BILL REQ. #: H-1646.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/15/11.
AN ACT Relating to abandoned or derelict vessels; amending RCW 79.100.110, 79.100.130, 53.08.320, and 79.100.030; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 79.100.110 and 2006 c 153 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
A person who causes a vessel to become abandoned or derelict upon
aquatic lands is guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who intentionally,
through action or inaction, without authorization, causes a vessel to
sink, break up, or block navigational channels upon aquatic lands is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec. 2 RCW 79.100.130 and 2007 c 342 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
A marina owner may contract with a local government for the purpose
of participating in the derelict vessel removal program. The local
government shall serve as the authorized public entity for the removal
of the derelict or abandoned vessel from the marina owner's property.
The contract must provide for the marina owner to be financially
responsible for the removal costs that are not reimbursed by the
department as provided under RCW 79.100.100, and any additional
reasonable administrative costs incurred by the local government during
the removal of the derelict or abandoned vessel. Prior to the
commencement of any removal which will seek reimbursement from the
derelict vessel removal program, the contract and the proposed vessel
removal shall be submitted to the department for review and approval.
The local government shall use the procedure specified under RCW
79.100.100(6).
Sec. 3 RCW 53.08.320 and 2002 c 286 s 23 are each amended to read
as follows:
A moorage facility operator may adopt all rules necessary for
rental and use of moorage facilities and for the expeditious collection
of port charges. The rules may also establish procedures for the
enforcement of these rules by port district, city, county, metropolitan
park district or town personnel. The rules shall include the
following:
(1) Procedures authorizing moorage facility personnel to take
reasonable measures, including the use of chains, ropes, and locks, or
removal from the water, to secure vessels within the moorage facility
so that the vessels are in the possession and control of the moorage
facility operator and cannot be removed from the moorage facility.
These procedures may be used if an owner mooring or storing a vessel at
the moorage facility fails, after being notified that charges are owing
and of the owner's right to commence legal proceedings to contest that
such charges are owing, to pay the port charges owed or to commence
legal proceedings. Notification shall be by registered mail to the
owner at his or her last known address. In the case of a transient
vessel, or where no address was furnished by the owner, the moorage
facility operator need not give such notice prior to securing the
vessel. At the time of securing the vessel, an authorized moorage
facility employee shall attach to the vessel a readily visible notice.
The notice shall be of a reasonable size and shall contain the
following information:
(a) The date and time the notice was attached;
(b) A statement that if the account is not paid in full within
ninety days from the time the notice is attached, the vessel may be
sold at public auction to satisfy the port charges; and
(c) The address and telephone number where additional information
may be obtained concerning release of the vessel.
After a vessel is secured, the operator shall make a reasonable
effort to notify the owner by registered mail in order to give the
owner the information contained in the notice.
(2) Procedures authorizing moorage facility personnel at their
discretion to move moored vessels ashore for storage within properties
under the operator's control or for storage with private persons under
their control as bailees of the moorage facility, if the vessel is, in
the opinion of port personnel a nuisance, if the vessel is in danger of
sinking or creating other damage, or is owing port charges. Costs of
any such procedure shall be paid by the vessel's owner. If the owner
is not known, or unable to reimburse the moorage facility operator for
the costs of these procedures, the mooring facility operators may seek
reimbursement of ((seventy-five)) ninety percent of all reasonable and
auditable costs from the derelict vessel removal account established in
RCW 79.100.100.
(3) If a vessel is secured under subsection (1) of this section or
moved ashore under subsection (2) of this section, the owner who is
obligated to the moorage facility operator for port charges may regain
possession of the vessel by:
(a) Making arrangements satisfactory with the moorage facility
operator for the immediate removal of the vessel from the moorage
facility or for authorized moorage; and
(b) Making payment to the moorage facility operator of all port
charges, or by posting with the moorage facility operator a sufficient
cash bond or other acceptable security, to be held in trust by the
moorage facility operator pending written agreement of the parties with
respect to payment by the vessel owner of the amount owing, or pending
resolution of the matter of the charges in a civil action in a court of
competent jurisdiction. After entry of judgment, including any
appeals, in a court of competent jurisdiction, or after the parties
reach agreement with respect to payment, the trust shall terminate and
the moorage facility operator shall receive so much of the bond or
other security as is agreed, or as is necessary to satisfy any
judgment, costs, and interest as may be awarded to the moorage facility
operator. The balance shall be refunded immediately to the owner at
his or her last known address.
