It will soon be a misdemeanor crime to abandon a boat in Minnesota or its border waters thanks to a new law inspired by the St. Croix shipwreck tale of Sweet Destiny.
The 54-foot motor yacht was abandoned last fall on the St. Croix River’s Beer Can Island, became an Internet meme, and was only recently removed from the river by a group of volunteers. The law criminalizing such behavior was recently approved by the Legislature and is awaiting Gov. Tim Walz’s signature.
“I’m super pleased,” said Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, the bill’s author.
The law goes into effect Aug. 1. It tasks the Department of Natural Resources with the removal and disposal of abandoned boats, with funding of $262,000 per year for two years.
The DNR has estimated that some 40 boats per year are left in Minnesota waterways, ditches, state parks and along roads. The owner of the abandoned watercraft will be assessed the cost of removal and charged with a misdemeanor, which carries penalties including fines and the possibility of up to a year in jail.
Seeberger’s original bill included the suspension of all DNR licenses for the boat owner — think hunting and fishing — until the boat was removed, but that provision was dropped during negotiations.
The legislation was first requested by Hudson, Wis., Mayor Rich O’Connor, who said the city had grown weary of picking derelict boats off the river each fall. The Minnesota bill covers the entirety of the St. Croix River, but a coordinated piece of legislation that also criminalizes boat abandonment remains under discussion at the Wisconsin Legislature.
The viral story of Sweet Destiny helped propel Seeberger’s bill to passage, and kept her busy providing updates to her colleagues.
