Offenses in California Navigable Waters

Division 1.5, Chapter 3 of the California Harbors and Navigation Code deal with offenses in navigable waters. Section 130 provides that every person who cuts or causes to be cut down any tree, so that it falls into any navigable waters, and who does not remove it within twenty-four hours after it falls into the water, is liable to a penalty of five dollars for each tree.

Section 131 makes a person who unlawfully obstructs the navigation of any navigable waters guilty of a misdemeanor. A person found guilty of a misdemeanor violation of this section is subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or both that fine and imprisonment.

Section 132 says that every person who, within the anchorage of any port, harbor, or cove of this State, into which vessels may enter for the purpose of receiving or discharging cargo, throws overboard from any vessel all or any part of the ballast, or who otherwise places or causes to be placed in such port, harbor, or cove, any obstructions to navigation, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Section 133 explains that, with certain exceptions, it is unlawful and constitutes a misdemeanor for a person to discharge, or suffer the discharge of, oil by any methods, means, or manner, into or upon the navigable waters of the state from any vessel using oil as fuel for the generation of propulsion power, or any vessel carrying or having oil in excess of that necessary for its lubricating requirements, and as may be required under the laws and prescribed rules and regulations of the United States and this state. The term “oil” is defined and violation is a misdemeanor.

Section 134 specifies that every person who throws, deposits, or permits another in his employ to throw or deposit, any sawdust, slabs, or refuse lumber, in any place where it may be carried or fall into the waters of Humboldt Bay, without first having constructed piers, bulkheads, dams, or other contrivances, approved by the board of supervisors of Humboldt County, to prevent their escape into the channels of the bay, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Section 135 makes it unlawful to cause or permit any petroleum, chemical, or other hazardous substance to be transferred between a vessel and a shore facility or another vessel by means of a pipeline or similar conduit unless the flow is continuously monitored by a properly installed, operated, and maintained mechanism that will warn of the imminent occurrence of an overflow of the substance being transferred so that the flow can be terminated in time to avert the overflow. Violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

However, it is a defense to any prosecution for a violation of this section if the mechanism was properly installed and was at all times properly operated and maintained by the person responsible for the mechanism.

This section does not apply to any transfer of fuel to any self-propelled vessel of less than 65 feet in length at any facility equipped with dispensing nozzles of the automatic shut-off type that do not have catch-locks and meet all federal standards. This section does not apply to any on-shore receiving tankage if appropriate containment or diversionary structures, or both, or other equipment that is adequate to prevent the overflowed substance from reaching the waters of the state is provided. The terms “vessel” and “hazardous substance” are defined.