§200-16  Mooring of unauthorized vessel instate small boat harbors and offshore mooring areas; impoundment and disposalproceedings.  (a)  No person shall moor a vessel in a state small boatharbor or offshore mooring area without obtaining a use permit; nor shall aperson continue to moor a vessel in any state small boat harbor or offshoremooring area if the use permit authorizing the vessel to moor has expired orotherwise been terminated.  A vessel moored without a use permit or with a usepermit that has expired or been terminated is an unauthorized vessel and issubject to this section.

(b)  The department shall cause to be placedupon, or as near to the unauthorized vessel as possible, a notice to removevessel, which shall indicate that the vessel is in violation of this section,the date and time the notice was posted, and that the vessel must be removedwithin seventy-two hours from the time the notice was posted.

(c)  An unauthorized vessel may be impounded bythe department at the sole cost and risk of the owner of the vessel, if thevessel is not removed after the seventy-two-hour period or if during thatperiod the vessel is removed and remoored in the harbor or mooring or anchoragearea or any other state harbor or mooring or anchorage area without a usepermit.

(d)  Custody of an unauthorized vessel shall bereturned to the person entitled to possession upon payment to the department ofall fees and costs due, and fines levied by the department or a court.  Inaddition, the department, within seventy-two hours of impoundment, shall sendby certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice of impoundment to theregistered or documented owner or any lien holder or operator of the impoundedvessel on record with the department or the United States Coast Guard.  Theowner, lien holder, or operator of the impounded vessel shall have ten daysafter receipt of notice of impoundment of the vessel to request in writing anadministrative hearing.  This administrative hearing is solely for the purpose ofallowing the owner, lien holder, or operator of an impounded vessel to contestthe basis given by the department for the impoundment of the vessel.  Thehearing must be held within five working days of the department's receipt ofthe written request.  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91to implement the requirement for this post-seizure administrative hearingprocess.

(e)  Any unauthorized vessel impounded underthis section, which remains unclaimed for more than thirty days by the registeredor documented owner, a lien holder, or operator of record, may be sold by thedepartment at public auction.  If the department is unable to sell the vesselat public auction, or if its appraised value is less than $5,000 as determinedby an independent appraiser with at least one year of experience in the saleand purchase of vessels, the department, after giving public notice of intendeddisposition if that notice was not previously included in a public auctionnotice, may sell the vessel by negotiation, retain and use the vessel, donateit to any other government agency, or dispose of it as junk. [L 1991, c 272, ptof §2; am L 1994, c 113, §2; am L 2004, c 70, §1]

 

Case Notes

 

  Impoundment fees set by State not unlawful where no evidenceto suggest that charges were arbitrary or unfounded.  91 H. 1, 979 P.2d 586.

  Section does not provide statutory mechanism for recoupingfees assessed against vessel owner for unauthorized mooring of vessel prior tonon-repossessed vessel’s impoundment.  91 H. 1, 979 P.2d 586.