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State
California
HNC Sec 773-774.4 Vessel Sanitation (VESSELS
)


HARBORS AND NAVIGATION CODE
SECTION 775-786





775. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Marine sanitation devices should be regulated pursuant to
uniform standards and procedures, and California vessel owners should
not be subject to any local or state regulation as to the type of
marine sanitation devices installed on their vessels.
(2) The proper use of marine sanitation devices is critical to the
protection of water quality throughout California, and use of marine
sanitation devices is required to be in conformance with the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1321 et seq.).
(3) For proper utilization of retention-type marine sanitation
devices installed in conformance with the federal Water Pollution
Control Act and for the protection of the quality of the waters of
this state, adequate vessel pumpout facilities are essential.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that every vessel with a
toilet shall comply with federal standards for marine sanitation
devices.


775.5. The definitions in this section govern the construction of
this chapter:
(a) "Vessel terminal" means any private or public shoreside
installation on any waters of this state which provides mooring,
docking, berthing, and other facilities for the use of vessels.
(b) "Marine sanitation device" means any equipment on board a
vessel which is designed to receive, retain, treat, or discharge
sewage and any process to treat the sewage.
(c) "Promulgation date" means the date upon which the initial
standards and regulations for marine sanitation devices are
promulgated by an appropriate federal agency in accordance with
Section 312 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended
(33 U.S.C. Sec. 1322).
(d) "Sewage" means human body wastes and the wastes from toilets
and other receptacles intended to receive or retain body waste.
(e) "Vessel" means every watercraft or other contrivance used or
capable of being used as a means of transportation on the waters of
the state, excepting foreign and domestic vessels engaged in
interstate or foreign commerce upon the waters of the state.
(f) "State board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(g) "Regional board" means a California regional water quality
control board.
(h) "Waters of this state" shall mean all waters of the state
except waters beyond three nautical miles of any shore of the state.

(i) "Department" means the Department of Boating and Waterways.
(j) "No-discharge area" means a body of water designated as a
no-discharge area under subsection (f) of Section 312 of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1322 (f)).
(k) "Discharge" means spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring,
emitting, emptying, or dumping.
(l) "Secured" means, for a marine sanitation device not approved
for use in a no-discharge area, mechanically controlling valves or
facilities in an identifiable manner to prevent any overboard
discharge of sewage.


776. (a) Every vessel terminal shall, as required by the regional
board for the protection of the quality of the waters of this state,
be equipped with vessel pumpout facilities for the transfer and
disposal of sewage from marine sanitation devices. In imposing this
requirement, the regional board shall take into account the number
and type of vessels that use or are berthed at the vessel terminal
and whether there exists at other locations pumpout facilities that
have a total capacity sufficient for, and are convenient and
accessible to, vessels that use or are berthed at the vessel
terminal. In addition, the regional board may require any vessel
pumpout facility to be equipped with a meter for the purpose of
measuring use of the facility. All pumpout facilities installed
after the operative date of the statute adding this section shall be
equipped with a meter.
(b) This section does not apply to the following:
(1) Small craft launching facilities.
(2) Dockage adjacent to and serving private residences in areas
where vessel pumpout facilities are conveniently available to vessels
so docked, as determined by the regional board.
(3) Other types of facilities designated by the regional board
after consulting with the department.
(c) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor. In addition,
any violation of this section is subject to any remedy provided for
in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) of Division 7 of the
Water Code.


777. (a) Vessel pumpout facilities for the transfer and disposal of
sewage from marine sanitation devices, floating restrooms, and
onshore toilets shall be operated and maintained in a manner that
will prevent the discharge of any sewage to the waters of the state
and shall be maintained in good working order and regularly cleaned.

(b) Every vessel pumpout facility shall have a notice posted on
the facility identifying the city, county, local public health
officer, or boating law enforcement officer responsible for enforcing
this chapter pursuant to Section 779, with the telephone number
where a violation of subdivision (a) may be reported.
(c) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor. In addition,
any violation of this section is subject to any remedy provided for
in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) of Division 7 of the
Water Code.


778. The state board shall adopt standards for the location,
construction, operation, and maintenance of vessel pumpout
facilities.


