Link to MMTA's Archived ENews



MMTA ENews: July 27, 2006

  • CALLING ALL CERTIFIABLE DEALERS!
  • ETHANOL - ETHANOL - ETHANOL
  • NEW ENGLAND MARINE EPA ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
  • TEXT MESSAGING LEADS TO VESSEL GROUNDING
  • PYTHON EATS CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS [CFR]
  • CALENDAR OF EVENTS
  • REMINDERS & LINKS OF INTEREST


    • CALLING ALL CERTIFIABLE DEALERS!

    Hard as it is to think about the fall, MMTA has begun to plan fall training. We have asked in the past few E-News briefings whether you are interested in a Fall Marine Dealer Certification Event. So far, we have received interest from only a few: perhaps this is due to your focus on other things at this busy time of year. If you are interested in participating in an MMTA hosted Marine Dealer Certification Event in Greater Boston, please drop us a quick note to Leona.Roach@boatMA.com indicating your interest and which month is preferable. If we have enough interest, MMTA will happily coordinate a workshop with Five Star Solutions saving members the time and expense associated with out of state travel. For more information on the Marine Dealer Certification Program itself, please visit, www.mraa.com or www.growboating.org.

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    ETHANOL - ETHANOL - ETHANOL

    Mother Nature saw fit to delay the peak boating season in Massachusetts. With many of your customers just now launching and putting some running time on their engines, we are most interested in your first hand personal and professional experiences with the newly re-formulated gasoline with includes 10% ethanol.
    • Are your customers experiencing downtime as a result of the new fuel?
    • Are your customers experiencing any performance related side effects?
    • Do you recommend specific preventative measure for your customers?
    • Do you recommend any specific fuel tank additives?
    • Do you plan to implement any specific guidelines for storing vessels in the off season e.g. fuel tank levels?
    • What kinds of questions are your customers asking about ethanol?
    • How are you handling these inquiries?
    • Where are you directing your boating customers for more information?
    • What information, if any, have you given on this topic to your fuel dock staff?
    • If you sell new boats, have you received any directives from your OEMs?
    Want to share your experience (good, bad or indifferent) with ethanol use in marine engines? Why not use the MMTA Member Only News Bulletin Board to share your thoughts and experiences? Post your questions, solutions or simple musings on the issue of ethanol. The news bulletin board is an information exchange portal hosted by the MMTA for the benefit of its member firms. Responsibility for errors, omissions, opinions or misinformation is that of the individual poster: MMTA reserves the right to edit or remove inappropriate content. Whenever possible, we encourage posters to provide a link to the source document, topic or product you reference. Remember the Members Only Section at BoatMA.com includes lots and lots of information, advisories and guidelines for dealing with the potential problems attributed to this new fuel. If you haven't reviewed the information posted, we hope you will take some time to do so. There is a lot of coverage in the media and plenty of dock talk to go around on this topic-go to BoatMA.com to find research the original sources and facts issued by various authorities, regulators and officials.

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    Marine Industry Alert
    Notice of recent New England Marine Industry EPA Enforcement Actions


    In light of recent enforcement actions made public on July 26th against 5 New England Marinas & Boatyards by EPA Region 1 we are providing below a copy of the official press release issued by the EPA together with a re-print of an article written by CT Marine Trades President Ted Sailer. Mr Sailer's article, Managing Hazardous Waste, is an introduction to the Federal regulations which pertain to the management of Hazardous Waste at Marinas and Boatyards. Be advised, individual states may set more stringent standards. The article sets forth only the minimum standards set by the federal government.

    There is no doubt that the marine industry in New England-retailers, marinas, boat builders, repairers and boatyards -large and small--have been "on the radar screen" of EPA for quite some time. Many of the inspections that resulted in the enforcement actions described below originated several years ago.

    MMTA urges all members to make sure they are fully informed and up to date as quickly as possible on all of the environmental (and other) regulations and laws that pertain to operating your business. The penalties for non compliance are most severe and may potentially put some out of business entirely. MMTA Board members and staff continue to work with the New England Marine Trade Association leadership and the EPA to bring you the latest information on marine industry environmental regulations.

    Text of EPA Press Release Issued July 26, 2006.

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    TIDBITS, TIDINGS & MUSINGS….
    From the Holland & Knight Maritime newsletter -July 2006 www.hklaw.com

    Text Messaging Leads to Vessel Grounding

    The United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released the report of its investigation into the grounding of a container vessel on Trindelen Bank in the Baltic Sea on 5 January 2006. The ship grounded at night in good weather on a charted shoal. It appears that the Officer of the Watch (who had sent the lookout below) became engrossed in text-messaging on his cellular telephone and missed a planned alteration of course. Report No. 17/2006 (7/6/06).

    Python Eats Code of Federal Regulations [CFR]

    On Saturday, July 22, the Government Printing Office (GPO) announced that a 27-foot Bolivian python (an endangered species) from the National Zoo slithered into the underground vault holding the official copies of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Before it was incapacitated by numerous darts filled with strong sedatives, the snake managed to swallow Titles 33 and 46 of the CFR. It took veterinarians 12 hours to extract the important documents. In the interim, the US Coast Guard, Maritime Administration (MARAD), St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, Federal Maritime Commission, and US Army Corps of Engineers had to curtail operations for lack of authority. (7/22/06).

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    MARINE INDUSTRY EVENT CALENDAR