PORTLAND, Ore. -- Illegally anchored in the Willamette River. Transient boats, many of them releasing raw sewage into the water, have multiplied over the years. Now, two months after some were given trespass notices, they are still out there, waiting to see a judge.
The Department of State Lands has jurisdiction over the river, and the rule is, boats can be anchored in Oregon waters for 30 days. After that, they must move five miles, and can't return to the same spot for a year. If they don't move, officials must follow the legal process, and give them a chance to go to court to be heard.
In May, KGW watched as 13 trespass notices were issued to illegally anchored transient boats, many in the Holgate Slough and near Ross Island. Those boaters had a decision to make: Either comply and move the five miles, or request a court hearing.
We're told nine will have a hearing by an administrative law judge in August, the other four did move their boats and their next 30 day countdown began.
"The boaters themselves are questioning whether or not we have the legal authority," said Lori Warner-Dickason of the Department of State Lands, who's handling the cases. That's because it's the first sweep of its kind for this water rule on the Willamette. The homeless problem on the river started after the recession, Warner-Dickason said, in around 2011.
Once a judge upholds the department's 30-day rule in court, that will set a precedent. State Lands plans to then go after the rest of the boats you see.
But it's tough. The trespass notices must be served in person, since there's no mailing address. If no one's onboard, they leave the paper, then have to wait for a response and go back again.
Usually the person who is living onboard isn't the boat owner. Some boats don't have any registration markings on them at all.
"It does make it complicated, it requires a lot of tracking," said Warner-Dickason. "There's a balance here that we're trying to implement, and that is the public's ability to use the river for recreational purposes and balance that with folks who are using it on a continual basis."
Bonnie Bruce of Portland is on the river almost every day.
"I've been rowing for 30 years so it's part of my DNA," Bruce said. She loves the calmness in the morning, but lately, that's changed.
"I rowed through human waste," she said. "I'm all for everyone's rights, but at the same time, this is taking forever."
What's even more frustrating for Bruce is that several boaters have told the state they have jobs, and could get housing, they just prefer living this way, tax free.
"I'm not up for anyone losing their boat," she said. "I think nobody is really threatening that. They just have to move it! Just move it and observe the law."
The Department of State Lands says all but one of the boaters going to court will be represented by a public defender. It's not a criminal charge, but if the judge finds them in violation of the rule, they could get a $100 per day fine for every day they've been out of compliance.
We'll stay on this story, and bring you an update when they get in front of a judge in August.