33 U.S.C. § 495 — Violations of orders respecting bridges and

Page 103 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 495 popularly known as the Bridge Act of 1906, was requested during the period beginning on Janu- ary 1, 2006, and ending on August 3, 2011. (Pub. L. 111–281, title IX, § 905, Oct. 15, 2010, 124 Stat. 3012; Pub. L. 112–213, title VII, § 702(a), Dec. 20, 2012, 126 Stat. 1580.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Act of March 23, 1906 (33 U.S.C. 491 et seq.), popularly known as the Bridge Act of 1906, referred to in text, is act Mar. 23, 1906, ch. 1130, 34 Stat. 84, which enacted sec- tions 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title. For complete classification of this Act of the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 491 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2012—Pub. L. 112–213 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- ture of the House of Representatives a comprehensive study on the proposed construction or alteration of any bridge, drawbridge, or causeway over navigable waters with a channel depth of 25 feet or greater of the United States that may impede or obstruct future navigation to or from port facilities.’’ § 495. Violations of orders respecting bridges and accessory works (a) Criminal penalties for violation; mis- demeanor; fine; new offenses; jurisdiction: suits for recovery of removal expenses, en- forcement of removal, and obstruction-to- navigation causes or questions Any persons who shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with the lawful order of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating or the Chief of Engineers, made in ac- cordance with the provisions of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished in any court of com- petent jurisdiction by a fine not exceeding $5,000, and every month such persons shall re- main in default shall be deemed a new offense and subject such persons to additional penalties therefor; and in addition to the penalties above described the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating and the Chief of Engineers may, upon refusal of the per- sons owning or controlling any such bridge and accessory works to comply with any lawful order issued by the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating or Chief of Engineers in regard thereto, cause the re- moval of such bridge and accessory works at the expense of the persons owning or controlling such bridge, and suit for such expense may be brought in the name of the United States against such persons, and recovery had for such expense in any court of competent jurisdiction; and the removal of any structures erected or maintained in violation of the provisions of said sections or the order or direction of the Sec- retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating or Chief of Engineers made in pursuance thereof may be enforced by injunc- tion, mandamus, or other summary process, upon application to the district court in the dis- trict in which such structure may, in whole or in part, exist, and proper proceedings to this end may be instituted under the direction of the At- torney General of the United States at the re- quest of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating; and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to navigation created by the construction of any bridge under said sections, the cause or question arising may be tried be- fore the district court of the United States in any district which any portion of said obstruc- tion or bridge touches. (b) Civil penalties for violation; separate of- fenses; notice and hearing; assessment, col- lection, and remission; civil actions Whoever violates any provision of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, or any order issued under sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall be liable to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for a violation occurring in 2008 and any year thereafter. Each day a viola- tion continues shall be deemed a separate of- fense. No penalty may be assessed under this subsection until the person charged is given no- tice and an opportunity for a hearing on the charge. The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may assess and collect any civil penalty incurred under this subsection and, in his discretion, may remit, mitigate, or compromise any penalty until the matter is referred to the Attorney General. If a person against whom a civil penalty is assessed under this subsection fails to pay that penalty, an action may be commenced in the district court of the United States for any district in which the violation occurs for such penalty. (Mar. 23, 1906, ch. 1130, § 5, 34 Stat. 85; Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §§ 289, 291, 36 Stat. 1167; Pub. L. 97–322, title I, § 108(c), Oct. 15, 1982, 96 Stat. 1584; Pub. L. 97–449, § 2(d)(1), Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2440; Pub. L. 108–293, title VI, § 601(a), Aug. 9, 2004, 118 Stat. 1050; Pub. L. 114–120, title III, § 306(b)(2)(C), Feb. 8, 2016, 130 Stat. 55; Pub. L. 115–232, div. C, title XXXV, § 3548(b), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2328.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION The words ‘‘district court’’ were substituted for ‘‘cir- cuit court,’’ upon incorporation into the Code, the Cir- cuit Courts being abolished by act Mar. 3, 1911, and their powers and duties transferred to the district courts by section 291 of that act. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–232 struck out ‘‘$5,000 for a violation occurring in 2004; $10,000 for a violation occurring in 2005; $15,000 for a violation occurring in 2006; $20,000 for a violation occurring in 2007; and’’ after ‘‘civil penalty of not more than’’. 2016—Pub. L. 114–120 substituted ‘‘Secretary of the de- partment in which the Coast Guard is operating’’ for ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ wherever appearing. 2004—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–293 substituted ‘‘$5,000 for a violation occurring in 2004; $10,000 for a violation occurring in 2005; $15,000 for a violation occurring in 2006; $20,000 for a violation occurring in 2007; and $25,000 for a violation occurring in 2008 and any year there- after’’ for ‘‘$1,000’’. 