§ 405. Mooring and Anchoring permits, fees, renewals and cancellations

(a) The owner of each vessel or houseboat mooring or anchoring, or intending to moor or anchor in a designated mooring or anchoring area shall file an application for a mooring or anchoring permit with the Department. In accordance with the procedures and form prescribed by the Department, the owner or owner’s resident agent shall sign the application, include the owner’s mailing address, and submit the annual permit fee as provided in the regulations promulgated under this chapter. All owners of vessels shall pay a fee per foot of vessel, based upon the deck length, to the Department for the use of the mooring or anchor. The fee for the use of the mooring is an annual fee, and the fee for the use of the anchor is a monthly fee. A non-resident owner shall include in the application, the name and mailing address of his designated resident agent. An affidavit executed by the applicant setting forth the facts in support of the applicant’s claim of ownership is required for every initial application.

(b) A permittee shall not sell, lease, assign, rent, or transfer the permit to another person unless authorized in writing by the Commissioner. The Department may grant to licensed charter vessels, vessel repair, vessel brokering and other similar operations, a multivessel mooring permit, which allows temporary assignment for a client’s vessel. The Department shall allow retention of a mooring location during prolonged absences for repairs, extended cruises or for any other legitimate reason, where the permittee applies to the Department, shows sufficient intention to return and pays the fee in advance.

(c) The Commissioner shall not issue a permit for the mooring or long-term anchoring of any vessel not in compliance with Coast Guard requirements for marine sanitation devices.

(d) Where a Coastal Zone Management Permit is in effect in a designated mooring area on the date of enactment of this chapter, if the permittee so notifies the Department before the application date for mooring permit issuance, he retains the use of the mooring until his Coastal Zone Management Permit expires.

(e) The annual vessel mooring fees and the monthly vessel anchoring fees are as established in Schedules I and II of this subsection.

(f) A permittee may cancel his permit by either: 1) notifying the Department in writing, or 2) by some other act which is inconsistent with his continued use of the permit.

(g) Every mooring permit continues in full force and effect from the first day of July for a period of one year ending on the last day of June, unless sooner terminated or discontinued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or regulations promulgated hereunder. All permit fees paid under this section are deposited into the Natural Resources Reclamation Fund as established by Title 12, chapter 21, section 911, Virgin Islands Code.

(h) Fifty percent of the fees collected pursuant to subsection (e) of this section must be covered over into the Natural Resources Reclamation Fund under title 12 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 21, section 911(f)(4), and fifty percent is designated for the marine enforcement unit under the Department of Planning & Natural Resources.

(i) Other fees.

• The Department shall charge:

  • (1) a Marine Event Permit Fee of $100.00 for permit processing; and

  • (2) a $500.00 fee for any requested enforcement vessel assistance.

  • (3) For purposes of paragraph (1), “Marine Event” means any event held on the water which would require a permit.