Sunken vessels or watercraft, structures, or pieces of any structure, pier sweepings, dead animals or parts thereof, timber, logs, piles, boom sticks, lumber, boxes, empty containers, and oil of any kind floating uncontrolled on the water, and all other substances or articles of a similar nature, or any other substance, material, or mass of any nature which is prohibited by this title or any other law, ordinance, regulation, or rule from existing or being placed in Tacoma Harbor, are declared to be public nuisances, and it shall be unlawful for any person to throw or place, or allow to remain, or cause or permit to be thrown or placed any of the above-named articles or substances in Tacoma Harbor or upon the shores thereof, or in such position or location (even if outside the corporate limits of the City of Tacoma) that the same may or can be washed, leached, or discharged into the Tacoma Harbor, either by high tides, storms, floods, rains, or otherwise. Any person causing or permitting said nuisances to be placed or to exist as aforesaid shall remove the same and, upon failure so to do, the same may be removed by the Harbor Master and the expense thereof shall be paid by and recoverable from the person creating or responsible for the existence of such nuisance. In all cases, such nuisances may be abated in the manner provided by law. The abatement of any such public nuisance shall not excuse the person responsible therefor from prosecution under this title, and for each act prohibited by this chapter of a continuing nature, each day shall be considered a separate offense, as shall each day any person responsible therefor fails to correct or abate a condition or nuisance prohibited by this chapter.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
It shall be unlawful to throw, discharge, or deposit, or cause, suffer, allow to remain, or procure to be thrown, discharged, or deposited, either from or out of any ship, barge, or other floating craft of any kind, or from the shore, wharf, manufacturing establishment, or mill of any kind, or from any source whatsoever, any refuse matter of any kind or description or any substance of any nature whatsoever which would cause any pollution of the water of Tacoma Harbor (other than that as may be permitted by ordinances of the City of Tacoma flowing from City of Tacoma sewers in a liquid state) into any waters of Tacoma Harbor or into any other waters of Puget Sound, or into any tributary thereof from which the same shall be liable to or shall in fact float or be washed into, discharged, or otherwise be carried into Tacoma Harbor; and it shall be unlawful to deposit or cause, suffer, or procure to be deposited or allowed to remain any such aforesaid materials or substances in any place on any bank or shoreline area of Puget Sound or any tributary thereof, or at any other location where the same shall be liable to or shall be washed or discharged into Tacoma Harbor, either by tides, storms, rains, winds, or otherwise; provided that nothing herein shall prohibit the operations in connection with the improvement of navigable waters for navigation purposes and construction of public works related thereto considered necessary and proper by the City of Tacoma or by the appropriate United States agency authorizing and supervising such improvement or public work in accordance with any required City of Tacoma, State of Washington, or Federal permit.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
Any and every master, pilot, engineer, operator, or person or persons acting in such capacity respectively, on board any vessel or watercraft, who shall knowingly engage in towing any scow, vessel, or contrivance of any nature loaded with any material or substance specified in Section 4.26.020 of this chapter to any point or place where any deposit or discharge is made in violation of this title; any driver, operator, or person or persons acting in such capacity who shall knowingly engage in the operation of any vehicle, conveying apparatus, or equipment of any nature which, by reason of any such operation, will result in the transport to or the discharge of any material or substances specified in said Section 4.26.020 at any point or place in violation of this title; and any other person who shall knowingly engage in, authorize, aid, abet, or instigate any activity or operation from which the deposit or discharge into Tacoma Harbor of any material or substance specified in said Section 4.26.020 occurs, by whatever means, shall be guilty of a violation of Section 4.26.020.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
No owner, master, or other person in charge of any vessel or watercraft, and no engineer or other person in charge of any engine room or machinery of any vessel or watercraft, no owner, lessee, agent, employee, or other person in charge of or employed in or about any pier or any structure, and no person along or upon the shore of the Tacoma Harbor or any tributary or adjacent waters shall spill, throw, pump, or otherwise cause oil of any description to be or float upon the waters of Tacoma Harbor. It shall be unlawful for any such person to fail to provide such safeguards or apparatus as may be required by applicable laws for the prevention or containment of any oil discharge from any vessel or watercraft or on-or off-shore facility.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
The operation, anchorage, and docking of all vessels and watercraft in Tacoma Harbor and the transport, loading, unloading, handling, or storage of hazardous or other cargo in Tacoma Harbor in or upon facilities located in Tacoma Harbor or upon land shall comply with and be carried out in accordance with this title, the City of Tacoma Fire Code, and all other applicable adopted codes, ordinances, regulations, and rules of the City of Tacoma. All proper and operational safety or other equipment as required by such codes, regulations, and rules shall be carried, provided, or be otherwise available for use, or used for the purposes intended and shall, upon request of the Harbor Master, be made accessible for inspection.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
It shall be unlawful to dump any loose material into the waters of Tacoma Harbor or to handle loose materials without properly safeguarding the area beneath by means of a sufficient tarpaulin or platform to prevent such materials from falling or otherwise being discharged into the waters of Tacoma Harbor.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
All vessels or watercraft making fast to any pier or moorage shall do so in a safe manner with suitable lines and fastenings to be furnished by the vessel. It shall be unlawful for any vessel or watercraft to make fast to any pier, wharf, or pier which is not in a sound and safe condition or which has been declared unsafe by the Harbor Master or the Chief of the Buildings Division of the Department of Public Works of the City of Tacoma. All piers and gangways shall be adequately lighted at night whenever passengers or cargo are being loaded or unloaded.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
It shall be and remains the owner’s responsibility to properly inspect all piers, wharves, and waterfront structures under his or her ownership or control. It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent, or lessee in charge of any pier or waterfront structure of any kind whatsoever to allow the same to become unsafe or dangerous to life or property or to allow any portion thereof to fall into or remain adrift in the waters of Tacoma Harbor. Upon notice from the Harbor Master or other City officer that such conditions exist, it shall be the duty of the owner thereof to promptly remove or make safe the stated condition. Such unsafe or dangerous piers, wharves, and waterfront structures are declared to be public nuisances, and unless such be repaired and maintained in a safe and usable condition, the same shall be demolished and removed at the cost and expense of the owner thereof.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)
Every owner, agent, or lessee having charge of any commercial pier shall furnish and keep for use on such pier one serviceable 30-inch ring life buoy for every 300 lineal feet of berthing space, and, in any event, at least one such life buoy for each pier, to each of which shall be attached at least 200 feet of suitable line, one end of which shall be fastened to the ring buoy. Each ring buoy and line attached thereto shall be kept in a suitable box on the pier for use in case of accident, which box shall be properly labeled and be at all times kept clear of obstructions, and it shall be unlawful to take away, molest, injure, or destroy the same or either of them, or to disturb the same or either of them, except for use in saving life and property.
(Ord. 22868 § 1, 1983-06-07)