Proposed Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES
REGISTRAR'S NOTICE: The Board of Game and Inland Fisheries is exempt from the Administrative Process Act pursuant to §29.1-701 E of the Code of Virginia, which provides that proposal and adoption of regulations implementing Chapter 7 of Title 29.1 shall take place as described in Article 1 (§29.1-500 et seq.) of Chapter 5 of Title 29.1 of the Code of Virginia. The department is required by §2.2-4031 of the Code of Virginia to publish all proposed and final regulations.
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: The Board of Game and Inland Fisheries has ordered to be published, pursuant to §§29.1-501, 29.1-502, and 29.1-701 of the Code of Virginia, the following proposed new regulations or regulation amendments. A public comment period on the proposed regulations opened August 22, 2002, and remains open until October 24, 2002. Comments submitted must be in writing; must be accompanied by the name, address and telephone number of the party offering the comments; should state the VAC number, regulation title and the regulatory action desired; and should state the justification for the desired action. Comments should be sent to Phil Smith, Policy Analyst and Regulatory Coordinator, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23230, and need to be received no later than October 17, 2002, in order to be assured that the board will have opportunity to review them before taking final action.
A public hearing on the advisability of adopting or amending and adopting the proposed regulations, or any parts thereof, will be held during a meeting of the board to take place at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4000 West Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 24, 2002, at which time any interested citizen present shall be heard. If the board is satisfied that the proposed regulations, or any parts thereof, is advisable, in the form in which published or as amended after receipt of the public's comments, the board may adopt regulation amendments as final at the October 24 meeting. The regulations or regulations amendments adopted may be either more liberal or more restrictive than that proposed and being advertised under this notice.
Title of Regulation: 4VAC 15-370. Watercraft: In General (amending 4VAC 15-370-50; adding 4VAC 15-370-51, 4VAC 15-370-70, and 4VAC 15-370-80; repealing 4VAC 15-370-10 and 4VAC 15-370-30).
Statutory Authority: §§29.1-501, 29.1-502, 29.1-701, 29.1-735, and 29.1-744 of the Code of Virginia.
Public Hearing Date: October 24, 2002 - 9 a.m.
Public comments may be submitted until October 24, 2002.
(See Notice to the Public preceding this regulation)
Agency Contact: Phil Smith, Policy Analyst and Regulatory Coordinator, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond VA, 23230, telephone (804) 367-1000, FAX (804) 367-0488 or e-mail .
Summary:
The amendments establish rules and procedures for authorizing or canceling waterway regulatory markers, set standards for the appearance and construction of the markers, require watercraft operators to obey the markets, and prohibit activities and actions that may damage or alter approved markers.
Three new sections are added to the regulation to: (i) require those authorized to place markers to maintain the visibility and readability of the marker or remove them and also authorizes the department to remove them or require they be removed at the owner's expense; (ii) authorize the department to issue hull identification numbers and motor serial numbers or their replacements, and make it unlawful to destroy or alter those numbers unless authorized in writing; and (iii) define the penalty for a violation of the regulation. In future regulatory action, the department will adopt new watercraft safety equipment and operating requirements and is currently repealing the section that adopted federal regulations and laws related to those issues. The department is repealing the section requiring at least one white light for motorboats anchored or drifting.
4VAC 15-370-10. Adoption of federal regulations and statutes concerning boating safety equipment and lights to apply to vessels in Virginia.(Repealed.)
A. The following federal rules and regulations are hereby adopted by the board as its regulations. These rules and regulations shall apply by their own terms to all vessels within the Commonwealth. As used in 33 CFR 175.3, the word "engaged" shall mean "hired for use."
1. 33 USC §§2001, 2002, 2003, 2020 through 2030 (1986 and supplement 1996).
2. 33 CFR 175 (1995).
3. 46 CFR, Subparts 25.25, 25.30, 25.35, 25.40-1 (1995).
B. These regulations are adopted under the authority of §29.1-735 of the Code of Virginia.
4VAC 15-370-30. Light exhibited by certain occupied motorboats.(Repealed.)
