Current through Reg. 50, No. 249, December 24, 2024
(1) Appropriate boating restricted areas are
established for the purpose of regulating the speed and operation of vessel
traffic for the safety of the public.
(2) Such boating restricted areas shall be
marked in accordance with Chapter 68D-23, F.A.C., Florida Intracoastal Waterway
Markers.
(3) Boating restricted
areas established by the Commission will be the least restrictive necessary to
maintain public safety, and may be year-round, seasonal, or limited to holidays
and weekends. Boating Restricted Areas established by the Commission will be
either "Idle Speed, No Wake or Slow Speed, Minimum Wake."
(4) When the Commission is determining
whether a boating restricted area is necessary to protect public safety under
the statutory criteria of boating accidents, visibility, hazardous water levels
or currents, vessel traffic congestion, and/or other navigational hazard, the
following data, as applicable, will be considered.
(a) Visibility:
1. A blind corner is presented where an
intervening obstruction to visibility prevents the operator of a vessel on one
of the water bodies from seeing a vessel on the other water body at a distance
of 300 feet or less from the confluence.
2. A bend, intersection, or other intervening
obstruction to visibility in a narrow channel, fairway, or other similar water
body within the meaning of Inland Navigation Rule 9 (33 U.S.C. §2009) as
adopted by Section 327.33, F.S., is presented where
a decision sight distance of less than 300 feet exists and prevents the
operator of a vessel from seeing other vessels or other users of the
waterway.
(b) Hazardous
Water Levels or Currents:
1. A
boating-restricted area may be established only when the water levels are at or
above flood stage on a river gauge operated or reported by the National Weather
Service's River Forecast Center (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/serfc/) or at the
equivalent level on a river gauge operated or reported by the United States
Geological Survey's National Water Information System (
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/rt)
and the specific gauge and flood stage water level is specified in the
rule.
2. A navigation chart
published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National
Ocean Service identifies the area as being subject to hazardous tides or
currents.
3. Competent substantial
data demonstrates that the area is subject to water levels or currents that
endanger vessels operating in the area or the occupants of such
vessels.
(c) Other
Navigational Hazards:
1. For the purposes of
this section, Hazard to Navigation is as defined in
33 CFR
64.06, and means an obstruction, usually
sunken, that presents sufficient danger to navigation so as to require
expeditious, affirmative action such as marking, removal, or redefinition of a
designated waterway to provide for navigational safety.
(d) Vessel Traffic Congestion:
1. Traffic density, including concentration
of fishing vessels or any other vessels, requires that vessels slacken speed
under Inland Navigation Rule 6(a)(ii) (33 U.S.C. §2006) as adopted by
Section 327.33, F.S. or
2. The traffic density establishes a
significant risk of collision or a significant threat to boating
safety.
3. Unsafe levels of vessel
traffic density or congestion for purposes of this subsection shall be
considered based upon one or more of the following:
a. Accident reports - The following reports
of boating accidents will be considered if prepared contemporaneously with the
boating accident being reported and if such reports establish that vessel
traffic congestion or the speed, wake, or operation of a vessel involved in the
accident was a primary contributing factor in the accident:
(I) Florida Boating Accident Investigation
Reports, FWCDLE form146 or Florida Boating Accident Self Reports, FWCDLE
form146C both of which are incorporated by reference in Rule
68D-21.004(7),
F.A.C. and may be obtained from Boating and Waterways Section, 620 South
Meridian Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600; or any official United States
Coast Guard report form pertaining to boating accidents or
casualty
b. Multiple
Uniform Boating Citations issued on citation forms supplied by the Commission
as provided in Section
327.74, F.S., or written
warnings if the violation alleged in the citation or warning is related to the
cited vessel's speed, wake, or operation. Citations and written warnings
unrelated to vessel speed, wake, or operation will not be considered, nor will
verbal warnings. In no event will citations or written warnings issued for
violations of Chapter 328, or Sections
327.50,
327.53,
327.54,
327.65,
327.66, F.S., be
considered.
c. Vessel traffic
studies substantially demonstrating that vessel traffic congestion or the
speed, wake, or operation of vessels in the area create unsafe levels of vessel
traffic congestion, a significant risk of collision, or a significant threat to
boating safety. The Commission will accept and review vessel traffic studies
under this rule. Video surveillance made during a vessel traffic study shall
include a corresponding log documenting the number of vessels, vessel types,
examples of careless or reckless operation of vessels, navigation rule
violations, actions taken to avoid collisions, unsafe vessel speeds, near
misses of navigational hazards by vessels, or any other specific criteria the
applicant wants considered, along with relevant video time stamps for each
item.
(I) . When vessel traffic studies alone
are relied upon to establish a boating restricted area, the Commission shall
rely on documentation of vessel traffic within the area for a minimum of
fourteen (14) consecutive days.
(II) . Vessel traffic studies will not be
considered unless they identify the number of vessels transiting the proposed
boating restricted area each hour for no less than six hours out of each
twenty-four-hour period documented and identify the area of the study by
longitude and latitude. When this minimum threshold is met, the Commission will
evaluate the area taking all other relevant factors into consideration,
including width of the waterway, vessel types using the waterway, navigational
hazards, and will also consider evidence provided demonstrating the existence
of conditions specific to the proposed boating restricted area impacting vessel
traffic or vessel operations.
(III)
. In assessing the creditability of a vessel traffic study, the following
factors (as applicable) shall be among those considered:
(A) . Whether the study's methodology can be
or has been tested (i.e., whether the study's methodology can be challenged in
some objective sense, or whether it is instead simply a subjective, conclusory
approach that cannot reasonably be assessed for reliability);
(B) . Whether the study's methodology has
been subject to peer review and publication;
(C) . The known or potential rate of error of
the study's methodology;
(D) . The
existence and maintenance of standards and controls; and,
(E) . Whether the methodology has been
generally accepted in the scientific community.
d. Other creditable data. For the purposes of
this subparagraph, "other creditable data" means facts or data that are of a
type reasonably relied upon by experts in the fields of boating safety,
maritime safety, navigation safety, ports and waterways safety assessments, or
vessel traffic management, as contemplated in section
90.704,
F.S.
(5) The drawings provided in this chapter are
intended to provide information to assist the boat operator in locating the
boating restricted areas depicted. The drawings are not to scale and should not
be used for navigation purposes. The text of these rules is controlling and
dispositive of the exact location of the boundaries of each boating restricted
area.
Rulemaking Authority
327.04,
327.46 FS. Law Implemented
327.46
FS.
New 8-30-83, Formerly 16N-24.03, Amended 6-14-93, Formerly
16N-24.003, 62N-24.003, Amended 6-12-00, 3-16-06,
2-22-24.