Tuesday, August 26, 2008

More than 2,000 sign Okanagan petition against 'monster' boats

More than 2,300 Okanagan residents have signed a petition they hope will lead to higher fines and other sanctions against the owners of noisy, powerful speedboats that shatter the peace of the region every summer. The $100,000 "monster" boats emit up to 120 decibels when simply idling on Lake Okanagan, the same amount of noise as a taxiing jet, with the sound echoing off the mountains that surround the lake. The petition was started after the RCMP told Kelowna council last month that they were hamstrung by a lack of resources and strong laws to curb the noise pollution coming from boats, apart from issuing tickets with maximum fines of $115. As of yesterday afternoon, 2,330 fed-up residents had signed the online petition in the past 11 days, demanding changes to the laws that govern boat use on the lake.

The creator of the petition, which can be seen at http://www.stoptheloudboats.com, did not want to publicize his name because he feared retribution from the boat owners. He said he had a high-profile, non-governmental job in Kelowna and lived just outside the city, right on the lake. "It's a small town. I'm nervous and can't afford to go public; I have a family. A number of these boat owners consider themselves to be outlaws. I've seen a couple of comments on the petition website and a local news website from them that have been scary," he said. He said he was "knocked out" by the positive response to the petition, having started it by contacting 13 of his friends and neighbours. He said respondents came from all around the Okanagan valley, not just those living near the lake.

He said copies of the petition would be handed to municipal, provincial and federal governments in September, and to delegates at the September meeting of Union of British Columbia municipalities. Constable Gerry Guiltenane, the only RCMP officer charged with patrolling the 135-kilometre-long lake on a full-time basis, said in an interview last month that he'd clocked the boats going 120 kilometres an hour. He expressed an interest in having the worst transgressors' boats impounded. The noise is amplified when the boats are exhausting into the air, rather than underwater, and more horsepower is available when they do this, he added. Boat owners could also get around RCMP inspections on the lake by simply flipping a switch to go to the underwater mufflers. RCMP spokeswoman Julie Rattee said the police don't get involved in petitions and must enforce the laws as they stand. "I don't think you'd find a police officer that wouldn't be happy to have more to work with. The reality is that we are dealing with a small maximum fine and one RCMP patrol boat," she said. Councillor Robert Hobson of Kelowna said the city was exploring several options, including speed limits, higher fines and decibel-based noise restrictions for boat engines.

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