EP 1130-2-520
29 Nov 96
CHAPTER 4 - REMOVAL OF WRECKS AND OTHER OBSTRUCTIONS
4-1. Purpose. This chapter establishes guidance on removing wrecks and other obstructions to
navigation on waterways under the jurisdiction of the USACE.
4-2. Applicability. This chapter applies to all USACE commands having responsibility for civil
works navigation functions and the removal of sunken vessels within the navigable waters of the
United States. Wrecks which predate the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (PL 99-
662) are subject to the same policy, except where specifically noted otherwise. This chapter does
not apply to obstructions other than vessels, which may be subject to removal under other
statutory authorities and procedures.
4-3. Background.
a. Over the years, several significant court cases have circumscribed the scope of the law
by defining "navigable channel," "abandonment," the owner's duty to mark/remove, the Corps'
duty to protect navigation, and legal liability generally. The U.S. Code (Annotated) provides
citations and summaries of several key cases for further reference. The agency's nationwide
policies take the overall case history into consideration, but are not bound by the results of every
individual case.
b. Coordination problems between the Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard
were highlighted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its 1978 report on the
M/V DAUNTLESS COLOCOTRONIS Grounding. The NTSB recommended coordination
between the Corps and the Coast Guard in better defining what constitutes a hazard to navigation,
and periodic reviews (with the Coast Guard) of existing hazards to navigation. In October 1985,
the Corps and the Coast Guard signed a Memorandum of Agreement to address these issues.
c. Funding priorities require us to take a conservative approach with respect to the
removal of wrecks and other obstructions in our role of protecting and preserving navigable
waters. Because of funding restraints, an administrative decision was made that for the general
case, the geographic limit for the exercise of our authority need not be extended to cover the
entire navigable river bed.
d. Enforcement Problems. One of the levers for effective enforcement is the ability to
remove the wreck under Federal authority and then recover costs from the responsible party. In
the past, the Corps' ability to enforce removal by the owner was seriously constrained by the
requirement to prove negligence (in the sinking) and, sometimes, by difficulty in tracing a
financially-viable owner. The Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (PL 99-662) eliminated
the prerequisite of negligence and extended financial liability to vessel operators and lessees for
wrecks occurring after November 17, 1986.
e. Insufficient cost controls have often limited our ability to recover Federal costs in
removal. Challenges to the "reasonableness" of our expenditures can usually be traced to either
excessive use of resources (where the cost really isn't reasonable) or inadequate documentation
and accounting (where the costs are reasonable but we don't justify them well).
4-1
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