Utah Launch Decontamination Certificate

[Piece-O-Crappie]

We just got back yesterday, but at the decontamination site, the lady there said that it (the online test) was just for informational purposes to make out of state folks aware. So pay $20 to make yourself "aware" of decon purposes at Powell even though we've been going for many years? She did not ask for it.....oh well, it was a good trip, but I think they need to do a better job of "advertising" this and as Dean Mc said, question 17 defeats the purpose of doing the test and paying the $20 all together!

 

[dubob]

We just got back yesterday, but at the decontamination site, the lady there said that it (the online test) was just for informational purposes to make out of state folks aware. Absolutely false. That 'lady' doesn't have a clue what the law requires and why. And apparently neither do you. I spelled it out in post #16 above and I'll give you a quote from the actually Utah Bill HB255 from the 2020 legislative session that further spells it out for you.

This bill:
13 ▸ creates the aquatic invasive species mitigation fee, requiring resident and
14 nonresident owners of certain vessels to pay a fee in order to operate a boat on
15 waters in Utah;
16 ▸ requires owners of certain vessels to complete an education course;
17 ▸ requires the Division of Wildlife Resources to study the feasibility of a program for
18 automated monitoring and record keeping of the decontamination or entry of vessels
19 into the waters of this state;
20 ▸ requires the Division of Wildlife Resources to report on the study and implement a
21 pilot program;
22 ▸ creates the Aquatic Invasive Species Interdiction Account;
23 ▸ grants rulemaking authority to the Wildlife Board;
24 ▸ requires a person to remove all plugs and similar devices and to drain water systems
25 on a conveyance before transporting the conveyance on a highway in the state;
26 ▸ permits the division to temporarily stop, detain, and inspect a conveyance that the
27 division reasonably believes has not complied with the draining requirements; and
28 ▸ makes technical changes.

Take the on-line course/don't take it; pay the fee/don't pay it - I really don't care. But it is required by law for certain non-resident owned vessels not registered in Utah but USED in ANY Utah body of water. So pay $20 to make yourself "aware" of decon purposes at Powell even though we've been going for many years? She did not ask for it. She isn't supposed to ask for it. It is required to be placed in a visible location on the dash of your launch vehicle so a Utah State LEO can verify that you have met the requirements of Utah law. That isn't in the job description for the lady at the decon station. oh well, it was a good trip, but I think they need to do a better job of "advertising" this and as Dean Mc said, question 17 defeats the purpose of doing the test and paying the $20 all together!

I have no clue as to what Question 17 asks or what the possible answers are. Doesn't really matter. But the GENERAL purpose of the test is to educate the GENERAL public about Utah's Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) program and let them know what they can do to help decrease the impact of the AIS to the state. The purpose of the fee is to fund the AIS Program and help defray the huge cost of supplying the required equipment and managing the program. Non-residents have not been required to do that in the past and that was a huge oversite in the beginning. That oversite has now been fixed. A single defective question in the on-line course test does NOT defeat the general purpose of the course or the fee, no matter how distasteful our program seems to you non-residents.

 

[CTraveler]

So many different rules and BS from varying states for those of us that do a lot of traveling. And then you also have the invasive species inspections, mostly in the states west of the Midwest. It takes several hours of googling to find out the local rules, and another couple of days to do the certifications... Sometimes I wish we would just have a federal permit that would be good for any and all states! Just to add more confusion to the Utah certification...there are two certificates, per se. The one that shows you took the Invasive Species class, which is good on a calendar year, and the Invasive Species registration you pay for that is good for 1 year from date of purchase...

 

[dubob]

So many different rules and BS from varying states for those of us that do a lot of traveling. And then you also have the invasive species inspections, mostly in the states west of the Midwest. It takes several hours of googling to find out the local rules, and another couple of days to do the certifications... Sometimes I wish we would just have a federal permit that would be good for any and all states! Just to add more confusion to the Utah certification...there are two certificates, per se. The one that shows you took the Invasive Species class, which is good on a calendar year, and the Invasive Species registration you pay for that is good for 1 year from date of purchase...

I would suggest that just like a driver's license to operate a motor vehicle is good in any state you drive in, the boat registrations and special requirement certificates from your home state SHOULD be valid in any state in which you use your boat. They mostly do this in a majority of states with concealed carry permits. Just saying!

But then, how would the state replace that lost revenue from gouging non-residents for using state resources?

