| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to regulation of releases from gambling |
| 3 | vessels; creating s. 376.25, F.S.; providing a short |
| 4 | title; providing definitions; requiring gambling vessels |
| 5 | operating in coastal waters to register with the |
| 6 | Department of Environmental Protection; specifying the |
| 7 | requirements for vessel registration; requiring gambling |
| 8 | vessels to release certain substances upon return to a |
| 9 | port facility; requiring port authorities to establish |
| 10 | procedures for the release of certain substances by |
| 11 | gambling vessels at port facilities; requiring port |
| 12 | authorities to establish and collect certain fees; |
| 13 | prohibiting the release of certain substances into coastal |
| 14 | waters by gambling vessels; requiring violations to be |
| 15 | reported; providing civil penalties for violations; |
| 16 | providing exemptions; requiring the department to adopt |
| 17 | rules to implement and administer the section; providing |
| 18 | an effective date. |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Section 1. Section 376.25, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 23 | read: |
| 24 | 376.25 Gambling vessels; registration; required and |
| 25 | prohibited releases.-- |
| 26 | (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the "Clean |
| 27 | Ocean Act." |
| 28 | (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section: |
| 29 | (a) "Biomedical waste" means any solid or liquid waste as |
| 30 | defined in s. 381.0098(2)(a). |
| 31 | (b) "Coastal waters" means waters of the Atlantic Ocean or |
| 32 | the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of the state. |
| 33 | (c) "Department" means the Department of Environmental |
| 34 | Protection. |
| 35 | (d) "Gambling" or "gambling device" means any game of |
| 36 | chance and includes, but is not limited to, cards, keno, |
| 37 | roulette, faro, slot machines, video poker, or blackjack |
| 38 | machines played for money or thing of value. The term "gambling" |
| 39 | does not include penny-ante games, as defined in s. |
| 40 | 849.085(2)(a). |
| 41 | (e) "Gambling vessel" means a boat, ship, casino boat, |
| 42 | watercraft, or barge kept, operated, or maintained for the |
| 43 | purpose of gambling and that carries or operates gambling |
| 44 | devices for the use of its passengers or otherwise provides |
| 45 | facilities for the purpose of gambling, whether within or |
| 46 | without the jurisdiction of this state, and whether it is |
| 47 | anchored, berthed, lying to, or navigating, and the sailing, |
| 48 | voyaging, or cruising, or any segment of the sailing, voyaging, |
| 49 | or cruising begins and ends within this state. |
| 50 | (f) "Hazardous waste" means any solid waste as defined in |
| 51 | s. 403.703(21). |
| 52 | (g) "Oily bilge water" means bilge water that contains |
| 53 | used lubrication oils, oil sludge and slops, fuel and oil |
| 54 | sludge, used oil, used fuel and fuel filters, and oily waste. |
| 55 | (h) "Release" means any discharge of liquids or solids, |
| 56 | however caused, from a gambling vessel and includes any escape, |
| 57 | disposal, spilling, leaking, pumping, emitting, or emptying. |
| 58 | (i) "Sewage" means human body waste and the waste from |
| 59 | toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain |
| 60 | human body waste and includes any material that has been |
| 61 | collected or treated through a marine sanitation device, as that |
| 62 | term is used in Section 312 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. s. |
| 63 | 1322, or that is a byproduct of sewage treatment. |
| 64 | (j) "Treated blackwater" means that part of treated sewage |
| 65 | carried off by toilets, urinals, and kitchen drains. |
| 66 | (k) "Treated graywater" means that part of treated sewage |
| 67 | that is not blackwater, including waste from the bath, lavatory, |
| 68 | laundry, and sink, except kitchen sink waste. |
| 69 | (l) "Untreated blackwater" means that part of untreated |
| 70 | sewage carried off by toilets, urinals, and kitchen drains. |
| 71 | (m) "Untreated graywater" means that part of untreated |
| 72 | sewage that is not blackwater, including waste from the bath, |
| 73 | lavatory, laundry, and sink, except kitchen sink waste. |
| 74 | (3) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.-- |
| 75 | (a) For each calendar year in which the owner or operator |
| 76 | of a gambling vessel intends to operate, or cause or allow to be |
| 77 | operated, the gambling vessel in coastal waters, the owner or |
| 78 | operator of the vessel shall register with the department. The |
| 79 | registration shall be completed before any commercial passenger |
| 80 | vessel of the owner or operator enters the marine waters of the |
| 81 | state in that calendar year. The registration shall include the |
| 82 | following information: |
| 83 | 1. The vessel owner's business name, and, if different, |
| 84 | the vessel operator's business name for each gambling vessel of |
| 85 | the owner or operator that is scheduled to be in coastal waters |
| 86 | during the calendar year. |
| 87 | 2. The postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, |
| 88 | and facsimile number for the principal place of each business |
| 89 | identified in subparagraph 1. |
| 90 | 3. The name and address of an agent for service of process |
