Local Governments Get Guidelines For Handling Displaced Boats
Boat owners urged to contact local officials to find missing watercraft
Release Date: October 18, 2008
Release Number: 1791-161
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AUSTIN, Texas -- An effort is under way to match up displaced boats and vessels with their owners or transfer ownership so that local governments can remove and dispose of the watercraft, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials announced today.
The "FEMA/State Guidance for Local Jurisdictions on the Removal of Abandoned Vessels and Boats" was formulated with input from the Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management (GDEM), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the Texas General Land Office (GLO), and others.
FEMA recommends local governments follow the guidelines because in many cases, removal costs may be eligible for reimbursement under FEMA's Public Assistance program. Key elements of the guidance include:
- Contacting boat and vessel owners and giving them the opportunity to claim and remove their boat or vessel. If vessel owners cannot or will not take action, jurisdictions will seek affidavits from the owners relinquishing rights to the vessels and giving jurisdictions permission to remove or dispose of watercraft;
- Identifying displaced boats and vessels and cataloguing them using the TPWD Boat Registration Database, or the U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Documentation Database. Any TPWD law enforcement field officer or game warden may be contacted for assistance in identifying the last owner of record of a recreational vessel;
- Law enforcement authorities will "tag" abandoned boats or vessels, using the jurisdiction's standard "abandoned tag." Boat owners trying to locate boats may contact the authorities to see if their boat has been found;
- FEMA may reimburse local governments for eligible documented expenses in retrieving, cataloguing and disposing of vessels. But no reimbursements are available for removal of boats on private property unless special prior approval is obtained from FEMA's Federal Coordinating Officer certifying that the removal from private property is necessary for the public health and safety;
- Removal of boats and vessels from unused lands or lands used for crop and livestock is not eligible for FEMA's Public Assistance reimbursements, but removal of fuels, oils and hazardous materials from boats may be eligible;
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for removing debris from publicly maintained commercial harbors and immediately adjacent waterways, and from "navigable waterways."
- The Texas General Land Office is the authority over abandoned vessels in Texas coastal waters.
- Coastal residents and local jurisdictions locating sunken boats and vessels should collect basic informationsuch as size and type of vessel, identifying numbers (Texas and/or Coast Guard) and locationand send it electronically to sunkenvessels@glo.state.tx.us.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Monday, 20-Oct-2008 11:41:01