(a)  All fees assessed pursuant to § 46-6-10.4 shall be deposited into a restricted receipt account, hereby created and known as the derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal account. The account is also authorized to receive fund transfers and appropriations from the general fund, and from any moneys collected pursuant to § 46-6-12. Funds from the account may only be used to cover the costs of removing, disposing, and/or selling derelict and abandoned vessels and other obstructions, including any associated administrative or environmental remediation costs, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-10.3

  • 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
  • Department: means the department of environmental management. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-6-8.1
  • 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
  • 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)  Priority for use of funds from the account is for (1) The removal of derelict and abandoned vessels that are in danger of sinking or have sunk, are breaking up or have broken up, pose a hazard to navigation, and/or pose threats to the environment; and (2) The removal of obstructions that pose a hazard to navigation, and/or pose threats to the environment.

(c)  The department shall keep all authorized public entities apprised of the balance of the derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal account and the funds available for disbursement.

History of Section.
P.L. 2012, ch. 370, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 389, § 1.