 

[Piece-O-Crappie]

I have no clue as to what Question 17 asks or what the possible answers are. Doesn't really matter. But the GENERAL purpose of the test is to educate the GENERAL public about Utah's Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) program and let them know what they can do to help decrease the impact of the AIS to the state. The purpose of the fee is to fund the AIS Program and help defray the huge cost of supplying the required equipment and managing the program. Non-residents have not been required to do that in the past and that was a huge oversite in the beginning. That oversite has now been fixed. A single defective question in the on-line course test does NOT defeat the general purpose of the course or the fee, no matter how distasteful our program seems to you non-residents.

I'm not here to start a pissing contest and truly do respect the "educational requirements" for this particular cause; however, there is a better way to go about this whole thing in my eyes. I'd be willing to bet a MAJORITY of folks that venture to Powell, out of state, do NOT utilize their vessels in other Utah waters. For instance, we're from Colorado where Lake Powell's decontamination is not honored (have to decon at a State Park Lake here), so they don't even bother with the decontamination process when we leave.

Question #17 states something along the lines of, "what has to be displayed in your windshield prior to launching your vessel on Lake Powell?" The CORRECT answer is "NOTHING!" So the test you're taking requires you to display your certificate on your windshield, but not at Powell? Going back to my original comment that a majority of folks coming out of state to Powell will more than likely not put on any other Utah water.

As mentioned above, by another member, trying to figure out what is required is a chore in itself and when you do find out it is confusing. All I am saying is simplifying the process...because nobody at Powell seems to know, care, or give a rats @$$ about this one.

The fact that they charge $20 to "educate" a person.......every year (like something is going to change)....is what is ruffling feathers I believe.

Again, no disrespect to you or Utah's laws...yes, I am a non-resident, but have lived in Utah for close to 20 of my years and love it there...a little better transparency would go a long way.

 

[dubob]

I'm not here to start a pissing contest and truly do respect the "educational requirements" for this particular cause; however, there is a better way to go about this whole thing in my eyes. I'd be willing to bet a MAJORITY of folks that venture to Powell, out of state, do NOT utilize their vessels in other Utah waters. For instance, we're from Colorado where Lake Powell's decontamination is not honored (have to decon at a State Park Lake here), so they don't even bother with the decontamination process when we leave.

Question #17 states something along the lines of, "what has to be displayed in your windshield prior to launching your vessel on Lake Powell?" The CORRECT answer is "NOTHING!" So the test you're taking requires you to display your certificate on your windshield, but not at Powell? Going back to my original comment that a majority of folks coming out of state to Powell will more than likely not put on any other Utah water.

As mentioned above, by another member, trying to figure out what is required is a chore in itself and when you do find out it is confusing. All I am saying is simplifying the process...because nobody at Powell seems to know, care, or give a rats @$$ about this one.

The fact that they charge $20 to "educate" a person.......every year (like something is going to change)....is what is ruffling feathers I believe.

Again, no disrespect to you or Utah's laws...yes, I am a non-resident, but have lived in Utah for close to 20 of my years and love it there...a little better transparency would go a long way.

I have taken a keen interest in Utah's AIS Program since the git go. I had several heated arguments with the original bills author 5 or 6 years ago because he was an anal opening and his bill left many stones unturned. The 2020 bill turned over a few more stones, but still left too many unturned - IMHO. You and I agree on much more than you might think about Utah's AIS Program and how it is run and what it requires. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to get the legislators who wrote the bills to require the purchase of a decal that would then be attached to ANY vessel used in Utah's water, not just registered vessels. All vessels used in our waters can, and do, have the capacity to transfer mussels from one body to another. Having a motor is irrelevant. ALL vessel owners should be supporting and funding our AIS Program, not just vessel owners that have motors on their vessels.

The required $20 non-resident fee isn't for educating anybody per se. It's for funding the overall AIS Program in Utah. I have to take the course every year just like you do. It's the same questions every year, so there ain't any educating going on for anybody who has taken the course before. And like you, I get charged a fee every year when I register my boat. Our fee is $10 for each registered boat/vessel.

The problem here is that our legislators that write these bovine excrement laws never consult with actual boat owners before writing these bills. We find out about them during our very short legislative season every year in January & February. It is next to impossible to get any changes to them once they are introduced into that Congressional session. They do consult with one or two organizations involved with a given activity, but those organizations very seldom have more than 1 or 2 percent of an activities population as actual members, so their input hardly ever is a true representation of the populations desires. And that is why we get these poorly written laws that leave so much to be desired from our point of view.

I think I've said about all I need to on this thread. I'm going to unfollow it going forward. Good luck with using LP going forward. I suspect that with the current water level situation that all y'all are going to need a whole lot of luck in using the lake in the foreseeable future.

