45-AAAAAA*2 - Special provisions relating to reckless operation, noise and speed on the Fulton Chain of Lakes. - New York Statutes

* § 45-aaaaaa. Special provisions relating to reckless operation, noise and speed on the Fulton Chain of Lakes. 1. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or any inconsistent local laws (a) every pleasure vessel operated on the Fulton Chain of Lakes, consisting of Old Forge Pond and First through Eighth Lakes, shall be operated in a careful and prudent manner, in such a way as not to unreasonably interfere with or endanger any vessel or person; a violation of this paragraph shall be a misdemeanor punishable as set forth in section seventy-three-b of this article; and (b) no vessel shall be operated on such lake at a speed exceeding forty-five miles per hour nor shall any pleasure vessel be operated at a speed exceeding twenty-five miles per hour between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise; a violation of this paragraph shall be a violation punishable as set forth in section seventy-three-c of this article. 2. Except for Sixth and Seventh Lakes, no vessel shall be operated on the Fulton Chain of Lakes within two hundred feet of the shore, a dock, pier, raft or float or an anchored or moored vessel in a manner or at such a speed that causes a wake that unreasonably interferes with or endangers such dock, pier, raft or float or an anchored or moored vessel but in no event at a speed exceeding five miles per hour, unless for the purpose of enabling a person engaged in water skiing to take off or land or such vessel is required to run at full throttle through an established course to measure the vessel's decibel level pursuant to the directions of a law enforcement officer. A violation of this subdivision shall be a violation punishable as set forth in section seventy-three-c of this article. 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any inconsistent local laws, no person shall operate any pleasure vessel, upon the waters of the Fulton Chain of Lakes that exceeds the following noise levels: (a) for engines manufactured before September first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, a noise level of eighty-six dbl.; (b) for engines manufactured on or after September first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine and before September first, nineteen hundred ninety-one, a noise level of eighty-four dbl.; (c) and for engines manufactured after September first, nineteen hundred ninety-one, a noise level of eighty-two dbl. All decibel levels are to be measured on a decibel meter gauged to an A-weighted scale. A violation of this subdivision shall be a violation punishable as set forth in section seventy-three-c of this article. 4. Any law enforcement officer from the state of New York, Herkimer or Hamilton county, or any political subdivision of those counties, may direct the operator of any pleasure vessel reasonably believed to be exceeding the allowable noise levels on the Fulton Chain of Lakes to an area established by the officer for measuring vessel noise levels. At that area the vessel shall be operated at full throttle through a straight course not to exceed one hundred yards. Decibel measurements shall be measured at a distance of at least fifty feet from the pleasure vessel being tested while such vessel is at full throttle. 5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any vessel competing in or practicing for a regatta or boat race over a specified course held by a bona fide club or racing association, provided that due written notice of the date of the race has been given to the appropriate law enforcement agencies at least fifteen days prior to such race, pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-four of this chapter, and all provisions of such section have been complied with. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any Federal Aviation Agency licensed aircraft. * NB There are 2 § 45-aaaaaa's