Meetings & Notices

Status of the 1998 Jet Ski Bill

In the 1999 spring newsletter of the Shore Owners' Association of Lake Placid, a jet ski "laws" report offered some new information on the status of the 1998 Jet Ski bill passed last summer. Although local governments may not attempt to regulate jet ski use on water bodies due to NY State Navigation Law, section 49, 1-a.a. of that law has been amended, to be enforced as of January 1, 2000, to restrict inexperienced use of jet skis. "No person shall operate a personal watercraft or specialty prop-craft (on NY State navigable waters)...unless the operator is holder of, or is accompanied on the vessel by (at least 18 years of age) holder of a boating safety certificate issued by the commissioner, US power squadrons, the US Coast Guard...as a result of completing a course approved by the commissioner." The article goes on to say that "the age increases to 23 for 2001, 27 for 2002...by 2004 every driver will be required to have a boating safety certificate to operate a jet ski", but is unclear as to what the age refers to.

Click Here to View a Summary Report from "The State of the St. Lawrence Fishery" Workshop
Seaway Pilots Tell 1000 Islands Community: Navigation and River at Risk from Fatigue On Thursday, September 10, concerned River residents gathered with officials of the US Coast Guard, Canadian Transportation Safety Board, local and state government, and media at Bonnie Castle in Alex Bay to hear the findings of a 1996-1997 study on pilot fatigue and current pilot management in the St. Lawrence Seaway Pilots Association (SLSPA). The study, conducted and presented by Human Factors Group (HFG) out of Maryland, collected surveys of the 8 SLSPA working pilots and their spouses, as well as ship incident reports from the Canadian Seaway Authority and Coast Guard Marine Inspection Office, and numerous communications with the SLSDC. The results would determine whether current St. Lawrence pilot management was meeting the demands of the job and the safety of navigation and environment.		Operating on an obstacle course: Pilots have a lot of work to do bringing a vessel out of a lock. Weather, traffic, and fatigue make the turns and maneuvers of the St. Lawrence Seaway even more difficut.
The St. Lawrence Seaway Pilots Association is currently regulated by the Office of Great Lakes Pilotage within the United States Coast Guard, headquartered in Washington, DC. Pilots’ working rules are approved by the Director of Great Lakes Pilotage in the US Coast Guard. The pilots and the Human Factors Group contend that the Seaway pilots’ working rules have at times violated work/rest regulations mandated by certain federal maritime laws. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 allows for up to 36 hours to be worked in any 72 hour period, according to HFG, or roughly 12 hours per day. In 1997, pilots worked 12 hour shifts or longer 18% of the time. The average pilot shift spent "on the bridge" was 11.04 hours, according to the HFG study for 1997. The pilots are concerned that fatigue has in the past and will in the future contribute to a major shipping incident and environmental catastrophe. At the public meeting, questions arose: Why aren’t more pilots hired to relieve overworking? The Coast Guard must approve pilot numbers and choice of pilots, according to one pilot. Had the US Coast Guard reacted to the report? Rear Admiral Robert North had seen the report and "agreed in substance with the data used" but then "weren’t sure…agreed with the conclusions" (The HFG solutions to the fatigue problem were to make capital improvements to facilities and equipment available for pilots, "split" the present St. Lawrence pilotage district (from Snell Lock to Cape Vincent) to reduce the long hours "on the bridge", and change pilot work/rest hours to follow Canadian pilot guidelines). According to the pilots, the Coast Guard responded: "your accident rates don’t show that you need help". Time of day, degree of restfulness, and intensity of stress involved in a job can affect performance, according to brain activity research and charts devised from pilot information. In individuals on "normal" schedules, alertness drops significantly during night and early morning hours, and again in mid afternoon; however pilots must work and be alert at any time of the day or night. Pilots may not be getting adequate rest between jobs. The St. Lawrence Seaway Pilots Association concluded the public meeting by urging River residents to write their concerns to the following officials, or to request and act on a review committee of current pilot management under the US Coast Guard and St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. They also urged the community to require more information on navigation safety than is currently being shared; saying, "you’re being kept in the dark".
Congressman John McHugh Suite 2441 Rayburn House Office Bldng. Washington, DC 20515 www.house.gov/writerep	Capt. Thomas Gilmore USCG Director of Field Activities, Marine Safety & Environmental Protection 2100 2^nd St. SW Washington, DC 20593-0001
USCG Headquarters Great Lakes Pilotage (G-MO) 2100 2^nd St. SW Washington, DC 20593 Attn: Mr. Frank Flyntz, Director	Rear Admiral Robert C. North USCG Asst. Commandant for Marine Safety & Environmental Protection 2100 St. SW Rm 2408 Washington, DC 20593-0001

Minutes from Save The River Board Meetings:	September 10, 1999	August 12, 1999
	July 15, 1999	June 20, 1999
	May 30, 1999	April 1999
	February 7, 1999	July 17, 1998
	October 10, 1998	August 8, 1998
	September 5, 1998	June 28, 1998