33 U.S.C. § 1 — Regulations by Secretary of the Army for navigation of waters generally

This section gives the Secretary of the Army a duty to regulate navigable waters, and sets a penalty for breaking those regulations. Duty to regulate. The Secretary of the Army must prescribe regulations for the use, management, and navigation of the United States' navigable waters. The Secretary writes these when, in their judgment, the public needs them to protect life and property, or to protect the United States' own channel-improvement work. This covers any matter not already assigned by law to some other executive department. Posting requirement. The Secretary must post these regulations in conspicuous, appropriate public places so people can see them. Penalty. Any person or corporation that violates the regulations is guilty of a misdemeanor. They must be convicted in a U.S. district court that has jurisdiction where the violation happened. The court may punish them with a fine of up to $500. If the violator is a natural person (an individual, not a corporation), the court may instead — or also, at its discretion — sentence up to six months in prison. The court decides the punishment. Enforcement. Regulations the Secretary issues under this section can be enforced the same way as the regulations in section 413 of this title. Section 413's enforcement provisions apply here too.