BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1323
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1323
(Frazier) - As Amended April 6, 2015
SUBJECT: Marine debris: removal and disposal
SUMMARY: Streamlines the process for a public agency that
removes marine debris, as defined.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Pursuant to the Public Resources Code:
a) Authorizes the State Lands Commission (SLC) to remove
vessels located on state lands:
i) By immediate action, without notice, if a vessel is
left unattended and is moored, docked, beached, or made
fast to land in a position that obstructs the normal
movement of traffic or in a condition that creates a
hazard.
ii) By immediate action, without notice, if the vessel
poses a significant threat to public health, safety, or
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welfare or to sensitive habitat, wildlife, or water
quality, or that constitutes a public nuisance.
iii) After a 30-day notice period, as specified, any
vessel that has been placed on state lands without the
permission of SLC.
iv) Requires SLC to notify an owner, if known, by mail
of any removals and authorizes SLC to dispose of the
vessel after 30 days if not claimed.
b) Authorizes SLC to remove and dispose of an abandoned or
derelict vessel on a navigable waterway that is not under
the jurisdiction of SLC, if requested by the public entity
that has regulatory authority over the area in which the
vessel is located.
c) Defines "vessel" as:
i) A vessel, boat, raft, or similar watercraft;
ii) A buoy, anchor, mooring, or other ground tackles
used to secure a vessel, boat, raft, or similar
watercraft; or,
iii) A hulk, derelict, wreck, or parts of a ship, vessel,
or other watercraft.
2)Pursuant to the Harbors and Navigation Code:
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a) Requires the sheriff of any county in which wrecked
property is found, when no person entitled to the
possession appears, to take possession of it, have it
independently appraised, and safely store it for the owner.
Establishes timelines and guidelines for managing wrecked
property that is not claimed.
b) States that any hulk, derelict, wreck, or parts of any
ship, vessel, or other watercraft sunk, beached, or allowed
to remain in an unseaworthy or dilapidated condition upon
publicly owned submerged lands, salt marsh, or tidelands
without consent for longer than 30 days is abandoned
property.
c) Authorizes a local government to take title of the
abandoned property for purposes of abatement, as specified.
Establishes requirements for the collection of property
tax and sale of abandoned property.
d) Authorizes removal of abandoned property by a peace
officer to remove and, if necessary, store a vessel removed
from a public waterway:
i) When the vessel is left unattended and is moored,
docked, beached, or made fast to land in a position that
obstructs the normal movement of traffic and creates a
hazard to other vessels, public safety, or the property
of another.
ii) When the vessel is found upon a waterway and a
report has previously been made that the vessel was
stolen.
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iii) When the person in charge of a vessel is unable to
provide removal due to illness or physical injuries.
iv) When an officer arrests any person operating or in
control of the vessel, as specified.
v) When the vessel interferes with, or otherwise poses
a danger to, navigation or to the public health, safety,
or welfare.
vi) When the vessel poses a threat to adjacent wetlands,
levies, sensitive habitat, any protected wildlife
species, or water quality.
vii) When a vessel is found or operated upon a waterway
with a registration that has been expired for over a
year.
e) Authorizes the public entity to pursue cost recovery in
any court in the state.
f) Prohibits a person from abandoning a vessel upon a
public waterway or public or private property without the
express consent of the owner, except for immediate safety
concerns.
g) Specifies that wrecked property and derelict vessels
that are removed by a public agency may be sold or
otherwise disposed, as specified.
3)Establishes the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund (AWAF),
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administered by the Department of Boating and Waterways, to
provide grants to local agencies to remove, store, and dispose
of abandoned, wrecked, or dismantled recreational vessels
which pose a substantial hazard to navigation.
THIS BILL:
1)Defines "vessel" as every description of a watercraft or other
artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a
means of transportation by water.
2)States that a derelict, wreck, hulk, or part of any ship or
watercraft or dilapidated vessel that is unseaworthy and not
reasonably fit or capable of being made fit to be used as a
means of transportation by water is "marine debris."
