California Boating Law

CALIFORNIA BOATING LAW

87. Conditions for consideration of funding. The department shall give consid- eration for funding the planning, construction, development, or improvement of small craft harbors to projects which are financially feasible and which make existing small craft harbors, which are subject to the jurisdiction of the department, substantially meet the provisions of Section 86. 88. Facility liability. A small craft harbor or boating facility funded pursuant to Section 70, 70.2, 70.8, 71.4, 72.5, or 76.3 is not liable for any damages which occur on a vessel using those facilities or pursuant to operation of the vessel, other than on the facilities of the harbor or boating facility. This section does not provide immunity from liability for a small craft harbor or boating facility for its negligent acts. DIVISION 1.5. NAVIGABLE WATERS CHAPTER 2 100. Public waterways. Navigable waters and all streams of sufficient capacity to transport the products of the country are public ways for the purposes of navigation and of such transportation. However, the floodwaters of any navigable river, stream, slough, or other watercourse while temporarily flowing above the normal high-water mark over public or private lands outside any established banks of such river, stream, slough, or other watercourse are not navigable waters and nothing in this section shall be construed as permitting trespass on any such lands. For the purposes of this section, ‘‘floodwaters’’ refers to that elevation of water which occurs at extraordinary times of flood and does not mean the water elevation of ordinary annual or recurring high waters resulting from normal runoff. CHAPTER 3 131. Obstructing navigable waters. (a) A person who unlawfully obstructs the navigation of any navigable waters is guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) A person found guilty of a misdemeanor violation of this section shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or both that fine and imprisonment. 133. Discharging oil upon navigable waters. (a) Except in case of emergency imperiling life or property, or unavoidable accident, collision, or stranding, or as otherwise permitted by law, 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. (b) As used in this section, the term ‘‘oil’’ means oil of any kind or in any form, including fuel oil, oil sludge, and oil refuse, and the term, ‘‘navigable waters of the state,’’ means all portions of the sea within the territorial jurisdiction of the state, and all inland waters navigable in fact in which the tide ebbs and flows. (c) A person found guilty of a misdemeanor violation of this section shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or both that fine and imprisonment. DIVISION 2. NAVIGATION CHAPTER 2 264. Steam vessel safety. (a) A captain or other person having charge of any steam vessel used for the conveyance of passengers, or of its boilers and engines, who,

34