§266-27  Mooring of unauthorized vessel instate harbors; impoundment and disposal proceedings.  (a)  No person shallmoor a vessel in a state commercial harbor without obtaining a use permit; norshall a person continue to moor a vessel in any state commercial harbor if theuse permit authorizing the vessel to moor has expired or otherwise beenterminated.  A vessel moored without a use permit or with a use permit that hasexpired or been terminated is an unauthorized vessel and is subject tosubsections (b) to (e).

(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 such avessel is not removed after the seventy-two-hour period or if during saidperiod the vessel is removed and re-moored in said harbor or any other statecommercial harbor without a use permit.

(d)  Custody of an impounded vessel shall bereturned to the person entitled to possession upon payment to the department ofall fees and costs due, and fines levied by a court.  In addition, thedepartment, within seventy-two hours of impoundment, shall send by certifiedmail, return receipt requested, a notice of impoundment to the registered owneror operator of any impounded vessel.  The owner or operator of an impoundedvessel shall have ten days after receipt of notice of impoundment of the vesselto request in writing an administrative hearing.  This administrative hearingis solely for the purpose of allowing the owner or operator of an impoundedvessel to contest the basis given by the department for the impoundment of thevessel.  The administrative hearing must be held within five days of thedepartment's receipt of the written request, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, andholidays designated under section 8-1.  The department shall adopt rulespursuant to chapter 91 to implement the requirement for this post-seizureadministrative hearing process.

(e)  Any unauthorized vessel impounded under thissection, which remains unclaimed by the person entitled to possession, theregistered owner, or a lien holder for more than thirty days, may be sold bythe department at public auction.  Where no bid is received, the vessel may besold by negotiation, disposed of as junk, or donated to any governmentalagency. [L 1980, c 34, §1; am L 1988, c 103, §1; am L 1991, c 272, §§13, 14; amL 1994, c 117, §1; am L 1995, c 113, §1]