33 USC CHAPTER 1, SUBCHAPTER I: GENERAL PROVISIONS

From Title 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERSCHAPTER 1—NAVIGABLE WATERS GENERALLY

SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

§1. Regulations by Secretary of the Army for navigation of waters generally

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Army to prescribe such regulations for the use, administration, and navigation of the navigable waters of the United States as in his judgment the public necessity may require for the protection of life and property, or of operations of the United States in channel improvement, covering all matters not specifically delegated by law to some other executive department. Such regulations shall be posted, in conspicuous and appropriate places, for the information of the public; and every person and every corporation which shall violate such regulations shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof in any district court of the United States within whose territorial jurisdiction such offense may have been committed, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment (in the case of a natural person) not exceeding six months, in the discretion of the court.

Any regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Army in pursuance of this section may be enforced as provided in section 413 of this title, the provisions whereof are made applicable to the said regulations.

(Aug. 18, 1894, ch. 299, §4, 28 Stat. 362; June 13, 1902, ch. 1079, §§6, 11, 32 Stat. 374; Aug. 8, 1917, ch. 49, §7, 40 Stat. 266; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, §205(a), 61 Stat. 501.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

The first paragraph of this section is from section 4 of act Aug. 18, 1894, popularly known as the "River and Harbor Act of 1894", as amended.

As originally enacted, said section 4 made it the duty of the Secretary of War to prescribe rules and regulations for the use, administration, and navigation of any or all canals and similar works of navigation owned, operated, or maintained by the United States, and provided for the posting of such regulations and the punishment of violations thereof.

Said section 4 was amended by section 11 of act June 13, 1902, principally by adding to the original section provisions authorizing the Secretary also to prescribe regulations to govern the speed and movement of vessels and other water craft in any public navigable channel which had been improved under authority of Congress, whenever in his judgment such regulations were necessary to protect such improved channel from injury or to prevent interference with the operations of the United States in improving navigable waters or injury to any plant that might be employed in such operations.

Section 4 was also amended by section 7 of act Aug. 8, 1917, to read as set forth in the first paragraph hereof.

The last paragraph of this section is from section 6 of act June 13, 1902. Said section 6 is also the source of the last proviso in section 499 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. Section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. Section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted "Title 10, Armed Forces" which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of the Army.

Rules and Regulations

Administrative provisions covering definitions which the Coast Guard uses to examine waters to determine whether the Coast Guard has jurisdiction on those waters under particular laws of the United States are set out in chapter I, subchapter A, part 2, of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters, in the Code of Federal Regulations. Such part 2, consisting of sections 2.01–1 to 2.10–10, sets out definitions of jurisdictional terms and provides for the availability of jurisdictional decisions.

§2. Regulations for navigation of South and Southwest Passes of Mississippi River; penalties

The Secretary of the Army is authorized to make such rules and regulations for the navigation of the South and Southwest Passes of the Mississippi River as to him shall seem necessary or expedient for the purpose of preventing any obstruction to the channels through said South and Southwest Passes and any injury to the works therein constructed. The term "South and Southwest Passes", as employed in this section, shall be construed as embracing the entire extent of channel in each case, between the upper ends of the works at the head of the pass and the outer or sea ends of the jetties at the entrance from the Gulf of Mexico; and any willful violation of any rule or regulation made by the Secretary of the Army in pursuance of this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor, for which the owner or owners, agent or agents, master or pilot of the vessel so offending shall be separately or collectively responsible, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100, nor exceeding $500, or by imprisonment for not exceeding three months, or by both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.

(Mar. 3, 1909, ch. 264, §5, 35 Stat. 818; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, §205(a), 61 Stat. 501.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

These provisions were part of section 5 of act Mar. 3, 1909, popularly known as the "River and Harbor Appropriation Act of 1909".

These provisions superseded previous similar provisions relating to the navigation of the South Pass only, contained in act Aug. 11, 1888, ch. 860, §5, 25 Stat. 424, amended by act Sept. 19, 1890, ch. 907, §3, 26 Stat. 452.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

§3. Regulations to prevent injuries from target practice

[Authority to adopt regulations.] In the interest of the national defense, and for the better protection of life and property on the navigable waters of the United States, the Secretary of the Army is authorized and empowered to prescribe such regulations as he may deem best for the use and navigation of any portion or area of the navigable waters of the United States or waters under the jurisdiction of the United States endangered or likely to be endangered by Artillery fire in target practice or otherwise, or by the proving operations of the Government ordnance proving grounds at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, or at any Government ordnance proving ground that may be established elsewhere on or near such waters, and of any portion or area of said waters occupied by submarine mines, mine fields, submarine cables, or other material and accessories pertaining to seacoast fortifications, or by any plant or facility engaged in the execution of any public project of river and harbor improvement; and the said Secretary shall have like power to regulate the transportation of explosives upon any of said waters: Provided, That the authority conferred shall be so exercised as not unreasonably to interfere with or restrict the food fishing industry, and the regulations prescribed in pursuance hereof shall provide for the use of such waters by food fishermen operating under permits granted by the Department of the Army.

