An eastern North Carolina county has instituted an ordinance that would authorize removal and disposal of abandoned and broken down boats in navigable waters.
The Carteret County ordinance defines an abandoned vessel as one left more than 30 days in any 180-day period “without the permission of the dock owner, marina owner, boat slip owner or property owner of the riparian corridor in which the vessel is located.”
Board Chair Jimmy Farrington said, “We're not getting the boat patrol business. We're just trying to clean up what's out there. Many of these towns have done a great job of trying to clean up and that type of thing. They've got some kickback for it...we're after the obvious.”
Commissioner Ed Wheatly said the abandoned boats need to be addressed sooner rather than later – before the pipes are degraded.
“When the pipes rust out, most of these boats, the minimum size of 100 to 150 gallons, when you turn lose 100 gallons of diesel fuel in the water and it gets in that marsh it stays there forever,” he said.
A violation will result in a $100 per civil penalty, which will be used to fund the future removal of abandoned boats. The boat’s owner will also have to pay for the cost of removal.
