Chapter 10.28
WATERCRAFT REGULATIONS
Sections:
Article I. Moorage
10.28.010 County engineer – Authority.
Article II. Personal Watercraft
10.28.110 Restrictions on the use of personal watercraft on freshwater lakes.
10.28.120 Restrictions on the use of personal watercraft on the marine waters of San Juan County.
10.28.130 San Juan County permit.
Article III. Operation of Vessels in Proximity to the Southern Resident Killer Whale
10.28.160 General guidance and objectives, and definitions.
10.28.170 Unlawful activity in proximity to the southern resident killer whale.
Article I. Moorage
10.28.010 County engineer – Authority.
The County Engineer is authorized to establish vessel moorage regulations at County marine facilities. Authorization granted herein shall pertain to the duration of moorage, the methods of moorage, restrictions on vessel sizes, and restrictions on moorage activities, including, but not limited to, moorage for commercial activities. (Ord. 08-2024 § 3)
10.28.020 Enforcement.
A. Any such regulation authorized by this chapter becomes enforceable only when duly signed and posted together with the penalty provisions of this article.
B. The County Engineer may order the removal and impoundment of a derelict or abandoned vessel at the expense of the registered owner in accordance with Chapter 79.100 RCW, including vessels moored or anchored in violation of duly posted moorage signs. (Ord. 08-2024 § 4)
10.28.030 Citation.
Whenever any vessel is found in violation of any of the provisions of this article and the person in charge of the vessel is not in the immediate vicinity, any person authorized to enforce this article may, upon finding such a vessel, take the identification number and any other information which may identify its owners, master, or other in charge of it and shall conspicuously affix such citation to the offending vessel. (Ord. 08-2024 § 5)
10.28.040 Penalty.
Any violation of this article shall be a class 1 civil infraction unless specified otherwise. Unless another penalty is expressly provided for by law, any person who is convicted of violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, including failure to obey duly posted moorage signs, shall be subject to penalties allowed under Chapter 7.80 RCW for each violation thereof. Each new day shall be considered a new violation. (Ord. 08-2024 § 6)
Article II. Personal Watercraft
10.28.100 Definitions.
“Personal watercraft” means a vessel of less than 16 feet in length, as manufactured, that uses a motor powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power and that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing or kneeling on the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel. (Ord. 7-1998 § 3)
10.28.110 Restrictions on the use of personal watercraft on freshwater lakes.
Personal watercraft shall not be operated in San Juan County on fresh water lakes with public access, which are: Sportsman Lake, Hummel Lake, Mountain Lake, Cascade Lake, Egg Lake and Killebrew Lake. (Ord. 7-1998 § 4)
10.28.120 Restrictions on the use of personal watercraft on the marine waters of San Juan County.
Personal watercraft shall not be operated on the marine waters of San Juan County.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
A. A personal watercraft engaged principally in commercial operations constituting an act of interstate or foreign commerce and so long as during such the personal watercraft is operated along the most direct route practicable;
B. A personal watercraft operating under a permit issued by the United States Coast Guard;
C. A personal watercraft operating under a permit issued by San Juan County;
D. For emergency purposes when there is reasonable belief that such use is necessary to protect or preserve persons, animals or property. (Ord. 7-1998 § 5)
10.28.130 San Juan County permit.
The director of the permit center of San Juan County is hereby authorized and directed to establish application materials, procedures and criteria for the issuance of a permit, in the discretion of the director, for activity prohibited by this article if the director finds that the activity will only have negligible short-term adverse effects on the resources and qualities of the waters of San Juan County and will further scientific research related to the waters of San Juan County resources and qualities. In deciding whether to issue a permit the director shall consider such factors as the professional qualifications and financial ability of the applicant as related to the proposed activity, the duration of the activity and the duration of its effects, the appropriateness of the methods and procedures proposed by the applicant for the conduct of the activity; the extent to which the conduct of the activity may diminish or enhance County resources or qualities, and the cumulative effects of the activity. In addition, the director may consider such other factors as he or she deems appropriate. Any such permit must be revocable without cause on 20 days’ notice. (Ord. 7-1998 § 7)
10.28.140 Penalties.
Any violation of this article shall be a civil infraction with the following penalties:
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For the first violation a fine of: |
$50.00; |
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The second violation a fine of: |
$100.00; |
and |
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Each subsequent violation a fine of: |
$250.00. |
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(Ord. 7-1998 § 6)
Article III. Operation of Vessels in Proximity to the Southern Resident Killer Whale
10.28.150 Legislative intent.
A. The public health, safety and welfare are substantially benefited by the protection and conservation of the southern resident killer whale.
B. This article is adopted pursuant to the police power authority granted to San Juan County in Article XI, Section 11, of the Washington Constitution, and the authority granted to states to adopt more restrictive provisions with respect to the taking of endangered species pursuant to 16 USC 1535(f) (the Endangered Species Act).
C. This article is intended to be local and apply only to the operation of vessels in San Juan County during the time that the southern resident killer whale is present in the marine waters of San Juan County.