As to Colorado not honoring a Utah decontamination, that's on you and your state government's anal openings.

 

[Shad]

I don't mind paying $20 to help fund the effort to stop/slow the spread. I am looking forward to my first Powell trip at the end of June and I plan to use my boat (even though its just an 11ft dinghy) in other waterways and am grateful for the education as a new boater. I had planned another trip just after my Powell trip that I'm now going to cancel so I can allow my boat and outboard to dry out for the recommended 7 days. Its a mild inconvenience for me but its a small price for me to pay to know I'm doing my part to not bring invasive species to other places.

Happy and safe boating, everyone!

 

[Meatwagon]

I don't mind paying $20 to help fund the effort to stop/slow the spread. I am looking forward to my first Powell trip at the end of June and I plan to use my boat (even though its just an 11ft dinghy) in other waterways and am grateful for the education as a new boater. I had planned another trip just after my Powell trip that I'm now going to cancel so I can allow my boat and outboard to dry out for the recommended 7 days. Its a mild inconvenience for me but its a small price for me to pay to know I'm doing my part to not bring invasive species to other places.

Happy and safe boating, everyone!

I believe you can get your outboard decontaminated, allowing you to then launch in another waterway .

 

[Shad]

Thanks, Meatwagon. I sent an email to the Bullfrog decontamination site asking them for guidance about my inflatable and outboard. I don't mind being a little over-cautious until I know for sure I'll for sure inquire about it after I enjoy LP for a week to make sure

 

[birdsnest]

I don't think I have ever seen an Aramark employee manning the ramps at Wahwaep or Statline. Maybe I'm missing something.

They are not Aramark employees. Utah DNR at Stateline and AZ. Fish and Game at Wahweap. Aramark has nothing to do with state or fed.

 

[dubob]

I decided to ask the manager of the decon stations at Bullfrog/Halls Crossing who the folks manning these stations actually work for. Here is what I sent to him via email:

It says on the STD of the Sea website that you are the contact person for the Bullfrog & Halls Crossing Decon Stations. There are a couple of discussion threads on Wayne’s Words website about these stations and some of it is misleading or just plain incorrect. So, I thought I’d go directly to the authority and get the truth.

On the Utah side of Lake Powell, who are the folks manning these stations actually employed by? Are they Utah DNR employees, Aramark employees, other employees, or just unpaid volunteers? One of the posters said he asked a female attendant at the Bullfrog decon station about displaying the Utah issued non-resident mussel course completion certificate required for non-resident boats used on the Utah side of the reservoir and indicated she didn’t have a clue as to its display requirements. To me, that would seem strange if the attendant were a Utah DNR employee. I would guess DNR employees would be fully educated on the AIS Program and all of its requirements, not just the decontamination parts.

I would like to know the truth about the manning of these stations so I can post it on Wayne’s Words for everybody’s benefit. Thank you for any information you can supply in this regard.

Here is what he replied:

I manage the aquatic invasive species (AIS) check station in Bullfrog and Halls Crossing. On the upper end of Lake Powell the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GCNRA) and the Utah Division Of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) work collaboratively to employment the AIS program. As boaters launch we are educating boaters about AIS issues at Lake Powell as well as informing boaters about safety issues. In Lot D watercraft are inspected or decontaminated. We are open seven days a week and our hours of operation will expand on 5/22/2021 starting at 7:00 am and closing at 8:00 pm. All watercraft exiting the park during operational hours of the AIS check station are required to be inspected.

UDWR and GCNRA AIS technicians are educating boaters on AIS issues. They are also new to the program and may not be completely informed on all issues. As for the non-resident mussel certification form for non-resident boaters, it should be displayed in the dashboard of the vehicle that trailers the boat. I also recommend keeping a copy of the certification on your phone.

I hope I have answered all of your questions. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

The answer he gave could have been better worded IMHO. But it appears that the folks manning the decon stations are a mix of both Federal & State employees. An unknown number of them are: ". . . new to the program and may not be completely informed on all issues."

I also disagree with his statement that the course completion certificate " . . . should be displayed in the dashboard of the vehicle that trailers the boat." It is printed right on he certificate that it is required to be (not should be) displayed on the dashboard of the launch vehicle. And a second copy of the certificate is required to be carried on the boat. Sorry, I used to be a technical document editor and should & required are not the same thing.

 

[svivian]

well since they implemented this in July last year I have launched in Utah 12 times now and 0 of those times have I have been checked nor asked for it even if I was the one who brought it up.... I'll let you guys know when that streak ends