| 91 | for each business identified under subparagraph 1. The owner and |
| 92 | operator shall continuously maintain a designated agent for |
| 93 | service of process whenever a gambling vessel of the owner or |
| 94 | operator is in coastal waters, and the agent shall be an |
| 95 | individual resident of this state, a domestic corporation, or a |
| 96 | foreign corporation having a place of business in and authorized |
| 97 | to do business in this state. |
| 98 | 4. The name or call sign, port of registry, and passenger |
| 99 | and crew capacity for each of the owner's or operator's vessels |
| 100 | scheduled either to call upon a port in this state or otherwise |
| 101 | to be in coastal waters during the calendar year and after the |
| 102 | date of registration. |
| 103 | 5. The description of all waste treatment systems for each |
| 104 | vessel identified under subparagraph 4., including system type, |
| 105 | design, operation, location of all discharge pipes and valves, |
| 106 | and number and capacity of all storage areas and holding tanks. |
| 107 | (b) Registration under paragraph (a) shall be executed |
| 108 | under oath by the owner or operator or designated representative |
| 109 | thereof. |
| 110 | (c) Upon request of the department, the registrant shall |
| 111 | submit registration information required under this subsection |
| 112 | electronically. |
| 113 | (4) REQUIRED RELEASES.-- |
| 114 | (a) All sewage, oily bilge water, untreated or treated |
| 115 | graywater, untreated or treated blackwater, hazardous waste, or |
| 116 | biomedical waste from any gambling vessel shall be held for |
| 117 | release until return to a port facility. |
| 118 | (b) Upon return to a port facility, gambling vessels shall |
| 119 | release all sewage, oily bilge water, untreated or treated |
| 120 | graywater, untreated or treated blackwater, hazardous waste, and |
| 121 | biomedical waste in accordance with the procedures of the port |
| 122 | facility. |
| 123 | (c) Port authorities shall establish procedures, including |
| 124 | a process for verification of the contents released, for the |
| 125 | release of sewage, oily bilge water, untreated or treated |
| 126 | graywater, untreated or treated blackwater, hazardous waste, and |
| 127 | biomedical waste from gambling vessels at port facilities. |
| 128 | (d) Port authorities shall establish and collect a fee not |
| 129 | to exceed the costs associated with disposal of the required |
| 130 | releases from gambling vessels. |
| 131 | (5) PROHIBITED RELEASES.-- |
| 132 | (a) An owner or operator of a gambling vessel may not |
| 133 | release, or permit anyone to release, any sewage, oily bilge |
| 134 | water, untreated or treated graywater, untreated or treated |
| 135 | blackwater, hazardous waste, or biomedical waste from the vessel |
| 136 | into coastal waters. |
| 137 | (b) If a gambling vessel releases any sewage, oily bilge |
| 138 | water, untreated or treated graywater, untreated or treated |
| 139 | blackwater, hazardous waste, or biomedical waste into coastal |
| 140 | waters, the owner or operator shall immediately, but no later |
| 141 | than 24 hours after the release, notify the department of the |
| 142 | release. The owner or operator shall include all of the |
| 143 | following information in the notification: |
| 144 | 1. Date of the release. |
| 145 | 2. Time of the release. |
| 146 | 3. Location of the release. |
| 147 | 4. Volume of the release. |
| 148 | 5. Source of the release. |
| 149 | 6. Remedial actions taken to prevent future releases. |
| 150 | (6) PENALTIES.-- |
| 151 | (a) A person who violates this section is subject to a |
| 152 | civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each violation. |
| 153 | (b) The civil penalty imposed for each separate violation |
| 154 | of this section is separate from, and in addition to, any other |
| 155 | civil penalty imposed for a separate violation under this |
| 156 | subsection or any other provision of law. |
| 157 | (c) In determining the amount of a civil penalty imposed |
| 158 | under this subsection, the court shall take into consideration |
| 159 | all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the |
| 160 | nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation. In |
| 161 | making this determination, the court shall consider the degree |
| 162 | of toxicity and volume of the release, the extent of harm caused |
| 163 | by the violation, whether the effects of the violation may be |
| 164 | reversed or mitigated, and, with respect to the defendant, the |
| 165 | ability to pay, the effect of a civil penalty on the ability to |
| 166 | continue in business, all voluntary cleanup efforts undertaken, |
| 167 | the prior history of violations, the gravity of the behavior, |
| 168 | the economic benefit, if any, resulting from the violation, and |
| 169 | all other matters the court determines justice may require. |
| 170 | (7) APPLICABILITY.--This section does not apply to |
| 171 | releases made for the purpose of securing the safety of the |
| 172 | gambling vessel or saving life at sea if all reasonable |
| 173 | precautions have been taken for the purpose of preventing or |
| 174 | minimizing the release. |
| 175 | (8) RULES.--The department shall adopt rules pursuant to |
| 176 | ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement and administer this |
| 177 | section. |
| 178 | Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007. |