Environmental

Dear RIMTA Members, Marina Owner/Operator,

Last year The Rhode Island Marine Trades Association negotiated an extended deadline for the implementation of Pressure Wash Water Discharge elimination. This was done to permit the development of new methodologies for treatment. The agreement requires RIMTA to hold a series of workshops to inform marina owner/operators of what is required and what technologies are now available to fulfill the requirements of the regulations.

The New Deadline is January 1, 2011

The Environmental Protection Agency said it would probably increase the amount of ethanol that gasoline retailers could blend into ordinary fuel to 15 percent if tests show the blend would not damage cars.

More: http://tinyurl.com/yar2wka

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it needs more time to decide whether to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline up to 15 percent.

More: http://tinyurl.com/yzo8azn

FALL RIVER - A proposal for an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Fall River’s Mount Hope Bay was approved by the U.S. Coast Guard yesterday, The Herald News reported.

According to The Herald News, the Coast Guard’s approval was affirmed in a letter of recommendation from Raymond J. Perry, the Coast Guard captain of the port for southeast New England, to Kimberly D. Bose, secretary of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

More: http://tinyurl.com/kpwmec

BRISTOL — The slab of foot-wide wood beams and iron fittings weighs 9 tons and would fill the bottom half of a single-car garage. It is called a camel and was once used as a fender for naval vessels. Now it is on display at the Bristol Marine marina as an example of what a newly revived effort to clean up Narragansett Bay can accomplish.

More: http://tinyurl.com/o6p8o6

A bill headed to the U.S. House of Representatives calls for a study of blended fuels in marine applications.

H.R. 2652, the Maritime Safety Act of 2009, is sponsored by Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., and Section 23 of the bill calls for the study. The bill received a favorable report from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which is chaired by Oberstar.

Source: Soundings trade Only

More: http://tinyurl.com/nvvpfd

News Release
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade St., Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 www.dem.ri.gov

For Release: June 8, 2009

Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402

DEM ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR BOAT PUMPOUT FACILITIES UNTIL JULY 6

$300,000 in Federal Clean Vessel Act Funds is Now Available

[see link to application at bottom of page]

PROVIDENCE — The Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that would reorganize and possibly rejuvenate the troubled Coastal Resources Management Council — the state agency that exercises vast powers over activities on Rhode Island’s coastline. And this time, Governor Carcieri is supportive.

Source: Providence Journal

More: http://tinyurl.com/mngavc

The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to make an important and far-reaching decision this year that will affect more than 500 million gasoline engines powering everything from large pickups to family cars to lawn mowers: whether to grant the ethanol industry’s request to raise the maximum amount of ethanol that can be added to gasoline.

Source: New York Times

More: http://tinyurl.com/nqzfu2

The ocean is getting crowded: Fishermen are competing with offshore wind projects, oil rigs along with sand miners, recreational boaters, liquefied gas tankers and fish farmers. So a growing number of groups -- including policymakers, academics, activists and industry officials -- now say it's time to divvy up space in the sea.

Source: The Washington Post

More: http://tinyurl.com/cv5lxa