Chapter 399

2004 -- S 3201

Enacted 07/06/04

A N A C T

RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION - WATER POLLUTION

Introduced By: Senator V. Susan Sosnowski

Date Introduced: June 16, 2004

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 46-12 of the General Laws entitled "Water Pollution" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following section:

46-12-39.1. No discharge certificate decal - Required. – (a) Definitions. As used in this

section and in conjunction with this chapter, the following terms shall be construed as follows:

(1) "Boat" means any vessel or water craft whether moved by oars, paddles, sails, or

other power mechanism, inboard or outboard, or any other vessel excluding commercial vessels

or structure floating upon the water whether or not capable of self-locomotion, including house

boats, barges, and similar floating objects.

(2) “Certification agent” means a marina or boatyard which is capable of installing

sewage disposal holding tanks and related equipment; a certified marine sewage pump-out

facility, including a mobile facility; the Narragansett Bay Power Squadron; the U.S. Coast Guard;

the U.S. Coast Guard auxiliary; and local harbor masters and assistant harbor masters.

(b) No person shall operate, or moor for more than seven (7) days, a boat in the waters of

the state, other than an open boat without sleeping accommodations, unless such boat displays in

a prominent position an approved “no discharge certificate decal.”

the department of environmental management for issuance to boats subject to the requirements of

this section. Decals of one color shall signify that the recipient boat has a marine toilet, in proper

working order, which is either a marine sanitation device-type I, a marine sanitation device-type

II, or a marine sanitation device-type III with a holding tank bypass value, but the boat owner or

operator had taken the steps necessary to prevent the discharge of sewage into the waters. Decals

of the other color shall signify that the recipient boat either has a marine sanitation device-type III

without a holding tank bypass valve, or no marine toilet at all.

(d) Certification shall remain in effect for forty-eight (48) months after each certification,

and no additional certification shall be required during that period.

(e) The department of environmental management shall collect and deposit into a

separate general revenue account a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each certificate to defray the

cost of implementation of this section.

(f) Certificate decals may be obtained from any certification agent.

(g) Before a certificate decal may be issued, a certification agent must visually inspect

each marine toilet on a boat, as well as any associated plumbing or holding tank fixtures, to

ascertain whether the boat is in compliance with section 46-12-39. If necessary, the certification

agent shall perform a color-dye flush test of each toilet to verify compliance.

(h) At the time any boat equipped with a marine sanitation device-type III is issued a

certificate decal, the certification agent shall also issue a frequency compliance record card,

which shall be stamped, when sewage is pumped, by the pump-out station operator. This

document shall remain on board a boat and shown when requested during an inspection.

(i) Each boat equipped with a marine sanitation device-type III shall be pumped out

whenever it is removed from the waters for water storage purposes.

SECTION 2. Sections 46-12-40 and 46-12-41 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12

entitled "Water Pollution" are hereby amended to read as follows:

46-12-40. Penalty for violations. -- Every person in violation of section 46-12-39 or

section 46-12-39.1, or owning, operating or causing to be operated, upon the waters of the state, a

boat in violation of the provisions of section 46-12-39 or section 46-12-39.1, or aiding in so

doing, shall for the first offense be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars

($500) or be imprisoned for not more than one year in the adult correctional institutions, or both

such fine and imprisonment, and for a second and each subsequent offense shall be fined not

more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or be imprisoned for not more than one year in the adult

correctional institutions, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. If a

municipality assists in the prosecution of a violation of section 46-12-39 or section 46-12-39.1,

any fine imposed for that violation shall be paid one-half (1/2) thereof to the general treasurer of

the state and one-half (1/2) thereof to the treasurer of the town or city where the offense occurred.

46-12-41. Enforcement. – (a) The department of environmental management,

harbormasters, assistant harbormasters, police officers authorized to make arrests, and employees

of the department of environmental management authorized to enforce the provisions of chapter

22 of this title shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of section 46-12-39 and section

46-12-39.1 and in the exercise thereof shall have the authority to stop and board any vessel

subject to this chapter.

(b) Harbormasters and assistant harbormasters are authorized to make periodic color dye

flush tests of boats subject to section 46-12-39.1, and shall check such boats moored in their

jurisdictions for no discharge certificate decals, as required pursuant to section 46-12-39.1.

mooring permit from any city or town.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on June 1, 2006.

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LC03702

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