Town of Hilton Head makes headway on abandoned boat removal
By HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina
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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (WJCL) — Hilton Head Island waterways are clearing up with the enforcement of a new law.
The Town of Hilton Head gathered with Beaufort County and the DNR to commemorate cleaner and safer waterways.
“There’s masts sticking up there’s towers sticking up. They’re a great danger out on the waterways, a great danger for anybody boaters out there. Not to mention to the fact that there’s contaminants within the boat. Overtime the plexiglass breaks down, and that pollutes the waterways, it pollutes the marshes,” said Alan Perry, Mayor of Hilton Head.
The town started tagging and identifying abandoned and derelict boats two years ago. They started working with the DNR to remove them this summer.
It’s all thanks to a new law passed in April that sped things up.
“We need to address the waterways and make sure that they’re clean and cleared out and keep them away from the private sector. With the state changing their laws and the rules and regulations it’s allowed us to move a little bit faster and we know that other municipalities up and down the coast are doing the same thing,” said Mayor Perry.
It increases municipal authority to be able to enforce and remove vessels on their own, enforcing a strict 10-21 day timeframe for boat removals.
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