Seen abandoned boats in the May River? Bluffton can help the state remove them
Removing shipwrecked, abandoned or deserted boats from Bluffton waterways will now be a coordinated effort between the town, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and nearby jurisdictions.
When abandoned vessels float into Lowcountry waterways, the town contacts SCDNR for removal. But last year, the department invited officials from Lowcountry jurisdictions to a meeting to ask for help in an effort to move things along. The state has since passed a new law defining “abandoned” and “derelict” boats, and localies have to adopt those same definitions if they want to provide assistance to SCDNR.
The Bluffton town council this month approved the second and final reading of an ordinance adopting the new state definitions. The vote allows Bluffton to coordinate with other jurisdictions, like Beaufort County, the town of Hilton Head Island and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to get rid of the shipwrecked vessels.
Last year, there were about eight boats that washed up in Bluffton waterways, including “Southern Belle” from Louisville, Kentucky and “Precious” from Wilmington, North Carolina. Heather Colin, assistant town manager for planning and projects, said in September that there may have been more since then.
Adopting the rules would have no budgetary impact for the town, Colin said Oct. 14.
“What we envision is that the town would not be in the business of the removal of the boats, however it would be in the assistance with the identification, the legal process and should an emergency arise, we could assist with that,” Colin said at the first reading in September when the ordinance was explained.
State law defines an “abandoned” boat as a “wrecked or junked” vessel without a visible identifier that’s been in state waters or nearby public property for at least ten days after it receives notice. A “derelict” vessel is a boat with visible identification that stays in the waters for at least 21 days after notice.
The town had to adopt those state definitions in order to participate, Colin said.
“If local jurisdictions wanted to partner and assist with this, they had to adopt the exact same language that the state had,” she said.
The next step is to coordinate with Beaufort County, SCDNR and, hopefully, the town of Hilton Head Island to figure out what getting rid of the boats looks like, Heather Colin said at first reading. Bluffton’s job is to tag the boats, and it’s SCDNR’s job to remove them, town manager Stephen Steese said.
“One of the reasons we wanted to adopt when the county did was several of the boats in the May River are within 100 ft. or so or less of being out of our jurisdiction. So literally if we adopted and the county didn’t, some of those boats could just move to the opposite side of the river,” Steese said.
The new state law, signed by Governor Henry McMaster in May, declares junked boats as public nuisances, defines abandoned or derelict vessels, outlines removal procedures and establishes penalties.