A new permit needed

[KBCraig]

How in the world did this slip by?

http://www.unionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=55387

Swim rafts and floats in NH lakes now need a permit
By PAULA TRACY
Union Leader Staff

For the first summer ever the state Marine Patrol is requiring you to apply for a permit if you have a swim raft or float in any lake in New Hampshire.

And if you're approved, you'll have to have your name and address on it, as well as reflective tape on the corners facing boat traffic.

Since September 2004, the Marine Patrol Division of the Department of Public Safety has required an application for a swim raft, including inflatable floats.

These floats are anchored off shore for swimmers to rest or sunbathe; some have slides or diving boards or even double as trampolines.

There is no charge for the registration nor deadline.

There is a three-page questionnaire, which can be downloaded and faxed, (www.nh.gov/safety/ss/forms.html) or can be sent for by contacting the department at its Glendale office at 293-0091. It is an application form that can be accepted or denied and may include an inspection.

"No person shall put or place a swim raft in the public waters of any public body of water without written approval," according to Saf-C 404.09, a rule allowed under RSA 270:11 that gives Marine Patrol authority over rafts.

The law that enables the department to promulgate this rule has been on the books since 1984 when the state began to require registration of swim lines, but the legislature could amend the law to remove Marine Patrol authority, said State Rep. David Currier, R-Henniker.

He said people on his lake, Lake Massasecum in Bradford, "have no idea this thing exists," and as they do begin to learn, he does not suspect they will be happy about it.

Chris Devine, executive director of the Squam Lakes Association, said he has been receiving inquiries from lakefront property owners and has been forwarding them the information to make out the application.

Senate President Tom Eaton, R-Keene, said he has heard of concerns about the new regulation but has not seen any amendment or legislation yet that would address concerns.

The new rule states that no raft will be allowed "if the director deems it creates a navigational or safety hazard, it interferes with the rights of other property owners or it interferes with the right of the public to use navigable water."

The questionnaire asks for a diagram on one page, asks for size, material of construction, distance from shore, depth of water, shore front property address, lot and tax map number in the city or town the address is located and a list of abutters. There is an administrative section for the investigating officer's approval status recommendations, either for approvals or denials.

David Barrett, director of Public Safety's Marine Patrol, said most of the evaluation process is expected to be done in the office, but if an application bears an inspection, one will be scheduled.

The department does not have any idea how many rafts there are in the state and is hoping to get an idea from this process.

Currier, who is chairman of the House Resources Recreation and Development Committee, said that in 1996 and 1997 legislators sponsored bills to require registration of swim floats and they were killed.

Currier said he believes there may be a move in the Senate to take the administrative power away from the Department of Safety and do away with the requirement.

Barrett disagrees with Currier about the authority to issue the rule.

Barrett cites RSA 270:11 where the commissioner of safety has the authority, since 1984, to make rules on rafts or floats of any kind.

House Bill 279 ? relative to Spofford Lake in Chesterfield, sponsored by Rep. Deborah Hogencamp, which changes the lake's surface water classification as Class A waters ? is being tapped for an amendment that would do away with the requirement to register swim floats, Currier said. It is currently in the Senate Energy and Economic Development Committee.

The bill would retain the requirement to label docks and floats with an address.

Barrett says the intent of the rule is to get people to put their names on their rafts, so when they blow off their chains, Marine Patrol will know where to return them.

When the water is high as it is now, docks and rafts go loose. Now, he disposes of them if he cannot find owners and it is cumbersome and problematic.

"They break free and we get them all the time. We don't know who they belong to in some cases," he said.

Reflective tape is a safety feature for nighttime boating, and the new rule states that tape should be put on the two corners facing boat traffic.

Barrett said there is no fee for the permit. Marine Patrol has received more than 600 applications so far and no one has been denied a permit.

The vast majority have been approved and the rest are being set aside to be looked at for safety reasons, he said.

Marine Patrol officers are having discussions about rafts' distance from shore; the concern is that if they are too far from shore they are in navigable waters or could be a safety hazard of some sort.

"We have some (rafts) 25 feet in diameter. We are not talking a little swim float here," Barrett said. And the advent of inflatable trampoline style floats that sell for as little as $400 are also becoming an issue.

Most rafts are about 12 feet and are placed 30 to 60 feet from shore in 8 feet of water.

There are exceptions.

"One applied for a raft 100 feet out in 50 feet of water. We are going to say that is a little excessive," Barrett said.

Despite some reports of concern, Barrett said Marine Patrol's experience is that people have been supportive and positive. He found it odd that legislators were hearing from people complaining.

"In a state where we regulate swim lines and moorings, I can't believe they didn't think rafts should also be regulated," Barrett said.

"There might be a case of denial. There are situations I am personally aware of where this could be used as a vehicle to get people to be more . . . to resolve neighbor disputes . . . Do I understand some people are opposed to some regulation?" he said. "Well, yes."

Jared Teutsch, environmental policy director for the New Hampshire Lakes Association said "the confusing thing about the permit for swim rafts (besides the fact that they ask for your date of birth) is that they are requiring a permit on all water bodies even though they don't regulate all water bodies.

"Why don't they do this with moorings, too, if they are going to require it for swim rafts and floats? They don't regulate moorings on all the water bodies either ? only the six largest lakes," he said.

Dock fees are issued by the Department of Environmental Services for all lakes. They are considered a permanent part of the real estate. Floats are not part of the real estate.

