48
FOGHORN
a footnote; it is a direct safety warning 
from the federal agency responsible 
for the lives of the passengers and 
crews aboard these vessels. When the 
Coast Guard raises concerns about 
fire risk associated with a mandated 
technology, those concerns deserve 
careful review and coordination be-
fore implementation moves forward.
Beyond the safety concerns, serious 
legal questions have been raised re-
garding CARB’s annual compliance 
fee structure tax on vessels operating 
on navigable waters of the United 
States. As someone who works at 
Wendella Tours & Cruises in Chi-
cago, Ill.—which successfully chal-
lenged an illegal municipal waterway 
tax in court under MTSA—I can tell 
you firsthand that such fees can be 
successfully challenged. 
I encourage you to reference Section 
445 of the Maritime Transportation 
Security Act of 2002, codified as 33 
U.S.C. § 5(b), which to me is unam-
biguous. It states that no taxes, tolls, 
operating charges, fees, or any other 
impositions whatsoever may be levied 
upon a vessel operating on navigable 
waters subject to the authority of the 
United States by any non-federal in-
terest. CARB’s fee schedule—$486 
per vessel, $396 per engine, per year, 
for multi-vessel fleets. 
Some in the maritime industry have 
already filed suit. In Ryan Murray 
Partners, Inc. et al. v. California Air 
Resources Board, plaintiffs allege 
that CARB’s compliance fees violate 
the Rivers and Harbors Act and the 
California Constitution. As the legal 
challenge proceeds, I believe that our 
members should not be placed in the 
position of paying fees whose legality 
remains under active review.
U.S. ferries are already one of the most 
environmentally efficient transporta-
tion modes in existence. A single ferry 
can remove dozens—sometimes hun-
dreds—of cars from congested roads 
and bridges. The consolidated emission 
footprint of one vessel moving 400 pas-
sengers is a fraction of what those same 
individuals would produce driving in-
dividually. Ferries don’t create traffic; 
they solve it. They reduce congestion, 
improve mobility, and support cleaner 
transportation networks. 
The passenger vessel industry has made 
real, voluntary strides toward decarbon-
ization. Members are investing in hy-
brid-electric systems, exploring hydro-
gen fuel-cell technology, and upgrading 
to the cleanest available engines in an 
environment where those investments 
continue to grow more expensive.
The current regulatory framework in 
California, however, places significant 
pressure on operators to comply with 
requirements that may not yet be safe 
or practically achievable. Effective en-
vironmental policy must be grounded 
in safety, operational reality, and 
available technology. Regulations that 
cannot be safely implemented risk un-
dermining both environmental prog-
ress and the essential transportation 
services ferries provide.
California may not be the end of this 
story. Under the Clean Air Act waiver, 
California’s unique waiver authority 
allows it to set emissions standards 
stricter than federal law. If that waiver 
continues unabridged, it may well be-
come a standard for other states to fol-
low, thereby creating a patchwork of 
compliance obligations for operators 
across the county. Fourteen states, 
by some estimates, have historically 
adopted California’s vehicle emissions 
standards in whole or in part.
PVA is taking direct action. We have al-
ready written to Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee 
Zeldin urging him to revoke the Jan. 6, 
2025, waiver for CARB’s 2022 Com-
mercial Harbor Craft amendments. 
We will continue to engage directly 
with EPA leadership to make our case. 
We are also closely monitoring the legal 
concerns surrounding the compliance 
fees and evaluating additional options 
to protect PVA members in California.
PVA continues to urge EPA and Cali-
fornia regulators to revisit the waiver, 
fully consider the Coast Guard’s safety 
findings, and work with our industry 
on standards that are achievable, safe, 
and grounded in available technology.
PVA members are good stewards of 
America’s waters. We always have 
been. Our industry supports cleaner 
operations and practical environmen-
tal progress, but these goals must be 
pursued through policies that are safe, 
lawful, and grounded in the realities 
of vessel operations.
Sincerely,
Andrew Sargis
PVA President, 2026
Continued from page 4: Letter from the President
AT THE HELM

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