LAKE COUNTY — Starting on Friday Lake County will have one of the strongest boat inspection programs in Northern California. It”s all part of a county ordinance that the Board of Supervisors (BOS) passed last month. The ordinance requires that all boats be screened or inspected for quagga mussels prior to be launched into any waters within the county boundaries. The ordinance was enacted under the police power of the county pursuant the California Constitution that authorizes the county to adopt and enforce regulations for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare.
The highlights of the ordinance requires all boats, both resident and non-resident, to be screened before being issued a sticker. If the screener determines the boat is at risk of harboring a mussel, the boater will directed to an inspector who will thoroughly inspect the boat. The fee for screening and being issued a sticker will be $10. If the boat requires an inspection the fee varies by the size of the boat. The fee for boats up to 12 feet in length will be $15, for greater than 12 feet but less than 18 feet? $25. Boats longer than 18 feet? $40. Any boat that has ballast tanks or bladders will be charged an additional $20. The fees doesn”t include the $10 for the sticker. If an inspector determines the boat poses a risk of being infested with quagga mussels the boat owner can be ordered to have the boat decontaminated. The county will decontaminate the boat for free. Resident boats will be required to get a new sticker annually while non-resident boats will require a monthly sticker. Watercraft that are exempt are canoes, kayaks, car-top boats, float tubes, rafts, wind surfers/boards, boogey boards, non-motorized paddle boats and non-motorized sail boats that are eight feet or less in length. The current list of authorized screeners is available at
www.co.lake.ca.us/mussels or by calling 263-2344.
The ordinance defines a resident water vessel as one that has been issued a Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) registration that identifies its owner as being physically located within the borders of Lake County or a vessel whose owner can demonstrate that it is moored or stored at a commercial facility located in Lake County, or any other means deemed acceptable by the Director of Water Resources as to proof of residency in Lake County, providing that the vessel is on the Lake County Assessor”s current unsecured tax roll for boats. A non-resident vessel means a vessel that does not meet the definition of a resident vessel.
The ordinance states that any person violating any provision of the ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Such individual shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each launch in a water body in the County of Lake. Any individual convicted of a violation of the ordinance shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000 and/or up to six months in the county jail or both.
The Lake County Sheriff”s Office has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy and will issue a citation to any boater who launches a boat that does not have the proper sticker into any waters in the county.
Carolyn Ruttan of Water Resources urges any person who is out on the lake and sees what they think is a quagga mussel attached to a dock piling or other structure to immediately contact Water Resources at 263-2344 and report the location. To date no quagga mussel have been found in Lake County but the public is being urged to be vigilant.
