253.420. Shipwrecks meeting historic register criteria, salvage or excavation requirements, permit, fee--embedded, defined--violation, penalty, rules, procedure.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

253.420. Shipwrecks meeting historic register criteria, salvage or excavation requirements, permit, fee--embedded, defined--violation, penalty, rules, procedure.

Shipwrecks meeting historic register criteria, salvage or excavationrequirements, permit, fee--embedded, defined--violation, penalty,rules, procedure.

253.420. 1. After August 28, 1991, no person, corporation,partnership, proprietorship or organization shall initiate salvageoperations, excavation or similar ground disturbing activities of anysubmerged or embedded abandoned shipwreck in this state which meets thenational register of historic places criteria without obtaining a permitfrom the department of natural resources as provided in this section. Asused in this section, the term "embedded" means firmly affixed in landssuch that the use of excavation tools is required in order to gain accessto any part of the shipwreck or its cargo.

2. The department of natural resources shall not issue a permit underthis section unless the applicant submits a detailed plan of the activitiesregulated by this section to be made by the applicant and such plan isapproved by the department. The department is authorized to promulgateappropriate regulations for the administration of this section. Allrecovery and investigation plans shall meet the current professionalstandards for such activities, which minimize the risk of loss or damage tothe shipwreck or its cargo. An applicant shall be a professionalarchaeologist, as defined in section 194.400, RSMo, or shall hire aprofessional archaeologist as a staff member or consultant to theactivities regulated by this section. Upon approval of a permitapplication, the applicant shall pay a permit fee of one hundred dollars tothe director of the department of revenue, who shall deposit all fundsreceived pursuant to this section in the state treasury to the credit ofthe general revenue fund. The department of natural resources shallapprove or deny any application for a permit under this section withinthirty days of application.

3. In the event there is a sale, at least fifty percent of eachclass, category or type of all artifacts or recovered materials shall bedonated or offered for sale at fair market value to public or privatemuseums or to other public institutions in this state. Such museums andinstitutions shall study, interpret and display such materials orartifacts. To the maximum extent possible, such artifacts shall remain inMissouri.

4. Any person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship ororganization who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty ofa class A misdemeanor. Upon conviction, all specimens, objects andmaterials collected or excavated by such person, together with allphotographs and records relating to such material, are property of thestate. Each day of a continuing violation of subsection 1 of this sectionshall constitute a separate offense.

5. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority ofthis section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuantto the provisions of section 536.024, RSMo.