News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 24, 2005

Town of Orland Defeats Proposed Personal Watercraft Ban

Residents of Orland voted overwhelmingly to allow
personal watercraft on Rocky Pond

Contact:
Brian Berry, 202-777-3524

Washington, DC— Residents of Orland , Maine voted earlier this week, by an overwhelming margin of 2-1, to allow personal watercraft (PWC) operation on Rocky Pond. The final vote count of 56-27 defeated a proposed ordinance to ban PWC on the waters of Rocky Pond. This vote is evidence of the strong local support for equal access to waterways for all boaters.

“This overwhelming vote in favor of personal watercraft use on Rocky Pond will, hopefully, put this issue to rest for good,” stated Maureen Healey, Executive Director of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association. “It’s clear that the majority of local residents realize that there is no reason to ban personal watercraft from waters that allow other motorboats. The proposed ban was based on bias and discrimination from a minority of waterfront property owners who have come to believe that they also own the pond. This isn’t the case and it’s a good thing that bias will not rule the day in this instance,” said Healey.

The Town’s Selectmen are preparing to send a letter to the State Legislature to inform elected state officials of the vote in favor of continued PWC use on Rocky Pond.

Multiple recent studies have shown that there is no reason to prohibit the use of PWC on waterways that allow other types of motorized recreation. In the past three years, fourteen national parks have conducted environmental assessments of personal watercraft and each study has concluded that PWC use should be allowed. Modern PWC are among the most environmentally friendly motorized vessels on the water today and most already meet the EPA’s 2006 marine engine emissions standards. As a result of remarkable technological advancements, today’s PWC are 75% cleaner and 70% quieter than those produced before 1998.

Personal watercraft manufacturers have monitored this issue in the Town of Orland , as well as other issues in Maine facing personal watercraft and the families that use them. Recently, PWIA announced its opposition to a proposed state law that would reduce the state’s minimum age requirement for personal watercraft use to 12 years of age. The existing age requirement of 16 years old is a policy that PWC manufacturers support.

In addition to a minimum age requirement of 16, PWIA also advocates for states to adopt other reasonable regulations such as mandatory boating safety education for all PWC users, a rental age requirement of 18, and sunset curfews. These are fair measures that help to make waterways safer without depriving all boaters of equal access to a public waterway.

“The residents of Orland have made it clear that a discriminatory ban on Rocky Pond is not only uncalled for but also unacceptable,” Healey concluded.