Utah Code 23-27-303. Closing a water body, facility, or water supply system

Renumbered 7/1/2023)

23-27-303. Closing a water body, facility, or water supply system.

(1)

Except as provided by Subsection (6), if the division detects or suspects a Dreissena mussel is present in a water body, a facility, or a water supply system, the director or the director’s designee may, with the concurrence of the executive director, order:

Terms Used In Utah Code 23-27-303

Board: means the Wildlife Board. See Utah Code 23-27-102
Conveyance: includes a motor vehicle, a vessel, a motorboat, a sailboat, a personal watercraft, a container, a trailer, a live well, or a bilge area. See Utah Code 23-27-102
Decontaminate: means to:

(a)	drain and dry all non-treated water; and

(b)

chemically or thermally treat in accordance with rule. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Director: means the director of the division. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Division: means the Division of Wildlife Resources. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Dreissena mussel: means a mussel of the genus Dreissena at any life stage, including a zebra mussel, a quagga mussel, and Conrad's false mussel. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Equipment: means an article, tool, implement, or device capable of carrying or containing:

(a)

water; or

(b)

a Dreissena mussel. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Executive director: means the executive director of the Department of Natural Resources. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Facility: means a structure that is located within or adjacent to a water body. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5

State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5

Water body: means natural or impounded surface water, including a stream, river, spring, lake, reservoir, pond, wetland, tank, and fountain. See Utah Code 23-27-102

Water supply system: includes a pump, canal, ditch, or pipeline. See Utah Code 23-27-102

(a)

the water body, facility, or water supply system closed to a conveyance or equipment;

(b)	restricted access by a conveyance or equipment to a water body, facility, or water supply system; or

(c)	a conveyance or equipment that is removed from or introduced to the water body, facility, or water supply system to be inspected, quarantined, or decontaminated in a manner and for a duration necessary to detect and prevent the infestation of a Dreissena mussel.

(2)

If a closure authorized by Subsection (1) lasts longer than seven days, the division shall:

(a)	provide a written update to the operator of the water body, facility, or water supply system every 10 days on the division’s effort to address the Dreissena infestation; and

(b)	post the update on the division’s website.

(3)

(a)	The board shall develop procedures to ensure proper notification of a state, federal, or local agency that is affected by a Dreissena mussel infestation.

(b)

The notification shall include:

(i)	the reasons for the closure, quarantine, or restriction; and

(ii)	methods for providing updated information to the agency.

(4)

When deciding the scope, duration, level, and type of restriction or a quarantine or closure location, the director shall consult with the person with the jurisdiction, control, or management responsibility over the water body, facility, or water supply system to avoid or minimize disruption of economic and recreational activity.

(5)

(a)

A person that operates a water supply system shall cooperate with the division to implement a measure to:

(i)	avoid infestation by a Dreissena mussel; and

(ii)	control or eradicate a Dreissena mussel infestation that may occur in a water supply system.

(b)

(i)	If a Dreissena mussel is detected, the water supply system’s operator, in cooperation with the division, shall prepare and implement a plan to control or eradicate a Dreissena mussel within the water supply system.

(ii)

A plan required by Subsection (5)(b)(i) shall include a:

(A)	method for determining the scope and extent of the infestation;

(B)	method to control or eradicate the Dreissena mussel;

(C)	method to decontaminate the water supply system containing the Dreissena mussel;

(D)	systematic monitoring program to determine a change in the infestation; and

(E)	requirement to update or revise the plan in conformity with a scientific advance in the method of controlling or eradicating a Dreissena mussel.

(6)

(a)	The division may not close or quarantine a water supply system if the operator has prepared and implemented a plan to control or eradicate a Dreissena mussel in accordance with Subsection (5).

(b)

(i)	The division may require the operator to update a plan.

(ii)	If the operator fails to update or revise a plan, the division may close or quarantine the water supply system in accordance with this section.

Enacted by Chapter 284, 2008 General Session

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