Your Municipality or Borough can help by adopting a resolution supporting a speed limit of 30 mph, from May 1 to Oct 31, seven days a week, with no exemptions for “practicing”.
OF THE BOROUGH OF MANTOLOKING, OCEAN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
ENDORSING THE ADOPTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF BOAT SPEED
LIMITS ON BARNEGAT BAY AND ADVOCATING MORE
STRINGENT BOATING REGULATIONS CONCERNING NOISE, WAKE AND
SHALLOW WATER OPERATION
WHEREAS, Barnegat Bay and other inland tidal waters within the State of New Jersey offer a wide spectrum of natural benefits, commercial and recreational opportunities; and
WHEREAS, the increasingly dense population of New Jersey and the metropolitan area generally has caused a dramatic and measurable increase in the utilization of tidal waters for recreational purposes, fishing, crabbing, and boating; and
WHEREAS, the waters are frequently so intensively utilized as to create conditions of congestion with attendant hazard and degradation of all aspects of the water resources and associated attributes; and
WHEREAS, under such conditions, the high speed operation of motor boats and personal watercraft presents occasions of unacceptable risk of injury or death; and
WHEREAS, the proliferation of motor boat use, especially at high speeds, causes conditions of wake which, in many instances, render the resource unusable for other purposes, recreational and commercial; and
WHEREAS, high speed motor boat operation is regularly accompanied by unacceptable noise levels which constitute a dramatic nuisance to all within hearing range, often a distance of a mile or more; and
WHEREAS, significant areas of the tidal waters are comprised of relatively shallow waters which, without rational contradiction, are the principal habitat for necessary aquatic plants and the nursery for juveniles of numerous species of vital marine organism and provide habitat for water fowl and shore birds of numerous species, all essential to the well being and maintenance of stocks relied upon for recreational and commercial purposes; and
WHEREAS, the New Jersey Boat Regulation Commission (NJBRC) is considering the adoption of revised boating regulations.
IT IS NOW, THEREFORE, this 18th day of November, 2002, RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Mantoloking, Ocean County, New Jersey, as follows:
1. The NJBRC should adopt boating regulations which:
(a) impose a speed limit on all tidal waters of not more than 30 m.p.h., effective May 1st to October 31st; and
(b) impose a lower speed limit in defined congested areas (not more than (5 m.p.h.), as well as a “no wake” speed limit in the most geographically confined and congested areas, narrow channels, along shore, near bridges and such other areas as may present the occasion of high risk or unacceptable nuisance or damage to the resource or public or private infrastructure;
(c) dramatically curtail and limit the operation of motor powered craft in shallow waters, less than 18″;
(d) are susceptible of practical and efficient enforcement concerning the noise generated by motor boats, especially in or near populated areas. The cost of noise regulation enforcement should be borne by the boat owners and the operation of any motor boat should be conditioned upon the possession of a valid current certification that the vessel is not capable of producing “excessive” noise at any speed. Boats of a class or type which are inherently excessive “noise generators” should be subject to annual recertification;
(e) All regulations should be applicable on all days of operation and should not provide of any “race practice” exceptions (race practice should be conducted in the open ocean, the boats are designed to perform in such conditions).
2. All residents of the Borough and other communities abutting tidal waters are hereby urged to write to:
New Jersey Boat Regulation Commission
c/o New Jersey State Police, Marine Services Unit
P. O. Box 7068
West Trenton, New Jersey 08628-0068
to express their concerns and their support for the adoption and enforcement of regulations consistent with the foregoing.
3. Copies of this Resolution shall be forwarded to the governing bodies of all municipalities abutting waters of the Barnegat Bay; Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders; Members of the Ocean County Legislative Delegation to the Senate and Assembly and to the New Jersey Boat Regulation Commission.
I, Irene H. Ryan, Clerk of the Borough of Mantoloking, County of Ocean and State of New Jersey, do hereby certify the foregoing to be a true copy of a Resolution passed by the Borough Council of the Borough of Mantoloking at a regular meeting held in the Borough Hall at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, November 18, 2002, at which time a quorum was present.
______________________________
Irene H. Ryan, R. M. C.
