Sec. 13-124. - Inspections.

(a)

All new moorings in the coastal waters and harbor areas of the city must have the chain, tackle, and anchor inspected by the harbormaster or his designee prior to setting the mooring.

(b)

Every permit holder shall be required to maintain his mooring in safe condition. Any chain, shackle, swivel, or other tackle which has become warped or worn by one-third its normal diameter shall be replaced. Failure to maintain a safe mooring shall be cause for revocation of the mooring permit and shall be deemed a violation of this article. The harbormaster or his designee may inspect any moorings at any time to determine compliance with this section at the owner's expense.

(c)

All moorings shall be inspected once every three years and the results of such inspection shall be reported to the harbormaster. Mooring inspections shall be performed by a qualified inspector. The inspection shall be made by either raising the mooring or by underwater inspection. Such inspection shall determine compliance with the mooring and mooring tackle standards of this article. Any mooring or component of a mooring reported not in compliance with this article shall be replaced within 30 days of such notice. Any mooring washed ashore during a storm shall be inspected by the harbormaster or his designee before it is reset. All costs of any mooring inspection required under the provisions of this article shall be the responsibility of the mooring owner.

(d)

Within 30 days after a mooring and/or its mooring tackle has been reported to violate any requirements of this article, a second mooring inspection must be completed to determine if the violation has been corrected and meets the standards detailed in this article. The results of such second mooring inspection must be reported to the harbormaster. Failure to correct the violation shall cause the mooring to be deemed not safe and shall be cause for the revocation of the mooring permit, shall be a violation of this article, and subject to the removal of the mooring from the coastal waters and harbor areas of the city in accordance with any provision of this article at the risk and expense of the mooring owner.

(e)

Any person may apply to the commission to be designated as an inspector. Applications shall be made on the form provided by the harbormaster and must be accompanied by the annual application fee as set by the harbormaster and police chief, which shall be approved as part of the harbormaster's budget submitted to the city council, along with a resume which includes relevant professional experience from either current or previous employers in marine related industry or area harbormasters. A qualified inspector must reapply by July 1 of each year. The commission may designate as many inspectors as it feels are necessary; shall set standards for the inspectors to follow; and shall establish criteria for qualifying as an inspector. Any inspector who has failed to exercise diligence in the exercise of his duty shall have his inspector's license revoked.

(f)

The harbormaster shall keep a list of all qualified inspectors and shall make this list available to holders of mooring permits and provide a copy of this list to the city clerk's office (ref. section 13-78, exhibit 12).

(g)

Any person, prior to being appointed as a qualified inspector will provide and submit to the harbormaster either proof of insurance or a surety bond in the amount of $1,000,000.00. The insurance policy must name the City of East Providence and harbormaster as additional insured and certificate holders of the policy. The policy must clearly state "mooring inspector".

(Rev. Ords. 1987, § 13-100.10; Ch. 199, § XIV, 2-19-02; Ch. 313, § III, 8-10-04; Ch. 507, § XV, 7-20-10; Ch. 556-C, 5-31-13)