DNR doesn't throw the book at owners of abandoned boats

While abandoned boats continue to be a safety risk on the Georgia coast, officials have yet to use a tough new state law enacted to address the problem.

Department of Natural Resources officials say, the number of boats listed as abandoned on the Georgia coast has risen since last year from 90 to 143, mostly due to better tracking. About a year ago, state lawmakers gave D.N.R. the power to block boat owners from registering their boats or cars if they abandon a boat in Georgia waters.

Susan Shipman, Director of the D.N.R.'s Coastal Resources Division, says her agency has not yet blocked any registrations, but that the threat of enforcement is working.

"The law, in my opinion, is being very effective," she says. "In the year that the law has been in effect, we've had 16-vessels that have been removed by third parties."

Shipman also says the number of boats removed with private dollars has doubled. Last year, the state removed two vessels at a cost to taxpayers of 1-hundred-thousand dollars.

(Orlando Montoya reporting)