D. This article shall not be enforced if the state of Washington or any department thereof, or the United States or any department thereof, establishes laws or regulations regarding the operation of vessels in proximity to the southern resident killer whale.
E. Because the southern resident killer whale may surface in unpredictable locations, all vessel operators must maintain a vigilant lookout for killer whales and keep their distance away from visible whales. Moreover, because whales may surface closer to a vessel than the specified distance, it is not appropriate to make the violation of a distance requirement between a vessel and a killer whale in SJCC 10.28.170(A)(1), (2), and (3) a strict liability or status offense and instead only make unlawful the knowing violations.
F. SJCC 10.28.170(A)(5), (6), and (7) are appropriate as strict liability offenses. (Ord. 35-2007 § 1)
10.28.160 General guidance and objectives, and definitions.
A. General Guidance and Objectives. The master and operator of every vessel in San Juan County has a duty to maintain a lookout for southern resident killer whales while operating in the marine waters of San Juan County and to determine the direction of travel of the whales and to safely operate the vessel to avoid violating this article. Vessel operators should move out of the way of approaching whales to maintain an open way in front of and behind the killer whale and 100 yards to each side of the killer whale. The fundamental concept of these rules is that vessels should not approach within 100 yards of the killer whale and maintain an open way with a minimum of 100 yards on each side of the pod of whales. When the killer whales are close to shore, the master of the vessel should keep the vessel on the seaward side of the whales. All masters of vessels must reduce speed in proximity to whales to avoid interfering with other nearby vessels and to protect whales from unnecessary noise and interference.
B. Definitions.
“Public vessel” means a vessel that is (1) owned or demise chartered, and operated by the United States government, the government of the state of Washington or any department thereof, San Juan County or any elected official or department thereof, or a government of a foreign country; and (2) is not engaged in commercial service.
“Vessel” means every description of watercraft, including nondisplacement craft and seaplanes, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. (Ord. 35-2007 § 2)
10.28.170 Unlawful activity in proximity to the southern resident killer whale.
A. Except as provided in subsection (B) of this section, it is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the state of Washington to commit, attempt to commit or cause to be committed the following acts within the marine waters of San Juan County with respect to the southern resident killer whale (Orcinus orcas):
1. Knowingly approach, by any means, within 100 yards in any direction of any killer whale; or
2. Knowingly allow a vessel or other object to remain in the apparent path of an oncoming killer whale thereby resulting in a killer whale surfacing within 100 yards in any direction of the vessel or object; or
3. Knowingly place a vessel or other object within 100 yards in any direction of a killer whale; or
4. Fail to yield to a killer whale; or
5. Fail to disengage the transmission of a vessel that is within 100 yards in any direction of any killer whale; or
6. Operate a vessel in excess of a slow, safe speed when such vessel is within 400 yards of any killer whale. “Safe speed” has the same meaning as the term is defined in 33 USC 2006 and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972. See 33 USC Section 1602; or
7. Feed a killer whale.
B. The following exceptions apply to the conduct described in subsection (A) of this section, but any person who claims the applicability of an exception has the burden of proving the exception applies:
1. The vessel is required to use the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) in the waters of or adjacent to San Juan County; or
2. The person is operating a vessel pursuant to and in a manner consistent with a permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service, or similar authorization; or
3. The master or operator reasonably determines that compliance with the distance requirement of this article will threaten the safety of the vessel, the vessel’s crew or passengers, or is not feasible due to vessel design limitations, or because the vessel is restricted in its ability to maneuver due to wind, current, tide, or weather; or
4. The person operating the vessel is lawfully engaged in actively setting, retrieving or closely tending commercial fishing gear. For purposes of this subsection, “commercial fishing” means taking or harvesting fish or fishery resources to sell, barter or trade. “Commercial fishing” does not include commercial sport fishing boats used for charter operations or sport fishing; or
5. The person was operating a public vessel in the course of official duty for local, state, or the federal government; or
6. The person was operating a vessel in a manner consistent with a treaty with Native Americans or foreign nations. (Ord. 35-2007 § 3)
10.28.180 Presumption.
In any infraction involving a violation of this article in the presence of a law enforcement officer in a marked vessel, proof that the particular vessel described in the notice of infraction was in violation of SJCC 10.28.170, together with proof that the person named in the notice of infraction was at the time of the violation the registered owner of the vessel, constitutes in evidence a prima facie presumption that the registered owner of the vessel was the person in control of the vessel at the point where and for the time during which the violation occurred. This presumption may be overcome only if the registered owner states under oath, in a written statement or testimony to the court that the vessel was, at the time, stolen, or in the care, custody, or control of some person other than the registered owner. (Ord. 35-2007 § 4)
10.28.190 Penalty.
A violation of SJCC 10.28.170(A) is a civil infraction enforceable as provided in Chapter 7.80 RCW. The maximum penalty is $750.00. (Ord. 35-2007 § 5)
10.28.200 Expiration.
This article shall expire when either the National Marine Fisheries Service or the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife establishes laws or regulations regarding the operation of vessels in proximity to the southern resident killer whale. (Ord. 35-2007 § 7)