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Senate committee backs bill to let DNR tag, remove abandoned watercraft after 14 days
Summary
The Senate Environment Committee recommended passage of Senate File 2735 as amended, a bill authorizing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to tag abandoned vessels and remove them after 14 days, shifting primary responsibility from counties to the DNR and creating civil and criminal penalties and a removal account.
Senate File 2735, a bill to give the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) authority and tools to address abandoned watercraft, was recommended to pass as amended by the Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee on April 1.
The bill creates a process to tag an abandoned vessel, give the owner 14 days to claim or remove it, and authorize the DNR to remove and dispose of the vessel at the owner's expense if it is not claimed. The measure also establishes civil and criminal penalties and an account to fund removals and recycling, with recovered costs returned to that account.
The measure responds to a high-profile case of a 54-foot yacht abandoned in 2024 on an island in the St. Croix River and the broader problem of derelict vessels statewide. Supporters said existing local enforcement lacks the authority, funding and scale to manage removal consistently.
"Abandoned watercraft will be tagged and will have 14 days to be claimed by their owner or they will face removal by the DNR at their expense," said Senator Seaburger, the bill author. She described the proposal as a bipartisan, bi-state effort with Wisconsin to give the DNR "protections and teeth" to address abandoned boats on waterways and public lands.
Jesse McCardle, senior manager of government relations for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, told the committee the boating industry supports the bill and its balance between environmental protection and private property rights. "This bill is a crucial step in safeguarding our water resources," McCardle said, adding that abandoned boats create environmental and navigational hazards and that states with dedicated removal funding have seen higher success rates.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Grecki, assistant director for the DNR Enforcement Division, said the bill would shift primary responsibility from counties to the DNR while still allowing local law enforcement to assist as needed. "This bill would create a framework and process for notifying owners of abandoned watercraft of their responsibility to remove them, provide them time to resolve those issues themselves, and if not resolved, a process for the state to remove the environmental and public safety hazards and dispose of them properly," Grecki said.
Mayor Rich O'Connor of Hudson, Wisconsin, who testified remotely, described repeated local efforts to locate an owner and the environmental risk when vessels sink and release fuel and oil. "There is no deterrent for this," O'Connor said. "If people see that nothing is done here, this is going to proliferate in a very bad way."
Committee members raised questions about private-property impacts, enforcement scope and penalties. In response to concerns that the bill might allow DNR employees or peace officers to enter private property to tag vessels, Grecki said the department would generally not go onto private property unless there was a complaint indicating abandonment or neglect and staff would work with private landowners.
The committee adopted the A2 author's amendment, which expanded coverage to include public lands as well as public waters and refined enforcement language. Senator Seaburger moved that the committee recommend passage of Senate File 2735 as amended and refer it to the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee; the motion prevailed on a voice vote.
Action at a glance: the committee recommended passage as amended and referred the bill to Judiciary and Public Safety. The motion passed by voice vote; the committee did not record a roll-call tally.
The bill's supporters urged that a funding stream be established to cover removal and recycling costs, and DNR witnesses noted that money recovered from negligent owners would be deposited back into a removal account. The bill text and amendment define abandoned as vessels that are inoperative, neglected, wrecked, stranded or substantially dismantled, in immediate danger of sinking, or unmoored and unattended.
The committee laid the measure over for further committee action in the Senate process. If passed by the full Senate and enacted, the bill would change current practice by centralizing authority for removal and creating a removal fund and civil/criminal liabilities for owners of abandoned vessels.
