1. (1) Nothing herein shall apply to the United States Government or its agencies, nor to any aid to navigation, marker, mooring buoy, or other similar device placed thereby.
2. (2) Persons establishing private aids to navigation other than regulatory markers and mooring buoys on waters of concurrent state/federal jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of 33 CFR §66.01 may submit to the Boating and Waterways Section a copy of their United States Coast Guard permit (CG-2554) in lieu of the materials required under Rule 68D-23.104, F.A.C. Upon receipt by this section of said copy of their permit, such private aids to navigation are exempt from further permitting and need not display a permit number.

3. (3) Every regulatory marker without a properly displayed permit number, in place in, on or over the waters of the state or shores thereof is declared a nuisance. The division and its officers and all other law enforcement officers charged with the enforcement of Chapter 327, F.S., have the authority to remove or cause the removal of any unpermitted regulatory marker. Markers authorized by the former Florida Department of Natural Resources prior to January 1, 1988, for which no permit number was assigned shall be issued a permit number upon receipt by the Boating and Waterways Section of the following:

   1. (a) A copy of the correspondence authorizing placement of said markers;

   2. (b) A statement of the specifications for the markers, including:

      1. A list of the markers,

      2. A description giving each marker’s size and message,

      3. The latitude and longitude coordinates in degrees and decimal minutes of the location of each marker and the datum in which those coordinates are expressed,

      4. A statement that the markers have been inspected during the ninety days preceding the instant request and that:

      a. The markers are properly maintained and in serviceable condition,

      b. The markers conform to the requirements of this chapter,

      c. The markers are still properly on station; and,

      d. The date or dates on which the markers were inspected.

4. (4) Counties, municipalities and other government entities are exempt from permitting under this chapter only when placing information markers on inland lakes and their associated canals. However, nothing herein shall prevent counties, municipalities or other governmental entities from choosing to voluntarily apply for waterway marker permits for such information markers.

5. (5) The restrictions displayed on regulatory markers shall not apply:

   1. (a) In the case of an emergency;
   2. (b) To law enforcement patrol vessels or firefighting vessels, or
   3. (c) To any rescue vessel owned or operated by a governmental entity.

Rulemaking Authority 327.04, 327.40, 327.41, 327.71 FS. Law Implemented 327.40, 327.41, 327.46, 327.71, 379.2431 FS. History–New 12-23-01, Amended 10-5-06, 10-6-10.