be
just "the nose of the camel in the tent" for other boats.
The
NMMA has also been busy keeping national and NC boatbuilders aware of other
issues that seem to bite at the heels of profit for the industry. NMMA is
legitimately concerned that proposed EPA rules dealing with marine diesel
engines may have a significant impact on US jobs in the boating industry. An
Economic Analysis of the Diesel Engine Rule on the U.S. Boat Market,
compiled by the NMMA statistics department, has provided strong information on
the economic influence of diesel powered boats manufactured in the USA. This
information has been submitted to the EPA in an educational effort to show the
difficulty and unnecessary industry costs of proposed and potential EPA rules
that could significantly change the way boats are built.
In its annual review of the industry, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) estimated that there were 8,100 inboard cruisers/yachts sold in the U.S. This represented about 1% of total units, but about 35% of the total dollar value for boat sales in 2001. Diesel engine installations represented 18.5% of units in the inboard segment and 63% of the value. Of the 8,100 cruisers/yachts sold domestically in 2001, this translates to an estimated 4,300 inboard boats with diesel engines, with a retail value of over $2 billion (or approximately 25% of the total value of boats sold).
This report also summarized as follows:
Domestic
Production (Source:
NMMA’s Monthly Shipment Report & Boating 2001 Report)
In
2001, an estimated 21,200 inboard boats were sold in US at retail; 13,200
ski boats, 8,100 cruisers
18%
of all inboard boats are diesel
In
the 26-foot plus range (cruisers):
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53% are diesel (4,293 boats; Boating 2001)
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73% of sales dollars are diesel: $2,021,920,700 at retail
2000
Exports/Imports (Source:
NMMA’s Import and Export Recreational Marine Abstract 1992 to 2000; US
Department of Commerce)
US
exported 2,222 inboard cruisers (25+ft) in 2000 ($134,082,000)
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The majority of these are estimated to be diesel
US
exported $215,785,000 worth of inboard marine engines (12,663 units)
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Of which 2,980 units at a value of $23,543,000 are estimated to be
diesel (23% of units, 11% of dollars)
US
imported 482 cruisers over 24 foot with a landed value of $220,214,000
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Estimated 255 were diesel with a landed value of $160,756,220
US
imported $225,581,000 worth of inboard marine engines of which $125,685,000
were diesel (56%)
For further
information about these economic studies, contact the NMMA’s Jim Petru at
312-946-6202 or jpetru@nmma.org. You can
order the economic studies through the NMMA by web: www.nmma.org/facts/publications.asp.
The Marine Trades Services is a program of the Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC). The SBTDC is a business development service of The University of North Carolina operated in partnership with the US Small Business Administration.