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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 415. Summary removal of water craft obstructing navigation; liability of owner, lessee, or operator
(a) Removal authority
Under emergency, in the case of any vessel, boat, water craft, or
raft, or other similar obstruction, sinking of grounding, or being
unnecessarily delayed in any Government canal or lock, or in any
navigable waters mentioned in section 414 of this title, in such
manner as to stop, seriously interfere with, or specially endanger
navigation, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Army, or any
agent of the United States to whom the Secretary may delegate
proper authority, the Secretary of the Army or any such agent shall
have the right to take immediate possession of such boat, vessel,
or other water craft, or raft, so far as to remove or to destroy it
and to clear immediately the canal, lock, or navigable waters
aforesaid of the obstruction thereby caused, using his best
judgment to prevent any unnecessary injury; and no one shall
interfere with or prevent such removal or destruction: Provided,
That the officer or agent charged with the removal or destruction
of an obstruction under this section may in his discretion give
notice in writing to the owners of any such obstruction requiring
them to remove it: And provided further, That the actual expense,
including administrative expenses, of removing any such obstruction
as aforesaid shall be a charge against such craft and cargo; and if
the owners thereof fail or refuse to reimburse the United States
for such expense within thirty days after notification, then the
officer or agent aforesaid may sell the craft or cargo, or any part
thereof that may not have been destroyed in removal, and the
proceeds of such sale shall be covered into the Treasury of the
United States.
(b) Removal requirement
Not later than 24 hours after the Secretary of the Department in
which the Coast Guard is operating issues an order to stop or delay
navigation in any navigable waters of the United States because of
conditions related to the sinking or grounding of a vessel, the
owner or operator of the vessel, with the approval of the Secretary
of the Army, shall begin removal of the vessel using the most
expeditious removal method available or, if appropriate, secure the
vessel pending removal to allow navigation to resume. If the owner
or operator fails to begin removal or to secure the vessel pending
removal or fails to complete removal on an expedited basis, the
Secretary of the Army shall remove or destroy the vessel using the
summary removal procedures under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Liability of owner, lessee, or operator
The owner, lessee, or operator of such vessel, boat, watercraft,
raft, or other obstruction as described in this section shall be
liable to the United States for the actual cost, including
administrative costs, of removal or destruction and disposal as
described which exceeds the costs recovered under subsection (a) of
this section. Any amount recovered from the owner, lessee, or
operator of such vessel pursuant to this subsection to recover
costs in excess of the proceeds from the sale or disposition of
such vessel shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury
of the United States.
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