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| Name: |
Lakeshore
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| Subject: |
The latest on the BOAT BILL
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Date:
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4/7/2006 9:04:26 AM
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MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER
Big boat ban bill still afloat
By John Davis
Montgomery Advertiser
It's very likely that beginning in October, big speedboats won't be allowed on Lake Martin, and next July houseboats and other vessels longer than 30 feet, 6 inches will also be out.
On Wednesday, the Alabama Senate sent Gov. Bob Riley a bill to keep new houseboats and speedboats off Lake Martin, Lake Harris and Weiss Lake.
Houseboats and other vessels over 30 feet, 6 inches that are already on the lakes would be grandfathered in under the legislation that gained final passage 25-7.
"This is eminent domain on the water," said Senate Minority Leader Jabo Waggoner, R-Birmingham, who voted against the bill.
But most lawmakers disagreed.
"We are trying to balance the public's need with private needs," said Sen. Jeff Enfinger, D-Huntsville.
Boats that can go more than 60 mph and are 26 feet, 11 inches or longer would be banned, eliminating the lengthy speedboats.
Rusty Sexton owns a home on Lake Martin.
"I know of no one who has purchased a lot, then parked a house boat to live on instead of building a home," he said in an e-mail. "If a person currently owns a big boat and has it on Lake Martin, can that boat remain on Lake Martin if it is sold?"
The answer is yes. Boats on the three lakes by July can stay, but will have to be permitted annually.
Allen Plott of Eclectic has a boat that is 38 feet in length and travels up to 70 mph.
"I'm in favor of safer boating on Lake Martin. What I was recommending is putting speed limits on the lake," said Plott. "It's going to be very, very difficult to enforce. It's going to be very difficult to sell one (30-foot speedboat) around here.
"I might sell that boat and buy me a 26-foot boat that can run 120 mph."
The bill sponsored by Rep. Richard Laird, D-Roanoke, to bar big boats would exempt sailboats.
"It's a big money bill. It's driven by big money," said Rep. Mac Gipson, R-Prattville when the ban passed the House. "They want a place to put their million-dollar homes (on Lake Martin)."
People who are already living on the lakes in houseboats would be allowed to stay, but when their boats finally go under, new houseboats would be barred.
"Vessels used for law enforcement, public safety, search and rescue, scientific research, or dam operation or maintenance or medical vessels" are excluded in the bill.
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER
Apr 5, 5:52 PM EDT
Legislature votes to ban big boats from three lakes
By PHILLIP RAWLS
Associated Press Writer
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The Legislature agreed Wednesday to ban cigarette boats and new houseboats from three lakes in east Alabama, including one where developers hope to create an upscale community.
The Senate voted 24-7 Wednesday for the boat ban bill covering Lake Harris, Lake Martin and Weiss Lake. The legislation, which passed the House 67-14 last week, now goes to Gov. Bob Riley. A spokesman for the governor said he needs to study the bill before deciding whether to sign it into law.
Sen. Gerald Dial, who guided the bill through the Senate, said residents on the three lakes are concerned about them becoming as crowded as Lake Lanier near Atlanta.
"This bill is designed to maintain the quality of life on those lakes," Dial, D-Lineville, said.
The bill would ban cigarette boats by prohibiting boats more than 26 feet 11 inches long that are rated for speeds over 60 mph.
In one year, it would prohibit any new houseboats and any new motorboats longer than 30 feet, 6 inches from being put on the lakes, but those already on the lakes could remain, provided the houseboats have sanitation systems to prohibit wastes from being dumped into the lakes. The ban would not affect sailboats.
Alabama Power, which developed the three lakes, supported the legislation.
Dial and Rep. Richard Laird, D-Roanoke, began pushing the bill after developers started looking at Wedowee on Lake Harris for a possible upscale development like Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee east of Atlanta. The 10,000-acre development includes 80 miles of shoreline, golf courses, million dollar homes, and a Ritz-Carlton Lodge.
Dial said no one would invest in the project if the lake were in danger of being overcrowded or polluted.
Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, said the bill doesn't address the main noisemakers on the lakes - personal watercraft and fast fishing boats. Waggoner, who has a home on Smith Lake, said he has been awakened many times by high-speed bass boats headed to their fishing spots.
Waggoner said that if the Legislature starts banning certain types of boats, then restrictions on other types of outdoor activities, including hunting, might be next.
Residents of the three lakes visited the Legislature to support the ban.
Dick Bronson, president of Lake Watch on Lake Martin, said he's tired of cigarette boats racing on the lake.
"They are made for offshore," he said. "They will shake the fillings in your teeth. They have no business on that lake."
Kristi Bush, who lives on Lake Martin, said she supported the legislation because houseboats are illegally dumping wastes into the lake. "I'm concerned about safety," she said.
The bill originally would have covered 11 lakes developed by Alabama Power, but Dial and Laird scaled it back to three lakes because legislators representing those lakes objected.
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| Name: |
ALSCN
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| Subject: |
The latest on the BOAT BILL
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Date:
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4/7/2006 9:12:30 AM
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Okay, read at the bottom of the article, how are houseboats dumping waste into the water? By law they must have sanitation systems.
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| Name: |
WSMS
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| Subject: |
So?
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Date:
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4/7/2006 11:56:33 AM
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Does the phrase "breaking the law" ring any bells?
I'm not saying that all of these boats are breaking the law, or even that any of them are. (And I'm including "having sanitation systems" and "using them" as one and the same.) But this is one of those unfortunate instances where, if one person is doing something, everyone in the same boat (so to speak) is going to go down with him.
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