| California Department of Boating and Waterways | |
|---|---|
| Official seal | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1957 |
| Preceding agency | Division of Small Craft Harbors |
| Headquarters | 2000 Evergreen Street Suite 100, Sacramento, California |
| Annual budget | $77 million (2007) |
| Agency executive | Lucia C. Becerra, Director |
| Parent agency | California Resources Agency |
| Website | |
| http://www.dbw.ca.gov | |
The California Department of Boating and Waterways, is a department within the government of California, belonging to the state cabinet-level California Resources Agency. Originally formed in 1957 as the Division of Small Craft Harbors, the department was officially reorganized to take under new responsibilities under the governorship of Jerry Brown on January 1, 1979. Among the department's responsibilities include ensuring boat safety along the state's coastline and various rivers, state law enforcement, monitor beach erosion, maintain boater facilities and marinas, and environmental regulation of aquatic motor engines and non-native species from state waters. The California Department of Motor Vehicles retains boater registration responsibilities.
The current Director of California Department of Boating and Waterways is Lucia C. Becerra.
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California Department of Boating and Waterways is made of two Enforcement and Environmental units to coordinate the department's responsibilities. Between them, both units oversee 17 programs, ranging from boater safety rules to species control.
California Department of Boating and Waterways heavily regulates the use of carbureted and electronic-injection two-stroke engines manufactured prior to 1989 in California waters, considering them high-emission polluters. Due to emission standards, The department has banned their use on several lakes throughout the state. Direct injection two-stroke engines made since 1989, however, are permitted on the state's waterways with some non-emission standard exceptions.
California Department of Boating and Waterways' Aquatic Pest Control Program has since 1982 targeted to control water hyacinth from state waters. A native of the Amazon River in South America, the water hyacinth was introduced to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in the early 20th century. Due to the quick blooming of the water hyacinth, the plant displaces native wildlife, blocks light needed for photosynthesis, reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, and deposits silt and organic matter at several times the normal rate. In 1997, the department added the egeria densa, another South American native, onto its list of species targeted for control and eradication.