Occupied motorboats drifting or at anchor between sunset and sunrise shall exhibit at least one white light that can be seen all around the horizon for a distance of at least one mile. This provision shall not be applicable in areas where boats are regularly moored or in sheltered coves not normally used by motorboats under power for through passage.
4VAC 15-370-50. Regulatory markers and aids to navigation.
A. Under the provisions of Chapter 7 of Title 29.1 of the Code of Virginia a system of regulatory markers and a lateral buoyage marking system of aids to navigation are hereby adopted on all public waters of the Commonwealth not marked by an agency of the United States. Regulatory markers will be a combination ofwhite with international orange and white,bands. A vertical open-faced diamond shape with a white center denotingshall denote danger,. A vertical open-faced diamond shape with an inside cross denotingshall denote a prohibition of all vessels,. A circlecircular shape with a white center denotingshall denote a control or restriction, and. A rectangular shape denotingshall denote information other than a danger, control or restriction. Explanatory words may be added to all regulatory markers and the operation of all vessels shall be governed by any such regulatory marker authorized by the department. No regulatory marker, aid to navigation or other waterway marker affecting the safety, health or well-being of a boat operator, excepting those placed by an agency of the United States or a political subdivision of this Commonwealth as authorized in §29.1-744 D of the Code of Virginia, shall be placed in, on or near the water unless authorized by the department and such authorized regulatory markers and aids to navigation shall be designed, placed and maintained according to rules prescribed by the board.
B. When buoys are used as regulatory markers, they shall be white with horizontal bands of international orange, having a minimum width of three inches, placed completely around the buoy circumference. One band shall be at the top of the buoy, with a second band placed just above the waterline so that both bands are clearly visible to approaching watercraft. The area of the buoy body visible between the two bands shall be white and not less than 12 inches in height. No buoy shall be less than 24 inches in overall height from the waterline.
C. Where a regulatory marker consists of a sign displayed from a marine structure, post or piling, the sign shall be white, with an international orange border having a minimum width of three inches. The geometric shape associated with the meaning of the marker shall be centered on the signboard.
D. The size of the display area shall be as required by circumstances, except that no display area shall be smaller than one foot in height. The outside width of the diamond, the inner diameter of the circle, and the average of the inside and outside widths of a square shall be two-thirds of the display area. The side of the diamond shall slope at a 35° angle from the vertical on the plane surface. Approximate adjustments for curvature may be made when applied to a cylindrical surface.
E. Explanatory words may be added outside the diamond with a center cross, the open diamond and the no wake circle on fixed markers only, and shall be added to the inside of the circle, square and rectangle. The letters of such words shall be black, in block characters of good proportion, spaced in a manner that will provide maximum legibility, and of a size that will provide the necessary degree of visibility. Applicable words include, but are not limited to:
1. Open faced diamond: rock, snag, cable, dam, dredge, shoal, reef, wreck.
2. Diamond with cross: dam, swim area, rapids, no boats .
3. Circle: no skiing, no wake, no anchoring, no fishing, no scuba, no boats, ski only, fishing only, for wording inside the circle; and entering no wake zone, leaving no wake zone, for wording outside the circle.
4. Square or rectangle: information other than a danger, control or restriction, which may contribute to health, safety, or well-being of boaters, such as place names, arrows indicating availability of gas, oil, groceries, marine repairs, limits of controlled areas, or approaching controlled area.
F. Waterway markers shall be made of materials that will retain the characteristics essential to their basic significance, such as color, shape, legibility and position, despite weather or other exposures.
G. Regulatory markers shall be placed where they are reasonably visible from boats approaching the marker and the visibility of the marker shall be maintained.
H. Written approval of the department must be obtained before relocation of any marker.
I. The person responsible for the marker shall immediately notify the department when any approved marker is removed or destroyed. Such marker shall be replaced without unnecessary delay.
