§ 15-7 — Jurisdiction, powers and duties of Bridgeport harbor master. Approval of harbor works. Appeal. Penalty.

Connecticut § 15-7

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 15: Navigation and Aeronautics
• Ch. 263: Harbors and Rivers

Text

(a) The harbor master shall have the general care and supervision of Bridgeport Harbor and its tidewaters and its rivers and of all the flats and lands flowed thereby, and all other tidewaters, flats and rivers which are within the city limits of said city but are not adjacent to said harbor in order to limit, prevent and abate sources of water pollution, to prevent or remove any unauthorized encroachment and other obstruction which is likely to interfere with the full navigation of said harbor, or in any way injure its channels or cause any reduction in its tidewaters, or prevent, abate or remove any unauthorized landfills upon or affecting the tidewaters located within the city limits of Bridgeport. The harbor master shall exercise his responsibility in a manner consistent with any harbor management plan for the Bridgeport Harbor adopted pursuant to section 22a-113m. (b) Each person who contemplates the building over said harbor and tidewaters of any bridge, wharf, pier dam or bulkheads, or the dredging or filling in of any flats or tidewaters, or the driving or placement of any piles, dolphins or bumpers below high-water mark shall, before beginning such work, give written notice upon forms provided by said master of his intention to do such work to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and to said harbor master and shall submit plans or drawings of any proposed wharf or any other structure, and of the flats to be dredged or filled, and of the mode in which the work is to be performed; and no such work shall be commenced until the plan or drawing and the mode of performing the same is approved in writing by the commissioner. The commissioner may reject or alter such plans at his discretion and prescribe the direction, limits and mode of building of the wharf and other structures, and all such works shall be executed under the supervision of the commissioner and the harbor master. (c) Any erection made or work done in any manner not sanctioned by said commissioner, when his direction is required as hereinbefore provided, shall be deemed a public nuisance. Said commissioner may order suits in the name of the city and prevent or stop or abate, by injunction or otherwise, any such erection or other nuisance and such suits shall be conducted by and at the expense of the city of Bridgeport. (d) Any person aggrieved by any action taken or order issued by said commissioner under authority of this section may within thirty days appeal to the superior court for the judicial district of Bridgeport and said court shall take such action in the premises as equity may require. (e) Any person who violates or assists in violating any of the provisions of subsection (b) of this section or any direction or order of the commissioner made pursuant thereto shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 4748; 1969, P.A. 482; 768, S. 156; P.A. 76-436, S. 415, 681; P.A. 78-280, S. 7, 127; P.A. 84-247, S. 12; P.A. 07-217, S. 55; P.A. 12-80, S. 167; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 19; P.A. 23-46, S. 33.) History: 1969 acts amended Subsec. (a) to give harbor master jurisdiction over rivers and over all other waterways in city limits but not adjacent to harbor to control water pollution and authorized him to take action re unauthorized land fills, clarified Subsec. (b) and added references to bulkheads, dredging, dolphins and bumpers, removed phrase “within the tidewaters flowing into or through said harbor” in Subsec. (c) thereby extending harbor master's authority, placed 30-day limit on appeals in Subsec. (d), increased fine from $200 to $1,000 and imprisonment from 60 to 90 days in Subsec. (e) and replaced “harbor master” with “commissioner” throughout section except that notice required to be given to both and supervision of works to be by both; P.A. 76-436 replaced court of common pleas with superior court in Subsec. (d), effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 78-280 replaced county of Fairfield with judicial district of Fairfield in Subsec. (d); P.A. 84-247 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring the harbor master to exercise his responsibility consistent with the harbor management plan; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (e), effective July 12, 2007; P.A. 12-80 amended Subsec. (e) to change penalty from a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment of not more than 90 days or both to a class C misdemeanor; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (b) to replace “Commissioner of Transportation” with “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 23-46 amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “judicial district of Fairfield” with “judicial district of Bridgeport”, effective January 1, 2024. Cited. 146 C. 619.