JUNE 2017 • FOGHORN 5 LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR John Groundwater Coast Guard Issues and Safety Matters Eric Christensen Director of Regulatory Affairs and Risk Management 1-800-807-8360 ext. 26 echristensen@passengervessel.com Coast Guard and Regulatory Issues Peter Lauridsen Regulatory Affairs Consultant 1-757-495-2545 peterlauridsen@msn.com Membership, Public Relations and Security Issues Jennifer Wilk Director, Public Affairs and Development 1-800-807-8360 ext. 24 jwilk@passengervessel.com PVA Green WATERS Program Karen Rainbolt Managing Editor, FOGHORN 1-571-388-7752 pvafoghorn@aol.com PVA Legal Hotline Steven Bers 1-410-347-8724 sbers@wtplaw.com I heartily encourage you to contact any of these highly experienced PVA staff for their assistance. PVA Green WATERS Program Customer demands for green practices are continually growing. As a result, businesses are adapting their opera- tions to include socially and environmentally responsible practices. Have you considered evaluating your company’s green practices lately? And, do you know that PVA has a voluntary program, called the PVA Green WATERS Program, that as a PVA member you can take advantage of immediately? PVA Green WATERS is voluntary program that allows PVA members to easily adopt and/or expand environmentally friendly practices, which often result in saving money and generating positive impressions with customers, employees, media, and the community at-large. The program offers you a “Best Green Business Practices” manual that will efficiently guide you through the often complex world of “Green” environmentalism. Through the use of case studies and concrete examples that are tailored specifically to the passenger vessel Making Progress for the Passenger Vessel Industry As you may know, PVA held a highly suc- cessful Congressional Fly-In in Washington D.C. this past April. PVA members and staff participated in more than 30 meetings with Members of Congress and their key staff. The goal was to focus Congressional attention on PVA’s legislative priorities for 2017 and beyond. This year, we urged our lawmakers to support the small vessel exemption from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Vessel General Permit (VGP), to repeal the requirement for operators to begin keeping “official logbooks,” to allow more passenger vessel operators to take advantage of the Capitol Construction Fund, to increase funding for ferries and to fund and to reauthorize the Small Shipyard Grant Program. 2017 Coast Guard Authorization Bill I am pleased to tell you that less than a month after the PVA Congressional Fly-In, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the 2017 Coast Guard Authorization Bill. In that bill are three things that we lobbied for during the PVA Congressional Fly-In: the “official logbook” revision, continuation of the small shipyard grants program and an exemption from the VGP for small commercial vessels and all commercial fishing vessels. This is a very positive step and PVA will be actively engaged as this measure progresses through the legislative process. As you can see, the PVA Congressional Fly-In offers very real dividends for PVA members as it provides an opportunity to shape policy in our Nation’s Capital. I hope that you will join us next year for this important PVA event. Services Especially for PVA Members As many PVA members gear-up for their seasonal op- erations, please remember that PVA staff is available to assist you in answering your most pressing operational questions. PVA staff has broad expertise that encompass- es Coast Guard inspections and regulatory matters, leg- islation, security and legal matters. In addition, PVA staff can provide you with a variety of crew training tools and materials to enhance your risk management programs We stand ready to serve you. For your reference, following is a list of PVA staff members and their contact information: Legislative Matters Edmund Welch Legislative Director 1-800-807-8360 ext. 27 ewelch@passengervessel.com LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CONTINUED ON PAGE 38