Airboat News
Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 - Contact your House of Representatives and tell them to VOTE NO on this ammendment.
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.
Declares that nothing in such Act shall be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of the Army or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act related to discharges: (1) composed entirely of agricultural return flows; (2) of stormwater runoff from oil, gas, and mining operations; or (3) of dredged or fill materials resulting from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities or from activities with respect to which a state has an approved program, or for the purposes of maintenance of currently serviceable structures or drainage ditches, construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds, irrigation ditches, or farm, forest, or temporary roads for moving mining equipment, or construction of temporary sedimentation basins on construction sites.
5/22/2007: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
5/23/2007: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
7/17/2007: Committee Hearings Held.
7/19/2007: Committee Hearings Held.
Osceola County Florida bans use of airboats for alligator hunting on East and West Lake Toho. Due to the baseless ban in Osceola County, the Airboat Sportsmen Legal Defense Fund has been established to legally challenge this discriminatory vessel ban on navigable waters. Fundraising is underway to fund this legal battle. They are working to achieve their mission and goals through special events, public education, media venues, forged alliances with like minded sportsmen organizations and through the legislative and legal systems.
Airboat Sportsmen Legal Defense Fund seeks to to protect, defend and advance the rich cultural heritage of Florida's airboating public, both recreational & commercial and their traditional activities of hunting, fishing, frogging, recreational boating and other endeavors involving airboats. They will promote safe boating, courteous conduct, conservation of and public access to our natural resources while encouraging development of new technologies to bring our activities into positive public acceptance. They will strive to be a liaison to other like minded sportsmen organizations for mutually beneficial purposes.
