33 U.S.C. § 565
Section 565 · River and harbor improvement by private or municipal enterprise
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case People of State of Ill. Ex Rel. Scott v. Hoffman (1977)
Most recently applied in Indiana Port Commission v. Bethlehem Steel Corp. (January 1987)
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.
Any person or persons, corporations, municipal or private, who desire to improve any navigable river, or any part thereof, at their or its own expense and risk may do so upon the approval of the plans and specifications of said proposed improvement by the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Engineers of the Army. The plan of said improvement must conform with the general plan of the Government improvements, must not impede navigation, and no toll shall be imposed on account thereof, and said improvement shall at all times be under the control and supervision of the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Engineers.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
Section is from act June 13, 1902, popularly known as the “Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act for 1902”. The provisions of this section followed an appropriation for emergencies.
Change of Name
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 Section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641.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.
Construction of Canal
The consent of Congress was given to the construction of a ship canal along the Government right of way connecting the waters of Puget Sound with Lake Washington, said canal, when completed, to be turned over to the United States, by act June 11, 1906, ch. 3072, 34 Stat. 231.