[Detail of vessels to enforce regulations.] To enforce the regulations prescribed pursuant to this section, the Secretary of the Army, may detail any public vessel in the service of the Department of the Army, or, upon the request of the Secretary of the Army, the head of any other department may enforce, and the head of any such department is authorized to enforce, such regulations by means of any public vessel of such department.

[Posting and violation of regulations.] The regulations made by the Secretary of the Army pursuant to this section shall be posted in conspicuous and appropriate places, designated by him, for the information of the public; and every person who and every corporation which shall willfully violate any regulations made by the said Secretary pursuant to this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment (in the case of a natural person) not exceeding six months, in the discretion of the court.

[Venue and jurisdiction of offenses; procedure.] Offenses against the provisions of this section, or any regulation made pursuant thereto, committed in any Territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States where there is no court having general jurisdiction of crimes against the United States, shall be cognizable in any court of such place or Territory having original jurisdiction of criminal cases in the place or Territory in which the offense has been committed, with the same right of appeal in all cases as is given in other criminal cases where imprisonment not exceeding six months forms a part of the penalty, and jurisdiction is conferred upon such courts and such courts shall exercise the same for such purposes; and in case any such offense be committed beyond the territorial jurisdiction of any court having jurisdiction thereof, the offense shall be deemed and held to have been committed within the jurisdiction in which the offender may be found or into which he is first brought, and shall be tried by the court having jurisdiction thereof.

(July 9, 1918, ch. 143, subch. XIX, §§1–4, 40 Stat. 892, 893; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, §205(a), 61 Stat. 501.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Undesignated pars. 1 to 4 of this section are from sections 1 to 4, respectively, of act July 9, 1918, popularly known as the "Army Appropriation Act of 1919".

Undesignated pars. 1 and 2 of this section superseded similar provisions of act Aug. 8, 1917, ch. 49, §8, 40 Stat. 266.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Coast Artillery changed to Artillery under authority of section 306(a) of act June 28, 1950, ch. 383, title III, 64 Stat. 269. Section 306(a) of act June 28, 1950 was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. Section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted "Title 10, Armed Forces" which in section 3063 continued the Artillery as a basic branch of the Army.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of certain functions insofar as they pertain to Air Force, and to extent that they were not previously transferred to Secretary of the Air Force and Department of the Air Force from Secretary of the Army and Department of the Army, see Secretary of Defense Transfer Order No. 40 [App. A(55)], July 22, 1949.

§4. Water gauges on Mississippi River and tributaries

The Secretary of the Army is authorized and directed to have water gauges established, and daily observations made of the rise and fall of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

For the purpose of securing the uninterrupted gauging of the waters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as provided for in this section, upon the application of the Chief of Engineers, the Secretary of the Army is authorized to draw his warrant or requisition, from time to time, upon the Secretary of the Treasury for such sums as may be necessary to do such work, not to exceed in the aggregate for each year the sum of $9,600.

(R.S. §5252; Aug. 11, 1888, ch. 860, §6, 25 Stat. 424; June 13, 1902, ch. 1079, §9, 32 Stat. 374; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, §205(a), 61 Stat. 501; Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1076, §1(15), 68 Stat. 967.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

R.S. §5252 derived from Res. Feb. 21, 1871, No. 40, 16 Stat. 598.

The first paragraph of this section is from R.S. §5252, which, as enacted, authorized and directed the establishment of water gauges and the making of daily observations at or in the vicinity of certain enumerated places, and at such other places as the Secretary of War might deem advisable. It further provided that the expenditure should be made from the appropriation for the improvement of rivers and harbors and that the annual cost of the observations should not exceed $5,000. These latter provisions were apparently modified by section 6 of act Aug. 11, 1888, as amended by section 9 of act June 13, 1902, which was substantially the second paragraph of this section. As originally enacted, section 6 of act Aug. 11, 1888, provided for the gauging of the waters of the Lower Mississippi and tributaries, and limited the cost for each year to the amount appropriated in the act for such purpose.

Amendments

1954—Act Aug. 30, 1954, repealed proviso requiring that an itemized statement of expenses incurred in gauging waters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as provided in this section, should accompany the annual report of the Chief of Engineers.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Appropriations

Section 2 of act June 26, 1934, ch. 756, 48 Stat. 1225, which was classified to section 725a of former Title 31, Money and Finance, repealed the permanent appropriation under the title "Gauging waters of the Mississippi and its tributaries (fiscal year) (8–961.54)" effective July 1, 1935, and provided that such portions of any Acts as make permanent appropriations to be expended under such account are amended so as to authorize, in lieu thereof, annual appropriations from the general fund of the Treasury in identical terms and in such amounts as now provided by the laws providing such permanent appropriations.

