§494. Obstruction of navigation; alterations and removals; lights and signals; draws — Inbound Citations
33 U.S.C. § 494
Cited by 10 provisions in release 119-102.
Citations to 33 U.S.C. § 494 as a whole
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When, after March 23, 1906, authority is granted by Congress to any persons to construct and maintain a bridge across or over any of the navigable waters of the United States, such bridge shall not be built or commenced until the plans and specifications for its construction, together with such drawings of the proposed construction and such map of the proposed location as may be required for a full understanding of the subject, have been submitted to the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating for the Secretary’s approval, nor until the Secretary shall have approved such plans and specifications and the location of such bridge and accessory works; and when the plans for any bridge to be constructed under the provisions of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, have been approved by the Secretary it shall not be lawful to deviate from such plans, either before or after completion of the structure, unless the modification of such plans has previously been submitted to and received the approval of the Secretary. This section shall not apply to any bridge over waters which are not subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and which are not used and are not susceptible to use in their natural condition or by reasonable improvement as a means to transport interstate or foreign commerce.
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Any bridge built in accordance with the provisions of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall be a lawful structure and shall be recognized and known as a post route, upon which no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over any railroad, street railway, or public highway leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have the right to construct, maintain, and repair, without any charge therefor, telegraph and telephone lines across and upon said bridge and its approaches; and equal privileges in the use of said bridge and its approaches shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies.
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All railroad companies desiring the use of any railroad bridge built in accordance with the provisions of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains or cars over the same and over the approaches thereto upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case of any disagreement between the parties in regard to the terms of such use or the sums to be paid all matters at issue shall be determined by the Secretary of Transportation upon hearing the allegations and proofs submitted to him.
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(a) Any persons who shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with the lawful order of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating or the Chief of Engineers, made in accordance with the provisions of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished in any court of competent jurisdiction by a fine not exceeding $5,000, and every month such persons shall remain in default shall be deemed a new offense and subject such persons to additional penalties therefor; and in addition to the penalties above described the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating and the Chief of Engineers may, upon refusal of the persons owning or controlling any such bridge and accessory works to comply with any lawful order issued by the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating or Chief of Engineers in regard thereto, cause the removal of such bridge and accessory works at the expense of the persons owning or controlling such bridge, and suit for such expense may be brought in the name of the United States against such persons, and recovery had for such expense in any court of competent jurisdiction; and the removal of any structures erected or maintained in violation of the provisions of said sections or the order or direction of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating or Chief of Engineers made in pursuance thereof may be enforced by injunction, mandamus, or other summary process, upon application to the district court in the district in which such structure may, in whole or in part, exist, and proper proceedings to this end may be instituted under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States at the request of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating; and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to navigation created by the construction of any bridge under said sections, the cause or question arising may be tried before the district court of the United States in any district which any portion of said obstruction or bridge touches.
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(b) Whoever violates any provision of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, or any order issued under sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall be liable to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for a violation occurring in 2008 and any year thereafter. Each day a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense. No penalty may be assessed under this subsection until the person charged is given notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the charge. The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may assess and collect any civil penalty incurred under this subsection and, in his discretion, may remit, mitigate, or compromise any penalty until the matter is referred to the Attorney General. If a person against whom a civil penalty is assessed under this subsection fails to pay that penalty, an action may be commenced in the district court of the United States for any district in which the violation occurs for such penalty.
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The right to alter, amend, or repeal sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, is expressly reserved as to any and all bridges which may be built in accordance with the provisions of said sections, and the United States shall incur no liability for the alteration, amendment, or repeal thereof to the owner or owners or any other persons interested in any bridge which shall have been constructed in accordance with its provisions.
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The first sentence of section 494 of this title, and section 502 of this title, shall be inapplicable with respect to any bridge to which the provisions of this subchapter are applicable.
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The provisions of this subchapter shall apply only to bridges over navigable waters of the United States, the construction of which is approved after August 2, 1946, under the provisions of this subchapter; and the provisions of the first proviso of section 401 of this title, and the provisions of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, shall not apply to such bridges.
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The consent of Congress is hereby granted to the construction, maintenance, and operation of any bridge and approaches thereto, which will connect the United States with any foreign country (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as an “international bridge”) and to the collection of tolls for its use, so far as the United States has jurisdiction. Such consent shall be subject to (1) the approval of the proper authorities in the foreign country concerned; (2) the provisions of sections 491 to 494 and 495 to 498 of this title, except section 496 of this title, whether or not such bridge is to be built across or over any of the navigable waters of the United States; and (3) of the provisions of this subchapter.