1983—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–449 substituted ‘‘Sec- retary of Transportation’’ for ‘‘Secretary of War’’ wher- ever appearing. See Transfer of Functions note below. Page 104 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 496 1982—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–322, § 108(c)(1)–(3), des- ignated existing provisions as subsec. (a), provided for punishment of persons who shall ‘‘willfully’’ fail to comply with lawful orders, and struck out ‘‘shall be deemed guilty of a violation of said sections, and any persons who shall be guilty of a violation of said sec- tions’’ before ‘‘shall be deemed guilty of a mis- demeanor’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–322, § 108(c)(4), added subsec. (b). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Functions, powers, and duties of Secretary of the Army [formerly War] and other offices and officers of Department the Army [formerly War] under this sec- tion to extent that they relate generally to location and clearances of bridges and causeways in navigable waters of United States transferred to and vested in Secretary of Transportation by Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(g)(6)(B), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 941. Pub. L. 97–449 amended this section to reflect transfer made by sec- tion 6(g)(6)(B) of Pub. L. 89–670, and repealed section 6(g)(6)(B). § 496. Time for commencement and completion of bridge Whenever Congress shall after March 23, 1906, by law authorize the construction of any bridge over or across any of the navigable waters of the United States, and no time for the commence- ment and completion of such bridge is named in said Act, the authority thereby granted shall cease and be null and void unless the actual con- struction of the bridge authorized in such Act be commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date of the passage of such Act. (Mar. 23, 1906, ch. 1130, § 6, 34 Stat. 86.) § 497. ‘‘Persons’’ defined The word ‘‘persons’’ as used in sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall be construed to import both the singular and the plural, as the case demands, and shall include municipali- ties, quasi-municipal corporations, corporations, companies, and associations. (Mar. 23, 1906, ch. 1130, § 7, 34 Stat. 86.) § 498. Reservation of right to alter or repeal The right to alter, amend, or repeal sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, is expressly reserved as to any and all bridges which may be built in accordance with the provisions of said sections, and the United States shall incur no li- ability for the alteration, amendment, or repeal thereof to the owner or owners or any other per- sons interested in any bridge which shall have been constructed in accordance with its provi- sions. (Mar. 23, 1906, ch. 1130, § 8, 34 Stat. 86.) § 498a. Repealed. Pub. L. 100–17, title I, § 135(b), Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 174 Section, act June 10, 1930, ch. 441, § 17, 46 Stat. 552, provided that, in the case of bridges authorized prior to June 10, 1930, by Acts of Congress, where Congress has specifically reserved the right to regulate tolls, such bridges, with respect to regulation of all tolls, be sub- ject to sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title. § 498b. Repealed. Pub. L. 100–17, title I, § 135(c), Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 174 Section, act June 27, 1930, ch. 640, § 1, 46 Stat. 821, pro- vided that, in case of any bridge authorized prior to Mar. 23, 1906, by Act of Congress, where Congress has specifically reserved the right to alter, amend, or re- peal such Act, regulation of all tolls be subject to sec- tions 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title. § 499. Regulations for drawbridges (a) Criminal penalties for violations; enforce- ment; rules and regulations It shall be the duty of all persons owning, op- erating, and tending the drawbridges built prior to August 18, 1894, or which may thereafter be built across the navigable rivers and other wa- ters of the United States, to open, or cause to be opened, the draws of such bridges under such rules and regulations as in the opinion of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating the public interests require to govern the opening of drawbridges for the passage of vessels and other water crafts, and such rules and regulations, when so made and published, shall have the force of law. Every such person who shall willfully fail or refuse to open, or cause to be opened, the draw of any such bridge for the passage of a boat or boats, as provided in such regulations, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,000 nor less than $1,000, or by imprison- ment (in the case of a natural person) for not ex- ceeding one year, or by both such fine and im- prisonment, in the discretion of the court: Pro- vided, That the proper action to enforce the pro- visions of this subsection may be commenced be- fore any magistrate judge, judge, or court of the United States, and such magistrate judge, judge, or court shall proceed in respect thereto as au- thorized by law in case of crimes against the United States: Provided further, That whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of the depart- ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, the public interests require it, he may make rules and regulations to govern the opening of draw- bridges for the passage of vessels and other water crafts, and such rules and regulations, when so made and published, shall have the force of law, and any willful violation thereof shall be punished as hereinbefore provided: Pro- vided further, That any regulations made in pur- suance of this section may be enforced as pro- vided in section 413 of this title, the provisions whereof are made applicable to the said regula- tions. Any rules and regulations made in pursu- ance of this section shall, to the extent practical and feasible, provide for regularly scheduled openings of drawbridges during seasons of the year, and during times of the day, when sched- uled openings would help reduce motor vehicle traffic delays and congestion on roads and high- ways linked by drawbridges. (b) Nonstructural vessel appurtenances; unrea- sonable delays No vessel owner or operator shall signal a drawbridge to open for any nonstructural vessel appurtenance which is not essential to naviga- tion or which is easily lowered and no person shall unreasonably delay the opening of a draw