(a)  If the vessel or other obstruction is: (1) Not removed at or within the time specified in the notice, and in a manner and to a place satisfactory to the director, or (2) If the vessel or other obstruction is in immediate danger of sinking or has sunk, is breaking up or has broken up, or is posing a hazard to navigation; or (3) If the vessel or other obstruction poses an imminent threat to human health or safety, including a threat of environmental contamination; and (4) If no owner or other person is known to the director upon whom the notice can be served, the director or other authorized public entity may proceed to remove the vessel or other obstruction, or to complete the removal thereof, or to cause the removal to be done, in such manner and to such place as the director or other authorized public entity shall deem best; and the necessary cost and expense of the removal, if not paid by some owner or other person liable therefor, shall, when certified by the director, be paid out of the derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal account or out of the treasury of the state out of any money appropriated therefor.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-10

  • Abandoned vessel: means a vessel that has been left, moored, or anchored in the same area without the express consent, or contrary to the rules of, the owner, manager, or lessee of the submerged lands or waters below or on which the vessel is located for more than forty-five (45) consecutive days or for more than a total of ninety (90) days in any three hundred sixty-five (365) day period, and the vessel's owner is: (i) Not known or cannot be located; or (ii) Known and located but is unwilling to take control of the vessel. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1
  • Authorized public entity: means the department of environmental management or any municipality with jurisdiction or management authority over the harbor areas where an abandoned or derelict vessel or other obstruction is located. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1
  • Department: means the department of environmental management. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1
  • Director: means the director of the department of environmental management. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1
  • in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
  • Obstruction: means any unlawful or unauthorized structure or thing that is deposited or suffered to be or remain in the tidal waters or upon the tidal lands of the state, and in the judgment of the director, is, or is liable to cause or become an obstruction to the safe and convenient use of the waters and submerged lands of the state for navigation and other lawful purposes. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1
  • Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having a property interest in or title to a vessel or other obstruction. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
  • Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1

(b)  Before taking temporary possession of any vessel or other obstruction, the authorized public entity must make reasonable attempts to consult with the department of the United States Coast Guard to ensure that other remedies are not available. The basis for taking temporary possession of the vessel or other obstruction must be set out in writing by the authorized public entity within seven (7) days of taking action and be submitted to the owner, if known, as soon thereafter as reasonable. If the authorized public entity has not already provided the required notice, immediately after taking possession of the vessel or other obstruction, the authorized public entity must initiate the notice provisions in § 46-6-9(a). The authorized public entity must complete the notice requirements of § 46-6-9(a) before using or disposing of the vessel or other obstruction as authorized in § 46-6-10.1.

History of Section.
G.L. 1896, ch. 118, § 20; G.L. 1909, ch. 144, § 20; G.L. 1923, ch. 149, § 19; G.L. 1938, ch. 112, § 19; impl. am. P.L. 1939, ch. 660, § 100; G.L. 1956, § 46-6-10; P.L. 2012, ch. 370, § 2; P.L. 2012, ch. 389, § 2.