Chapter
045
2006 -- S 2991 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 06/02/06
A N A C T
RELATING TO WATERS
AND NAVIGATION -- WATER POLLUTION
Introduced By: Senators Paiva-Weed, Sosnowski, and Lenihan
Date Introduced: April 04,
2006
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 46-12-39.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12 entitled "Water
Pollution"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
46-12-39.1.
No discharge certificate decal -- Required. [Effective June 1, 2006.] --
(a)
Definitions.
- As used in this section and in conjunction with this chapter, the following
terms
shall be
construed as follows:
(1) "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; other
established marine businesses, included but not limited to
marine
surveyors and mobile marine repair facilities, that are experienced in the
evaluation, repair
and/or
installation of boat sewage systems;
and local harbor masters and assistant harbor masters.
(b) No person shall operate or moor for more than thirty (30) days, a boat in
the waters
of the
state, other than an open boat without sleeping accommodations or any
vessels for hire
licensed
by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry six (6) or more passengers, that has a permanently
installed
marine toilet unless such boat
displays in a prominent position an approved "no
discharge
certificate decal."
(c)
Subsection 45-12-39.1(b) shall not apply to any vessel carrying a valid
certificate of
inspection
issued by the U.S. Coast Guard pursuant to title 46 of the U.S. Code.
(c)(d) Two (2) no discharge certificate decals, differing in
color, shall be made available
by 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
of the state. 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.
(i)
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 and through-hull
fitting that would
allow
sewage to be discharged overboard, but the boat owner or operator had taken the
steps
necessary
to prevent the discharge of sewage into the waters of the state.
(ii)
Decals of the other color shall signify that the recipient boat either has a
marine
sanitation
device-type III with a holding tank and no through-hull fitting that would
allow sewage
to be
discharged overboard, or no marine toilet at all.
(d)(e) Certification shall remain in effect for forty-eight (48)
months after each
certification,
and no additional certification shall be required during that period.
(e)(f) 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)(g) Certificate decals may be obtained from any certification
agent.
(g)(h) Before a certificate decal may be issued, a certification
agent must visually inspect
each permanently
installed 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)(i) For inspections conducted pursuant to this section, certification
agents may collect
and
retain a fee, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each permanently
installed marine
toilet
aboard each boat. This fee shall be in addition to the minimum ten dollar
($10.00) fee for
each
decal issued, which certification agents shall collect and forward to the
department of
environmental
management pursuant to subsection (e)(f) above.
(i) 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, by the pump-out station operator, or in the event of remote
sewage
removal,
the station operator or pump-out boat operator shall issue a receipt to be
attached to the
compliance
record card, when sewage is pumped. This documentation, which may include one
or
more
cards or receipts, shall remain on board a boat and shown when requested during
an
inspection.
This subsection shall not apply to any boats that discharge solely outside the
waters of
the
state.
SECTION
2. Section 3 of Chapter 338 and 399 of the 2004 Public Laws entitled "An
Act
Relating
to Waters and Navigation – Water Pollution" are hereby amended as follows:
SECTION
3. This section and section 1 of this act shall take effect on June 1, 2006;
Section
2 of this act shall take effect on June 1, 2007.
SECTION
3. Section 46-12-40 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12 entitled "Water
Pollution"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
46-12-40.
Penalty for violations. [Effective June 1, 2006.] -- (a) 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.
(b) Every person in violation of 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-
39.1,
shall be guilty of a civil violation and subject to a fine of up to one hundred
dollars ($100).
If a
municipality assists in the prosecution of a violation of 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.
(c)
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the municipal court shall
have
concurrent
jurisdiction with the district court to hear and adjudicate violations under
this chapter.
SECTION
4. Section 46-12-41 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12 entitled "Water
Pollution"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
46-12-41.
Enforcement. [Effective June 1, 2006.] -- (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 In the
exercise thereof of enforcing the
provisions
of section 46-12-39 they 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 may check
such boats moored in their
jurisdictions
for no discharge certificate decals, as required pursuant to section
46-12-39.1.
(c) Any boat not in compliance with section 46-12-39.1 shall not be allowed
to receive a
mooring
permit from any city or town. Municipalities
of the state may deny a mooring permit to
any
boat not in compliance with section 46-12-39.1.
SECTION
5. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02890/SUB A
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