§ 76-40. Navigable waters; certain practices regulated. - North Carolina Statutes

Article5.

General Provisions.

§ 76‑40.  Navigablewaters; certain practices regulated.

(a)        It shall beunlawful for any person, firm or corporation to place, deposit, leave or causeto be placed, deposited or left, either temporarily or permanently, any trash,refuse, rubbish, garbage, debris, rubble, scrapped vehicle or equipment orother similar waste material in or upon any body of navigable water in thisState; "waste material" shall not include spoil materials lawfullydug or dredged from navigable waters and deposited in spoil areas designated bythe Department of Environment and Natural Resources; violation of this sectionshall constitute a Class 2 misdemeanor.

(a1)      It shall be unlawfulfor any person, firm or corporation to place, deposit, leave or cause to beplaced, deposited, or left, either temporarily or permanently, any medicalwaste as defined in G.S. 130A‑290 in the open waters of the AtlanticOcean over which the State has jurisdiction or the navigable waters of thisState.

(1)        A person whowillfully violates this subsection is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(2)        A person whowillfully violates this subsection and in so doing releases medical waste thatcreates a substantial risk of physical injury to any person who is not aparticipant in the offense is guilty of a Class F felony which may include afine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per day of violation.

(b)        No person, firm orcorporation shall erect upon the floor of, or in or upon, any body of navigablewater in this State, any sign or other structure, without having first secureda permit to do so from the appropriate federal agencies (which would include apermit from the State of North Carolina) or from the Department ofAdministration, or from the agency designated by the Department to issue suchpermit. Provided, however, this subsection shall not apply to commercialfishing nets, fish offal, ramps, boathouses, piers or duck blinds placed innavigable waters. Any person, firm or corporation erecting such sign or otherstructure without a proper permit or not in accordance with the specificationof such permit shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. The State mayimmediately proceed to remove or cause to be removed such unlawful sign orstructure after five days' notice to the owner or erector thereof and the costof such removal by the State shall be payable by the person, firm orcorporation who erected or owns the unlawful sign or other structure and theState may bring suit to recover the costs of the removal thereof.

(c)        Whenever anystructure lawfully erected upon the floor of, or in or upon, any body ofnavigable water in this State, is abandoned, such structure shall be removed bythe owner thereof and the area cleaned up within 30 days of such abandonment;failure to comply with this section shall constitute a Class 2 misdemeanor. TheState may, after 10 days' notice to the owner or erector thereof, remove theabandoned structure and have the area cleaned up and the cost of such removaland cleaning up by the State shall be payable by the owner or erector of theabandoned structure and the State may bring suit to recover the costs thereof.

(d)        For purposes ofthis section, the term "navigable waters" shall not include anywaters within the boundaries of any reservoir, pond or impoundment used inconnection with the generation of electricity, or of any reservoir projectowned or operated by the United States.

(e)        The provisions ofthis section, in the coastal waters of this State, shall be enforced by theDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources. In the inland waters of theState, the provisions of this section shall be enforced by the WildlifeResources Commission. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources andthe Wildlife Resources Commission shall cooperate in the enforcement of thissection. (1784, c. 206, s. 11; 1811, c. 839; 1833, c. 146;R.S., c. 88, ss. 23, 24, 45; 1842, c. 65, s. 4; 1846, c. 60, s. 3; R.C., c. 85,ss. 40, 41; Code, ss. 3537, 3538; Rev., s. 3560; C.S., s. 6891; 1969, c. 792; 1973,c. 1262, s. 86; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; 1989, c. 727, ss. 13, 218(18); c. 742, s.3; 1993, c. 539, ss. 570, 1287; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1997‑443,s. 11A.119(a).)