§5. Abolition of tolls on Government canals, canalized rivers, etc.; expense of operation, repairs to and reconstruction of canals, etc.; Panama Canal excepted; levies by non-Federal interest

(a) No tolls or operating charges whatever shall be levied upon or collected from any vessel, dredge, or other water craft for passing through any lock, canal, canalized river, or other work for the use and benefit of navigation, now belonging to the United States or that may be hereafter acquired or constructed; and for the purpose of preserving and continuing the use and navigation of said canals and other public works without interruption, the Secretary of the Army, upon the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, is authorized to draw his warrant or requisition, from time to time, upon the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the actual expenses of operating, maintaining, and keeping said works in repair, which warrants or requisitions shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated: Provided, That whenever, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Army, the condition of any of the aforesaid works is such that its entire reconstruction is absolutely essential to its efficient and economical maintenance and operation as herein provided for, the reconstruction thereof may include such modifications in plan and location as may be necessary to provide adequate facilities for existing navigation: Provided further, That the modifications are necessary to make the reconstructed work conform to similar works previously authorized by Congress and forming a part of the same improvement, and that such modifications shall be considered and approved by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors and be recommended by the Chief of Engineers before the work of reconstruction is commenced: And provided further, That nothing contained in this section shall be held to apply to the Panama Canal.

(b) No taxes, tolls, operating charges, fees, or any other impositions whatever shall be levied upon or collected from any vessel or other water craft, or from its passengers or crew, by any non-Federal interest, if the vessel or water craft is operating on any navigable waters subject to the authority of the United States, or under the right to freedom of navigation on those waters, except for—

(1) fees charged under section 2236 of this title;

(2) reasonable fees charged on a fair and equitable basis that—

(A) are used solely to pay the cost of a service to the vessel or water craft;

(B) enhance the safety and efficiency of interstate and foreign commerce; and

(3) property taxes on vessels or watercraft, other than vessels or watercraft that are primarily engaged in foreign commerce if those taxes are permissible under the United States Constitution.

(July 5, 1884, ch. 229, §4, 23 Stat. 147; Mar. 3, 1909, ch. 264, §6, 35 Stat. 818; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, §205(a), 61 Stat. 501; Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1076, §1(15), 68 Stat. 967; Pub. L. 107–295, title IV, §445, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2133; Pub. L. 108–176, title VIII, §829(a), Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2597.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section is from act July 5, 1884, popularly known as the "Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1884".

The section, as originally enacted, was as follows:

"No tolls or operating charges whatsoever shall be levied or collected upon any vessel or vessels, dredges, or other passing water-craft through any canal or other work for the improvement of navigation belonging to the United States; and for the purpose of preserving and continuing the use and navigation of said canals, rivers, and other public works without interruption, the Secretary of War, upon the application of the chief engineer in charge of said works, is hereby authorized to draw his warrant or requisition from time to time upon the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the actual expenses of operating and keeping said works in repair, which warrants or requisitions shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated: Provided, however, That an itemized statement of said expenses shall accompany the annual report of the chief of engineers."

It was amended by act March 3, 1909, to read substantially as set forth above.

Amendments

2003—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 108–176 added par. (3).

2002—Pub. L. 107–295 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

1954—Act Aug. 30, 1954, repealed last proviso requiring that an itemized statement of expenses incurred in operating, maintaining, keeping in repair, and reconstructing locks, canals, etc., other than the Panama Canal, as provided in this section, should accompany the annual report of the Chief of Engineers.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Effective Date of 2003 Amendment

Pub. L. 108–176, title VIII, §829(b), Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2597, provided that: "The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] is effective on and after November 25, 2002."

Termination of Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors and Reassignment of Duties and Responsibilities

For termination of Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors 180 days after Oct. 31, 1992, and reassignment of duties and responsibilities by Secretary of Army, see section 223 of Pub. L. 102–580, set out as a note under section 541 of this title.

Appropriations

Section 2 of act June 26, 1934, ch. 756, 48 Stat. 1225, which was classified to section 725a of former Title 31, Money and Finance, repealed the permanent appropriation under the title "Operating and care of canals and other works of navigation (8x881)" effective July 1, 1935, and provided that such portions of any Acts as make permanent appropriations to be expended under such account are amended so as to authorize, in lieu thereof, annual appropriations from the general fund of the Treasury in identical terms and in such amounts as now provided by the laws providing such permanent appropriations.

§6. Free passage to harbor of Michigan City, Indiana

The passage of vessels to and from the harbor of Michigan City, in Indiana, shall be free and not subject to toll or charge.

