Weekly 5: EPA increases ethanol requirements
The BI Weekly 5 is a collection of tips, news and data affecting the boating industry this week. Be sure to look for the BI Weekly 5 every Tuesday on BoatingIndustry.com.
1. EPA increases ethanol requirements
More ethanol will be making its way into the nation’s fuel after the EPA issued volume obligations for 2014, 2015 and 2016 under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
The new levels call for about 18 billion gallons for 2016, an increase from earlier proposals, but lower than originally called for in the 2007 law.
While far from a worst-case scenario, it was still a setback for the marine industry, which has lobbied hard for lower levels.
2. Boatbound sued by injured boater
Boatbound — one of the growing number of peer-to-peer boat rental companies — is being sued by a boater who was injured while using a boat rented through the service.
Edyta Regnowski was injured by the propeller when she attempted to retrieve a tube blown overboard, and eventually had to have her leg amputated. She is suing Boatbound for “negligence and fraudulent inducement into a contract” and seeking $1.5 million in medical costs, $20 million for pain and suffering and other punitive damages.
She is also suing the boat owner and the person that was driving the boat at the time.
3. New York offering $2 million in grants to combat AIS
The state of New York is ramping up its efforts to battle aquatic invasive species with $2 million in grants available to local groups.
Grants are available in amounts of $25,000 to $100,000.
4. Missouri drunk boating arrests plummet after highway, water patrols merge
Arrests for drunken boating on Missouri waterways have fallen by 63 percent since the Missouri State Water Patrol merged with the Highway Patrol in 2011, the Associated Press reported.
The merger was designed to save money by combining operations, but a report from state lawmakers released earlier this year said that it resulted in less training for troopers working on state waterways and noted that response times and visibility of marine troopers dropped when the water patrol was merged with the Highway Patrol
5. Atlanta Boat Show to feature more sail
Organizers of the Atlanta Boat Show, one of the largest in the country, plan to bring in more dealers and events to entice sail boat buyers, Lakeside News reported.
“One of our goals is to get more sailboats and seminars for sailors into the show over the next several years,” Kevin Murphy of the NMMA told the paper.
