33 U.S.C. § 443 — Permit for dumping; penalty for taking or

Page 76 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 442 Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Section 1 of act June 29, 1888, superseded act Aug. 5, 1886, ch. 929, § 3, 24 Stat. 329, which provided that: ‘‘It shall not be lawful to cast, throw, empty, or unlade, or cause, suffer, or procure to be cast, thrown, emptied, or unladen, either from or out of any ship, vessel, lighter, barge, boat, or other craft, or from the shore, pier, wharf, or mills of any kind whatever, any ballast, stone, slate, gravel, earth, slack, rubbish, wreck, filth, slabs, edgings, sawdust, slag or cinders or other refuse or mill-waste of any kind, into New York Harbor: Pro- vided, That nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to the casting out, unlading, or throwing out of any ship or vessel, lighter, barge, boat, or other craft, any stones, rocks, bricks, lime, or other materials used, or to be used, in or toward the building, repairing, or keeping in repair any quay, pier, wharf, weir, bridge, building, or other work lawfully erected or to be erected on the banks or sides of said harbor, or to the casting out, unloading or depositing of any mate- rial excavated for the improvement of navigable wa- ters, into such places and in such manner as may be deemed by the United States officer supervising the im- provement of said harbor most judicious and prac- ticable and for the best interests of such improve- ment.’’ AMENDMENTS 1958—Pub. L. 85–802 substituted ‘‘waters of any harbor subject to this subchapter,’’ for ‘‘tidal waters of the harbor of New York, or its adjacent or tributary wa- ters, or in those of long Island Sound,’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1958 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 85–802, § 2, Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 971, provided that: ‘‘This Act [amending this section and sections 442, 446, 447, 449, 451, and 451a of this title and enacting section 451b of this title] shall take effect on the six- tieth day after the date of its enactment [Aug. 28, 1958].’’ § 442. Liability of officers of towing vessel Any and every master and engineer, or person or persons acting in such capacity, respectively, on board of any boat or vessel, who shall know- ingly engage in towing any scow, boat, or vessel loaded with any such prohibited matter to any point or place of deposit, or discharge in the wa- ters of any harbor subject to this subchapter, or to any point or place elsewhere than within the limits defined and permitted by the supervisor of the harbor, shall be deemed guilty of a viola- tion of section 441 of this title, and shall, upon conviction, be punishable as provided for of- fenses in violation of section 441 of this title, and shall also have his license revoked or sus- pended for a term to be fixed by the judge before whom tried and convicted. (June 29, 1888, ch. 496, § 2, 25 Stat. 209; Pub. L. 85–802, § 1(2), Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 970.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1958—Pub. L. 85–802 substituted ‘‘any harbor subject to this subchapter’’ for ‘‘the harbor of New York, or in its adjacent or tributary waters, or in those of Long Is- land Sound’’, and struck out ‘‘hereinafter mentioned’’ after ‘‘supervisor of the harbor’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1958 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 85–802 effective on sixtieth day after Aug. 28, 1958, see section 2 of Pub. L. 85–802, set out as a note under section 441 of this title. § 443. Permit for dumping; penalty for taking or towing boat or scow without permit In all cases of receiving on board of any scows or boats such forbidden matter or substance as described in section 441 of this title, the owner or master, or person acting in such capacity on board of such scows or boats, before proceeding to take or tow the same to the place of deposit, shall apply for and obtain from the supervisor of the harbor appointed, as provided in section 451 of this title, a permit defining the precise limits within which the discharge of such scows or boats may be made; and it shall not be lawful for the owner or master, or person acting in such capacity, of any tug or towboat to tow or move any scow or boat so loaded with such for- bidden matter until such permit shall have been obtained; and every person violating the fore- going provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 nor less than $500, and in addition thereto the master of any tug or towboat so of- fending shall have his license revoked or sus- pended for a term to be fixed by the judge before whom tried and convicted. (June 29, 1888, ch. 496, § 3, 25 Stat. 209; Aug. 18, 1894, ch. 299, § 3, 28 Stat. 360; May 28, 1908, ch. 212, § 8, 35 Stat. 426.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of section 3 of act June 29, 1888. Said section 3 of act June 29, 1888, enacted sec- tions 443 to 448 of this title. Section 3 of act June 29, 1888, as originally enacted, provided as follows: ‘‘In all cases of receiving on board of any scows or boats such forbidden matter or substance as herein de- scribed, it shall be the duty of the owner or master, or person acting in such capacity, on board of such scows or boats, before proceeding to take or tow the same to the place of deposit, to apply for and obtain from the supervisor of the harbor appointed hereunder a permit defining the precise limits within which the discharge of such scows or boats may be made; and any deviation from such dumping or discharging place specified in such permit shall be a misdemeanor within the mean- ing of this act; and the master and engineer, or person or persons acting in such capacity, on board of any towboat towing such scows or boats, shall be equally guilty of such offense with the master or person acting in the capacity of master of the scow, and be liable to equal punishment.’’ Section 3 was amended by act Aug. 18, 1894, to read as follows: ‘‘In all cases of receiving on board of any scows or boats such forbidden matter or substance as herein de- scribed, the owner or master, or person acting in such capacity on board of such scows or boats, before pro- ceeding to take or tow the same to the place of deposit, shall apply for and obtain from the supervisor of the harbor appointed hereunder a permit defining the pre- cise limits within which the discharge of such scows or boats may be made; and it shall not be lawful for the owner or master, or person acting in such capacity, of Page 77 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 444 any tug or towboat to tow or move any scow or boat so loaded with such forbidden matter until such permit shall have been obtained; and every person violating the foregoing provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thou- sand nor less than five hundred dollars, and in addition thereto the master of any tug or towboat so offending shall have his license revoked, or suspended for a term to be fixed by the judge before whom tried and con- victed. And any deviation from such dumping or dis- charging place specified in such permit shall be a mis- demeanor, and the owner and master, or person acting in the capacity of master, of any scows or boats dump- ing