Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-73
§413 Duty of United States attorneys and other Federal officers in enforcement of provisions; arrest of offenders
Title 33 › Chapter CHAPTER 9— - PROTECTION OF NAVIGABLE WATERS AND OF HARBOR AND RIVER IMPROVEMENTS GENERALLY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - IN GENERAL › § 413
Summary
The Department of Justice must bring and handle court cases to enforce sections 401, 403, 404, 406–409, 411, and 412. United States attorneys must actively take offenders to court when the Secretary of the Army or certain named officials ask them to. Those attorneys must tell the Attorney General what they did about the reported offenders, and the Attorney General must send a copy of those reports to the Secretary of the Army. Officers in charge of river and harbor work, their assistant engineers and inspectors, and U.S. customs and revenue officers can sign sworn papers to start charges and can arrest or hold people accused of violating those sections, with or without a warrant. They may not arrest without a warrant unless the offense happened in their presence. Anyone arrested must be taken right away to a federal magistrate, judge, or court for an examination and handled like other federal crimes.
Full Legal Text
Title 33, §413
Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The Department of Justice shall conduct the legal proceedings necessary to enforce the provisions of section 401, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 409, 411, and 412 of this title; and it shall be the duty of United States attorneys to vigorously prosecute all offenders against the same whenever requested to do so by the Secretary of the Army or by any of the officials hereinafter designated, and it shall furthermore be the duty of said United States attorneys to report to the Attorney General of the United States the action taken by him against offenders so reported, and a transcript of such reports shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Army by the Attorney General; and for the better enforcement of the said provisions and to facilitate the detection and bringing to punishment of such offenders, the officers and agents of the United States in charge of river and harbor improvements, and the assistant engineers and inspectors employed under them by authority of the Secretary of the Army, and the United States collectors of customs and other revenue officers shall have power and authority to swear out process, and to arrest and take into custody, with or without process, any person or persons who may commit any of the acts or offenses prohibited by the said sections, or who may violate any of the provisions of the same: Provided, That no person shall be arrested without process for any offense not committed in the presence of some one of the aforesaid officials: And provided further, That whenever any arrest is made under such sections, the person so arrested shall be brought forthwith before a magistrate judge, judge, or court of the United States for examination of the offenses alleged against him; and such magistrate judge, judge, or court shall proceed in respect thereto as authorized by law in case of crimes against the United States.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Section is from act Mar. 3, 1899, popularly known as the “Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899”.
Prior Provisions
Act Sept. 19, 1890, ch. 907, § 11, 26 Stat. 455, was probably omitted from the Code as superseded by this section, or as rendered obsolete by act March 3, 1899, different sections of which superseded provisions of the act of 1890, the
Enforcement
of which was provided for by section 11. It read as follows: “It shall be the duty of officers and agents having the supervision, on the part of the United States, of the works in progress for the preservation and improvement of said navigable waters, and, in their absence, of the United States collectors of customs and other revenue officers to enforce the provisions of this act by giving information to the district attorney of the United States for the district in which any violation of any provision of this act shall have been committed: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to Torch Lake, Houghton County, Michigan.”
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Act June 25, 1948, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, substituted “United States attorneys” for “district attorneys of the United States” and “district attorneys”. See section 541 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and
Historical and Revision Notes
set out thereunder. Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act
July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. section 205(a) of act
July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted “Title 10, Armed Forces” which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of the Army. “Magistrate judge” substituted in text for “magistrate” pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Previously, “magistrate” was substituted for “commissioner” pursuant to Pub. L. 90–578. See chapter 43 (§ 631 et seq.) of Title 28.
Transfer of Functions
Functions, powers, and duties of Secretary of the Army and other offices and officers of Department of the Army under section 401 of this title to extent that they relate generally to location and clearances of bridges and causeways in navigable waters of United States transferred to and vested in Secretary of Transportation by Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(g)(6)(A), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 941, which created Department of Transportation. Pub. L. 97–449 amended section 401 of this title to reflect transfer made by section 6(g)(6)(A) of Pub. L. 89–670, and repealed section 6(g)(6)(A).
Executive Documents
Transfer of Functions
All offices of collector of customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchandise in Bureau of Customs of Department of the Treasury to which appointments required to be made by President with advice and consent of Senate were ordered abolished with such offices to be terminated not later than Dec. 31, 1966, by Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1965, eff.
May 25, 1965, 30 F.R. 7035, 79 Stat. 1317, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. All functions of the offices eliminated were already vested in Secretary of the Treasury by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, eff.
July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
33 U.S.C. § 413
Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable Waters
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73