779. Every peace officer of the state and of any city, county, or
other public agency, all state and local public health officers, and
all boating law enforcement officers shall enforce this chapter and
any regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.



780. (a) No person shall disconnect, bypass, or operate a marine
sanitation device so as to discharge sewage into the waters of this
state, unless the particular discharge is expressly authorized or
permitted pursuant to state or federal law or regulations. A
violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.
(b) The following prohibitions apply in no-discharge areas:
(1) No person shall disconnect, bypass, or operate a marine
sanitation device so as to potentially discharge sewage.
(2) No person shall occupy or operate a vessel in which a marine
sanitation device is installed unless the marine sanitation device is
properly secured.
The first violation of this subdivision is an infraction. A
second or subsequent violation of this subdivision by any one person
is a misdemeanor.



781. The Attorney General, at the request of the department, the
state board, any regional board, or any aggreived person, shall
petition the superior court for injunctive relief, as may be
appropriate, to secure compliance with this chapter.




782. (a) Excepting laws regulating the discharge of sewage into or
upon the navigable waters of any lake, reservoir, or freshwater
impoundment of this state, and notwithstanding Section 660, no
vessel, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 775.5, is subject to
any other state or local government law, ordinance, or regulation
with respect to the design, manufacture, installation, or use within
any vessel of any marine sanitation device.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, nothing in this
chapter precludes or restricts a city, county, or other public agency
from adopting rules and regulations with respect to the discharge
of sewage from vessels.
(c) State and local peace officers may enforce state laws relating
to marine sanitation devices and may inspect vessels if there is
reasonable cause to suspect noncompliance with those laws.
(d) A state or local peace officer who reasonably suspects that a
vessel is discharging sewage in an area where the discharge is
prohibited may board that vessel, if the owner or operator is aboard,
for the purpose of inspecting the marine sanitation device for
proper operation and placing a dye tablet in the holding tank.



783. Nothing in this chapter precludes the regulation of
houseboats, as defined in Section 13901 of the Water Code, under
other provisions of law by the state board, any regional board, or
any local agency.



784. Nothing in this chapter is intended to affect the operation of
Section 117505 of the Health and Safety Code. The state board and
any regional board may also regulate nonsewage discharges excepting
vessel washdown water, liquid galley, shower, or bath waste, or water
discharges necessary for the propulsion or stability of a vessel.




785. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the state board from
taking any action pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 312 of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act.



786. (a) Any loan made pursuant to Section 71.4 or 76.3, and any
lease or concession contract entered into pursuant to Section 72,
shall be subject to the express condition that the borrower comply
with all applicable requirements of this chapter.
(b) Any loan made pursuant to Section 71.4 or 76.3 for,
respectively, a project or a recreational marina that is required,
pursuant to Section 776, to provide vessel pumpout facilities shall
be subject to the following express conditions:
(1) The pumpout facility shall be opened to public use within six
months of receiving any funds, or when any part of the project is
opened to public use, whichever is later, unless the department
determines that the facility cannot be opened to public use within
this period due to circumstances beyond the control of the borrower.

(2) The borrower shall agree to budget funds each year for the
maintenance and operation of the pumpout facility for its expected
life.
(3) The location of the pumpout facility shall be publicized, by
any convenient means available, and shall be marked with a
distinctive and prominent sign that is readily identifiable from
offshore locations.
(4) Charges imposed for the use of the pumpout facility shall not,
in the aggregate, exceed the cost of maintaining and operating the
pumpout facility and a pro rata share of the amount necessary for
repayment of the loan.
(5) The portion of the loan equal to the cost of the pumpout
facility shall become immediately due, if the borrower does not
perform any requirement imposed pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) Any lessee or concessionaire that is required, pursuant to
Section 776, to provide vessel pumpout facilities, shall be required
through the lease or concession contract to comply with requirements
that are not less restrictive than the requirements imposed by
paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(d) Any loan made pursuant to Section 71.4 or 76.3, and any
concession contract entered into pursuant to Section 72, shall be
subject to the express condition that restrooms be opened to public
use within six months of the date the project is opened to public
use, unless the department determines that the facility cannot be
opened to public use within this period due to circumstances beyond
the control of the borrower.