(4) If a vessel has been secured by the moorage facility operator
under subsection (1) of this section and is not released to the owner
under the bonding provisions of this section within ninety days after
notifying or attempting to notify the owner under subsection (1) of
this section, the vessel shall be conclusively presumed to have been
abandoned by the owner.
(5) If a vessel moored or stored at a moorage facility is
abandoned, the moorage facility operator may, by resolution of its
legislative authority, authorize the public sale of the vessel by
authorized personnel to the highest and best bidder for cash as
prescribed by this subsection (5). Either a minimum bid may be
established or a letter of credit may be required, or both, to
discourage the future reabandonment of the vessel.
(a) Before the vessel is sold, the owner of the vessel shall be
given at least twenty days' notice of the sale in the manner set forth
in subsection (1) of this section if the name and address of the owner
is known. The notice shall contain the time and place of the sale, a
reasonable description of the vessel to be sold, and the amount of port
charges owed with respect to the vessel. The notice of sale shall be
published at least once, more than ten but not more than twenty days
before the sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in
which the moorage facility is located. Such notice shall include the
name of the vessel, if any, the last known owner and address, and a
reasonable description of the vessel to be sold. The moorage facility
operator may bid all or part of its port charges at the sale and may
become a purchaser at the sale.
(b) Before the vessel is sold, any person seeking to redeem an
impounded vessel under this section may commence a lawsuit in the
superior court for the county in which the vessel was impounded to
contest the validity of the impoundment or the amount of the port
charges owing. Such lawsuit must be commenced within ten days of the
date the notification was provided pursuant to subsection (1) of this
section, or the right to a hearing shall be deemed waived and the owner
shall be liable for any port charges owing the moorage facility
operator. In the event of litigation, the prevailing party shall be
entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
(c) The proceeds of a sale under this section shall first be
applied to the payment of port charges. The balance, if any, shall be
paid to the owner. If the owner cannot in the exercise of due
diligence be located by the moorage facility operator within one year
of the date of the sale, the excess funds from the sale shall revert to
the derelict vessel removal account established in RCW 79.100.100. If
the sale is for a sum less than the applicable port charges, the
moorage facility operator is entitled to assert a claim for a
deficiency.
(d) In the event no one purchases the vessel at a sale, or a vessel
is not removed from the premises or other arrangements are not made
within ten days of sale, title to the vessel will revert to the moorage
facility operator.
(6) The rules authorized under this section shall be enforceable
only if the moorage facility has had its tariff containing such rules
conspicuously posted at its moorage facility at all times.
Sec. 4 RCW 79.100.030 and 2002 c 286 s 4 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) An authorized public entity has the authority, subject to the
processes and limitations of this chapter, to store, strip, use,
auction, sell, salvage, scrap, or dispose of an abandoned or derelict
vessel found on or above aquatic lands within the jurisdiction of the
authorized public entity. A vessel disposal must be done in an
environmentally sound manner and in accordance with all federal, state,
and local laws, including the state solid waste disposal provisions
provided for in chapter 70.95 RCW. Scuttling or sinking of a vessel is
only permissible after obtaining the express permission of the owner or
owners of the aquatic lands below where the scuttling or sinking would
occur, and obtaining all necessary state and federal permits or
licenses.
(2) The primary responsibility to remove a derelict or abandoned
vessel belongs to the owner, operator, or lessee of the moorage
facility or the aquatic lands where the vessel is located. If the
authorized public entity with the primary responsibility is unwilling
or unable to exercise the authority granted by this section, it may
request the department to assume the authorized public entity's
authority for a particular vessel. The department may at its
discretion assume the authorized public entity's authority for a
particular vessel after being requested to do so. For vessels not at
a moorage facility, an authorized public entity with jurisdiction over
the aquatic lands where the vessel is located may, at its discretion,
request to assume primary responsibility for that particular vessel
from the owner of the aquatic lands where the vessel is located.
(3) The authority granted by this chapter is permissive, and no
authorized public entity has a duty to exercise the authority. No
liability attaches to an authorized public entity that chooses not to
exercise this authority. An authorized public entity, in the good
faith performance of the actions authorized under this chapter, is not
liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the
performance of the actions other than acts or omissions constituting
gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. Any person whose
assistance has been requested by an authorized public entity, who has
entered into a written agreement pursuant to RCW 79.100.070, and who,
in good faith, renders assistance or advice with respect to activities
conducted by an authorized public entity pursuant to this chapter, is
not liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the
rendering of the assistance or advice, other than acts or omissions
constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.