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Two Sacramento boaters cited minutes apart on April 16 will be in court on Monday, May 23, where each will face charges of launching a vessel without a nonresident mussel sticker, according to Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said the two cases are the first such prosecutions to take place under the Lake County Water Vessel Inspection Ordinance.
He said the District Attorney's Office has several other similar cases that it's reviewing for prosecution.
Over the last several years, county leaders have put in place several measures to protect Clear Lake and the county's other water bodies against invasive mussels, particularly the Dreissenid mussels such as the quagga and zebra.
Quagga and zebra mussels have been found in Southern California waters and other parts of the country, with their appearance resulting in destructive consequences for the surrounding communities and ecosystems.
On Jan. 25, the Lake County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Lake County Water Vessel Inspection Ordinance 2936, which covers water vessels that launch on local water bodies.
It specifically excludes kayaks, rafts, car-top boats, canoes, wind surfboards and boogie boards, float tubes, nonmotorized paddle boats and nonmotorized sailboats 8 feet in length and less.
The ordinance, which took effect Feb. 24, requires a mandatory screening before a vessel launches on local lakes and also requires stickers to designate inspected vessels.
The inspection ordinance also increases any violation of the ordinance from an infraction to a misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $1,000, up to six months in jail, or a combination of the fine and jail time.
On April 20, the Board of Supervisors approved amendments to the ordinance to give law enforcement additional power, including citing boat owners who are in the process of launching boats without having gone through an inspection or having a sticker. Previously, officials would have had to wait until the boat was launched into the water before acting.
That latest amendment goes into effect May 26, according to the document.
In the two cases set to appear in court on May 23, Andre Holtzclaw and Richard Martinez were cited late on the morning of April 16 – one at 11:53 a.m., one at 11:57 a.m. – by a Department of Fish and Game warden, Abelson said.
Holtzclaw, in a 2000 Harborcraft, and Martinez, in a 22-foot 1982 Beachcraft, were allegedly found with expired nonresident inspection stickers, Abelson said.
In addition, Abelson said Martinez is facing an infraction for not having a Department of Motor Vehicles identification number on his boat.
California Fish and Game Lt. Loren Freeman told Lake County News that one of the area's newest wardens, Tim Little, based in Lucerne, has patrolling Clear Lake as one of his main assignments.
Pointing out that Lake County has the state's first ever-invasive species ordinance, Freeman said Fish and Game is fully backing the program and will conduct inspections to complement it.
Likewise, the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that it's taking a “zero tolerance” policy toward enforcing the water vessel inspection ordinance.
The Sheriff's Marine Patrol Unit is deploying additional deputies this month to have a stronger enforcement presence on Clear Lake in preparation for the summer boating season, the agency said.
Prosecutor points out concerns over ordinance
Before the ordinance was changed to make violations a misdemeanor, the citations were treated as infractions, and violators were sent to traffic or infraction court, said Hinchcliff. “So they weren't coming through our office.”
Hinchcliff, who in addition to being a longtime county prosecutor is a 22-year member of the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee, said he thinks the effort to protect the lake through the inspection program is very important.
“If the mussels get into this lake, it will be a natural disaster,” he said, pointing out the millions of dollars in damage to tourism, private property – both land and vessels – and local water companies.
Nonetheless, Hinchcliff – based on his experience prosecuting cases and working in the local court system – said he does have some concerns about the stepped up legal aspects of the ordinance, which the District Attorney's Office wasn't asked to comment on when it was drafted.
For one, he pointed out that the minimum fine, while set at $1,000 in the ordinance, actually will be much more – approximately 170 percent more, based on court-imposed penalties and fees.
That would put the minimum fine at $2,700, Hinchcliff said.
As a result, Hinchcliff speculated that many alleged violators will opt for jury trials – they're entitled to trials because of misdemeanor charging – and some may qualify for services provided by the public defender's office.
“We're going to have these cases competing with burglary cases and robbery cases and rape cases for extremely limited trial space,” he said.
In addition, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor will have a criminal record, while those with infractions don't, Hinchcliff explained.
He said he's hoping that the ordinance will have the impact in protecting the lake that county leaders intended.
“We'll see what happens,” he said.
For more information about the county's invasive mussel prevention program visit www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Water_Resources/Mussel_Prevention.htm .
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