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May 2002 NC Marine TradeWinds Newsletter
Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Money Available for Boating Facilities-Deadline July 1
NC Products and Services Promoted at Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show
Photos of NCwaterways Waterfront Event: NCYRA Sailboat Races, May 2002
Doug
Hoffman – Remembered and Missed Industry Leader
The North Carolina and national boating
and recreational fishing communities have lost a friend and tireless worker for
their causes. Doug Hoffman, Grady-White Boats, leaves a legacy of service to the
boatbuilding industry through years of proven leadership and effort in support
of logical and realistic regulatory and recreational fishing legislation. Doug,
43, started with GW in 1978 and grew to become the key person responsible for
OSHA safety, environmental regulations, plant expansion and security for the
company.
Doug’s meticulous work for the
NMMA’s Environmental Committee, his 10 years of assistance on articles for
this NC Marine TradeWinds and his open, “on
call” availability to any NC boat builder with a question will be missed and
remembered. He was instrumental in our industry’s response to proposed
ergonomics standards, presenting testimony at both the state and federal level.
He provided years of assistance and guidance, helping EPA officials understand
the complexities and costs of proposed, and often damaging MACT rules. During
industry-crippling NC floods three years ago, Doug set up a one-man emergency
and response office that saved GW and its employees countless downtime and
untold hardships.
As a recreational boater and fisherman,
Doug was a member of the GW Saltwater Team, worked with sports writers,
photographers and boat design specialists in promotion of the company’s
fishing programs and was a dedicated advocate and worker for the NC Coastal
Conservation Association (CCA). Memorial contributions may be made to the CCA of
North Carolina, Suite 217, Raleigh, NC 27612.
Boating
Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Money Available for Boating Facilities-Deadline July
1
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has
announced a total of $9 million in grants to help improve docking facilities for
recreational transient, non-trailerable boats along the navigable waterways of
the United States. The grants are part of the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG)
program authorized by the Sportfishing and Boating Partnership Act of 1998 and
funded by excise taxes on motorboat fuel. The BIG program provides states with
funding for mooring buoys, day-docks, transient slips, safe harbor facilities
(including temporary safe anchorage or a harbor of refuge during a storm),
floating and fixed piers and breakwaters, dinghy docks, restrooms, retaining
walls, bulkheads, dockside utilities, pumpout stations, trash collections and
recycling facilities, dockside electric, water and telephone capabilities,
navigational aids and marine fueling stations.
BIG program funds are distributed each
year over a four-year period. To ensure that each state gets a share, funding is
provided on a two-tiered basis. For tier one grants, all states get at least
$100,000 per grant cycle as long as their proposals meet the program's
guidelines. Second-tier projects are designated for larger, more expensive
projects and are awarded on a nation-wide competitive basis.
BIG transient facilities must be built
in waters deep enough for boats 26 feet and larger to navigate at a minimum of
six feet of depth at low tide. One-time dredging will be allowed to provide
access between open water and a tie-up facility.
For more information about grant
availability in North Carolina's coastal waters, please contact Maury Wolff,
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, by mail at P.O. Box 769, Morehead
City, NC 28557; by phone at 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632;or via e-mail at
maury.wolff@ncmail.net. The deadline for applications is July1, 2002.
Pressure
Washing Issue Reappearing
Another
NC marina has been cited for pressure washing boats too close to the water and
for not having a “proper” treatment system. During the facility visit, a
Division of Water Quality (DWQ) representative noticed that the business was
scraping and sandblasting boats directly over the ground in a manner that
allowed rain to wash paint and sand debris into the marina basin. While fines
will not be levied, the marina will be asked to solve the problem, since
knowingly allowing pollutants into waterways is a violation of the Clean Water
Act.
When
DWQ was asked what options marinas have for treatment, they responded that
marinas had to meet the state water quality standards using whatever methods
they could. The DWQ favored method is a cement pad where large debris is
captured and swept up, and polluted water is drained into a filter system and
recycled. DWQ informed us that site
visits to check on this type of violation would likely become more frequent.
Marina and boatyard owners/managers should, at the very least, make sure tarps
are placed under boats undergoing this type of cleaning or treatment. This is a
simple and inexpensive way to demonstrate that the business is aware of the boat
debris problem and is working to keep a clean yard.
Homeland
Defense Program – Extensive Boat Purchases Likely
Federal domestic funding for homeland
security is expected to top $42 billion in FY 2003 and will be routed through at
least 14 different federal agencies in 45 programs.
One of the security funding objectives is rumored to be to the purchase
of thousands of “tough and unsinkable” boats to be used by federal and state
agencies across the country. Coastal states with international ports will
obviously fare well.
Our SBTDC Government
Procurement Program (sister program to our NC Marine Trades Services) is
tracking the rulemaking related to this funding and expects the information to
be available soon. NC boatbuilders wanting information can keep track in two
ways. One is to call Tom Elam in our Raleigh office (919-715-7272) and the other
is to keep watch on our www.NCwaterways.com
Business Assistance tab for updated ticker information scrolling across
the screen. There will be a $500 – $700 training conference for company
representatives on all related funding held in Arlington VA on June 18. For a
full description: www.ncwaterways.com/BusinessAssistance/PTAC/HomelandDefenseFundingConference.htm
.
Coming
Soon to Your Business Door
Brad Smith, a senior recreation major
at UNC Wilmington, is interning with us this summer. He will be visiting
statewide marinas and boatyards gathering information on businesses, and the
sub-contractors that provide services to these businesses. We will be adding
this information to our Services for Boaters section on the www.NCwaterways.com
website. He will also be confirming that your business is correctly listed on
our webpage.
NC
Products and Services Promoted at Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show
The www.NCwaterways.com
will sponsor a booth at the Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show (MAATS)
June 3-6 in Las Vegas. This event brings together nearly 300 national and
international aftermarket marine product providers and gives us an opportunity
to introduce our statewide support of marine businesses. It also allows us to
promote NC businesses that provide products and materials to the statewide,
national and international marine industry. We currently have a database of over
150 of these businesses, but are daily adding more. If your NC business provides
products, services or materials used in the marine trades, go to the Products
and Services for Industry tab and add your company’s information, or edit
your existing company’s data.
Four-State
MarineEXPO Set for Norfolk - Plan Ahead
Put the
NC /SC / GA / VA
MarineEXPO on your calendar for November 10-12, 2002.
Photos of the 2002 NCYRA Sailboat Race Event, May 2002
From the NCwaterways Waterfront Events calendar:
CLICK HERE: http://www.ncwaterways.com/ncyra/ncyra1.htm
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.