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.
section 413 of this titleAny regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Army in pursuance of this section may be enforced as provided in , the provisions whereof are made applicable to the said regulations.
Aug. 18, 1894, ch. 299, § 428 Stat. 362June 13, 1902, ch. 107932 Stat. 374Aug. 8, 1917, ch. 49, § 740 Stat. 266July 26, 1947, ch. 34361 Stat. 501(, ; , §§ 6, 11, ; , ; , title II, § 205(a), .)
Editorial Notes
Codification
The first paragraph of this section is from section 4 of act , 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As originally enacted, said section 4 made it the duty of the Secretary of War to prescribe rules and regulations for the use, administration, and navigation of any or all canals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 , 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 , to read as set forth in the first paragraph hereof.
section 499 of this titleThe last paragraph of this section is from section 6 of act . Said section 6 is also the source of the last proviso in .
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II61 Stat. 501act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 104170A Stat. 641Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of , . Section 205(a) of act , was repealed by section 53 of , . Section 1 of act , 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.