(R.S. §5247.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

R.S. §5247 derived from acts June 23, 1866, ch. 138, §1, 14 Stat. 73; Mar. 2, 1867, ch. 144, §2, 14 Stat. 421.

§7. Use of Government iron pier in Delaware Bay

The Government iron pier in Delaware Bay near Lewes, Delaware, shall be open to public use under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Army.

(July 27, 1916, ch. 260, §1, 39 Stat. 394; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, §205(a), 61 Stat. 501.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section is from act July 27, 1916, popularly known as the "Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1916".

A further provision of act July 27, 1916, repealed act Mar. 3, 1891, ch. 542, 26 Stat. 969, which authorized a transfer of the iron pier to the Treasury Department.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

§8. Toll free rivers in Alabama

The Tennessee, Coosa, Cahawba, and Black Warrior Rivers, within the State of Alabama, shall be forever free from toll for all property belonging to the United States, and for all persons in their service, and for all citizens of the United States, except as to such tolls as may be allowed by Act of Congress.

(R.S. §5244.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

R.S. §5244 derived from act May 23, 1828, ch. 75, §7, 4 Stat. 290.

Another R.S. 5244 is classified to section 43 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.

§9. Des Moines River as toll free

The Des Moines River shall forever remain free from any toll, or other charge whatever, for any property of the United States, or persons in their service, passing along the same.

(R.S. §5246.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

R.S. §5246 derived from acts Aug. 8, 1846, ch. 103, §3, 9 Stat. 78; Jan. 20, 1870, ch. 7, 16 Stat. 61.

§10. Waters in Louisiana Purchase as public highways

All the navigable rivers and waters in the former Territories of Orleans and Louisiana shall be and forever remain public highways.

(R.S. §5251.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

R.S. §5251 derived from act Mar. 3, 1811, ch. 46, §12, 2 Stat. 606.

§11. Authority for compact between Middle Northwest States as to jurisdiction of offenses committed on boundary waters

The consent of the Congress is given to the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska, or any two or more of them, by such agreement or compact as they may deem desirable or necessary, or as may be evidenced by legislative acts enacted by any two or more of said States, not in conflict with the Constitution of the United States or any law thereof, to determine and settle the jurisdiction to be exercised by said States, respectively, over offenses arising out of the violation of the laws of any of said States upon any of the waters forming the boundary lines between any two or more of said States, or waters through which such boundary line extends, and that the consent of the Congress be, and the same is, given to the concurrent jurisdiction agreed to by the States of Minnesota and South Dakota, as evidenced by the act of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota approved April 20, 1917, and the act of the Legislature of the State of South Dakota approved February 13, 1917.

(Mar. 4, 1921, ch. 176, 41 Stat. 1447.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

This section is from a resolution entitled a "Joint Resolution giving consent of the Congress of the United States to the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska, or any two or more of said States, to agree upon the jurisdiction to be exercised by said States over boundary waters between any two or more of said States".

§12. Port Arthur Ship Canal

After there shall be conveyed to the United States, free of cost, a valid title to the line of water communication between Taylors Bayou and Sabine Pass, in the State of Texas, known as the Port Arthur Ship Canal, together with a valid title to the turning basin as existing June 19, 1906, and to the artificial slip on which the lumber dock of the Port Arthur Canal and Dock Company is built, the said waterways shall thereupon become free public waters of the United States, and be subject to the laws enacted by Congress for the maintenance, preservation, protection, and regulation of navigable waters: Provided, That the company or corporation conveying title to said canal as aforesaid shall also convey to the United States, free of cost, the fee to a strip of land one hundred and fifty feet wide along the westerly margin of the canal, except that where the right of way of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company prevents the transfer of such strip of land along the westerly margin of said canal there shall be conveyed such strip on the easterly margin thereof as may be necessary to make up such one hundred and fifty feet of width, with the reservation that until Congress shall have authorized and provided for the enlargement and widening of said canal the said company or corporation, its successors or assigns, shall have the right to control, occupy, and use the said strip of land and every part thereof in the same manner and to the same extent as before the execution and delivery of the conveyance, and also the right to transfer, lease, sell, quitclaim, or otherwise dispose of said property and every part thereof, subject to the grant made to the United States. The charges for the use of said docks and wharves shall be just and reasonable and shall not be greater than charges for similar services at other ports of the United States on the Gulf of Mexico.

(June 19, 1906, ch. 3436, §1, 34 Stat. 302.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

This section is from a proviso following provisions establishing an additional collection district in the State of Texas to be known as the district of Sabine; the establishment of the said district being conditioned on the making of the conveyance referred to in this section.

Further provisions of the said proviso authorizing the Secretary of War to accept the said waterways as the property of the United States, and directing that the Act take effect only when the requirements of the section be fully complied with to the satisfaction of the Secretary of War, have been omitted as executed and obsolete.