or discharging such forbidden matter in any place other than that specified in such permit shall be liable to punishment therefor as provided in section one of the said Act of June twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight [section 441 of this title]; and the owner and master, or person acting in the capacity of master, of any tug or towboat towing such scows or boats shall be liable to equal punishment with the owner and master, or person acting in the capacity of master, of the scows or boats; and further, every scowman or other employee on board of both scows and towboats shall be deemed to have knowledge of the place of dumping specified in such permit, and the own- ers and masters, or persons acting in the capacity of masters, shall be liable to punishment, as aforesaid, for any unlawful dumping, within the meaning of this Act or of the said Act of June twenty-ninth, eighteen hun- dred and eighty-eight, which may be caused by the neg- ligence or ignorance of such scowman or other em- ployee; and, further, neither defect in machinery nor avoidable accidents to scows or towboats, nor unfavor- able weather, nor improper handling or moving of scows or boats of any kind whatsoever, shall operate to release the owners and masters and employees of scows and towboats from the penalties hereinbefore men- tioned. Every scow or boat engaged in the transpor- tation of dredgings, earth, sand, mud, cellar dirt, gar- bage, or other offensive material of any description shall have its name or number and owner’s name paint- ed in letters and numbers at least fourteen inches long on both sides of the scow or boat; these names and numbers shall be kept distinctly legible at all times, and no scow or boat not so marked shall be used to transport or dump any such material. The supervisor of the harbor of New York, designated as provided in sec- tion five of the said Act of June twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight [section 451 of this title], is authorized and directed to appoint inspectors and dep- uty inspectors, and, for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act and of the Act aforesaid, and of detecting and bringing to punishment offenders against the same, the said supervisor of the harbor, and the in- spectors and deputy inspectors so appointed by him, shall have power and authority: First. To arrest and take into custody, with or without process, any person or persons who may commit any of the acts or offenses prohibited by this section and by the Act of June twen- ty-ninth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, aforesaid, or who may violate any of the provisions of the same: Provided, That no person shall be arrested without process for any offense not committed in the presence of the supervisor or his inspectors or deputy inspectors, or either of them: And provided further, That whenever any such arrest is made the person or persons so ar- rested shall be brought forthwith before a commis- sioner, judge, or court of the United States for exam- ination of the offenses alleged against him; and such commissioner, judge, or court shall proceed in respect thereto as authorized by law in case of crimes against the United States. Second. To go on board of any scow or towboat engaged in unlawful dumping of prohibited material, or in moving the same without a permit as required in this section of this Act, and to seize and hold said boats until they are discharged by action of the commissioner, judge, or court of the United States before whom the offending persons are brought. Third. To arrest and take into custody any witness or wit- nesses to such unlawful dumping of prohibited mate- rial, the said witnesses to be released under proper bonds. Fourth. To go on board of any towboat having in tow scows or boats loaded with such prohibited mate- rial, and accompany the same to the place of dumping whenever such action appears to be necessary to secure compliance with the requirements of this Act and of the Act aforesaid. Fifth. To enter gas and oil works and all other manufacturing works for the purpose of dis- covering the disposition made of sludge, acid, or other injurious material, whenever there is good reason to believe that such sludge, acid, or other injurious mate- rial is allowed to run into the tidal waters of the har- bor in violation of section one of the aforesaid Act of June twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight [section 441 of this title]. Every person who, directly or indirectly, gives any sum of money or other bribe, present, or reward or makes any offer of the same to any inspector, deputy inspector, or other employee of the office of the supervisor of the harbor with intent to influence such inspector, deputy inspector, or other employee to permit or overlook any violation of the provisions of this section or of the said Act of June twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, shall, on conviction thereof, be fined not less than five hun- dred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, and be imprisoned not less than six months nor more than one year. Every permit issued in accordance with the provi- sions of this section of this Act which may not be taken up by an inspector or deputy inspector shall be returned within forty-eight hours after issuance to the office of the supervisor of the harbor; such permit shall bear an indorsement by the master of the towboat, or the person acting in such capacity, stating whether the permit has been used, and if so the time and place of dumping. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be liable to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars nor less than one hundred dollars.’’ Section 3 was further amended by act May 28, 1908, ch. 212, § 8, to read as set forth in this section and sec- tions 444 to 448 of this title. § 444. Dumping at other place than designated dumping grounds; penalty; person liable; ex- cuses for deviation Any deviation from such dumping or dis- charging place specified in such permit shall be a misdemeanor, and the owner and master, or person acting in the capacity of master, of any scows or boats dumping or discharging such for- bidden matter in any place other than that spec- ified in such permit shall be liable to punish- ment therefor as provided in section 441 of this title; and the owner and master, or person act- ing in the capacity of master, of any tug or towboat towing such scows or boats shall be lia- ble to equal punishment with the owner and master, or person acting in the capacity of mas- ter, of the scows or boats; and, further, every scowman or other employee on board of both scows and towboats shall be deemed to have knowledge of the place of dumping specified in such permit, and the owners and masters, or per- sons acting in the capacity of masters, shall be liable to punishment, as aforesaid, for any un- lawful dumping, within the meaning of this Act and this subchapter, which may be caused by the negligence or ignorance of such scowman or other employee; and, further, neither defect in machinery nor avoidable accidents to scows or towboats, nor unfavorable weather, nor im- proper handling or moving of scows or boats of any kind whatsoever shall operate to release the owners and master and employees of scows and