Adobe StockThe National Marine Manufacturers Association has asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reopen the docket for the proposed expansion of the North Atlantic right whale vessel speed regulations.
During a meeting with the Office of Management and Budget, NMMA president and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer discussed the boating industry’s opposition to the expansion of the rule.
“I come before you today to request that NOAA withdraw the rule and instead reopen the docket to conduct further analysis and additional public comment on this critical issue,” Hugelmeyer said in the statement.
“In particular, we believe it is incumbent upon the agency, under the Administrative Procedure Act, to first consider technological advancements that can reduce whale-strike risk without the proposed rule’s significant safety, operational, economic and privacy consequences — consequences that have been recorded clearly in the public comment process.”
Hugelmeyer said the NMMA has discovered that many small businesses that could be affected by the proposed rule were unaware of the changes until after the close of the comment period. “As an example, one of several small-business manufacturers that only makes recreational boats reports a total of 60 boats in current dealer inventory of 35 feet and above,” Hugelmeyer said.
The rule would limit vessel speeds along much of the Eastern Seaboard and include boats as small as 35 feet.
If the proposed rule goes into effect, the NMMA contends that “future orders will dramatically slow or worse, even cease, which will impact jobs, manufacturers and suppliers in Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and other states.”
Click here to voice opposition to the proposed speed rule.
