33 U.S.C. § 411
Section 411 · Penalty for wrongful deposit of refuse; use of or injury to harbor improvements, and obstruction of navigable waters generally
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 84 court decisions — leading case Wyandotte Transportation Co. v. United States (1967)
Most recently applied in United States v. Jantran, Inc. (April 2015)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Every person and every corporation that shall violate, or that shall knowingly aid, abet, authorize, or instigate a violation of the provisions of sections 407, 408, 409, 414, and 415 of this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of up to $25,000 per day, or by imprisonment (in the case of a natural person) for not less than thirty days nor more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court, one-half of said fine to be paid to the person or persons giving information which shall lead to conviction.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
Section is from part of section 16 of act Mar. 3, 1899, popularly known as the “Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899”. The balance of such section, relating to liability of masters, pilots, and so forth and of vessels engaged in violations, is classified to section 412 of this title.
Amendments
1996—Pub. L. 104–303 substituted “407, 408, 409, 414, and 415” for “407, 408, and 409” and “of up to $25,000 per day” for “not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars nor less than five hundred dollars”.
Cross References
Flood control of the Mississippi River, section as applicable, see section 702i of this title.