Aboard Air Force One late yesterday, President Bush signed S. 2766, "The Clean Boating Act of 2008," which permanently restores a long-standing exemption for recreational boats from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. This signing of the bill is the capstone moment of a two-year campaign to eliminate an onerous permit program for recreational boaters that would have dictated maintenance and operation procedures, potentially subjected boaters to citizen lawsuits, and put recreational boats under a penalty system designed for industrial polluters.

With the President at the signing are (left) Representatives Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH), a champion of this common sense legislation and (center) Patrick Tiberi (R-OH).

BoatU.S. has worked with the National Marine Manufacturers Association and a coalition of stakeholders as well as a bi-partisan group of House and Senate legislators. "However, the real success of this campaign rests squarely on the shoulders of this country's millions of recreational boaters and anglers," said BoatU.S. Vice President of Government Affairs Margaret Podlich. "Without their loud collective voice, we would not have reached this momentous event."