3)Authorizes any state, county, city, or other public entity to
remove and destroy, or otherwise dispose of, any marine debris
that is floating, sunk, partially sunk, or beached in or on a
public waterway, public beach, or on a state tidelands or
submerged lands, subject to the following conditions:
a) The marine debris has no value or a value that does not
exceed the cost of removal and disposal.
b) If there is no discernible registration, hull
identification number, or other identification insignia, a
peace officer or authorized public employee securely
attaches a notice stating that the marine debris will be
removed by the public agency if not claimed or removed
within 10 days.
c) If there is a discernible registration, hull
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identification number, or other identification insignia, a
notice is attached to the marine debris and sent to the
owner.
d) The marine debris remains in place for 10 days from the
date of the notice before being removed.
4)Authorizes a public entity to remove and dispose of marine
debris immediately, if the marine debris constitutes a public
nuisance or poses a danger to navigation, health, safety, or
the environment. If the marine debris is not destroyed
during removal and the owner is identifiable, requires that it
be stored for 10 days prior to disposal.
5)Authorizes a public entity to pursue cost recovery from an
owner or any person who placed the marine debris.
6)Prohibits a state or local entity from requiring a permit for
the removal activities authorized by the bill.
7)Requires SLC to develop best management practices for the
removal of marine debris and post them on its website.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Need for the bill. According to the author:
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The purpose of this bill is to deal with derelicts, wrecks,
hulks, and other parts of ships that are no longer truly
vessels, and which litter and pollute our state waterways,
beaches, and tide and submerged lands. Although the
Harbors and Navigation Code? provides authority to the
Sheriff to deal with wrecked property and for
municipalities and other public entities to deal with
abandoned vessels within their limits, each of these code
sections requires procedures [that] are both time consuming
and costly. Because they are so impractical, they are
seldom used and, as a result, broken or disintegrated
vessels and parts of them remain and continue to pollute
our waterways and the environment.
2)Abandoned vessels. Over the last several years, the state has
experienced an increase in the amount of watercraft being
abandoned in state waterways. Boats are some of the most
expensive luxury items to maintain and store, and unlike other
luxury goods cannot be disposed of easily or cheaply. An
August 2010 Petaluma Argus-Courier article reported that some
boat owners were selling vessels for as little as one-dollar
to avoid the cost of removing their boats from California
waterways and properly disposing of the vessel. Even more
distressing, the Argue-Courier noted that an underground
"scuttle" economy has developed whereby a boat owner pays
individuals to strip a boat of all usable (financially
valuable) material and identifiable markings (including boat
name and vehicle identification number) then dump the boat
overnight in a public waterway. Once abandoned, boats pose
hazards to commercial and recreation boat traffic as well as
the ecosystem of the waterway. This problem is especially
troublesome in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta where personal
pleasure boats are abandoned alongside aging steamboats and
river barges. Statewide hundreds of boats are abandoned
annually.
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Abandoned boats, especially those that capsize and sink, can
interfere with boating traffic and damage operational vessels
attempting to navigate a waterway. More troublesome,
abandoned boats that begin to deteriorate can leach toxic
chemicals or fuel into state waterways. Removing these
vessels is difficult, potentially dangerous and expensive. To
ensure that a boat does not further deteriorate and expose
salvage crews or the local environment to toxic chemicals,
salvage efforts take significant time and require great care
and effort. The sooner an abandoned boat is removed from the
waterway, the less likely it is to deteriorate and pose
significant harm to the environment and salvage crews.
3)SLC and abandoned vessels. SLC is entrusted with the
management of the land underlying the state's navigable and
tidal waterways, which accounts for almost four million acres
within the state, and according to the SLC, includes: "1)
more than 120 rivers, streams and sloughs; 2) nearly 40
non-tidal navigable lakes, such as Lake Tahoe and Clear Lake;
30 tidal navigable bays and lagoons; and, 4) the tide and
submerged lands adjacent to the entire coast and offshore
islands of the state from the mean high tide line to three
nautical miles offshore." Common law dictates that these
lands are held in the Public Trust and can only be used for
purposes consistent with that trust. SLC is charged with
protecting that Public Trust and has a duty to protect and
preserve state lands for future generations.
