Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today made the following remarks following the Committee's approval of S. 2766, the Clean Boating Act of 2008.

Senator Boxer said: "The Clean Boating Act approved today by the Environment and Public Works Committee provides a balanced approach, protecting our waters from pollution while minimizing the burden on recreational boaters. I applaud Senator Bill Nelson for his leadership on this issue."

S. 2766, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, establishes a system to meet the needs of recreational boaters while ensuring that the nation's waters are protected from pollution. Under the Act, the EPA must develop practices and standards to mitigate any observed harm from discharges that are incidental to the normal operations of recreational vessels, and the bill requires the Coast Guard to issue regulations for such practices on recreational vessels. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced the bill, which has 32 bipartisan cosponsors.

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