This letter was sent from Sergeant Brian Kerensky to Chief Currey about Operation Cleanup.
On January 13th and 14th, 2021, members of the Vero Beach Police Department participated in Operation Cleanup, which included members from FWC, Sebastian Police Department, Indian River Shores, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and the Vero Beach Police Department. The purpose of the operation was to address any and all complaints on the intercostal waterways of the included jurisdictions.
The focus of our attention was any and all vessels, sail or power, moored in or around the city marina. In total (11) vessels were boarded for the purpose of inspection. The 11 vessels contained varying types of marine sanitation device, MSD’s, including holding tanks and composting tanks. The inspections included function testing the heads with a tracing dye to verify that no materials were being discharged into the waterways, as well as visual inspections on the valves to make sure they were closed and secured. Of the 11 vessels inspected, 3 were issued citations for either no MSD or for unsecure/open discharge valves.
Outside of conducting MSD inspections, several vessels were checked on to see if they met the statutory requirements for being derelict vessels. None of the vessels were deemed derelict, but several were deemed to be at risk and will need to be followed up with to locate an owner. Though, the focus of our training was on MSD, several other infractions were observed on the waterway, to include: expired registrations, violation of a slow speed zone and safety equipment violations. The 6 vessels located in our jurisdiction with expired registrations will be issued citations via mail by FWC.
The amount of time spent on the water was approximately 9 hours over the 2 days. The majority of the vessels moored around the city waterways have been inspected and are in compliance. We will continue to follow up on the at risk vessels as well as monitor their status. We will also continue to police the waterways looking for additional infractions.