Safety does issue mooring permits on the six largest lakes for $25 a year and it is good for five years. Swim lines are regulated with a permit but no fee is charged.

Various companies are offering to register the rafts they sell.

At Dive Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, president Tom Wachsmuth said he keeps the form on file and will help people buying the inflatable rafts and trampolines he sells.

"A lot of people are not real computer savvy, so I keep these things on file. I definitely will let people know they are going to require a permit for these," he said. "Many people don't know so it will be interesting to see what the reception will be."

A round raft doesn't have corners so reflective tape could be an issue on corners, he noted. A name can be put on with permanent marker.

Wachsmuth said he knows of people who are aware but are not registering their rafts. And he wonders who is going to enforce the rule?

He notes many are aware of the $50 fee for registering a free-standing, personal watercraft lift. And Wachsmuth wondered whether this was just the beginning of an effort to tax or charge fees.

"Just think about it. They will tax us on the square footage of the raft . . . or add an application fee," he said.

At Watermark Marine in Gilford and Sunapee, where they build and sell wooden floats, customers are also being told that they need to register the objects.

Barrett said the Marine Patrol's goal here is safety.

"I think most people want to do the right thing. I am sorry this became controversial. . . . We made some changes. It is kind of a work in progress. We don't want it to be offensive. Our goal is to get some sense of where things are and return them when they break free."

[Erethizon]

How about a big swim raft with nhfree.com on it. 

Maybe even floating manicures. 

[jgmaynard]

"Barrett said the Marine Patrol's goal here is safety.

"I think most people want to do the right thing. I am sorry this became controversial. . . . We made some changes. It is kind of a work in progress. We don't want it to be offensive. Our goal is to get some sense of where things are and return them when they break free." "

<scotish accent>
Well, which one IS it, laddy?!?!?!?
</scotish accent>

Did anyone else here read between the lines of what Eaton was saying? Hinting that there has been some opposition, and that there are people in the Senate who are opposed to it and could kill it?

Methinks me knows whose he was hintin' ta, and demfolks be us.

JM

[Pat K]

Well you need this law or next thing you know people will have assualt rafts.

[Kat Kanning]

A salt raft is for the ocean, not lakes.   

[Lloyd Danforth]

You would think a guy living on an island would know this.

[Russell Kanning]

Maybe we need a nhfree.com skinny dippers swim float during bike week.

[AlanM]

A salt raft is for the ocean, not lakes.? ?

LOL

[Kat Kanning]

Dave Mincin will volunteer, I'm sure!   

[Pat K]

A salt raft is for the ocean, not lakes.? ?

Oh that one was almost painful.


Arrrr mateys beware the Pirate raft's.

[Kat Kanning]

It isn't a good pun unless it causes great pain.

[GT]

The Senate is expected to amend the bill and not require any permit.

Senate may sink new raft rule
By PAULA TRACY
Union Leader Staff
http://www.unionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=55659

CONCORD ? Swim rafts would not require permits and would no longer be regulated by the commissioner of safety under an amendment headed to the state Senate.

State Sen. David M. Gottesman, D-Nashua, said the new requirement this summer by the Marine Patrol to register rafts on all public bodies of water "is ridiculous and an unnecessary administrative task that has already been defeated two times in the House."

Gottesman said he heard from constituents and other legislators following an article in Saturday's New Hampshire Union Leader about the permit requirement, which went into effect last September.

The full Senate could vote on the measure as early as next Thursday.

"My take is it's a power grab to get done through the back door what they cannot get done through the front door," Gottesman said of the Department of Safety.

But David Barrett, director of the department's Marine Patrol Division, disagreed. He said the intent is to get people to put their names on rafts, so if they break loose from their mooring chains, the Marine Patrol will know where to return them.

He said there is no fee for the permit. He recalls the permitting being rejected only once by the Legislature, in 1993.

"Subsequent to 1993 there has been a substantial increase in the numbers and size of rafts," he said. "We have seen many that exceed 30 feet in diameter. And the inflatable ones were not there, as they are now."

Most rafts are made of wood and some floating material and are anchored to the bottom of lake. In recent years, manufacturers have made inflatable-type rafts that can also be used as trampolines.

If passed in amended form, House Bill 279 would make rafts unregulated if they are chained to the bottom of a lakebed. They would still require regulation if they were used like a boat and had a motor attached.

Rep. David Currier, R-Henniker, chairman of the House Resources Recreation and Development Committee, said many people on Lake Massasecum in Bradford, where he has a home, are not aware of the requirement.

He said he placed a notice in the lake newsletter "because they are going to need to register these things this summer if this (amendment) does not pass."

The permit application includes a three-page questionnaire that asks for a diagram, dimensions, material of construction, distance from shore, depth of water, shorefront property address, lot and tax map number and a list of abutters.

Barrett said Marine Patrol's experience is that people have been supportive of the regulation once they have found out there is no fee involved. More than 600 applications have been processed, with no rejections. He said he finds it odd that legislators are getting complaints.

"In a state where we regulate swim lines and moorings, I can't believe they didn't think rafts should also be regulated," Barrett said.

[Lloyd Danforth]

I say 'Register Polititions, Not Rafts'

[Kat Kanning]

I don't think registering goes far enough.  We need to be able to identify them at a distance.  How about a forehead tattoo?

[Lloyd Danforth]

Well.....tatoos are a good idea, but, as you can see in my signature, in a just world, they would be the naked people.