J. After notification to the person responsible for the marker, the department may cancel for reasonable cause any marker authorization. Such marker shall be removed by the person responsible for the marker without unnecessary delay. Should the marker not be removed within a reasonable amount of time, the department may remove the marker or have it removed at the expense of the person responsible for the marker.
K. The political subdivision or agency making application shall certify that the markers to be installed conform to the above provisions.
L. It shall be unlawful to enter, use, or occupy public waters for a purpose contrary to the use indicated on markers authorized by the department, or placed by an agency of the Unites States or a political subdivision of this Commonwealth.
M. It shall be unlawful to moor or attach a vessel to a marker other than an approved mooring buoy, or move, remove, displace, tamper with, damage or destroy a marker authorized by the department, placed by an agency of the United States or placed by a political subdivision of this Commonwealth.
4VAC 15-370-51. Regulatory markers and aids to navigation maintenance.
The person responsible for a regulatory marker or aid to navigation shall maintain such marker or aid to ensure visibility, readability and proper placement of the marker or aid to navigation. The department may remove, have removed or require removal of any marker not maintained or repaired. All costs of removal shall be borne by the person responsible for the marker.
4VAC 15-370-70. Watercraft and motor identification numbers.
A. If a watercraft contains a permanent hull identification number placed on it by the manufacturer, the manufacturer's number must be used as the hull identification number. If there is no manufacturer's hull identification number on a watercraft manufactured after November 1, 1972, if the number has been removed or obliterated, or if the watercraft is homemade, the department, upon proper application, may assign a permanent identification number, which must be used as the hull identification number. This assigned number must be affixed permanently to or imprinted upon the watercraft at the place and manner designated by the department.
B. If a motor for a watercraft contains a permanent serial number placed on it by the manufacturer, the manufacturer's number must be used as the motor serial number. If there is no manufacturer's serial number, if the number has been removed or obliterated, or if the motor is homemade, the department, upon proper application, may assign a permanent identification number, which must be used as the motor serial number. This assigned number must be affixed permanently to or imprinted upon the motor at the place and manner designated by the department.
C. It shall be unlawful to destroy, remove, alter, cover, conceal, deface or otherwise obscure the hull identification number, the motor serial number or an identification number issued by the department, any part of it or the plate bearing it, with intent to render it or other property unidentifiable unless authorized in writing by the department and the U.S. Coast Guard.
D. It shall be unlawful to possess a watercraft manufactured on or after November 1, 1972, or a watercraft motor that has the hull identification number, the motor serial number or an identification number issued by the department destroyed, removed, altered, covered, concealed, defaced, or otherwise obscured. Any such watercraft or watercraft motor shall be subject to seizure by any law-enforcement officer and held as evidence.
4VAC 15-370-80. Penalties.
Except as otherwise provided by statute, any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor for each such violation as provided by §29.1-746 of the Code of Virginia.
VA.R. Doc. No. R03-13; Filed September 4, 2002, 11:14 a.m.
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Title of Regulation: 4VAC 15-380. Watercraft: Motorboat Numbering (amending 4VAC 15-380-30, 4VAC 15-380-40, 4VAC 15-380-50, and 4VAC 15-380-70; adding 4VAC 15-380-80 through 4VAC 15-380-130; repealing 4VAC 15-380-10, 4VAC 15-380-20, and 4VAC 15-380-60).
Statutory Authority: §§29.1-501, 29.1-502, 29.1-701, and 29.1-735 of the Code of Virginia and Item 392 of the 2002 Appropriation Act.
Public Hearing Date: October 24, 2002 - 9 a.m.
Public comments may be submitted until October 24, 2002.
(See Notice to the Public preceding 4 VAC 15-370)
Agency Contact: Phil Smith, Policy Analyst and Regulatory Coordinator, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond VA, 23230, telephone (804) 367-1000, FAX (804) 367-0488 or e-mail .
