(1) The provisions of this chapter and chapter 328 shall govern the operation, equipment, and all other matters relating thereto whenever any vessel shall be operated upon the waters of this state or when any activity regulated hereby shall take place thereon.
(2) This chapter and chapter 328 do not prevent the adoption of any ordinance or local regulation relating to operation of vessels, except that a county or municipality may not enact, continue in effect, or enforce any ordinance or local regulation:
(a) Establishing a vessel or associated equipment performance or other safety standard, imposing a requirement for associated equipment, or regulating the carrying or use of marine safety articles;
(b) Relating to the design, manufacture, or installation of any marine sanitation device on any vessel, except as authorized in subsection (4);
(c) Regulating any vessel upon the Florida Intracoastal Waterway;
(d) Discriminating against personal watercraft;
(e) Discriminating against airboats, for ordinances adopted after July 1, 2006, unless adopted by a two-thirds vote of the governing body enacting such ordinance;
(f) Regulating the anchoring of vessels outside the marked boundaries of mooring fields permitted as provided in s. 327.40, except for:
(g) Regulating engine or exhaust noise, except as provided in s. 327.65; or
(h) That conflicts with any provisions of this chapter or any amendments thereto or rules adopted thereunder.
(3) This section does not prohibit local governmental authorities from the enactment or enforcement of regulations that prohibit or restrict the mooring or anchoring of floating structures, live-aboard vessels, or commercial vessels, excluding commercial fishing vessels, within their jurisdictions or of any vessels within the marked boundaries of mooring fields permitted as provided in s. 327.40.
(4)(a) A local government may enact and enforce regulations that require owners or operators of vessels or floating structures subject to the marine sanitation requirements of s. 327.53 to provide proof of proper sewage disposal by means of an approved sewage pumpout service, approved sewage pumpout facility, or approved waste reception facility when anchored or moored for more than 10 consecutive days within the following areas:
1. Marked boundaries of a permitted mooring field under the jurisdiction of the local government;
2. No-discharge zones as published in Volume 53, No. 13 of the Federal Register, page 1678 (1988); Volume 64, No. 164 of the Federal Register, pages 46390-46391 (1999); and Volume 67, No. 98 of the Federal Register, pages 35735-35743 (2002); or
3. No-discharge zones established pursuant to 40 C.F.R. s. 1700.10.
(b) Before a local government may adopt an ordinance to enact and enforce such regulations, the local government must ensure that there are approved sewage pumpout services, approved sewage pumpout facilities, or approved waste reception facilities available within its jurisdiction. Any ordinance adopted pursuant to this subsection may not take effect until reviewed and approved as consistent with this subsection by the commission.
(c) Upon approval of the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 33 U.S.C. s. 1322, a county designated as a rural area of opportunity may create a no-discharge zone for freshwater water bodies within the county’s jurisdiction to prohibit treated and untreated sewage discharges from floating structures and live-aboard vessels not capable of being used as a means of transportation and from houseboats. Within no-discharge zone boundaries, operators of such floating structures, live-aboard vessels, and houseboats shall retain their sewage on board for discharge at a pumpout facility or for discharge more than 3 miles off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean or more than 9 miles off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Violations of this paragraph are punishable as provided in s. 327.53(6) and (7).
(d) This subsection does not prohibit a local government from enacting or enforcing such sewage pumpout requirements for live-aboard vessels, floating structures, and commercial vessels, excluding commercial fishing vessels, within any areas of its jurisdiction.
(e) The commission may adopt rules to implement this subsection.
(5) A local government may enact and enforce regulations to implement the procedures for abandoned or lost property that allow the local law enforcement agency to remove a vessel affixed to a public dock or mooring within its jurisdiction that is abandoned or lost property pursuant to s. 705.103(1). Such regulation must require the local law enforcement agency to post a written notice at least 24 hours before removing the vessel.
History.—s. 10, ch. 59-400; s. 16, ch. 63-105; s. 1, ch. 65-361; s. 3, ch. 72-55; s. 2, ch. 83-20; s. 38, ch. 95-143; s. 30, ch. 99-289; s. 20, ch. 2000-362; s. 3, ch. 2006-172; s. 3, ch. 2006-309; s. 14, ch. 2009-86; s. 9, ch. 2017-163; s. 3, ch. 2019-54; s. 22, ch. 2021-184; s. 4, ch. 2024-30.