SLC is authorized to remove vessels its lands; however, existing
law only allows SLC to recover costs incurred in the removal
of vessels from waterways. It is challenging to recover costs
for vessels that meet the bill's definition of marine debris,
as it is generally impossible to locate a responsible party.
Due to lack of other funding sources, it has not been possible
for SLC to remove the bulk of the state's marine debris.
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4) Local removal. Local public entities and law enforcement
have the authority to remove derelict and abandoned vessels
within their jurisdictions. The process is designed to remove
vessels that have some value and grant adequate time to locate
the owner and provide ample opportunity for an owner to
reclaim the vessel once it's been removed. While this is
appropriate for vessels of value, the time and cost involved
makes it cumbersome for public entities that are faced with
removing vessels that are essentially junk.
Removing vessels can trigger state and federal oversight. For
vessels that are removed for salvaging, one or more of a
number of permits may be required. If the removal will result
in the discharge of solid materials to wetlands, streams,
rivers, or other waters of the United States, the operator
must acquire a Section 404 Permit from the US Army Corps of
Engineers, and a related certification. State permits that
may be required include Industrial Stormwater General Permits,
compliance with General Permit order No. R2-2012-0500,
compliance with individual Waste Discharge Requirements, and
individual permits if the activity may result in the discharge
of wastewater. Additional regulation may exist if the
operation involves hazardous wastes. Small vessel dismantling
and removal generally does not trigger a permit requirement;
however, the State Water Resources Control Board has issued
best management practices to protect water quality that
require that all removal operations have a plan at the work
site that addresses the scope of work and schedule; spill
prevention and response procedures; hazardous waste handling
procedures; and, stormwater pollution prevention.
The state has taken action to assist with the cost by
establishing the AWAF, which provides grants to local public
agencies for the removal of abandoned vessels and other
navigational hazards. The grants cover the costs of removal,
storage, and disposal of abandoned vessels. Grants must be
approved prior to removal and require a 10% local match.
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This bill addresses the remaining barrier to local public
entities by streamlining the process for the removal of marine
debris. As drafted, AB 1323 prohibits state and local
entities from requiring permits for any removal of marine
debris, as defined.
5)Suggested amendments.
a) The provisions of this bill were created in Section
6302.5 of the Public Resources Code, which is located in
the article that establishes administrative duties for SLC.
As this bill is intended to apply to all public agencies,
and is not limited to SLC, the committee may wish to amend
the bill to move the provisions to Article 1 (Wrecks and
Wrecked Property) of Chapter 3 or Division 3 of the Harbors
and Navigation Code, which contains all other state law
related to public agency removal of derelict vessels.
b) This bill includes a definition of "vessel" and "marine
debris" in the same subdivision. For clarity and
consistency with other statutes, the committee may wish to
amend the bill to separately define "marine debris."
c) This bill exempts the removal of any marine debris in
accordance with the bill from state and local permitting
requirements. These permits are designed to protect water
quality and the environment and generally do not apply to
the removal of the small vessels, such as those that would
qualify under the definition of marine debris. The
committee may wish to amend the bill to eliminate this
exemption.
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d) This bill requires SLC to adopt best practice guidelines
for the removal of marine debris, but does not establish a
timeline for this requirement. The committee may wish to
amend the bill to require SLC to adopt the guidelines no
later than January 1, 2017.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Alameda Marina
Brock de Lappe, Harbor Mater, Alameda Marina
California Association of Harbor Masters and Port Captains
California Boating Safety Officers Association
California Yacht Brokers Association
Marina Recreation Association
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National Marine Manufacturers Association
Recreational Boaters of California
Worldwide Boaters Safety Group
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092