Summary:
The amendments:
1. Eliminate specific requirements for what information must be on an application for a certificate of number and title;
2. Provide a better numbering example in the regulation section that specifies the format of the registration numbers that must be affixed to watercraft;
3. Authorize the use of a backing plate for the display of numbers when the hull is made of materials such as rubber or vinyl that will not hold a painted or decal number;
4. Remove a requirement that notifications of a change in status of a registered or titled vessel or owner must be made on a form provided by the department: notification in writing, including electronic media and facsimile, will be acceptable;
5. Eliminate the requirement for application for a duplicate certificate of number to be on a form provided by the department, the fee for the duplicate, and a restriction that not more than one certificate of number may be in existence at any one time: the fee for duplicate certificates will be established in 4VAC 15-380-120;
6. Authorize the department to cancel and recall watercraft titles when necessary, and require the owners to surrender recalled titles upon demand;
7. Establish that the effective date of cancellations of registrations or titles is the day the request was processed or up to 15 days prior to that day provided sufficient evidence is provided that the owner lost interest in the watercraft within those 15 days;
8. Authorize game wardens to inspect watercraft for which an application for certificate of registration or title has been received by the department;
9. Clarify that the reduced registration rates when an owner registers 10 or more watercraft apply only when 10 watercraft are actively registered;
10. Clarify that lifeboats exempted from registration requirements differ from tenders in that they are used exclusively as lifesaving devices during times of emergency;
11. Establish fees for certificates of registration; and
12. Define the penalty for violation of this regulation.
4VAC 15-380-10. Application for certificate of number.(Repealed.)
An application or renewal application for a certificate of number for a motorboat, as required by Chapter 7 (§29.1-700 et seq.) of Title 29.1 of the Code of Virginia, shall contain the following information: The name and address of owner, the county or city where such boat is principally used, normally garaged, docked, or parked, present number on boat (if any), hull material (wood, fiberglass, metal, inflatable, other), type of propulsion (outboard, inboard and inboard/outboard, auxiliary sail - outboard, inboard), type of fuel (gas, diesel, electric), make and year built (if known), length overall, statement as to use (pleasure, livery, dealer, manufacturer, commercial passenger, commercial fishing, commercial other), a statement by applicant of current military status, a statement of ownership by applicant and signature of owner.
4VAC 15-380-20. Information shown on certificate.(Repealed.)
The certificate of number for a motorboat shall show the following: the name and address of owner, number issued, make, hull material, type of propulsion, length overall, use, and expiration date.
4VAC 15-380-30. Numbering pattern.
The motorboat number assigned shall consist of the symbol "VA" identifying the Commonwealth followed by not more than four arabic numerals and two capital letters, in sequence, separated by a hyphen or equivalent space in accordance with the serial numerically and alphabetically; e.g., "VA-1-A""VA1234BB" or "VA-1234-BB." Since the letters "I," "O" and "Q" may be mistaken for arabic numbers, all letter sequences using "I," "O" and "Q" shall be omitted.
4VAC 15-380-40. Display of numbers.
The numbers assigned for a motorboat shall be painted on or attached to each side of the forward half of the vessel to which issued in such a position as to provide clear legibility for identification; provided, that on vessels so configured that a number on the hull or superstructure would not be easily visible or the numbers would not remain securely attached, the number must be painted on or attached to a backing plate that is attached to the forward half of the vessel so that the number is visible from each side of the vessel. The numbers shall read from left to right and shall be in block characters of good proportion not less than three inches in height. The numbers shall be a color which will contrast with the color of the background and so maintained as to be clearly visible and legible; i.e., dark numbers on a light background or light numbers on a dark background.
4VAC 15-380-50. Report of transfer of ownershipchange of status of motorboat; notification of theft or recovery of vessel, or loss or destruction of certificate; and notification of change in military statuswatercraft or owner.
Whenever a motorboat for which there exists a certificate of number changes ownership, the seller shall report such transfer to the department on a form providedwithin 15 days in writing and in a format approved by the department. The holder of a certificate of number shall notify the department within 15 days of the theft or recovery of a vessel, the loss or destruction of a valid certificate of number, or when there has been a change in military status.